by Jane Porter
On the plus side, multifamily apartments were a solid investment. Fewer apartment buildings were being constructed now than in the past due to the soaring building costs, and with a staggering number of baby boomers heading into retirement, seniors wanted flexibility and options, which made apartment living attractive. At the other end of the spectrum, young adults weren’t confident enough about the economy to want to purchase their own homes, making them ideal candidates for apartment living.
Climbing out of the truck, he walked around the property, careful not to step on any of the broken bottles littering the snow-covered lawn.
If this complex was on the other side of the train tracks, over by the high school, it would have been snatched up by an investor. The apartments between Main Street and Bramble were in a desirable neighborhood, but this neighborhood was important, too. This neighborhood had a school and church and good people in it. Renovated, this apartment building would lease.
Renovated, this complex could be fantastic. Sixteen families would have a decent place to call home.
Wouldn’t that be worth it?
Wouldn’t it feel good to give something back?
That was the question that always motivated him to action. Wouldn’t it feel good to do something good?
Wouldn’t it feel good to be someone good?
Could this eyesore be the answer he was looking for?
Sadie knew a split second before the door opened that he was there. She’d never called it a sixth-sense, but she did have a special awareness when it came to him.
And then the front door to Marietta Properties swung open and Rory’s big frame filled the doorway, his shadow blocking the sunlight.
Her pulse skipped as he walked toward her, wearing his trademark black felt hat, his honey-brown sheepskin coat open over a dark blue denim shirt.
He was so very appealing in every way. Even though she didn’t want to feel this spark, it burned inside of her... awareness, hope, desire.
She’d liked him for so very long. He’d been part of her heart forever. She’d begun praying for him the night his family died, and she’d prayed for him every night since. Twenty-two years of prayers. Twenty-two years of believing that love and faith could help, and heal, and that love and faith would bring him home, and maybe give him peace.
“Turning in the key to the rental house?” she asked, trying to sound calm, not easy when her stomach was lurching, and her pulse was leaping.
She didn’t love him anymore.
She didn’t.
But she could still want the best for him.
She could still want him happy.
“No, I’ve decided to extend my stay. Your website said it’s available through the holidays, so I’m going to book it through Christmas Day.”
“You’re sure?”
“I called Natalie already, and she said I just needed to swing by and take care of the paperwork.”
“I see.”
“You don’t know anything about the paperwork, do you?”
Rory had been appealing this morning at the café with the shadow of a beard, but now with a clean jaw, he looked devastatingly attractive, even more handsome now than he had as a teenage boy, and he’d been the hottest guy at their high school, with his thick, shaggy dirty blond hair, piercing blue eyes and that gorgeous face of his, chiseled jaw, lovely mouth, and just a hint of a cleft in his square chin. Girls had adored him, not just because he was a great athlete, but because he was kind. Polite. Chivalry personified.
And that was even before the terrible thing that happened on their ranch.
Everyone in Marietta called Rory a hero for saving his brother Quinn, but Rory never viewed himself that way. McKenna told Sadie that Rory blamed himself for not saving the others. Survivor’s guilt, Sadie’s mom had murmured when Sadie shared the information with her.
“It’s usually standard paperwork,” Sadie answered, trying to focus. “But since you already filled out the rental application, I’m not sure what else she’d want you to sign. I can give her a call.”
“I think she’s on her way in. I’ll just wait.”
“Here?” she squeaked.
“Is that a problem?”
“No. No. I just didn’t want you to be... bored.”
“I won’t be. It’s nice just to be in out of the cold.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?” She gestured to the narrow sideboard behind her with the coffeemaker and the platter of muffins. She’d bought a dozen this morning, and a dozen remained. “Or a muffin?” she added. “As you can see, we still have plenty of those.”
“I do like a good muffin,” he said, perfectly serious, and yet his blue eyes glinted at her. “But maybe just coffee.”
“It’d certainly warm you up faster,” she said, jumping up, and then almost bumping into him when he made a move toward the coffeepot. She took a quick step away. “I’ve got it,” she said. “You relax. Maybe in one of those chairs.” She pointed to the row of chairs outside Natalie’s office. “They’re far more comfortable than they look.”
“I’ll just wait here,” he said. “If you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind. You’re the customer.” She positioned a Marietta Forever mug on the burner, and then placed a dark roast coffee pod in the machine and turned it on. “How do you like your coffee? Black, or with milk and sugar?”
“Black. And I don’t mean to put you to work.”
“It’s fine. I’m just stapling and answering the phone when it rings.” Sadie winced at the breathless note in her voice.
She had to pull herself together. He was here to take care of business, not see her, and yet just being near him made her feel giddy and dizzy. This was exactly why she’d never found the nerve to actually approach him. Close, he was gorgeous, but from afar, he was the most intimidating thing she’d ever seen. Tough, hard, fearless, dangerous.
“Has it been busy today?” he asked.
