Sarah held the door open and dragged her large suitcase out the door, down the steps, and to the side of her SUV, in the shade on one side of the driveway. She didn’t bother to wave to the men she saw in the doorway of the barn. It wasn’t like they’d wave back anyway.
How could I have thought that spending any amount of time here would be good for me? With a forceful swing she flung the heavy bag into the back of her vehicle, using her anger as strength. When she turned around to return to the house for her second bag, she walked right into a wall of muscle.
Tony.
He steadied her with a hand on either arm, but she shook free of him and took a step to the side to get past him. He sidestepped with her, blocking her way. “Want to tell me what has you all riled up this morning?”
She glared up at him. “No.” I don’t owe you anything. I already paid for this trip with my pride.
“Did something happen?”
Nothing happened, you big buffoon. A big, fat nothing. How can you think that’s okay when I took a risk and shared everything with you? Hands on her hips, Sarah grit her teeth and said, “I have to get my other bag.”
He suddenly looked as angry as she felt, but she didn’t care. As soon as she hooked up her trailer and collected Scooter he and his mood swings could have Texas all to themselves.
“Did someone say something to you?” he demanded, gripping one of her arms.
She ripped her arm away from him, red embarrassment spread up her neck. Oh, my God, tell me he didn’t share my stories with anyone. Tell me he and David didn’t have a laugh over how pathetically desperate I am. Oh no, there will be no evidence left behind when I peel out of this place.
As her anger grew, she advanced on. “I want my notebook back.”
Those deep green eyes searched hers. “I don’t have it.”
Liar.
“Do you think this is funny?” she accused.
Tony scratched at his jaw as if trying to unravel a puzzle before answering. “Maybe if you calm down we can . . .”
That’s it.
Something within her snapped. She put a flat hand to the middle of his chest and pushed him back a step. “Calm down? Calm down? I trusted you. Even if you have no interest in me at all, that doesn’t give you the right to treat this like a joke. If you don’t hand it over, I’ll . . . I will . . .” What do you threaten a huge cowboy with? Nothing sufficient came to mind so she pushed him again. “Just give it back so I can get the hell out of here.”
He grabbed her hand as it left his chest and held it, pulling her closer until she had to tip her head back to look up at him. His eyes burned with what she had labeled as desire for her, but maybe it had been nothing more than the enjoyment of making her look like fool in front of the men who’d stopped working to watch their exchange. “Let go of me,” she snarled.
“Not until you tell me what has you all wound up.”
“Really? You need me to say it? Fine.” She lowered her voice and glared at him. “I left you a message in my notebook last night. I put it right on your bed. Are you telling me that you didn’t see it?”
A glimmer of a smile stretched his lips. “A message? In your notebook? The notebook?”
He’s not pretending. He really doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Sarah took a few deep, calming breaths. How could he not have seen it? I put it right in the middle of his pillows. Notebooks don’t walk away on their own, and we’re the only two in the house.
Besides Melanie.
Sarah stomped an angry foot. Score two for the angry housekeeper. Sarah’s blood pressure skyrocketed when she peeked past Tony and saw Melanie standing in front of the porch’s screen door.
Pulling out of Tony’s grasp, Sarah stormed up the steps to confront her nemesis. “What did I ever do to you?”
Melanie looked past her and drawled, “Tony, call off your girlfriend. She looks rabid.”
The snide comment did nothing to lessen Sarah’s fury. “I’ll show you rabid. If you don’t hand over what you have of mine, you’ll discover why the North won the Civil War.”
In the background she heard David say, “It’s better to let them sort it out, Tony.”
Melanie went nose to nose with Sarah. “I don’t have anything of yours, but if you think your scrawny Yankee ass can take me, try it.”
After a lifetime of peacemaking, Sarah readied herself for her first real fight. Embarrassment about the night before combined to the anger she’d cultivated this morning and swirled through her, making it impossible for Sarah to see past her own fury.
The screen door opened and shut behind them and a small male voice asked, “Mama, what are you yelling about?”