Free The Fifth Season by Julie Korzenko Page A

shrugged.
    “You think he knows about Emma?”
    “I think if I’m vying for the most powerful seat in my homeland, I’d be damned certain there was nothing between me and that election.”
    “This is a lot to absorb. I need to do some research on our Mr. Adams.”
    Ethan nodded. “And Emma?”
    Stone shrugged. “I’ll talk to her. Now, here’s the million dollar question. What the fuck was Margaret thinking leaving me River Run?” He snagged the last beer in the bucket and inhaled a gulp.
    “I don’t think your grandmother expected you to want River Run. What she expected was for you to protect Emma.” Ethan sighed and squeezed Stone’s shoulder. “I also believe she prayed you and your daddy would find a way back one another.”
    “That’ll never happen.” Stone recognized Ethan’s silence for what it was. Disagreement. He appreciated his cousin’s refrain from verbalizing what Stone didn’t want to hear.
    Ethan finally let out a shallow laugh. “And, deep down, I think she was playing matchmaker.”
    “What? Me and Emma? We’re like oil and water, man. That’s also never gonna happen.”
    “Really?” Ethan said, his mouth twitched with laughter.
    Stone glared at his cousin. “Really.”
    “Have you looked at her? I mean really looked at her?”
    Stone slid his boots on, stood, tossed his empty bottle in the bucket. “I’m not going there. Ever .”
    “Okay. Seth will be thrilled to hear that. He’s got a bit of a crush on little Emma.”
    Stone jogged to his truck and waved back at his cousin. “Fine, she’s all his.”
    “If you say so,” Ethan laughed as he walked into the house.
    Igniting the engine, Stone continued to frown. What was it that Ethan said that’d turned the afternoon grey? Emma. Danger. He was on that. No worries. Something else niggled, something about Seth, but it was as elusive as a mole in sunlight.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    I thought you were someone else , Stone’s voice taunted. After all these weeks, you’d think she’d find a way to fix this scratch in her memory. Stone’s verbalization about his tryst with Tilly grated her mind like nails on a chalkboard.
    Emma made her way down the winding, gravel drive. Fall snapped its fingers last week and painted the horizon with vibrant orange and red. Two months, she mused. She’d survived two months within the same household as Stone Connor.
    She wondered whether Stone’s four seasons meant the entire season or if he’d be free of the ranch by springtime. If so, they’d waltzed right into Season Two, and she figured she’d almost crossed the halfway point.
    Over the past weeks, River Run symbolized a trophy neither Stone nor herself were willing to relinquish. They’d drawn lines, schemed and then arrived at the same conclusion. Working together appeared to be the only solution. Stone stepped into his authoritative duties, protecting his legacy with the iron hand of a military general. Emma catered to the guests, reinforced River Run’s five-star rating, and prayed nightly her boss didn’t turn his razor sharp intuitiveness in her direction.
    Inhaling the brisk autumn air, she stretched her arms to the late morning sun. Last night, the temperature dropped into the low forties, and the first fire of the season crackled and burned in River Run’s hearth. She could smell the burnt oak each time a soft breeze blew from behind. The sun promised to warm the day, holding at bay the icy wind that blew from the top of the Grand Tetons. It’d be another few weeks before first snowfall.
    Emma finally reached the main gate. Where was Nate?
    The crunch of gravel to her back made her sigh with a bit of dread. She turned and waved as Stone Connor pulled his Jeep to the gate. “Hop in,” he barked.
    “I’m meeting someone.”
    Emma watched a myriad of emotions cross Stone’s eyes, but he bit back any reference to his father. “Can you call and reschedule. We need to talk.”
    Panic bubbled in her gut. “Can it