The Secret Affair(10)

                “So how did you learn to ride so well?” he asked.

                “My dad. He was the greatest and although I’m sure he wanted at least one son, he ended up with four girls. He felt we should know how to do certain things and handling a horse was one of them,” she said, remembering the time she’d spent with her father and how wonderful it had been for her.

                “He evidently saw potential in me because he made sacrifices and sent me to riding school. I competed nationally until he got sick. We needed the money to pay for his medicine and doctor bills.”

                “Do you regret giving it up?” he asked.

                She shook her head. “No. I enjoyed it but making sure Dad got the best care meant more to me...more to all of us...than anything.” And she meant it. There had been no regrets for any of them about giving up what they’d loved to help their father.

                “Here we are.”

                She looked around at the beauty of the land surrounding her, as far as her eyes could see and beyond. Since Dillon was the oldest, he had inherited the main house along with the three hundred acres it sat on. Everyone else, upon reaching the age of twenty-five, received one hundred acres to call their own. Some parts of this area were cleared and other parts were dense with thick foliage. But what took her breath away was the beautiful waterway that branched off into a huge lake. Gemma Lake. She’d heard it had been named after Aidan’s great-grandmother.

                “This place is beautiful. Where are we exactly?”

                He glanced over at her and smiled. “My land. Aidan’s Haven.

                Aidan’s Haven, she immediately decided, suited him. She could see him building his home on this piece of land one day near this huge waterway. Today he looked like a cowboy, but she could see him transforming into a boat captain.

                “Aidan’s Haven. That’s a nice name. How did you come up with it?”

                “I didn’t. Bailey did. She came up with all the names for our one-hundred-acre plots. She chose names like Stern’s Stronghold, Zane’s Hideout, Derringer’s Dungeon, Ramsey’s Web and Megan’s Meadows, just to name a few.”

                Jillian had visited each of those areas and all the homes that had been built on the land were gorgeous. Some were single-story ranch-style designs, while others were like mansions with several floors. “When do you plan to build?”

                “Not for a while yet. After medical school I’ll probably work and live somewhere else for a while since I have six years of residency to complete for the cardiology program.”

                “But this will eventually be your home.”

                A pensive look appeared on his face. “Yes, Westmoreland Country will always be my home.”

                She’d always thought she would live in Gamble, Wyoming. Although she knew she would leave for college, she figured she would return one day and work in the hospital there before setting up a practice of her own. After all, she had lived there her entire life; all her friends were there. But after Pam married Dillon things changed for her, Paige and Nadia. They were close to their oldest sister and decided to leave Wyoming and make their homes close to Pam’s. It had worked out well for everyone. Nadia was in her last year of high school here in Colorado and Paige was in California attending UCLA.

                “What about you? Do you ever plan to return to Gamble, Wyoming, to live, Jillian?”

                Again, she wondered why her stomach tightened whenever he said her name. Probably had something to do with that deep, husky voice of his.