“There’s nothing to discuss,” Heather said, standing her ground. “I haven’t been dishonest with you.”
At least, technically she hadn’t been. She’d just omitted a few facts.
His frown darkened and a muscle twitched along his lean jaw when it started to rain. “Please could we go inside the house to talk before we all get drenched? That wouldn’t be good for you or Seth.”
“I really need to take inventory of my supplies,” she hedged. “I’ll be going into town to the feed store tomorrow and I want to make sure I get everything.”
She could tell from his determined expression that T.J. wasn’t going to give up.
“You need oats, hay and straw,” he said, placing his arm around her shoulders to turn her and Seth back toward the house. “But I think you already knew that.”
Heather didn’t protest further as they crossed the yard and entered the house. For one thing, she needed to get her son out of the weather. And for another, she was too distracted by the comforting feel of T.J.’s arm holding her close to his side.
She knew he was only trying to shield her and Seth from the rain, but that did little to lessen the effect his nearness was having on her. His clean masculine scent, combined with the rich smell of leather and the heat from his body, seemed to warm her all the way to her soul.
“Let me hold him while you take off your coat,” T.J. said as they entered the house. Shrugging out of his leather jacket, he draped it over one of the kitchen chairs as she unfastened the sides of the toddler carrier. He smiled as he turned to lift her son. “Hey there, little guy. Did you miss me?”
Seth jabbered a sleepy greeting before laying his head on T.J.’s shoulder.
While she hung her jacket in the laundry room to dry, T.J. took off Seth’s hat and coat. When she returned to the kitchen her chest tightened at the sight of T.J. swaying back and forth with her son snuggled against his broad chest. How many times over the past two years had she regretted that Seth and her late fiancé had been cheated out of a father-and-son relationship?
Heather frowned. She would have expected to resent any man except her fiancé having that special time with her son. But she didn’t. She found it endearing and that bothered her.
Of all the men to be tender and caring with her son, she would have never expected it from T. J. Malloy, nor was she sure she was comfortable with it. She didn’t want to see Seth start to care for T.J. and then be disappointed or hurt when the man lost interest in them.
“He’s asleep,” T.J. said quietly. “Where do you want me to lay him down?”
She showed T.J. down the hall to Seth’s small bedroom. He got Seth settled in his bed and she and T.J. walked back into the kitchen before Heather spoke. “I assume by now you’ve figured out that I’m operating the Circle W on a shoestring,” she said, resigned to the fact that T.J. wasn’t going to leave without an explanation.
Nodding, he pulled out a chair at the round oak table, sat down and causally rested the ankle of one leg on the knee of the other as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “How long have you been trying to run things without help?”
She sighed. At this point, there was no sense in being evasive. He’d been in the barn and she was certain he’d observed how many repairs needed to be made, as well as how little she kept on hand in the way of supplies. He probably even knew that the bunk house hadn’t seen a hired hand in more than a year.
“After my father died, I managed to keep the two men who worked for him until Seth was about four months old.”
“So the better part of two years,” he said, frowning.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were alone over here with a baby whenever I brought your horse back?” he demanded.
“The first time you had to bring Magic back, I wasn’t even home,” she answered defensively. “You put him in the corral and left a note fastened to the gate, asking me to keep him off your land.”
“You could have told me one of the other times when you were at home,” he said pointedly. “I would have been more understanding if you had. I could have helped you.”
“Oh, give me a break, Malloy.” She shook her head. “You were too angry to listen even if I had tried to explain.” Suddenly irritated by his tone and the accusatory expression on his handsome face, she added, “Besides, it wasn’t any of your business then and to tell you the truth, it’s none of your concern now.”
“I would have helped you out,” he repeated, apparently choosing to ignore the warning in her voice. “I could have at least had my men take care of repairing your fences for you.”