Free Untouched by Maisey Yates Page B

one.
    “Hope we aren’t too late.”
    Lark looked up and saw a couple walk in. Guests, she assumed. In their early forties. The woman was pretty, with light blonde hair and blue eyes, and the husband was better-than-average-looking. Probably the kind of guy who looked better now, more distinguished, than he had at twenty. Tall, broad and with chiseled features.
    Normally she booked guests, but thanks to the very easy computer program she’d gotten set up, even Cole could do it when he had to. As a result, Lark didn’t know the new couple.
    “Not at all.” Cole smiled and gestured to the big table. “Have a seat.”
    They ate family-style at the ranch. There was a smaller dining table in the kitchen for when privacy was required, but generally, the Mitchells, the employees and the guests all ate at one big long table, sharing in their cook’s amazing skills.
    Meals were always loud, and Lark sort of liked it that way, because it gave her the ability to talk to Kelsey without her brothers being able to overhear. Of course, Kelsey was a self-confessed rat fink who would give her secrets up to her husband, but she wasn’t going to give Kelsey any of her real secrets.
    The wife of the couple sat down next to Lark, while the husband sat across from them, next to one of the ranch hands.
    “Jill.” The woman extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Lark,” she said. “Lark Mitchell. Part owner of Elk Haven Stables.”
    “Oh, great. It’s nice, a family ranch like this.”
    “Yeah, when it’s not claustrophobic,” she said, being perfectly honest.
    “I’ll bet.” She smiled, the expression tugging at lines around her eyes.
    Kelsey leaned over and introduced herself, and the three of them spent the rest of dinner having innocuous conversation about activities at the ranch. When dessert was served, Kelsey suggested the women move into the living room with coffee and their apple pie.
    Lark sort of wanted to go up to her room and hide, because she felt like all of her issues were written clearly all over her face, and if Cade looked at her long enough, or hard enough, he would be able to read exactly what was going on.
    Still, she didn’t want to say no. Mainly because she would feel like a jerk for bugging off, and she already felt like a jerk.
    She settled onto the couch and looked out the windows at the mountain view. It was getting dark outside, the last lines of pink fading over the tops of the hills. A reminder of how much she valued her home. Her family.
    “So, Jill,” Kelsey said. “Cole and I have been married for about a year. How long have you and Sam been married?”
    “Twenty-three years,” Jill said, her smile looking a little strained to Lark.
    “Wow,” Kelsey said. “That’s inspiring.”
    Jill laughed. “Is it?”
    “Well, yes, looking at you from this side of a year. Of course, I never expected to end up out here with him anyway so the whole thing still kind of blows my mind.”
    “I never really expected to be here either,” Jill said, looking down into her coffee. There was something sad about her, something that even Lark picked up on—and the fine art of social interaction and recognizing nuances of human emotion wasn’t really her thing.
    “Didn’t expect to be where?” Kelsey asked gently.
    Jill let out a slow breath. “Just make sure you keep talking to each other, Kelsey. Stay interested. It’s funny. You live with someone for so long, they become part of everything you do. And eventually you get so used to them you stop realizing they’re there. Until one day you look up from your work, from taking the kids to all their sporting events, or whatever it is you do, and you realize this other person is still there. And that you’re not really sure who they are anymore. It sounds crazy, but . . . but it’s how it happens.” Jill took a sip of coffee. “And I didn’t mean to be a drag. I’m sorry.”
    “You aren’t a drag,” Kelsey said. She had that look on