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landscaping business. And it flourished quickly.
More money than he was used to started to roll in,
and things between Garcelle and him started to
change.
    "No, you just broke up with me because you
didn't want to be tied down," she snapped. "The
dinero and your business went to your head. The
women were crawling all over you, and you wanted
anything in a skirt. What? The grass-or should I
say ass-wasn't better, like you thought?"
    "I just wanted to check on you and see how
you're doing."
    "I'm doing fine," she told him, climbing back
onto her bike.
    "You looking fine as hell, too," he said, his eyes
taking in her long, shapely legs and round buttocks in
the cutoff jean shorts she wore. "Damn fine, bonita."

    Garcelle hated that her pulse raced. She absolutely
hated it.
    Joaquin was gorgeous. He had angular features,
a tall frame, and those dark and swarthy Marc
Anthony type of gorgeous looks. Garcelle had
fallen for him hard the first time he asked for her
number. They had been inseparable during the last
year of the relationship, and his sudden declaration
two months ago that he wanted his freedom had
rocked Garcelle's world. She was just starting to feel
fully recovered. She was just starting to feel like the
old Garcelle.
    No matter how fine he was. No matter how good
she knew the loving was. No matter how much she
used to miss him and crave him like a drug. There
was no more Joaquin and Garcelle. They were finito.
    Garcelle pushed off on her bike. "Adios, Joaquin,"
she called over her shoulder.
    "Garcelle-"
    "A-di-6s! "
    Garcelle cruised into the front yard, jumped off
her bike, and parked it next to her car, which was
in dire need of a paint job and some other repairs.
It was over twenty years old, but she loved it because
she'd bought it with her own hard-earned money.
    She barely took a second to grab her bag from
the basket before she dashed into the house. She
didn't even waste her time to see if Joaquin had left
her alone as she'd ordered. She had a dinner of
chili con carne to finish before her familia got
home for the evening. Although she said she was
tired of taking care of them, Garcelle knew they deserved a home-cooked meal after a hard day of
work at the Circle S Ranch. Even little Paco would
spend his summer days helping out.

    Garcelle added the beans to the chili and stirred
it slowly before she tasted the broth. She added a
little more crushed red pepper and salt before she
replaced the lid and turned the electric burner on
low. She was just gathering the ingredients for a
quick corn bread when there was a knock at the
front door.
    Thinking it was a persistent Joaquin, Garcelle
slammed the spoon on the counter, sending bits of
the cornmeal batter flying. She turned and stormed
out of the kitchen on her long, shapely legs and
snatched the front door open. "Are you stupid or just
crazy ... ?"
    The rest of her tirade trailed off into nothing as
she looked up into the surprised face of Kade Strong.
    Garcelle rose up on her toes to look over his
shoulder. There was no sign of Joaquin or his car.
Dropping back down on her feet, she gave him a
weak smile. "Sorry. I thought you were someone
else," she explained, with a faint smile, as she leaned
against the open door.
    "I can come back," he offered, sliding his large
and strong hands into the pockets of his tan Dickies
pants.
    Garcelle reached out to lightly touch his arm.
Her eyes didn't miss the way he flinched slightly
from her touch. She instantly withdrew her hand.
"How can I help you?" she asked coolly even as she
noticed the descending sun illuminating off the big
silver curls in his hair.
    "You could pretend my being here doesn't annoy
you," he said in a dry tone.
    Garcelle bit back the smile that threatened to
spread across her face. "Well, hello, Kade Strong. It
is so splendiferous to see you on this glorious day. I was just saying how wonderful it would be to see
Kade Strong, and here