Mud and assorted animal by-products caked the bottom of her once-white tennis shoes. Her back and shoulders ached from tromping all over the ranch, holding a bridle so Garrison could clean a horse’s hooves, handing him nails while he repaired loose boards on the house. She was pretty sure he didn’t need any assistance, but he seemed to enjoy the company.
She sure enjoyed his company. Damn. This was so bad for her future plans.
She had no problem appreciating how he concentrated on the task at hand, his gentleness with the animals, his raw strength as he threw around bales of hay. Garrison’s energy appeared to have no limits. She really had no problem studying the press of his mouth as he puzzled out how to fix something, and as a matter of fact, she’d like those lips on her, pronto. He even seemed unaffected by the bite of cold air and the muddy, snowy ground as he moved from one job to another like a Stetson-wearing Energizer Bunny.
So, if she liked watching him work, and she liked him, what was the problem?
Everything.
Even though she had grown up in Copper River, Sara was no rancher, wasn’t cut out for this life.
She had no future here. To follow her own plans, she shouldn’t form entanglements.
Sure as heck shouldn’t develop anything resembling roots.
Then why did she care what happened to Garrison and his family?
She shouldn’t.
Besides, the threat to the Taggarts would remain if she continued to see him. How far would the feud escalate?
Cold, harsh reality settled in: She needed to put an end to this ... whatever had begun between them before more than a barn got destroyed. Before she lost her heart and her future. Before someone else in this family got hurt.
• • •
Garrison studied Sara’s furrowed brow and stooped shoulders. Maybe she wasn’t into the ranching. Maybe he’d worn her out. Not everyone was used to the work here.
He’d tried to get Tiffani to enjoy life at the ranch, catering to her comfort and needs as much as he could. It was never enough. She had finally gotten a house in town to stay for “when the ranch got to her.” In retrospect, that act was the beginning of the end with them. Their relationship had been broken long before she left him, years before she had mailed the divorce papers.
Yet here he was, going down the exact same road with Sara.
Today’s “date” included repairs to the smaller barn on the property. Some romantic location. Setting down his hammer after pounding the last board, he turned toward Sara.
“Are you doing okay?”
All right, that was a lame line.
Her full lips curled upward, enough to grab his complete attention.
“Sure.”
The smile didn’t reach those beautiful brown eyes.
And damn him to hell, but he itched with the desire to use his power on her. Find out the truth.
At least he’d abandoned the idea of using her as his watchperson for Zach. Manipulating her to help Garrison be a decent parent? One look at her trusting face, and he knew he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t use her for his own selfish purposes.
“Let’s sit inside the barn for a bit,” he said.
She frowned and stepped back with a wary, shuttered expression. Probably waiting for him to say something equally as idiotic as he did the other night. Hopefully, he could keep from shoving his foot in his mouth, because damn it, he liked Sara.
But he wouldn’t push her into a miserable life, either.
They sat at the end of the barn, the warmer air punctuated by the sounds of horses in their stalls. A peaceful calm settled on him—something he hadn’t felt for years on the ranch.
“I am glad if it relieved your stress.” Her words from the ugly end to a beautiful night came back to haunt him.
Damn it. Maybe that was the problem: He needed to choose better things to say to this woman. He should probably try telling her how he felt, while he was at it. His skin crawled with the prospect of opening himself up to someone else. Yet another skill in which he was sorely deficient.
But he’d give it a try for Sara.
“Um, listen. I don’t want you to be on the ranch because of me.”
She reared back like she’d been hit, her wide-eyed expression nearly destroying his resolve. “What?”
“Okay, that came out wrong. Damn it.” He faced her on the bench. “I really like you. But life isn’t great right now on the ranch.”
“Oh, I see.” The light in her eyes dulled.
“No, you don’t. See, I had a wife who didn’t like it here. You know how that worked out.”
“I understand what you’re saying.”
He gritted his teeth. “No, you don’t. I want you to like being here. On the ranch. With me.”
“But I do. Garrison, I enjoy spending time with you.”
“Yeah, but you’re not cut out for this life.” Son of a bitch. “That came out wrong, too. Damn it, I can’t say the right things around you.”
Thank God she giggled a little.
“What I’m saying is, I don’t want to force you into a life you don’t want. I can’t handle a repeat of what happened before.”
“We’re talking about what you want?”
With that little smile, either she was teasing him or about to eviscerate him.
He swallowed. “Well, yes.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of selfish?”
His chest felt like it had caved in, and he opened his mouth, only to be stopped by her hand in front of him.
The wry twist to her mouth made his heart clench in response. “Want to know what I want?”
“Okay.”
She opened her mouth but paused. Finally, she started. “I want for you and your family not to get hurt. And I have a future planned that doesn’t involve Copper River. So, along those same lines, we are in agreement: I shouldn’t even be here.”
Whoa. Something had gone way wrong with this conversation. She couldn’t even meet his eyes. “You want to leave? Again?”
“No.” She twined her fingers in her lap. “And that’s the problem.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I know. Damn.” She jumped to her feet.
