Mindy couldn't fight him, didn't want to fight him. Instead she pushed back the twinge of guilt she felt over using Bret this way and met his lips with her own.
She'd have to remember this for the rest of her life. She knew she couldn't keep her sanity if she stayed. But right now she intended to make it something worth remembering.
His hand slipped through her hair, then ran down her back leaving delightful tingles of hair-standing-on-end pleasure behind it.
She pressed her body into his, delighting in the hard muscles that met her yielding breasts, in the tautness of his belly.
"Have you thought about my offer?" he murmured when he finally broke away.
"You put a lot of faith in your kisses, don't you?" she replied.
"A good gigolo has to."
His smoky eyes were telling her something, but she couldn't hear anything over the roar of desire coming from within her body.
"I need more time to think about it," she lied.
"Hum. Mind if we spend some of that time doing this?" He ran his hand down her spine, then slid it over the roundness of her bottom. "Or this," he continued, running his other hand up her waist to caress one her breast through the thin fabric of her bathing suit top.
She kissed him hard. "Maybe I'd better tell you about my lunch experience first," she told him.
He drew back. "What happened?"
"I don't know. I'm afraid that letting everyone see us together in the tent was a mistake. The hands certainly didn't buy our story about it just being the rain."
"Ah, no. I guess not," he agreed.
"All of the guys looked at me like I had leprosy."
"More likely, they looked at you like maybe they thought that if they made some kind of move on you, they could very well loose significant parts of their manhood." He didn't make it a threat, simply a statement of fact. Bret might not love her, but he certainly showed a possessiveness that she found both endearing and aggravating.
He'd have to get over it if they were to have a future together, she thought. Then she reminded herself that they weren't going to have a future together. At least not a future that lasted more than another five hours.
"That might be what I saw," Mindy agreed.
"Who says cowboys are slow on the uptake?" Bret said.
"At any rate, now that I've finally got these dishes clean, I suppose it’s time for me to cook something for dinner."
"I ordered pizza," Bret told her.
"You aren't exactly living up to that John Wayne cattle drive mystique," Mindy said.
"We're trying to advance into the twentieth century now that it's over," Bret shot back. "Pizza should be here in ten minutes. And I'm willing to guess that the guys will beat it here by about two minutes."
****
The passion Mindy's kisses had shown didn't fool Bret. If she made her decision now, he knew that it would be against him. And all of his dreams would collapse into the red dust of west Texas. She had a perfect right to sell to Andresson, or whoever, take the money and run.
He'd deliberately tried to lighten up.
The laugh in Mindy's smile told him that he'd made the right choice but it didn't do more than provide a fragile cover-up for the scared pain that shined from her eyes. For some reason, she planned to reject him. He'd have to keep up the pressure if he wanted to change her mind.
"I think maybe I'd better change clothes, then," Mindy told him.
Mindy could wear as little or as much as she wanted, he realized. It didn't matter to him. Whatever she wore, he still found her the most sensual, exciting, and all-around good to be near woman he'd ever met.
"Probably a good idea," he agreed. He didn't like the way the cowboys looked at Mindy, although he knew that the hunger in his own eyes burned a thousand times greater than all of theirs combined.
"Back in a minute," she said.
For the second time in as many days, she grabbed a towel and headed for the tank. At least this time Bret's were the only eyes that followed the sway of her hips and the long elegant lines of her legs.
He took the opportunity to wash off himself, then slipped into a clean pair of black jeans and a denim shirt.
Mindy trotted back a few minute later looking refreshed and a whole lot more beautiful than a woman had any right to look. "I could eat a goat," she told him.
"Pizza," he reminded her. "I didn't order any with goat topping."
"I could eat a lot of pizza."
"Better do it quick, then" he advised.
"Why? Are you going to eat my share if I don't?"
"Not me. I wish a few of our cowboys had you as a teacher. Their concept of sharing is somewhat lacking in the fine details."
