by Julie Benson
Then it occurred to her that she had no one to confide in here. Here? Who was she kidding? Other than Grace she had no one anywhere to confide in period, now that Chloe was gone. She needed someone. Anyone to listen. And Ty had gone through something similar with Aubrey. The need to get the burden she carried out into the open overwhelmed her. To hell with being strong. “Ella used to love school, but not anymore. It’s been a major struggle getting her there. I worry if I push her too hard I’ll make things worse. Some days the fights are so bad I’ve said to hell with it and let her stay home.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but she raised her hand, holding him off. “I know what you’re going to say. I should draw a line in the sand. Be tough. That’s what you’d do, but I can’t.”
“Maybe how you’ve handled the situation was a mistake. Maybe not. There’s no way to know.”
His soft words, spoken in a slow Texas drawl and filled with compassion, wrapped around her. She stared at him. Genuine empathy shone in his warm gaze, and his kindness nearly broke her battered control. She chewed on her lower lip and blinked away the unexpected moisture stinging her eyes. “Today was the worst morning we’ve had yet. Once I finally got her out of bed, I had to use more moves than a WWE wrestler to get her dressed. And of course, we were late. Again. Then to top it all off, when I dropped Ella off I was called into the principal’s office, and let me tell you, the experience isn’t any better as an adult than as a kid.”
Not that Ty would know anything about that because he was too perfect to have been sent to the principal’s office for anything other than receiving an award.
“What did Principal Dittman say?”
Cassie gave him a quick rundown of the conversation. “She said unless things change, she’ll have to file truancy charges. Truancy charges. That means court. Talk about scary. I can’t tell Ella that. What am I going to do?”
“Slow down. It can’t be that bad. From what I understand, they start with sending you a letter.”
“They did. Haven’t you been listening? I’m at the next step, which is court stage.” Would that mean Child Protective Services would interview Ella? She couldn’t let that happen because it would further traumatize Ella. How could she prove she was fit to raise her niece if she couldn’t get her to go to school? “That’s all Ella needs, the courts and social services getting involved. I think deep inside she’s scared she’ll lose me, too. Wouldn’t my sister be proud to see how well I’m doing raising her daughter?”
“If she were here she’d say she knows how hard you’re trying.”
Force and confidence rang out in Ty’s voice. For a minute she thought she preferred the hard-ass Ty. He was easier to guard against. Safer. This man was way too appealing.
“What? No lecture about how I shouldn’t have let the situation go this far? No how I’ve got to lay down the law and enforce it no matter what? How I should’ve just picked Ella up kicking and screaming and carried her into school?”
“I don’t see much point in talking about the past since you can’t change it. All we can do is go forward from here.”
His words stopped her cold. “We? There’s no we.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I care about that little girl, too, and I promised her dad I’d watch out for her.”
No. He couldn’t mean what he’d said, and if he did, she couldn’t allow it. They’d be even more connected, and they were already too involved.
“You promised to look out for her financially.”
“When Jack and I talked, neither of us said it was limited to finances.”
The firm resolve in Ty’s voice rippled through her, and she felt torn. The temptation to rely on someone else to be strong drew her, but people didn’t always hang around. She’d learned that early on.
I’m not father material, Cassie girl. Not everyone is. I’ve got big plans. I can make a difference in the world, but I can’t do that if I’m tied down. Creative types like us have to put the work first.
While she, her mother, and Chloe longed for his short visits in between his trips around the globe to photograph world events, her father viewed them as burdens. Impediments to greatness.
“There’s a reason they say it takes a village,” Ty continued. “It’s because raising a child is damn hard work, especially for a single mom.”
His words hit her hard. That was basically what she was now—a single mom. She’d never thought of her situation in those terms before. Probably because the phrase made her circumstances feel more daunting.
“I saw that first hand. My mom was lucky enough to have her parents to help when Aubrey’s father died. He was a good man. The best father a kid could have.” Ty’s voice filled with admiration. “What you and Ella are going through sounds like the hum dinger fights Mom and Aubrey had about school. Man those were scary.”
“How did your mom deal with it?”
“She bribed her. Aubrey’s favorite place was the barn. If Mom would’ve let her, Aubrey would’ve slept in there with the horses. My grandfather came up with an idea.” Ty explained how every day that Aubrey went to school without a major fight and got a good report from her teacher she could spend the afternoon in the barn helping their grandfather. When she had a good week, she could camp there all weekend. If she had a good semester, she got her own pony. “That’s how we got Crunchie. With the way Ella loves horses that could work with her, too.”
“What? Let her sleep in the barn? Because I certainly can’t afford to buy her a horse.”
He rolled his eyes. “Tell Ella every day she gets to school on time she can see Crunchie after her homework’s done. Then if she makes it on time every day for a week she can go riding.”
His suggestion could really work. “That’s a wonderful idea.” Shock that he’d make such an offer swept through Cassie, followed by a rush of elation. Overcome with gratitude, she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and almost knocking him over in the process. “I can’t thank you enough.”
