by Jeannie Watt
“What?”
“Stay put.”
She muttered, “As if I have anywhere else to go,” as he put down the phone. He dressed in a hurry, since it was cold, and told Alvin to stay in the house. The stars were like diamonds in the inky sky, and the snow creaked beneath his boots. Approaching zero. Maddie had picked one hell of a night to do whatever it was she was doing.
He just hoped his heart was in one piece when she got through.
MADELINE MADE IT BACK in the rental car just as Ty’s headlights appeared in the distance. She’d had to hike a good half mile down the icy road to get a cell signal, but thought she’d be back to her car well before he arrived. Apparently Ty had hurried. As soon as he stopped the truck he got out and walked over to her door before she had finished gathering her stuff together. He pulled the door open and gestured at his truck with his head, taking her suitcase from her as she went by. He didn’t say a word, but when she started around the truck for the passenger side, he took her arm and helped her up through the open driver’s-side door, then put the suitcase in the extended cab.
“I’m sorry,” she said, once he got into the truck again. The heat blowing on her felt heavenly after the frigid walk.“I wasn’t doing anything but sleeping.”
She watched his mouth tighten in profile. It stayed tight for about a mile and then he said, “What the hell are you thinking, driving alone on a road like this on a night like this?”
“I guess I was thinking I wanted to get to the ranch.”
“Why?”
“Because we have matters to discuss.”
“The ranch.”
“That’s one.”
“What’s the other?”
Madeline turned to stare straight ahead, sensing his quick, piercing glance, but refusing to look back. Ty had to focus on the icy, rutted road and Madeline knew he was right—what had she been thinking, driving on a road like this on a night like this?
Once they reached the ranch, he drove through the open gate without bothering to close it. He pulled the truck into its parking spot, yanked on the emergency brake. Even in the dim light from the dashboard, she could see his eyes were blazing.
He’d opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something that started with “What the hell,” when Madeline opened her door and got out, dropping the eighteen inches to the ground.
Ty did the same, slamming his door. They marched together to his back porch, where he let her in ahead of him, sidestepping Alvin.
“I didn’t mean to drive off the road,” she said as she turned to face him in the dark kitchen. She could barely see him, but she was aware of everything, absolutely everything, about him. His strength, his anger.
“But you did.”
“It was stupid.”
“Yeah.” He settled his big hands on her shoulders and Madeline felt her knees start to go a little weak. But he didn’t pull her any closer.
“I actually left in time to get here just after dark. I thought I’d stay in Skip’s house and then we could talk in the morning.”
“What happened?” he asked, his voice coming out on a huskier note. She could feel each one of his fingers on her shoulders.
“Semi went broadside in the road. It took forever to get the tow trucks there. They needed two.” She took a half step closer to him, feeling the warmth of his hard body, feeling his tension.
Anger? Something more? “I probably shouldn’t have showed up out of the blue, but…I need a place to think. To regroup. To settle stuff with myself and with you. Ty…I just had to get away.”
He stilled. “What happened with the hearings?”
“I cut a deal with my department head. If she backs off, I’ll keep my mouth shut about her scummy tactics to save the departmental golden goose at the expense of an innocent bystander. PR is important, you know—especially when you’re looking for private funds as well as federal.”
“You still have a job?”
“I have six months to decide. A sabbatical, if you will.” Madeline shook her hair back. “But I know I can’t work there after this. I was buying time, trying to figure out what to do without having to go through the hell of the hearings.”
His hands tightened on her shoulders. “So you need a place to hide out?”
“Actually, in spite of all the stuff that went on, I feel more at peace here than I’ve felt anywhere else in the world.”
“The ranch does that to me, too,” he said softly.
“It’s not the ranch, Ty. It’s you.”
Madeline didn’t know who moved first. She thought it was Ty, but it didn’t matter, because his arms were around her and her body was pressed tightly against his as his hand pushed into her hair, holding her head against his chest.
She was home.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8520-4MADDIE INHERITS A COWBOY
Copyright © 2011 by Jeannie Steinman
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