"You joke about it, Bret. But I really am a good teacher. There's something unique that happens when a kid understands a lesson for the first time. I love it," she told him.
Never had any woman's eyes lit up like that when she talked about him. Now he wondered if they ever would.
"I thought all teachers were cynical," he said in an attempt to distract himself from what he feared he'd lost forever.
"Maybe I'll get that way one day," she told him. "I hope not, though. That would be like killing a part of myself."
How could he hope to compete with this calling of hers? The bone-numbing work of running a ranch, keeping the animals fed, watered and what passed for content, could never offer Mindy the level of satisfaction that raising young people into the world could have. Who was he to think his crazy idea about a lousy ranch in desert west Texas was something in Mindy's future? She already had her dreams. Dreams that included nothing of the world he knew and loved.
"Let me put on something decent," Mindy said.
"Perfect timing. I hear the pizza truck. If the truck is here, we're going to have cowboys thick as flies within three minutes."
He paid the pizza man for the eighteen large pizzas he'd ordered and set them out. As he'd predicted, a line of hungry cowboys formed before he even got the plates ready.
"You're going to have to learn to cook," one of the cowboys told him. "We can't live on pizza all our lives."
"Yeah, right. As if those lumps you call beans could support life," Hector fired back.
"Hey," Bret interjected. "We're only out here for another week or so. The forecast is looking up. There's a real front coming through. It should wet the entire county. In the meantime, I can live on pizza for a couple of days."
"At least you didn't get anchovies this time," Rob said.
"Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?"
The camaraderie and good-natured give and take was as much a part of ranch living as was the solitude, the huge sky, and the vast emptiness of west Texas. It had always been enough. Now Bret found it strangely incomplete. He needed more. He didn't want to admit it, but he needed Mindy.
"Evening, gentlemen," Mindy told them.
She looked like a dream, of course, making it a far better evening than it would have been were she not there. Bret supposed those form-fitting jeans provided more coverage than her short shorts but he still glared at his cowboys to make sure no one looked too hard. He felt irrationally proud of her, as if she had agreed to his proposal and really was a part of his life.
All of the cowboys suddenly developed a huge interest in their pizza leaving him not a single smirk to wipe from their faces.
"There's deep dish and thin crust," he told her.
"Fantastic."
He helped himself to four slices, then found a rock to sit on.
Mindy's two slices looked bare and alone when she walked toward him.
"Is that going to be enough?" he asked.
"I won't starve," she told him.
She sat beside him, her leg accidentally brushing against his own.
Even Mindy's slightest touch seemed to set off every physical reaction his body was capable of. His excitement raged to the point he actually had to use a hand to steady the plate on his lap. How many years had he been out of high school? He was supposed to be beyond this. He'd better get beyond it. He had offered Mindy everything he could afford, but it wasn't nearly enough.
****
Mindy could hardly eat. Her mind kept reminding her last time over and over again. This was the last time she would sit with Bret. The last time they would eat together. The last time she could innocently pretend that an accident brought her leg in contact with his. The last time she would touch him.
His obvious arousal pleased and excited her as much as his attempt to hide it amused her. If Bret could be like this for her, she couldn't begin to imagine what he must have been like with her aunt, the woman he truly loved. To have a man like Bret love her, to think she was the center of the universe, that was beyond imagining. Yet, now that she knew what was possible, how could she accept anything less?
Bret might be willing to settle for second best. Why not? He had already enjoyed real love. Mindy couldn't, wouldn't, go through life knowing that she was a third choice after her aunt and a ranch.
"Had you given any thought to where you'll sleep tonight?" Bret asked her, his voice low so only she could hear it. Obviously he planned on using his seductive skills tonight.
She nodded.
"There's plenty of room in my tent."
"Aren't you working tonight?" She tried to make the question sound innocent.
He nodded. "I'm taking the early shift again."
"I can't think about your offer rationally if I let you kiss me like you did last night. It'll be better if I sleep by myself," she said, trying to sound earnest. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer."