His warm breath fanned against her neck and she pulled away enough to gaze into his eyes. The compassion and understanding shining there drew her in, but there was something else. Desire? A desperate need to find out driving her, she leaned closer and pressed her lips to his.
Chapter Seven
‡
When Cassie launched herself at him, Ty’s shock lasted all of ten seconds. Then his hormones took over, flooding his system, and obliterating every rational thought except what his body wanted to do with hers. He wrapped his arms around her as his lips moved over hers, teasing and exploring. When he deepened the kiss, her tongue slipped past his lips and he about came undone.
He pulled her against him, her soft curves fitting with his hard angles. Her hands splayed across his chest and nearly burned a hole through his shirt. Blood pounded in his ears, drowning out everything but Cassie and the need to lose himself in her. It had been too long since he’d been with a woman. Since he’d wanted to.
“You drive me crazy,” he whispered against her silky skin.
She stiffened and moved away. Her face flushed a delicate pink, her breathing as hard and fast as his, he recognized the moment reality captured in her expressive eyes when the fire that had blazed there vanished. “Sorry about that. I tend to act first and think later. I should go.”
When she started to stand, he reached out to her. “Cassie, don’t—”
“We shouldn’t do this.” On her feet now, she backed away further, crossing her arms over her chest as if she could rebuild the wall between them. Her foot slipped on the dock’s edge. He jumped to his feet, lunged for her, and latched onto her hand to help her regain her balance.
Instead her backward momentum pulled him forward with her. They hit the water a second later. The lake, still brisk in spring, jolted his system. He pushed upward, breaking the surface and searched for Cassie. Calling her name, he scanned the rippling surface for her.
A second later she appeared beside him, her s
hort hair plastered against her head like a cap, anger etched on her angular features. “You couldn’t tell me I was about to fall in the lake?”
He pulled her against him. Her lean curves pressed against him warmed him all over again. “I tried. You wouldn’t listen.”
Because you were too busy trying to get away from me.
“You could’ve tried harder.” When she pushed away, he let her go, but instead of treading water or swimming toward the dock, she sank.
What the hell? His heart near to exploding, he dove under the surface, searching. The water stung his eyes as he spotted her below him. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her to the surface.
“Thank you. I thought for a minute there I was in real trouble.” Though she kept her voice light he saw the fear in her gaze as she clung to him. “My skirts got tangled around my legs and weighed me down.”
All too aware of the rapid rise and fall of her chest against his and the fact that if he turned his head his lips would brush hers, he struggled to harness his self control. “Let’s get on dry land.”
“Good idea.”
Her arms around his neck, she held on as he swam the few feet to the dock. Once there he peeled her off him and held onto her waist while she grabbed the dock. “Hang on while I crawl out.”
He hoisted his soggy ass out of the water and reached to help Cassie. Once on the dock, he made the mistake of looking at her to make sure she was okay. She stood before him, her cotton shirt plastered against her so tight he could see the lace of her bra. Her skirt wrapped around her revealing long, shapely legs a man couldn’t help but want to run his hands over. He thought his motor had been running hot when she’d been nestled against him in the water. Hell, he’d only been in first gear. But now he’d kicked into overdrive, and all he could think about was peeling off her wet clothes to see if her body matched the amazing images he’d conjured up.
He swallowed hard and tried to concentrate on something else. Anything. What was the current price of hay? Who was up next in the Ranger’s pitching rotation? How could someone come up with the idea for a danged blanket with sleeves and sell millions of them?
Nope. Wasn’t working. If anything, he was running so hot he might burn out his engine.
“We probably should talk about what happened,” she said looking uncharacteristically meek, her gaze not meeting his. That was probably better. Safer.
“Before or after we went swimming?” he said in a lame attempt to lighten the mood and avoid the topic.
“Us having anything but a business relationship isn’t a good idea.” Cassie’s voice held more conviction now, but the stern look she tossed his way failed. It was tough to pull off formidable when she looked like a stray kitten caught in a rainstorm.
Despite knowing she was right, that any kind of personal relationship between them was insane, the fact that she so easily dismissed him stung. Shoving that thought and his reaction aside, he said, “It was a simple kiss. No big deal.”
He almost laughed at his comment. Their kiss had as tame as a rodeo bull. Simple in no way described what flared to life between them. Demanding. Thrilling. Consuming. Definitely damned surprising, but not simple.
“You’re right. We’re both adults,” Cassie said, her voice more relaxed. “So we kissed. I say we forget it and move on.”
Ouch. No man wanted to hear a woman, even one he’d put on his off limits list, say they should forget the kiss they’d shared. That she could forget it. Talk about a hard kick to a man’s ego. Comments like that could give a guy performance anxiety.
Or want to make him prove how memorable he could be.
