“It could if you don’t start taking better care of yourself.” Lily got up and sat in the chair beside Zurie. “You’re not eating properly. Your blood pressure is higher than it should be, and you’re probably working on an ulcer. If you don’t make some changes, there’s a possibility the next time we have this conversation, you’ll be in a hospital bed. You’re only thirty-seven. You’re too young to fall apart like this. Slow down before it’s too late.” 

The voice mail alert pinged on Zurie’s phone as Lily’s words resonated. “You mean don’t be like my dad.” 

Before her father, Mathew, had passed away, everyone had urged him to slow down, but he’d pointed to his full desk as the reason he couldn’t. 

Natural causes had been the official ruling. Some believed that as a widower, he’d worked himself into an early grave trying to hide from the pain of losing his childhood sweetheart, but still ... 

The image of her father burdened by stress wove through the tapestry of Zurie’s memories like a too-bright thread, standing out. “If I had insisted he take time off, if I had begged, he might be alive today.” 

Lily lightly squeezing her arm alerted Zurie that she’d spoken aloud what she believed in her heart. “I know losing your father was a tough blow, but you can’t blame yourself. No one knows what could have changed the past. I think the bigger question is, if your father were here right now, what would he tell you to do?” 

Chapter Two

Zurie sat in the large brown leather chair that had once belonged to her father. 

Sun from the window behind her glared off the financial spreadsheet displayed on the wide-screen computer on her desk. A few files and papers sat in the in-box on the left far corner of the desk while the out-box on the opposite side was full . 

Not letting work pile up. Leaving nothing undone. That was her life as the co-owner of the stable. But today, for the first time in a long while, one uncertainty remained. The answer to the question Lily had asked her earlier that morning. 

“What would he tell you to do?” 

He’d tell her that Tillbridge had to come first. But if she didn’t slow down and take a break as Lily suggested, she could end up letting down everyone who counted on her. 

A knock at the door pulled Zurie from her thoughts. The meeting. 

She’d lost track of time. “Come in.” 

Her cousin Tristan, the stable manager and also a co-owner of Tillbridge, entered the office carrying his phone and a notepad. With his close-cut black hair and the strong angles of his brown face, he reminded her of their twin fathers, Mathew and Jacob. 

From the faint smudges of dust on his standard work attire—black work boots, jeans and short-sleeved navy pullover—he’d come straight from the stable or one of the pastures. 

He tipped his head toward the round meeting table on the other side of the room. “You ready?” 

“Yes.” Zurie took her padfolio from the left-hand drawer and grabbed her phone from the desk. 

As she joined Tristan, she deciphered his slightly puzzled expression. She was usual y already at the table, counting down the minutes to their 10:00 a.m. Wednesday meeting while squeezing in emails, calling her remote assistant, Kayla, and planning for the next meeting afterward. 

Another knock sounded at the door and her sister, Rina, breezed in. “Good morning.” 

She laid her phone and keys on the table. Just like Tristan, she had on jeans, plus she wore a lemon-yellow T-shirt with the white coffee cup logo and name of the café she owned, Brewed Haven. A matching headband held back her long braids, but the sunny color wasn’t as eye-catching as the light of happiness in her brown eyes and the natural glow in her cheeks. 

As Rina sat down, Tristan chuckled. 

About Nina:

Nina Crespo lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions — the beach, a good glass of wine, date night with her own real-life hero and dancing.

Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel.

Let Nina’s sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.

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