She wiggled free, squared her shoulders, and gave him a look somewhere between finding the Holy Grail and murder. “I am not your event planner,” she stated with calm professionalism—emphasis on the latter.
“I don’t understand.” He frowned and pointed at the camera in her hand.
“I must have the wrong house.” She nodded. “That’s it. I’m pretty sure this has all been a mistake. I’ll just collect my things and be out of here.”
She headed past him, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Wait, out of here? You just got here.”
“Didn’t anyone tell you that someone from Today’s Cowboy magazine was doing an article on the wedding?” She shrugged from his grasp.
“Well, yeah. I guess I wasn’t… I mean, I figured they’d send someone…” He trailed off, dropping his hat on the side table and raking his hand through his hair with a sigh. “Someone a little more familiar with the area.”
“Whoa, wait a minute.” She held up her hand. “You don’t feel I’m qualified?”
He winced at the tone of her voice and at his own stupidity. He remembered the time he’d called her conservative and she’d gone out of her way to prove him wrong. Those choices, still raw, came rushing back—memories laced with plenty of guilt that he’d tried hard to forget. “I just mean way out here, it’s kind of remote, rugged.”
“It’s hardly the Ponderosa,” she countered. “Besides, you could play football in that remote ballroom of yours.”
He scratched his jaw and smiled. “Fair enough. I guess when I think of Today’s Cowboy magazine, I think of their staff being a bit more… you know… not so delicate.”
“You mean a guy.”
He shrugged.
“One, clearly you don’t read our magazine, and two, welcome to the new millennium, cowboy. Women can wear skirts and tote a big ol’ camera all at the same time.”
He held his hands up in truce. “When they mentioned sending someone out, I expected an entourage of lights, staff, stands. Lots of equipment.”
“Nope, they just sent me.” She frowned then, peering up at him. “Are you used to that type of thing—the cameras, paparazzi?”
He eyed her. “Listen, it seems we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot here. I’m sure you’re more than qualified. I just wasn’t expecting you.”
“That makes us two of us,” she mumbled.
“It’s just, the last time we spoke you were on your way to becoming a lawyer.”
Her gaze narrowed. “I’m surprised you remember that little detail, considering.”
Oh, yeah, he had a lot to explain. He owed her that much. “Please, stay. Have dinner with me. Let’s catch up.”
Her dubious expression spoke volumes. God, she’d gotten even more beautiful, if that were possible.
The front door opened, sending in a rush of frigid air. Cole looked over his shoulder and caught Stephan’s solemn expression. He knew without asking what was wrong. He grabbed his hat.
“The cougar’s back,” the older man announced calmly. He held a rifle out to Cole. “Saw him over by the chicken house again. Ran off down the road.”
“That’s too close.” Cole snatched his gloves from the floor and his coat from the wall hook. He stopped short of the door and looked back at Anna. “I’m sorry, I have to handle this. And I have no right to ask, but I hope you’ll stay. We have a lot to discuss.”
She crossed her arms and looked at her feet.
“Anna?” Cole said.
Her dark-eyed gaze met his, but she remained silent.
“Please?”
He could only guess the emotional battle raging inside her. She had every right to be pissed, to hate him for what he’d done. How poorly he’d handled everything ten years ago. But maybe fate had given him this chance to apologize, at least. Maybe to explain how much he’d changed, how he realized now what a jerk he’d been back then. He glanced at her hand, noting that there was no wedding band.
She sighed, and with a look of complete reluctance, nodded.
“Great. Thanks.” He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until he shut the door. He swiped his hand over his mouth and looked back at the house. Anna stood in the window watching him.
Stephan cleared his throat. “Old friend?”
“Yeah,” Cole said quietly, forcing his gaze from hers. The week after the whirlwind Vegas wedding, his mom and new step-dad had brought Cole—then a senior in college—back to the ranch, telling him this was his new home. Eva wasn’t around much—being a few years older, she’d already moved to the east coast and was working in her father’s New York investment firm. At his mother’s urging, he’d transferred to Denver to finish his business degree, and with few friends, found himself spending his weekends at the ranch. It was a dream in terms of spending days playing video games or pool, just hanging out with his mother in the rambling house that she was still getting used to. But as he came to know Jim Diamond, he found himself shadowing him, learning more about the business side of the ranch and spending more time following Stephan, learning the practical responsibilities associated with the multi-million-dollar enterprise. He began to read about the history of the area, and eventually eased into his new life.
Jim Diamond was a generous man, and kind. He loved his wife, and had treated Cole like his own son. When the call came unexpectedly one fall afternoon that Jim Diamond had collapsed during a business meeting, Cole’s life made an abrupt change from being a shadow to becoming the young business head of the ranch. Seeing what challenges the sudden change had presented, he was taken under wing by Stephan and Maria, whom he’d dubbed his surrogate parents. In the course of everyday life, he had shared with the older man some of the mistakes he’d made—one of them being how he’d left Anna.
“Anna Worthington,” he said, followed with a sigh. He kept his eyes on the road as they left pavement and the jeep bounced over the old dirt road that ran alongside the miles of pasture that was property of the Diamond Double J.