His smile pierced her core. He knew exactly the impact he had on women and used it to the hilt. For her, his smile was something like being hit by a cement truck. Only it did its damage to her inside rather than to her body.
"In that case, I'm not at all tired. Feel like a walk?" he asked her after they had finished their pizza.
She felt like grabbing him and forcing him to make love to her, but she nodded. "Sounds great."
"You may not know this, but Texas doesn't have a state income tax," Bret told her as they dumped their plates and stepped away from the camp. "You could do a lot worse than moving here."
Bret seemed willing to work every angle but the one that really mattered. He'd played up the colleges available, and the need for qualified teachers, community property, and now the income taxes.
"Low taxes would help," Mindy agreed.
"I meant that if you were to become a teacher here, you could hold on to a lot more of your income," he told her.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Having a free place to live isn't to be sneezed at either," he continued.
"That would be handy," she agreed.
"All of this isn't exactly what you want to hear, is it?" Bret continued to surprise her with his ability to see behind her attempts at perky conversation. If only he could say what she wanted him to.
"I'm sorry. You've asked me to make a big decision and I'm distracted with that right now."
Bret frowned. "I suggested the idea as a way out of our problems, not as a way to make things worse."
"I know." She took a breath. She wanted to kiss him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Unfortunately, everything he said confirmed her assessment. He saw her as a problem to solve. She saw him as the most wonderful man she'd ever known. The mismatch wasn't the basis for a strong relationship. "I think I'd better get back to the camp."
The truck still sat where she'd parked it, just north of the campsite, and she still had the keys in her pack. A mild breeze blew from the south carrying the sounds of the camp toward the truck and, with luck, any sounds from the truck away from the camp. Things were looking up.
****
Mindy stifled a yawn and looked at her watch. The last hour had passed like molasses dripping off an ice cube. As soon as Bret had returned from his ride, he'd checked to see that she was sleeping.
She had feigned sleep, even when he bent over her and lightly kissed her forehead. That gesture, more than anything he'd said, almost undid her plans. How could she walk away from a man like Bret when even his most casual gesture thrilled her very core? He'd watched her sleep for a good ten minutes before finally heading for his tent. Even then, he hadn't turned off his electric lantern for what seemed like forever.
She'd given up pretending to sleep after he went into his tent. Instead, she watched his movements through the thin nylon fabric.
She shook her head over her initial impression that he planned to sell out. He would no more give up the ranch than he would stop breathing.
She'd waited another hour after he turned out the lamp. She dared wait no longer.
Grabbing the small sack of personal belongings she'd gathered up, she sneaked toward the truck.
Despite her care, she seemed to break every twig, stumble over every hillock. The moon had set hours before, so her path was lit only by faint stars.
Still, the truck finally loomed in front of her.
As quickly as she dared, she clambered aboard the oversized vehicle and started the engine.
For a disturbing moment, the motor sputtered and stalled. She cursed, but gave it a few seconds to recover. If she flooded the engine now, she'd never get away. Finally the truck came to life with a soft growl.
She eased north, away from the ranch house, but especially away from Bret and the camp. Only when she was miles out of hearing distance did she turn the truck back, heading more for the road than for the ranch house. She waited until she reached the road before she dared turn on the headlights. She'd kept the compass and map Bret had given her. The road might be indirect, but it would get her back eventually.
Mindy had poured herself a thermos of coffee after dinner. Now she swallowed a gulp directly from the container. She hadn't slept the previous night and wouldn't sleep tonight. One more day and she'd have plenty of endless nights to catch up on her sleep--alone.
The road was little more than a dirt track, better than the open fields they'd herded the cattle over, but not much. In areas, it had been washed away by the previous evening's cloudburst and a small herd of tumbleweeds completely blocked the road when she descended into a shallow valley. She shifted the truck into its granny gear and pushed her way through, hoping the tumbleweeds weren't covering a hole deep enough to break an axle.
