Patting the horse once more, she made her way back to the house. As she walked in, she was surprised to see the sofa already put back together and Harm leaning against the kitchen table, his boots crossed. “Oh, hi. I didn’t expect you to be up yet.”
“When were you planning on telling me?” he said, his tone cold, hard.
Her stomach bottomed out. “When did your memory come back?” she asked in a quiet tone.
He jerked his head toward the phone. “When your brother called to check on us. When, Jena?” he snapped.
She stilled herself to keep from jumping at his fierce tone as she closed the door. “I was coming in to tell you just now.”
He crossed his arms, his face turning to stone. “Go on, I can’t wait to hear your explanation for why you lied? Why you gave us a past and planned our whole future?”
She gasped and shook her head, trying not to let his harshness hurt so much. “I never claimed a future together, Harm.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “But you sure as hell put yourself firmly in my present.” Slicing his hand toward the sofa, he bit out, “Every fucking thing that happened last night was made up bullshit! Why, Jena?”
“I’m sorry, Harm. I was in a panic when you got knocked out and couldn’t remember. All I wanted was to—”
“You know what…save your lies for the next idiot,” he sneered, then turned and grabbed his hat from the table. Pulling the house key from his pocket, he set it on the table as he jammed the Stetson onto his head. His boot heels pounded the wood floor as he strolled past her as if they’ve never met and walked out the door.
She started to go after him, to try to fully apologize, when the phone started ringing.
Heaving a sigh, Jena answered, “Hello?”
“What the hell is going on, Jena? I just got off the phone with Harm not long ago. Why haven’t you agreed to sign the papers?”
She peered through the kitchen window and watched Harm stalk along the drive, his stride steady and determined. “I’m not selling, Ty.”
“What? This is ridiculous. When are you going to grow up? You can’t just keep flitting through life, doing things at your whim. Other people are involved—”
“I’ll sell part of my land to Harm and you can sell him your half, but I want the house and a couple acres around it. That should be fair to everyone.”
A heavy sigh gusts in her ear. “I’d rather not parcel the land up like that. Harm was pretty clear that he wants all of it. Listen, I need to get back to Maryland for meetings on Monday. You said you were going to take a vacation soon. Why don’t you stay put and spend some time here before you make such a big decision like moving here permanently. I suspect that by time I’m able to fly back in a few weeks you’ll be ready to sell. Texas isn’t anything like Maryland, Jena.”
I know it’s not. It’s exactly what I want. “Go on back to Maryland, Ty. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine here. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
Once she hung up, Jena forced thoughts of Harm to the back of her mind. She had a feeling he wasn’t up to listening to any apology or explanation she offered and wouldn’t be for a while. Looking around the sparse house, she mumbled, “Guess I’d better get to the store for some supplies.”
She’d forgotten how quaint Boone’s town center was with its old-style clapboard storefronts and the warm sun shinning on their big picture windows. Jena glanced up at the huge white banner buffeting in the warm breeze over Main Street as it advertised an upcoming festival. She smiled as townsfolk waved as they passed each other on the street. Never saw that living in a big town. A few cars drove past, but for the most part people were out running errands on foot or walking their dogs, or just strolling through the park across the street from the town’s center.
A dark-haired woman in her mid-fifties reached the convenience store’s door at the same time Jena did. Pulling the door open for her, the woman smiled. “Nice morning.”
“That it is,” Jena replied, smiling back. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You new in town or just visiting?”
Jena inwardly chuckled. That’s another thing that would never happen where she lived in Maryland—total strangers asking you personal questions. Grabbing a pushcart while the woman picked up a wire basket from its rack, Jena nodded. “A bit of both actually. I’m staying in my great aunt’s place.”
“Oh?” The woman’s light brown eyes lit up. “Who’s your aunt?’”
Jena turned the cart’s wheels around. “Sally Tanner.”
The woman’s expression instantly filled with sympathy as she stepped closer and patted Jena’s arm. “I’m so sorry about her passing, dear. Sally was inspiring woman and a great neighbor.” Putting her hand out, she said, “I’m Mary O’Donnell. I live a few miles down the road from Sally’s place.”
Jena shook her hand. “Jena Hudson. It’s nice to meet you.”
Releasing Jena’s hand Mary tilted her head, her gaze full of questions. “Are you going to live at Sally’s place then? I didn’t see a For Sale sign on the Double D property, which made me wonder who got the land since she didn’t have a family of her own to leave it to.”
Jena nodded. “My brother and I inherited the land and her house. I’ll be living there now.”
“Excellent!” Mary said, rocking on her heels as if she couldn’t contain her happiness.
Jena gave a half-laugh. “I think so at least. My brother thinks differently. Well, I guess I’d better get the supplies I came for. It was nice meeting you, Mary.”
“Pooh on him. You’ll love it here. It’s nice meeting you too, Jena.” As Jena started to back away, Mary continued, “I’ll bring you a welcome casserole sometime soon.”
Jena paused. “You don’t have to do that.”
Mary’s smile broadened. “It’ll be my pleasure. Truly. Take care.”
