by Katie Lane
“No,” he said. “I’ll keep it.”
He might not be able to forget the past, but he could keep it buried.
Chapter Five
“You did what?” Holden stared at Lucas in disbelief.
“I invited Miss Devlin to stay at the Double Diamond until her ankle gets better.” Lucas winked at Devlin. The sweet older gentleman had played right into her hands and she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty for using his hospitality to get more time with Holden.
“And I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Diamond,” she said.
“Now none of that Mr. Diamond nonsense. It’s just Lucas.”
“Thank you, Lucas.” She gave him a smile before she turned to Holden. “You’re as kind as Holden.” Although he didn’t look so kind now. He looked annoyed.
“If you’re hurt that badly, Ms. McMillian, maybe you should go to a doctor.”
Before she could come up with a reply, Lucas jumped in. “She don’t need a doc. He’ll only give her one of them damn uncomfortable boots to wear like they gave me. And she can have mine.” He lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “Where did I put that?”
“I think what Ms. McMillian needs is to go back to the boardinghouse,” Holden said. “I’m sure she’ll be more comfortable with Miss Gertie and Reba.”
“Absolutely not,” Lucas snapped. “I wouldn’t wish Gertrude Dixon on my worst enemy. That woman is like a disgruntled rattlesnake.”
Devlin had to agree. Reba’s great-aunt scared her to death. She slipped around the boardinghouse with her hot pink walker and hairless cat like a stealthy policewoman looking for people breaking the boardinghouse rules or just harmlessly going about their business. Devlin tried to avoid her at all costs.
Lucas got up from his recliner. “Now where did I put that black boot?” He walked out of the room, leaving Devlin alone with Holden. He did not look happy.
“Your ploy isn’t going to work, Ms. McMillian.”
She tried to act like she didn’t know what he was talking about. “What ploy?”
“Pretending to be hurt more than you are so you can stay here and convince me to lease you my land.”
She looked away from his piercing gray eyes and adjusted her foot on the pillow Lucas had placed on the couch for her. “I didn’t suggest staying here. It was all Lucas’s idea.”
“I’m sure it was, but not without some prompting from you. I assume you’ve been grilling poor Lucas for information about me. Anything you can use to get your hands on my land.”
She hadn’t had to work hard to get information about Holden. Lucas seemed to love talking about “his boys.” From what she could gather, each boy held a special place in his and Chester’s hearts. They viewed them more as sons than troubled teens who had spent only one summer with them. Lucas talked about how arrogant Holden had been when he first came to the ranch. But in only a couple weeks of working cattle, the wealthy snob had changed into a kindhearted, hardworking kid who could always be counted on to watch out for the younger boys.
She had seen that kinder side of Holden when he took care of her after she’d fallen. Now she wanted him to see a kinder side of her.
“Can we start over?” she asked. “I feel like we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. And most of that is my fault. I’m sorry for harassing you the last few weeks. My brothers have been on me about being too passive and I guess I was trying to prove that I could be assertive when it counts.”
Holden’s eyebrows lifted. “And you consider what you did last night being assertive when it counts?”
She felt her cheeks heat. “I prefer not to talk about last night. It was poor decision making on my part, brought on by my need to be socially accepted. When Raynelle and Luanne got so excited about doing a makeover on me, it was hard to say no. I’ve never had many friends, so I’m willing to do anything to get people to like me.”
He studied her. “Are you always so . . . candid?”
“I’m afraid so. Which probably explains why I don’t have many friends.”
“I thought your behavior last night was brought on by alcohol.”
“That too,” she said, a little too quickly.
His gaze grew more intent. “Now that I think about it, I didn’t see you go to the bar once at the reception. And you drank iced tea with dinner.”
She was surprised he’d been watching her so closely when she thought he had been ignoring her all night. “I drank after you left.”
“Then why didn’t I taste alcohol?”
It took a moment to realize what he was talking about. When she did, a curl of heat swirled to life in her stomach and her heart started to thump like a bass drum.
“You remember what I taste like?” Her gaze lowered to his mouth and her lips started to tingle so much that she had to bite her bottom lip to get it to stop. It didn’t help. Especially when his attention settled on her mouth.
He stared at it for a long, stomach-dropping moment before he lifted his gaze. “Were you drunk or not?”
She wanted to continue lying, but she knew it was useless. She had always been awful at telling lies. And maybe being completely honest was the best way to deal with Holden. “You’re right. I didn’t have anything to drink last night. I only said I was drunk because it seemed like a good excuse for reaching sexual climax from only one kiss and some pelvic grinding.”
He glanced back at the doorway. “Would you lower your voice? Chester and Lucas already think I took advantage of you last night.”
“But how could that be true when I was the only one who reached orgasm?”
His eyes widened for a second before he tipped back his head and laughed. He had a nice laugh. It was deep and rich and made the curl of heat in Devlin’s stomach burn even brighter. For some reason, she felt like she had accomplished a great feat by making him laugh. She wanted to make him laugh again and again and was disappointed when he stopped.
“I guess you do have a point.” He moved over to the couch, carefully lifted the pillow her foot rested on, then sat down and resettled it on his lap. “So if it wasn’t alcohol, what was it?”
