Jackson Hole Valentine. Cindy Kirk

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СКАЧАТЬ my goodness, yes. Way bigger.” Lexi held out her hand. “Come with me and we’ll go see them.”

      The little boy hesitated, glancing at Margaret.

      “I’m not going anywhere,” Margaret assured him. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

      After a long moment, Charlie put his fingers in the social worker’s hand. “I wanna see the fishes.”

      Lexi smiled at Margaret and gave the attorney a wink. “We won’t be long.”

      Margaret watched them leave. Her heart warmed when Charlie returned her wave.

      “I’m glad you could make it.” Ryan gestured toward his office then stepped aside to let her pass. “We’re waiting for one more but there’s some preliminary stuff we can get started on.”

      Margaret smiled, finding it strangely refreshing to hear an attorney use the word stuff. She took a seat in front of his desk, wondering who it was Ryan was expecting. It hadn’t crossed her mind that anyone else would show up for the reading. “Did Joy’s parents change their minds and decide to stay in town a little while longer?”

      “Nothing like that.” The attorney took a seat in the cowhide-and-leather swivel desk chair and offered her an easy smile.

      Despite being thrown to the ground and stomped on by bulls weighing close to two thousand pounds, Ryan looked no worse for wear. His face was unscarred and his hair as dark and thick as it had been in school. He was a cute guy but Ryan had never made her heart skip a beat.

      Back then, people who didn’t know him well had always confused him with Cole. Both had dark hair and slender, athletic builds. But Ryan’s eyes were a silvery-gray while Cole’s eyes were as blue as the ocean.

      In her young, stupid days, Margaret had been convinced she could drown in Cole’s eyes. She resisted the urge to gag.

      Ryan shifted in his seat and glanced at his watch. Tiny lines furrowed his brow.

      If Margaret didn’t know better, she’d say he was worried. But that didn’t make sense. What did he have to be concerned about? Unless he thought she was having second thoughts about raising Charlie. Could he be afraid she was going to bail on the boy?

      Margaret leaned forward and rested both hands on the edge of the desk. “Joy and I talked last year about her and Ty’s wishes, should anything happen to them. I’m fully aware that she wanted me to—”

      The outer office door jingled.

      Ryan’s head jerked toward the sound.

      Margaret paused and sat back.

      Before she could say another word, Ryan leaped from his seat and rounded the desk. “I’ll get it.”

      But he didn’t have time to reach the door before it swung open. Turning in her seat to gawk at the new arrival seemed a little gauche, so Margaret waited for the visitor to stroll into view.

      “It’s good to see you,” Ryan said.

      “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

      Margaret froze. The man’s voice sounded all too familiar. She shivered as the sexy voice continued. “DFW got snowed in and all the flights backed up.”

      She didn’t need to turn in her chair to know who Ryan had so warmly welcomed. Even after all these years, she recognized his voice. It was the same sexy rumble that had whispered sweet nothings in her ear when she’d been sixteen. The same husky voice that had shook with emotion when he’d pronounced her his sweetheart and given her a silver heart-shaped locket for Valentine’s Day. The same voice that she hadn’t heard again after they’d made love in the backseat of his old Chevy.

      She dug her nails into her palms.

      “You’re lucky you didn’t make it in yesterday morning. We had a jet go off the runway,” Ryan rattled on. “Typical November weather.”

      “Anyone who grew up in this region should know better than to fly in the day of any event, especially at this time of year.” Margaret turned in her seat, unable to sit still a moment longer. “Unless it was your intent all along to miss the funeral.”

      She had only a second to brace herself before Cole fixed his brilliant blue eyes on her, and to be startled at the sight of him on crutches.

      “You remember Margaret Fisher.” Ryan gestured to her with a broad sweep of a hand. “She went to high school with us.”

      It didn’t surprise Margaret that Ryan would feel the need to clarify. After all, it wasn’t as if they’d run in the same social circle back then. Ryan and Cole had been popular, while she’d been studious, shy and completely forgettable. A part of her had wondered if he’d ever mentioned his involvement with her to his friends. Apparently not.

      Cole’s expression gave nothing away. “Of course, I remember Meg.”

      “Meg?” Ryan lifted a brow. “I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone call her that before.”

      That’s because no one else ever had, only Cole.

      “I meant, Margaret,” Cole returned easily.

      Ryan’s eyes held a curious gleam and Margaret got the feeling he knew there was more to the story than a simple verbal faux pas.

      “You’re looking well,” Cole said to her when the silence lengthened.

      Other than the crutches and the brace on his right knee, she supposed she could say the same about him. His hair was a little longer now, brushing his collar in a stylish cut. The hand-tailored dark suit he wore emphasized broad shoulders and lean hips. Surprisingly, he’d foregone a tie and left his gray shirt unbuttoned at the neck.

      While she grudgingly admitted that he looked… attractive… she had no use for him or for the words that came so easy to his tongue. Margaret lifted her chin. “Your friend appears to be too much of a gentleman to tell you—but this is a private business meeting.”

      She could have cheered when her tone came out cool with just the slightest amount of indifference.

      Cole’s brows pulled together and he shot Ryan a puzzled glance. “You told me this was the time you’d set aside to go over Ty and Joy’s will.”

      Margaret narrowed her gaze and focused on Cole. “You must really be doing badly if you came all this way just to see if they left you anything.”

      For a second she regretted speaking so frankly. Being brash wasn’t her style. Then she recalled how Cole had treated her and she decided she was being too kind.

      “I’m doing quite well, not that it’s any of your concern.” Cole’s expression darkened. He turned to Ryan. “What the hell is going on here?”

      A look of guilt crossed the attorney’s face and the gaze he shot her was filled with apology.

      Margaret had always been intuitive. The unique gift that had failed her only once before was now telling her that something was about to go СКАЧАТЬ