Free Shameless by Joan Johnston

She wondered if she should give it to her father. He should know what Irene had done. But what would be the point? Irene was in Australia. She could never hurt Nathan again.
    Pippa stuck the drawing back in her pocket and headed for the stable. Devon was expecting her. She needed to get her horse saddled and get on the trail.
    Once she was on her way, Pippa didn’t hurry. The ride through the fragrant pine forest was every bit as enjoyable as she expected her meeting with Devon to be. Besides, it gave her more time to mull over what she wanted to ask when she saw him again.
    When she reached the meadow, he waved to her from the other side, a huge smile on his face. Her heart lifted as she cantered her horse the rest of the distance to the pond. “G’day!” she called out as she dismounted. He took the reins and tied her horse beside his.
    “G’day to you, too,” he said as he crossed back to join her at the stone, where she’d dropped her canvas bag and was down on her knees scratching behind Wulf’s ears. Pippa laughed and ducked away as the wolf lapped at her face.
    “He looks glad to see you,” Devon said. “So am I,” he added.
    Pippa looked up and caught her breath as she met Devon’s gaze. She saw excitement, anticipation, and…need. She felt her heart lurch. Felt the blood surge through her veins. Felt an answering need. And reminded herself why anything more than friendship was impossible.
    Be his friend. Don’t spoil it by wanting more.
“I’m glad to see you, too,” she said in the friendliest voice she could muster. She stayed where she was, stroking Wulf’s fur, afraid of what would happen if she stood and closed the distance between herself and Devon.
    Neither of them said anything more for a while. She waited for him to break eye contact, because she was helpless to do it herself.
    “I brought a blanket,” he said at last, “so we’d have a little more room to stretch out.” He pointed to a patchwork quilt that he’d spread on a flat, grassy spot near the pond.
    “What a great idea!” Pippa welcomed the chance to increase the distance between them. She stood and grabbed the canvas bag, then headed for the quilt, dropping onto her knees when she reached it. A moment later, Devon had joined her.
    The silence lay heavy between them. Pippa was aware they were sitting on a blanket together, and that it wouldn’t take much effort for him to have her flat on her back. What astonished her, what made her question herself, was the knowledge that she would have welcomed the weight of his body on her own.
    Are you crazy? What are you thinking? Didn’t you learn anything from your experience with Tim?
    Pippa reminded herself that she hardly knew Devon Flynn. What if his behavior was all an act? What if this friendship was some bizarre Flynn trick to get back at the Grayhawks through her?
    “I wish I knew more about you,” she murmured.
    “What do you want to know?”
    “What do you want to do with your life?”
    He laughed. “That’s a pretty big question. Right now I’m happy running my ranch. How about you?”
    “I worked gentling horses in Australia. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do here.”
Be a mother and then…
    “I’ve got a stud you could help me with. He was abused. Doesn’t trust anyone.”
    “I’d love to help. I mean if you don’t mind.” She would jump at the chance to have something useful to do in the months leading up to her baby’s birth.
    “Thanks. I’d appreciate it. When can you come see him?”
    “I’m responsible for watching my younger brother, so—”
    “Bring him along,” Devon said.
    “You wouldn’t mind?”
    “I like kids. I plan to have a few of my own someday.”
    Pippa felt her heart sink.
A few of my
own
someday.
Not someone else’s. And not right now. Which shouldn’t matter, if all she wanted from Devon Flynn was friendship.
    “Do you do all the ranch work yourself?” she asked.
    He nodded. “I hire a couple of hands