She was glad for the question. The drip-drip-drip of the coffee had suddenly sounded too loud. “No, it’s been pretty quiet. Everyone’s getting ready for the Stroll tonight.”
“Are you going?”
“No, I can’t. I have too much to do. The practical thing is for me to stay home and get caught up so I can get everything in the mail next week.”
“But why be practical?”
She checked the coffee cup while fighting a smile. “Playing devil’s advocate, are you?”
“I just have a feeling that practicality isn’t your strong point.”
“How do you figure that?”
“You’re the woman that would appear at venues all over the country. Not sure how you accomplished that, but I wouldn’t say it was the most logical thing to do.”
Heat rushed through her, warming her cheeks. “You’re right. I have a reputation for being impractical and idealistic, but this fall I turned over a new leaf. I’m imminently more sensible now.”
“That’s quite a change.”
The brew button turned off.
She lifted the cup off the burner and carried it to him, careful not to brush his fingers with hers. “I know. It hasn’t been easy. I liked being impractical and romantic, but it’s time to grow up. If I don’t do it now, I never will.”
“I think you are perfect as you are.”
Sadie returned to her desk and sat back down. “You don’t know me.”
“I’d like to get to know you.”
She adjusted her keyboard and then the desk phone. “I want you to know that I’m flattered. I am. But it’s... too late. I’m committed to being responsible and doing what needs to be done.”
“That doesn’t sound very fun.”
“I don’t think life’s meant to always be fun.”
He studied her for a long moment. “What’s our story?”
She looked up at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“There’s something here between us.”
“No, there’s not. We’
re both from Marietta. I’m merely a fan.”
“It’s more than that.”
“I like bull riders. Is that what you want to hear?”
“Bullshit. You liked me.”
A lump filled her throat. “Maybe I did. But that was before. Your accident in Clovis cured me.”
“And yet I’m here, fine.”
“You’re here, but I wouldn’t say you’re fine. You’re hurt. And from the way you limp, I’m fairly certain you’re still in pain.”
“You know, I kept waiting for you to come back.”
“Rory, I can’t do this.”
“Why?”
“I’m here at work. I have to finish these packets. Natalie needs them for the Stroll. She’s passing out candied nuts and packets of new listings.”
“If that doesn’t scream festive, I don’t know what does.”
Her head jerked up and she met his gaze. He stood with his feet planted, his jaw jutted and his bright blue eyes skewering her. The man looked beyond gorgeous as well as primed for a fight.
“Is that sarcasm?” she asked carefully.
“I’ve been told I have a dry sense of humor.”
“Hmph.”
“Find another stapler and we’ll finish your packets together.”
“Natalie would have a fit if she found you stapling listings.”
“You’re not allowed to get help when you’re behind?”
“Not help from you. You’re her man crush.”
“Her what?”
“She has a crush on you.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Would you like to see the calendar hanging in her office? It’s a photo of you from the Extreme Tour four years ago. I do believe you are Mr. July.”
“There is no ‘Mr. July.’ My photo was the month of July.”
“It’s been four years, and yet you’re still there, above her desk, front and center.”
“You’re not as sweet as you look,” he growled.
“Looks can be terribly deceiving.”
“Indeed.” His teeth flashed white, his smile rakish and lethal. “You better find a stapler as I’m sticking around until we’ve got this confusing relationship of ours sorted.”
“There is no relationship.”
“There is, or you wouldn’t be so damn prickly.”
“Please leave. You’re going to get me fired.”
“Not if I call Natalie and explain—”
“You wouldn’t do that!”
He shrugged and reached for his phone, retrieving it from the front pocket of his jeans. “Calling my bluff?”
“No,” she said, watching him scroll through his contacts. “By the way, does she know you and Ron Douglas are one and the same?”
“I don’t think it’s come up.”
“Perhaps you’ll want to tell her—”
“Don’t worry about Natalie. I’m more concerned with you. We need to talk. We should have talked years ago.”
“But we didn’t. And now it’s too late. I meant what I said last night. I’ve given you up. Sworn you off.”
A tiny muscle twitched near his mouth. “Come again?”
“You heard me. Don’t make me repeat something so humiliating.” And it was humiliating. She’d spent nearly all of her life thinking about him and dreaming about him, and she couldn’t be that pathetic woman anymore. “But if you’re desperately in need of company, you’re in luck. I see Natalie’s car pulling in. I’m sure she’d love to have lunch with you.”
“You’re the only one I want.”
“There’s no need to torture me.”
“I think it’s the other way around, sweetheart. For two and a half years you traveled all over the country to watch me compete, without ever once introducing yourself—”
“You barely knew I was there.”
“I always knew you were there. I can tell you every city you came to see me in, and I can probably remember everything you wore.”
A shiver of sensation darted through her middle. “You didn’t ever try to speak to me.”
“How could I? You never stayed for the whole event. You’d come, and then disappear.”
True, she thought. But that was because she always got scared.
