by Desiree Holt
Which of course was what had gotten him into trouble with Amy.
But there was just something about Georgie Zielinski. A certain vulnerability that he sensed underneath all that toughness. The kind of woman men talked about making love to, not just fucking.
Impatient with the direction of his thoughts, he pulled the plastic tabs on the bag together and tied them in a tight knot. He’d thought about burning everything, but they were going through a dry spell and he knew exactly how much damage an out-of-control fire could do. Plus, he didn’t want a confrontation with the fire department who required on-site supervision. But that meant unless Georgie was willing to mess up that nice SUV of hers, he’d be hauling these bags to the county dump tomorrow or the next day in his not-so-nice truck. He just hoped he didn’t run into anyone there and that the two guys that manned it weren’t into asking questions.
Questions.
Yeah.
He’d like to ask Georgie a few. Like what she was doing here and how she’d happened to end up in Saddle Wells? Why she was so determined to make this old place into a working B&B again?
After stacking the bag with the others, he pulled off his work gloves and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He wondered how Georgie was doing with her foot. He sure hoped her toes weren’t broken, but that was a damn heavy hammer she’d dropped on them. How was she going to take care of herself? Feed herself tonight?
Get ready for bed?
Hold it, cowboy. Don’t go there. This is a new you, remember?
But it still left the problem of her taking care of herself tonight. At least as far as feeding herself. He’d figure out a way to do something for her. He could tell himself he needed to repay her because she’d taken him in when he was totally out of options. Or that he wanted to make sure she was okay so he’d still have a job.
Whatever. He was going to do something. Anyway, it was more than an hour since he’d left her with that ice. For sure it was melted by now.
Taking a deep breath, he headed into the house through the back door.
“Georgie?” he called out. “Hey, I’m in the house.” He forced a little chuckle. “Hope you’re decent.”
“What else would I be with this damn foot,” she called out.
She was still lying on the mattress where he’d left her, foot elevated, droopy plastic sack of melting ice draped over her toes. Pain had carved lines in her face and her smile was forced.
He crouched down and gently eased the ice from her foot. Not as swollen. Good. And the discoloration wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. Good. Not broken. Probably just bruised.
“I think you just dinged yourself,” he said and grinned. “Remind me to be careful around you when you’re holding a hammer.”
“Cade.” She sighed. “Thank you very much for this. I agree. I don’t think the toes are broken. By tomorrow I’ll be a lot better. I’ll just get up in a little while and get some fresh ice.”
Cade studied her. “You seem to be a lady who has a hard time letting people do things for her. I used to be a person who had a hard time doing anything for anyone. I think we’re both about to make a change here.” He rose to his feet. “I’m going to get some fresh ice for you. Then I’ll run out and pick up some dinner. Any special requests?”
“You don’t have to feed me,” she protested.
For some reason, it was very important to him to do this. He shrugged. “I have to eat anyway Call it a repayment for all the coffee.” He tried on a grin. “Volunteering to do something for someone is way out of my normal range of behavior, so I’d take advantage of it if I were you.”
She smiled back. “You know, I have a feeling underneath all that crap a real person has been hiding all these years.”
“Let’s not go overboard,” he warned her.
“Anyway, thank you. Whatever you fix for yourself.”
“I, uh, thought I’d get some takeout. What’s your poison? Fried chicken, Chinese or pizza?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re actually going into town?”
He shrugged again. “Maybe over to Stone Creek.”
“Whatever works. And thank you.” She was trying to hide her pain, but he could see it in her eyes.
“I’ll be back in a while. Meanwhile, don’t move.”
Her laugh had a touch of the hysterical. “No chance of that.”
Chapter Four
Cade took time for a quick shower to wash away the day’s dirt and sweat and pull on clean clothes. When he asked her, Georgie requested Chinese food, even suggesting a couple of dishes. He frowned when she tried to give him money.
