Here to Stay by Catherine Anderson

he didn’t have the energy. “G’night,” was all he managed to push out.
    He watched the bob of the flashlight long after she was absorbed by darkness. Pretty , he thought again, and unless she was a consummate actress, that innocence in her eyes was real. Hello? She looked to be in her late twenties. How could a beautiful woman that age still be sexually inexperienced? Maybe his judgment was slipping.
    It was a question for another day. Zach returned to the table and poured himself some whiskey. Rosebud had her pain reliever; he had his. As the liquor burned a path down his throat, Zach thought of Miranda again. She’d looked so over the moon about her brother possibly getting Rosebud for free. Zach could only pray he wouldn’t have to give her bad news when she telephoned tomorrow.
     
    After paying the sitter, cleaning up the kitchen, and working on the computer for two hours, Mandy was exhausted but also so excited she couldn’t sleep. She’d gotten on her knees earlier, crossed herself, and offered up prayers for Rosebud’s deliverance. It had felt strange to pray after so many years of not going to Mass. But it had also felt good, driving home to her how much she missed practicing her faith. She’d quit going to church because her father was a cradle Catholic, and she’d been determined to be nothing like him. Dumb, she realized now. Why abandon her faith because her father was such a maniacal jerk?
    Now Mandy lay snuggled under her comforter, grinning like an imbecile at the crack of moonlight that leaked into the bedroom under the pull-down shade. Zach Harrigan had seen straight through her ploy to gain access to his ranch, but he hadn’t been angry. Even better, he’d implied that he might be willing to give Luke the horse for free. She couldn’t believe it. Nobody gave stuff away anymore. But if Harrigan made the offer again, she’d jump at it. Just sending Luke to college and paying for his special expenses would drain her savings and mortgage her future earnings.
    Mandy shivered. Oh, God . Would she ever forget the sight of Zach Harrigan in nothing but jeans? He had skin the color of polished teak. All that muscle . In a shirt, he looked trim and nicely toned. Without a shirt, he could make any woman’s heart skitter and miss beats. Normally Mandy didn’t feel attracted to men, but there was no denying the impact that Zach had had on her senses. She wasn’t comfortable with that and decided what she’d probably found most appealing about him was his complete and absolute devotion to Rosebud. His looks were just frosting on the cake.
    It would be hard for anyone to resist a strong, work-hardened man whose heart shone in his eyes when he looked at a sick little horse. He loved Rosebud. To him, it truly wasn’t about making money. He’d clearly meant what he said during the news interview: that he’d set out to train a guide horse because he wanted to make a difference in someone else’s life. And what if that fortunate someone was Luke? It boggled Mandy’s mind.
    She dragged in a calming breath, determined to keep a level head on her shoulders. Her attraction to him was nuts. Men were treacherous. If anyone knew that from bitter experience, she did. It made no sense for her to feel so captivated by Zach Harrigan, and she was nothing if not sensible. Even so, untangling her emotions was like trying to straighten a skein of knitting yarn after a kitten had batted it into a hundred knots. Too handsome for words, caring, and gentle . And more important, he hadn’t touched the whiskey on the table. Mandy detested spirits of any kind and trusted no man who drank the stuff. Zach Harrigan hadn’t, and even she would have given him a pass tonight. A tiny horse he loved deeply was possibly at death’s door. Mandy had wished for a tranquilizer. Only for her, warm milk was the nerve-numbing agent of choice.
    Okay, okay, time to stop thinking about it and get to sleep. Luke would be yelling loud enough