Four

When he vanished from sight, she turned to go to her room to change to jeans and get her things to drive back to her real life at her ranch. She wished she had gotten a selfie for herself and then she laughed at herself. If she had, at the first ornery thing he did, she would have erased it. And she didn’t expect one weekend to change Tony’s alpha-male ways or his flitting from woman to woman.

Even if he changed, which couldn’t happen, she didn’t care to break her rule about avoiding entanglements with cowboys and ranchers. Tony would be the last man on earth she would want to fall in love with because it would be disaster for each of them from the first minute. They were both ranchers, with clear ideas of how they wanted to run things and opposing ideas on most everything. Life with Tony would be a continual battle. Unless he retired and just stayed in the bedroom. That thought made her laugh out loud as she drove all alone in her car, heading west out of Dallas and back to her ranch.

Midmorning on Tuesday as Tony sat at his ranch desk and worked at his computer, trying to find Texas water sources, his phone rang and he answered to hear his brother Wyatt.

“I thought I better call and see if you survived Saturday night. I heard you didn’t come home until Monday evening.”

“Keane, my foreman, always knows how to get hold of me. You didn’t know I was worth so much money, did you?” Tony asked.

Wyatt laughed. “You brought in a fortune at the auction. And it was all for a good cause, so thanks. You really contributed, but don’t let it go to your head. Even though this is bound to bring another slew of admiring females into your life.”

Tony hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe, but there’s one thing I do know. I will never bet with you on saddle bronc riding events again.”

Wyatt gave a belly laugh. “How’d the date with Lindsay go, bro? I was worried what she might want to do with you. I gotta tell you, I had no idea she could look like she did.”

Tony recalled the blonde beauty who was such a surprise. “Lindsay’s looks sent me into shock, and once I caught sight of that red dress, the evening instantly improved. But you shouldn’t worry. We did fine together.”

“I figured her looks would smooth things over. Don’t know if you know yet, but the two of you are all the gossip in Verity and in the sheriff’s office. I’ve been asked more than a few questions. I think around my office, they’re waiting for a report from me about how the evening went.”

“Civilized. That’s what you tell them. We just set aside our differences—for charity.”

“I’ll bet you did,” Wyatt said, and Tony could hear the amusement in his brother’s voice. “No way in hell would you fight with someone who looked like she did Saturday night. And she must have wanted something from you badly to pay that kind of money.”

“Yeah, she wants more water.”

“Don’t we all. She should know you can’t help her out there. No rain in the forecast, either. Hang on a sec, Tony.” Wyatt put him on hold while he consulted with one of his deputies. When he returned, he was back on what appeared to be his favorite subject. “Like I was saying, some people will never look at Lindsay the same way. Those who didn’t see her at the auction are curious as hell. I don’t know why she keeps those looks hidden.”

“She’s not interested in dating cowboys or ranchers. She doesn’t want anyone telling her how to run her ranch. You can figure that one out.”

“Definitely. I was shocked to see who had won the bid,” Wyatt remarked drily.

Tony would agree with that. “We had a good time Saturday night, but she’s still Lindsay, all stubborn and serious. But we did agree to ease off the fights from now on.”

“Thank heaven for that one. My life will get a hell of a lot more peaceful. Call when you come to town.”

“Sure, Wyatt.”

After he hung up, he stared at the phone, thinking about Lindsay, and he was tempted to pick up the phone and call her. Then reason reared its head. Beneath all that beauty, he reminded himself, she was still the stubborn, obstreperous woman she had always been. She was as wise to avoid ranchers as they were to avoid her. She was not his type. Still...that weekend with her had been the sexiest in his life, and she had been the sexiest woman he’d ever been with.

He had to shake his head to get rid of the images that flooded his mind. The two of them in bed, in the Jacuzzi... No, he had to leave things alone. The weekend was over and it wouldn’t happen again.

Breathing a sigh, he turned to the ledger he needed to work on and tried to forget her and the steamy memories of their weekend.

The next few days slipped by without a cloud in the bight blue sky, the drought growing more severe as water dwindled in the creeks and riverbeds and strong, hot winds warmed the parched earth. Lindsay threw herself into work, trying to forget the weekend with Tony, but she was unable to do so. It surprised her how much she thought about him. Even worse, she finally admitted to herself that she missed seeing him. She gritted her teeth at the thought. She didn’t want to miss Tony. She didn’t want him or the weekend they’d had to be important. Her reactions to him continually shocked her.

