Unbridled (25 page)

She was afraid Connor would appear and there would be another smackdown, or worse. Alex knew she had to get her head on straight before she talked to him, starting with settling the dust with James.

The Lexus pulled up and Alex jumped in without waiting for him to open the door. The surprise on his face was evident; then it was replaced by concern when he got a look at her colorful bruises.

“Jesus, Alex, I’m so sorry.” He reached out to touch her but she pulled back.

“Don’t think because I called you that I want to start any kind of relationship with you, least of all allow you to touch me because you feel guilty.” She waited until he drew his hand back before she relaxed. “I figured we ought to talk and clear the air.”

“I appreciate that. I really do.” A blinding smile. “Where would you like to go?”

“Nowhere. Let’s just sit here in the parking lot and talk.”

A flash of anger in his gaze disappeared quickly to be replaced by a calm one. James was still playing games with her and it pissed her off.

He pulled the car into a corner spot, out of view of the main building, then shut off the engine. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I hope you realize I feel terrible about the whole thing. I wanted to apologize to you but I found out you had a concussion and I felt even worse.”

“Eight bouquets definitely constitute an apology,” she murmured.

James waved his hand. “There’s a hothouse I use regularly. The roses were just a bit of brightness for you while you recovered.”

“Orange roses mean you want to move from friendship to romance; did you know that?” She watched his face carefully enough that she saw the recognition in his gaze. Oh yeah, he knew exactly what orange roses meant.

“I thought of the sunset and how much you said you loved to watch it. The roses reminded me of it.” He shook his head. “There was no other special meaning, I assure you.”

Bullshit, of course.

“James, let me get straight to the point about why I called you. I am at a crossroads in my life and I’m still not sure which way I want to turn. I might stay at Finley’s or I might move on.” Her throat grew tight at the notion of leaving the land she’d come to love again. “Pressuring me to sell to you is not going to make my decision easier. While I appreciate the offer to buy the ranch, right now I just don’t know what I want.”

“But you’re not saying no?”

“I am not saying no, but I’m not saying maybe either. I simply don’t know yet.” She wrapped her arms around herself as a chill crept up her spine. “I realize that sounds like a lot of bullshit but I’m asking for your patience to sort things out.”

His gaze dropped to her breasts and she wanted to smack him. Why did men always think it was a good thing to stare at a woman’s tits? Jesus please us.

“James, my face is up here.”

“What? Oh, of course, I just noticed you had a stain on your shirt.” A lame excuse but she let it pass.

“As soon as I make a decision, I will call you and let you know. Until then, please just let me have time and space to think.” She couldn’t be clearer than that.

“Are you asking me to leave you alone?” This time the shock on his face was genuine. Obviously he’d never had a woman kick him out of her life before.

“Yes, I am. Give me some time and space—that’s how you can make amends with me over the incident.” She pointed to the side of her jaw where the yellow, purple, blue and black rainbow resided.

“Yes, of course. I will respect your wishes.” He turned to her, and suddenly the suave seducer was back. “Just know that I will be at your beck and call if you need me.”

“Sure thing.” She put her hand on the door handle when he put a hand on her knee. “I’d remove that if I were you.” What the hell was it with men in Wyoming who thought they could simply touch her whenever they wanted?

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He sounded anything but as he took his hand back. “I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you need to talk.”

Fat chance of that happening.

“Thanks for coming over.” As she climbed out of the Lexus, she sucked in a lungful of fresh air.

Alex felt much better, with a clearer head than she’d had in the past couple of weeks. With a little wave to James, she closed the door and walked away. If she was lucky, it would be a while before he decided to woo her again. By then, she planned on having her decision made on where her future was.

 

 

Connor tried to swallow his anger, but it was really damn hard when he saw Alex climb out of the black Lexus. She had left him to be with James Howard again.

Son of a bitch.

He knew he just needed to go to work. It was already nearly ten o’clock and he hadn’t even stepped foot in his office yet. He’d been looking for Alex all over the ranch, only to find her exiting James’s car. Bernice warned him to behave himself, to treat Alex well and be patient.

He could hardly stomach the thought of being patient right about then. Maybe if she hadn’t spent the last three nights in his arms, hadn’t shown him exactly what she liked in bed and how she liked it. He’d become attached to her—hell, he had been arguing with himself on whether or not he was in love with her.

Now he knew he was and it hurt like a bitch.

Alex walked slowly through the parking lot, arms hugging her middle, with her gaze on the horizon. She never even looked toward him, never knew he was simmering in anger and hurt.

It seemed that every aspect of their relationship was full of so many ups and downs, he felt almost dizzy from the changes in altitude. If that was what love was, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to follow her. What kind of idiot would open himself up to pain and misery, even if it meant experiencing intense pleasure and joy?

Connor started after her.

She wasn’t walking fast so he caught up to her within a few minutes. Judging by the direction she was going, Alex was headed toward the cabin. He didn’t know whom he was angrier at, her or himself or James Howard.

“Alex.”

She froze in place at the sound of his voice. “Connor.”

He walked around until he was in front of her. She looked serious and wary, which she probably should be.

“I saw you with James Howard again.”

“And?”

“The man punched you so hard, you got a concussion when you hit the ground. You’re damn lucky you still have all your teeth.”

Her gaze narrowed. “I don’t need a history lesson.”

“Obviously you do.”

“Get out of my way, Connor. You’re being an ass.” She brushed past him without waiting for him to move.

