He looked at Tony, who had patiently continued to shuffle the cards in his gnarled hands as he sat watching him.
“Fine. Let’s have some of that apple cake.”
It would be nice to play cards instead of sitting there drinking coffee by himself…in one hell of a quiet kitchen.
He found the cake and a couple of plates. “Who’s dealing?”
Tony had barely finished passing out the cards when headlamps outside lit up the driveway. The old man’s hands stilled as he said, “Who could that be?”
Maybe he could trust the man’s innocent question. Maybe not. But he sure wouldn’t make up any stories of his own again. This time when he opened the door, he didn’t bother to smile.
Two new visitors stood on the doorstep.
“Did you get the word about Lianne’s apple cake, too?” he asked.
“We did not,” said Judge Baylor. “We saw her in town, though. Is that the cake over there? Feel free to cut me a slice.”
“Me, too,” said Ellamae. “Got any extra coffee?”
“Coming right up.” He wasn’t sure how Lianne would feel about him playing host in her kitchen, especially when they hadn’t set foot in there together since they’d become housemates.
As he handed over mugs and plates, he said casually, “You saw Lianne?”
“At the Double S,” the judge confirmed. “With Jack.”
The guy she’d gotten all dressed up for.
“Jack is ranch manager over at Sam and Kayla’s,” Ellamae explained.
Lianne had mentioned her sister Kayla before.
“He sure perks right up whenever Lianne comes to visit,” Ellamae added. “And of course, now she’s living out here on the ranch…” She smiled down at the plate Ryan had set in front of her. “Well, that does look good.”
As the other three ate Lianne’s apple cake, Ryan pushed the deck of cards aside and took a long drink of coffee.
The judge sat back, thumbs under his suspenders. “How have things been going for you out here?”
“Hot enough for you, Ryan?” Ellamae asked. As with Tony’s question a few minutes ago, he had some doubts about her expression.
“Fine,” he said. “Just fine.”
“Delighted to hear it.” His cake finished, the judge took a toothpick from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth and looked Ryan over. “I thought I might’ve had a visit from you by now, but we haven’t seen you around Town Hall.”
“Or anywhere in town,” Ellamae said. “And it’s about time you got out a little, introduced yourself to folks.”
“Had a meal at the Double S,” the judge put in.
“I’ve been there,” Tony said. “They’ve got some great food and even better desserts.”
“They do,” Ellamae agreed. “Which reminds me…Dori’s doing the pastries for the party at the community center. It’s next Saturday, to celebrate Memorial Day and school letting out.” She smiled at Ryan. “It’s the perfect opportunity to meet folks.”
A kids’ party at the local community center? There was nothing he’d like less. “Well, thanks, but—”
“Practically all the folks in town will be there,” she added.
“As long as they’re over the age of twenty-one,” the judge clarified.
An adults-only party at the community center. Even that didn’t sound like something to interest him.
All three of his unexpected guests sat staring at him.
He shrugged and borrowed Lianne’s line. “I’ll think about it.”
Chapter Ten
Lianne eased the front door closed behind her and leaned back against it. She pressed her palms to the door panels as if that would keep her guilt outside. Guilt for so quickly saying good-night to Jack and leaving his car.
On her past visits to Flagman’s Folly, she had gone out with Kayla and Sam’s ranch foreman for coffee or dessert. Though she liked the man, she didn’t want to encourage him and had made it clear that she was in a committed relationship with Mark. Or so she had thought at the time.
She and Jack met casually—that was all.
Before she had left the house, Ryan had suggested they do that, too.
As if.
When Jack had driven up to the house, she had noted all the dark windows. No lights shone from the living room or from Ryan’s room upstairs. Now she could see the kitchen at the far end of the hall was dark, too.
But halfway down that hall, a light burned in her office—a lamp she had turned off before leaving the room for the day. No question about who had turned it back on and who had to be in the office now.
The question was, why was he in her office?
She made her way down the hall and stopped in the doorway. He stood behind her desk. Across the top, he had spread the contents of a file. Her stomach tightened as her suspicion rose.
He looked up. “You’re home early.”
She nodded. “How’s everything?”
“Fine. Have a nice night?”
“Lovely.” Moving closer to the desk, she saw the plans for phase two of the school. “Can I help you with something?”
He gestured at the drawings. “I was just taking a look. This will be an impressive project when it’s all done.”
She nodded. They had talked about the second phase, but she had never brought out the plans. There hadn’t been a need to, when those were for the future and he would only supervise the project for a few weeks.
He rolled up the drawings and returned them to the drawer with the others. “We had some company while you were gone.”
“We did? Who?”
“Tony, for one. Although I got the idea he’s a regular here.”
“I like a friendly chat once in a while.” She and Tony talked about the school, of course, but she enjoyed the break to talk about things outside the ranch, too.
That was exactly what Ryan had been pushing for—with him.
No. She wasn’t going anywhere with him, not when she still didn’t trust him to keep their conversations on neutral topics. Not when she couldn’t trust herself.