All her adult life she had avoided going out with men who would want to tell her how to run her ranch. She had managed, until Tony. That was the road straight to disaster. She didn’t want to marry a take-charge male—and a Milan, to boot!—and then fight over running everything. There was no way she would be in agreement on everything or turn her ranch over to someone else to run. She shook her head, knowing she needn’t worry. Tony wouldn’t ever get close to proposing to her. He wasn’t going to propose to any woman. He was not even the type of person she wanted to go out with again, and she was certain he felt the same way about her.

It was done. They were done. It was that simple.

Turning back to work, she forced him out of her mind. Soon she wouldn’t even think about him.

But that resolve didn’t stop her from mulling over his property. That afternoon when she drove her pickup along the boundary between her ranch and Tony’s, she stopped, switched off the engine, got binoculars and climbed up on her pickup to find out if she was close enough to see his pump on the water well nearest her land.

It was visible in the distance, but she couldn’t tell whether it was old or new. Damn. Time was running out for her.

How much longer could she go without rain?

Her other neighbors were buying water and having it piped or shipped in.

Tony had told her to come look at his pumps. If he still had the old pumps and he had dug deeper—if he was telling the truth—then that would be the best thing for her to do. She frowned. Why did it rankle so much to do what he told her to do?

As she looked at his land, she couldn’t keep from moving her binoculars in a wide swing, curious whether Tony worked in the area. She didn’t see him and she hated to admit to herself that she was disappointed. She missed his company. Now she was sorry she hadn’t accepted his dinner invitation for Friday night, instead telling him to call her this week if he still wanted to take her out again. She hadn’t expected to hear from him and so far, she had been right. It was Thursday and he hadn’t called, so he must have had second thoughts when he got home.

She hated to admit that she was disappointed, but she told herself it was for the best. Still, she couldn’t stop the memories... She remembered being in his arms, his kisses, his blue-green eyes that darkened to the color of a stormy sea when he was in the throes of passion. How could he be so handsome and so sexy? Maybe it had been the tux. Or his naked body that was male perfection. Or his—

Her ringing phone cut off that steamy train of thought. Shaking her head as she wiped her brow, she yanked her cell out of her pocket expecting Abe, her foreman, but the caller ID read T. Milan. Her heart missed a beat as she stared at the phone until the next ring jolted her out of her surprise. She said hello and heard Tony’s deep voice.

“How are you?” he asked politely, and suddenly she was suspicious of why he was calling, but at the same time, she was happy to hear his voice.

“I’m fine. Actually, I’m at our boundary line and looking at your closest well trying to see your pump.”

“Hey, are you really? I’m not far. Stay where you are and I’ll join you and give you a closer look.”

She laughed. “You don’t need to.”

“Of course I don’t need to, but I’m already headed that way, so don’t drive off.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I called to ask about dinner tomorrow night.”

So he hadn’t had second thoughts after all. She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her lips.

“How about something simpler than last weekend?” he continued before he had her answer. “Like Marty’s Roadhouse? I know it’s two counties away, but if we go anywhere around here, you’ll be besieged by cowboys wanting to take you out. Also, we’ll be the top of the list for local gossip.”

“I don’t want either to happen.”

“We’ll do a little two-steppin’ and eat some barbecue and discuss what you can do to get water.”

She should say no. They could talk about water on the phone or when he arrived in a few minutes. Common sense told her to decline. But then she thought about dancing with him. If she just had some self-discipline and had him bring her home after dinner, an evening with him couldn’t hurt. “That would be good,” she said.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at six. We’ll have a good time dancing.”

She heard a motor. “I think I hear you approaching.”

“You do. Stay where you are.”

“See you in seconds,” she said, and broke the connection. Amused, she pulled on leather gloves and parted strands of barbed wire that formed the fence that divided their property. She had been climbing through or over barbed wire since she was little. She straightened to watch him approach.

He drove up in a red pickup, stopped and jumped down. As he came into view, she saw that he wore a light blue long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, tight jeans, boots and a black broad-brimmed hat.

She knew she was going against good sense getting involved any more deeply with Tony. So why did her entire body tingle at the sight of him?

“You look great,” Tony said as he approached her and reached out to tug her braid. “I never realized how good you look in jeans.”

She laughed. “Until last weekend, I never realized you could look at me without getting annoyed.”

