“Yeah, you could say that.” He’d missed this place while he was in California. And the sooner he was in business and a member of the TCC, the sooner it would feel like he’d never really left.
“Well, if you want to see half of Royal, you should come to the Fire Department Open House this Saturday.”
“Is that right?”
Olivia shrugged. “They’re raffling off a new truck to raise money to fix up the station and maybe get some new equipment. But there’ll be a band and free food and, like I said, no place better for you to mingle with all the people you want to see.”
“It’s a good idea,” he agreed. And it sounded like something Beth would be attending. He wanted to cross paths with her again, and doing it while surrounded by half the town seemed like the safest way to go.
“Great. I’ll see you there. You can probably meet most of my crew, too.” Then she turned to look at his stable. “Are you wanting basically a copy of the building you already have?”
He grinned. “Basically, but on the interior, I’ve got a few ideas.”
Olivia tossed her braid back over her shoulder, took a breath and said, “Of course you do. Okay, let’s hear ’em.”
* * *
The following day, Beth stood at her office window, staring out at Royal. Her mind was whirling with the implications of her mother’s discovery. In fact, the whole family was in an uproar. Who could be stealing from them? She didn’t believe for a minute it was anyone in the family. But that meant one of their employees was a thief, and that was hard to fathom, as well.
Her brothers, cousins and mother had been talking about nothing but this situation, and while Beth couldn’t blame them, she’d happily come into work and put the worry aside for a while.
Leaving the house today had felt like she was escaping a pressure cooker. Taking care of business on her charities was practically a vacation when compared to the nonstop speculation happening at the ranch.
Since her office was at the end of Main Street, directly opposite City Hall, her view included the landscaped grounds around the 150-year-old building. Summer flowers dazzled in brilliant colors at the bases of the oaks sprinkled across the lawn. There were benches in the shade, allowing places to sit and relax, and at the moment several people were taking advantage of them.
Beth’s mind jumped from one subject to the next, as if it couldn’t find one specific thought to settle on. It was hard to admit that thinking about a thief at the family company was soothing compared to thinking about Camden Guthrie.
Ridiculous to still be focusing on that kiss. But here she was. Her dreams last night had starred Cam, that bone-melting kiss and then so much more that she’d finally awakened, her body aching with need. Being awake didn’t stop the mental torture that her mind gleefully inflicted, though.
Funny that she could remember the fire, the all-consuming heat between them and, at the same time, cruise over the pain she’d experienced when he left town with another woman. That pain had remained for a long time and had colored every relationship since. How could she open her heart to anyone when the one man she’d trusted with everything had betrayed her?
“And if I don’t stop thinking about Cam, I’m never going to finish working on the Fire Department Open House.” Saying it didn’t make her leave the window and go back to her desk. Instead, she watched people streaming down the sidewalks.
Then she spotted him. Camden Guthrie. As if her hunger had conjured him. Her stomach did a spin and dip, and a curl of heat settled low in her belly. He was wearing jeans, a white button-down shirt, black boots and a gray Stetson. What was it about a man in jeans? And what was it about this one man that could turn her inside out so easily?
Her gaze was fixed on him to the exclusion of everything else in Royal, so when he stopped and looked across the street to her office, she swore their eyes locked. Silly though. He couldn’t see her with the glare of the sun, and still she felt a rush of desire that only bristled and grew when he crossed the street, headed her way.
Why did she care? She shouldn’t. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t. Yet here she was—mouth watering, nerves rattling and her heartbeat thudding heavily in her chest. Desire mingled with regret and the last vestiges of a romance she’d once lost herself in.
He crossed the street in long strides, pushed her door open, stepped inside and swept his hat off. “Beth.”
Well, their agreement to stay clear of each other hadn’t even lasted twenty-four hours. But then she’d known at the time it was a futile bargain. Like metal shavings to a magnet, Beth had always been drawn to Cam and it looked as though the years that had separated them hadn’t done a thing to lessen that draw.
She looked into his dark brown eyes and felt the heat of his body reach across the few feet of space between them. How had she gone fifteen years without seeing him? How would she stay away from him now?
Trying to salvage the situation, not to mention her pride, she said, “Didn’t we agree to not be around each other?”
“We did.”
“And yet?”
He grinned and her heart tumbled. This was so much harder than it should have been. Couldn’t she just remind herself that he’d married someone else? Someone that Beth had once called a friend? That he’d betrayed her, left Texas for California and had never looked back? Why was her body so eager to forgive him while her mind held on to the painful memories?
“I was at City Hall checking out some building regulations—”
“Okay,” she said, interrupting him. “But why are you here?”
He reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a cashier’s check and handed it to her. “I stopped at the bank earlier so I could make good on my part of our deal.”
Right. Their other deal. Not about staying apart, but about getting him into the TCC. Fine. That was good. She was pleased. Really. He wasn’t here to kiss her again—he was simply here to wrap up a business deal. She unfolded the check, glanced at the amount and gasped.
