by Taylor Hart
His heart picked up speed, but he didn’t move.
She didn’t move either. “I watched the expose on my phone. I saw your interview. You were lying.”
He dropped her hand. “No, I wasn’t.”
She took his hand. “You weren’t telling the whole truth.”
He let out a sigh, a low stir of anger bubbling inside of him. “Most of the time people don’t want to know the truth.”
She didn’t react to his tone. “That’s true.”
His mouth went dry.
She stood and sized him up. “Do you always want the truth?”
Emotion scraped the back of his throat. He looked away. “I shouldn’t have made you dance with me.”
She let out a reflexive laugh. Then a sigh. She shoved the glass into his hand and pushed past him. “Good night, Ryan.”
“Where are you going?” He followed her.
She abruptly stopped and put her hand on his chest. “Leave me alone, Ryan. Just—let’s talk to Richard tomorrow and then you can—you can just leave.”
His heart raced. He watched her go up the stairs. He watched her solemn features, her stoic steps, the way she didn’t even turn back to look at him. She was her own kind of soldier. She’d been through her own kind of pain.
He couldn’t stop himself.
He took the stairs two at a time.
He got to the top just as she did.
She stopped, her eyes wary.
He lightly touched the line of her jaw and traced it back behind her ear.
She simply stared at him, her eyes blazing green—misty with emotion.
Blood pounded into his ears. All his held back emotions crashed through him. All the pain went away. The only thing left was the sheer need to have her. To drink her. To be with her.
Their lips met and, for a second, Ryan thought of the first time he’d kissed her. After the dance she’d gone to with Nathan. And left with him. On her porch, the light coming on spontaneously when her father wanted to signal that he’d been there.
Her lips were willing, giving, soft. She wrapped her arms around the back of him and pulled him closer.
He pulled her in and her light, lemony scent engulfed him. He let himself reach the top of that French twist and pull out the pin. It fell around him, them, this moment.
He was lost.
The dam of everything he had cemented in place, everything he’d been resisting, everything he’d been hiding, everything he’d told himself about why he’d left and why he’d never come back fell away. The chunks of cement unbuckled like a natural disaster, unwinding with one soft kiss.
“Ryan.” She breathed it into his ear and ran her hands up his back.
He pushed her down the hall. She stumbled and he hoisted an arm under her shoulders and kept them walking.
He remembered the weather, the company downstairs, Richard. But he didn’t care.
She kissed his neck. She kissed his lips.
His hand fumbled with the knob of the door to his room.
“Ryan . . .”
He retrieved the key out of his pocket. “Charlotte . . .”
“I’m so glad you’re back.” Her voice was whispery and breathless.
The door flung open, but he stopped.
Everything inside of him stopped. He wasn’t back. Not really.
She held to his shirt. “Ryan?”
He took a deep breath. He thought of the other women, the other nights. He didn’t want it to be like that. Not tonight. Not with her.
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and mustered the last bit of restraint inside of him. “Charlotte.” In order to say her full name he had to completely concentrate on it. “I can’t do this with you.”
“What?” She let out a breathy laugh.
He put his hand over hers. “Stop.”
It didn’t deter her.
“You don’t know me, Charlotte. The things I’ve done. The person I am.” He gently squeezed her hand again.
She straightened herself, a frown touching her lips. She shook her head and tears filled her eyes.
He turned away. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter 28
Charlotte didn’t know why her body had woken at five-thirty in the morning. She hadn’t slept well, and now all she could think about was him. The way he’d held her. The way he’d kissed her. The way he’d rejected her. So she’d changed into her running clothes and put on her shoes. She didn’t expect to see anyone when she slipped down the stairs looking for a door to sneak out of.
She found Ryan coming in a side door next to the kitchen.
He wore a tight black shirt, black shorts, and ear buds. He saw her and stopped.
She pushed past him, went out the door, and spiked into a sprint. She went over the patio, around the pool, and by the corrals. There was one thing rejection was good for—burning calories.
He caught up to her as she passed the corrals.
“What are you doing?”
He matched her pace. “Charlotte—”
At this point, she had no idea where she was going, but she sped up. The road curved into a tree-covered path, and she followed it. “Humiliating me last night wasn’t enough?”
He stayed next to her side. “I’m sorry.”
At this moment, she wished her look could kill. “Whatever.”
He stayed next to her. “The paths aren’t that clear. I’ll just go with you.”
Her breath came in and out until she fell into a steady rhythm. “I don’t need you.” Even as she said it the path split, and she hesitated about which way to go.
He bumped her to the left. “You’ve never been great at knowing where you’re going.”
She simmered inside, but she wouldn’t let him get to her. He was right. She had never been great with directions. The first year on the ranch he had continually gone with her wherever she went so she wouldn’t get lost. The falls had been filled with trees and paths and it’d been hard to know which way was which. It’d been fun to explore them with him, but she wasn’t about to admit anything. “Leave.”