It was hard to think when he was this close. His blond hair was flattened on the top, no doubt from one of the cowboy hats she’d seen hanging by the door, and the longer strands curled around the perfect shells of his ears. He hadn’t shaved, and his jaw and upper lip were covered in tiny gold whiskers. He wore a snap-down western shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and his arms looked toasty tanned and temptingly muscled. In the opening of the shirt, a small amount of wheat-colored chest hair peeked out. She had to fist her hands and look away to keep from reaching out to touch it.
“Believe me,” she said. “I don’t know what happened last night. And I must say that it’s disconcerting. I stayed up most the night trying to figure it out.”
“Here I thought it was because I’m a great kisser,” he said in a teasing tone.
She looked back at him. “Oh, you are. Extremely good. And well above average as far as looks go. But those two things shouldn’t have brought on such a strong reaction. It has to be something else. The only thing I could come up with is that you’re putting out a sexual pheromone that evokes a response in me.”
His eyebrow quirked. “Are you saying my smell turns you on?”
It did. She could smell him from there. And the scent of fresh hay, manly sweat, and bacon made her want to lean over and press her nose into the opening of his shirt and take a hungry sniff. Or maybe a bite. She pushed the ludicrous thought from her mind and continued to make her point.
“How do you think animals find their mates? Their bodies release a chemical that draws the male, or female, at the perfect mating time.”
She certainly felt like it was her mating season. She had never been so aware of a man. Every nerve in her body seemed to be on high alert. Her pulse was racing. Her palms were sweating. And she felt like she was melting into the cushions of the sofa.
“Tell me more,” he said in a low throaty voice
that sent a shiver of sexual awareness down her spine.
She cleared her throat and tried to remain analytical. “My reaction to you seems to be instinctual. It’s the only explanation for what happened last night and how my body is reacting to you today.”
His gaze remained lowered; his long lashes covering his eyes as he lightly traced his fingers from the edge of her ace bandage to just below her knee. It was like being touched by a live electrical wire. Every nerve felt electrified. “And how is your body reacting today?”
She should probably shut up now. But she didn’t. “My heart is beating fast and I can’t seem to catch my breath. And since we don’t really know each other, it can’t be emotional. Which means it has to be purely physical. While mentally I don’t want to have sex with you, physically I do.”
He stopped caressing her leg and his gaze lifted. His eyes looked like liquid silver. She wanted to drown in the simmering heat. His hand tightened on her shin and he leaned closer like he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to. She wanted him to kiss her more than she had ever wanted any man to kiss her. Moistening her lips, she leaned toward him.
But before their lips could touch, Lucas came back into the room, causing Holden to pull away.
“I found it!” Lucas held up a black orthopedic boot. “What it was doin’ in the pantry, I don’t have a clue.” He held it out to Devlin, completely unaware of the sexual tension in the room. “It might be a little too big, but I figure it will help you get around.”
She released the breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding and spoke in an unsteady voice as she took the boot. “Th-Thank you, Lucas.”
“You’re more than welcome, Sweetheart.” Lucas glanced at Holden. “You okay, Holden? Your face is redder than one of my late August tomaters. Better go get yourself some of my sweet tea to cool off.”
Holden lifted the pillow with her leg on it and scooted out before replacing it on the couch. “Actually, I think I’ll head into town to order the paint for the barn.”
“Make sure that Emma don’t help you pick out the color,” Lucas said. “That gal might be sweet as candied yams, but she has no color sense whatsoever. She painted her house the brightest pink I’ve ever seen.”
Holden only nodded before he walked out of the room. When he was gone, Devlin felt sad and relieved all at the same time. It was strange how conflicted her emotions became around Holden.
“So what’s going on between you two?”
She glanced from the empty doorway to Lucas. “Excuse me?”
Lucas moved to his recliner and sat down. “I might be old, but I know when two people are attracted to each other and trying to act like they ain’t. Holden couldn’t take his eyes off you at breakfast.”
“You’re mistaken. Holden doesn’t like me at all. And he has every right not to. I have come on a little strong trying to get him to lease me his land.”
Lucas nodded thoughtfully. “Holden doesn’t do very well with being strong armed. He has a stubborn streak a mile wide. Like a mule, the more you want him to do something, the more he’ll dig in and refuse to do it.” His eyes narrowed. “Why is findin’ oil here so important to you? You don’t seem like a money hungry kind of gal.”
“It’s not about the money as much as failure. My brothers don’t agree that this area has the right conditions for an oil trap. They think I’m just wasting my time—and the company’s money. But all the surveys I’ve taken point to there being oil here. I just need to find the right piece of land. And I think Holden has it.” She paused. “Of course, I thought the Gardener Ranch had oil too and was wrong. My miscalculations not only disappointed my family, but also my new friends. Evie and Penny had been counting on the money an oil well would’ve given them to help get their ranch out of debt.”
“It looks like the Gardener Ranch is doing just fine without oil money. Evie and Penny are happier than two bugs in a rug with their new spouses. Which proves the old adage that money can’t buy happiness.”
“Holden must feel the same way. He’s not even remotely interested in striking oil.”
