“You’re drying a dirty plate,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said for the last five minutes. Do I get to guess where your mind is?”
Blushing, Shea shook her head.
“Just be careful,” Leona cautioned.
Shea nodded and reached for a clean plate.
With the few nondisposable dishes washed and dried, and the remaining food covered and put away, Shea stepped outside. She spotted Hank and Alec and walked in that direction. Detecting her presence next to him, Alec reached out to her, his arm settling around her shoulders. “Scott and Cody are going to sleep in their fort tonight. Steve Laughton said he’d stay out here with them and make sure they got inside the house if it starts to rain. Are you ready to go?”
“I guess. Good night, Hank.”
The old cowboy nodded and touched his finger to his hat. Alec’s hand remained at the back of her neck as they walked to his car. He seated her inside the luxury sedan, then took his place behind the wheel. She sat back in the plush leather seat, her head on the cushioned rest while the car easily ate up the miles to the Bar H. She glanced at the multitude of lights on the front console, then let her eyes move to the large man behind the wheel. He caught her glance and returned it.
“You have some nice neighbors,” he said. “I enjoyed meeting them.”
“They liked you, too.” She turned her head to stare out into the seemingly endless shadows of the night. “It’s too bad...”
“It’s too bad...what?” he prompted.
“Well, I can’t help but wonder what their reaction will be when they discover your plans for my ranch and ultimately this area. Most of these folks are third-and fourth-generation farmers and ranchers. They won’t take kindly to some out-of-towner plopping a housing development in the center of their grazing land or paving their neighbor’s pasture for a parking lot.”
Shea chanced a quick glance in his direction. Alec continued to look straight ahead, seemingly without emotion, but in the dim light from the driver’s panel, she noted a brief grimace cross his features.
“For your information, I have no intention of building a housing development here or anywhere else. That’s not what I do.”
“Maybe not, but you’re a commercial developer,” she stated, daring him to deny it. “That means destruction. If it’s not a housing development, it’ll be something else equally as bad.”
“Not all change is a bad thing,” Alec reminded her. “Sometimes it’s for a good reason. It fulfills a need.”
Shea swallowed uncomfortably. “And what about people who like things as they are?”
“Change is part of life. Most people are willing to accept it if they understand the reasoning behind it, especially if it benefits them in some way. You’re painting me as the bad guy before you even know what my intentions are for this place.”
“Oh, I see.” She looked at Alec. “I should let you take over my ranch and trust you to develop it in a manner you think is—”
“Shea, it’s not your ranch!”
“The hell it’s not!” she muttered.
“Then show me your name on a deed.”
“How can you be so...two-faced? How could you talk and laugh with the people there tonight, sit at their table, share their food, all the while knowing what you plan to do to their community if given the chance?”
“You make it sound like I intend to rob them!” Alec responded, his tone incredulous.
“Stab them in the back would be more accurate.”
“For God’s sake. You’ve got to be the most narrow-minded, bullheaded woman I’ve ever come across in my life!”
“Well, as my grandfather used to say, that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
He turned off the main road onto the winding driveway leading to the old farmhouse. As Alec swung into the parking space, Shea grabbed for the door handle and was out of the car before he could turn off the ignition. She walked through the kitchen, up the stairs and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Angrily, she paced the floor until, finally realizing the futility of the situation she changed her clothes, brushed her teeth, switched off the lights and climbed into bed. A few minutes later, Alec joined her, arranging his pillows but making no attempt to acknowledge her presence. He lay on his side facing away from her. Instead of being relieved, she was irritated, and that was crazy. She should be glad. But she wasn’t and she refused to dwell on why.
The distant rumble of thunder shattered the serene silence, waking Alec from his sleep. The sky was still dark even though the clock on the nightstand said it was almost five in the morning. Faint flashes of lightning intermittently lit the room for a few brief seconds as the increasing winds surged around the corner of the old house. He immediately thought of Scotty. Steve would have both boys inside Leona’s house by now. It was a new and comforting realization that he could leave his only child in the care of near strangers and trust, without any hesitation, that his son would be well taken care of. Such trust was almost unheard of in his world.
