Dirty Little Secret

by Jennifer Ryan

  “She’s got one hell of a body to go with that face,” Robby added.

  Just to rile Mary, they clinked glasses again. Noah tried to hide the smile, but failed miserably.

  “But, I’d think two good and decent men—notwithstanding your antics tonight—would remember that girl stood up for Annabelle to Lisa, laid Tom out for being rude to her, and is changing her whole life to take care of a child that isn’t hers and she’s never met until a week ago. Beneath that pretty package is a good heart and a hell of a lot of pain and hurt. John left her. He never went to see her for years. Why?”

  “I don’t know, Mary.” Ashamed for being distracted by her looks and forgetting, even for a moment, that he didn’t really know her, or what she’d been through, he sobered. He knew the kind of hurt she must feel being left by a parent. He could only imagine what kind of life she had when she said her mother was worse than Lisa. He shivered at the thought.

  “I think I’ll go watch the ball game I recorded on the DVR. Want to join me, Robby?”

  “He’s going to help me with the dishes,” Mary interjected before Robby could say a word.

  “You had to know you were going to pay for the comment about Roxy’s ass,” Noah joked.

  Robby shrugged and gave Mary a wicked grin, smacking her on the bottom. “I’ll be making up for it real soon,” he teased his wife of more than twenty-five years.

  Noah rolled his eyes and cringed. Mary and Robby were dear friends, more like family than anyone else in his life. Thinking of them together in bed gave him the willies.

  “I’ll leave you to it.” Noah walked out of the room, Mary giggling like a schoolgirl at something Robby said in his deep voice.

  Noah settled on the couch in front of the big screen TV and lost himself in the game. With the score tied, he thought about Mary and Robby and their long and happy marriage. He envied them. They shared a deep love and a friendship that kept them laughing, talking, and sharing their time together with a kind of joy Noah could only hope to have with a woman. John had often nudged him in the ribs and pointed to Mary and Robby and said, “Now there’s a marriage.”

  Noah shook off his thoughts of couples and relationships and tried to focus on the ball game, but all he listened for was the sound of a car coming down the drive.

  Annabelle slid onto the couch beside him around ten. She stuffed a pillow at his side and lay down. He brushed his hand over her head and rested it on her arm.

  “How you doing, Sprite?”

  “I miss Dad.”

  He squeezed her arm and tamped down the sadness that hit him at odd times. “I miss him, too. Especially when I’m out riding. One of the mares gave birth and I turned to tell John the new foal was a beauty and realized he wasn’t there.”

  “He used to stop by my room every morning before school, poke his head in, and say, ‘Get a move on, girl. Time to learn something.’”

  They fell silent, lost in their memories. Annabelle broke into his thoughts of John always pushing him to be the best. “It’s late.”

  “She’ll be here,” he assured her, knowing very well how she felt. Their lives had already changed so much with the loss of John. Annabelle was counting on Roxy to be an added barrier between her and her mother. Noah hated to admit he stood a better chance of keeping Annabelle with Roxy beside him. They could provide a stable home as two parental figures. At least, he hoped the courts would see it that way if Lisa challenged them. If Roxy didn’t show, Annabelle would take it as a personal hit. She’d worry about when her mother was going to strike.

  The game ended with his team losing in the last inning. He watched the news, surprised by his relief at not seeing Roxy’s picture after some accident or other tragedy. Stupid to worry about her like this, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He had a lot of questions about her, her life, and the mysterious way John had treated her. Like a complex puzzle, he knew he’d spend far too much time trying to figure her out when he should be seeing to the ranch and Annabelle.

  Seven minutes into a late-night show, the comedian’s monologue unable to make him laugh, despite the clever jokes, he heard it. A car rumbled down the driveway, stopped, and the engine shut down. A wave of relief hit him like a sledgehammer.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Noah waited for the sound of the front door, but it never came. Annabelle stirred beside him. She’d fallen asleep shortly after their talk. He didn’t want to wake her if the visitor wasn’t Roxy, so he turned the volume down on the TV and got up, careful not to jar her.

