“It’s not something I’m interested in advertising.” When Fraser waited, Shane added, “I’m sure you’re aware of my background. Some people would try to take advantage.”

“I understand, but there’s nothing wrong with relying on your family and loved ones.”

Shane squinted at him. “Was I ever in your class?”

“Yes. Trigonometry.”

“Then you must’ve seen how it was between me and my family even back then.”

Fraser pursed his lips, then sighed. “But they’re still your family. If you can’t rely on them…” He put his hands on his lower back. “I think I’m going to go in now. This stuff”—he gestured at the pile of hay—“can wait until tomorrow. Zoe made some of her amazing lemonade before leaving. Come, join me.”

Chapter Thirteen

The dinner wasn’t as bad as Shane had feared. Zoe’s cooking was homey and quite good, and the farm workout had given him quite an appetite. Apparently Trevor felt the same because he kept quiet, too busy shoveling meat and potatoes into his mouth…although he still glared at Shane from time to time.

Zoe was an older image of Ginger, silver threading her golden hair. She gazed at her husband with deep love as he spoke about how the vegetables were doing. Shane’s heart felt funny as he watched them and Ginger, who was doing her best to pretend he wasn’t there.

“Wine, Shane?” Zoe asked, ever the gracious hostess.

Don’t want a repeat of last night. “No, thank you.”

“I’ll have some,” Trevor said.

Ginger had seated herself as far from Shane as possible. He couldn’t decide if it was her decision or Trevor’s maneuvering. She was a bit pale, the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced. Must be tired from the trip and the drama from the night before. She didn’t look at Shane or speak to him. But at least she finished everything on her plate, Shane noted with approval. She needed to gain back the weight she’d lost.

Fraser and Zoe asked about Shane’s travels, ignoring Trevor and Ginger’s behavior. Zoe sighed. “I always wanted to visit Johannesburg. Maybe one day.”

“You can go any time. Right now if you want. Say the word and I’ll have it arranged,” Shane said.

Zoe laughed. “I wish I could take you up on the offer, but there’s a lot to do here with the farm. Thank you, Shane. You’re such a sweet boy.” She put a hand over his. “Always were.”

Trevor snorted, and Ginger glared at him. “You should eat more slowly, so you can avoid making ugly noises at the dinner table,” she said.

“Ginger,” Fraser said.

“It’s true.” Ginger looked down at her apple pie. She’d eaten only half of it. “May I be excused? I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed early.”

Zoe glanced at Fraser, then nodded. Ginger stood up with her plate and left.

“Same here if you don’t mind,” Shane said. “The flight from Thailand was long and exhausting.”

“Yeah, me too,” Trevor said.

Zoe shook her head. “You didn’t have a long flight from Thailand too, did you? You said you were in Mexico.”

Trevor made a face. “I can still be tired.”

“Just finish your pie before you go,” Zoe said.

The muscles bunched in his jaw, and Shane gave Zoe a grateful glance. Then he took off after Ginger.

* * *

Ginger slipped out through the backdoor. The final dying sunshine colored the farm a deep orange.

Soon she heard another person follow her. She didn’t have to turn around to know it was Shane. Nobody else would’ve made her skin prickle with awareness. “What are you doing here?”

He stood next to her. His gaze settled over her like silk. “I wanted to apologize.”

She kept her eyes on the horizon. “Don’t.”

“Why not? It was wrong of me to leave last night.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because.” She looked up at him. Exhaustion had deepened the lines bracketing his mouth. “I’d rather you be honest. Don’t stay if you want to be somewhere else.”

“Ginger…”

“You used to tell me about how you thought your parents should divorce because they didn’t belong together. You were convinced your mother stayed with your father for the money, and your father stayed because he wanted to be able to have affairs without giving his mistresses any false hope about becoming his missus. Well, I don’t want that.”

She looked away. Brave words, but she’d be lying if she told herself she wanted him to go. Why was she even with somebody who hurt her the way Shane did?

Because when things are good, they’re really, really good. And she wanted to make things work between them so badly. She wanted what her own parents had, with him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Shane reached out and held her hand. She didn’t pull away. Tingling warmth spread from his skin to hers. I must be a glutton for punishment, she thought.

“I got a call from Dane,” he said. “He told me you were dating somebody else.”

She glared at him and tried to yank her hand away, but he held on. “You couldn’t ask me?”

“In front of my family? Not without making a scene, and I didn’t want to do that. Especially with Vanessa acting so hostile.”

“She saw me with Robert. That’s why she was like that at the dinner. I never got a chance to tell her we broke up.”

“I know that now. But at the time I was just…furious with you. And myself.” He raked his hair. “Even when Dane told me you were with another man, I wanted you. I wanted to fuck you until you forgot him…until I could take you away and make you mine.” His jaw clenched. “I never wanted to be like my dad, who doesn’t care about anything except screwing the women he wants. Even if they’re married. So I couldn’t…” He let out a rough breath. “I just had to get away…and I messed up.”

“Shane…” She squeezed his hand, her heart aching for him. “You are nothing like your dad. I would’ve never stayed with you for so long if you were.”

His laugh was hollow, self-deprecating. “Debbie was really pissed off.”

Ginger’s eyes widened. “What did she do?”

“Called me some names. Threatened a few things. I don’t really remember, because I was, uh, a little hung over.”

“Jeez. I told her not to do stuff like that.”

He shrugged. “She’s your best friend. You really should expect more from the people around you. Speaking of which…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. “I had Mark mail your original engagement ring to me in Thailand. I was going to give it to you there, but then I thought I should make the second proposal at least as memorable as the first, even if I couldn’t remember exactly how it had gone before. I was going to do it last night, but everything got derailed when my family decided to drag us out to dinner. But I can’t wait any more,” he said, going down on one knee. “I’ve screwed up everything since the first time I saw you after the accident. But I want you to give me another chance.”

His words rushed out in a torrent, and Ginger felt her heart soften. He got wordy and spoke fast whenever he felt nervous, which was rare. His mouth set in a firm line and his gaze unblinking, he was doing a good job of looking cool, but there were taut lines around his eyes as he waited.

Her heart pounded unsteadily. A part of her wanted to run. A big part. If things went bad again, she wasn’t sure she could ever deal with it. But another part of her urged her to say yes. Most people never got a second chance. She should seize this one and make it count.

“Will you take my ring?” he asked.

With a slow smile, she extended her left hand. “Put it on me.”

He pulled out the ring and pushed it onto her ring finger. She knelt down opposite him and he rested his forehead on hers. “You’re mine.”

“Right back at you.” She tilted her mouth up for a kiss.