Grinning, his gaze roamed down her legs again and every inch of her felt his eyes on her. “Oh, darlin’, those jeans do fit you. I just should have taken a second look.” He looked into her eyes and her breath caught. How could he cause such a reaction in her now? She had known him all her life and until last weekend she’d never once had this kind of response to him just saying hello.

“I’m glad you said yes to tomorrow night,” he said, the amusement fading from his expression.

Her smile vanished when his did. “Tony, we’re probably doing something we shouldn’t. You and I have no future with each other in a social way.”

He didn’t argue with her and, instead, continued to stare at her. He shrugged and stepped closer to run his finger along her cheek. The feathery touch sizzled and she had to draw a deep breath and resist walking into his arms.

“It’s just a fun Friday night, Lindsay. Surely we can do that just one more time.”

She knew the more time she spent with him, the more she could get hurt. Tony would not change, and neither would she. At the next problem to come up between them, he would be telling her what to do and she would be angry with him all over again. She needed to stay rooted in reality for the good of her ranch, because she couldn’t afford to be sidetracked by him. “Come on,” he urged. “We’ll have a good time dancing. Marty’s on Friday night is fun.”

“Until the fights break out.”

“That doesn’t happen often and if it does, we’ll get out of there. I have no intention of spending any part of my night in a brawl.”

“So it’s two-stepping and eating.”

He caught her braid in his hand again as he gazed into her eyes. “Plus some kissing.”

She drew a deep breath, wanting him to lean closer and kiss her now yet knowing at the same time that she shouldn’t want any such thing.

His phone rang and he looked at it. “I have to go, so let’s look at the pumps another time. I have an appointment, but I thought as long as I was close, I’d come say hello. Tomorrow night can’t come soon enough.” He looked at her as if he still had something he wanted to say. Silence settled between them and she wondered what it was and what was keeping him from saying it.

“I’ve missed being with you,” he finally said. He placed his hands on her shoulders, and an odd expression came over his face. “You seem shorter.”

She laughed. “I am. I’m not in my high heels like last weekend.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, still staring at her. “But you weren’t always wearing heels last weekend,” he added in a low voice. “Oh, dang,” he said, on a ragged exhale. “I shouldn’t, but I’m going to anyway.” Pulling her closer, he kissed her.

Her heart thudded and she couldn’t catch her breath. His kiss was thorough and sexy, making her heart race. And she responded to it instantly.

When he released her, he was breathing hard. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow night at six. Leave your hair down so I can see if it looks as good as I think it did last weekend.” As she laughed, he grinned while he placed his hands on her waist to pick her up and set her on the other side of the fence. She remembered how easily he’d carried her in his arms Saturday night. He went back to his pickup in long strides, climbed in, waved and drove away.

Her lips still tingled as she stood there staring after him in a daze. “I should have said no,” she whispered to herself. “I should not be going out with him. He’s still Tony, all alpha male, a man I’ve always fought with.”

Each hour she spent with him only meant more trouble. She knew that as well as she knew her own name. But she’d already accepted, and besides, it was just dinner and dancing, in a place with lots of people. And talking about water. Far from romantic. She wasn’t going back to his ranch afterward. Their evening together would be meaningless.

So why couldn’t she wait for tomorrow night?

Lindsay studied herself in the mirror while her two Australian shepherd dogs lay nearby on the floor. It was ten to six; Tony would be here any minute. Time for a last check in the mirror. She’d brushed her hair, curled it slightly in long, spiral curls and finally tied it behind her head with a blue silk scarf. She wore a black Resistol, a denim blouse with bling, washed jeans with bling on the hip pockets and her fancy black hand-tooled boots.

She turned to her dogs and each raised his head.

“I promise you, Tony Milan will not be invited inside tonight. When he comes to the door, don’t bark at him and don’t bite him.”

Both animals thumped their tails as she patted their heads and left the room. The dogs followed her to the front room, where she could watch the drive.

In minutes she heard Tony’s pickup approach the house. Hurrying to the door, she turned to tell the dogs to sit. As soon as they did, she opened the door. The sight of Tony took her breath away, just as it had when she had seen him yesterday. His black hat, long-sleeved black Western shirt, tight jeans and black boots made him look 100 percent gorgeous cowboy.

