Free Unforgettable: A Loveswept Classic Romance by Linda Cajio Page B

had an advantage over his own. The hearing aid made it visible early on to people. His dyslexia was easy to hide. People wouldn’t know until he chose to tell them, and it had become a lifetime habit to choose not to.
    He had been one of the unlucky ones, and hadn’t been diagnosed early. Instead, he’d been labeled disruptive and lazy, and had been sent away tomilitary school to “shape up.” Finally one of his teachers had realized he needed help, and eventually he’d overcome the dyslexia.
    Still, the emotional scars had remained until college. It had been a small college, but just getting in had done much for his low self-esteem. His socially conscious parents, unsupportive as ever, hadn’t wanted him to sully the family name by failing. He’d gone anyway. He’d even gotten engaged in his senior year to a “deb.” And he’d confessed, with a laugh, his dyslexia. Unfortunately, she hadn’t laughed. Instead, she’d broken off the engagement because she didn’t want to have “problem” children.
    He had come home that summer so embittered. He’d known he could never open himself again to a woman. And then on impulse he had kissed seventeen-year-old Annie Kitteridge at a dance … and had realized that whatever he’d felt for the deb had been nothing compared to what he’d felt in that instant with Anne. Life, with its wry sense of timing, had really shown him what he could never have. Anne had left shortly afterward for the racing world she loved, and he was never sure if he should have been grateful or angry with her for doing so.
    “It’s almost dinnertime,” Philip said. “Would you like to stay for dinner if it’s okay with Grandmother Lettice? She’s cooking tonight. Sometimes the owners stay.”
    He thought of his earlier reaction to Anne, of her coolness to him. What was the sense of staying when nothing could be changed? Truthfully, she was treating him like a business associate, and he ought to accept it. That was all he’d wanted when he’d offered her Battle Cry.
    “Sure,” he said with a grin. “I’ll stay.”
    By the time Anne left the stable after ten o’clock, three new foals had come into the world. Jonas had been right on target, she thought, stretching her arms over her head. All three mares had delivered in classic assembly-line procedure—with no complications. Smiling, she admitted she liked that best of all.
    Although she’d missed dinner and was feeling tired, she decided to take the long route to the house by way of the stallion barn and breeding shed. A few steps farther to enjoy a brilliant spring night sky wouldn’t hurt.
    She wondered if James would be there tomorrow, and immediately stopped herself. She refused to think about him again. He was the owner of one of her horses, that was all. She’d been living on one lousy kiss too long.
    She tried to keep her mind on the business of tomorrow—Battle Cry’s first mating. They’d allowed him these past days to adjust to his new surroundings, and he certainly seemed content. He was eating well, running the pastures, and accepting treats from the various people who would be involved in his new “profession.” Otis felt Lollipop was ready, and Curtis had told her Battle Cry was itching to go. Tomorrow was the big test.
    As she passed the darkened stallion barn, Anne grinned. She hoped Battle Cry would prove to be a “happy camper” in his retirement and accept all the mares sent to him.
    The breeding shed loomed on her left, and she remembered being in there with James. It had taken every ounce of her willpower to resist theurges that had run through her that morning. Lord, how she had wanted him. But, she told herself, she didn’t want him now.
    Hoping to head off her dangerous thoughts yet again, she decided to check the lock on the breeding shed. An employee was assigned to stay in the animals’ buildings each night, but head grooms were responsible for locking up the various sheds. She trusted them, but