Once and Always (Women of Character) (11 page)

"My pipe wrench is still in
there." She put the snake on the floor, knelt down and reached her arm in
the lowest opening. As she fished around on the floor inside the cabinet for
the wrench, her movement brought her close to him. Tyler stared at the fine
silkiness of her hair, the almost black lashes that seemed incredibly long. She
muttered an apology when her elbow jabbed him in the chest.  Their eyes were
mere inches apart when she pulled the wrench out. Tyler stared into her eyes,
falling into the old fascination with the green and hazel flecks in the irises.
She blinked and quickly pulled herself back from him, then bent over and
hoisted the silvery coil of the snake onto her shoulder. "I'll put this
away and then we can go down to the barns. Sorry for running late," she
mumbled.

Tyler noticed the sandwiches on a
plate on the counter behind her. They'd been loosely covered with plastic wrap
to keep them from getting stale. His stomach chose that moment to rumble. Annie
looked at him in startled surprise. He started laughing and she began to laugh
also.

He leveled an intensely serious
look at her. "I don't know any other woman who would have crawled under
the house or snaked the sink line."

Annie lifted a brow. After a
moment, she said, "Maybe you've been seeing the wrong kind of women."

"Are you asking me if there
have been others?"

Annie hesitated. "I don't
want to know." She backed up against the counter. "People move on,
lives change."

"You've changed," Tyler
said, not wanting to talk about the past. "I never expected to see you
wrangling anything, especially a plumbing snake."

She shrugged. "You're right―six
years ago I wouldn't have crawled under there and risked getting cobwebs in my
hair." Her expression looked slightly bemused. "As far as that goes,
I wouldn't even have known where to find the plumbing."

"We're both different
people." Tyler wondered if she'd turn her back on him now, like she had
then. This time, would he let pride and anger get in the way and walk away so
easily? "Can we eat those sandwiches?" he added abruptly, eyeing them
hungrily.

Annie's eyes flickered and she
squared her shoulders, as if she would challenge him for abruptly changing the
subject, but then she simply nodded. "That's why I made them. Let me get
washed up."

On impulse and giving in to need,
Tyler leaned in close and kissed Annie's mouth. Startled, her eyes met his,
very close, their depths deep green with surprise, and then a hint of sultry
satisfaction.

"When opportunity presents
itself, I hate to miss it."

"Well, maybe next time you
should at least ask," she said softly, dipping her head down.

Tyler wiped his palms on his
jeans, but kept his voice low. "Annie, you know I've never been one to ask
for anything." Temptation rode him to do more than put his mouth on hers.

"Yes, I remember." It
sounded almost like a whisper, but he felt as if he'd just been accused him of
something. He took a half step back, reminding himself it was a bad idea to try
mixing business with pleasure.

Ω

After cleaning up and a quick
lunch, Anna walked with determination beside Tyler on the narrow path to the barn.
She kept telling herself to relax, but her body wasn't listening. She gave him
a sideways glance and grimaced. The attraction she felt for him wouldn't leave
her alone, causing thoughts to run helter-skelter through her head. In the
kitchen earlier, her skin had fairly jumped with sexual awareness and he'd just
stared at her with that intent gaze of his, no doubt thinking she was a mess.
Maybe she should have let him take care of the clogged line. But old habits die
hard, and with money being scarce the last few years, she'd tried to fix
anything that cropped up. Only as a last resort had she called in
professionals.

"Danny left earlier,"
Tyler said. "He was pretty adamant that I tell you. He seemed to think
you'd be worried about him."

Anna smiled, thinking fondly of
Danny. "He likes to check in and out."

"He also mentioned a flower
patch. Irises."

"He brings me flowers. He's
done it ever since―well, since Martin died."

"Danny seems to think you
worry about where he is, but I have a notion he's keeping tabs on you,"
Tyler said slowly, frowning. "He mentioned he took you to the hospital
once. When was that?"

Evasively, Anna said, "It was
a long time ago. Danny keeps an eye on everything around here. I'd have been
lost without him."