She kept a smile on her face as he approached, even as she silently reassured herself there was no way an attraction between them could possibly develop into anything meaningful. With Tony that was impossible and she was certain he felt the same way. As the dogs barked, she gave them commands that caused them to stop, and they came forward quietly to meet Tony, who patted their heads.

“Hi, cowboy,” she said.

“Oh, yeah, you don’t go out with cowboys. Well, consider this a business dinner,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

“Of course. And business kisses.”

“Who said one word about kisses?” he asked, his voice lowering a notch as he placed his hand on the jamb over her head. While she looked up at him, her pulse raced.

“I thought there might be a few kisses as well as dinner.”

“We could just skip dinner and go inside and you can show me your bedroom.”

She smiled and tapped his chest. “What finesse. I think not. You promised dancing and barbecue.”

“Whatever the beautiful lady wants,” he said, sounding serious, as if he had stopped joking and flirting. She wanted to step into his arms and kiss him. Then she remembered Tony had broken more than a couple of hearts with his “love ’em and leave ’em” ways.

“Let me turn on the alarm, lock up and we can go,” she said in a breathless voice that she hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“Sure thing.” As she moved back, his eyes raked her body. “Each time I see you, you look fantastic.”

“Thank you.” She said goodbye to the dogs, who now sat near his feet. “You must have a way with dogs. They don’t usually take to strangers.”

“Women, children and dogs,” Tony said.

“I suppose I have to agree on the women and dogs because that’s definitely proven. I don’t know about children.”

“They love me, too,” he said with humor in his voice. “Ask your nephew, Scotty.”

Smiling, she switched on the alarm and stepped out with him, hearing the lock click.

He linked her arm in his and they walked to his red pickup.

“Allow me,” he said as he held the door for her. She climbed in, aware of his constant scrutiny.

“I do love tight jeans,” he said, closing the door behind her.

Laughing, she watched him walk around the pickup, feeling excitement mount as she looked forward to being with him again.

“Some of my family has called me to ask about our evening. My guess is that yours has called you,” she said, turning toward him as much as her seat belt allowed. She could hardly believe she was sitting here next to him. Her anticipation of this night with him had built all day.

There still was no danger of it becoming a habit for either of them, just one more night—only a few hours of dancing and talking and, maybe, kisses at her door. As they turned on the road toward the county highway, she gripped his arm. “Tony, look over there in the trees. That’s a wolf.”

Tony followed the direction of her hand and looked toward a stand of scrub oaks. He didn’t see any animal. “I don’t see anything and there are no wolves in Texas.”

“There’s one on my ranch. Look.”

She was insistent, so he slowed and backed up, stretching his arm over the back of the seat as he reversed the car around the curve. He saw a furry gray animal at the edge of the trees.

“That has to be a coyote,” he said. “It looks like a wolf, but it’s not. There aren’t any in Texas.”

“It’s too big and furry to be a coyote,” she said. As they watched, the animal turned and disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

“That animal didn’t really look like a dog,” Tony said, putting the car in gear and continuing to drive. “Well, we’ve always got wild animals around here. My money’s on a coyote.”

“It’s a gray wolf. They have them now in New Mexico, and a wolf doesn’t know state boundaries. They could easily roam into Texas and probably already have. That was only a matter of time. Remember, there’s an old legend around these parts about a gray wolf roaming West Texas and anyone who tames him will have one wish granted.”

Tony glanced at her with an exaggerated leer. “I know what my wish would be,” he said, his gaze sweeping over her.

She laughed. “You lusty man. You’ve got no chance of taming it. You’d have to catch the wolf first.” She returned to her earlier topic. “About our families...”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Wyatt called me Tuesday morning and said we’re the hot topic in Verity.”

“Imagine that. Me—the hot topic in Verity. Well, let them talk. It’ll die down soon because there won’t be enough to talk about.”

He cast a glance at her. “I’ll bet some new guys have asked you out since last Saturday night.”

“They have,” she said, “but I turned each one down. A couple were at the auction and a couple heard about the auction,” she said, having no intention of telling him six guys who saw her Saturday night had asked her out and three who had simply heard about the auction had called and one more had dropped by the ranch.

“All ranchers, I suppose.”

“Ranchers, cowboys and an auctioneer from Fort Worth. No way will I get involved with any of them.”

“I can understand that, except you’re with me tonight.”

She smiled. “Maybe you’ve moved into the classification of an old friend. Besides, there’s no danger of involvement for either one of us. I figure this for our last time together.”

