Chapter Seven

 

 

 

Olivia tried not to fidget. Caught between surprise that Cody had accepted her dinner invitation, relief that he hadn’t brought up what had happened under the mulberry tree the other day and nervousness over seeing him again, she was more than uncomfortable. Watching him look around her house piled on more anticipation, dread and guilt than she truly would have thought.

She wanted him to like her home, but she was starting to worry that she also wanted him to like her.

“Well?” she asked, unable to take his silence another minute.

“Well, what? It’s nice,” he said.

“Nice? If it’s so nice, why does your face look like that?” Inside—where Cody couldn’t see—Olivia winced at the sharpness in her tone.

He drew his eyebrows together in the first expression she’d seen from him since he’d stepped through the double doors of her ranch-house-turned-bed-and-breakfast. “I can’t see my face from here, Olivia, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“That.” She wagged her finger under his nose as his lips drew straight and, once again, his eyes went blank. “That annoying expression that is no expression at all, like I’m something you can’t even bother to be disappointed in because I am so worthless compared to—”

“Sounds like you’re reading too much into things.” Cody un-beetled his eyebrows and sent one winging up toward his hairline. “All I said was your home was nice.”

“You said it like a teacher, after I handed in a failing assignment.”

He shrugged. “Well, the wood paneling is a nice touch and I’m sure the animal heads are tastefully arranged, as far as those things go—”

“People expect shit like that in a lodge.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Cody spun on his heel, head tipped back, gaze roaming the walls that were predominantly covered with oil paintings of ranch life, mixed-media art involving leather and rope and a few softer things that brought the soul of the plains into the house. Only the one accent wall had paneling, and there were very few animal heads—two deer and a mounted longhorn skull—placed very high up where they would be less obtrusive.

“I just wouldn’t have thought this would suit you,” Cody continued.

His perceptiveness surprised her. “It doesn’t. This is my mother’s vision of what the place should look like, and everyone else seems to love it. Magazines have taken pictures in here.”

“But you prefer the Double O”—he turned back toward her and stared at her face a little too hard for comfort—“with all the big, overstuffed, drab, worn-out furniture and cracked linoleum. With creaky floorboards and drafty windows.”

“It’s a home. You can feel the history.” Her face felt too hot when she mumbled, “You can feel the residual love leftover from generations of happy marriages.”

“Hmm. I wouldn’t have pegged you for sentimentality. I had no idea you were such a romantic.”

Olivia shifted. Again, guilt stabbed her in the chest but so did a spark of anger. She just wasn’t certain if she was mad at him or herself.

He couldn’t afford it. That had stung. When she’d touched him under the mulberry, she hadn’t been thinking of their properties, the stream, Mayor Wiggins or her own desperate economic strategies. She’d been thinking of how hot he was in her palm, how thick and soft and tempting. She’d been thinking of how good his fingers felt as they filled her, how alive every nerve in her body had become with just a touch and how much better it would be if he put his dick inside her.

“I wasn’t trying to seduce you for the Double O the other day.” The minute she uttered the words, Olivia winced—on the outside, where it was visible to anyone looking her way.

Cody turned a dull red, but his expression closed down even more. “I find that hard to believe. You’ve never made a secret of what you wanted or how you planned to go about getting it.”

“When did I ever—?”

“The first fucking night I ever met you.” He slid forward as if to intimidate her but stopped himself after a single step. He clenched his fists at his sides and his eyes gleamed with anger, in spite of how low he spat his words. “You climbed right onto my lap after flat-out telling me that you wanted my land.”

“I never said such a thing!” But her conscience burned under his accusation.

She did want his ranch—or at least his promise to hold it in reserve for her. She’d pay money, just not all at once. She’d offered to take care of Eugene, and she could probably even swing monthly payments for whatever Cody’s father was doing as well.

But she needed her water rights and the cooperation of the O’Neals. She was willing to do almost anything to get them.

“See?” Cody pointed in her face as she had done to him moments ago. “There’s that look. Crafty, sly. I don’t trust it at all and you wore the same goddamned expression when you stuck your hand down my pants and grabbed my dick.”

“But that’s not why I did it.”

“Bullshit! You have an agenda that’s all too easy to figure out, and I know exactly what role I’d be playing. You think I’m stupid?”

“No.” Olivia fisted her own hands and raised her chin. “I thought we had chemistry. And I thought you were as lonely as me.”

Cody shoved his fingers through his hair. “You know, maybe I should just go now. I really don’t need dinner. I’ve seen enough of the Raines Ranch.”

“No! Wait! How could I explain to my mother—” Olivia clutched at him as he turned away.

“Just convey my apologies.”

“Please!” She held him back, even tugged him toward the massive dining room where the guests would soon share their meal at one large table. It galled her to beg for anything—again—but she had to make him understand how serious his decision was. “Please. You can think what you want of me. I won’t bring it up again, but I need you to meet the others. Meet the people depending on this place.”

“I don’t have to, Olivia.” He pulled from her hold and began to pace. “I get it. I really do. I know how important this place is to you, and I understand how the Double O fits into all that. I even understand your relationship with my grandfather, but I also have to keep in mind that my grandfather’s health is precarious.”

“Eugene would never want to sell the Double O.”

Cody shot her an evil glance. “You know how pissed off he is that we’ve got to sell. I don’t know what to do with him—where he’ll go or who will take care of him—but I know that’s just part and parcel of this whole fucking thing. I have more on my plate than your business!”

“I know, but—”

“This is my family, Olivia!”

“Mine, too!” Anger ripped through her and she found herself invading his space, nose to nose and drilling her finger into his breastbone. “This is not just some money-making venture, you jackass! This is my life, my livelihood and the livelihoods of several people. The whole fucking town benefits from this ranch, including your family. And if you think Eugene is any more to you than he is to me just because you share some DNA, you’ve lost your damned mind. He’s been more a father to me than you could ever know, and I’m the one who’s been here, taking care of him, making sure he eats, making sure he takes his medicine.”

“And I thank you, but—” Cody stepped back as she poked him again.

“I’m the one who had to call nine-one-one after I found him on his kitchen floor. I’m the one who sat in the fucking hospital for hours, waiting for the worst and praying for the best. I’m the one who’s been there every damn day while you and your father ignored the situation for a month!”

“Olivia—”

“Fuck you, O’Neal! You don’t even deserve the Double O.”

Cody grabbed her as she went to poke him again. She tugged against his hold but he reeled her in until she was pressed to his chest, her own heaving with the need for air and the struggle against the sobs breaking through her lungs. He wrapped one arm around her then lifted his fingers to wipe the tears from her cheek.

She felt his lips press to her temple as he said, “I’m sorry you had to go through all that. I’m sure it must have been terrifying…heartbreaking. I’m sorry all the burden fell on your shoulders, and if you felt alone in dealing with everything, I apologize for that, too. But we didn’t ignore him, Olivia. We couldn’t get here.”

“If you’d tried,” she sniffled. She fought the lull of Cody’s body heat, fought the comfort that seemed determined to sink down into her tired muscles and the sense of connection that encouraged her to lean more heavily against him. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had someone to rely on—just her mother in terms of feeding and entertaining the houseguests. All the problems were still hers to take care of.

“I’m here now,” Cody whispered. “I’m doing the best I can, but I barely have a grasp of the situation and you’ve been hammering at me since the moment we first met. I’ve got a lot to wrap my head around, a lot I have to sort out.”

“I know, but…” She took a deep breath and made her confession. “I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll lose it all and have nothing. I don’t know how to start over again.”

He brushed his lips across her temple once more. “I promise I’ll do the best I can—for all of us.”