“Georgie, you pay me and I haven’t had any place to spend the money. I think I can cover dinner.”
Getting the food was a little tricky. He called the order into Lichee Gardens, the only Chinese restaurant in town. He could go to the next town, but that would mean adding forty-five minutes to the round trip. So he decided to chance it. This was a weekday so maybe it wouldn’t be too busy.
But when he pulled up in front of it, he saw some people he knew just entering and he chickened out. He drove to the Gas It Up and used the payphone to call the restaurant and tell them he’d be in the parking lot in five minutes and promised a ten-dollar tip if someone would bring the food out to his truck.
Okay, so I’m a coward. It’s hard enough looking at myself without seeing the way other people look at me.
The food was still hot when he got it back to the house and he set it all up before he went to get Georgie from her bedroom. He found her little two-step stool so she’d be able to elevate her foot. He’d even bought two bottles of Chinese beer. For her.
He insisted on carrying her to the kitchen and placing her at the table. Holding her nestled against his chest, he had to restrain himself from inhaling the fresh scent of her hair and the tantalizing perfume of whatever soap she used. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he was tempted to kiss a woman just to taste her lips, not as a prelude to sex.
Although his wicked brain reminded him that sex with Georgie Zielinski would probably be off the charts.
But this was the new Cade Hannigan. He hoped. Only two weeks old, but he clung to it like a baby to a pacifier.
“It’s got a really good taste,” he assured her as he poured ice water for himself. “Besides, I thought it might help you forget your foot for a while.”
“Thanks.” She toasted him with the bottle as she lifted it to her lips and drank.
He couldn’t help staring at the flex of muscles in her throat as she swallowed or the flick of her tongue as she swiped it over her bottom lip. His cock hardened of its own volition behind the denim of his jeans and he had to shift slightly to ease his discomfort. He might have had mindless sex with more than his share of women over the years, but Georgie Zielinski didn’t fit into that category. Sex with her, he was sure, would be anything but mindless. And besides, she was definitely off-limits.
Damn!
But it was nice sitting here, having dinner with her. Talking about this and that. He was more relaxed with her than he could remember being with a woman in a very long time. He didn’t have to be on. Didn’t have to make sure she knew she was in the presence of the great Cade Hannigan and she should be honored he gave her a few minutes of his time.
And Cade Hannigan wasn’t so great any more.
So he enjoyed the easy chatter, the ability to have quiet moments that didn’t demand conversation to fill them. He actually found himself relaxed and enjoying himself.
Imagine that.
Then Georgie leaned back in her chair and studied him carefully. Uh oh.
“So, Cade Hannigan.” She was working on the second bottle of beer. “How about telling me why you find yourself working for me for peanuts and living in a rattrap over that old barn. I’m sure there’s a story in there somewhere, and I’m damn curious.”
“Yeah.” He poked at the remnants of food on his plate. “It’s not a very pretty one, and I don’t think y
ou’d like the details.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge?” She gave a half laugh. “Besides, mine isn’t all that attractive either.”
“Bet mine beats it by a mile,” he told her.
She took another swallow of beer. “Come on, Cade. It’s just the two of us. I’m the last person to judge you. Call it payment for hiring you and giving you a place to live.”
He sighed. “You need to know that the Hannigans have been ranching this area for nearly a hundred years. Starting with my great-grandfather, they bought up land and built up the herd until we were running ten thousand head of pure Black Angus. My granddaddy and my daddy also invested money in oil and gas leases and a few other things. Pretty soon the money was rolling in faster than we could all spend it.”
He paused, trying to find the right words to continue.
“My daddy was a born user, and I guess I got all my bad habits from him. He thought it was his right to spit on people. Throw his weight around. Strong-arm folks. Walk over them. I followed right along.” He rubbed his jaw. “I know that’s not a good excuse. Not any kind of excuse, matter of fact. Just kind of an explanation of how I grew up to be an asshole, I guess.
“Money certainly talks,” she agreed.