“You’re probably right,” he said.

“You can dance, you’re fun, and after last weekend, we’re civil to each other. I’m sure we’ll have a good time.”

“I agree about the good time. I can’t wait to get you on the dance floor.”

“Also, I want something from you.”

He shot her a quick glance and then his attention went back to the road. “What can I do for you?” he asked evenly, but his voice had changed, taken on the all-business tone that she was more familiar with.

“I’m trying to see if I can finagle an invitation to your ranch.”

He smiled. “Darlin’, I thought you’d never ask! I’ll take you home with me tonight.”

“Cool it, cowboy. I just want to take you up on your earlier offers to look at one of your water pumps.”

His smile disappeared and she wondered if he wanted to turn around now and take her home. “Sure, Lindsay. Tell me when you want to come.”

His voice had turned solemn and a muscle now worked in his jaw. She knew she was annoying him, but she wanted to see for herself if he still had his old water pumps.

“Thanks, Tony. I appreciate your offer. You told me to come look.”

“So I did,” he answered, and then he became silent as they drove on the empty road.

After they reached the county road, he glanced at her once again. “Lindsay, if that’s what you wanted tonight, and why you accepted, do you still want to go?”

“But, Tony,” she said in a sultry voice, “that wasn’t the sole purpose of accepting your offer to go dancing tonight.” She ran her fingers lightly along his thigh. “I also remember how much fun and sexy you can be.”

She received another one of his glances and saw him inhale deeply. “Then I’m glad you’re here, darlin’. That makes the evening much better. ‘Fun and sexy,’ huh? I’ll try to live up to that description.”

She laughed. “I’m sure you will,” she said.

Flirting with him made the drive seem shorter, and he flirted in return, causing her to forget about water pumps.

When they reached the roadside honky-tonk, loud music greeted them outside the log building. Inside, they found a booth in the dark, crowded room that held a few local people she knew but more that she didn’t.

As soon as they had two beers on the table, Tony asked her to dance. The band, made up of a fiddler, drummer and piano player, had couples doing a lively two-step. As they stepped into the group, Tony held her hands, staying close beside her as they circled the room, and then he turned her, so she danced backward as he led. His gaze locked with hers. Desire was evident in the depths of his eyes as he watched her while they danced. She had his full attention and she tingled beneath his gaze and forgot about her problems.

They danced past midnight and after they returned to their table, he leaned closer. “Ready to leave? We can’t talk in here anyway.”

When she nodded, he stood, waiting as she slid out of the booth to walk out with him. The air was warm outside, the music fading as they climbed into his pickup.

Light from the dash highlighted his prominent cheekbones, but his eyes were in shadow. The ambience reminded her of their night together, when the dim light of his condo bedroom had shielded his eyes from her view. The memories stirred her as she recalled making love with him. She had tried to avoid thinking about him all week, yet here she was with him. This was crazy. She had to get over Tony, forget him and go on with her life. No way did she want to think about their lovemaking or give him a hint that she would ever want to make love to him again.

As they approached her ranch house, lights blazed from it. “Looks like you have a house filled with people.”

“I leave it that way. I don’t like to come home to a dark, empty house. And I leave some lights for the dogs,” she explained. “Drive around to the back door. It’ll be easier for me.”

He drove through her wrought iron gates, which closed automatically, and did as she instructed. “I can tell you a better way to avoid a dark, empty house. Come home with me.” He unbuckled his seat belt and turned to her. “My house will be neither dark nor empty, and I promise you some fun.”

She smiled at him, able to see his eyes now; their blue depths seemed to sparkle even in the darkness. “Thanks, but I belong here. Besides, we agreed on the parameters for tonight.”

“It’s temptation. You’re temptation, Lindsay. Beyond my wildest imaginings,” he said, leaning forward to unlock her seat belt. As he did, his lips nuzzled her throat while his fingers caressed her nape. Then he turned to get out of the truck and strode around to open her door for her.

He draped his arm across her shoulders as they walked to her door. “Tonight was fun. I could dance with you for hours. There are a lot of things I could do with you for hours.”

Her insides tightened and heated, but she forced a grin. “Is playing chess one of them?” she asked, trying to lighten the moment and get his mind off making love.

“No, chess is not what I had in mind at all,” he said as he stopped and turned her to face him in the yard under the darkness of a big oak. As he slipped his arm around her waist, her heart thudded. He leaned close to trail kisses on her neck, her ear. “No, what I want to do is hold you close, kiss you until you melt,” he said in a deep, husky voice.

