Gentling the Cowboy (19 page)

She pushed at his arm, but he didn’t move it. She snapped, “Just being sorry isn’t enough. Get out of my car. I’ll hook my trailer, get Scooter, and you’ll never have to see either of us again.”

He held her captive by blocking what would otherwise have been her escape route. “You can’t leave in the middle of the day without setting up places to stop along the way, and you shouldn’t drive while you’re upset.”

She hated that he was right, but that didn’t stop her from spinning in her seat and snarling, “You don’t get to tell me to leave and then sound like you want me to stay.”

His jaw tightened, and his admission sounded as if she’d wrung it from him. “I didn’t tell you to leave.”

Sarah’s blood pressure rose and she shook her head angrily. “You think I’ll stay with you, knowing you have no feelings for me? Are you hoping for a bit more cheap sex before I go?”

He didn’t look pleased, but he said, “You can have the guest room again.”

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat.
What is he saying? What does this mean?
“And what? We act like nothing happened?”
I can’t do that.

“Or you make the phone calls you need to and leave when you’re ready.”

I can’t do that either.

I can’t go back to where we were, like the last week didn’t change everything for me.

And I hate you for being able to.

How can you close me out like this?

“No.”

“I’ll ask Melanie if you can stay with her for a few nights.”

Brilliant idea, because that’s the only place I can imagine I’d be less comfortable.

I should peel out of here, letting the smell of burning rubber express my feelings.

Sarah searched Tony’s expression for any sign that he cared for her, but he had his walls firmly back in place.
There are about a million reasons why I should tell you where you could shove that last suggestion.

And only one reason not to.

Because I’m not ready to give up on you yet, Tony.

“Fine, ask Melanie. I’m sure she’d love to have me.”

“You want Sarah to stay here with me and my son? Are you serious?” Melanie asked from the doorway of her house.

He looked her in the eye without answering her question. He didn’t need to. She knew he wasn’t the type to joke.

Melanie held the door handle with one tense hand. “Did you not see how she was with me the day you two left? We don’t get along.”

Tony wasn’t asking. He wasn’t budging until she agreed. “Sarah needs a place to stay while she sorts out how to get home.”

Melanie hedged, “How about a place in town?”

Tony shook his head, unwilling to even consider the option.

Pursing her lips in irritation, Melanie said, “I don’t see why she can’t stay with you. It’s not like the whole town doesn’t know how close you’ve gotten.”

He was about to tell her that the house she lived in was his, not hers. Anger swept through him and he’d barely opened his mouth when Melanie spoke before him in a rush. “I shouldn’t have said that. Whatever happened between the two of you is none of my business.” When he didn’t say anything, she said, “I need this job, Tony. Sarah can stay here.”

A wave of shame swept over him, rocking him back on his heels.
When did I become the man that single mothers believe would throw them out in the streets with their children?
He rubbed his forehead angrily. Her house was the only home her son had ever known. He removed his hat and said, “You’re not fired, Melanie.”

Melanie nodded, visibly relaxing in response to his quiet tone. He hated the tears that came to her eyes as she said, “Thank you. I don’t know where I’d go if I was.”

Tony shook his head, his remorse deepening, and although he strove to distance himself from it, he couldn’t muster anger or indifference. All he felt was a deep regret that she had lived so long in a state of desperation that he’d never even noticed. Why didn’t she have savings? She didn’t pay rent. Where was her money going? He felt worse when he realized how very little he knew about a woman who had worked for him for the last four years.

He turned to walk away. The screen door slammed behind him and he figured Melanie had gone back inside until he heard her call his name. “Tony.”

He looked back over his shoulder.

“Send Sarah over. I have an extra room just sitting here and it might be nice to have another woman to talk to.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said gruffly.

She squared her shoulders and put on a bright smile. “I know I don’t, but I want to do this for you. Send her. It’ll be fine.”