He heard the bitterness in her voice. “Sounds like you know it firsthand.”
“You could say that.”
“Unfortunately,” he went on “when you no longer have it, no one gives a shit about you. I was so angry at my father for losing everything. Leaving me without a pot to piss in.” He chuffed a sound. “And I can tell you, my so-called friends couldn’t run away from me fast enough.”
“That’s a terrible thing to live through,” she said, concern evident on her face. “So why does Amy Montgomery have it in for you more than someone else might?”
“Ah, Georgie, that wasn’t one of my finest hours. At all.”
“Come on. Spill it. Then I’ll tell you my tale of woe.”
Hating himself as he heard the words come out of his mouth, he told her about being engaged to Amy Stark, cheating on her in a very public place then getting mad because she was upset. And finally going so far as to threaten her when she started seeing Buck Montgomery.
“I was like a kid whose toy someone had stolen.” He rubbed his face. “I should have had a drink before blurting all of this out.”
“But you really wouldn’t have hurt her, would you?”
She was studying his face. Then she leaned over and put her hand on his arm. Just her touch singed his nerves and sent shockwaves through his system.
Jesus!
His gut twisted into a hard knot as he waited for what she said next.
“I hope this comes out right, but I’m really proud of you, Cade.” She smiled. “I know you haven’t had a drink since you came to work here, just like you promised. I see you working out there every day almost from the minute the sun comes up. You don’t go anywhere at night and I can’t imagine lying in bed up in that barn is any too pleasant, but you stick to it.”
He snorted. “Gives you plenty of time to think, unfortunately. Just like working outside.” He shook his head. “I’ll tell you. If I had met me six months ago I would have hated me. A lot of days now I still do.”
She tightened her fingers on his wrist. “We all have our demons, Cade. It’s what we do about them that counts.”
“Are you going to tell me about yours? Fair’s fair, you know.”
She sighed, but he noticed she kept her hand on his wrist. Tentatively, he covered it with his own, relaxing a fraction when she didn’t move it away.
“Just like your story is the rich asshole who loses it all and falls down in the gutter, mine’s as much a stereotype.” She wet her lips. “I grew up on the opposite of the tracks from you. Dirt poor with worthless parents. But I found out I had a brain and used it. Took business courses. Accounting. Computer classes. Got a job at the headquarters of Carlton Hotels in Dallas. Then things got really good. And really bad.”
Cade took a chance and lifted her hand from his wrist, held it in his palms, stroking it lightly. Hoping she’d be too busy talking to jerk it away.
“I don’t follow.”
“I subbed for the CEO’s admin one week and Everett Carlton apparently was impressed with my smarts. He began pushing me up the corporate ladder.” She gave a rude laugh. “The high-class bitches who worked there resented the hell out of me, especially those with college degrees. The men climbing up the corporate ladder pretty much ignored me. But you can imagine why they all thought Carlton was being so good to me.”
“Put out to move up,” he said crudely.
“They couldn’t have said it any better.” A sad look came over her face. “Everett Carlton was a gentleman. He had a wife he loved and a family he doted on. There was nothing between us. Nothing,” she repeated fiercely.
“Hey, hey, hey.” He tightened his hold on her hand. “I believe you. Really.”
She looked at him. “Why? You don’t even know me. I could be feeding you the biggest line.”
“You know, Georgie, when they say it takes one to know one, they’re right. I was the world’s biggest bullshitter. Believe me, I’d know if you were feeding me a line. I was the champion.”
He took a chance and rubbed his thumb over her hand where it lay in his palm. He wondered if she was even aware of it. And if she was, did it feel as good to her as it did to him? He was dipping his toe in dangerous waters here. He couldn’t believe how badly he wanted this woman. But one wrong move and he could be out on his ass again.
“So what happened after that?” he prodded. “I’m sure you didn’t leave just because of some snotty bitches and asswipe men.”
