Brought to His Knees-Tough Guys Laid Low By Love
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“My apologies.”
“So where? You’ve eliminated five provinces, well six since you said I’m not from Alberta.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“Nope.”
Molly rolled her eyes, but laughed. “Okay, if I had to guess. Ontario.”
William didn’t say anything. Just stood there, smirking with his arms crossed.
“Oh come on. Play nice. It’s Ontario isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but Ontario is a mighty big place.”
Molly smiled. “Say Toronto for me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because if you’re native to Toronto, you say it weird. Like nasal, all one word.”
“Fine. Toronto.” William pronounced each syllable specifically.
“You thought about that!” She punched him on the arm. “Now who’s not playing fair?”
He laughed. “Okay. Yeah, I’m from Toronto. Born and bred on the Danforth.”
“I knew it.” She shook her head and headed over to the next yearling, which obviously had a head’s up from the last one, because he was evading her. Thank God she only had to vaccinate him and she could get on to cutting the older horses.
“Doesn’t mean I’m going to fail at ranching though,” William said, falling into step behind her.
“What does a Toronto boy know about ranching out west?”
“More than you think.”
“Really?”
William nodded. “Really.”
When William pulled up at Maarten’s ranch, he wasn’t expecting to see Molly. He was hoping he wouldn’t run into her again, but there she was, lifting heavy rope out of the back of her pick–up truck.
All he wanted to do today was negotiate some prices with Mr. Maarten about a stud horse and then head back to his ranch. He had a lot of fencing to complete on the new corral he was building.
When he left Nashville, disappearing from the hordes of screaming fans, he wanted to get his hands dirty and do what his grandfather loved to do. He’d spent enough summers out here with his grandpa, he’d picked up more than the fundamentals of ranching.
Molly was right, most people sunk every last penny into their ranch and barely made a success at it. What she didn’t know, what she would never know, is he still had nice royalties flowing his way from his hit song Cold Hearted Hillbilly and the record Hard Dirt Lines, which went platinum.
He had the money to afford her services and when she said he couldn’t afford her, he began to imagine all sorts of dirty things with her, which made him feel guilty.
She wasn’t one of the many screaming fan girls which threw their bodies at him, begging him to take them. They only liked the image of him. The morning after was different. They didn’t want to know. When the smoke cleared they realized the bad boy he portrayed on stage wasn’t that at all.
Those who stayed were after his money, after what he could give them, and he’d had his heart hurt one too many times.
He didn’t need romance.
Then he looked at Molly. She was different, so down to earth and independent. Only there was a sadness behind her eyes. The smile didn’t reach into her soul. It was for show. There were walls as high as his own and he wondered what made her so sad, what made her want to close the world out. So much so that he wanted to make her smile. He wanted in.
He liked her. She was smart, witty and feisty.
And when they talked and teased, he felt like he was in on the other side of those carefully constructed walls, because she was in on his side and it was scary to let her in.
She wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and she obviously had a way with animals.
“Hey, city boy, come help me with this feisty little beggar!” She called out as she held the yearling. “That is, unless you’re planning on being a jackass again.” A smile played on her lips; he liked it when she smiled.
“Hold on.” He jogged over to where she was standing and held the yearling as she slipped the filly slip bridle over the feisty colt. Once it was fastened she took the rope from him, her fingers closing over his hand, and their gazes met.
A blush tinged her cheeks. “Thanks.” And she looked away as she led the colt over to her kit bag.
William didn’t say anything as he followed her, holding the colt again as she vaccinated the yearling. Once the nickering stopped, she took the bridle off and the colt took off to the other side of the corral.
“Well, I better go see Mr. Maarten. I made an appointment and I’m running late.”
She nodded. “Thanks for your help.”
William nodded. “Any time. I’ll see you around.”
“Sure.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, not looking at him. Her walls were up again.
And his were too.
He turned around and walked toward Maarten’s offices, trying to get Molly out of his head, but he couldn’t. So he stopped to look back at her, but she wasn’t in the corral any more. She was gone.
Chapter Three
As she walked into the local bar the song Cowgirls Don’t Cry by Brooks & Dunn was playing. It was if it was speaking to her and she almost turned on her heel and left.
Suck it up.
This was her one night off and she was going to have a drink with her friends. Not that she wanted to, especially after they made a big stink about coming out to see her. She always went to the city, but this time they could come see her. Molly had an inkling that tonight would be painful. After a quick scan of the tables she could see Maria and Janice hadn’t arrived yet. Figures. The one time Molly was on time and they were late. She made her way through the crowd to the bar and took an empty stool.
She was glad her friends weren’t here yet. She could just take a moment and decompress, but when she closed her eyes to enjoy the music all she saw was William Sharples’ smug, cocky smile. But it wasn’t just his smile traipsing away across her brain and, as the song switched to something sultry and rhythmic, her mind wandered to more pleasant diversions.
Ones she hadn’t indulged in, in a long time.
“What’ll be, Molly?” Sam the barkeep asked.