Finally, just when she had begun to fear she had gotten totally turned around and would wander the desert forever, she heard the soft whish of tires on a paved road. She was free.
No surge of happiness accompanied her realization that she was on her own, in a position to put Bret behind her for good. Still, what choice did she have?
She turned the truck to the south and pushed it to its maximum speed.
To keep herself awake, Mindy switched on the radio and fiddled with the dial. There wasn't a lot to choose from. The ancient AM radio pulled in four channels, all of which specialized in sad country songs. Songs about loving and losing, about cheating hearts, and about trains. None provided any practical advice on her situation, although the one that recommended catching a train sounded like the best idea yet.
Every few minutes, she took another swig of coffee from the thermos, replacing the liquid that trickled down her cheeks.
****
To Mindy's surprise, the light in Sharon's bedroom was already on by the time she pulled up to the farmhouse. She needed to pick up George and handle a little paperwork. She certainly didn't want to have to break into the house like a thief. Still, she didn't want to talk to anyone.
She parked the truck next to her car, threw her pack in the trunk, and searched her glove compartment until she found her makeup and some Kleenex. After she'd blown her nose and put a little color in her cheeks, she thought she could pass Sharon's inspection. She didn't expect to be here long.
She knocked on the door.
Sharon didn't move any faster this time than she had a week before when Mindy had first arrived. Mindy repeated the knock, then let herself in.
"Mindy!"
She had always thought of Sharon as grouchy, but the woman welcomed her like a long lost daughter.
"Hi, Sharon."
"Are you here to pick up some supplies? Bret told me that you're the official truck driver now."
"Actually, I'm here to pick up my cat."
Sharon looked puzzled. "I think he'd be happier here than out there. It's pretty dangerous for a small animal like a cat to run around wild."
Mindy spotted George poking his nose out from Sharon's bedroom. No wonder Sharon had welcomed Mindy. George had made a new friend.
"I'm going back to Omaha, Sharon."
Sharon looked at her uncomprehending, then shook her head. "I thought you were staying with us. Bret said something about you guys kind of, well, you know. Like maybe you were going to go to school here and live on the ranch with us."
Obviously Bret had explained his view of the situation to everyone. Mindy should have been angry, but couldn't make herself feel anything but sorrow. Other than letting her believe that gigolo nonsense, Bret had been straightforward with her from the beginning. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking for straightforwardness. She also hadn't been looking for love. Even more unfortunately, that is exactly what she'd found.
"I've got to do a little paperwork," she told Sharon. "Would you mind witnessing my signature?"
"You aren't going to do anything foolish, are you?" Sharon took her hand and stared into Mindy's eyes like she was afraid she would disappear here and now.
Mindy stared back until she realized what Sharon was asking. For the first time since she had made her decision, Mindy let laughter well up within her. "No, Sharon. I'm going to Omaha, not thinking about ending it all. I've just got some loose ends here I need to tie off."
As she'd noticed days before, Bret's office included a book of legal forms. A quit-claim deed is one of the easiest. It took her no more than five minutes to type one up, even with Sharon watching over her shoulder.
"Do you want me to witness or do you need a notary?" Sharon asked.
"A notary would be good, but I think a witness will do," Mindy answered.
"I'll just get out my seal if it will help. We do a fair amount of paperwork here, so I keep it current."
First the cat and now the notary seal. Sharon was showing more dimensions than Mindy had imagined.
Mindy's hand shook as she signed the document giving Bret her claims for the half the ranch Lucy had left her.
"You don't have to do this, you know," Sharon said before affixing her seal.
"But I do have to. I didn't come down here to steal something Bret has spent the past decade working for. I've seen the numbers. He earned the entire ranch. The only reason I got anything is that Lucy was too sick to change her will and Henry wouldn't come out here to help her."
Sharon nodded. "He does work hard. I still think property should stay in the family, though."
"Bret was more Lucy's family than I was when things mattered."
"When are you leaving?" Sharon asked.