Lucas studied her for a long moment before he spoke. “He has other reasons for you not drilling on his land. Reasons that he needs to get over. Which is why I’ve decided to help you change his mind.” He winked at her. “Even if we have to make that sprained ankle of yours worse than it is.” Before she could get over her surprise that he knew about her ploy, he jumped up from his chair. “Now let’s see if that boot fits.”
Chapter Six
“Isn’t this the prettiest color you’ve ever seen?” Emma Johansen pulled a paint swatch out of the numerous color swatches she’d spread out on the counter.
Holden smiled and tried to act like painting a barn bright yellow wasn’t a ridiculous idea. “Now that sure is a nice color, Ms. Johansen, but Chester and Lucas specifically said that they wanted to paint their barn red.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Emma?” She sent him a flirtatious smile. “And everyone paints their barn red. I think yellow would make Chester and Lucas’s barn look like a big ol’ sun rising over the horizon.”
Emma’s business partner, Boone Murphy, leaned over her shoulder and snorted. “Or Big Bird laying an egg.”
Holden bit back a laugh as Emma glared at Boone. Even if she hadn’t talked his ear off the night before about how much she disliked Boone, he would’ve figured it out after only a few minutes in the hardware store. The business partners didn’t believe in hiding their animosity for each other from their customers.
“Mind your own business, Boone Murphy. Nobody asked you. You don’t have any innovative ideas. If it was up to you, we would still be using that old cash register from the fifties.”
“That cash register worked just fine. And I say if it works, why fix it? And I know more than a woman who paints her house flamingo pink. The man asked for red paint. Just give him the red paint and quit trying to talk him into something he doesn’t want.”
Emma slapped the swatch back down on the counter. “Sometimes people don’t know what they want until something different is brought to their attention.”
Holden didn’t know why an image of Devlin popped into his head. Maybe because she was the definition of different. He wanted to categorize her as a spoiled rich girl, and yet, she didn’t act like the girls he’d grown up with. Despite last night, she didn’t seem to care about her appearance. She wore no makeup, kept her hair in an unbecoming bun, and paired bright cowboy boots with conservative business attire.
Then there was the way she talked. Every thought that popped into her head seemed to come directly out of her mouth. She had no idea what TMI meant. And too much information was exactly what Holden had gotten.
He hadn’t wanted to hear how her body reacted when he was close or her crazy scientific theory on why it did. And it wasn’t because he was bored by her talk of pheromones and animal mating rituals. He’d been turned on. So turned on that if Lucas and Chester hadn’t been around, Holden would’ve taken Devlin right there on the couch and demonstrated her theories.
Which would’ve been a huge mistake.
He was not interested in Devlin McMillian. At least, his logical mind wasn’t. His body seemed to have the same reaction when she was around as her body had to his. And maybe their attraction was due to some kind of weird pheromones. But that didn’t mean Holden had to give in to them.
Devlin might be his body’s type, but she wasn’t his logical mind’s type. He wanted nothing to do with a woman who put money before everything else. As long as she was staying at the ranch, he intended to stay away from her. Even if that meant he had to spend the next hour looking at color swatches.
Which is exactly what Emma forced him to do. When he couldn’t take one more bizarre color choice, he picked up a swatch. “I sure appreciate all the help, Emma, and I’m thinking this is the color.”
Emma took the swatch from him and read his color choice in a defeated voice. “Barn Red
.”
He smiled. “If it were up to me, I’d choose that yellow. But I think for Lucas and Chester, we’d better stick with less innovative and more old school. If you could just order it for me, I’ll pick it up as soon as it comes in.”
She sighed. “You don’t have to order it. We have some in the back. I’ll go get it.” She disappeared into the back room looking glum, and a few seconds later, Boone reappeared looking triumphant.
“I owe you a beer, Holden. You just got me out of doing inventory next month.”
“How did I do that?”
“Miss Know-It-All bet me that the red paint I ordered to keep on hand for people’s barns wouldn’t sell. If it did, she’d do the inventory. If it didn’t, I had to paint my house red.”
Holden laughed. “Is that how her house ended up being pink? You bet her that the pink paint she ordered wouldn’t sell?”
Boone glanced at the doorway of the back room before he leaned in and lowered his voice. “She ordered the wrong color paint for a customer. Rather then just own up to her mistake, the stubborn woman pretended like she had ordered it to paint her house.”
“And I guess you didn’t tell her that you knew about the mistake and you laugh every time you drive past her house.”
“Damn right I didn’t. If a woman is that stubborn, she deserves to have a house the same color as the Energizer Bunny. When we first took over the business after both our fathers retired, we agreed that I would do the ordering and she would do the bookkeeping. But she seems to keep forgetting our agreement.”
“Maybe you should’ve had a contract drawn up that outlined your specific jobs.”
Boone’s eyes lit up. “I heard at the wedding that you’re an attorney. Maybe you could draw one up for us?”
Why did he have to open his big mouth? The last thing he wanted to do was write up an agreement between two business partners who couldn’t seem to get along. “I wish I could help you out, but I’m only going to be here for a couple weeks and I need to paint Lucas and Chester’s barn.”
