Last Chance Texas, page 10
When he finally turned around to speak, he sounded annoyed. “Can’t quite imagine what a city girl like you would want with a piece of property clear out here.” She ignored the way he said ‘city girl’, as though it was a curse and scooted back on the sofa, crossing her arms. She refused to answer his question; it was none of his damn business why she wanted the property.
He stared over at her for several seconds. When he began working the muscles in his jaw, she hoped he’d have the sense to apologize. Sure enough, he did.
“I’m acting like a complete idiot, Kelsey. I’m sorry.”
When she didn’t respond, he shook his head. “You’re not going to let me off the hook, are you?” His deep, gray eyes softened and as he began moving toward her, she realized staying annoyed with him wouldn’t be easy.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind, Kelsey. And mind you, I know that’s no excuse.” When he got to the sofa, he reached down for her hand. She pulled away and he sighed.
“Why don’t just come out and tell me what’s bothering you, Nathan?”
Ignoring her prodding, he completely changed the subject. “Would you go riding with me?”
“After you tell me what’s wrong.” She’d said it sternly enough for Nathan to realize she wasn’t in a mood for games.
“Kelsey, I think more clearly when I’m doing something. Just sitting around here like this is driving me nuts. I promise that if you go riding with me, I’ll be much more transparent. I have something important to tell you, but I’d rather do it while we’re riding.” When she scrunched her face up into a frown, he added, “You’ll see why once we’re out there. I promise.”
He reached for her hand again, and this time, she didn’t pull away.
“Okay, Cowboy. You drive a hard bargain. I’ll go riding with you, and then we’ll talk about what’s bothering you. Deal?”
“Deal.”
When he helped her up and began leading her toward the kitchen to get their jackets, she wondered what she was getting herself into.
~ ~ ~
Nathan headed into the barn, glancing over the fence at the parcel of land that had belonged to Mimi. If he had a lick of sense he’d have told Kelsey from the beginning that he was trying to keep her from inheriting her aunt’s land. But he hadn’t. And she’d be mad as hell at him for that.
He didn’t realize how far ahead of Kelsey he was until he heard the soft padding of her footsteps well behind him. When he finally slowed his pace, she scurried over to join him.
She stood silently, staring over at the horses as though frozen in place, wide-eyed, as though she might be losing her nerve about going riding with him.
“I can’t recall the last time I was on a horse.” When she laughed at her own comment, the laugh was deep and throaty. As frustrated as he was with Kelsey, her laugh was contagious. He’d miss her once she left.
His role as the great protector came into play. “Come on. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve got an old mare out there-Misty. She’s gentle as a lamb. How about you ride her?”
“Oh, thanks a lot. I get the old nag, huh?”
“Well, that didn’t come out quite right.” He could feel his mood lighten, just as it always did whenever he was around animals. It was the one thing he knew well; the one thing he felt confident about.
“Be forewarned, Nathan. Like I said, it’s been a while.”
“I’m a good teacher. You’ll be fine. I’ll guard you with my life.”
Twenty minutes later the two of them were on horseback, Nathan’s horse galloping with Kelsey’s mare trotting behind as she bounced in the saddle. The brook running alongside his land gurgled softly, thanks to last week’s dusting of snow. The twenty acres he owned (if you didn’t take into account Mimi’s land) gave them a substantial amount of territory to cover. And at the rate Kelsey was traveling, this could take all night. Of course, that suited him just fine. He wasn’t in a big hurry to tell her he’d been keeping the truth from her.
A gust of wind came out of nowhere, sweeping across his face. He breathed in the scent of the land, listening to the muffled sound of Dakota’s hooves thundering beneath him. But when he turned to look for Kelsey, he realized he’d left her in the dust.
She was straggling now, more than fifty yards behind him, so he slowed his pace until she caught up with him.
“I’m holding you up. I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem.” After he said it, she looked over at him and smiled. Those amber flecks in her chocolate eyes of hers could melt a Colorado blizzard.
She sat regally on her horse, at least, as regally as a person could sit on a horse sixteen hands high. He wouldn’t have figured she’d be much of a rider, but as the horse moved from side to side, Kelsey held the reins loosely-something a novice rarely did. Ordinarily they would hang on for dear life. She’d ridden before; that much was obvious. He watched her move with the horse, her body swaying gently. When she gave the horse a gentle nudge to go faster, her breasts moved gently as the animal broke into a trot. Exhaling sharply, he quickly looked away.
~ ~ ~
Kelsey was in awe at how relaxing horseback riding was. Nathan said little and stared straight ahead as the two of them rode at a leisurely pace. As the horses trotted side by side, he looked down at her and smiled.
As tense as he’d been earlier when they’d been in the house, he was much more at ease now. The lines of tension on his face, that hard glare had pretty much dissipated. Clearly, he was in his element perched atop his horse. He was a natural, plain and simple. As he sat upright in the saddle, his broad shoulders swayed slightly as he loosely held the reins.