Astonished, she looked up at him. “A hundred thousand dollars?”
One eyebrow arched. “Not enough?”
“No. I mean yes.” She shook her head, took a breath, and when she could speak again without babbling, she said, “It is enough. It’s more than generous. I wasn’t expecting so much.”
And didn’t know what to make of it. Was he doing this just to help? Or was he trying to impress her? Because he had.
He grinned briefly and reached for the check. “I’m happy to take it back and give you less.”
Beth whipped the check into the pocket of her cream-colored capris and shook her head. She might be confused about a lot of things at the moment, but on this, she was perfectly clear. “Oh, no, you don’t. This is great. It’s going to make a huge difference for the children’s wing. Seriously, thanks.”
“Not a problem.”
She kept her gaze locked on his and tried to read what she saw there. But he was stoic, hiding whatever was running through his mind. Was the donation his only reason for stopping in? And why did she hope it wasn’t? Had she learned nothing in the last fifteen years? He’d left and she’d stayed, building a life. And she was damn good at it.
It had taken a lot of work, but she had thrived without Cam. Was she really willing to put all of that aside in favor of the kind of passion she remembered so vividly?
Yes, she knew he was no longer the simple ranch hand she’d once loved. Knew he had money. But, really, she’d never thought about how rich he actually was now. What else had changed? She wondered what her father would make of the man he was so sure would amount to nothing more than a “ranch hand.”
“So now you’ll talk to the TCC membership board?”
She came up out of her thoughts and told herself to pay attention. “I will. That was our deal.” She’d stop by today to see Burt Wheeler, Cam’s father-in-law.
Just thinking that gave her a twinge of…what? Regret? Envy? Cam had married Julie Wheeler and lived a life with her that Beth had once thought would be hers. It felt small and petty to be jealous of a dead woman, but that didn’t change what she was feeling.
At the same time, though, she had to wonder if Beth and Cam had run off together so long ago, would things have worked out the way they had? Would he be a successful entrepreneur? Would she be working for the family corporation? She’d never know. More questions with no answers.
“While I’m here, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” he said, and she noticed him turning the brim of his hat in his hands.
Was this what the big check had been about? To soften her up for whatever else was coming? He looked nervous. But that couldn’t be the case. After all, Cam had never had trouble going after exactly what he wanted. It’s one of the things she’d found so exciting about him.
“What is it?”
“You don’t have to sound so suspicious.” He smiled and shook his head. “Are you so much like your father now that you’re wary of everything?”
Another stab at her late father, but on this one she could agree. Her dad had looked at everything with a cynical eye. Including—maybe especially—Camden Guthrie. She had been the daughter of a very wealthy man, and Cam was the son of horse trainers. Trent had never trusted Cam, and once he left town, Beth had asked herself if she shouldn’t have been more like her father. Still, she couldn’t blame Cam for holding on to a grudge against the man who’d thought of him as not worthy.
But if Cam didn’t understand that her cynicism where he was concerned had more to do with what he had done to her than anything her father had done, then he was being deliberately oblivious.
“No,” she said at last. “It’s not my dad who affected my trust issues. I learned fifteen years ago to be wary of people.”
His eyes flashed, and she knew she’d scored a hit. Somehow, it didn’t give her the sense of satisfaction she’d been expecting. What good would it do her to throw proverbial stones? Holding up one hand for peace, she said, “Sorry. Never mind all that. Just tell me what you wanted to talk to me about.”
Nodding slowly, he kept his dark eyes on hers. Beth could have warmed herself with the heat in them. “All right. It’s about the other deal we made yesterday.”
“You mean keeping our distance from each other?” She laughed shortly. “Yeah, since you’re here, that one clearly isn’t working so far.”
“And it won’t, either.” He held on to his hat with one hand and tapped it idly against his left thigh. “Avoiding each other isn’t going to work. I’m home to stay, Beth, so we’re going to be seeing each other plenty. What’re we supposed to do, run and hide every time we spot each other on Main Street? Because I’m not doing that.”
Running and hiding were the furthest things from her mind right now, too. “Me, either. Okay, what’s your solution?”
“That we do the opposite,” he said bluntly. “Instead of avoiding each other, we start spending time together.”
Her stomach spun. She was having a hard enough time around Cam as it was. Spending more time with him would only make that more difficult—not easier. “And that solves…what?”
“It gets us used to each other again,” he said. “Accustomed to being together and not giving in to the attraction between us. With any luck, after some time passes, that’ll cool off.”
Not from where she was standing. Just having him in her office was lighting up her insides and making her blood burn and bubble. The way he was standing so stiffly, so obviously filled with tension, told her that he was feeling the burn, too. “You think so?”
“I do. We keep our hands off each other, but hang out, and we’ll get past this…need.”
“Seems risky.”
“I can do it if you can.”
