If Wishes Were Horses.... Judith Duncan

      His response caught her unawares. Abby gave a huff of uneven laughter, and clasped her head. “Ah, God, don’t start getting cute, Conner. I can’t dance that fast right now.”

      A twitch of amusement surfacing, he watched her try to recover, not giving her an inch. “I don’t dance, Abigail. You should know that by now. And I don’t want a big argument. All I want from you right now is complete compliance.”

      She wasn’t so down and out that she couldn’t even scrape up a decent dirty look. “And you know where you can stuff your compliance, Calhoun.”

      He grinned and rocked back in his chair. “It’s a good plan, Abigail.” His expression turning serious, he spoke again, his tone soft and persuasive. “Like I said, I’d love to have you guys there for the summer, and you know the kids would love every minute of it. And it would give you a chance to regroup.”

      Clearly struggling with a whole bunch of emotions, she tipped her head back, wrestling with her choices. Conner watched her, his gut in a knot, waiting for her answer. He could almost feel her internal battle—her pride and independence struggling to override her common sense.

      Finally she dropped her head and looked at him, a tiny glimmer of humor in her eyes. “Okay. It is a good plan. But you might want to rethink that part about getting stuck with us for the summer.”

      Liking her spunk, he rocked his chair farther back. “Hey. If I can ride herd on a bunch of range-ornery cows year after year, I can sure as hell manage one skinny woman and two kids for a couple of months.”

      Clasping her arms around her, she tipped her head to one side, her expression changing as she considered him. Finally she spoke, her voice very soft and very husky. “Did anyone ever tell you that you make one hell of a white knight, Conner Calhoun?”

      Discomfited by her comment, he got up and started folding the paper. He didn’t want her thinking that. He wasn’t a white knight by a long shot. Now that he had gotten what he wanted, part of him felt like a thief in the night.

      The next week was absolute chaos, and Conner continued to have concerns about Abby. He could tell she was running on empty, yet she continued to drive herself to the limit. And on top of overseeing all the sorting and packing, she made an appointment with a head-hunting firm to start a job search, even though she was going to be out of the city.

      About midway through the week, she managed to dredge up enough spunk to argue with him again over his payment of the loan. He finally got his back up and told her that the money was going to go to the kids anyway, and they just got it a little early, and for her to just drop it. She didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day, but she did drop it. Finally. But even in the state she was in, she was amazing. He figured with her organizational skills, she could move a whole city if she had to.

      One good thing was that the kids were ecstatic about spending the summer at Uncle Conner’s, and they would rattle on to anyone who would listen to them—the real estate agent, Abby’s nextdoor neighbor, Abby’s friend, Joanne, the guy from the moving company who came out to give them an estimate. Uncle Conner had promised them ponies, and Uncle Conner had a litter of newborn kittens in the barn, and he had dogs that herded cows. And Uncle Conner was going to take them fishing, and was going to let them sleep out on the veranda.

      Uncle Conner began to wonder what he had let himself in for.

      It took nine days to move the mountain—getting authorization for the kids’ early dismissal from school, household effects and Abby’s car in storage, mail forwarded, utilities canceled, bank notified. And by the time they boarded the plane for the flight to Calgary, Abby had that glassy-eyed look of a sleepwalker. But in spite of his concerns for her, Conner knew he had done the right thing. Hell, it was the only thing he could have done. He tried to convince himself that all she needed was a few weeks with no worries, good food, fresh country air and she would be as right as rain. But once she was settled in the window seat beside him, it was as if she simply let go. She was fast asleep before they’d even left the ground.

      The skies in Calgary were bright and cloudless when they landed, and the kids were wound up like tops. Abby had slept the entire flight, and she was still half out of it when he left her with the luggage while he took the kids to pick up his truck from Park and Fly.

      He figured she’d be back asleep before he got their suitcases loaded and the kids belted in the back seat of the extended cab, and he was right. Even the kids packed it in before they got out of the city, and he was left with nothing to keep his mind occupied—except his own thoughts. And those were very dangerous. He had been so busy playing big brother and Uncle Conner for the past few days, he had never even considered his own reality. And now here he was, heading home, and for two and a half months his world was going to be complete. And he was going to have to make the most of every second of that time. He had no illusions; that was going to be his allotment—two and a half months to last the rest of his life.

      There had been changes since he’d left. The countryside was green from the several good rains and the warm weather. Every depression was full of water, and the ditches were sprinkled with bright patches of dandelions. God, it felt damned good to be back in these wide open spaces.