"Did you ever notice he's
always hanging around? I'm not saying he's stalking you, but −"

Anna looked at him, affronted.
"You think he's spying on me?"

"All I'm saying is his
preoccupation with you seems a little over the top."

Anna stopped. "You know he's
not like other people, but he takes his job here very seriously. Everything he
does is with the best intentions." She faced him squarely, a tight feeling
in her chest. "Don't look for trouble where there's none. If you hurt
Danny, I'll take it personally."

"I'm not after him, but if
something has the potential to throw a wrench in my plans, I'll address it. Do
you find that unreasonable?"

Anna said more calmly, "I'm
sure you'll soon realize there's nothing to worry about and that Danny's an
asset to this ranch. Now if we can continue to the barn, I have plans to meet
with Sara this afternoon."

As the barn came into view and the
pasture beyond now dotted with unfamiliar horses, Anna welcomed the
distraction. "Your horses are already here," she said with pleased
surprise.

"They arrived a few hours
ago. I thought we could take a look at them together later."

Inexplicably, Anna's heart rate
quickened the closer they drew to the pasture lot. There were several grays,
she counted three blacks, a tall bay and a chestnut filly the color of warm
honey. It had been so long since the pasture was filled with horses, she
couldn't help but think this was a good start.

"You put them in the pasture
that has the good fencing?" she asked anxiously.

"Yeah. I've got a small crew
coming in tomorrow to start on the rest of the fence."

She gave him a tentative smile.
"You don't know how wonderful it is to see livestock once more in the
fields."

"They're having a great time
on the grass," he said. "I've been figuring up how much hay we'll
need to make it through this winter," Tyler went on conversationally.
"I'm making plans to lime and fertilize also."

"More hay, liming and
fertilizing?" she mused, staring at the grazing horses. They seemed quite
content in their new surroundings. "That sounds like long-term planning,
as if you're thinking of staying longer than the one year."

"I have to think long term
until plans indicate otherwise," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"The land certainly needs fertilizing. I want to bring everything up to
par. If this works out, maybe I'll lease it next year too. I like to leave my
options open." He shaded his eyes to glance at the mountains in the
distance.

Anna knew it was too early for her
to even think about letting him lease it next year.

"How much hay did you put in
before you had to buy from outside sources?"

"The last two years I've had
hay brought in for my mare." She looked away from him. "After the
fire, I stopped cutting the hay."

"You had a neighbor cut it
for you before that?" he asked.

"No, Danny and I cut and
raked most of it, then I had someone bale it." She saw his surprised look.
"I told you, I had to take care of whatever I could on my own. I couldn't
afford to hire people."

"I guess I'm amazed at what
you've taken on. I notice there's about twenty acres that have been left
untouched. If I fertilize and reseed it, next year there should be a nice
cutting off it. The way the grass is growing this spring, it won't be long
before I can start."

"I guess it's your choice
what you decide to do," she said, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. Anna knew
he'd never agreed with the way Martin ran the ranch. He'd felt they should
modernize and expand but Martin had been happy with the old ways. She had to
wonder if Martin's finances would have fared better if he'd been willing to
bend a little.

"What other plans do you
have?" she asked, quickening her pace as they drew level with the area
where the barn and foreman's cottage used to stand. But Tyler stopped and
looked out over the clearing, so Anna wrapped her arms around herself and
waited. She hated this spot. It brought back too many painful memories. She
turned away from it.

"I spoke on the phone with
the building inspector about permits," he said.

"Why?" It was all she
could manage. Uncomfortably, she stuffed her fists in her jeans pockets. She
didn't want to think of the cottage and attached barn that used to stand there.
She lifted her gaze and stared at a flock of birds overhead instead.

Tyler walked into the clearing,
halting at the stone foundation just visible at ground level, the entrance to
the cottage where white lilacs still grew. Anna did not move any closer, she
couldn't. This site held too much memory and pain. Even now, she heard a
ghostly reminder of screams.

"This foundation is in
relatively good shape," he added, touching the toe of his boot to a few
stones. "I thought about erecting an outbuilding on this spot. What do you
think?"

