She still couldn't believe that she had packed up and left Chicago just a few days ago, only a couple of weeks after a surprising phone call from her grandfather. "Grandma and I are retiring to Florida," he had chuckled, "and we want you to have our house."

The invitation couldn't have come at a better time for Amanda. She desperately needed a change of scenery. She had lived in Chicago all of her twenty-eight years, and was eager to move away from the city's fast-paced lifestyle. Besides, her web design business was primarily over the internet, allowing her to live wherever she wanted. So, thankfully she accepted her grandparent's offer right away. And now she was in Sunnyvale, Texas, living in a house that she had loved since childhood... a house that her grandparents had lived in for thirty years while working for the wonderful people who owned the ranch next door.

Amanda had spent most of her summers at Moonlight Ranch when she was younger. And the owners, Thomas and Barbara West, gave her open access to all activities. So, she attended summer parties, mingled with ranch guests, and developed a serious crush on the West's son, Noah, who was four years older than her. After all these years, Amanda still felt a shiver when she thought about him!

Breaking from her thoughts, before she became lost in the past, Amanda combed her fingers through her long hair and shuffled to the telephone. On her way, she stopped at the kitchen window and noticed another rider approaching the runaway horses and clumsy ranch hand. She stood on tiptoe and leaned over the sink to get closer to the window, her nose almost touching the glass. The new rider casually trotted his Palomino up to one Chestnut mare and grabbed the loose reins dangling from the bridle. The mare resisted but then seemed to calm down as the man hopped from his mount and brushed his hand across the mare's neck.