To Have a Wilde (Wilde in Wyoming) (10 page)

Chapter 15

H
is words began to register in her consciousness and when they finally did, she broke off the kiss, shoving against his chest so hard she made him stumble, surprising him.

She stared at him, her breath coming out in strangled gasp.

She couldn’t believe him.

Absolutely couldn’t believe he would say something like that to her, much less think she’d be capable of that.

The thought dawned on her, saddening her, that for all the respect she had for him, obviously he didn’t return that same respect for her. She fought back the emotion that came with the realization.

“Is that what you think? This is all a part of some game, that I went to bed with you for you to sign some stupid contract?” she spit out, disgusted with him, but more disgusted with herself for getting so caught up in him that she hadn’t seen him for what he was—an insecure jerk with a chip on his shoulder.

“The question is,
Key,
” she said, emphasizing his name, and his eyes narrowed, “not what do I want from you...but what exactly do you want from me?”

* * *

His jaw tightened as he glared at her. One part of him wanted to show her exactly what he wanted from her; the other wanted to walk away and leave her and the situation alone, order her to get the hell off his land...out of his life, before things got more complicated than they already were.

Damn her for twisting his gut up in knots.

“Get out. Just get the hell out and forget the damn contract. I wouldn’t work with your ass if you were the last damn Hawaiian rancher, what the hell ever, on the earth!” She screamed the words, not caring if she was making any sense or not. She wanted him out, before the tears she was barely holding at bay fell. The last thing she wanted was for him to know just how wrapped up she was in him, how his careless words hurt.

“Just get ou—” The rest of her angry demand was caught in his kiss.

She struggled in his hold, determined not to give in to him despite her traitorous body and its immediate betrayal of her.

He held on to her, laying siege to her mouth until she sighed, her body going limp as she moaned into his mouth. Finally he released her. Placing his forehead against hers, he whispered.

“Forgive me. I shouldn’t have said that. I know it’s not true,” he said softly.

Still, the sting of his words hurt deeply.

She turned away, trying to hide the tears but knowing it was no use. He had to know by now how hopeless she was around him. She refused to look at him. “Please...just go.”

“I can’t.”

The words caught her off guard. She turned slowly, eyeing him warily. What trick was he up to now?

“I can’t, because if I do, I know I’ll be making a dumber mistake than the one I just made. Please, Sonia. Forgive me. I...I want this, whatever it is, to work. I know it’s not going to be easy. We’ll find a way to separate the business part of our relationship from the personal. Please,” he said when she tugged her bottom lip, still unsure.

When she finally agreed, he lifted her in his arms and turned with her, ready to seal the promise with a kiss. Pinning her to the wall, her legs wrapped around his, he softly ground into her, groaning harshly as she responded in kind, rotating her hips against his shaft as she returned his kiss, stroke for stroke. He broke the kiss and stared down at her, his nostrils flaring.

“What we do, on a personal level, is simply between me—” he bent to capture the rim of her lip and tugged it deeply into his mouth before releasing it “—and you.” As he lowered his head to kiss her, the sound of a door banging open had them springing apart, and Patricia walked inside.

Her glance fell back and forth between the two, a sly smile crossing her face as she caught the look of wary guilt cross Sonia’s face.

“I, uh...didn’t know you were otherwise occupied, Sonia. I’ll come back at a more...convenient time, hmm?”

Wishing for a timely hole to open up so she could fall in to it, Sonia smiled weakly at her assistant, wildly thinking of something, anything, to say about what she’d just seen.

She came up with nothing.

Keanu glanced at Patricia, his handsome face devoid of any telling expression. “You might want to knock next time, Ms. Haynes,” he said before turning to Sonia, pulling her into his arms and kissing her fully on her surprised mouth.

“I’ll see you after quitting time. Come to the house for dinner,” he said, and turned on his booted heel and strode from the room, leaving an openmouthed Patricia staring after him and a ridiculous, happy grin on Sonia’s face.

Chapter 16

“B
eautiful out here, isn’t it?”

Startled, Sonia turned when she heard a voice behind her.

She had not expected anyone to be out so late, and neither did she really want anyone to connect the dots and realize that if she was out here at this time of the night...correction, morning, then odds were that she hadn’t gone back to her hotel last night.

Again.

Not that Keanu was trying to keep it some deep dark secret, she thought with a grin.

When she saw that it was Ailani, she relaxed and forced a smile of what she hoped was welcome to her face.

“Yeah, it is. Beautiful, that is,” she replied softly.

