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Come on, we’ll ride out to the river and see the horses. Every woman has her price.’
    Tight-lipped, she followed him out the back door and across to the stables. She wanted to yell at him to keep his rotten horse, but as she climbed on the yard rail and watched him catch and saddle the horses, she knew she wasn’t going to do that. He was right that everyone had a price, and he didn’t know that he had already offered hers. She relaxed as she regained her composure, and could even smile as he came towards her leading the horses. He thought he was so smart, yet he didn’t know she had already made up her mind to stay on the Bar 2. Her mother had lived here, and her grandparents, and Hudson had said these stations rarely changed hands, so maybe she would meet the man whose faded photograph was wrapped in fine tissue-paper.
    As she slid down to the ground, he handed her the reins. ‘Hold these a minute.’
    She stroked the fine arched neck of the smaller horse. ‘I hope you’re mine, you lovely thing.’
    ‘Yes, I'll give you Misty; you need a quiet mount if you haven’t ridden for a while.’
    ‘Thanks. What a fabulous saddle.' She examined the intricate carving.
    ‘A real Mexican saddle. My father brought it home when I was a teenager. Thought you might appreciate it; it’s as comfortable as a rocking chair to sit on. Here, you'd better wear this, otherwise you'll be burnt to a crisp.’
    She turned towards him, still holding the horses, and he put a white cowboy hat on her fair hair and pulled the cord to fit snugly under her chin. ‘White for purity,’ he commented with a grin.
    ‘Thank you.’
    ‘For the hat, or the remark?’ Suddenly serious, he dropped his hands lightly on to her shoulders. ‘You do love this John of yours, don’t you, Serenity?’
    Annoyed, she felt herself colour. ‘Yes, I do, I told you that.’
    ‘Good.’ His eyes held hers with an unnerving scrutiny. ‘I wouldn’t have you here otherwise. I don’t want complications in my life.’
    ‘I can’t answer for you, but I promise you, you’ll never be a complication in my life,’ she said crushingly.
    He grinned and flung an arm across her shoulders, giving her a hug. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends, Serenity. I find it a stimulating thought. I can tease you, flirt with you if I want to, and all with perfect immunity . . .’
    ‘Take your hands off me. I don’t believe in body-contact sports.’
    He smiled wickedly as he took the reins of his horse from her. ‘You don’t think that was a pass, I hope. Little lady, when I make a pass at you, you’ll be in no danger of not knowing what I’m doing.’
    Ignoring him, Serenity gathered in her reins, slipped her foot into the stirrup, and mounted in one fluid movement. He was right, the saddle was the epitome of comfort.
    ‘Nice. Come on, then.’
    She confidently kicked Misty into a trot and followed him down the gravel road past the sheepyards. It was bliss to be back on a horse, and she would have felt completely happy if she had not had a sneaking suspicion that she was doing a crazy thing by accepting this offer of employment. Hudson Grey disconcerted her. He was all the things she disliked in a man, suave, sophisticated, and full of self-confidence, well . . . arrogantly sure of himself, really. If that’s all there was to him, she could handle that, but she could not deny that he was exceedingly attractive, that he had masculine magnetism that disturbed her, and there was that hardness in him that almost amounted to leashed violence. Swiftly she altered her decision. She would not stay here. As soon as the insurance agent checked her car, she would leave.
    ‘What do you think of it?’ Hudson had reined in and was watching her carefully.
    ‘What do I think of what?’ Serenity was annoyed that she had been so deep in thought that she had become unaware of her surroundings.
    ‘Sarah Tarrant’s house. I thought you might like to see