Alec started to turn over, but immediately felt a soft, warm body snuggled against him. The aura of innocence and trust as Shea slept was alien to him. Hell, everything about her, about this place, was so different than what he was used to. Yet, at the same time, it often felt as though he’d come home.
With his sexual frustration at its peak, his body ached with desire every time she came close and now was no exception. He didn’t know how much strength remained before his good intentions would go out the window. He’d never have believed he could become this damned infatuated with anyone, especially after Sondra. With a groan of frustration, he eased Shea onto a pillow and got out of bed.
The few days he’d originally anticipated being here had rolled into weeks. He’d surprised himself by actually finding a way to continue his own work and still enjoy the physical labor the ranch required. Ironically, it was in that labor he found an inner peace. A fresh breeze on his face, sweet scents in the air and the sun on his back. Beat the hell out of any gym.
He pulled on some jeans and grabbed a shirt and his boots. He needed to put some space between himself and Shea. A lot of space. One last glance at the bed where she slept was all it took to confirm in his mind what his body had been telling him. He wanted her. Desperately. And the frazzled strength of the single thread of determination that held him at bay was about to snap.
Nine
By six o’clock the rainstorm was over and the morning dawned clear. The eastern sky lit up in glorious color, heralding the sun’s imminent appearance. Alec threw the last of the coffee down his throat and turned away from the kitchen window, stepped outside and meandered toward the barn. As he got close, the scents of alfalfa and pine shavings permeated the air. Soft nickers greeted his approach, bringing a smile of contentment to his face.
Entering the barn, he followed the bank of stalls until he came to number twelve. The big bay gelding was licking the last remnants of breakfast from his feed trough.
“You’re up mighty early.”
He turned to see Hank amble in his direction.
Alec nodded.
“You want me to throw a saddle on him for you?” Hank asked.
He hadn’t thought about going for a ride, but the idea immediately took hold and it was too perfect to pass up.
“I’ll do it,” Alec replied. “Where’s the tack?”
A few minutes later, Alec rode the big horse out the main gate and headed north. Ransom was excited about the outing, dancing against the firm hold Alec kept on the reins. Hank had mentioned the old homestead and provided general directions. It sounded like the perfect place to think.
The rutted path eventually grew less and less visible as the big bay continued to carry him through the trees and over the rolling hills. After an hour, Alec began to relax. The serenity of the countryside, the wind blowing softly through the leaves of the trees, helped clear his head. He honestly loved it here. He again experienced a twinge of regret over the changes that would soon come. For the first time in his life, the jubilance of building something great was overshadowed by the nagging uneasiness over the fact that he was about to destroy something very special.
Not surprising, his thoughts turned to Shea. Her determination to keep this spread should be an obstacle to overcome, not something to admire. But that was before their wedding night when she’d been so gut-wrenchingly beautiful and so damn sensual. It was before he’d seen her laugh, before she’d received hugs from his usually standoffish son. Before she’d shared her concerns about the ranch and had begun to trust him enough to open up and talk to him about things that troubled her. Before he’d seen her schoolgirl-like grin over a bunch of silly wildflowers.
It was before she’d become someone special in his life. Hell, they hadn’t even had sex. But the longer he was around her, the more he had to remind himself their marriage was based on a very bizarre two-hundred-year-old contract. Becoming involved with Shea wasn’t something that should happen. But his gut instinct told him it was too late. He’d already crossed that line.
Shea sat alone in the kitchen watching the morning unfold. She fixed a piece of dry toast, poured a cup of the not-too-old coffee and decided she could afford to take the time to enjoy part of the day. It was only five weeks until fall roundup but all of the preparations had been made, the equipment checked and ready to be taken to the site.