“Wait. This isn’t the same Anna you once spoke to me about, is it? The one you met in Corpus Christi? That’s been almost… ten years, is that about it?”
“I know how long it’s been,” Cole muttered. His gut was still tangled in a knot from finding her there, standing in his living room. Fate had brought the sins of his past right to his doorstep. What could he say to her now? Why would she even listen? “I was a complete ass back then, Stephan. I just left.” He looked at his friend and mentor, and shook his head. “I never even tried to contact her.” He looked out the window. “And she sure as hell deserved better than me.”
He heard Stephan chuckle. “You’re not so bad, Cole,” he said with a shrug. “I maybe wouldn’t have said that back when you first came here,”
Cole tossed him a side-look. “Thanks, I think. Not so bad?”
“You and your mom had been through a lot. You were a rebellious young man, it’s true.” Stephan glanced at him. “A lot of us were in our youth. Somehow we find our way, and Maria would tell you she’s trained me well. But I suspect that streak of rebel she once saw in me was something she secretly loved—maybe even needed.”
Cole had little time to ponder the old man’s words.
Stephan slowed the jeep as he peered over the wheel. He pointed to the edge of the tree line. Two yellow eyes glimmered in the underbrush. Cole stepped out, grabbed his rifle, and, taking off the safety, stepped away from the car to get a better aim. The big cat stared at him, unflinching.
“It might be better if you didn’t get yourself killed before you have the chance to tell her how you feel,” Stephan called out to him through the open door.
The noise caused the cat to bolt back into the woods. Cole lowered his gun and looked up at the star-studded winter sky, counting to ten before he spoke. “Felt, Stephan. Past tense.” He sighed, adjusting his rifle and placing it in the back seat before climbing back in the vehicle. “And thanks for scaring off the damn cat.”
Stephan started t
he engine. “I’ll keep watch from the loft tonight. You have things you need to get resolved.” Cole stared out his window, now frosted around the edges. It’d been a strange summer and an odd winter thus far, with more snow in October and less in November. The ski resorts had been manufacturing snow just to keep up. As though reading his thoughts, Stephan spoke as he rounded the jeep back under the carport. “Storm is coming in. You can feel it in the air. Long overdue.”
Cole got out and peered at Stephan. “You sure you don’t need my help tonight?”
“You looking for an excuse, son?”
Cole sighed. “Maybe.”
“Maybe you should take some time to think carefully about what you wish to say to her before you open your mouth. You don’t want to challenge fate to have to give you a third chance to set things right.”
“What if she won’t listen to what I have to say?”
Stephan shrugged. “I suppose that depends on what you say and how you choose to say it.”
“What if it’s too late? What if I already missed the chance when I had it?”
“Then it will be a short conversation.”
Cole shook his head. He hated when the old Indian was right.
He was putting his rifle away when he met Maria heading toward the kitchen carrying a tray.
“Is she still awake?”
She glanced at him. “Come on, you look like you need to eat. Did you get the cat?”
Cole followed, noting she hadn’t answered his question. “No, Stephan’s camping out in the loft to keep watch tonight.” They had an injured horse in the stable, brought in from the preservation land. The cat might have smelled the blood and tracked him.
“Men are crazy.” Maria sighed and shook her head.
“I won’t take that personally,” Cole joked. He parked himself at the large island in the middle of the kitchen and watched her serve up the steaming soup. She and Stephan had been together for many years.
“You should reconsider. That poor girl’s eyes were red when I went to take her supper tonight. What the heck did you say to her?”
“I just asked her to stay.” He sighed.
Maria crossed her arms and studied him. “I don’t mean tonight. I mean in Corpus Christi. I overheard your conversation and put two and two together.”
Cole looked down at the soup. “That’s the thing—I didn’t say anything to her. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing—for the both of us. We were too young back then. Lucky, most likely. Surely she understands that.”
“Given how she looked, I’m sure whatever happened between the two of you hasn’t affected her one bit.”
He felt a slap to the back of his head. “Ow, what was that for?”
“I trust you are going to talk to her?” Maria leveled him a stern look.
He nodded and shoveled a spoonful of soup into his mouth before he continued. “Of course I plan to speak with her. If she’ll listen.”
Maria went back to the task of preparing a thermos of soup, presumably to take to her husband.
“I’ll take that down to Stephan. I don’t want you out there with that cat around.”
She twisted on the cap as she spoke. “God knows we don’t need any more stress around here. Eva’s about ready to drive us all nuts.”
Cole couldn’t deny that. Getting out of the house was the primary reason he’d volunteered to help Stephan with the repairs he’d normally handle alone. “Yeah, and Mom is due in tomorrow night.”
“God help us,” they spoke in unison.
“I just hope she and Eva can get along.” Maria sighed.
Cole lifted the spoon to his lips and Stephan’s sage wisdom rolled into his head.
“Storm coming in. You can feel it. Long overdue.”
