by Soraya Lane
She reached for her son’s hand as they drove, squeezing it and flashing him a smile, slowing as they got to the end of the driveway. They sat like that, waiting for the bus, as they did every morning. Just the two of them; she and her boy, warming each other’s hands as they quietly waited.
Within minutes the bus appeared, chugging along down the road, and she leaned over and gave him a kiss.
“Have a great day,” she said.
“You too, Mom.”
He got out of the car as she looked on, slamming the door and running toward the bus. She smiled at his little hand raised in a wave to the bus driver, and the way he turned, as he always did before he stepped in, to give her a quick little wave too. And then he was gone, the bus on its way again as she took a big breath and turned the car around, driving back up the mile-long driveway to the Ford residence.
Only today was different. Because today she was going to have to face Cody headfirst again, and she had no idea how she was going to do it.
* * *
Cody finished his run and bent over to catch his breath, gulping down mouthfuls of ice-cold, pure country air. He’d pushed himself hard, sprinting through field after field, slowing only periodically before sprinting again, running like the devil was on his back. And now his lungs were screaming out in pain, his legs aching, but he enjoyed every inch of the burn. This was what he’d needed, to push his body and tire himself out. The gym was one thing, and he went early every morning at home, but there was something about running outside that made him feel better. More alive somehow.
He looked up at the noise of tires crunching gravel, standing upright as a car pulled slowly in by the converted barn. His father had kitted it out when they were younger, hoping to keep his sons close by giving them their own space to live on the ranch, but even the lure of his own place hadn’t been enough to tempt Cody into staying. He watched as Lexi emerged from the car, her dark hair hiding her face as she bent in to retrieve something. Cody took a few steps forward, his eyes never leaving her.
He quickly took off his T-shirt, wiping his face and then tucking it into his waistband. The air might be frigid, but he was still flushed and the cool breeze felt good.
“Hey,” he said.
Lexi spun around, hand to her heart. “Shit, Cody! You scared the life out of me.”
He grimaced. “Sorry, I thought you’d seen me before.”
She shook her head, staring back at him wide eyed. “You’ll catch your death out here if you walk around half-naked like that.”
Cody took a step back as she glanced at his bare chest, her eyes fluttering slowly down before going sharply back up again.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, before asking, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I need to get to work though.”
Not fine was written all over her face, but he doubted she’d admit it. Cody gestured toward the house. “I’ll walk you.” He waited for her to move and then fell into step beside her just as the cold finally chilled his skin. He contemplated pulling his T-shirt back on but decided he was better bare than wearing a dripping wet top. “You just dropped your son at the school bus?”
She nodded. “Sure did. He wasn’t impressed about going today; I think he thought it would snow and school would get cancelled.”
“I remember the feeling like it was yesterday,” Cody said, grinning. “I used to pray that school would be cancelled all winter, and every day I’d be disappointed.”
They walked in silence then, until they reached the door and he stepped forward to open it for her, waiting for her to walk in.
“Lexi?”
She turned, and he thought he saw a smile, just a faint one, but a smile nonetheless. Or maybe it was wishful thinking.
“I meant what I said last night, about being sorry. I get that it’s too late, but I want you to know that I’m genuinely sorry for anything I did to hurt you.”
Her gaze fixed on his. “Did you even have any idea how much you’d hurt me back then?”
Cody inhaled, deciding in that split second that he needed to answer honestly even if it wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. “No. I didn’t.”
She nodded. “And that’s why your apology doesn’t mean anything to me,” she said, walking away. “But I appreciate your sincerity.”
Cody stifled a groan and jogged a few steps to catch up with her. “Since I’m only home for a few days, is there any way we can get past this and…”
“What? Go on a date or something?” she asked.
Cody laughed. “Well yeah, you beat me to the question but—”
“Seriously?”
He grinned, his shoulders relaxing at how easy it had been to break the ice with her. “Seriously.”
Lexi moved closer, so close he wondered if her breasts were actually going to rub against his bare chest. His nipples hardened in anticipation.
“Not if you were the last man on Earth,” she whispered in his ear.
Cody stared after her as she spun and marched down the hallway, her shoes clicking against the timber floor. He opened his mouth and shut it again, not even sure what to say or whether to just burst out laughing. Lexi sure as hell wasn’t the sweet little girl he’d left behind in Texas, or else she just hated him so bad that she was showing him a completely different side of herself.
He crossed the hall and ran up the stairs, not bothering to call after her, taking two at a time and making his way to his bedroom. He stripped down and walked naked into the bathroom, turning on the faucet and waiting until the water ran hot before stepping under the steady stream. Cody shut his eyes and leaned forward, hands up with his forehead pressed into them, the showerhead dumping water down his neck and over his back.
He might not have wanted Lexi back then, but he sure as hell wanted her now.
When he wanted a business deal, he didn’t take no for an answer, no matter how high the stakes, and it wasn’t any different when it came to women. He just needed to figure out how to get what he wanted.
He slipped his hand down, hard as a rock with Lexi on his mind. If he couldn’t have her, then this was the next best thing.
