Tall, Dark and Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy

Author:Joanne Kennedy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2011-02-07T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

“Look, you can earn your keep if you want.” Chase held up both palms in a “stop” gesture before she could protest. “I don’t mean like that. You could actually work for me. I could give you a job. You know I fired Krystal, so I don’t have anyone to watch the lot anymore.”

“I can’t do that. That’s right where…”

“I know you can’t stay in town. But without Krystal to watch the store, I’ll have to spend more time at the lot, and I’m already away from the ranch too much. If you stay out there and do some chores for me, it would actually help a lot. I’ll pay you what I paid Krystal, but you can work there instead of in town.”

She shook her head. “Chase, I don’t know anything about ranching.”

“It’s not rocket science.” He tensed his hand on her thigh. “You’re smart, Lacey. You’ll catch on fast.”

She blinked. That comment meant way too much to her. She almost asked him to repeat it. That was pitiful.

She’d been confident once, so sure of herself. The top of the pyramid.

What had Trent done to her?

She looked down at Chase’s hand resting on her thigh. Didn’t he realize he was touching her? That slow warmth crept across her skin, moving upward from the spot where his hand lay.

“It’s hard work, but you might like it. You like horses?”

She shrugged. “I guess. I used to go to the racetrack with my dad.”

“Then you’ll be fine. And being alone at the ranch would beat being all alone on the road, with no money and a broken-down car.”

She realized he was right. Being alone didn’t scare her. At least when she was alone, she was with someone she could trust. But being broke was a problem, especially with her automotive issues.

She’d sworn she wouldn’t trust a man again, and she’d made that vow in a moment of clear rationality. A moment when Chase wasn’t sitting right beside her, the warm patch on her leg lingering after the touch of his hand. Her impulse was to trust him. Her impulse was to lean toward him, let him touch her again—but that would be surrender. She wondered if he could follow the complicated ribbon of her thoughts, unspooling and tangling, snarling into knots.

“I shouldn’t. I can get a cash advance and get out of town before they track me. I’ll go to Denver.”

He went to the window, staring out at the parking lot. “Lacey, if you go, I won’t know where you are. I won’t know if you’re alive or dead, if you’re safe or if they found you. I have to do more than that for you.”

“That’s for me to decide.”

“Look, a week ago you begged me for a place to stay,” he said. “I don’t get it. You would have jumped at the chance then.”

“I never begged for anything. And that was before I got to know you.”

“You always knew me.”

“No.” She shook her head. This was one thing she was sure of.

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