“You’re a pretty fair rider. Let’s crank it up a notch.” When he made a clicking sound, giving his horse a slight kick, she realized he was serious. He seemed to be pushing her. Not too much, but just enough to challenge her.
He’d traded in his jacket for a vest earlier, and when the heat of the late afternoon sun glared down on them, she realized why.
As she studied the outline of his body against the backdrop of the foothills, he reminded her of the Marlboro man. Minus the cigarette. Although he did smoke a cigar now and then. At least, that’s what Jake had told her.
Nathan looked the tower of strength sitting on the paint he called Dakota.
He glanced down at her, a look of pride on his face. “You’re doing great, Kelsey.” The sound of the leather saddle creaking beneath him created a rhythm that lulled her. As she bounced up and down in the saddle, she could feel a gentle pressure as the leather touched the insides of her legs. Deep inside her, she felt the pulsing, the swelling. Her breathing grew labored, and as the desire intensified, she closed her eyes, shuddering until the sensation passed.
Opening her eyes, she gazed up into the distant hillside, struggling to regain her composure.
Nathan gazed down at her several times, but she quickly looked away. Making eye contact with him proved difficult now.
When a soft breeze whipped across her face, she shivered, wondering how far the two of them would go if she let go of the demons that haunted her . . . the ones who warned her to steer clear of letting a man get too close.
“You all right, Kelsey?” His voice had deepened now, and she entertained the notion that maybe Nathan was reading her mind, perhaps realizing she was a fraud. As deeply as she’d begun caring for him, she suspected he was unaware of the intensity of her feelings.
“Of course. I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.”
“Let’s stop for a minute. I want to show you something.” His body seemed perfectly relaxed now as he released the reins. The horse stepped back several times, but finally stilled himself.
Nathan dipped his head and then stared straight ahead at a mountain range. “The portion of the pasture closest to us was Mimi’s. The rest belonged to my grandparents. It’s been in my mother’s family for five generations.”
“You lived this close to my aunt? When we were at the cemetery, you said that you—”
He bowed his head again, but this time he didn’t look up. When he spoke, she heard the pain. “I’ve been keeping something from you, Kelsey.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I lied to you, Kelsey. Our family knew your aunt very well. You might say your aunt was almost a part of our family. I’ve been pretending all along I barely knew Mimi, but that just wasn’t the case. We were like family.”
As he stared down at the ground, a look of total self-contempt spreading across his face, Kelsey struggled to understand why a man would lie about something like that. Common sense told her she should be furious with him, but judging by his body language, the way he kept his head bowed, the way his shoulders slumped, she realized the guy had enough guilt to go around.
“Why would you keep something like that from me?”
He looked up, making eye contact again. She expected him to give her just a fleeting glance before looking away, but he didn’t. As their gazes locked, his deep gray eyes penetrated her, searched her, as though he was begging for another chance to explain himself. He swallowed several times, just as he always did when he was searching for just the right words.
“There’s a trucking company that’s been snooping around here looking for property. I was afraid if Mimi’s kin came to claim the land, they’d sell it to the highest bidder.”
“And the problem would be . . .”
“The problem, Kelsey, would be that they’d tear up the place running their machinery day and night. By the time they finished, the farm wouldn’t be fit to live on.” There was a look of panic on his face now and his eyes widened as he stared at her intently. “I know I should’ve told you sooner, Kelsey, but I was afraid that once you realized the land was yours, you’d try and sell it off. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? I’ve been taking care of it for nearly five years. Surely that counts for something.”
A wiser woman would have told the tall, broad shouldered cowboy to take a hike; tell him that no one had asked him to tend to Mimi’s land. But as things stood right now, she simply didn’t have it in her to tell him the truth. She fully intended to sell it and nothing would change her mind.
But today, on their last day together, she made the decision to give him hope.
“I haven’t decided yet, Nathan, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
The look of relief on his face was a sign that she’d done the right thing. For now, of course. Because once she headed back to Dallas, she’d phone the real estate agent and tell her to get things rolling. The sooner she got the land, the sooner she could turn it around. And now that she’d seen where it was, she suspected she’d have no trouble selling.
Chapter 8
As the two of them galloped back to the house, Kelsey wished she could start the entire weekend all over again. Going horseback riding with Nathan had released much of the tension between them earlier. They’d stopped by the creek for a long talk during which time he’d reiterated his fears about the trucking company taking over the land. It occurred to her Nathan might be playing her, talking endlessly about how much he loved the land-what a shame it would be to lose it to a business he didn’t want in his backyard. Hard to tell when you’d known someone for such a short time.