Once Mary headed off, Jena took a deep breath and stared up at the aisle’s signs. “May as well start on aisle one.”
* * *
Later in the afternoon after exploring Sally’s property on horseback, Jena had just started to head down the main trail that led back to the house when an Irish Setter streaked across the worn down path, quickly followed by a blond, curly-haired boy calling out, “Quit chasing rabbits, Gimp! Dad’ll kill me if I’m late for dinner again this week.”
He’d paused for just a second and gave Jena a quick glance before dashing into the woods after his dog. Unfortunately their sudden appearance had startled the horse. As soon as he reared up, Jena let go of the reins in order to quickly grab the saddle horn to keep from falling off.
“Whoa, boy!” she called out forcefully, but he was too worked up. His hooves fell to the ground only to lift up in the air once more, this time accompanied by a panicked whinny.
While she attempted to hold onto the saddle horn with one hand and grab the flying reins with the other, two loud whistles shot through the air and her horse instantly settled.
Jena jerked her gaze to the source of the noise to see Harm sitting on a horse not twenty feet away, his expression thunderous.
Great. Has he come to yell at me some more? Leaning over so she could compose her expression, she retrieved the reins and waited for Harm to walk his horse up to hers.
“What the hell were you thinking going off riding?”
Her spine stiffened as she looked at him. She couldn’t see his eyes; the cowboy hat shrouded them in shadows, but the terseness in his voice was enough to set her on edge. “I’m checking out the property. What are you doing here? I figured you’d had enough of me for one day.”
Brackets formed around his mouth. He was so cold and distant it’s hard to believe this was the same man she met at the hotel the day before.
“I’m here to conduct business, Jena. If you recall, that part of our negotiation never happened.”
“I’m not selling,” she said as she moved her horse around his and nudged it forward.
“The hell you aren’t,” he grated out as he pull
ed up beside her. “We had a deal.”
She glanced his way and tried to ignore the pain in her heart. The anger in his eyes really affected her, more than it should. But last night she’d felt so connected to him, like she’d known him for years. How could that evaporate so quickly? Was it really all a fantasy? Her heart squeezed at the thought. “You had a deal with my brother. Not with me. He still wants to sell and I’m willing to sell part of my half, but I want the house, the barn, and a couple of acres.”
He shook his head in two fast jerks. “I want it all, Jena.”
Her spine stiffened. “Too bad. You aren’t getting it.”
Harm’s hand landed on hers, yanking the horse’s reins. When her horse halted, he glared at her. “It’s bad enough you fucked with my head last night. I won’t let you screw with my business too.”
Jena jerked her hands from under his and glared back at him. “First of all, there was two of us in that bed, Harm, not one. I tried to apologize, but you wouldn’t hear me out, so I’m done making an effort on that front. Second, I’m not trying to fuck you over. I sincerely want the land and the house. I’ve made you a fair counter offer. You’re just refusing to take it.”
His jaw worked as his hard gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t go riding alone again.”
She curled her fingers tight around the leather reins and counted to five to keep from yelling at him. “I’ll go riding any time I damn well please.”
“Not on my horses, you won’t.”
Jena glanced down at her mount. The horse had instantly responded to his whistles. Meeting his gaze, she shrugged. “I didn’t know he was yours. Be sure to take your horses with you when you leave.”
“My horses aren’t going anywhere. Sally gave me permission to use her stables and they’ll stay there until I decide to move them.”
“Not in my stables, they won’t.”
“Jena—”
“Give and take, Harm. Give and take.” She threw his words back at him, eyebrows raised in challenge.
Harm clamped his mouth shut and turned to stare straight ahead. Nudging his horse forward, he said in a gruff tone, “Let’s get back. It’ll be dark soon.”
Jena followed behind him, a bit of satisfaction warming her heart. Their relationship might’ve been entirely made up, but if Harm hadn’t figured it out already, he’d soon learn that the Jena he met last night was one-hundred-percent real.
Chapter Six
Jena hadn’t seen Harm in a couple weeks. She didn’t count the few times she’d seen him shadowing her while she took a horse to explore more of her aunt’s property. Harm did come by everyday to take care of the horses, but he always came before she woke. If it weren’t for the mucked stalls and freshly replenished food and water in the horses’ troughs, she’d never know he was there.
During that time, she’d updated pictures, lamps, and throw pillows, purchased new sheets and a comforter for the bed, then restocked all the household items that had been donated. She’d even put a new flowerbed in the yard, installed big pavers leading down the drive to the barn, and added flower planters on the front porch as well. The house was finally starting to look lived in once more. But during all her home improvement efforts, she grew angrier and angrier that Harm continued to take care of the horses like some kind of spirit in the night—a virile, handsome spirit she never got to see—especially since two of the four horses in the stables were Sally’s.
The past four days, she’d gotten up in the wee hours to take care of all four horses herself. As each day passed, she’d had to get up earlier and earlier, because Harm started coming earlier each day too. It’d become a stupid way to avoid and one-up each other, but she didn’t care. What she did care about was the faulty light fixture in the rafters that kept flickering in and out. It made working in the early morning hours difficult. On the fifth day, the job was taking longer than normal, because the light stayed off longer and longer. She’d only made it three-fourths of the way through mucking when the bulb flashed bright then went completely out.