His gut knotted. His heart lurched and twisted like a terrified, chained dog in his chest. She couldn’t leave. Not yet. Whatever her future plans involved, he’d figure out a way to be involved, right? Standing up, he grabbed her hand, yanked her to him, ripped off his hat, and kissed her. He needed her in his life, without resentment. He needed her. Like now. Groaning, he shifted his stance to relieve the sudden pressure in his jeans.
As he slid his arms around her back and neck, he ran his tongue over the seam of her lips until she opened on a gasp. The floral scent of her hair, her sweet taste, the silky slide of her tongue tangled with his – all shot sensations right to his hardening erection, which didn’t give a shit about how much she did or didn’t like ranch life. All he wanted right now was Sara, preferably naked.
As she shivered beneath his hands, regret stopped him. They had few options for impromptu sex on the suddenly much too crowded ranch, should the mood strike.
And damn, how the mood struck Garrison.
He worked a hand under her jacket and pulled her even closer, wanting more of her body pressed to his.
He slid a hand into her hair and tugged her head back, exposing her flawless neck. As he licked and nipped his way downward, her little gasps and sounds of happiness drove him to taste more skin. Until her shirt collar stopped him.
But he sure could improvise.
He dragged his mouth sideways over her lower neck and worked his way back up to her mouth. Keeping her head tilted, he plunged his tongue back through her parted lips. God, he could drink her in like this forever.
When he finally came up for air, they were both breathing hard. Her pupils had dilated, and her flushed cheeks put him about a second away from throwing her down and making love to her right there on the barn floor.
He co
uldn’t do that. Sara deserved better.
Damn.
Sara. Who had as much as said that her life didn’t have room for him in it.
Sara, who had told him she wanted to leave. Again.
After one more kiss, designed to get her attention, he stepped back, keeping his hands on her shoulders.
Her lips trembled. No force in this world would stop him if she gave him the green light to take things to a new level right now.
“So?” he asked.
“Well. Okay, then. Wow,” she said.
“Um.” Apparently all he could muster was a single syllable around her.
She blinked once. Twice. The passion on her face morphed into a sadness that looked suspiciously like regret. Damn it.
He had to salvage this conversation or he’d lose her. He needed to figure out how to give her time and space when he wanted her here and now.
“Damn it, Sara. I want you, and not just, well, because you’re hot.” They both cringed.
This time, he lifted his palm to cut off her response. No way could he deal with rejection. Not right this minute, with her smell and taste still tormenting his senses.
He dropped his hands. “So I agree with you. Yes, you should go home. Not that I don’t want you here. I do. But you need to decide what you want. Decide if I fit into any type of future with you.”
Damn her blank stare, her thinned lips. “Okay, then. You’re right. I’ll leave.” Turning away from him, she took a few steps, then pivoted back around. “Stay here. I’m taking you away from your work. And I can’t handle you walking me to my car.”
“Sara—”
The side door closed with the dull thud of wood in the frame, leaving him alone with the disapproving eye rolls of several horses, a hard-on that threatened to squeeze off his blood supply, and sour regret in the pit of his stomach.
Nothing to do now. Garrison would give her space to think their relationship through, even if it killed him.
Chapter 19
As far as going over to the Taggarts’ ranch yesterday and, as Izzy delicately put it, grabbing Garrison by his balls and making him understand that Sara was much more than a stress reliever, that performance stunk.
Not only had she not accomplished her goal, but the plan had also backfired. God bless him, Garrison had laid out his feelings, kissed her until she couldn’t see straight, and then told her to go home and think about what she wanted. He didn’t seem mad. More like he was tired of indecision. Well, that made two of them.
Didn’t matter. After that kiss, Sara knew damn well what she wanted, and it lived underneath a work shirt and a pair of tight jeans.
What about her own future that she’d worked so hard to create? She had another two and a half years, and then her loans would be repaid. Sara would be free of debt.
Free of Copper River.
And what about the problems with Hank and the threats to the Taggart family? God, what about her job? If she pursued a future with Garrison, she had an excellent chance of losing her job from Hank’s sheer vindictiveness. If she pursued a future with Garrison, innocent people would be hurt.
By the time she made it to school, Sara had made her decision.
Now, if only she could get her sleep-deprived, aching body through a day filled with energetic second-graders.
At recess, she kept an eye on Zach.
When the Brand twins sidled up to him, her heart dropped to her feet.
Zach stumbled suddenly, and the twins stuffed hands in their pockets and looked everywhere but the kid sprawled on the snowy ground. Zach struggled to his feet and walked away a few steps, until he tripped over a booted foot and fell again.
Her heart ached when she spied his red face. He bit his quivering lower lip but got back to his feet again.
Get out of there, Zach.
A shove. She couldn’t stop herself from marching over there.
Dropping her hands onto the Brand kids’ shoulders, she kept her stance casual and friendly to the outside observer but squeezed the boys much harder than she should. She had to keep this discipline under the radar, or Butch would make good on his threat. These little Brand monsters were all but untouchable.