Anna tried to shut out the raw
memory of flames lighting a night sky, the horses ―

"It'll probably raise my
taxes and I think it's a poor idea." She hated the churlishness in her
voice, but she had to leave the immediate area. She turned and hurried toward
the barn. If he wanted to build a hundred sheds on old foundations, so be it,
but she wouldn't be a part of it.

She stopped in the open barn door,
trying to control her breathing, not wanting to look wild-eyed and teary. Tyler
came up behind her and grabbed her shoulder. "Annie."

Quickly, she blinked, backing away
from him. "Feel free to make your plans," she said tautly, keeping
her body stiff. Anna watched the breeze play through his hair, splaying the
fine strands across his forehead. He wouldn't understand what she herself
couldn't explain. "I don't know what's wrong. Maybe there's too many
ghosts for me to sit idly by while you change everything." Part of her
wanted to keep the Double B as it was while the rational part knew things never
remained the same.

The sound of hooves hitting boards
reverberated throughout the barn. They both spun around. Anna hurried into the
barn, her feet knowing every crevice of the shadowy interior by heart. The
barn, redolent of hay and horses, filled her nostrils, the earthy scent
familiar and beloved. She'd spent so much time in this barn that it had become
a sanctuary, as this ranch had become her sanctuary. Her hiding place.

When she drew level with the last
stall, the horse inside whinnied loudly.

"Spirit, why are you in here
all by yourself?" The gray's small pointed ears pricked forward and she hung
her head over the stall door. Anna traced her fingers over the horse's velvety
lips as they had done a thousand times before, then she cupped the soft nose in
her palms.

She twisted around to look at
Tyler. "She hates being inside. Did you put her in here because your
horses are in her pasture?"

"Early this morning she acted
like she had a touch of colic. I put her inside to keep an eye on her. I
figured if she started having trouble, I'd have the vet come around. Luckily,
she seems okay." He lifted a dark brow. "Believe it or not I didn't
put her in here to curtail her freedom."

Heat moved up Anna's neck.
"Sorry I jumped to conclusions."

He lifted his hand and gently
pushed wisps of hair behind her ear. Anna held back the shiver his touch
created. She watched his eyes, barely daring to take a breath. She didn't want
him to have the power to move her, to make her relive the old emotion.

"I hate it that you make me
remember how it used to be between us," she said tautly, but she didn't
try to evade him. The touch of his mouth was feather soft at first, then more
insistent, almost frightening in its raw appeal. She had the sinking suspicion
she could kiss him all day and then into the night, and still want more. She
put her palms against the solid wood behind her as his mouth, once, twice,
touched her lips and she breathed in his clean scent. Part of her started to
burn, and that's the way it had always been with Tyler. There was pain in
remembering what they'd lost. She hadn't allowed anyone close in such a long
time. She hadn't been ready. Tyler's closeness, his kiss showed her with
shattering ease how wonderful and pleasant the experience could be. Anna kissed
him back.

His hands, big and calloused,
moved gently on her shoulders.

Her horse nudged her shoulder,
grounding her in reality. She twisted away and stumbled a few steps to the
center of the aisle. "Getting involved will hurt both of us and it'll ruin
everything."

He stared at her quietly and she
held her breath, wanting so desperately to say the hell with it and kiss him
again. Finally, when she was sure she couldn't handle the silence, he blinked
and gave a short nod of acknowledgement.

"You've got a point," he
said tightly. "We're on the right track with the ranch, we can't afford to
mess it up." He turned and stood in the door opening, silhouetted by the
light outside. Several moments passed and she fought with herself to keep from
going after him as she wanted to do.

"If you're still
interested," he finally said, "I'll tell you the rest of my plans."

Anna wiped her damp palms on her
jeans and clenched her fists. "Yes, of course I want to hear
everything." She walked toward him and wondered how he could sound so
normal. Why had he kissed her? Was it just the moment? Introducing emotion or
going into an affair would change everything. She wasn't the type of woman for
an affair. She wouldn't be able to walk away. She'd been hurt so much the first
time.