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on over, see if we could make the cut. Earn a few bucks. Anything to break the tedium, you know?”
    “Yeah, that happens around here a lot, too. Especially over the last few years. Movies shooting in the area, I mean.”
    “You ever do it?”
    “Me? Oh, hell, no. I hardly ever see films, let alone have any desire to be in them.”
    “Which is why you had no idea who I was.”
    Despite the teasing in her voice, Zach felt his face warm. “Before my brother clued me in? No. Sorry.”
    “Are you kidding? It’s a relief, frankly. And if I’d known then what I do now...” A sigh pushed from her lips. “But I didn’t. And the bug bit. Hard. Even though being an extra is excruciatingly boring, suddenly the idea of becoming a ranch wife seemed even worse.” She paused, not looking at him. “Or perhaps it was more that the ranch boys suddenly made my eyes glaze over.”
    “Ouch.”
    She shrugged. “I wasn’t even eighteen, for pity’s sake. And woefully sheltered. Even so, all it should have been was a few days’ diversion. But due to a series of completely unforeseen events that started with that call for extras, I ended up with a one-in-a-million career.” A funny smile tilted her lips as she watched the boys once more chasing each other around the field. “And a son I love more than life itself. What is it they say, about life being that thing that happens while you’re busy making other plans?”
    “Tell me about it,” Zach said, and her eyes lifted to his, then scooted away again.
    “Mama told me about your wife. I’m so sorry.”
    One side of Zach’s mouth lifted. “Thanks. But you don’t even know us.”
    “But I do know what it feels to have your life dumped on its butt,” she said quietly, then snorted. “Literally, in my case.” She nodded toward the boys. “How’re they doing?”
    Zach regarded her for a moment, wondering how she’d so effortlessly sucked him into a conversation he wasn’t inclined to have with people he’d known all his life, let alone with someone he’d only just met. Wondering even harder why he’d let her. And yet...
    “Liam—the little one—was too young when it happened to remember his mother. Jeremy was five, though. It was rough going there for a while.”
    “I can imagine.” The dog laid his head on Mallory’s knee, begging for attention. Smiling, she obliged. “After my accident, all I wanted was to make sure Landon knew everything was going to be okay. That we’d get back to normal again, even if it was a new normal.” She paused. “Whether I ever did or not.”
    “Yeah. Exactly.”
    Grinning, she tilted her face to Zach. “Only a few weeks until he comes out to visit. I can hardly wait.”
    As obviously close to her son as she was, Zach was curious why he wasn’t with her. The thought of not being with his boys made his blood run cold. But her reasons for leaving her son behind had nothing to do with him, did they?
    Footsteps and chatter made him turn to see his brother and Dorelle returning. “I got a quick tour of the house,” she said, smiling. “Met the owner, too. Between us we came to an agreement about the horse. He’s yours, baby.”
    Mallory frowned. “What are you talking about? I thought we agreed—”
    “We agreed it’d be nice to get Landon a horse. I don’t recall any mention of who was supposed to buy him. And anyway, it’s his birthday coming up. You can get him another video game this time.”
    “And I don’t suppose you’re gonna tell me what you paid.”
    “You got that right. And, yes, I made them promise to take the horse back if he doesn’t live up to our expectations.”
    Josh rolled his eyes. “Like that wouldn’t’ve been part of the deal, anyway.”
    Mallory looked to Zach. “You see what I have to put up with?” Except then she lifted her arms and her mother bent over to get her daughter’s hug, even as Zach heard her whisper, “You’re a pain in the butt, you know that? And what would I do