by Merry Farmer
“What’s wrong with Wyoming?” He turned the question back on her.
“Nothing,” she protested. “I love it. It’s home. But it’s not exactly a buzzing hive of activity and advancement.”
“It doesn’t need to be,” Scott said. “In fact, it’s better if it’s not.”
“Why?”
“Well, some of what we’re going to be working on is top secret,” he explained. “And being so far out from dense population areas, we’ll be able to test-launch smaller rockets. Not the big ones, of course. There are only a few places in the world that are approved for launches of that magnitude. But the other attraction that Haskell has—” He glanced right at her at the word ‘attraction,’ a flush of warmth hitting all the right spots inside him. “—is that it’s far, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life.”
Casey uncrossed her arms, letting them swing at her sides. “Why does that matter?” It might have been his imagination, but she seemed to walk a few inches closer to him.
Scott grinned. “I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but a lot of science-types, engineers, math nerds, and all don’t exactly do well with people.”
“True,” she answered slowly.
“And a lot of us have dorky hobbies, like building off-grid, green houses from scratch, all by ourselves.”
She frowned at him. “That’s a hobby?”
“Well, a dream, at least.”
“Your dream is to wedge your way onto a traditional, family property so that you can build a house all by yourself.”
Scott took a breath to gather his patience. Casey sure was determined. They’d reached the far corner of his patch, so he stopped and turned to her.
“My dream is for a simple life,” he said. “L.A. really got to me, what with its obsession with appearance and status and things. I knew I had to get out of there the day I realized my ex had more pairs of shoes than I had total pieces of clothing. She was taking up over three-quarters of the closet space in our house, while I had filled the other quarter with things I didn’t even need. She—what?”
A funny look had come over Casey. “You have a wife?” she asked.
“She was only ever a girlfriend,” Scott corrected. “And we broke up over six months ago, when I found out she’d cheated on me, not once, but three times in the last two years.” His jaw went hard as he ground the words out. Brenda’s cheating still hurt, not because of any lingering feelings for her, but because he felt like a chump for not seeing it all sooner.
“Oh,” Casey said, hugging herself again and walking on through the center of his patch. “Sorry.”
“Eh.” It was the only thing he could think of to say as he followed her. “It’s behind me. I’m here now. Haskell is my new home, and since projects like the one Howie has asked me to manage take years to come to fruition, I have a feeling I’m going to be here for a long, long time. Thus the house.”
“Right, the house.” Casey dripped sarcasm. Or maybe it was disappointment that she hadn’t been able to talk him out of it.
“I swear, Casey, you’ll like this house,” Scott insisted. “It won’t hurt your ranching operation. It isn’t disrespectful to your family’s heritage.” He paused, the urge to take a chance pulsing in him. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you let me take you out to lunch so I can tell you more about it? I have the plans in my car. I’d be happy to go over those with you.”
She stopped suddenly and whipped to face him, thunderclouds in her eyes. Her mouth opened, but she stopped herself before anything came out. The thunderclouds resolved into something sharp and clever. Scott’s pulse sped up.
“Okay,” she said.
Scott blinked, shifting his weight. “Okay…lunch?”
“Yeah. Okay to lunch.” She started forward, heading to where Scott’s car was parked by the side of the gravel road. “You can tell me about your plans, and then there’s something I want to show you.”
Her statement sounded a little too much like “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine” for Scott’s masculine brain not to turn into a sixth-grader. He was too hot to feel a bit of the January chill now. He had a lunch date with the most gorgeous, clever girl in town.
Casey wanted so hard to hate him. She wanted Scott to be a gigantic dick or a pathetic nerd. She’d have settled for him being a bore. But no, Scott Martin had to go and be thoughtful and gorgeous, interesting and stable. The way his expression had come over all giddy and innocent as he talked about the possibility of exploring the stars had twisted her gut into knots. The good kind of knots. And his concern for the environment matched her own, even though they each had very different theories about how to protect it.
But the real kicker was how steady his presence felt. He was a rock. It was obvious from the way he held himself, from the way he walked with deliberate steps, and even the way he drove—both hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road at all times. That little voice in the back of her head that sounded a lot like her mother whispered that he might be just the kind of anchor she needed, especially with her mom gone.
No, she told herself as Scott went on with an explanation of the propulsion system his team was responsible for coming up with while they drove through Haskell, looking for a place to park. She was not having lunch with him to get friendly. Exactly the opposite. She was with him to learn as much as she could to use against him, and to steer him onto a different track—one that wouldn’t end with her ranch being carved up and fed to the wolves.
“—rocket system designed to lower fuel costs and—Casey, are you all right?” Scott cut short his explanation of his team’s first mission for PSF and glanced sideways at her.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied with overdone enthusiasm. “Oh, there’s a spot right there, and it’s within walking distance of the café.”
Scott nodded, his brow knit with concern, and pulled over to the curbside parking spot Casey had indicated.
“You’re really good at parallel parking,” she complimented him as they got out and started walking up Station Street.
