by Krista Ames
“I’m sorry.” She giggled. “I didn’t mean to. I thought you heard me walk up. Coffee?”
“Perfect. You’re heaven sent. I was heading to look for some. Heard Jesse’s doing better today. That’s good news.”
“It really is, but he looks so weak; it kills me to see him lying so helpless in his bed.”
“Why don’t we go check on him again?”
He escorted her down the corridor to her father’s room. More than likely they’d both be spending quite a bit of time together.
***
For Ally, the next few days passed by in a blur—excessive amounts of caffeine and very little sleep. Not like Matt hadn’t tried along with Dr. Stanford to get her to try a sleeping aid. She wasn’t having any of it, though. She’d been determined to be there when he woke and her efforts had paid off that morning. When her daddy opened his eyes, hers was the first face he saw, happy tears and all. After completely checking her father over, the doctors reiterated that he still wasn’t out of the woods completely and would need as much rest as he could get, but they had moved him out of ICU.
Looking over the remnants of flowers and get well wishes around the room gave her brief reminders of the visitors at odd hours since they’d all been there. It was a clear sign of how well loved he really was. Most of them she didn’t remember except for one or two close neighbors and of course all the guys from the ranch. It was so heartwarming to hear everyone talking so kindly about her daddy.
Her gaze finally landed at the far corner by the windows where the doctor had requested a cot be placed. At least she could say she’d tried to get some sleep on it, but it had given her an awful crick in her neck the one time she’d napped there. He obviously hadn’t experienced the same issue since he’d been asleep on the lumpy mattress for several hours. Having ensured the ranch was in Tommy’s capable hands, making himself available by phone whenever they needed him, he hadn’t left hers or her daddy’s side the whole time.
More than once in the last few hours, she’d stolen glances his way, telling herself she was only making sure he slept comfortably. She’d rather not have anyone know how much she’d come to rely on the man. Really not a great idea on her part. Leaving the Circle K Ranch would be very hard to do, but she would push herself to do it. She had a life already, and it wasn’t in Freewill. Once her daddy was in the clear, she would return to New York. For the time being, she would find something for dinner.
Forty-five minutes later, feeling full and sassy, Ally walked down the hall toward her father’s room but stopped short of turning the corner when the corridor filled with familiar voices—Matt and Dr. Stanford, the man he had mentioned more than once as being a really good friend.
“Matt, are you sure you don’t need a job change? We could really use a man with your skills around here….”
Both men moved off in the other direction, their voices fading. No matter, she’d heard quite enough to know she’d been right. This man had a whole other life no one but the good doctor knew anything about. It was high time she found out, whether Daddy liked it or not. She would be waiting in the room when Matt returned.
***
Ally frantically paced the shiny tiled floor while she waited for Matt to enter the private room where Jesse continued to sleep peacefully. Much more and she’d have a hole worn down to the next level below them.
He’d been such a rock for her during her father’s hospital stay that his secrets felt like personal betrayal. “So, when are you going to tell me exactly who you are?”
“Nice to see you, too.” His brow had creased to replace his smile.
She was pissed. Can’t he tell this is serious? “I don’t have the time or the patience for being nice. I don’t trust you, and I want to know who you are and why you’re here. It makes me sick to think I was starting to get attached to you.”
“I told you straight off to ask if you wanted to know something. My life is just that. Mine. I’m not an open book for the whole freakin’ continent to read at will.”
Ally backed down slightly. “I know you’re hiding something. I overheard you talking to the doctor a little bit ago.”
“You know you have a bad habit of eavesdropping on people’s conversations? I thought we talked about it already?” He moved closer, hands on his hips in a tight stance.
“I think I have a right to be concerned.”
“You have a right? Why, because we had sex?”
“No, because of my daddy.” She lifted her chin and stared him down. “And although he might not care about your history, I sure do.”
“Well, if you must know,” he said between clenched teeth. “I lived in New York most of my adult life until two years ago when I killed a woman. It all but destroyed me, and I needed an escape. That’s when your dad hired me. The rest is none of your goddamn business.”
She didn’t budge, tears streaming down her face while Matt stormed around her and out of the hospital room. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? She glanced at the doorway he’d exited. What did he mean he’d killed a woman?
“Ally, you know I love you dearly, but what in the hell are you doing butting your nose into the boy’s business?”
Her throat squeezed at her daddy’s unexpected response. “Geez, scare a girl to death. Aren’t you supposed to be asleep? Talk about butting into someone else’s business. Besides, he’s working for you and living in your house, I think that gives me the right to know what he’s hiding. He said he killed a woman. Don’t you think it’s important to know about?”
“It gives you no right at all. He works for me, and I already told you I know all I need to know. He doesn’t know it, but I already heard what happened to him and the woman two years ago, and it wasn’t his fault. But after that downright selfish display of yours, I don’t guess you’ll be getting another chance to find out anything about Matt Gentry, who will continue to be the foreman of my ranch, if he’ll still have the job.”
“Why is it that you keep taking his side over mine?” Her dad’s automatic defense of this man hurt.