Hadn’t she told him much more than she should have the day they hiked the trail? She needed to stay away from personal issues with Ryan. From telling him about her past. From Ryan himself.
And that was exactly why she had gone out with Jack tonight.
Dinner with him hadn’t been a much bigger step than one of their dessert dates—unless you counted the fact that she’d accepted that dinner invitation as the means to avoid thinking of another man.
They hadn’t made it past the appetizers before her mind raced right back to the ranch.
“You said, ‘Tony, for one,’” she repeated. “Who else stopped in?”
“Ellamae and Judge Baylor. They were telling me there’s a party at the community center next week. We should go.”
Suspicion flared again. “I don’t think attending a party together is quite the same thing as a couple of working buddies going out for coffee, do you?”
“It depends on the party. Practically all the folks in town will be at this one. I see it as a business function, a good chance to do some public relations work for the school.”
And a good chance to show everyone, but especially Ryan, how well she could handle that part of her job.
He did seem very businesslike tonight. No smiling. No flirting. No attempts to get closer. No touching…
Still, uneasiness ran through her. She shrugged and said finally, “It does sound like a good PR opportunity.” Through the thin fabric of her evening bag, she held on to the hard rectangle of her cell phone and considered.
They could keep things businesslike. Professional. They could keep their hands off each other and themselves to themselves. And at the Flagman’s Folly Community Center…in the middle of a crowd…what could happen?
She lifted her chin. “A business function?”
“Right.”
“A simple night out together?”
He nodded. “And a chance t
o get to know each other better.”
“Like when you go to the bar with Tony and the cowboys?”
“Yeah. Just like that.”
“And ‘just like that’ doesn’t involve kissing, does it?”
When his eyes went wide, she couldn’t keep from laughing.
“No, it damn well doesn’t.” One side of his mouth went up in a smile. “So, what do you say?”
* * *
ALL WEEK LONG, he’d looked forward to this night.
All week long, Lianne had kept reminding him this was a business deal. A chance to get to know one another.
Tables had been set at the back of the Flagman’s Folly Community Center, filled with food and drinks. Most of the food had long ago disappeared, but there was still plenty of punch left. Lianne edged around the dance floor and headed toward the tables.
Ryan followed.
He couldn’t have described one blamed thing in the room, even after hours spent in the place. He’d been too focused on Lianne. Tonight she’d dressed up for him. He couldn’t help the swelling of pride in his chest—or the sudden tightness in his jeans.
Her ruffled blouse hid the curves he’d seen in the bathroom mirror and in the yard the morning she’d gone through her exercise routine. But the color of the blouse brought out the blue of her eyes—a trade-off he had no trouble accepting.
As tired as he’d felt from a long day and a longer week, the sight of her colorful skirt flipping around her knees energized him enough to make him hurry across the room behind her. Made him fool enough to act as if he were a sugar-craving filly and she held a sugar cube on her palm, just out of reach.
Out of his reach, for sure.
He slowed to a crawl and, this time, gave himself the reminder.
Business.
Hell, Caleb wasn’t here tonight—wasn’t even in town—to see what his new foreman got up to. But word would get back to him if that foreman did something inappropriate with the project manager at the Memorial Day party.
Ryan had his reputation to protect. And Lianne’s.
Double the reason to be on his best behavior.
Lianne scooped punch, filling several plastic glasses. He frowned and then saw Ellamae and Roselynn had just come up to the drinks table.
From the other direction, Lianne’s sister and brother-in-law approached. When Lianne had introduced Kayla and Sam earlier, Sam had made a point of saying they had a son on the way.
Another month or so yet, he had guessed, which Lianne later confirmed.
“We’re heading out,” Sam said now.
“Are you okay?” Lianne asked Kayla.
“Yes. Just tired.”
“Better get her home,” Ellamae said.
“And to bed,” Roselynn added.
“That boy of yours, too.” Ellamae again.
“I’m planning to,” Sam agreed. “Ready, Kayla?”
“Yes. I’ll text you tomorrow.”
Kayla said this last bit to Lianne, who had missed most of the rapid-fire conversation. He frowned, watching her say goodbye to her family.
“Well,” Ellamae said to him, “I’m glad your thinking brought you here tonight. I thought it might. Having a good time?”
“Yeah.” And he was.
“I thought that, too.” She grinned. “Told you this would be a good chance for you.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“To talk up the school,” she added.
He nodded shortly. Her sharp-eyed stare must have missed the downside of the evening.
A few times when he and Lianne had been able to talk to some of the folks in the crowded room, he’d seen how she struggled to follow conversations, just as she had a minute ago. Maybe when things like that happened, she shrugged them off. Maybe she took them in stride. Yet the times when her eyes had met his afterward, he’d seen something he couldn’t quite figure out.
Ellamae and Roselynn walked off. Kayla and Sam had already crossed the room. He turned back to Lianne.
She stood alone by the punch table, staring off toward the doorway Kayla and Sam had just gone through. Or maybe at the couple dancing. Or just into space.