He settled his hat deep on his head and nodded without returning her smile. “I appreciate it,” he said and realized that he sincerely did. Those two women were like oil and water, and Melanie’s instincts were probably right that mixing the two wasn’t wise, but he wasn’t ready for the alternative.

He wasn’t ready for Sarah to leave.

In her wildest imagination of how her first day back on Tony’s ranch would go, Sarah had never dreamed it would include an invitation from Melanie to stay at her house for a couple of days. Sarah searched her face for a sign of sarcasm but found none.
What did Tony threaten her with that made her willing to stand there and pretend she doesn’t hate me?

Instead of feeling triumphant in the face of her rival’s humility, Sarah felt profoundly sorry for Melanie, and before addressing her housing offer she knew there was something that needed to be said. “I am so sorry for what I said to you last week. I was wrong and I was rude. I felt awful about asking for my notebook back from your son. If it wasn’t full of personal information, I would have let him keep it.”

Melanie’s eyes locked with hers in surprise. “He knows better than to take what’s not his.”

“Could I buy him a few coloring books before I go?”

Melanie stiffened with pride. “We don’t need anything.”

Sarah suppressed a grimace. No matter how hard she tried, she and Melanie just didn’t work. “I know, but it would make me feel better about how I behaved.”

Lips tight, Melanie said, “I’m not going to poison you. You don’t have to be nice to me.”

Sarah smiled nervously. “That’s a relief.”
Crap, I can’t believe I forgot about that.
“Listen, your offer is nice, but we both know it’s not a good idea. The sooner I leave the better.”

Melanie took a piece of paper out of her pocket. “A friend of yours has been calling all week. Maybe you should call her back. She might be the solution you’re looking for.”

Sarah took the paper and her lip curled slightly in distaste.
Lucy? Seriously?
She crumpled the paper in her hand.

Melanie said, “She called almost every day.”

She can call until the end of eternity and I won’t call her back.

“I have to go make lunch. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

Still feeling badly about the last time she’d seen Melanie, Sarah couldn’t help but ask, “Is your son with you today?”

Melanie shook her head and looked away. “He was tired today, so he stayed back at the house with David.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Is he okay?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Melanie answered shortly and walked away, disappearing into the hallway that led to the kitchen.

That seemed to be a theme around here.

Sarah went to her purse and found the list of places where she’d stayed on the way down—all horse-friendly bed and breakfasts. She called the closest one. No availability for at least a month. Crap. The same answer from the second place she called. Full up.

I could call Charlie. He’d know what to do. No, I need more time before I face him, before I even begin to try to regain what we’ve lost.

And I can’t stay here and pretend last week didn’t happen.

Melanie walked into the living room again, this time with a cordless phone. She handed it to Sarah. “It’s your friend again.”

Shocked into silence, Sarah took the phone and held it to her ear.

Lucy gushed a greeting. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I finally reached you.”

Before this goes any further it’s time for a bit of honesty.
“I don’t want to talk to you.”

In a much more subdued tone, Lucy said, “I deserve that, I know, but please don’t hang up.”

Sarah sighed and didn’t.

Lucy continued, this time sounding a bit desperate. “You don’t know what it has been like here. I had no idea how badly we were doing until right before you arrived. We could lose everything, Sarah. My brother missed five months of mortgage payments. The bank is threatening foreclosure. We’ve been scrambling to sell whatever we can to hold them off.”

Sarah sat down in the chair behind her. She didn’t want to feel anything but anger for her old friend. “You should have told me. I could have helped you figure it out.”

After a quiet moment, Lucy said, “I didn’t want you to see me like this. I was embarrassed.”

Rubbing a pounding temple, Sarah said, “So the better option was to leave me stranded in a part of the country I’ve never been in before?”

“Stranded?” Lucy’s voice sharpened. “You said you were staying with friends.”

I lied,
Sarah wanted to scream.
Pride makes people say stupid things, apparently. It can even kill what I thought was a solid friendship. Maybe it’s time to just pack up, admit this adventure is a complete disaster, and call Charlie.