“Oh Ally-cat, you know you will always be my number one but, in this particular situation, and I mean where the foreman of my ranch is concerned, you’re plain wrong. I really thought things were going okay between you both, but a man’s personal business is his own. If he wanted you to know, he woulda told you.”
Ally went to set on the bed beside her dad. “I wish you weren’t always right about everything.”
For the second time since she arrived in Freewill, Ally had put herself in the middle of a situation she didn’t really belong in and not so kindly been told to butt out. Maybe she’d overstayed her welcome after all. Her daddy was on the road to recovery and due to be released in a couple days if things continued to improve, so today would be as good a time as any to head back to New York to her old stuffy life. She felt bad for what she’d said to Matt, and she really would miss him, whether she should or not.
“I think it’s time I headed back to New York, Daddy. The doctor says you’re doing well, and if you continue to behave, you’ll be home before you know it.” When she thought he would protest, she raised a finger to his lips to silence him.
“It’s okay. I’ll come back before I leave town, and I promise I’ll visit again soon. It won’t take two years. I hate goodbyes so just give me a hug okay?” She leaned down to wrap her arms around him before the tears started to fall. She returned to the ranch to pack her things, taking care to avoid any run-ins with Matt, and said her sad goodbyes to Maribella and Roberto, promising to visit again soon. She’d called ahead and had a ticket waiting at the airport and would return her rented pickup after she looked in on her daddy one more time.
She hadn’t expected to see Matt again, but when she walked in her daddy’s room, he wasn’t alone. Matt looked so good but definitely hurt. She wanted to apologize to him for everything and have him hold her one more time, telling her everything between them would all be okay.
; He glanced at her father. “Jesse, I’ll be back later. I have to call the ranch.” He glared at her as he passed, careful to skirt around her. Anger and hurt swirled in his eyes, then he stomped purposely out of the room. She started to follow but her dad’s words stopped her.
“Ally, don’t. Maybe you should give him some time to think. He’s pretty mad. I’m not sure he’d even listen.”
This is it, then. Her head hung low as tears fell down her cheeks. Her heart was breaking, and he would never know how sorry she was.
Chapter Ten
Matt stood on the familiar New York street corner, resting against one of the ancient parking meters positioned aplenty through his old neighborhood in the Lower East Side. He looked up at the illuminated fluorescent sign in the window of the ancient brick building. Zach’s Place. This classic neighborhood bar was his little brother’s pride and joy, had even been a safe haven of his own in the days after Wendy’s death.
He probably still had a stool at the end of the bar reserved for him, a place where he used to drown his sorrows—not like it really ever helped. He’d always looked back on those days as the lowest time of his life. Well, now it was running a far second.
Truth be told, the time after Wendy had been devastating in hindsight, but couldn’t hold a candle to the pain he’d felt when he’d allowed Ally to walk out of his life. Wendy would always be missed, and he was racked with guilt, blaming himself for the life she wouldn’t get to live. But living without Ally? That was something he wasn’t sure he could ever deal with. She left an ache in his soul no amount of time would ease. Stupid pride had stopped him from going after her when Jesse told him she’d left Freewill. He’d realized far too late of course that he was willing to travel to the ends of this earth to have her back.
“You goin’ in, buddy, or you just gonna stare at my sign all night?”
Zach.
He turned and smiled into the welcoming face of the man who looked so much like himself. “Yeah, little brother, I am. It’s really good to see ya, man.”
They exchanged a slap on the back, and Matt followed his brother in the door. God, he’d really missed all of this. He’d avoided coming back here to see his family because being here made him remember, and he hadn’t known how to handle it then, so he’d made a clean break. After a while though, phone calls hadn’t been enough. He was homesick. Not homesick so much for the place because he liked Wyoming, but homesick for his family. There hadn’t been much else to smile about over the last two years. Until Ally.
He stayed ‘til closing, filling his brother in on the last month. Meeting her and having Jesse end up in the hospital, falling for her and having her leave. He was determined to find her and make her understand. He wanted her with him. He needed to know if she wanted him, too. Or was he too late?
***
Ally didn’t want to see him. It hurt too much, but he looked so amazing she couldn’t move her eyes away. What is he doing here? How did he find my office? She’d just started sleeping again, if only a few hours every night. Now she’d be back to no sleep and crying all over again. She’d had to unplug her phone to stop the messages from flashing at her on the answering machine every time he called. Damn her daddy for giving out her number and apparently her address. She didn’t have anything to say he would want to hear. If he had wanted to know, he would have come after her when she left, right? Embarrassed beyond belief, her insides melted at the echoes of his delicious warm baritone. Panicked, she dove behind her secretary’s file cabinet. Oh, crap. Hopefully, Sandy hadn’t noticed, so she wouldn’t be in a position to have to lie for her.
