Chapter 2

“But you don’t have your ring on?”

“Oh, Ohm.” Emily said, regarding her hand. It was an odd thing to notice, but she was not used to the ring; it was too flashy for her simple taste.

“I noticed you had on a stunning rock last night.” Mark tried to make the situation light.

He shook his head to clear it; in fact, it was a good thing that she was married. Mark didn’t have space for any women in his life. He had none since he had woken up in a strange place.

But the good Lord, who was he kidding? For her, he could make room. She was all he could think about.

“I’m sorry if I startled you; I’m always up early. I love this time of the morning, before it becomes too busy for me to enjoy the ranch.” He offered when the tension between them became too palpable.

“Oh. What is it you do here?" Emily inquired, her curiosity piqued.

She did not associate men with his looks with a ranch, but there was something about him she could not put her finger on, only if she could place him.

Mark had a handsome face, but more than anything, it was his eyes that haunted her and had kept her awake at night.

As she looked at him more, her conviction grew that she knew him from somewhere.

“I work the front desk, and if there is anything you want help with, I’m your guy.” He was uncomfortable with this line of questioning, and Grace noticed.

“I hope the room was up to your liking, Mrs. Anderson," Mark added.

“The room was perfect. Please call me Emily; Mrs. Anderson makes me feel so old.” She was blushing, which made her even more radiant in Mark’s eyes.

“Ok Emily, and then you can call me Mark.” He smiled and extended his hand for her to shake.

She took it and felt electricity pass through her and dropped it.

“I’m sorry, Mark. That was rude of me. I’m not like this.” Why was she so affected by Mark?

She had met handsome men before; Owen brought them by the dozen to their home for dinner, but none had ever affected her the way Mark did at that moment.

“It was nice to meet you, Mark. Can you show me the way to the stables?” She said, feeling a ball the size of a tennis settle at the base of her throat.

For the love of all that was good, she needed to get a grip, she was in a new country, with a new identity, and she needed to stop seeing ghosts from her past everywhere she turned.

Luckily it didn’t look like Mark noticed as he continued being the generous host.

“Would you like me to show you around before your husband joins you?” He asked;

Emily thought that if Mark was equally affected by her, he hid it well. She chuckled at her own silliness; she didn’t have to project her own madness on him.

Of course the man was used to women throwing themselves at him; what could a simple housewife bring to the table that hadn’t been offered to him before?

An image of a sleeping Owen crossed her mind, and her shoulders slumped. She didn’t expect that Owen would be in a hurry to wake up, but she needed to remember who she was and why she was there in the first place. To save her marriage.

Most marriages failed once the couple got bored of each other, but hers to Owen had failed to take off, and already it seemed like it was giving in.

“I would love that, but only if I’m not taking you away from your duties.” She replied, hoping that he could stay a little while, if for nothing else, just for the conversation.

“Not for a while.” Mark said, and Emily followed him out, her silky blonde hair flowing gently in the morning breeze.

“I read about the ranch having one of the best bred stallions in the brochure. I’ve been looking forward to seeing them.” Emily said.

“Which ranch doesn’t?” Mark gave out a playful chuckle, “Does your husband ride?” He looked at her over his shoulder as he stood in front of the silver-grey mare and rubbed her.

“This is Florence.” He continued with his easy conversation. Leading her further into the stable.

“No, I’m afraid my husband doesn’t care much for the outdoors.” She wanted to add that he was always busy with work, but Mark didn’t need to know all that.

“I’m sorry about that; maybe there will be an activity he will enjoy.” He doubted it even as he said it, he knew all he could about her husband and from what he had read, the man was a workaholic with a failing company and marriage at the brink of folding.

Even without reading anything about their marriage, a blind man could tell it was almost over. She was looking at horses with him instead of cuddling up in bed with her husband; in fact, he had expected her to make an appearance sooner than this.

“How long have you worked here at the ranch?” Emily followed behind him while he walked towards another horse.

“A couple of years.” Mark answered vaguely.

“What did you do before that?” She would never admit it, but there was something about Mark that she found intriguing and she wanted to know everything.

“I worked in the city.” Mark was not rude, but he was not forthcoming either. The answers he was giving sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

Sensing that Mark was being deliberately closed off on the topic, Emily let it go and continued to admire the majestic beasts.

“Ever ridden one of these before?” Mark asked, even though he already knew the answer to that.

“Not in recent years, no.” Emily replied, but Mark could see the longing in her eyes. It had been a lifetime away, a life she no longer wanted to remember, and a part of her that was dead.

Hot tears threatened to cloud her eyes, and she was thankful for the time of morning; the stable’s source of light was the few lanterns on the wall by the door.

“I can take you after you’ve had breakfast with your husband.” Mark offered.

“No, that’s okay; I’m sure you have a lot to do.” Even as she said the words, she was still looking at the horse. It was a fine horse; she could see herself riding it. Mark came in closer.

“I insist,” he said, and Emily looked at him.

“That would be lovely.” They locked eyes for a few seconds before they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

They turned to find one of the kitchen girls. Emily had seen her last night when they arrived.

“I was just showing Mrs. Anderson the horses. She would like to take one for a ride after breakfast.” Mark offered moving away from Emily and towards Lilith.

Lilith nodded her head in response. Not quite sure how she was supposed to respond.

“Yes, sir.” Lilith said, looking sheepish, and Emily couldn’t understand why she was being shy around Mark.

“Mr. Anderson is at the breakfast table; he was asking for you...Ma’am.” Lilith said to Emily, and couldn't get away fast enough.

“Yes. I better go. Thank you, Mark, for showing me the horses.” She said and trailed behind Lilith.

Emily hadn’t heard Mark’s response if he had given it.

D*mn it, what was wrong with her? Why did it matter if he did or not?

Her job was to try to convince Owen to go riding after breakfast. It would be a new experience for them, exactly what this trip was about. Creating new experiences with her husband.