“Thanks.”
“It’s almost a shame to waste all that talent so far outside of town, where you could park on the lawn and no one would care.”
Scott’s mouth twitched.
Casey bit her lip. Maybe that was too much. She needed to keep this realistic if she was going to have any chance of convincing him to change his plans.
They reached the intersection with Main Street, but rather than turning left to head toward the Hop-Along Café, she turned right.
“Uh, isn’t that the café right over there?” Scott asked, glancing over his shoulder to where they should have gone as he followed her.
“It is, but there’s something I want to show you first.”
His confusion turned into a smile. “Okay.”
Casey’s hand flexed instinctively, as if she should be reaching out for him and holding his hand while they walked. She fought the impulse, focusing on her plan instead.
“This is the old train station,” she explained, stepping up onto a low, concrete platform. “The stationhouse was converted into the Haskell Chamber of Commerce in 1965. The building was constructed in the Art Deco style in 1923 by Howard Franklin Haskell II. It replaced the original stationhouse, which had been there since the town was founded in 1866.”
“Very interesting,” Scott said as they crossed over an ornate bridge built over the only section of the old railroad that hadn’t been torn up or built over. Casey noted that his hands were now in his coat pockets. Good. Less temptation for her.
“The railroad is the whole reason the town was founded. The original Howard Haskell came out here way, way before anyone else dared to and bought up as much of the land as he could lay claim to. Then he convinced the railroad to build right through here. Of course, they moved the line further south of town in the 1950s. The town was growing so vibrant and exciting, after all.”
“Was it?” Scott looked as though he was having a hard
time not laughing.
“Mmm hmm,” Casey answered cheerily, stepping down onto South Main Street. “Now, this part of town was built in the late 1870s. It was the first real expansion of the town. At first it was houses and things, but once people started opening businesses here, this is where most of the commercial part of Haskell sprouted up.”
She gestured around to the variety of quaint shops. There were several small restaurants, a convenience store that was designed to look like an old general store, a dry cleaner, a bank, and a few specialty shops selling everything from western-wear to books. The street had a decidedly cosmopolitan air about it, and in spite of the bitter cold, several people were out and about.
“Cool, huh?” She grinned at Scott.
“Very nice.”
“You should see it in summer. This is where everyone comes. It’s the most happening place in Haskell.”
“And?” He drew the word out, sending her a teasing look.
The look should not have hit her like Cupid’s arrow, but it did. She went warm all over. “And this is what I wanted to show you.”
She stopped halfway down the street. A work crew was busy installing solar panels on the roof of one of the three-story buildings. The ground floor was a fashionable clothing shop, but the two floors above that were clearly apartments. Almost all of the buildings along that stretch of the street had solar panels, new paint, and a feeling of cutting-edge excitement to them.
“Cool,” Scott said with genuine enthusiasm. “I had no idea Haskell supported renewable energy.”
“It’s another one of Howie’s ideas,” Casey explained. With a grin, she played her trump card. “He bought all the apartments in this part of town to house his employees.”
Scott continued to stare up at the workers on the roof, but his teasing, pleasing grin was back.
“And as I’m sure you know, he’s offering them for ridiculously low rent,” she went on. “Someone even told me he’s open to letting people buy some of the stand-alone houses on some of the side streets. Those have been converted to renewable energy too. Wanna take a look?”
She took a chance and grabbed his hand, intending to tug him along to see the houses that she was sure he’d love.
She might as well have pulled on a statue. Scott stayed right where he was. He lowered his gaze from the workers above to grin at Casey. “You’re pretty good,” he said.
“What?” She batted her eyes, praying she looked innocent even as her cheeks started to burn.
Scott chuckled. “Definitely an A for effort.”
“I just wanted to show you the awesome houses.” She spoke too fast, the smug feeling that she’d be able to convince him to live somewhere other than on property that should stay in her family, slipping into frustration.
And still Scott smiled. “I’ll see the houses if you want to show them to me,” he said, inching closer to her. “But I’m not going to change my mind about building my own house.”
She huffed out a breath before she could think better of it. “But these houses are super cool,” she said. “And Howie has renovated them especially for you guys.”
“I know.” Scott nodded, looking far too sympathetic. “He gave us an entire presentation about them, complete with brochures and a question and answer session with the designers.”
“Oh.” Casey deflated.
“And they’re ingenious, really. If I was interested in moving into a ready-made house, I wouldn’t hesitate to take Howie up on his offer. But seeing as my long-term dream has been to design and build a house all on my own….” He spoke his last words deliberately but gently, understanding in his eyes.
Casey felt a huge portion of her insides melting. Not every guy would continue to be so considerate when he obviously knew she was trying to pull one over on him.
And there it was again, that horrible, guilty feeling of being drawn to her enemy. That, far more than his refusal to fall for her trick, turned her mood sour.
“Fine then.” She threw up her hands and marched back toward the train station. “If you’re still fixated on ripping apart a ranch that has been a part of Haskell since before this part of town was so much as an idea, I understand.”