Ally could see he hadn’t changed. Of course it’d only been a couple weeks since she’d left, but it was by far the hardest fourteen or so days she’d ever been through. It pissed her off when she realized how much this man had come to mean to her, but he’d turned his back on her, basically sent her packing without a word, and that hurt. Maybe she was better off, and it shouldn’t make a difference. He hadn’t wanted her then. She might even reconsider dating her boss, Daniel. No, on second thought, the idea made her feel sick.
So, what did Matt want? Had he come to his senses, or was he in New York to yell at her again and then disappear?
She stayed hidden until the conversation ended, and he walked away. It was really hard to crouch down in stilettos. By the time she got back in an upright position, her secretary stared at her, shaking her head.
“What in the world are you doing?”
“Oh God, you don’t want to know.” Ally tried to move right by her secretary’s desk and into her office, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“Stop right there, missy, you have some explaining to do. He was one hell of a hunk of man. When you got back and told me the sordid affair, you kind of left off the part about how drop dead gorgeous he was.”
“I think I’m having a mental breakdown.” She kept up her pace, and her friend followed. “What was he doing here?”
“He was here to speak to you. He wouldn’t give me any more details, but said he would be back. Maybe you should talk to him. He really sounded sweet and totally stuck on you.”
“Oh, my dear friend, don’t fall for his charms, he’ll—”
“He’ll what, princess? What exactly will he do?”
The deep sexy voice that had kept Ally up all hours of the night for the last two weeks startled both women.
“I’ll just leave you two alone.” Her ever-efficient secretary hurried out of the office, slipping by Matt, who stood in the doorway.
“Traitor!” she screamed after her friend.
“Hello, Ally.”
“Matt.” Oh shit, don’t cry. Just breathe. “Can I help you with something?” Yeah, like he needed that kind of an opening, ugh.
“I believe you and I have some unfinished business, princess.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” From the look on her face, she hadn’t counted on seeing him, especially at her work.
He hesitated briefly, wondering if he’d done the right thing showing up there. He’d seen her duck behind the filing cabinet at her secretary’s desk. The poor woman tried hard to be honest about not knowing where her boss was, but the secretary had seen her, too—she was just doing her job. Ally had a loyal employee, and those were damn hard to come by these days.
“Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m talkin’ about, and I’m not leaving until we get it all out. I let you leave once. I won’t let you walk away again ’til you know it all.”
Matt freely engaged in a long talk the night before with his brother, and it proved only to encourage him to pursue Ally. Zach had been thrilled to hear all about the woman who stole his big brother’s heart. Nothing would keep Matt from her this go around except the woman herself. He could be wrong, but during the time they’d shared, she’d seemed equally invested. They were both too stupid and proud to voice it aloud.
“I’m not sure what you want me to say, Matt.” She wouldn’t look at him.
The only strike against him was his past. He hadn’t been honest, but really, killing someone wasn’t the type of thing to tell a woman he’d only recently met. Oh before I forget, I killed someone. But no worries, all’s well now.
He hadn’t told Jesse either, but he had told Matt right from the start. “Your past is none of my concern as long as it stays in the past. You do what you came here to do, and we’ll get along just fine.” He’d gotten by with that for two years, but apparently it was time for everything to pop up and bite him in the ass. He was positive she would only see a betrayal, and that would be the reason she would never want to see him again.
“I want you to admit you have feelings for me, same as I do for you.”
When her boss stormed into her office, Ally ground her teeth.
“What’s going on in here?” Daniel hadn’t ever been so rude or bossy in all the years she’d known him, but right at the moment she could strangle the man.
“Daniel, I’m actually having a private
conversation. If you wouldn’t mind leaving us alone?”
“Oh, I heard your private conversation, which wasn’t too private since your door was open, and I’d like to know what this joker means by you admitting to having feelings for him.”
“Daniel, how dare you!” She scowled in horror at the cockiness her boss was throwing around.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Matt didn’t look too thrilled either, his face having turned a deep red. He hadn’t thrown any punches…yet.
“Matt, this is my boss, Daniel.” She glared at the man. “And I can’t believe what a jerk he is being.”
“I don’t have to explain who I am. This is a place of business, not social hour,” he snapped. “And not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve asked her to go to dinner with me, so she can’t have any feelings for you. We just haven’t scheduled anything yet, have we, Ally?”
Ooh, the nerve. “No, we haven’t. And I wouldn’t hold your breath because as I’ve told you, more times than I can count, I am not going anywhere with you. That’s final. Now if you don’t mind, you need to leave my office before I can’t control this cowboy and he throws you out.”
“You can’t be serious?” he sputtered.
Utter disbelief washed through her. Was Daniel being stupid on purpose?
“All right, mister,” Matt growled. “I’ve had about enough of you. You’re botherin’ the lady…out ya go.” He turned Daniel around toward the door, pushed him into the hallway, and slammed it shut.
“I’m guessing you just got me fired.”
“Fine, you’re better off anyway. Can we go somewhere else, please? I’d like to have a private conversation with you, and I seriously doubt it will happen here.”
Ally stared at him, trying to get her bearings. Did all of that really happen? He probably did get me fired. Shit. She couldn’t avoid him anymore, so might as well get it over with.