  At the front of the house, he looked out the living room window and spotted the brand-new black Camaro parked in the driveway.

  Eleven forty-two. She’d cut it close. Too close for his comfort.

  She didn’t get out of the car, so he went out to get her. When he came around to the driver’s side door, he saw her, head back against the seat, eyes closed.

  Noah opened the door, expecting her to greet him in some way and surprised to see that only after a few minutes home, she’d fallen asleep. With her head tilted toward the center of the car, the dome light spilled over her face and highlighted the dark circles under her eyes. Drawn to her, so peaceful and sweet, he reached out and traced his fingertips over her soft cheek. He might have kept touching her soft, warm skin, but she came awake with a start, her eyes wide on him.

  “Hey. You planning on sleeping in your car all night?”

  “I don’t have a key to the house.” She yawned, but never took her eyes off him.

  Noah hadn’t thought of that. Come to think of it, he hadn’t put a lot of thought into the details of her living here.

  “We’ll take care of that in the morning. I guess we’ve got a lot of things to work out. First things first.” He took out his cell phone and dialed Tom. “She’s here,” he said when the attorney answered with a gruff hello.

  “She cut it close,” he responded.

  “Doesn’t matter. She made it.”

  “Let me talk to her.”

  Noah took exception to the hostile order. “You don’t trust me?”

  “A woman like her could get a man to lie for her.”

  Pissed off by Tom’s unspoken accusation, he spit out, “Not me.” He handed Roxy the phone, noticing she could barely keep her eyes open.

  “I’m here,” she stated. No hello or pleasantries included.

  Noah couldn’t hear Tom’s side of the conversation. He only had to guess when Roxy responded, “I’d watch my mouth if I were you. Threats like that can get you into trouble. I’ve read the terms of the will. I know them to the letter. You might remember you work for me. For now.” She hung up. “Asshole. God, I am so tired.”

  “You look it, but you’re still gorgeous.” At her cocked-up eyebrow and the tilt of her lips from the smile she tried and failed to hide, he held his hands out. “What? I can be a nice guy. Sometimes.”

  “I think that ‘sometimes’ is really an almost always.”

  He smiled. “Are you flirting with me?” he asked, only half teasing.

  She laughed at his audaciousness. “Let’s just say I read people well.”

  “The way you read Tom.”

  “Men like him can’t hide who they are. They let their impulses guide them. Will you be mad if I fire him?”

  “Not if he deserves it.”

  Tom seemed to be working on pissing both of them off, which seemed like a bad idea to do with a good client.

  She yawned and closed her eyes again, resting her head back against the seat, looking like she was content to sleep in her car for the night.

  “Did I pay for this car?” He wondered, not for the first time, if they were going to go at it every time she wanted to spend money on unnecessary things, like new cars.

  Maybe he was just being a jerk and spoiling for a fight because of the resentments John created when he kept Roxy a secret.

  “Nope,” she answered without looking at him. “I have my own money. Want to see the receipt?” Not a single trace o
f anger resonated in her husky voice.

  He dropped the subject. She needed a car living this far out of town. If she paid for it herself, it was none of his business.

  “Come inside. There’s a bed with your name on it.”

  She didn’t open her eyes, but one dark eyebrow shot up. “Let me guess, yours?”

  “When I invite you into my bed, you’ll know it.”

  Her eyes opened and her mouth dipped into a frown. “You said when.”

  He shrugged, not in the mood to play games, so he went with the truth. “The moment we met, something sparked.”

  He waited for her to deny it, but she didn’t and swung a leg out of the car. “Back up, big guy. I’m too tired to dance around this thing with you right now.”

  He held out his hand. She eyed it and him warily, but in the end, took it. Her warm fingers glided over his skin and he took hold and pulled her out of the packed car. “Did you drive the whole way?”