"Now." Mindy wanted to delay going, to soak up a few more minutes of a place Bret called home. The longer she waited, she knew, the more it would hurt.
"No." Sharon shook her head definitively.
"I'm sorry, Sharon. I just can't stay."
"I won't argue with you about that, although you seem pretty irrational to me. But I won't let you go without eating. Don't you realize that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"
"I don't have time to let you fix grits or any of those other things you make, Sharon. I'll grab something in town."
"How long does it take to grab a banana or an apple?" Sharon asked. A sly gleam crossed her eyes.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Bret told me to shop for fruits and things for you. If you don't eat them, they'll be wasted. It's a sure bet that none of the cowboys will eat anything without enough fat grams to lubricate a truck."
"All right. I'll have an apple."
"And coffee. You look like you've been driving for hours already."
Sharon led her into the kitchen and sat her at the table.
Mindy ate as quickly as she could without being rude. She refused the offer of a second apple and encouraged Sharon to think about eating the fruit herself.
"Are you sure you're making the right decision?" Sharon asked her as she headed for the door loaded down with a cat and an armload of clothes.
"I've got to do this," Mindy replied.
****
Her car started reluctantly, protesting its hibernation and this early call to action.
She hadn't noticed while she'd been driving the truck, but the temperature had dropped during the night and it was actually cool for the first time she could remember since coming to Texas. Except, that is, while she had been in town in the lawyer's office. Then things had been cool from the air conditioning as well as from Henry's attitude.
She told herself not to think about it but she couldn't help remembering the satisfaction she had felt when she and Bret had cooperated to flush Henry from his eavesdropping.
Within half a mile, the thermometer gage in her Nash needled up from cold. The sun blasted into the sky like an Olympic sprinter, and the temperature rose twenty degrees.
Mindy pulled over to the side of the road and unfastened the convertible top, letting it down. Without air conditioning, the old car turned into an oven if she didn't get as much circulation as she could.
Once she had everything adjusted, she pushed the accelerator to the metal and built up some speed.
The speedometer crept upward to seventy, and she held it there. The old car was game, but it just didn't make sense to push it any faster.
Mindy decided she would go on with her life exactly as she would have if she'd never been served the notification of her aunt's will. Lots of people worked days and went to school nights. It might take her a few more years to finish her teaching degree, but so what? It wasn't like she had a whole lot else going on in her life. Besides, going to school at night would give her something to do. Lonely nights at home didn't have much appeal.
The faint mist in the air didn't register on her consciousness at first.
When it became a cloud of steam, she couldn't ignore it any longer, nor the distinctive smell that filled the car's interior.
She gave in to the temptation to shout out an unladylike curse and pulled over. The damned radiator was overheated again.
Once the car stopped, Mindy reached into the back, pushed George out of the way, and located that bottle of mineral water. If she could just make it into town, she'd be safe.
She got out and opened the hood of the car.
Steam surged out, covering her with an opaque fog. She stepped back for a moment, waving her hands to fan the vapor away.
Her heartbeat thudded like an old-time locomotive when she saw the gaping hole at the top. The radiator cap was missing. Without it, she could pour any amount of water into the radiator, but it would boil away in a few moments. She was stuck in the middle of the desert.
She must not have tightened it enough after she'd filled it on the way to Bret's ranch. It might be anywhere in the twenty miles between her and the ranch house.
The early morning sun took on a much more sinister look as Mindy examined her nearly empty water bottle. She might be better off saving that water for herself rather than pouring it into the car.
"Lose something?"
Mindy let out a small scream of surprise, then pulled herself together.
The man sat tall on his horse.
With the sun directly behind him, it took her a moment to recognize the silvery object he tossed into the air and caught like an oversized coin.
"What did you do?"
"I took your radiator cap," Bret answered.
"Give it to me." She hadn't thought that Bret would gloat in his victory.
"Oh, I intend to. I just don't intend to make it quite so easy."