His words worked the same magic on her as his lips and hands. Her knees felt weak and she wanted his mouth on hers. Forgetting all her intentions to keep the evening light, she slipped her arm around his neck and raised her mouth for his kiss.

“Why do I find you so damn irresistible?” she asked.

The moment his mouth touched hers, her heart thudded out of control. More than anything she wanted a night with him, wanted to ask him in, but she intended to stick with her promise to herself to say goodbye to him at her door. He deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking hers, slowly and sensually, and she could barely remember what promise she was thinking about. He was aroused, ready to make love, and she, too, ached to take him to her bedroom and have another night like before.

She didn’t know how long they had kissed when she finally looked up at him. She had no idea where her next words came from. “I better go in now.”

He stared at her, his hot gaze filled with desire that wrapped itself around her and held her in its spell. Stepping out of its heat, she turned to walk onto her porch. Reluctantly he followed.

When they entered the house, the dogs greeted them. She turned them into the fenced yard, closed the door and faced him.

Though he didn’t ask for one, she wanted to give him an explanation.

“Tony, we both agreed last weekend was an anomaly. As special as it was, it’s over and we need to leave it over. I don’t want an affair and I don’t think you do, either. With our families intermarried, we would complicate our lives. We’re not really all that compatible anyway. I’m too serious for you and you’re too much a playboy for me. If I have an affair, I want it long-term, with commitment. You’re not the type for that.”

“Don’t second-guess me, Lindsay. You’re incredibly desirable.”

“Do you really want us to get deeply involved?”

He inhaled and gazed at her while seconds ticked past.

“I think that’s an answer,” she said, “and I agree with it.”

“There will never be a time when I can look at you and honestly say I don’t want you. I—” He stopped when she placed her fingers against his lips.

“Shh. Don’t say things that you don’t really know.”

Kissing her fingers before she took them away, he nodded as he released a breath. “Okay, so we say good-night now. But I’m not going without a goodbye kiss.”

He reached out to take off her hat and toss it onto a nearby chair along with his. “Hats get in the way sometimes,” he said as he pulled loose the silk scarf that held her hair behind her head and dropped it into her hat. She shook her head and her hair swung across her shoulders to frame her face.

“You’re beautiful, Lindsay,” he whispered before his mouth covered hers. He kissed her hard, a passionate kiss that tempted her to throw away common sense and invite him upstairs for one more fabulous night.

She felt his arousal, knew he was as ready to make love as she.

But suddenly, before she could speak, he released her. “Good night, Lindsay. If I don’t go right now, I won’t go at all. I know what you really want is for me to leave.” Before she could move, he turned and hurried out the door.

She fled to her bedroom before she called him to come back. Her heart pounded and she ached with longing for him. How could she feel this way about Tony? A Milan, and her nemesis for so many years?

She had to get beyond this heart-pounding reaction she had to him. She couldn’t afford to see him again because each time bound her more closely to him.

He had walked out of her life tonight and there wasn’t any reason for him to come back into it. At least not in the immediate future. Things would always happen that would cause them to see each other, but her usual encounters with Tony had been only three or four times a year.

When she had asked him if she could come to his ranch and look at one of his pumps, the question had made him angry. Would he be even angrier if she actually went to his ranch? He probably would, but she was going anyway to see for herself whether he had been truthful. It had been ingrained in her by her family not to trust a Milan and she found it difficult to trust Tony on ranch matters.

And personal matters? After last weekend, she might have to answer that question differently.

She lay across the bed, the lights out, and as thoughts of Tony swirled in her mind, she knew she’d never sleep tonight. Not when she was wishing she were with him, in his arms, naked beside him. Would he sleep? Knowing him, she figured he’d sleep like a bear in winter.

She closed her eyes against the tears that stung them. Tony was out of her life—where he should be. There was no way they had any future as a couple. She’d accomplished all she’d set out to do that night at the bachelor auction. She’d bid on him to butter him up, to make him more amenable. At least that seemed to have worked. With any luck, the fights had stopped or at least changed to simple quarrels. If that had happened, it all would have been worthwhile.

There’d be no more calls from Tony after tonight. The thought swept her with a sense of loss. She shook her head as if she could shake away the feeling. How long would it take her life to get back to normal?