Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

RAEANNE THAYNE
27
coffee and walked outside with the awkward rolling
gait she hadn’t been able to conquer when wearing her
prosthesis.
The morning air was sweet and clear, rich with new
growth, and she paused for a moment on the front porch
to savor it.
Nothing compared to a Rocky Mountain morning in
springtime. She had come to love the wild primitiveness
of the desert around Phoenix in the dozen years she’d
lived there, but this was a different kind of beauty.
The Tetons were still covered with snow—some of
it would be year-round—but here at lower elevations everything
was green and lush. Her mother’s fruit trees
were covered in white blossoms that sent their sweet,
seductive scent into the air and the flower beds bloomed
with color—masses of spring blossoms in reds and
yellows and pinks.
The Luna in spring was the most beautiful place on
earth. Why had she forgotten that over the years? She
stood for a long time watching birds flit around the
gardens and the breeze rustle the new, pale-green leaves
of the cottonwood trees along the creek.
Feeling a tentative peace that had been missing inside
her for months, she limped down the stairs in search of
her mother.
There was no sign of Viviana on the side of the house
or in the back where the vegetable beds were tilled and
ready for planting.
Maggie frowned. So much for being coddled. She
didn’t want her mother to feel like she had to babysit
her, but she couldn’t help feeling a little abandoned.