“I had no idea you knew Tony Carlton.” Lucy said his name like he was famous or something. “Do you know what most people would do to visit his ranch just once? He’s a big deal around here.” After another awkward pause, Lucy said, “I know you’re still angry with me, but I need your help. My brother and I both do. Maybe the bank wouldn’t care, but could you ask Tony to call and ask them to give us just one more month? I’m working a deal with someone to buy our herd. It would be enough to bring us up to date. I just need one more month.”

Dismay filled Sarah. “I can’t do that.”
Because there’s a good chance we’re not talking to each other anymore.

“Please, Sarah. Don’t say no.” Her friend’s voice broke a bit with emotion. “My brother would kill me if he knew I was asking you, but this ranch has been in our family for five generations. Steven gave up everything to keep it going after my parents died. I didn’t know how much it meant to me until I came back to it, and now we’re going to lose it. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what happened when you first got here, but I was in shock. I had just gotten the news. Please, one phone call. I made a mistake, and it’s one I deeply regret. Haven’t you ever done something you wish you could undo?”

Low blow, Texas.

“How would a call from a horse trainer convince a bank to do anything?”

“I’m only guessing, but a man with as much money as he has must have it spread around. If he has a good portion of it at our bank, sometimes rules can be bent to accommodate the people they don’t want to lose.”

Resigning herself, Sarah said, “I’ll ask him, but I doubt he’ll say yes.” She remembered his words earlier:
I don’t have time for other people’s problems.

Lucy let out a shaky sigh that was laced with tears of relief. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“I’m not promising anything,” Sarah warned.

Lucy’s voice was thick with tears. “I understand and I know this doesn’t mean that everything is okay with us again, but I really am sorry.”

“I’ll call you when I know something,” Sarah said and hung up.

That might take a while, though. I’m not sure I know anything anymore.

She found Tony outside, giving Scooter fresh water in his paddock. Her heart warmed at the sight before she remembered the many reasons she wanted to kick him in the shin.

He said, “Did you sort it out with Melanie?”

Sarah nodded. “She was very nice and seemed to sincerely want me to stay with her, but I said no.”

There was a beat of silence, then Tony asked, “You staying in the spare room, then?”

Shaking her head, Sarah said, “No, I can’t see how that’s a good idea either. I’d head out tonight, but the places on the way back are booked for now. I’ll probably leave Scooter here for a few days if that’s okay and find a place in town. I’m sure I can find something if I can use your phone.

Tony looked as grim as she’d ever seen him but said nothing.

What do I have to lose?
“I do have something I wanted to ask for, though. A favor. I know you don’t like getting involved, but this could really help someone I know.”

Amazing how those green eyes can look right through a person and hide so much at the same time.
Sarah looked down at her white sneakers in a protective move of her own.
Okay, here goes nothing.

“Remember my friend Lucy?”

“The one who ditched you the first day you were here?”

“Yeah, that one. Well, we talked and it sounds like she did it because she’s in a rough spot financially. I don’t know why she thinks that a phone call from you would convince her bank to give her and her brother more time to settle what they owe, but she asked me to ask you.” Sarah raised her eyes from studying the toes of her sneakers to meet his. “So, I’m asking you. Would you do that for me?”

Let’s play a game.

How many ways can a cowboy say, I don’t care about other people?

In five, four, three . . .

Tony closed the gate behind him. “I’ll make that call for you.”

Sarah almost sank to her knees in shock, but she steadied herself by holding onto the railing of the paddock.

Tony pulled her away from the railing and into his arms. His lips hovered over hers, his eyes glittering with a passion she’d begun to believe had died when their trip had ended. “On one condition.”

“Yes?” Sarah asked and licked her lower lip.

He buried a hand in the back of her hair and tipped her head up until her lips parted for him. “You stay. In my room, in my bed. Mine, whenever I want you.”