A challenge. He’d always known the way to get to her. Tell Beth she couldn’t do something and she would find a way to accomplish it. “Why couldn’t I? You’re not completely irresistible, Camden.”
That was a lie because, yes, he was. At least he always had been to Beth. But she wouldn’t be admitting to that anytime soon. She still wanted him, and she probably always would. However, she’d learned the hard way a long time ago that want and need didn’t translate into forever. And she wasn’t about to set herself up for more pain.
“If that’s how you really feel,” he said, “then this shouldn’t be a problem for either of us.”
Well, he’d boxed her in neatly there. If she said no, he’d realize that she didn’t trust herself around him. If she said yes, then she was taking a chance she might be sorry for. Yet, what choice did either of them have? They were going to be seeing each other around town for the rest of their lives. If he actually stayed in Royal. Wasn’t it a better idea to learn how to do that without opening up old wounds?
She took a deep breath to steady herself. It didn’t work. “Okay then, we’ll try it your way.”
“Good. Now, on that, I’ve got a plan.”
“Of course you do.”
His mouth curved in a slow smile and flames licked at her core. Oh, this was so not a good idea.
“The word around Royal is that you had a big hand in setting up your family’s offices. You know, not decorating exactly, but—”
At least they were on safe ground here. “You mean designing the interiors for function and style?”
He snorted. “Okay, I wouldn’t have used those words, but yeah. Well, I’d like you to help me out with my project at the ranch.”
Intrigued in spite of everything, Beth felt a tug of interest, but she had to tell him, “I’m not a licensed interior designer, you know.”
“I don’t care about that.” He glanced around her office and then back to her. “You’ve got a good eye, and that would help me out a lot.”
She knew what he saw when he looked at the space she’d created. Beth was proud of her work here and at her brothers’ offices. In her own place, she’d simply taken the space available and made it more her own with the bookcases, tables, chairs and plants that spilled out of brass pots. She didn’t own the building, so she wasn’t able to do all she would have, given the chance. Still, the atmosphere was rich but homey, and put people at ease the moment they walked in.
In her brothers’ offices, though, she’d been able to affect how they were remodeled. Hidden bathrooms, large work area, with window placement to expand the view and the feel of openness. Then the flooring, the paint and the accessories that made an office more personal, less industrial chic.
Beth had to ask, “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“I told you about the dude ranch project I’m going to be setting up.”
“Yes…”
He walked farther into the room and looked around. Beth’s gaze followed him and she saw his eyes slide over her desk, the framed family photos, then he turned his gaze back to hers. “I’ve hired Olivia Turner to build a dozen guest cottages to start.”
“To start?”
He gave her an all too brief grin that lit up his eyes. “Yeah. Thought I’d start out small. See how it goes. I can always add more in a year or two if I want to.”
Beth knew the Circle K well, so she was aware that there was more than enough room for what he was planning. And Olivia Turner would do a great job. “How do I fit into all this?”
He leaned one shoulder against the wall, hooked one foot over the other ankle and said, “I was thinking you could work with me. Make those cabins…special. Something out of the ordinary. I want them to stand out from any other outfit like it. Hell, from every other dude ranch in the West. Olivia will build them, but I want her to have some specific ideas to work with.”
She stared up into his eyes and told herself that this would be a mistake. Working closely with him was just too much temptation.
But a small voice in her mind whispered if she was going to prove to herself and to Cam that she was well and truly over him, wasn’t this the best way to do it? To be tempted and not surrender? Couldn’t she use this as a lesson for herself? And, yes, she knew she was mentally trying to find a way to do this because it sounded like fun.
“Working together could be dangerous, Cam.”
“No. It’s just the first test in our new bargain.” He pushed away from the wall to stand up straight right in front of her. He looked down at her and said, “Really? You think we can’t control ourselves? Are we still eighteen and full of hormones?”
“No.” Yes.
“We’re both adults,” he continued. “I think we can restrain ourselves. Are you worried?”
That was a direct challenge and she knew it. “Not about me…” He was so close she could have laid her palm on his chest and felt his heart pounding. She could have gone up on her toes and laid her mouth over his. She did neither.
He nodded. “Fine. An amendment to the new bargain. I won’t make a move until you do.”
It was her turn to laugh, though it sounded a little strained, even to Beth. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about, is there?”
Oh, there was so much here to worry about. “I guess not.”
“So you’ll do it.”
“Yes.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Great. Come out to the ranch tomorrow and I’ll show you what I’m thinking.”
“I can’t be there until afternoon,” she said, mentally flipping through her appointments and obligations.
“That’ll work. I’ve got that Longhorn herd arriving early in the day. I’ll be able to get away by afternoon.”
In spite of her bravado, Beth knew that being around Cam was going to be torture. The memories of his touch, his kiss, were too fresh now. Before he’d returned, those images from fifteen years ago had been watery, misty pictures in her mind. Like a Monet, beautiful but indistinct.
Harlequin Desire June 2020 - Box Set 1 of 2 Page 6
