Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1)
Page 10
She nodded, mostly to herself. Always good enough to be the helper, the advice person, never good enough to be the one.
“She’s our business manager.” Ivan put the other trophy on her bookshelf.
“Mine.” Shane corrected and pulled in for a hug. “She’s mine.”
Yeah, right. She would never again forget she didn’t belong with them, with him. He only said those things because he wanted something, and that something wasn’t her. “Let’s go.”
*~*~*
While Shane never prided himself in book smarts, he was a master of reading people, and as he opened the Lindsay book, he didn’t have to skip ahead to know the woman was pissed at him. The crease between her eyebrows if she made the mistake of looking at him, the fact she wasn’t talking to him, and the way she stared straight ahead the entire ride were all subtle clues.
Under normal circumstances he would be able to pinpoint the origin of her anger, but he wracked his brains and came up with nothing. He was the personification of charming. Princes would soon come to him for lessons. His flirting was endearing, laced with compliments that went beyond mentioning her looks, and he used his manners well. What more could a girl want?
As he crunched through the gravel to pick up their horses, he touched his hair and caught a glimpse of his arm. The tattoos, the Mohawk, and everything about him, summed up why he hadn’t made a move with his little accountant. His pendulum continued to swing on what action to take. Make a move or let it be?
The moment she traced his tattoos the day she got lost, the pendulum stopped. Such an innocent act, but he went wild. The chills she created on his spine stayed with him, and he could relive the sensation often. In that moment he knew Lindsay was for him and screw everyone else.
Lindsay spoke with Emily, definitely avoiding him. Soon she would mount a horse and trot away, and being the grand champion she was, he might not get another chance to talk to her. If they were on his turf with his people, he would have devised a way to end up alone with her.
Hold up. He was still Shane Elliott. He stopped and scanned the area. He plastered a smile on his face and found the main horse guy. Luck still with him, his sister distracted Lindsay and he managed to reach his new best friend.
“Howdy.” Shane bowed his head.
The rustic, heavy-set man raised an eyebrow.
He held a finger up and confirmed the whereabouts of the girls. With no time to forge a friendship, he opted for a more universal route.
“I need to make sure I end up on the same ride with the one in the S and M outfit.” He reached into his pocket and tossed the man some bills. “Make it sound believable.”
The man jutted his jaw out and stared at him.
“I need to be on her horse.” He added a bill. “I’ve never ridden a horse, and as you can see, she has, so it will only be to your benefit and the horse’s.” To sweeten the deal, he added one more bill and some change. Lindsay definitely couldn’t see this because he wouldn’t have a receipt.
“You’ll have to ride Big Bob.” The man shook his head but scooped up the money.
“Gotta love Big Bob.” At that point he’d take a donkey.
Shane hung back and let everything take its natural progression. The man presented Ivan, Carson and Emily with seemingly normal horses, and then approached Lindsay with the super-sized model. There was a reason they called Bob big.
With a wrinkled nose and shake of his head, the man motioned for Shane and pointed to Lindsay and her horse. “You two ride double.”
Lindsay opened her mouth and raised her hand.
“This is great.” Shane sauntered over using his best western walk.
She tightened her lips into a line as she slipped her foot into the stirrup and hoisted herself up on the mastodon. “Excuse me, but won’t this hurt the animal?”
The man patted the horse. “Big Bob likes it.”
Before Lindsay could protest again, the horse guy held his hands out like a makeshift stirrup, and somehow Shane managed to struggle on top of the animal in what seemed a near impossible maneuver.
Lindsay was between his legs and he smiled at the image. If she weren’t pissed at him and facing the other way, the situation could have some real potential.
As he gave his new best friend a thumbs up, the animal lurched forward and he tipped backward. “Whoa!” He grabbed Lindsay’s waist.
She pulled the reins, stopping the living semi-truck. “We haven’t started yet.”
“We are really high up.” He scooted closer trying to figure out a way to save them both. At the moment his only plan was to hold on tight.
Lindsay turned and glared at him.
“This is cozy, just the two of us.” He shifted in the saddle and watched her face soften. He felt her take a breath. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” She made a clicking sound and lightly kicked the horse and off they went.
If Lindsay would have been talking to him, he would admit he didn’t mind being on the back of a horse once he got used to it. Though he wasn’t much of an outdoors type, the scenery through the canyon path was incredible. Everything appeared more vibrant, the colors seemed brighter, and the air cleaner. But his thoughts were muddied with what could have possibly happened to make Lindsay turn from a girl who smiled and blushed at him, into one who flinched at his touch.
When they got to a clearing to take a break, he barely noticed her stop the horse.
“You get down first.” She stared straight ahead.
While he wanted to grab her and insist she speak to him, he needed to tread lightly. Though the horse hadn’t gotten any shorter, he swung his leg over and practically fell off the animal. An odd wobbly sensation ran through his legs with his first step, but he managed to hold his arms out for Lindsay.
“I got it.” With the ease of a ballerina, she dismounted and tied Big Bob to a post.