“No. I guess it’s an old, old story. Everett Carlton retired and the man who moved into his spot didn’t have the same respect for me Everett did. He made it very plain I was trash as far as he was concerned. If I wanted my job, I could keep it on my back and on my knees. Take it or leave it.”
Her words struck a painful chord with Cade. How many times had he used the same tactics on a woman who wanted to hang around rich Cade Hannigan? Seeing things through her eyes made him want to crawl into a hole and stay there.
“Couldn’t you file a sexual harassment charge?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? He flat out told me put out or get out. If I’d tried to file charges, he’d have made sure I never worked anywhere again. And trust me, he had that kind of power and influence.”
Just like I used to. What a friggin’ asshole I was.
Georgie—sweet, warm, honest Georgie—somehow made him understand that he’d been someone with no redeeming qualities. The picture of himself that blasted into his brain disgusted him.
“So you left Dallas.”
She nodded. “Ever since I started in the hospitality business, I’ve dreamed of owning my own B&B. I mean, that’s all it was. A dream. Where did Georgie Zielinski from the wrong side of the tracks get off thinking she could do that, right?”
“I’m ashamed to admit that not that long ago I might have thought that. But not anymore. So go on.”
“I had a lot of money saved. Never had much to spend it on. When I found this place on the Internet, I emptied out my bank account and my 401K, and here I am. I figured when this place was so cheap it was a sign, right?” She chuckled. “A sign that I’d lost my mind.”
Without even thinking, he lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips over her knuckles. “I can’t remember the last time I met someone with your kind of courage. You make me ashamed of myself. You’ve got guts and smarts, Georgie. You’ll make this work. And I’m going to help you.”
She studied his face carefully, searching for something.
“I’m probably the most gullible woman in the world, but two weeks ago, when you showed up at my door, I sensed there was someone decent hiding inside. Someone you’d kept buried for a long time. We’re like kindred souls, you know? Tossed out with no place to go but up.”
He had to laugh. “Georgie, you’re so far above me it isn’t even funny. You had no control over what happened to you. I did and I fucked up. Badly. But I’m going to prove that your faith in me isn’t misplaced.”
Their faces were scant inches apart now, and he knew if he didn’t kiss her pretty soon he’d explode. Yet he didn’t want to screw up the only good thing to happen to him in a long time. Maybe ever.
Georgie could feel her heart beating rapidly and was sure Cade could see the thrumming of her pulse at the hollow of her throat. She had no business getting intimate with Cade Hannigan, but her body wanted him more than she wanted food.
In for a penny, Georgie. What can you lose? He’s got no place to go, right?
She leaned closer, conscious that his thumb was still stroking her knuckles softly.
“How forward will you think I am if I ask you to kiss me?” she asked.
He smiled. “I’d say, hallelujah. Because I was about to die from wanting.”
They met across the corner of the table. His lips were warm and firm on hers, and when he licked her mouth softly, she could feel the electric charge all the way to her pussy. He traced the closed seam back and forth until she opened for him and his tongue swept in.
Holy crap!
She let her own tongue dance eagerly with his, in and out, back and forth, sampling each other. Savoring the taste. He licked every inch of her inner cheeks, her gums, her teeth, light flicks and sweeps that coaxed her to answer back with her own foray into his mouth. The only things that touched were their mouths and their hands, yet it was the most erotic kiss she had ever had in her life.
Cade broke the kiss but kept his mouth still less than an inch from hers, his breathing as raspy as hers.
“Georgie.” The heat in his eyes nearly singed her. “The last thing in the world I want to do is fuck up what I’ve got going here. So if you don’t want this, tell me right now and we’ll pretend it didn’t happen.”
She swallowed. Hard. She had always been so careful about her relationships, always been aware of the gossip about her. She certainly never fell into bed with a man she knew only two weeks. But there was something connecting the two of them here and she had no intention of stopping it. Tomorrow, she’d deal with the fallout.