He had the audacity to ignore her. “Where’s the little cowboy?”
“He’s taking a nap,” she answered automatically. “Tell your men to stop unloading those supplies and take them back to your place.”
Cupping her elbow in one hand, he turned her, opened the door and escorted her into the house. “That’s not going to happen, Heather. I owe you and I’ve let this debt go long enough.”
She frowned. “What are you talking about? You don’t owe me anything.”
He nodded. “Yes, I do. You have a champion stallion that bred at least eight of my mares over the past couple of years. I never paid the stud fees.”
“Have you lost your mind?” she demanded. “Up until yesterday, you thought Magic Dancer was an unregistered rogue stallion who had done serious damage to your breeding program.”
“I found out differently,” he said, shrugging. He removed his jean jacket and pulled out a chair. Then he sat down at the table as if it was his right. He motioned for her to join him at the table.
“Have a seat. We need to talk.”
She remained standing. “About?”
“Sit and I’ll tell you,” he answered.
“Do you always have to have your way?” she asked as she took the chair across from him. “I thought I made myself clear last night about—”
“We’ll discuss your edict a little later.” She had seen that look of determination on his handsome face before—the evening when he’d insisted she and Seth spend another night at his ranch. “Right now, I want to tell you something and I want you to promise that you’ll wait until I’m finished before you comment.”
Heather wasn’t certain remaining silent would be in her best interest, but it was apparent he wasn’t going to tell her what he had on his mind until she gave her word she wouldn’t interrupt.
She sighed heavily. “All right.”
“After I take care of your horses tomorrow—”
“I told you I would take care of my own horses from now on,” she insisted.
Instead of reminding her of her promise not to interrupt, he simply tilted his head slightly and gave her a smile that clearly stated he had known she couldn’t keep her comments to herself.
“Oh, all right,” she said, folding her arms beneath her breasts. “Finish what you were going to tell me.”
“Like I was saying, after I tend to the horses tomorrow, one of my men and I are going to go up on the roof and check to see what it will take to keep it from leaking.” When she started to tell him she wouldn’t allow it, he held up his hand. “Hear me out. We’ll only do a patch job that will hopefully get you through until spring. Is that the only area that’s been leaking?”
“Yes, but—”
“Okay, we’ll give it a quick fix to get you through the rest of the winter, then you can see about having that section reroofed when the weather warms up.”
He sat back in the chair as if he was quite proud of himself.
“Are you finished?” she asked. When he nodded, she shook her head. “I can’t let you climb on top of my house and run the risk of falling off.”
To her surprise he threw back his head and laughed. “Sweetheart, I appreciate your concern for my safety, but I know what I’m doing when it comes to roofing houses. From the time I graduated high school until I graduated from college, I spent every summer roofing houses during the week while I rode rodeo on the weekends to earn money for school.”
“I don’t care. I’m not going to let you do that,” she insisted. “I wouldn’t feel right about you fixing my roof without compensation and right now I can’t pay for it. And while we’re talking about things I can’t pay for, you might as well tell your men to load those supplies back on your trucks and return them to the Dusty Diamond because I can’t pay for those, either.”
“I thought we already had that settled,” he said, getting up to walk around the table. Before she knew what he was up to, he scooped her up, sat down in her chair and settled her on his lap. “The supplies are for the stud fees I owe you for your horse breeding my mares. End of discussion.” He kissed the side of her neck. “And my men and I will be fixing your roof tomorrow. If you want to make lunch for us, we’ll call it even. Once again, end of discussion.”
How was she supposed to protest when she couldn’t even think with him holding her, kissing her? And why was she unable to resist when he picked her up to set her on his lap?
She wasn’t sure. But every time he held her like this, she not only felt the chemistry between them, but a calm also came over her, as if she’d found a safe haven from all the responsibilities she’d faced for the past two and a half years.