Everyone else followed suit.
“Help me.” Ivan bent over and adjusted his jeans. “I think I could be sterile now.”
“Walk around that will help.” Lindsay laughed and helped with their horses.
“Now what?” Carson bent his knees and stretched.
Shane wanted to ask that exact question, but Lindsay was already coming toward everyone with two of her bags.
She motioned for Carson and reached in her bag and pulled out a stack of magazines. “These are the latest issues.”
Carson sifted through the pile. “Sweet.”
“Hold on.” From her second bag she gave him a juice box and a bag of pretzels.
“You’re the best.” He bent in, kissed her cheek and trotted off toward a tree.
Next, she went to Emily and handed her a paperback. “Here’s the next in the series.” She also gifted Emily with a juice box and snack.
Emily squealed and hugged her.
Shane had to give it to Lindsay for getting his sister reading.
She turned to Ivan. “I got you one, too.”
A second paperback appeared.
He took a breath. Lindsay had also gotten Ivan reading which was pretty good, even if it was romance.
Ivan waited and tapped his foot.
Smiling, Lindsay produced his juice and bag of treats and then as an extra benefit she popped the straw in the top for him.
Ivan kissed her forehead and left for his quiet place.
Shane kicked at the grass below him and shoved his hands in his pockets while he waited for Lindsay to come to him. The possibility that she forgot him or would purposely ignore him made his knees weaker than horse riding.
Her smile waning, Lindsay approached him and without a word handed him a pad of fine drawing paper and placed a set of colored pencils on top.
“What’s this for?” The afternoon and the pit in his stomach rendered him without a cute comeback.
“I thought you could work on your sketches.” She handed him his goodies, looked at him for an extended moment then walked away with her bag of tricks.
With determination he stomped past everyone toward Lindsay’s tree and sat on the opposite side. Something happened, he just couldn’t figure out what, and now he was on a quest to make it right. Rather than sketching, he curled around the tree and studied her.
A huge book laid open on her lap, and she thumbed through a stack of spreadsheets. She read the report while her fingers whisked away on a calculator. He never saw anyone work a calculator so fast. Then she returned to reading as she shoved a brand new pencil in her mouth, masticating it until he could hear the crunch of the wood beneath her teeth.
“Is that for the audit?” He needed to say something, anything to get her to talk to him.
She didn’t respond.
“Or is it for work?” He dug his heel into the soft grass to see better.
“These are your current books for the month.” She held up the spreadsheet. “This is for the audit.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook.
“May I see?”
Lindsay handed him the binder and he leafed through the tabs with both confusion and wonderment. A ton of work went into it. Since the day of the kiss at the theatre, he knew he wanted her. She incited something in him, but witnessing the time and effort she put into his cause, he knew he cared for her. What did that mean? He’d never experienced such a feeling before. While unexpected, it was definitely not unwanted.
“This is incredible.”
“Thankfully they’re only going back a year.”
“Is this going to be bad?” The mere thought of the audit made his blood chill, but on the bright side she was talking to him.
“An audit is not necessarily a bad thing. All it’s asking is that you prove what you submitted to the IRS.”
“Really? Every audit I’ve ever heard of ended in financial ruin.”
A tiny smile graced her face. “That’s probably because every audit you’ve ever heard of has been on television or in the movies.”
“That’s true.” He laughed and it was a small release. “No one ever explained it like that.”
“No one likes talking about it.” She held up the other report. “I’m setting everything up so you will never have to worry about your records again if you keep with the system, and I have a budget for you. All you have to do is follow it and keep records. Everything will be fine.”
He tore his eyes away from Lindsay and looked up, expecting to see an anvil falling on his head, though her comment struck him just as hard. She was getting everything set up? Keeping with the system? Everything will be fine? “Lindsay?”
“Here’s your report for this month.” Her hand trembled as she held out the spreadsheet. “I think I have done everything I can.”
He grabbed the papers out of her hand, crumpled them up and threw them aside. “I don’t give a crap about this.” He shut the notebook and tossed it as well. Were the affairs of one lowly tattoo parlor not up to her standards? He did nothing to warrant her walking away.
“I think you should. These are your finances.” With no reaction to his outburst, she put her book aside and knelt to retrieve her work.
Before she scrambled away, he caught her arm. “Listen to me, I don’t care about it!”
“How can you say that?”
“If you don’t do it, I don’t want it done.” In need of a true answer, he reached up, moving her sunglasses down her nose. Her red-rimmed eyes told a different story than her words and actions.
“What?” She tried to pull back and reach for her precious documents.
“Only you.” He kicked it further away and stared into those baby blues. “No set up to transfer to me or some hack. It’s you, or don’t waste your time. It has to be you, don’t you get it?”
She tried to break eye contact but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Tell me what I did to piss you off like this?” He pulled her closer. Maybe it was everything he didn’t do, like kiss her.
Her lower lip quivered and her eyes glazed over.
“What is it, Lindsay?”