Chapter Five
Anna sat in the dark of her room, watching the fire in the stone fireplace die down. She’d not eaten. Hadn’t felt like it after her encounter with Cole. She’d hurried to her room shortly after he left, overcome by the assault of emotions that blindsided her. Maria had arrived a few moments later with a tray laden with soup, rolls and a brownie—things that would normally appease heartbreak. But having no stomach for it, she’d accepted only the tea and sent the woman on her way. She’d seen the concern on the old woman’s face, certain that her red nose and her eyes, puffy from crying, were apparent. Some of the ache in her heart had subsided, taken over with an attempt to reason that either fate was being blessedly cruel or giving her some chance at closure from the events of a decade before. Either way, grappling with the initial shock—and the unexpected flood of emotions—that he was alive and well on planet Earth was only secondary to the shock that she was there to cover his wedding! Curled on the loveseat, huddled in her robe, she rubbed her eyes, dry and sore now from crying. Outside the wind whistled around the corner of the house, the sound reminding her of the pounding surf….
Anna had been watching him from afar. Partying spring break revelers, boisterous music, and beer flowed freely around them. Mina was out with Kyle again, and once again she found herself alone. She’d not behaved kindly toward him the night before. He might not speak to her. Summoning her courage, she went over and sat down next to him on the log.
“Come for round two of insults, little lady?” He tossed a stick into the fire and it sent embers flying into the night sky.
“I deserve that, I suppose.”
He chuckled then and repositioned his ball cap backwards on his thick head of dark hair. He searched her eyes as though assessing whether she was telling the truth. A faint smile played on his lips—lips she remembered being too close to the night before. She noticed the sexy dimple on one side of his cheek, wondered if there were two.
“You know I make it a rule not to date any girl from north of the Mason-Dixon line.”
It was her turn to laugh. “That seems a bit premature, don’t you think? I just sat down to talk.”
A shout of “heads up!” was called out from the shadows just before a volleyball sailed into the ring of the startled bonfire crowd. Cole bolted to his feet and grabbed it with one hand before it beaned her on the side of her head. He turned around and tossed it back into the darkness.
“Thanks, man. Sorry!” came a voice from the distance.
“Wow, thanks, you’re pretty good with those hands.”
He glanced down at her. “You’ve no idea.”
She eyed him standing there wearing a faded T-shirt with an Austin rodeo logo and board shorts that, while they went past his knees, left little to the imagination of the commando muscular build beneath.
“Want to go for a walk?”
“Is this a date?”
He laughed, glanced away, and then held his hand out to her. “It’s a walk.”
She didn’t take his hand, but rose to meet him. He snagged a couple of longnecks from a cooler and they headed down the beach. Anna had already downed one drink just to get up the nerve to speak to him. She was a lightweight, admittedly—always the cautious one, the designated driver for college parties.
The noise dissipated as they distanced themselves from the crowd. Anna breathed in the salty air, grateful to be able to hear the sound of the waves on the shore.
“You know, I’m not a bad guy once you get to know me.”
She gave him a sideways look. “Is that what all the girls tell you?” She jogged ahead of him, shutting her eyes to the sea spray misting her face.
“You think I’m out to take advantage of you?” he called over the roar of the surf.
She turned on her heel. “Aren’t you?”
He grinned, and oh, it was tempting—sin incarnate, wrapped in good ol’ boy charm—against his bronze skin. “You want me to?”
She’d already tried the drink called “sex on the beach” at Mina’s insistence. Not until this moment did she realize how closely he resembled the sweet concoction—pretty to look at, easy going down until it sneaks up on you unexpectedly, leaving you to wonder what happened. “
You know, I like you. I do. But I’m sorry, you’re really not my type.” It was a lie. She’d seen how he looked at her, how her stomach had erupted with butterflies when he smiled. It was frightening and thrilling at the same time. She turned and continued walking. He didn’t speak for a moment.
“Well, good, ’cause the feeling is mutual, darlin’.”
Anna bit her lip, felt a retaliatory stab, but kept walking. That hadn’t been what she wanted. She’d hoped to tease him, flirt a little like she’d watched others do all week.
“You know you’re not like your friend,” he said, his voice closing in behind her.
His comment piqued her interest. “How so?” She crossed her arms and faced him.
“It’s just that you seem kind of new to this spring break thing.”
“Oh, really? And how is that?”
He shrugged. “A little conservative.” He held up his hand. “Not a bad thing. Smart, probably. It’s just….”
“Just?” she prodded.
“Not very adventuresome, I guess. Hey, I appreciate a serious woman.”
“You think I’m not fun?”
“Didn’t really say that, no.”
She eyed him, then reached for one of the open beers he carried. Not adventuresome? Too serious? She’d show him she could have as much fun as the next guy. She tipped the bottle back, letting the frosty liquid slide down her parched throat. She was tired of always feeling the need to be the reasonable one, the careful one… of letting others—mainly her parents—make choices for her. Well, not tonight. How dare he accuse her of not enjoying her spring break? He sure as hell didn’t know a damn thing about her.
She finished her beer, held his gaze as she dropped the bottle in the sand, and gave him a cocky smile as she unzipped her hoodie and shrugged out of it. “Let’s go for a swim.” She strode toward the ocean, pausing to drop pieces of clothing in her wake. She stepped into the foamy surf, gasping as the frigid water lapped around her naked flesh.
“Anna, what the hell are you doing?” he called out.
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