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mouth purse in distaste out of the corner of his eye.
    “It was hard to shift gears after
all those years of telling myself that’s what it would be. Perverted.”
    “I’m done lying to myself.”
    Ash sped up a little. “Me, too.” After a pause, he said, “How’d you get so smart?”
    “Necessity.”

Chapter Three
     
    She couldn’t do this. The next bus
would take her up through northern Montana and cross the border into Canada.
She had her passport and her birth certificate but no idea what she’d tell the
custom officials. And the farther she got from home the harder it was to go. It
had seemed her only choice when she’d called Candy and poured out her heart.
And she could do it. Move to a different country, find work, and carve out a
living. Because she couldn’t be any place near where Aston
and Craig were. Yet she couldn’t bear to leave them. Oh, she was so
conflicted.
    Sitting on a bench near the bus
lanes with her luggage at her feet, she questioned herself again. Hard work
never bothered her, and she had certain skills to offer. Two of the three
provinces up there had cattle and horses on ranches similar to the Russells ’ place. She didn’t have her field work done, but
she’d worked for years on the ranch and that should count for something.
Somebody would hire her, even if she had to wait tables first. Or maybe a vet
clinic would want a tech. She had more training than a tech.
    There were her friends from school,
acquaintances mostly, so she wouldn’t really miss them. Candy was a different
story but they’d get together and catch up like always, inseparable since
meeting up in the cafeteria at school, two new girls in the area. Different as
chalk and cheese, as her mom used to say, but best friends for all of that.
    A single tear fought its way past
her blinking against them, and meandered down the curve of one cheek. She
brushed at it and winced at the feeling of grit. The bus hadn’t felt clean, and
sitting outside in the concrete jungle wasn’t helping, but it was better than
being inside the depot that smelled of people and other stuff she didn’t want
to think about. Not to mention the man who was even now lurking after her,
ignoring her firm response that he get lost. How was she going to continue
without Ash and Craig in her life? Without even a phone call
or an email? All that time on the bus planning her future—poorly—and
refusing to think about them hadn’t helped. The way that lock of dark blond
hair flopped down over Craig’s forehead until he shoved it back into place, his
big, scarred hands, marred by all the work he did with the cattle and ranch
maintenance.
    His tall, strong body was nearly
identical to Ashton’s, and they could have passed as twins in many respects.
Ash’s hair was brown, and of course his eyes a different shade of blue, but
still… She had only to look at him and her bones would melt, and she had to
clench her fists so as not to touch him. Their personalities were very
opposite. Ash was the strong, silent type, always thinking and planning. Craig
tended to be outgoing and wore his emotions more visibly. She shivered a little
at the thought of how Craig would react to her leaving. For a moment that
morning during her embarrassing tell-all, she’d wondered if he’d been of a
different mindset than Ashton. But it didn’t matter. They were a matched set
and as such unavailable to the likes of her.
    Maybe if she’d acted the seductress
during her hormonal teen years, instead of hiding her need. Except that wasn’t
her either. They were lucky to be rid of her. She’d probably be lousy in the
sack anyhow, despite two experienced teachers. She gritted her teeth against
the flush of desire gripping her lower belly and the jealousy coursing through
her veins. It was time she got her act together and made a new life for herself,
and stopped this insane parade of memories. Who knew what Canada would bring?
Maybe there were some fine cowboys up there,