‘‘What do you want?’’
She jumped at the sound of the male voice, then spun on her heel. Mitch leaned against the half door of the stall. He rested his elbows on the flat top and turned his hat in his outstretched hands.
‘‘What do you want, Alex?’’
His gaze was steady and direct. She supposed she should be embarrassed. After all, this was the first time they’d run into each other since parting the previous night. But she wasn’t nervous or ashamed or anything but pleased to see him.
‘‘I don’t know,’’ she admitted. ‘‘I’m torn between duty and fun.’’
‘‘Is this fun?’’ he asked, motioning to the ranch.
‘‘Yes, as are you.’’
‘‘Good. So why can’t you have both?’’
‘‘It’s not always that easy.’’ She stroked the mare’s neck. ‘‘I spoke with my mother this morning. To quote American television, she told me to get a life.’’
‘‘Sounds like good advice.’’
She wondered what he would say if she told him that her mother had also told her to have an affair with him.
‘‘I suppose it is. But I don’t know that I can have a life without duty.’’
‘‘You can. You’re just not sure you know how.’’
‘‘You’re right.’’ She squeezed the brush in her hand. ‘‘I think about James, about us finding him. What I don’t allow myself to think about very much is what will happen if we don’t find him. What will my future be?’’
‘‘Only you can answer that.’’ Mitch’s brown eyes darkened with compassion and something that might have been concern. ‘‘Although if you became queen, it would certainly change things.’’
Was he talking about her…or them?
‘‘How long are you going to wait to have your future decided by outside forces?’’ he asked. ‘‘When do you get a vote?’’
‘‘I’m not sure that I do.’’
‘‘But it’s your life.’’
She nodded. ‘‘This is where I start to get confused. At what point does my personal responsibility to myself end and my duty to my country begin?’’
‘‘Can’t you have both? Personal happiness and duty?’’
‘‘Perhaps.’’
But not with him, she thought, studying his hand-some face. He would never be happy away from the ranch, and knowing that, she would never ask him to leave.
Her train of thought should have terrified her. It implied a deep affection that she wasn’t sure she felt. At least, she didn’t think she was sure. If she’d never really been involved with a man before, how was she supposed to know what was real and what wasn’t?
Mitch turned his hat around in his hands. ‘‘Are you okay?’’
‘‘I’m fine.’’
He smiled. ‘‘No, Alex. I’m asking if you’re all right about last night.’’
‘‘Oh.’’ Heat instantly flared in her cheeks. She swallowed and forced herself to meet his gaze, even though all she wanted to do was bury her face in the mare’s sleek neck. ‘‘Yes, I, uh, am perfectly fine with all that happened.’’
‘‘Good.’’
His gaze slid away from hers, and she realized he was nervous, too. That made her feel a little better.