Sonia turned back around to face the orchard, raising her face up to the moon and allowing the slight breeze to blow across face. The smell of hibiscus and fruit in various stages of bloom from the orchard hit her senses as it blew with the wind.

“I love it out here, too. It’s where I come to think,” the other woman disclosed, coming to stand next to Sonia.

Sonia’s head turned enough so that she could make eye contact with her.

In all the time she’d been at the ranch, the few occasions she’d actually spoken to the foreman...or forewoman, as the case was, had been few and far between. When the crew had first come to the ranch they’d interviewed many of those who worked the Kealoha. The young woman who was newly promoted to the rank of ranch foreman was an angle Sonia and the director had wanted to really explore, as they both agreed it was yet another twist to an already unique situation.

Yet after the initial interview it was clear that Ailani Mowry wanted nothing to do with either the show or Sonia.

When the director had approached the Kealohas about her, they’d been told in no uncertain terms that
anyone
who worked the ranch did not have to agree to be on the show.

Although Sonia knew there was a story behind the reserved woman’s refusal to be on the show, even in passing, they’d had no choice but to respect her decision, as well as her privacy.

The only thing she had learned about the foreman was that her father had once held the same position and that she had both worked and lived at the Kealoha from the time she could walk.

“You know, when you all first came to the ranch, I was really pissed off.”

“Excuse me?” Sonia said, her eyes widening at the woman’s choice of words. She hadn’t been sure what to expect from her early morning visitor...but that certainly hadn’t been it. “Uh...care to explain that?” she asked, at a loss what to say.

Something of what Sonia was feeling must have shown on her face, because she laughed outright.

“Oh, God, that came out pretty rough, huh?” she said, and began to chuckle. “I’m so sorry. Being around guys as much as I am has a habit of wearing off on a girl. Blunt is the only way they do it around here!” she replied. “Please, forgive me!

“Okay, let me start all over again. Hi, my name is Ailani Mowry and I have a tendency to blurt things when I’m uncomfortable.”

With a remnant of the smile still on her lips, she struck out a hand for Sonia to shake. An answering smile on her face, Sonia replied, “Hello, Ailani, my name is Sonia Brandon and I sometimes talk to myself when no one is around,” she replied, deadpan, and both women laughed.

The tension dissolved and the ice was broken. Both women leaned against the fence, sharing a companionable silence for long moments. Deciding to go out on a limb, Sonia faced the other woman.

“You know, when I first saw you interact with Nick and Key, I was...jealous,” she said, forcing the words out.

“Oh, yeah? Why?” the beautiful woman asked, arching a brow. “Or are you just getting back at me for my earlier faux pas?” she asked skeptically, and Sonia smiled, shaking her head.

“No, I’m serious,” she replied, and turned back to look at the orchard.

She reached out to pick one of the abundant hibiscus flowers from the overhanging branch. She brought it to her face and inhaled, thinking.

“I thought you had a...thing going on with one of them.”

Ailani laughed out loud, her beautiful white teeth gleaming in the night. “Oh, Lord,
everyone
thinks that at one time or other about me and the twins, I swear!” She realized how that sounded and held up a hand. “Not me and
both
at the same time!” Again, she groaned when that sounded even worse.

Sonia laughed out loud, too, unable to hold back the humor.

“Seriously, Nick and Key are like brothers to me. There may have been a time a while back when Nick and I might have had a thing going, but...” She shook her head, shrugging a ghost of a grin on her full mouth. “Nah, but that was a long time ago. These days the only thing I have time for is the Kealoha. Never leaves me lonely, always there when I need her. She’s the best friend and lover I’ll ever need,” she quipped, but behind the pleasant facade, Sonia caught a glimpse of something more, something the woman kept hidden.

She smiled across at Sonia, and Sonia returned the smile, choosing not to dig into the hidden glimpse she spotted beneath the surface. Maybe one day the two of them would become close enough friends that the other woman would feel comfortable disclosing more.

Even as she thought that, Sonia realized that her time at the ranch would end soon, and she and Ailani would probably never be afforded the chance to form a lasting friendship.

The thought was depressing. Soon, her time with Key would be over. She sighed and pushed the gloomy thoughts away.

“What about you? Apparently more than the Kealoha...ranch that is, brought you out at this time of morning. I’m guessing you stayed last night,” the other woman said bluntly.

Sonia laughed. Well, so much for not digging into each other’s business.

As soon as the words escaped, Ailani’s lighter brown face flushed a dull red.

“God, I’m so sorry. Remember my introduction?” Ailani said on a groan. “I swear ‘the one who blurts things’ should be my new moniker,” she said, and closed her eyes, both hands covering them in her embarrassment.