Damn. That was the last thing he needed to think, but damned if he didn’t want to do that very thing something fierce. He longed to pull Cassie back in his arms and cover her lips with his while his hands explored all her curves and edges until he knew them intimately. He wanted to leave her breathless and exhausted from his lovemaking, confident in the fact that she’d never forget him and what they shared.
Shit. He shoved his hands in his pockets, swallowed hard and he tried to pull his mind out of the gutter. “Good. I wouldn’t want you getting the wrong idea—that I want a relationship.”
She ran her fingers through her short hair, spraying rainbow colored water droplets around her. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not looking to get into a relationship either, even a casual one.”
He fought the urge to frown at her quick reassurance. Wasn’t that what he wanted? If it was, then why was disappointment eating at the pit of his stomach?
Be careful what you wish for.
“I’ve got enough problems right now,” she continued.
She sees me as a problem. Another direct hit to his ego. If he spent much more time with her he wouldn’t have any pride left. “Life is a little complicated right now, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “Nah. Piece of cake. I love an adventure, and in case you missed it, that was sarcasm.” She reached for her bag. “I should go. I have tons to do before I pick up Ella. I wouldn’t want my boss to think I’m a slacker. He’s one of those hard-core perfectionist types.”
“Let me give you a pointer. Referring to the boss as a ‘hard-core perfectionist’ isn’t good for employee/employer relationships.” But that beat the hell out of her telling him his kisses were forgettable. “He could hold the comment against you when your performance review rolls around.”
“By then I’ll have dazzled you so much, you’ll have forgotten all about that.”
Then before he could comment, she turned and walked away. He shook his head. Kissing Cassie had been the dumbest thing he’d done in a long time, because getting involved with Cassie was asking for a mess of trouble. Trouble in a damned fine package, but trouble nonetheless. As his grandmother had been fond of saying, the only thing worse than being in the frying pan was jumping into the fire.
*
Cassie tried to walk off with a shred of dignity. Not an easy task when her sandals squished, her skirt clinging to her legs slapped together with every step and she refused to think about what her wet T-shirt revealed. Yup, it was hard to hold her high as she squished, thwapped, and dripped her way to her car. Of course with as hot and bothered as she was, her clothes could be dried from her body heat by the time she reached the car.
She couldn’t believe she’d kissed Ty. What had she been thinking?
That was the problem. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been so thankful for his solution to eliminate her morning battles with Ella that she’d literally thrown herself at him. That had been her first mistake.
What she should’ve done was politely thank him, said she had to get to work, and written him a warm, heartfelt note when she got home.
Now I think of the smart, practical, non-emotional response.
Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?
Maybe because when he kissed her she’d been so aroused her brain barely received enough blood flow to maintain her body functions much less think.
If only Ty had been one of those wet kissers. The type who, when the sloppy kiss ended, a woman said even if he looked like Johnny Depp she wouldn’t go out with him. No. Instead Ty’s kisses made her toes curl and her body come to attention in a way she never dreamed possible.
Oh, this was so bad.
Complete insanity now that she’d be seeing him even more if Ella quit battling her in the morning.
No problem. She’d pretend nothing happened and concentrate on other things needing her attention—dealing with Ella’s problems, learning to run a B&B, creating new artwork, and contacting a local gallery owner about a show. Take your pick. And whenever she was around Ty, she’d keep her guard up because she could so get lost in him. In a New York minute, and she refused to let that happen again.
*
As Cassie’s car bounced over the old pothole ridden state highway toward the Talbot sisters’ bed and breakfast, she thought about how much easier the r
emainder of her week had been due to the deal Ty suggested. All Cassie had to do was mention Crunchie’s name and Ella vaulted out of bed and was ready for school before she finished her sentence. Starting out their days in a more pleasant fashion had eased the tension in the house and allowed them to settle into a routine, not to mention improving their relationship.
That day appeared to be a turning point for her in so many areas of her life. In her finances, because she could count on a steady income. In her career, because without her mornings starting with a wrestling match she possessed more energy for her new art line, which included paintings, sketches of the lake, animals, and, of course, Ty.
Their relationship had changed, too. She’d seen another side of him—one of a caring man, who had infinite patience with a little girl struggling to adjust to a painful future without her parents.
Her new insight fueled her work. She poured her heart, soul, and a big dose of the attraction she felt for him into her sketches and paintings, but the piece that drew her, called to her more than anything she’d ever created was the sculpture of Ty and his horse. The rich tone of the wood emphasized the strength and movement of the pair.
The man had turned her thoughts of him upside down lately. She’d pigeonholed him so neatly, but now she wasn’t sure of anything except that he occupied her thoughts too often, especially in bed late at night. Those times when she found herself lonely and vulnerable, her thoughts turned Ty. She bet he’d approach an intimate relationship the same way he did everything, with intensity and determination, and her heart ached.
Her head understood getting more involved would be nothing but trouble, but her body? Not so much. Despite them pretending nothing happened between them when she brought Ella to the ranch after school, her body went all warm and gushing at the sight of him.