Cody liked a challenge, and it’d been a long time since any woman had been a challenge for him.
* * *
“Are you sure you don’t want any breakfast?” Lexi asked Walter as she plumped up the cushions on his sofa, trying to disguise the fact that he’d slept there. Again. The man was as stubborn as a mule, refusing to let her set up a proper bed in his library turned home office, so she helped him to maintain the façade he seemed determined to continue with. Although she doubted his family was so easily fooled.
“Today’s not my best day,” he said. For a man who’d always ruled with an iron fist, he was as polite and kind to her as could be. Even on his worst days, when she knew the pain was no doubt unbearable and he couldn’t stomach any food, he never failed to be nice to her.
“Morning, Dad.” Cody’s head appeared through the door, hair still wet, but thankfully with clothes on this time. She guessed he’d just showered.
“Today isn’t a good day, Cody,” she said gently, nodding toward his father.
Cody’s smile faltered and he came closer, but his dad waved at him, clearly trying to dismiss her words. He never liked to let on when he was struggling, and certainly not to his children.
“Anything I can do?” he asked.
“Stop fussing,” his father said.
“Fussing?” Cody laughed. “I have no idea how to fuss, so count me out of doing that.”
Walter laughed, and Lexi blew out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She might not like Cody, but he wasn’t doing his father any harm—quite the opposite almost. And it reminded her of how nice he’d always been to her, and to everyone else at school. He might have been one of the wealthiest kids around, but he’d never acted like it, always sticking up for anyone getting bullied or pushed around. And the way he’d been with Harry the night before had sh
own her that he wasn’t any different now, which was why she was having a hard time remembering why she hated him so much.
“I think we should do something today, get you out of this room and out on the ranch. What do you think?”
Lexi’s eyebrows shot up at his suggestion. “It’s cold outside, Cody, I don’t know if that’s a good id—”
“Yes!” Walter boomed. “That’s exactly what I need. I need to get back on a goddamn horse or a tractor or something. Get me the hell out of this room, Cody. Thank God you’re home, son.”
Lexi gave Cody a sharp look, but he didn’t seem to get the message. Either that or he was trying not to get it. So much for thinking nice thoughts about him.
“I’m not so sure,” she said, looking between the two men. “How about we see how the morning goes and then decide? I don’t want to push things too far.”
“How about you come with us?” Cody asked. “Then we won’t have anything to worry about, right, Dad?”
Walter nodded enthusiastically and Lexi gulped down some air as she slowly raised her eyes and stared at Cody. His smile was sweet as pie, but the wink he gave her made it clear that she’d just been played. Clearly this was punishment for laughing at his offer of a date. He’d figured out a way for them to spend time together, and he obviously wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
She straightened her shoulders and refused to let him rattle her. If Walter wanted to go, then she had no choice but to comply, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for Cody.
“I’ll get everything prepared, then,” she said, smiling at Walter and going to assist him. “Cody, why don’t you be in charge of snacks? Heck, lunch even? You can rustle up something good for us to eat, can’t you?”
She glanced at him and saw one of his brows arch high, but all he did was smile in return. He had a perfect poker face.
One point Cody, one point Lexi, she thought smugly. If he thought he was the only one who could play at this game then he was sorely mistaken. She should have been telling her patient not to overexert himself, to stay put and rest, but she knew that just wasn’t Walter’s nature and frankly, she’d rather spend whatever last months she had left doing what she loved if it were her, so she got it. A picnic with the old man or an outing on the ranch would have actually been quite nice; without Cody, that was.
Half an hour later, she left Walter and found Cody in the kitchen. It seemed to be the place she always ran into him, although this time she had come looking.
“It suits you,” she said. “Quite the domestic. I wouldn’t have picked it.”
He grinned but didn’t look up, and she leaned against the doorframe as he finished making sandwiches. She thought he’d have balked, but it looked to her like he’d gotten straight to work.
“What are you making?”
He looked up, licking his finger, his eyes bright. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
She laughed. “You can make them? Wow, I’m impressed.”
“I googled it, actually. You know, just to make sure I did them right.”
“Hold up, you googled how to make PB and J sandwiches? The title kind of gives you everything you need to know, in case you hadn’t realized.”
He shrugged. “I wanted to be sure. In case you didn’t know, I’m a full-blown type-A personality. I have to do things perfectly.”
Lexi groaned. “Right, of course. A type A with a personal chef, who doesn’t even make his own breakfast probably. No wonder you needed instructions for how to make sandwiches.”
“Ouch. I’ll have you know that my chef only cooks me dinner. I get a granola cup on the way to work and my assistant organizes lunch.”
Lexi fought the childish urge to roll her eyes. “Of course you do. You do realize you’d be the laughing stock of Texas if you admitted to any of the ranchers here that you stop for a granola cup on the way to work though, right?” She laughed. “And don’t tell me you take almond milk now instead of actual milk?”
“First of all, no, I don’t drink goddamn almond milk, and second, ranchers eating eggs and bacon would be better eating something healthier. It’s not rocket science.”