Burnt out. Crap. Once she retrieved a new light bulb from the storage box, Jena tucked it in her overalls front pocket and moved over to the wall to retrieve the shorter ladder from its hooks. An extra tall ladder had been hooked above it, but it was awkward to get down at this height. Setting the ladder against one of the beams, she managed to climb to the rafter and crawl across it until she reached the light in the center of the barn.
Since the light bulb was underneath the rafter, replacing it from above took some finesse. Dangling her legs on either side of the beam, Jena used the thick rounded bolt jutting out from the side of the beam to support herself as she leaned over to unscrew the dead bulb, then tossed it below. Screwing the new bulb in turned into a different challenge. She couldn’t quite get the right angle to seat it properly in the socket. Hooking her thigh around the beam for support, she edged over slightly and rested her belly against the bolt until she could finally settle the bulb in the socket. As it glowed bright with the final turn, she smiled, but her triumph quickly faded as her anchoring leg slipped and she went over the edge of the rafter.
Heart juddering, she fell so fast Jena didn’t have time to grab onto the beam. Just as her leg cleared the rafter, she was quickly jerked to a stop. One of the belt loops on her overalls had caught on the bolt she’d been leaning against for leverage, hanging her like a piñata twelve feet above the floor.
Jena tried to free herself, but her own weight and the odd angle she hung made unhooking herself impossible. Then again, she glanced at the ground below and grimaced. If she did manage to free herself, her hands could slip as she attempted to climb her way back around to the top of the rafter. She didn’t want to find out what a fall from this height felt like.
“How did you even manage that?”
Harm’s voice coming from directly underneath her made her cringe. Why’d he have to decide to show up late today? She chanced a quick glance his way, moving as little as possible. How long would the belt loop hold? Harm stood looking up at her with the dead light bulb in his hand. “Can you just help me out here, please?”
She heard the big ladder being lifted and felt the metal land against the rafter a few feet away from her head. A few seconds later, Harm sat on the rafter, his legs dangling down the other side as he peered at her belt loop, scowling. Turning hard eyes her way, he grated, “You could’ve broken your damned neck.”
“Think how much easier your life would be if I had.” She let the sarcasm flow, because she hated how attractive he looked in a chambray button down shirt, the edges of his hair, still damp from his shower, peeking from underneath his Stetson. Even upside down and staring at her with a disapproving frown, he was sexy as hell. She refused to inhale his clean, masculine scent. Why torture herself?
“Seriously, Jena.” His tone settled to an even one. “What were you thinking?”
“Just shut up and free me already.”
Harm pressed his mouth together, then leaned over her. “As you wish.” With the flick of his wrist, he popped the straining threads on her belt loop.
Jena screamed all the way down. She landed on her back in the thick pile of hay she’d mucked from the stalls but had yet to move. As the foul smell of manure and urine quickly seeped through the overalls’ denim, it took her a few seconds to process the shock slamming through her.
Ignoring Harm’s outstretched hand to help her up, she pushed herself to her feet from the pile of stench-filled hay. “That was just shitty!” she hissed through clenched teeth. “There was a million other ways you could’ve helped me down.”
While she shuddered, then swiped off the shit and piss-soaked hay caking her backside from head to toe, Harm didn’t bother to hide his amusement; his dark eyes sparked with mirth. “You told me to free you already, so I did. I knew you wouldn’t get hurt.”
Jena’s chest heaved with pent up fury, but instead of yelling at him, she decided she’d get her own revenge. Pulling the rubber band fr
om her ponytail, she shook the sticky bits of hay from her hair, then unhooked the straps of the overalls. Stepping out of the wet, soiled material and her boots, she stood in front of Harm wearing nothing but a white tank top and underwear.
When Harm’s gaze lowered to her nipples clearly showing through the thin white shirt, she inwardly reveled at the flash of heat flaring in their chocolate brown depths. Keeping her face perfectly composed, she stripped out of her tank and the tiny scrap of underwear then dropped them on the pile of stinky clothes.
“Jena…” Harm said in a low tone, amusement completely gone as he took a step closer. Just as his gaze returned to her face, she turned and walked out of the barn with her chin held high.
As she opened the front door, Harm’s reflection in the glass made her pause for a split second; he stood in the doorway of the barn watching her, his hands fisted by his sides. But thoughts of how she’d laid in bed every single night since their passionate time together, reliving memories and desperately wanting him all over again rushed forth. She stiffened her spine and smirked as she walked inside.
An hour later, Jena was surprised to see Harm shutting a stall door when she strolled into the barn. A long shower had cooled her simmering frustration while bolstering her determination to finish the job she’d left behind. The muck pile and the clothes she’d planned to trash had disappeared. Only her boots sat by the barn door. Once again, the horses had been fed and watered. “Why’d you do that?” she said, gesturing to the empty space where the pile had been.
Harm shrugged. “It needed to be done.”
“I was coming back to finish up, Harm. Maybe if you take your horses, I won’t feel obligated to take care of them.”
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