  “No. I paid the airlines a fortune for the extra bags. The truck with some of my stuff will arrive tomorrow. My flight landed late. I took a taxi van to pick up the car and had to transfer all this stuff, so it took longer than I anticipated.”

  “Want me to bring it in?”

  “Leave it. I’m too tired to do anything but crawl into bed.”

  His grip tightened on her hand. He had a witty innuendo to go with her statement, but held it back. Her sluggish walk and multiple yawns spoke the truth. The woman was exhausted.

  “How did things go back home?”

  “As expected,” she answered without answering.

  He planned to find out what things were really like for her wherever she came from. He had a sinking feeling his perception of John would deteriorate the more he got to know Roxy.

  They entered the house. She tried to pull free of his hand, but he held tight, pulling her toward the family room. “Annabelle tried to wait up for you, but fell asleep on the couch.”

  “She thought I bailed on her,” Roxy guessed.

  “She hasn’t been herself the last week.”

  “She misses her father, her mother is plotting to make her miserable, and I’m late getting back.”

  “She takes things to heart.”

  “I should have called her. No one ever cared about my coming or going.”

  “I think she’s hoping you’re going to kick her mother’s ass.”

  “I will if that woman even thinks about taking her from the only home she’s ever known.”

  Noah felt something ease inside him. Sharing the worry, knowing Roxy would stand with him against Lisa to protect Annabelle made it that much easier to carry the burden.

  Reluctantly, he let go of Roxy to lean over the couch and nudge Annabelle awake. “Sprite, wake up. She’s here.”

  Annabelle rubbed her eyes, turned, and stared up at them. “Hey,” she mumbled still half-asleep.

  “It’s late. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Roxy sounded concerned.

  Annabelle bolted upright and grabbed his hand, turning it so she could read his watch. The sigh of relief whooshed out of her. “You made it.”

  Roxy leaned against the top of the couch on her forearms close to Annabelle. “I’m sorry you worried. I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. Next time, I’ll call. Now, as your guardian, I’m telling you to go to bed and get some sleep.”

  “Bossy.”

  To Noah’s amazement, Roxy laughed. “I’ve been called a lot worse. You’ll get used to me. After all, I’m going to be here for a while.”

  “Planning your escape already?” A line formed between Annabelle’s eyes as she glared.

  “Just stating the facts. I wasn’t asked to come, but now that I’m here, I’m committed to seeing you graduate and go off to college.”

  “All righty then. That’s my cue to go to bed.”

  Noah laughed and explained Annabelle’s eye roll and hasty departure. “John and I have been riding her for the last year to really think about what she wants to do with her life, so we can pick the right college.”

  Roxy cocked up one side of her full lips. “I’ll join forces with you. She might change her mind later, but she needs a direction.”

  “Agreed. And you’re going to bed before you fall asleep on your feet.”

  “You mentioned there is a bed for me.”

  “A whole room,” he teased. “You’ll take John’s room. The guest rooms are nice, but they share a bathroom between. John’s room has a connected bath and a walk-in closet. Mary cleaned out John’s clothes and we ordered new mattresses for the antique bed. As much as it pains me that John is gone, this is your house now, too.”

  “Thank you, Noah. I’m sure it’s been a hell of a week, getting used to this place without him.”

  “Yeah, and you pissed me off, leaving without giving me your number or answers to the questions I have about you and John.”

  “With John gone, I don’t think we’ll get the answers we want.” She yawned again. “I’m too tired for twenty questions tonight.”

  “You’ll learn I don’t give up easily.”

  “Neither do I,” she countered.

  “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

  That eyebrow shot up again, and he gave her a cocky smile. “After you.” He gestured with his hand toward the hallway and stairs. They reached the top and stopped on the landing. “Your room is to the left. Mine, in case you’re wondering, is two doors down to the right.”