“Hmm, sounds like someone has a bit of an attitude about things around here. But that’s right, you couldn’t leave our beautiful part of the country fast enough, could you? Was it the first flight after school let out, or did you wait until the next day at least?”
Cody turned to the fridge and took out a carton of juice, setting in on the counter before planting his hands wide and staring at her. She tried not to squirm, not expecting his full attention to be leveled at her.
“As much as I enjoy these little sparring sessions, it’d be much easier just to get along.”
She laughed, before covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, were you trying to be funny?”
“No. I’m trying to be a grown-up. Have you heard of it? Less bickering, more understanding, forgetting about the past, that kind of thing.”
“Ahhh, right, sorry I must have missed that. Most of us don’t have to try to be an adult after we’ve hit thirty.”
“We ready to go?” Walter’s deep voice still boomed with authority, even if his body didn’t seem to match the tone any longer.
“We are,” she said, turning to Walter and holding out her arm. “I’m looking forward to this, it’ll be so nice to see the ranch properly again.”
She shot a look over her shoulder at Cody.
“Catch up when you can, Cody,” she said sweetly, leaving him to carry everything.
Lexi smiled to herself, knowing she was being petty but unable to help herself. She deserved to get some of her own back, and she was going to ride him hard all day. If he didn’t like it, well then he could back the hell off and leave her alone. This year had kicked her butt big-time, and she knew she had a chip on her shoulder because of it, but she was sick of being the nice girl, the one who always did as she was told and ended up getting trampled all over.
She’d put a wall around her heart since Cody had vanished, and the only time she’d let it down was for Harrison’s dad. Without Harry, the entire relationship would have been an epic mistake, but she’d never regretted having her son for a second, even if it had shown her that her wall had been built for a reason, and it was never, ever coming down again.
Or maybe, as that little voice in her head kept telling her, there was something about her that made men run in the opposite direction. Either way, she wasn’t going to find out for a third time.
* * *
“So do you remember how to ride a horse?” Cody asked.
Lexi nodded even though she was mildly terrified of the beast saddled up in front of her. Why did they look so much bigger than they used to? “It’s been a while, but it’s one of those things you never forget, right?”
Walter grunted beside her. “I’m starting to think a vehicle would have been a better idea.”
“Horseback will do you good, Dad. The fresh air in your lungs, it’s exactly what you need.”
Tanner poked his head out of the barn then, and Lexi wished she could have captured the look on his face—shock merged with horror that instantly seemed to turn to panic. “When you said to saddle up the horses I didn’t think you meant for the old man,” he muttered. “You sure about this? Dad, when did you even last ride a horse?”
“I’ll have you know I spent my childhood on horseback. You gonna help an old man or not?”
Tanner moved fast, and with Cody holding the horse steady, she watched as Tanner helped to boost his dad up into the saddle. She also watched something pass between the boys, some unspoken words, before Tanner stepped back, his hand drifting hesitantly from his father’s leg.
“You want me to saddle up and ride with you?” Tanner asked. “If you could use another pair of hands—”
“No, I got this,” Cody said. “You can’t take the ranch out of the rancher, right?”
“Ah, in your case, I think you can.”
She smiled
at Cody’s scowl, finding it amusing the way Tanner seemed to be able to rile him so easily. The younger Ford brother was a whole lot more easygoing than the older one, that was for sure. But part of her wondered about Cody, whether he had actually left the ranch behind or if he just liked pretending that he had. For all the subtle changes, she thought that maybe he was just a rancher in fancier clothing, one who slipped straight back into rancher mode the second he let his guard down. She dragged her eyes from him, not wanting to start down the slippery slope of wondering what he was like now.
“Lexi, you need help mounting?” Cody asked.
She stared back at him standing there, hands by his side, eyes so clear as he fixed them on her, and slowly shook her head, not wanting any part of him that close to her.
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
He gestured to the smaller of the two horses remaining, and she bravely took a step forward. He taught you how to ride. Remember all those days under the sun on horseback? She pushed the thoughts away and gave the chestnut mare a pat on the neck as Cody untied her. Lexi gathered up the reins. She had this.
“She’ll go easy on you,” Tanner called out, standing in front of the barn now. “She’s the sweetest horse on the property, so don’t worry if you’re feeling rusty.”
Trust Tanner to be the one to reassure her, not Cody.
She lifted her left leg high and pushed it into the stirrup, her thigh muscle screaming out as she bounced and struggled to get high enough to swing her other leg over onto the saddle. She tried again. When the hell had this gotten so hard? She remembered being so flexible and easily bouncing three times before landing in the saddle, but this was tough.
“Here, let me help,” Cody said, his palms closing over her hips before she had a chance to yelp out no. “First time back in the saddle can be rough.”
If she could even get in the damn saddle, that was!
“One, two, three!” he counted, boosting her on the final number, his hands pushing under her butt as he guided her up. She landed with an embarrassing thump and cringed as the horse shifted beneath her.