“Casey.” He followed her. His legs were longer than hers, and within a few steps he was walking by her side. “It really isn’t anything personal. And I promise you, I will do my best to maintain the historical integrity of the ranch.”
“But you won’t sell what you bought back to my family,” she said, refusing to look at him. She knew if she did, she’d be toast.
“No,” he answered quietly. “But let’s go grab some lunch and I’ll see if I can put your mind at ease.”
“No way,” she snapped as they reached the bridge.
“No way I’ll be able to put your mind at ease?”
Their footsteps made hollow, clomping noise as they crossed the bridge. Casey glanced from the café to Scott’s car and on to the side street where Clutterbuck’s Flowers stood. Melody would give her a ride home.
“No way I’m having lunch with you,” she said as they stepped down from the station platform.
“Wait, wait.” Scott held up his hands, his grin wobbling as if he didn’t know whether he should be amused or put out. “I’m not interested in buying a house in town, so you’re not going to have lunch with me.”
Casey paused and smirked, well aware that she was inches from being bitchy. “Yep. That’s just about the size of it.”
To her surprise, Scott laughed. “I like you, Casey Flint.”
“Wait, what?” Her smug look evaporating. Her heart thumped against her ribs.
“You heard me.” He took a step closer to her, adjusting his glasses. “You’ve got fire, determination. You’re not going to take no for an answer.”
“No, I’m not.” She crossed her arms, meeting his teasing stare with a will of iron.
“I like it. I like determination.” He came so close that she could smell the spicy freshness of him. “You should probably know that I’m not going to take no for an answer either.”
She frowned, her insides quivering and her girly bits rebellious with excitement. “You didn’t ask me a question.”
“I did. I asked you out. Twice now.”
Her mouth twitched at the corner, but whether with a smile or the urge to be kissed she couldn’t tell.
“I’m not going to go out with the man who’s intent on breaking up my family’s ranch.” She wished her voice held just a little more strength and a little less longing.
“You will,” he said. “As soon as you realize I’m not out to destroy any legacies—” He paused, bringing his face close enough to hers to kiss. “—you will.”
A wild part of Casey debated whether to throw herself at him and take up the unspoken half of his invitation.
He didn’t give her enough time to do it. With an even wider grin than before, he rocked back on his heels. “Do you need a ride home?”
“No,” she snapped. A moment later, she let her shoulders drop and let out a breath. “I mean, no. I’m going to go over to my friend Melody’s shop.”
“You sure you don’t want lunch?” The impish light in Scott’s eyes seemed a thousand times brighter as magnified by his glasses.
“Not with you.” Casey tried to be sassy.
But as she walked away she couldn’t help but think that lunch with Scott would have been delicious.
Chapter Four
Casey felt alive. Her heart beat harder than it had in a long, long time, and her days felt brighter. Her family noticed too.
“You sure seem in a chipper mood,” Ted said as Casey fixed herself a bacon sandwich for breakfast a few days later.
“I guess I do,” she answered with a smile, buttering a piece of toast and squashing it on top of the bacon.
Ted leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms, eyes narrowed in playful suspicion. “What’s gotten into you?”
Casey shrugged, picked up her sandw
ich, and took a huge bite. “I dunno.”
But she knew, all right. What had gotten into her was the thrill of competition, knowing that she had a mission, a goal, and a cause to fight for. What had gotten into her was that she had something that she hadn’t had in years, a rival, a nemesis, an enemy.
And he was incredibly hot and ridiculously charming to boot.
No. She attempted to stop that line of thought by taking another big bite out of her sandwich. The fact that Scott was an attractive, intelligent male had nothing to do with the excitement that was now lighting up her days. Whatever reaction she had to him was purely physical. She was at an age biologically where her body was pushing for reproduction, and he was a male that presented all of the classic features of being a good mate. That was it. Nothing more.
“So, what’s this I hear about you and Scott Martin walking around town together the other day?” Ted asked, laying the innuendo on thick.
Casey grunted in annoyance and took another bit of her sandwich. Brothers were such a pain. She chewed, giving herself time to think up a scathing retort, then swallowed.
“I was trying to talk him out of building a house on our property and taking up Howie on his offer of cheap housing downtown.”
Ted’s grin turned into a full-on smirk. “Mmm-hmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Casey demanded, brow shooting up.
“You always did get weird when you liked a guy,” Ted answered.
If she hadn’t wanted to eat her bacon sandwich so much, she would have thrown it at him. “I do not like him, Ted. In fact, I—” She wanted to say that she hated him, but the words wouldn’t come out. “All I know about him is that he wants to build some stupid house on our ranch.”
“Technically, those five acres aren’t ours anymore,” Ted corrected her. He was living dangerously, and Casey narrowed her eyes and ripped another bite out of her sandwich to let him know. “And you should take a look at his plans. If he can pull that house off, people will be coming from miles around to take a look at it so they can copy the design.”
Casey nearly choked on her sandwich. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she muttered.