Claimed By The Rancher. Jules Bennett

      Rage boiled within her. “Just because you work there doesn’t give you the right to steamroll me into agreeing to this.”

      “I didn’t steamroll anybody,” he said as he made a sharp curve in the drive. “I merely stated that you could be admitted or come home with me. Those were your two options whether you liked them or not. You have no other place to crash tonight.”

      Pepper scowled. As if she needed the reminder. She’d been racking her brain trying to work out what had happened in her apartment. She’d been burning some new melts she’d made that afternoon, but she was positive she’d turned off the warmer before she got into the shower. Hadn’t she?

      “I won’t be your charity case so you can feel better about yourself over how you treated me in the past.”

      There. She’d laid it out there. Pepper didn’t want there to be any question about where they stood. Because the truth was, she’d moved on. And the fact that the sight of Dr. Nolan Elliott made her weak in the knees and brought up so many unforgettable memories, both bad and good, didn’t mean anything. She was a different woman now. And he was a different man.

      But the way he wanted to come to her aid warmed something inside her...something she couldn’t afford to let herself feel ever again.

      “I’m not doing this out of some warped sense of redemption, Pepper,” he told her. “I have seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms. Stay here as long as you want until you make alternate arrangements. I won’t even know you’re there.”

      Yeah, but she’d know he was there. Did he truly believe she’d be comfortable on his turf? And why on earth had he built such a huge home when he was single? Had he married after she’d left? Pepper had purposely distanced herself from him and not doubled back to find out what Nolan had done with his life. She didn’t want to know if he’d found another woman, created a life with her, had children. Because as hard as it was to admit, she feared that if he’d gone forward and had a family, she wouldn’t have recovered from the crushing blow.

      So, one night together was more than enough. Besides, she had more important things to contend with than licking old wounds. Like figuring out where to go if her apartment was a total loss. She only prayed the fire department was able to spare her shop because there was no plan B for income.

      “I’m only staying tonight because I’m exhausted.”

      A two-story stone home came into view and Pepper’s heart clenched with sorrow. Granted, it was dark, but the spotlights illuminated the incredible home enough to send her falling back into yet another memory.

      This was the dream home they’d planned together. Everything from the stone facade to the thick wood columns leading up to the second-story porch. And if he’d stuck to the original plans, those doors on the top floor led straight to one impressive master suite, with a matching master suite at the other end of the hall.

      He’d gone through with every plan they’d made...and he’d done so without her, as if she’d never had a place in his life at all.

      Pepper covered her abdomen with her hands as Nolan pulled into an attached four-car garage. Of course each bay was filled with another impressive vehicle. A work truck, which looked fresh off the showroom floor, a sporty car and another SUV. Why did one man need this many cars and this large of a home?

      Pepper wasn’t a shrink, but she also wasn’t naive. Clearly Nolan was trying to either compensate for something or fill a void in his life, and she was pretty sure he didn’t need to overcompensate for anything.

      And now, to add fuel to the fire, she was spending the night with the one man she didn’t want to be attracted to, shouldn’t be attracted to. But there was no denying Nolan was still just as sexy, just as powerfully commanding in that irresistible way that made her breath catch in her throat and her palms grow damp.

      “You built our home.” The words slipped out before she could stop them and now they hovered in the air between them.

      “It’s the only home I ever saw here,” he replied.

      Pepper turned in her seat. The garage lights lit up the interior of the SUV and she preferred when things were dark. From this angle she saw too much—and she worried what he’d see when he looked back at her.

      She started to ask him more but decided none of his life was her business. He’d made that abundantly apparent, and she needed to remember that. Just because he’d rescued her from her burning building and hadn’t left her side since, didn’t mean he wanted to revisit their past. And she had too much on her plate to even think like this.

      Clearly, she was exhausted.

      “Pepper, I—”

      “Just show me to my room.” His blue eyes met hers, and Pepper held her breath. He still had the power to make her tremble without so much as a word. “I’m tired and need my rest. I have a big day tomorrow assessing damage and talking to the insurance and fire department.”

      He gave her a clipped nod. “I’ll go with you.”

      “You’re not going with me.” Did he really think she needed someone to hold her hand?

      She took in his dress shirt, his dark jeans, and realization slammed into her. Pepper closed her eyes and pulled in a breath. “Your date... I hope this didn’t ruin anything.”

      “I’d already dropped her off when I was heading home.”

      For reasons Pepper didn’t want to delve into, she was glad to know the recipient of the mixed bouquet went home alone.

      “Well...if I didn’t say it earlier, thanks.”

      Nolan stared at her another minute, his eyes dropping to her lips for a half second, but it was all she needed to know. He was affected by the fact they’d been thrust back together, albeit temporarily—it had made him leave his date.

      Maybe coming back to Stone River hadn’t been the best idea, but she was all out of options at the moment. All she had to do was get through this night and then she could make a concerted effort to dodge Nolan Elliott at all costs. Because she wasn’t sure she could resist the temptation if she had to spend too much time with him.

       Three

      Despite how insistently Pepper protested, Nolan joined her the following morning at Painted Pansies to assess the damage. He used the excuse that he had to drive her, but he wouldn’t have let her face this alone regardless.

      The apartment wasn’t a total loss, but she would not be living there anytime soon. Thankfully, the store wasn’t harmed, but an electrician needed to come out to double-check things because the fire marshall was sure the spark that started the fire had come from the outlet her warmer was plugged into.

      Nolan had already contacted someone and expected him shortly. Pepper wouldn’t like that he’d taken over, but someone had to because she looked dead on her feet.

      And, okay, maybe some of that past guilt was spurring his actions, but he knew that top-notch contractors could get things done quicker than she could if she were left to her own devices. There was no reason she should wait on insurance to get their act together, because they were notorious for being slow, and Nolan was just offering his aid. Money meant nothing to him and he could see that Pepper could use a break.

      Pepper walked around the shop and into the back room. Nolan took in the window display with large canvas paintings and the flamboyant bouquets in various heights. Everywhere he looked, there was vibrancy, color, life. He knew Pepper had always envisioned something like this, but she’d been such a free spirit, wanting to travel the world, he’d never really thought she’d set down roots anywhere.

      Of course, once upon a time, they’d planned on settling down together. They’d designed a house when they were so young and tossing one dream after another out into the wind, hoping