  “Annabelle’s?”

  “First door on the right. Two guest rooms across the hall from our rooms.”

  “This is a huge place.”

  “Over six thousand square feet. Half of which are yours.”

  She gave him a side-eyed glance. “Which also pisses you off.”

  “Absolutely.”

  She folded her arms under her breasts. “Is that why you left that stack of bills, mail, and other papers on John’s desk for me to handle?”

  “I work my ass off on this ranch. You should do your share.”

  “A little passive-aggressive, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I don’t hit girls.” Unfazed, Noah let her know he was still working through his anger.

  She unfolded her arms and set her shoulders. “I hit back.”

  “I know. Tom knows.”

  She headed down the hall away from him, soft light from the windows silhouetting her hourglass shape against the pale walls.

  They reached her room and he flipped on the lights. The chandelier in the middle of the room went on, revealing the naked bed. “Oops. I guess Mary forgot about the bed after dinner.”

  He knew exactly why she’d forgotten, since Robby probably took her back to their place to make up for his comments at dinner about Roxy.

  She shrugged, trudged to the bed, and flopped down on top of it on her stomach. She barely scooted herself up onto the bare mattress before closing her eyes. “Good night, Noah. I’m sure you know your way out.”

  He chuckled, walked to her side, and grabbed her ankle. He worked off her sneaker and did the same with her other foot.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled. “I’ll do the paperwork tomorrow.”

  “Bet your ass, you will.” To prove his point and just to be ornery, he smacked her bottom.

  He walked to the doorway and turned off the lights. He stopped short at her words.

  “Noah, things are complicated right now. They’re only going to get worse over the next few weeks while we try to find a way to work together. It’s daunting to deal with your anger and lust. Dial it down. I don’t sleep around for sport.”

  “Neither do I.”

  Yes, she was a damn sexy woman and he wanted her badly. After seeing her in tight jeans and the curve-hugging purple top, his dreams would be hotter than ever.

  But he got what she meant. They had a lot of unsettled business between them. They needed to work and live together under the same roof.

  If he wasn’t careful, she could use his attraction to her to
manipulate him and possibly get what she wanted. He didn’t want that kind of relationship with her, or anyone.

  He hoped John knew what he was doing bringing her here.

  Right now, Noah didn’t know her well enough to trust her.

  After how he acted tonight, he didn’t know if he could trust himself around her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Roxy opened one eye and took in her surroundings. The unfamiliar furnishings and room took a minute for her to place. Her father’s home. His room. A new life.

  The thought made the butterflies in her belly flutter with nervous anticipation. She didn’t know what to expect from this new life. She’d barely had time to pack and move, let alone think about what would happen once she got here.

  She rolled onto her back and stared up at the black wrought-iron chandelier with candle flame lightbulbs. The new mattress beneath her was soft, firm, and comfortable. She liked a good bed. It would come in handy now that she had three jobs to oversee and knew she’d be spending a lot of long hours trying to keep up with the demands of all of them.

  She gathered the soft blanket Noah must have draped over her last night and clutched it to her chest. A familiar smell drifted over her. Noah. Not a good sign that she already recognized his scent. She needed to stick to business.

  Annabelle needed them to be responsible adults, not horny teenagers looking for a hookup.

  But her heart melted thinking of him coming back last night and covering her with a blanket from his bed after she fell asleep.

  Sweet.

  She could handle a man in a temper, filled with lust, mean, and even distant. But sweet. She didn’t know what to do with that.

  In her world, a man who knew how to be kind seemed like a four-leaf clover. You knew they existed, but you had to go looking for them.

  “Time to start my new life.” She rolled up and bounced off the bed fully intending to go out and unload her car. To her surprise, all her bags were lined up next to what she assumed were the closet doors.

  “Well damn, the blanket wasn’t enough, you dragged all my gear in the house and up the stairs, too.” That warm feeling in her heart spread.