When a gust of wind swept over the horizon, he moved his horse closer to hers. Reaching out, he touched several tendrils of her hair, pushing them from her face. His touch lingered, and when she smiled over at him, he lowered his gaze. Aware he was staring at her breasts, she smiled to herself. In spite of the fact she’d probably never see him again, it was difficult not being flattered by the attention.
The second they got back to the barn, he quickly dismounted. Helping her down, he began putting away the equipment. They worked side by side, hanging things on pegs, engaging in polite conversation. He hadn’t continued pressing her about whether or not she’d sell the land to that trucking company. Either he didn’t think she’d go through with it, or he had more on his mind.
“I’ll just get the horses some hay and then I’ll take you to see the Marfa Lights.” She nodded numbly, realizing he had no intention of asking her to spend the night. She didn’t know if she should be relieved or disappointed.
He finished up and flicked the light in the barn off. “Well, I guess we’d better get going. Thanks for going riding with me. I never take the time to do that. I enjoy it when I go, but I just never seem to get around to doing it. Course, it’s more fun when you have someone to ride with.”
“Thanks for taking me.”
After she said it, he reached over, wrapping his hand about her forearm. He hung on for several seconds, before squeezing her arm. He slowly released his grip on her as their gazes locked. “You’re most welcome.” That husky tone in his voice had returned, and she struggled to keep the conversation superficial.
“I’ve enjoyed the time we spent together, Nathan.”
“Me, too.” He continued gazing down at her, his eyes never leaving her. “As weekends go, this was one of the best. At least, for me it was.”
She could hear the steady rhythm of his breathing now; smell the woody aftershave he was wearing. The cliché about someone taking your breath away came to mind. As the two of them stood there in total silence, she realized that if he made the first move, she wouldn’t be able to keep him at arm’s length like she had before.
“Kelsey.” She could feel the air being sucked out of her as he moved closer, tracing her chin with his calloused hand. “You’re pretty, you know that?”
“Th-th-thank you.” She barely got the words out before he pressed his mouth gently against her ear. The warmth of his breath left her aching with desire.
When he leaned over and kissed her, she kissed him back. As he tugged on her lower lip, the sensation she’d experienced while sitting atop the mare returned.
Suddenly he stopped, backing away from her. They were staring at each other now-the way two people do when words won’t come. When he finally spoke again, his voice was raspy as he reached for her hand.
“I don’t want this to end.”
“I could stay for a while . . .”
This is insane. You’re going to end up sleeping with him.
“Stay as long as you like.” His mouth tugged into a slow smile, and Kelsey wondered if the man had any earthly idea how attracted she was to him.
~ ~ ~
Nathan wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when Kelsey asked him to let her feed the animals. He decided she was stalling, but that wasn’t an altogether bad thing. He needed time to recompose himself. His mood soured as he considered that the two of them were about to do something they both might regret.
Was she playing him, getting his hopes up and then leaving him in the dust? The woman could probably get any guy she wanted. For all he knew, maybe she was just stringing him along.
He handed Kelsey the measuring cup and guided her over to the large bin storing the oats, she looked up at him, her dark eyes widening. “How much do you usually give them?”
“Just fill it up to that first line on the container. They get fat if you give them too much.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever seen a fat horse,” she said, joking. When he winked at her, she shrugged. He studied her face again, for the millionth time in two days. His eyes traveled down toward her breasts again, and he quickly looked away.
If she noticed him staring, she never let on. She began straightening several bridles hanging from the wooden pegs. “You’ve got quite a set up here. Four horses are a handful.”
“Well, we had more - a few years back.” When he didn’t elaborate, she looked over at him.
“Did your wife ride?” When he hesitated, she quickly added, “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have asked you that. It’s none of my business.”
“No, no, it’s fine. Michele did ride, but her horse had to be put down a couple years back. He had laminitis. As much as I know about horses, you’d think I could’ve saved him, huh?”
Kelsey didn’t reply, but gave him the same look she’d given him when the talked about the Randall boy and his wife being killed in the car accident; the same look that said she understood that we can’t always control things.
There was so much about her he wanted to know, but they were running out of time. She’d be leaving in just twelve hours.
~ ~ ~
It was nearly dark when they finally headed to the house. When Kelsey shivered from the brisk, evening air, Nathan placed his arm around her. “Gets cold once that sun sets, doesn’t it?” Instinctively she leaned into him and he quickly drew her closer.
When they reached the door of the farmhouse, Nathan propped it open and stepped back, allowing her to pass. He’d left the light above the sink on, so maneuvering her way about the kitchen proved easy. He followed her inside and retrieved the truck keys from the kitchen table.
He hesitated, and she could see the muscles in his jaws moving, as though he was about to say something. But he didn’t. Instead, he gave her a long, lingering look.
“Did you say something, Nathan?”
“I was thinking of building a fire. It’d be a shame to waste all this wood.” He quickly looked away, as though expecting her to decline his invitation. “Of course, if you need to head back now, I’ll drive you.”
