It was all he could do not to curse Mick Hanson out loud.
For a long time they were silent. Kelsey bustled around the campsite, leaving everything organized and tidy for the morning. He had expected her to say good-night then, and head into her tent when she paused to look at him, her face a ghostly shadow in the light of the stars.
“What if you can’t do it?”
The question caught him by surprise, interrupting the thread of his thoughts. “What do you mean?”
“What if this land crawls into your heart the way it has Mr. Stagefeather’s, and mine, and you can’t bear the thought of asking him to sell it?”
He blinked, trying to bring his mind back to the present. “I don’t have a choice.” Cold fingers tickled the edges of his spine as the question slowly sank in. He struggled to shake them off, defensive anger surging in their place. “You know that. I wouldn’t be here if I did.”
“But that’s not really true, is it?” she pushed. “I get the feeling you’re a pretty well-off guy. Are you sure you couldn’t survive a few lean years while you rebuild your business here in Denver? You could just fly under the radar. Start small and build your reputation bit by bit. Herriot doesn’t control everything.”
“My job doesn’t work that way,” he said, the words feeling too easy, too blasé, even to his own ears. He had enjoyed this conversation much more when it had been about Kelsey, not him. “You can’t just go from developing huge housing complexes to building a few houses.”
“Can’t, or won’t?”
The question stopped him cold. “You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me.” She gestured toward the pine trees. “To them.”
For the first time, he wondered if she might have had an ulterior motive to bringing him out here. The land was more personal to her than he had realized, and it occurred to him—a little too late, perhaps—that she might have her own feelings about the success of his efforts.
He groped for an explanation, some way to put into words his driving need to make this move a success. “My family doesn’t do things small. My brother Brit—well, you have to meet him to understand. He practically raised my brother and sister and I, turned around my dad’s company, made millions of dollars before he turned thirty. My sister Melissa is a damn genius. She practically speaks computer. And my brother Joe is being recognized this year as the New York Architect of the Year.”
“So this is all a competition?”
“No, it’s not like that.” He struggled to put words to the fear in his gut, the uneasy sense that failure was just around the corner, waiting for him at every turn. “I came out here to get a fresh start, and then when I talked to Herriot it was like seeing Jenna’s pregnancy test all over again. Like nothing mattered but that little pink line. One of my mom’s friends gave me my first construction job. I started my company with my share of the money from my dad’s company—money that Brit made when he took it public. If I get this contract it will be something I’ve done all on my own.”
Kelsey regarded him silently. A gust of wind blew through the pine trees and rustled the tents. He shivered. Before now, he’d never realized quite how deeply he wanted this success. How much he needed it.
“I understand.” She turned to unzip the flap of her tent.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Bed,” she replied. “I’m going to try to get in a few hours on the trail in the morning before the kids are up.”
He pushed to his feet. They had said too much, both of them, and he felt awkward and unsure. But at the same time, he knew he couldn’t let her turn away.
“Stay with me.” He caught her elbow and tugged gently, spinning her around. After only a second of protest she melted into him, her arms draping around his neck like a delicate chain holding him fast.
They were different tonight. When they slid inside the tent their bodies moved languidly, taking pleasure in a way that felt soft, unhurried, and effortless. The nylon of her sleeping bag swished under her back. He covered her with his body and they made love under the stars. Neither spoke. There was nothing more to say.
Afterward, Ross got his clothes and went back to his own tent in silence. But he lay awake for a long time, staring up into the darkness and listening to the wind caress the trees. At that moment, the differences between them couldn’t have been starker. Kelsey’s determination to protect her father—whatever the cost—had resulted in her utter refusal to get close to other people. His life was precisely the opposite: a series of attachments he couldn’t seem to break. An ex-wife he still counted as one of his best friends. Kids for whom he’d do just about anything. Siblings back home who—for better or worse—would always be part of his life.