“Gentlemen?” she asked.
Zach fled to the far side of the yard.
One of the twins stuck his tongue out at her in a shocking display of disrespect. Figured, given the stellar character of their uncle Hank.
“Perhaps you should go play over on the monkey bars?”
“You can’t tell me what to do— Ow!”
The second snot-nosed kid smirked. “What are you gonna do, send us to the principal’s office?”
Touché, minijerk, touché.
“Uncle Hank says you’re a slut.”
She squeezed his shoulder until he yelped. Then she leaned down inches from the boy’s face.
“Maybe I won’t send you to the office, but you know what I can do?”
His eyes widened as she pulled the other boy close to listen.
“I will do evil things to evil boys.”
“What?” one boy whispered.
“I will put you in detention until the end of time.”
“So what?”
“Or if that doesn’t work,” she paused, making sure she had their attention, “you will hold hands with a girl for the next month.”
“Ew, gross.”
“Or ...,” she continued.
“Or what?”
She wanted nothing but to wipe the sneer off that boy’s face.
“Or you will have cafeteria duty for the rest of the school year.”
Two sets of raised eyebrows and pale faces. Good. The threat of cleaning lunch plates worked every time.
“Got it?”
They squirmed out from under her hands and ran over to their friends.
As she straightened up, she caught a face in a window. Damn. Butch.
Well, crap.
Ignoring the invisible daggers protruding from her back, she stiffened her spine and walked over to a brick wall to continue monitoring recess. Cold sweat pricked her forehead and chilled in the icy breeze. Her full body shiver had nothing to do with the wintry weather, though.
A few more hours and she’d be done for the day. Thank God.
As Sara stood at the front of her classroom an hour later, reviewing math with the kids, she couldn’t keep from glancing out the window of her classroom. The snow fell in earnest now. Winter had arrived. A few inches of snow already coated the ground, and it was forecast for a good foot or so tonight, not unusual for early November in Wyoming. Normally, she loved when it snowed because she could get all cozy reading and enjoying the peace and quiet.
But everything irritated her. She was on edge. Too sensitive. Like someone watched her.
Probably because Butch had seen her with his nephews at recess.
Quiet time on her couch? Ha. Not tonight. The last thing she needed was time for introspection. Or time to recall Garrison’s work-roughened fingers caressing every inch of her body and his lips working their magic. No. These thoughts led to short-term pleasure but long-term pain. She couldn’t stay in Copper River after her teaching assignment ended.
She sighed. For a minute, though, she considered it. What would life be like in a normal relationship, where she saw her boyfriend several nights per week and on weekends? Dinner, movies, sleepovers. Normal couple behavior.
The fantasy floated, within her reach.
It was up to her to grab the brass ring.
She shook her head and returned to the lesson.
A movement outside caught her attention as a truck growled around the back of the school. Probably a parent, arriving early, eager to get home in the weather. She couldn’t make out the figure in the truck with the thick snow falling.
Typically, she didn’t pay much attention to vehicles around the school.
Until Garrison.
Damn it. Finish the day already.
“Ms. Lopez?” Zach had his hand up
. “Can I go to the bathroom?”
If his jiggling legs were any indication, he’d been holding it for as long as possible. She glanced at the clock on the wall: 2:45.
With no energy to argue today, she gave in. She couldn’t argue with anyone right about now.
“Quickly.”
He dashed out of the room, the sound of his rapid footsteps fading as he ran down the hall.
Focused on teaching the kids multiplication by fours, she startled when the bell rang a few minutes later. Students chattered, put away their school supplies, and donned coats as they headed to their parents’ vehicles or the buses.
Sara gripped the edge of her desk.
One desk still had pencil and paper on it.
One coat still hung on the wall.
• • •
Garrison’s Monday started out foul and quickly progressed to downright crappy. Never mind that he hadn’t heard back from Sara; he hadn’t slept at all last night to boot. So his attitude had pretty much circled the drain all day long.
In the early morning, while riding out to check the property boundary, Kerr had found footprints leading away from the ranch house, through the edge of a pasture, and into the national forest. There, deep ruts, likely from an ATV, took off up into the foothills.
Unfortunately, they had to stop the search due to the snowstorm that started up around midday. Now a few hours later, the tracks were long covered. Any proof had been buried under the snow.
Garrison would bet his best horse that Hank was somehow responsible, but he had no concrete evidence, same as before.
Son of a bitch.
Even as the issues with the ranch tried to drag him down, his thoughts kept going back to Sara.
The more he tried not to think about her, the more her sweet smile and tempting body intruded front and center in his mind.
Out of his hands now. He’d cope with disappointment in the best way he knew how: hard work. He’d start by feeding the horses and making sure they were safe and warm in the smaller second barn.
If he got a spell of clear weather in a few weeks, he might be able to get the big barn rebuilt, or at least get a shell up that was functional enough to store supplies.
Supplies he’d have to buy all over again.
Damn it. Time and money. Two things he didn’t possess right now.
Legacy of Lies Page 15