That just pissed him off more. Alex had to see how destructive it was for her to be around James, for all their sakes.

When he grabbed her arm, she stopped again. “I should kick you for touching me.”

That stung. “You had no objection to it last night or the night before or the night before that, as I recall.”

“Let’s not go there, Connor, okay? Right now I would like to be alone.”

He didn’t remove his hand and he literally felt her muscles tighten beneath his fingers.

“No, we’re going to talk about this right now. You cannot imagine how much it makes me crazy to see you consorting with him.” He sounded like a fool but the right words just wouldn’t come.

“Consorting with him? Is this war and he’s the enemy?” she snapped.

“Yes, actually, it is. I’ve told you that time and again but you won’t listen. He is the enemy and he’s tried to get his fucking hands on Finley’s more than once. You’re giving him the opportunity to succeed.” Connor’s entire body felt like it was on fire; fury simply made him see red. “I won’t let you single-handedly destroy your father’s legacy.”

Connor didn’t remember her moving, but in seconds he was on his back in the damp grass, the breath knocked from his body. Alex’s knee was on his chest and she was literally vibrating with raw fury.

“Don’t you
ever
throw that in my face again.
I
was my father’s legacy and he did his best to destroy
me
.” She was amazing, like a Valkyrie warrior queen. Connor was speechless at the sight. “I wanted to belong here. I have nowhere else to belong. Just so you know, I don’t plan on destroying anything. Don’t presume you can tell me what I can or can’t do.”

Alex lifted her knee up, then rose. That was when he saw the tears in her eyes, but it was only for a split second because she turned and walked away. He suspected she didn’t allow herself the luxury of tears very often.

Connor knew Alex had issues with Grant, but he’d never probed her about what they were. Yet what he’d just seen made him realize Alex’s problems began and ended with her late father. If Connor had any chance of a future with her, he had to find out exactly what those problems were and help her work through them.

Although he never considered himself to be a shining example of how to overcome a completely fucked-up life, he had done it. This time it was more important to help her, for him to step up, than he was willing to admit.

As she ran to the barn, Alex didn’t care who saw her or what they thought of her. She needed to burn off her anger no matter how crazy she looked. Escaping from Finley’s, from Connor and James, from her own inadequacies was more important than looking like an ass.

The sweet odor of horse, hay and manure greeted her when she burst through the door and sucked in a much-needed breath. Daniel was exiting the pony’s stall and he jumped a foot in the air at her explosive entrance.

She gritted her teeth at his wary expression. Alex wanted to be alone until she calmed down. Judging by the kid’s expression, he wasn’t going to leave her alone, though. Truthfully he would remind her of exactly what she was trying to escape.

He clutched his chest dramatically. “What are you doing?”

“I needed to go for a ride.”

“You scared me.”

“Yeah, well, I thought everyone would be gone.” She hoped Rusty was still in his stall, although the barn was empty of a lot of horses. No doubt the guests were out playing cowboy.

“I’m not gone.”

“I can see that.” She brushed past him and headed for the back of the barn. As suspected, Daniel was right on her heels.

“Can I go with you?”

“No, I’m not good company right now.”

“Oh, c’mon. I can ride. I’ve been riding since I was two.” He practically danced up and down beside her.

“I don’t think so. It’s not a good idea.” She continued walking, trying her best to ignore the pleading.

“What if I say ‘please’?”

“Sheesh, kid, did you want me to say it in Spanish? No.”

“Crap.” Daniel kicked at a beam, and a burst of hay floated toward the floor of the barn. “You know, it isn’t easy to be a Finley, to never have any friends. I’m the only kid who lives here and nobody stays around long enough to be my friend. I thought maybe you would at least try, and, well, you’re my sister.”

That made Alex stop in her tracks. She heard a familiar tone in his voice, one she knew very well. It was loneliness, soul deep and painful. He was wrong about her not knowing what it felt like to be a Finley, to be so lonely she would beg someone who didn’t like her for company. Oh, he was very wrong.

Alex had lived half her life dealing with it.

“Okay, you can come. But I’m not waiting long so you’d best get whatever you’re riding saddled.”

He let out a whoop and ran for the tack room. They spent the next five minutes saddling the horses without talking. The kid knew his stuff and was ready with a little pinto long before she finished.

She chalked it up to being rusty at taking care of horses. After all, she’d ridden many times in the last month, more than she had in ten years. The eager look on Daniel’s face almost made her change her mind.

But she didn’t. They led the horses out into the sunshine. Alex ignored the fact he mounted without assistance while she still used the mounting block. Once upon a time, she was as young and enthusiastic as this eight-year-old.

“Where are we going?”

“You live here, kid; why don’t you pick a place?”

Daniel frowned as he adjusted the hat on his head. It was strange how Alex had put hers on without even thinking about it. After only a week of owning a hat, she was already accustomed to not leaving the house without it.

“There’s a secret trail on the north ridge. Only a few folks know about it and Dad showed it to me right before he . . . Well, I remember it ’cause I was on Buttons the pony and his legs were too short to go all the way up.” Daniel turned his gaze on her and she saw the challenge in his blue eyes.

“It’s hard, then?”

“Oh yeah, super hard.” He smirked. “Unless you’re chicken?”

“That particular insult went out of style thirty years ago. Now, let’s ride to that trail so I can smush that cocky grin into the ground.” She was pleased to see him grin, then spur his pinto into motion.