She pulled her sunglasses down. “You know, I have a lot of work to do. You don’t know the mess this all is.”
“But you’re going to do it?” He kept hold of her.
She nodded.
“I don’t want another accountant.” That point needed to be made perfectly clear. “I only want you.”
She swallowed, her muscles relaxed. “Maybe you could find some inspiration in the setting for your drawing.”
Something told him not to push her, but he watched her demeanor change right in front of his eyes as she put her back up against the tree and opened her book. Before she began reading, she even gave him a weak but genuine smile.
He gathered up the notebook and put it by her side and then crawled over and rescued the paper he balled up and tried to straighten it out. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s all right. I have it on the computer.” She put the papers in her book. “There’s just something about hard copies.”
He moved closer, taking the time to watch her again. Something made her insecure or uncomfortable and he needed to know what. With a sigh he settled down, flipped the pad open, found the black pencil and studied her profile.
Her looks were almost old world classic, except for her stick straight hair and precision cut bangs he could have dressed her in a period costume and she would have fit right in with her gracefully sloping petite nose and lips that were plumped and red without a touch of lipstick. In fact her profile was perfect enough to make a gorgeous tattoo, and he started to draw.
“Shane?”
“Hold on.” He glanced up to see the red glow radiating from her cheeks and wanted to make sure he got the color just right. When he added his touch he reached forward and removed her sunglasses again. “Do you mind?”
“What are you doing?” She leaned over to get a peek.
“What you told me to.” He tilted the pad out of her line of sight and took in the color of her eyes. No pencil matched that incredible color. In an attempt to return things between them to normal, he purposely let his eyes travel up and down her form. “Getting inspiration.” When the red on her cheeks deepened, he grabbed his pencil again making sure he recorded the shade. It was priceless.
*~*~*
Still dressed in her entire riding ensemble, Lindsay entered one of Ivan’s favorite Mexican restaurants with Shane and everyone else.
“Now isn’t this perfect after a day out on horses?” Ivan led them through the booths and tables.
Decorated like a true fiesta, the restaurant was large, colorful and accented with blaring mariachi music. Lindsay stopped feeling self-conscious about her attire once she saw the eclectic mix of patrons in the restaurant. It may have been more diverse mix than even the Urgent Care waiting room.
All thoughts of her outfit vanished when Shane took hold of her hand. This was not one of his run of the mill hand holds. Normally, he would grip her arm, or put his hand on her back, or steer her by her shoulder. Even though she wasn’t versed, it seemed like a one hundred percent hand hold, complete with the tangling of their fingers. Her heart soared and she swore she saw it leap and fly around the room, but the sensation became quickly dulled. She needed to apologize. He didn’t know why she’d treated him horribly.
Without letting go, he managed to get the two of them seated at one end of the table. The guys started talking and Lindsay was thankful she didn’t have to speak for the moment.
She didn’t have enough columns in her ledger to sort out her thoughts. The mixed messages were endless, nothing was black and white. This wasn’t an area she knew anything about. She just wished to go back to Shane’s books. After the scene by the tree, she’d tried to calm down, not read more into his words than what was truly spo
ken. But when he wrapped his arms around her waist for the entire ride back, her whole body lit on fire. Something had definitely changed between them.
Two waitresses placed baskets of chips and stone bowls of guacamole on the table. They also put a bucket full of bottles of beer and soda in the center.
Her mouth watered at the sight of the ice cold beer with that sparkling drop of moisture running down the bottle. When she was young, her father let her take sips of his beer when her mother wasn’t looking.
But she couldn’t have one memory without the other, and a flash of her twenty-first birthday pushed into her mind. She could still feel the excitement when she and a friend from college went to a bar after being invited by a gorgeous guy. He was one of the more alternative people at school, and always wanting to be part of that group, she eagerly went. She hoped her birthday would give her some luck with her love life. It wasn’t until the next day when the beer goggles were removed that she realized the guy only wanted help studying for a test. And that was one of her best relationships. She reached for a soda.
“Please, allow me.” Shane took the bottle and frowned as he opened it. He poured some in a glass and pushed it toward her and then took a sip from it. Then he opened his beer, took a second glass and poured some and then moved that next to hers. “Why don’t we share?” He lifted the beer bottle, tilting it toward her.
“Okay.” She tapped her glass against his and they drank. As the golden liquid rolled over her tongue, she shut her eyes letting it cool the heat that seemed to be generating from everywhere within.
“Remind me to stock both our fridges with imported beer.” He took another long gulp.
She held her breath when he leaned in to her ear but they were interrupted by Ivan.
“Hey.” He hit Shane’s arm.
Shane growled and turned. “What?”
A man talking to her and holding her hand shouldn’t turn her into a pile of mush, but she felt as if she had no bones in her body. Then she studied Shane’s arm. The image of the painter’s palate and brushes were facing her and she took her free hand and ran her finger across the tattoo. She knew why he had that one. Shane was truly an artist, and she wondered if all of his tattoos told a story.