“So why didn’t you talk to me?” he added. “Why run away without ever introducing yourself, or giving me a chance to know you?”
“Because I had this crazy idea, and it was so crazy I never knew how to tell you.”
“Why don’t you just tell me now?”
“Because it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“If that’s not a game—” He broke off as the front door opened and Natalie entered the small office at full speed.
Spotting Rory, Natalie’s eyes widened, and she skidded to a stop. “Oh! Oh. H-h-hello,” she stuttered. “It’s Rory Douglas, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is, ma’am,” he answered, taking off his hat and tipping his head.
Natalie glanced from Rory to Sadie and back again. “What can we do for you, Mr. Douglas?”
Sadie took pity on her employer. “Rory Douglas is also Ron Douglas, who rented the little stable house on Farrell. He said he talked to you earlier about extending the dates of his stay?”
“Yes, he did.” Natalie’s forehead furrowed. “But if you’re Rory, not Ron, then that’s your own house. And in that case, there’s no need for any additional charges.”
“I don’t want you to lose the income from not being able to rent it over the holidays.”
“It’s a slow period for us. Summer is the peak season. And I’m not going to charge you our management fee. That’s ridiculous. It’s your property. I’ll just invoice you the cleaning fee when you leave.”
“You do a great job managing my properties,” he answered. “Thank you.”
“I’m just delighted to hear you’ll be in Marietta for the holidays,” Natalie answered. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
His head tipped. “Too long.” Rory glanced at Sadie. “Did you say where you wanted to go for lunch?”
Sadie gave him a death glare. “I can’t, I’m sorry. I have too much to do. Natalie needs the packets for the Stroll.”
“You’ve done plenty already,” Natalie said. “Go. Besides you’re almost off anyway. Don’t you leave on Saturdays at two? It’s nearing two now. Go! Enjoy! It’s not every day we have Rory Douglas home for the holidays.”
“Good thing, because all of Marietta would have to shut down and celebrate,” Sadie muttered.
Rory just smiled at her, a slow, hot, smile that made her pulse thud. “Maybe I need to return more often,” he said.
“We can only hope,” Natalie said before shooing Sadie toward the door. “Go. Get. Have fun.”
Sadie rose from behind the desk. “Let me get my coat.”
Rory gave her another one of his excruciatingly sexy smiles. “I’ll be outside waiting, babe.”
Babe.
Darlin’.
Sweetheart.
The man was full of sugar sweet endearments, but she didn’t trust him a bit, she thought, watching him leave the office to wait on the sidewalk out front.
He might walk with a cane and a limp, but his tight Wrangler jeans hugged his lean hips and butt, wrapping dense, hard muscle in dark denim.
With the clear blue sky and temperature hovering in the low thirties, he ought to be freezing with his big sheepskin jacket open, but he acted as if the weather was balmy and he was immune to the cold. And maybe he was because he’d survived years on the professional bull rider circuit and continued to compete—and win—when guys half his age had already retired.
Now she was supposed to go have lunch with him and act like it was no big deal when she could barely look at him without her heart racing and her mouth going dry and every intelligent thought deserting her. Rory Douglas was overwhelming in every way. Just talking to him last night and this morning had made her nervous and giddy, breathless and dizzy. She shouldn’t melt when h
e talked to her, but she did. She shouldn’t lose her backbone when he focused his piercing blue eyes on her, and yet right now she felt warm and tingly and spineless. Not attractive for a woman her age, and she was a woman, not a girl. She was thirty-five. She should be mature and rational—and she was, actually—except when it came to him.
He was her weakness.
Her kryptonite.
Which meant lunch with him was going to be dangerous.
The front door to Marietta Property opened and closed, and Sadie marched toward him, snapping her puffy coat closed. Rory heard her short, indignant huff as she dragged her knit cap over her gleaming hair.
“I’m not happy with you,” she muttered, yanking on her gloves as she faced him.
“Because I outmaneuvered you?” he asked.
“You didn’t.”
“Oh, I did. And it’s because you have no strategy, whereas I do.”
“I am not going to even dignify that with a response.”
“That way,” he said, touching her shoulder, and pointing toward the end of the street.
She glared at him but fell into step beside him.
“And I think you very much need lunch because you are seriously hangry—”
“I’m not hangry,” she said, forced to pause at the corner to wait for a car to pass. “I’m frustrated. You can’t just make someone have lunch with you.”
He took her elbow as they crossed the street wanting to be sure she wouldn’t slip on the patch of ice in the middle of the road that hadn’t yet melted. “I personally believe you want lunch with me, but I think you struggle with confidence, and as confidence has never been one of my issues, we’re finally having that first date we should have had two and a half years ago.”
She tugged free as they stepped up on the curb on the other side of the street. “That’s not it at all. I’ve simply made other plans, and you don’t factor into them.” She glanced at him then. “I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings.”
“Feelings aren’t hurt. I always like knowing where I stand with a woman.”