He couldn’t figure that out, either, but he had a feeling when she looked at him again, he’d see that same damn look in her eyes. And he didn’t know what to do about it.
He ran his free hand through his hair, turned to toss his empty punch cup away, and turned back.
Lianne hadn’t moved.
Damn the best behavior. He grabbed her hand.
She looked up at him, her brow creased.
Before he could decide if he’d made a wise move—and he probably hadn’t—before he could wonder if she’d want to dance with him—and she certainly wouldn’t—before he could change his mind…he had stepped into the flow of dancers.
And the DJ had changed the music.
The beat had gone from loud, frenetic rock with a heavy bass to a slow ease-them-out-the-door ballad. He stood in the middle of the dance floor with Lianne, who couldn’t hear the singer’s voice.
Stepping in close, he wrapped his free arm around her. With his chin nearly brushing the top of her head, he smiled.
Just what were the chances she’d let him lead?
* * *
BUSINESS, LIANNE REMINDED HERSELF.
But how could she think about that when Ryan had his arm wrapped around her? When he wore a Western shirt that made his hazel eyes so blue?
He shifted the hand he held around her waist. She looked up.
“You okay?” he asked.
Now was the time to step away. To make it clear this was strictly business.
But she had come here tonight to show him—and everyone—how well she could handle herself. How could she let him think she couldn’t manage something as simple as a dance?
“Yes,” she said, looking down, using the sight of his broad, solid chest to help her focus on controlling her breath the way she did with her yoga postures.
She had already fumbled a couple of times tonight, had gotten lost in conversations, had struggled to read more than a few people. It happened.
But it had happened much more often than usual, because she’d been too aware of Ryan watching her. Assessing her?
His fingers moved restlessly at the small of her back. Slowly, she raised her gaze.
He smiled.
She had no control over the way her heart fluttered at the change that brought to his face. With all the time they’d spent arguing, going toe to toe, she hadn’t seen a smile like that often. But when she had, she’d noted every step of the transformation, just as she noted it now. The tiny grooves dimpled the skin on either side of his mouth. The cleft in his chin deepened. The skin around his eyes crinkled.
She wanted him to smile that way again, for her alone.
But if he did, she would never be able to resist…anything.
Business, she told herself yet again.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and inhaled the delicious scent of his aftershave. On their ride here, she had added that scent to her mental wish list.
Cradled in his arms, she knew she’d already gotten the wish she had made last week.
All through dinner at the Double S with another man, her thoughts had drifted back to the ranch. To Ryan. He was the man she wanted to be with. The man she really wanted to get to know.
He stopped moving. She opened her eyes and looked across the empty dance floor.
Then she glanced up at him. He was smiling down at her again.
Business, she warned herself.
Or pleasure?
* * *
THANK HIS LUCKY STARS, she’d taken him to her bed.
His suggestion to go to the party hadn’t been designed to get him here. He’d swear that on his custom-made saddle.
But after their turn on the community center’s dance floor and their good-night interlude in the living room, he’d been more than ready to follow when she led him toward the stairs.
&nbs
p; Now he was ready to kiss her, to hold her, to go on to whatever happened from there—and he wanted everything to go right.
She wanted to chat.
He bit back a smile. At least they weren’t quite talking about the weather, the way she had the day of their hike. So far she had covered her sister’s family, which was what had brought her to Flagman’s Folly originally, her previous trips here, how much the environment had surprised her and how she liked to do her yoga at sunrise.
Oh, yeah, on that one. He shifted on his elbow and smiled down at her. He reckoned her chatting came from nerves, and her nerves came from having some experience but not enough to make her treat this like just another roll in the hay. He appreciated the honor.
She wasn’t just another woman for him, either. The thought caused a funny tight feeling in his chest.
“I had only seen pictures of the Southwest before I came to visit Kayla and Becky,” she went on. “Other than cities, I’d expected to find nothing here but desert. Do you remember the trail?”
As if he could forget. He nodded.
“I’ve gone back there a couple of times. We didn’t climb high enough—” She paused, as if recalling what had ended their day, then rushed on. “Not far past the picnic bench, there’s a bridge that spans the stream. On the opposite bank, there’s an open space among the trees. It catches the light when the sun comes up.”
She laughed softly, that throaty chuckle he’d learned to look forward to hearing.
“These will sound like the worst cliches you’ve ever heard,” she went on, “but the sun rising in a place like that really makes it feel like a shrine. Or a temple. And pine needles really do make a soft carpet. It’s so beautiful there.”
He ran his finger along her soft cheek. “You’re beautiful.”
Her eyes gleamed. “It’s quiet there, too.”
“Quiet?”
“I know. That sounds funny to you. I can’t hear, so what do I know about quiet. But…I use my eyes all day long. To read signs and lips and faces. To catch movements and gestures so I’m aware of what’s happening around me. And for reading and the computer, of course. Sometimes all that visual stimulation wears me out.”
Smiling, he ran his fingertips along her jawline. “I’m hoping to wear you out. But with another kind of stimulation.”
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