“Beer me.”
Sam winked and grabbed a pint glass, filled it with her usual Labatt brew and slid it to her. Maria and Janice were wine drinkers. They didn’t like the smell of beer and didn’t get Molly’s penchant for it.
“I didn’t take you for a beer drinker,” a familiar voice drawled from next to her.
Are you freaking kidding me?
Molly glanced to her left and saw she was sitting next to William. He’d cleaned up. The dusty white hat had been replaced with another, which was crisper and matched his cotton shirt. It made his tanned skin glow, those blue eyes sharper in the dimly lit bar. Her gaze wandered down to his starched denim and polished cowboy boots.
“Well, I hardly recognized you, Mr. Sharples, without that thick layer of dust.”
His eyes twinkled. “I could say the same about you, Ms. Brooks.”
“Touché.” She took a sip of her beer and tried to pretend that William wasn’t there, but it was kind of hard. Molly was very aware of his existence.
“So where’s Dr. Shaw?” He asked.
She shrugged. “In Olds I assume. I’m not his keeper.”
“You’re not with him?”
“Do I look like I’m with him?”
“Hey, you don’t have to get all smart–alecky on me.”
“Why not? You’re not a gentleman and I ain’t no lady.”
William chuckled. “So you’re not with Dr. Shaw?”
“Are you asking me if I’m dating my employer?” She asked.
“I guess I am.”
A zing shot through her. “What’s it to you?”
William shrugged. “Just getting to know people.”
“Thought you were a lone wolf who didn’t care about people? At least that’s the vibe I got off you earlier. Antisocial, loner and probably a bit of a freak.” She waggled her eyebr
ows and he laughed.
“A freak?”
“Do you have lots of cats?” She teased.
He gave her a weird look. “Are you implying I’m a crazy cat lady?”
“I didn’t say lady,” she laughed. “That was all you, but if the shoe fits…”
He snorted, but smiled. “You’re mean.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Then someone selected Cold Hearted Hillbilly on the jukebox. “Oh, my favorite song. Quiet.” It was the one and only song by Liam Sharp that had made the top of the charts. Liam Sharp then disappeared amidst rumors of drugs, drinking and a nervous breakdown. She didn’t believe any of it, but she wondered what happened to him. She set her beer down on the counter.
“You really like this?” William asked, with an edge to his voice.
“Of course. It’s a fantastic song.” She looked at him weird. “How can you not like this song?”
“Easy. I don’t like this song.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I think you secretly do. I think you love this song and you’re just one of those closet Liam Sharp lovers.”
“Yeah, yeah. So what’re you doing here tonight?”
“It’s my night off.”
“I’ve never seen you in here before.”
“I could say the same thing about you. Where have you been hiding?”
His smile disappeared. “Who said I’m hiding?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but usually city folk coming out to raise a ranch back from the dead are hiding something. So what’re you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything.” William’s tone was terse and he looked a bit put out.
“Come on? Is it a secret penchant for sheep?” She laughed. “Or something more naughty?”
William rolled his eyes. “You’re a little weird. I think you’ve spent too much time in the sun.” He got up to leave, but Molly stopped him this time.
“I’m sorry. Look, I get wanting to hide. We all have something to hide from and I respect that.”
“You have something to hide?” He asked with interest.
Yep.
“No.” She was lying through her teeth. If he didn’t want to open up and share why he was really taking up ranching, then she wasn’t going to open up to him about why she was the town’s pathetic charity case. The girl who was cursed in love and couldn’t make anything of her life.
“I think you’re lying to me.”
“What makes you think that?” she asked.
“Your lips purse together, like you’re sucking a lemon.” He chuckled. “I can read people.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re not exactly an open book.”
He nodded. “As are you.”
An awkward silence fell between them and she watched as her two friends came into the bar. They looked annoyed and unhappy. Like they didn’t want to meet her here, like they were annoyed they’d driven down from the city to come see her.
And she saw it.
They’d changed and outgrew her. Like so many had. The town’s shame.
Maybe you outgrew them. Only she shook that thought away.
“What’s wrong?” William asked.
“My friends. I get the feeling they’re not too happy with me. This is our usual quarterly get together, but it was hard to arrange with my work schedule. Usually I go into Calgary and meet them on their turf. Tonight I forced them to come back home.”
William glanced over where she pointed and hissed. “Yeah, you’re right. They don’t look happy. They kind of look constipated.”
She giggled. “Stop.”
“Well they do, with their pursed lips and the way they’re sitting there stiff, like something is up their asses.”
“I should go over to them. Get it over with.” Only she couldn’t get up and do that.
“Who says?”
“What?” She asked.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Molly was shocked. “Are you suggesting an escape plan, Mr. Sharples?”
“I believe I am, Ms. Brooks. Are you in or are you out?”
Molly bit her lip and glanced at her friends. They were late and had barely been here for five minutes, but Janice was already glancing at her watch and Maria was rolling her eyes. Even though she should go over there and have a drink with them, she didn’t want to do it.
