by Soraya Lane
“So what are your plans after you graduate? Where to next?”
She watched as he settled back in his chair. “I’m not going to deny that I want to live and work in New York, at least for a time, but I want to learn everything I can and I would really like the opportunity to do that here first.” She paused, not wanting to sound desperate, wanting to portray confidence. “I’m a hard worker and I’m not afraid to put the hours in, and I’m impressed with the art you have here.”
Faith dug her nails into her palm, still smiling, waiting for his response.
“Sometimes things happen for a reason. It just so happens I was about to start advertising for an intern, but now that I’ve met you I’m not sure that I need to.”
She couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. “Really?”
“Look, you clearly know what you’re talking about, you have genuine passion, and you seem like a capable, driven young woman. Not to mention the fact that your knowing the King family might help me in making some sales to Nate or the old man!”
“So do I have the job?”
He stood and held out his hand. “Yes, Faith. You have the job.”
Nate was walking alongside Sam, dressed down in jeans and boots. He’d decided to work from home for the day, getting his assistant to reschedule a few things and e-mail through everything he needed, and he’d decided that Faith had been right about him catching up with her brother. He was on the ranch working horses with Ryder all day, and Nate had headed down to the round pens to talk to Sam before he started. Before this they’d never gone more than a week without chatting, and when Nate was home he was always making sure to spend a few minutes catching up with his friend.
“Are you booked in to do some handling with the yearlings?” Nate asked, stopping when Sam did to lean on the railings and look down to where the younger horses were grazing.
“Yeah, I’ll go over the basics again with them soon,” Sam said, hand raised to shield his eyes from the already bright sunshine. “One of the colts is a bit of a handful, but the others are fairly quiet this year.”
Nate nodded, scuffing his boot back and forth into the wood. He propped his elbows against the rail. “I appreciate the fact that you haven’t tried to give me a black eye yet again.”
Sam looked sideways, his expression suddenly fierce. “Don’t bring up my sister, Nate. Just don’t.”
“So you’d rather pretend like nothing was going on?” Nate asked, grimacing when Sam balled his fists.
“Whatever the hell is going on between the two of you, I don’t want to know about it. I’ve warned her away from you until I’m blue in the damn face, I’ve told you not to go near her, and look where it’s gotten me.” Sam groaned and leaned deeper into the fence, head down like he was trying to catch his breath after a run. “I just . . .” He pushed up and looked at Nate, eyes burning into him. “She’s my sister, Nate, and I’ve been the only one looking out for her for so goddamn long that it kills me to think I don’t have any control over protecting her right now. That I can’t tell her what to do.”
Nate nodded and held out his hand. “Sam, you know I never break a promise, and I’m telling you now that I will never, ever, hurt your sister. You’ve seen me be bad, so I get why me being with her scares the shit out of you, but it ain’t going to happen here. Aside from the fact that she’s got bigger aspirations that don’t involve her staying here with me, I’d never hurt her.”
Sam hesitated, then clasped his hands together like he was trying to stop them from smacking into Nate. “I don’t approve, okay? But I can’t exactly slam my fist into your head every time I see you, and I doubt Faith would like me to keep her on a leash and tell her what she can and can’t do.”
“So we’re good?” Nate asked. “Or as good as we can be given the circumstances?”
“Just don’t talk about her to me. I don’t even want to hear you say her name,” Sam muttered. “Ever.”
“Deal.” Nate slapped his friend on the shoulder and received a grimace in reply.
“Too soon, Nate. Way too soon.”
He backed off and held up his hands. “How about we stick to talking horses. And ranching,” Nate joked.
His phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket, pushing it straight back in when he saw the caller ID. When he glanced at Sam he knew he didn’t stand a chance of lying and saying it was just someone he couldn’t be bothered talking to.
“It was Faith, wasn’t it?”
Nate nodded. “Yes.”
“You suddenly think it’s okay to send my sister to voice mail?”
Damn. “Sam, man, I . . .” He was about to laugh, thinking it was a joke, when he saw the look on Sam’s face and wasn’t so sure he could read his friend after all.
“You know what, just give me a sec,” Nate muttered, wondering how the hell he could go from thinking of Sam like a brother and knowing exactly what he was thinking most of the time to feeling like he was treading water around the guy. “Hey, Faith,” Nate said when she picked up after a couple of rings. “I’m just hanging out with Sam.”
“I got the job,” she said, far too calmly and then screaming down the line so loudly he had to pull it away from his ear. “Nate, he hired me on the spot and he offered me a paid type of intern position. Just part-time, but I’m so excited.”
“Baby, I’m so proud of you,” Nate said, genuinely pleased for her. Then he saw the grimace Sam shot him and he wished he hadn’t called her that. He cleared his throat. “I knew they were going to love you. What time are you home?”
She nattered away for a bit, telling him blow by blow how she’d excelled when he’d asked her about specific paintings he had on display as they’d walked around after the formal interview, until Nate finally managed to say good-bye to her and turn his attention back to Sam.
“What was she so excited about?”
Nate grinned. “Her new job. I put the word out and she got an interview at a gallery about forty minutes from here.”