Sonia laughed out loud, the slight tension completely evaporating again.

She could really learn to like this woman, she thought.

“Girl, it’s okay! Really,” she began, and stopped before she laughed again. “Hey, it’s not like it’s that big of a secret, what with me wearing the jeans I had on yesterday and Key’s shirt,” she said. Surprisingly Sonia felt none of the self-consciousness that she would normally feel given the situation.

“In answer to your question, yes, I did spend the night here,” she said, and although she didn’t say the obvious, that she and Key had spent the night together, she knew the other woman was fully aware of that.

While she didn’t exactly flaunt their relationship, Key had never made it a secret that the two of them were involved.

“And, like you, I came out here just to think. Key brought me here a couple of days ago to show the orchard to me,” she said, bringing the flower to her nose to inhale.

The other woman leaned over the wrought-iron railing to snag a flower, as well.

She toyed with one of the petals, her features thoughtful. “When we were kids we used to hang out here a lot. Whenever one of us got in trouble, or just needed a place to hang for a while, cool off or think things over, this is where we came.” A half smile lifted the corner of her generous mouth. “This became the safe haven. Stemmed from playing hide-and-seek here when we were kids. Remember when you were a kid and you’d run and play hide-and-seek, and you’d try your hardest to reach base before you got tagged?” she asked Sonia who nodded her head in agreement.

Although there were times when she traveled with her parents that Sonia had been in countries outside the United States, hide-and-seek seemed to be a universal game all kids knew and loved.

“It was one of my favorites,” she replied in remembrance.

“Yeah. That was always one of my favorite games as a kid, too. This was where we all used to play the game. Somehow it’s always been the place to draw me as an adult. My safe place.” She turned around, her gaze encompassing the ranch as far as they could see.

“The Kealoha has been my safe haven. When my father retired, and I went to school, I always knew I would return to the ranch.”

“Did you do so right away?” Sonia asked. “Come back to the ranch?” she clarified, and Ailani shook her head.

“Not at first. It took me a while to come back. Did a bit of traveling, finished working on my master’s,” she said, and must have caught Sonia’s surprise as she laughed. “Does that surprise you that I have a master’s degree and I’m a rancher?” she asked, one brow raised, hand on hip.

“No, not at all! Key has one, as does Nick,” Sonia replied. “I just didn’t realize you had, too. But it doesn’t surprise me. The people, as well as this amazing ranch, stopped surprising me a long time ago,” Sonia said, and the other woman grinned.

“Most people thought the reason I left was because of the relationship Nick and I once had. But it wasn’t. I always knew I would return. No other place felt...right,” she said, and for a moment Sonia envied her, the sense of home the other woman felt at the ranch.

Sonia had never felt like that about any place. She wondered if she ever would.

Ailani continued to speak, unaware of Sonia’s disquiet. “I came back because here...I feel like I have a real home here. A real family. The Kealohas are really special folks. It was just my dad and I for a long time. I never really knew my mom. She died before I was old enough to even walk,” she said with a shrug. “And the boys...their parents, always made us feel at home here. The fact that I was...different,” she said, alluding to her dual heritage of African-American and Hawaiian, “didn’t matter. Family is family, was what their parents always said.” She paused, her glance taking in the horizon, hugging her arms around her waist as she gazed out over the west pasture where the rising sun was coming into view.

“That has now become a motto of sorts at the Kealoha,” she said, and both women were silent for long moments before Ailani spoke again.

“It’s the only place I’ve ever felt like that. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Couldn’t imagine any place else feeling like home. Do you know what I mean, Sonia?”

Even though she smiled and nodded her head, Sonia
didn’t
know the feeling. She never had experienced that feeling.

And deep down she knew she had always been searching for that feeling of home Ailani spoke of.

“Keanu is special, Sonia. He loves this ranch, family, and those he calls family mean more to him than anything or anyone. He would do anything to protect both. I would hate to see him hurt. He’s a good man,” she said, and even though she spoke softly, the words rang as a warning.

Sonia turned to face her. “I would never hurt the Kealoha Ranch...or Key. They both mean more to me than I can say. I know I’ve just been here, in his world, in your home,” she said, acknowledging what the ranch meant for Ailani, “for a short while, but both Key and his ranch...his family, mean a lot to me.” Sonia made the admission freely, and although she wanted to look away, to hide the vulnerability she felt must be showing in her eyes, she held the other woman’s gaze.

Ailani must have seen whatever she was looking for in Sonia’s gaze. Her face softened, again, and a genuine smile graced her face.

She turned, as did Sonia, and together they watched the sun rise, bringing in the new day.