They’d just go on about her growing up and getting a real job or settling down. Probably the only real reason they came out to Buffalo Corner was because she was their charity case. She made them and their pathetic, fake lives look good. She hated being the charity case.
They’d give her marriage advice. Try to set her up. Recently they were after her to date Ronnie.
“You should date Dr. Shaw. How perfect would that be?”
Everyone was so eager for her to get into poor Ronnie’s pants. Except her. And apparently that made her some kind of weirdo.
She couldn’t do anything right in the eyes of her friends or her mother.
Not even going to vet college was good enough for them. It was still rough work. They’d grown up in the country, but they’d shed that and become something Molly didn’t really like.
“Okay,” she said, suddenly excited. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Is there a back exit?” William asked, as he took off his cowboy hat and jammed it low on her head.
“Of course, past the bathrooms and down that hall.”
William took her hand. “Stay behind me and we’ll edge our way over.”
Molly suppressed a giggle. “Aye–aye, Captain.”
“Let’s go.” William stood and Molly slipped in behind him, still holding his hand as they slowly sidled along. Only, they were drawing way too much attention to themselves.
“Molly, is that you hiding behind that guy?” Janice asked, a sharp edge to her voice.
“I think we’ve been discovered,” William whispered.
“I think so,” Molly laughed. “What do we do now?”
“Molly, this is childish,” Maria called out.
“Run.” William shouted, darting for the door.
“Run!” Molly followed, holding tight to his hat so it didn’t fly off her head. She laughed the whole way, ignoring the cat calls and the shouts from her friends.
When they were outside, William grabbed her hand and took her to his big, black Dually. She climbed inside while he started it. With a roar of the engine, he shifted it into gear and they raced down the one and only street in Buffalo Corner, out into the foothills and the coulee walls. It was almost like riding off into the sunset, except the sun was still high in the sky at nine o’clock at night.
“That was the most immature thing I’ve ever done,” she said, regaining her composure.
“Oh come on. I find that hard to believe. I’m sure you’ve done stupider stuff as a kid.”
“Okay, yeah. I have. That was the most immature thing I’ve done all week then.” Molly snorted and then covered her mouth, mortified that she snorted while laughing.
William chuckled. “You’re right. You’re no lady.”
She drove her fist into his arm. “Now what, genius? You have me in your truck, is that where your brilliant plan ends?”
“Darling, it’s just getting started.”
A pink blush rose in her cheeks. “What?”
He winked at her to show her he was just teasing, but he wasn’t. When she walked into that bar, in those tight jeans and lacy camisole, her hair all loose and down around her creamy shoulders, his mind wandered to some very impure thoughts.
And then he thought she’d recognize him when the song came on, but she didn’t. He was hoping no one would. Liam Sharp had a very different image. His music persona had a soul patch and mustache; wore all black. His hair had been longer. When he decided to disappear, all those trademarks of Liam Sharp were abandoned, and when he walked into town no one had recognized him, save for a few people who knew his grandpa. Even then they didn’t know him as Liam Sharp
.
They knew him as William Sharples, Ethan Tyson’s grandson from Toronto. He’d heard the false reports and sightings of Liam Sharp. It amused him, but he was nothing like Elvis.
They’d forget about him and his song.
Even if it had gone platinum.
“So where are you taking me?” Molly asked. “I mean, I’m curious about where I’m heading.”
“I thought we’d head down to the slough. Listen to the frogs for a while.”
“Get eaten by mosquitos you mean.”
“They haven’t been that bad this year.”
“Surprisingly,” Molly remarked. “Fine. You know I wouldn’t mind that. It’s quiet down there, but isn’t it private property?”
“Yep. Mine.”
“You own the slough?”
He nodded. “I took over my grandfather’s ranch.”
“Ethan Tyson was your grandpa?”
“Yep. I’m his eldest daughter’s son. She married a city boy and moved east. She was my grandpa’s only living child.”
“My parents moved to town after she left then. I didn’t know Ethan Tyson had a child. Thought he was a bachelor. He mostly kept to himself. Well, I’m glad you own the land. I didn’t fancy being run off tonight. I can only handle one random act of immaturity for one night. Two would be too much.” She winked at him and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re an interesting woman, Molly.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I mean it as one.” They’re gaze met and his blood heated. He didn’t know what he was doing, taking her down to the slough. He told himself earlier to stay away from Molly, but he just couldn’t resist her. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.
And he knew he was going to get burned, but he wanted to be burned.
Badly.
They didn’t say much on the drive out to the slough. There wasn’t much to say. There was something in the air, like electricity, and he didn’t mind it in the least.
“Mind if I roll down the window?” She asked.
“Nope. Go right ahead.” He turned off the air conditioning and powered down his window as well, resting his elbow on the door as he turned down the familiar dirt road up to his place. But before they reached the main house, he turned down the path toward the slough. The grass was high and tickled his arm as his big Dually made a swath in the field.