Sam groaned. “You helped her get the job she wanted?” he asked.
“Yeeesss,” Nate replied, saying the word so slowly so that it dragged on. “Is that a bad thing?” He honestly didn’t know what was going to annoy Sam right now.
“No, I just didn’t want her to owe you anything.”
“She doesn’t owe me anything, Sam. I would have helped her out without having--”
“You mention sleeping with her and you’ll have more than a broken nose to worry about,” Sam threatened, interrupting him.
Nate nodded. “How about we just head down and I watch you work the horses for a bit, huh?”
Sam grunted again. “Fine.”
They walked in silence for a bit, the only noise the sound of birdsong and the odd whinny of a horse. The grass was yellow and parched underfoot, already drying out despite the hottest of summer yet to hit.
“Mornin’!”
Nate looked up at the sound of Ryder’s call. He waved back to his brother. “Thought I’d come down and say hi.”
Ryder walked over and fell into step beside them at the same time as Sam took a few steps sideways and launched himself over the rails of the round pen. He’d been quiet ever since the phone call, just a curt nod and hello to Ryder.
“He still upset that you’re playing house with his little sister?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“So what’re you really doing working from home today? You hardly ever work from home anymore.” Ryder had a piece of straw sticking out the side of his mouth, flicking it back and forth with his teeth as he watched Sam halter one of the horses.
“Faith wanted me to talk to Sam, so I can check that off my to-do list,” Nate said, stretching out. “And we’re looking like it’s all go with the oil drilling, too. Granddad was right, it’s just where he told them to start, and I’m going on-site to go through everything shortly.”
Ryder hooked his boot on the rail. “Smart old bastard. When are we going to learn
that he’s always right?”
They both laughed, before the conversation turned more somber. Nate preferred to keep his head buried in the sand over Granddad, but talking to Faith about him had made the whole situation even more real. Made Nate realize that he needed to open up instead of keeping everything inside when it wasn’t going to help him any.
“I think it’s almost time, Ryder.”
His brother turned to face him, mouth pulled down at the corners now. “Yeah, I know.”
They stood in silence for a while before Nate finally figured out what the hell to say. “You told him everything you need to?” he asked. “I mean, I just don’t want any of us to have any regrets.”
“I’ve told him what I need to tell him,” Ryder replied.
“Me too. I’m gonna miss him like hell.” Nate slapped Ryder on the back and took a step backward. “Better get back to the office. I’ve got a ton of work to catch up on before the oil guys show up later.”
“Want me to head over when they arrive?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah, good idea. Then we can catch up for a beer later and talk through some things.”
Ryder laughed. “Sounds serious.”
“I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page,” he said. “I don’t want any feuds over the years, nothing that could come between us. If we’re drilling, I want to make it as un-intrusive as possible, make sure it’s not going to disrupt anything either you or Chase are already doing. We need to figure out the logistics since it’s all coming together faster than any of us expected.”
“Sounds good, Brother,” Ryder said, holding up his hand as Nate walked a few more steps backward. “Oh, and before I forget, Chase wants to know why you haven’t been running with him. Thinks you’re too scared that he’s gonna beat your ass.”
Nate chuckled. “I’ve been working out, don’t you worry, just not with Chase.”
Ryder shook his head and Nate waved out to Sam. “See you around, Sam!” he called out.
His friend raised his hand but didn’t look up from what he was doing, his concentration on the horse he was working absolute. And that’s why he was the best damn horseman around, because when he picked up the lead rope and started work for the day nothing broke his concentration. Not even thoughts of his friend banging his sister.
Faith was still on cloud nine. She’d been working at the gallery for a week, and even though she was exhausted, she was loving it. Her only worry was how she was going to keep up working with finishing her final papers, but she was just going to have to make it happen. If she had to go without sleep for a week or a month, so be it.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
She sighed and leaned back into Nate as his arms circled her from behind. “Hey to you, too.”
He kissed her neck, his lips warm and way too tempting against her skin. Just as it always did, a few kisses and his hard body against hers started to make her hum, and she turned in his arms, taking the opportunity to scoop her hands around his neck and pull him down for a kiss full on the mouth.
“I’m getting used to this,” he muttered as they touched foreheads, staring into each other’s eyes. “And you know what?”
She kissed him again, muttering against his lips, “What?
“It scares the hell out of me.” He wrapped his arms around her. “This wasn’t supposed to feel like this.”
Faith hugged him tight, too. “I know. We’ve kind of fallen into a happy little routine.”
“Yeah, and I’m advertising for another housekeeper already.”
Faith pushed back. “You what? But that wasn’t part of the--”
“Relax,” he said, chuckling as he dragged her by the hand into his office. It was on the ground floor near the front door. “You’re too busy to worry about the house, and to be honest, I wasn’t really comfortable with you feeling like you had to do it. This way you can focus on the work you care about.”
Heat started to rise in her body and her hands trembled. She tucked them into fists so tight that her fingernails dug into her palms. “But Nate, that’s part of our deal. That I’m supposed to do the housework in exchange for living here. I don’t want to freeload.”
He frowned and let go of her hand when they reached the leather sofa in his office. She dropped into it and he crossed the room and poured himself a whiskey, raising an eyebrow at her. Faith shook her head.
“What does it matter? I can afford a housekeeper, Faith, and it means it’s something you don’t have to worry about.”
He took a sip from the heavy crystal glass he was holding and suddenly she was wishing she’d said yes to one. This was not how things were meant to be happening. They’d had a deal. She wasn’t supposed to be freeloading off Nate; she was supposed to be keeping the house tidy and making their meals in exchange for her staying there.
“That deal we had is nonsense anyway,” he continued. “We’re way past sex with benefits, aren’t we?”
“Are we?” she asked, her voice shaking. “I know I like you, Nate, and we’re having fun, but this . . .”
His expression hardened, the steely glint of his eyes reminding her of the man she’d seen him be in front of others. The ruthless businessman, formidable, the way most other people saw him.
“You’re right, Faith. This is just a temporary thing. Fun.” The word was cold as ice when he said it. “But you don’t need to worry about cleaning the house. Surely what we do in the bedroom more than makes up for the rent you don’t pay.”
Faith felt as if he’d just slapped her across the face. Her voice caught in her throat, but she forced herself to reply, wasn’t going to let him get away with being an asshole to her. “Is that how you think of me, Nate? As if I’m a prostitute?” Where the hell had this come from? She’d arrived home happy and carefree, only to walk into an argument she hadn’t seen coming.
His lips had been drawn in a tight line, cold and unforgiving, but the moment the words left her mouth he frowned and immediately put down his drink. “No.” He slammed his hand into his desk, cursing as he did so. “Hell, Faith. No.” Nate shook his head and came toward her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry; I should never have said that.”
She raised her chin, defiant. “You damn well should be sorry.” She knew what mean men were like, how cruel a man could be when he didn’t get his own way, and she wasn’t going to let Nate get away with it.
“I didn’t mean it, Faith. You know I don’t think of you that way.” He dropped into the sofa beside her and reached to cup her cheek, but she turned away. “I just meant that the money wasn’t a big deal to me and I don’t expect you on your hands and knees scrubbing the floor when you’ve got so much else going on. Is it so wrong that I want to look after you?”
“We said we’d do this while it was fun, Nate, and not a moment longer.” Her anger was still there, silently simmering from what he’d said.
He grabbed her hand when he couldn’t touch her face, smoothing his fingers over her skin, then lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm and then the delicate part of her wrist that he knew was so sensitive for her.
“You’ve done something to me, Faith,” he admitted. “The idea of not having you here annoys me so much that I want to smack something.” He frowned when she raised her brows. “As in my desk again. Not you,” he assured her.
“What happened to not wanting to get close to anyone?” she asked, bracing herself for his answer, not wanting to have this conversation with him even though she knew they had to have it.
“I’m not asking you to marry me, Faith. I’m just saying that what we have has been . . .”
“Fun,” she said for him, repeating the word, needing to believe it. “We’ve been having fun. We’ve lived in a little bubble of fun and sex and food and no commitment. That’s why this feels so good. That’s why it’s worked.”
He reached for her face again and she let him. “Whatever the hell we might have had hasn’t finished yet,” he told her, stroking her face so gently
it almost erased all the thoughts rushing through her mind, all the worries. “Is it so bad that I want you in my bed?”
She let him kiss her, her body stirring as it always did when his lips melted against hers. “I can’t fall in love with you, Nate,” she whispered when they finally separated.
He smiled, all of the coolness she’d seen reflected in his eyes before replaced with the kindest, warmest gaze she’d ever felt trained on her. “I know. And I can’t fall for you, either. I love having you here, but I can’t offer you what you deserve.”
Her heart started to pound, a roaring sound in her ears so loud it was like being at the beach and listening to the fiercest of waves crashing down. Maybe she wanted him to love her; maybe she’d tried to hold back, push him away, because she’d wanted him to take her into his arms and tell her that he had fallen for her hard. She sucked it back, told herself not to be so stupid. She’d given up on fairy tales being true years ago, had seen the realities of relationships that weren’t meant to be, and if she admitted to wanting more from Nate then she was as stupid as her mother had been.
“You sound so sure about what I deserve, Nate, but what about you?”
His smile was sad. “All I know is that I don’t deserve a woman like you, Faith. Because there’ll always be a part of me that I have to hold back, to protect myself.”
“Hurting is better than never loving, isn’t it?” she asked, wondering why the hell she was asking him these questions when she should have been happy that he still only wanted to have fun. That it was no more than . . . fun.
“If you’ve hurt the way I have, felt pain the way I have,” Nate started, standing up and pacing over to his desk again and downing the rest of his whiskey. “Hell, I don’t know, Faith. When it comes to getting close to someone, I’m damaged goods and I always will be.” He stared at her. “Why are we even having this conversation?”
She stood and followed him, taking the glass that he’d offered before and pouring herself a generous whiskey. Faith wasn’t one for drinking straight spirits, but she did it anyway, closing her eyes as they watered from the burn.