Ryan stayed beside her. He put his ear buds in. She could hear classical music blaring out of them.
She didn’t know what to do except keep running. She let herself go into her running zone. She’d forgotten her ear buds, so she tried to focus on other things. Well, she tried as much as she could with the distraction of him next to her. She tried to think about Sam and his crazy laugh when he told her something he found hilariously funny. She tried thinking about the day she, Star, and Angela had scrubbed out the bookstore and hung the sign. It had been one of the best feelings in the world.
It wasn’t working. He still distracted her. She turned and flicked an ear bud out of his ear. “You’re going to ruin your hearing.”
He squinted at her and pulled out his other ear bud. “Oh well.”
“Go back.”
His breathing turned deeper, louder.
She peeked at him and saw that his eyes were fixed on hers.
There it was—that intensity. He was looking right through her, like he always had.
She couldn’t keep doing this, feeling this. “Don’t you see . . . I don’t need you?”
“You wouldn’t be able to find your way back.”
“If you haven’t noticed, you don’t know me anymore.” She pushed her body to run harder.
After a minute, she noticed he wasn’t next to her. She stopped.
He was running the other way.
She put her hands on her knees and sucked in air. Dread filled the lower part of her stomach, but she didn’t let it grow. She turned back to the path and continued her run.
Forget him. She would find her way without him.
Chapter 29
Seven fifty-three. Ryan looked at his phone and paced the patio next to the pool. He’d gone straight to his room, showered, and gotten ready. He’d knocked on her door, but she hadn’t answered.
They couldn’t be late. Even though they were only going to Richard’s office in the west wing of the house. They could not be late.
He paced around the pool and toward the path that he and Charlotte had taken when they’d started out on the run earlier. He knew he shouldn’t have left her. She’d always been this way. He hated himself for walking away last night, but he couldn’t do that to her. He had too much baggage; too much he didn’t want to saddle anyone with—especially Charlotte. He would see her through this mess and then he would leave. It was simple. He had to get back to the way things were.
“Ryan.”
He looked back at the patio. There she was.
She was wearing a long, white skirt and black scoop top. Her red hair was down, but not wild and unmanaged. It was blown dry and flat ironed. She looked professional—different. He moved to the patio to meet her.
Her lips tugged into a playful smile. “You thought I wouldn’t find my way back?”
He went to her side and got a whiff of light lemon. It was intoxicating. “Charlotte, I’m sorry.”
She hesitated and looked at the ground.
“I mean it. Last night wasn’t about you and me.”
She let out a ripple laugh. “It sure felt that way.”
He exhaled slowly. “I’m not staying in Hidden Falls.”
Her brow furrowed. “I know that.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just can’t do this . . . us. My life is in L.A. now.”
A slow grin spread across her face. She was so beautiful.
All he wanted to do was kiss her, again. “What?”
The side of her lip lifted and she moved past him. “Nothing, I just haven’t seen that look on your face since prom your junior year when you didn’t know if you should take me home or not.”
He stepped to her side. He gently took the back of her bicep and led her through the patio door and down the front hall and toward the office. “There was no look.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, there was.”
She was familiar and different all at once. He hated how he was completely distracted by her. He stopped in front of Richard’s office and knocked. “I will tell you that I am impressed you got back.”
She let out a light laugh. “Well, that’s a good way to start the day, impressing Ryan Hardman.”
The door opened and Richard stood there in black pants and a red, expensive looking button-down silk shirt. “Good morning.”
They moved into the room.
“Morning.” He ignored the pointed look on Richard’s face. Irritation swept through him. He’d sent his sister to distract him last night.
Richard looked between them. “I trust your evening ended well?”
The fist at Ryan’s side had to be told to stay down. Did Richard think his teasing was funny? Ryan cleared his throat. “It was fine. I hope Maria doesn’t have too bad of a hangover this morning.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed, then his gaze fell to Charlotte. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You are a breath of sunshine.” He gestured to the seats and went around the big imposing desk.
The business at hand demanded more attention than his irritation, so he put it on hold for the moment and sat.
Richard tapped his fingers on the large, oak desk. “I spoke with the attorney that wrote the will. He seems tight lipped.”
The reminder that Joe wrote the will that prevented Charlotte’s mother from selling the land didn’t help Ryan’s mood.
Charlotte cleared her throat. “I should explain to you that Joe Watkins works exclusively for my ex-husband.”
Richard lifted his eyebrows. “I see.”
Ryan lifted a hand. “Nathan doesn’t want them to sell the property. He doesn’t want it developed.”
Richard focused on Ryan. “Right.”
“Nathan’s a jerk.” Charlotte said it softly. “He is never easy to work with.”
Richard raised his eyebrows and let out a soft chuckle. “I like a direct woman.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I just tell the truth.”
Richard put the tips of his fingers together. “I see. Well, I called my top guy and he is going to do some checking. It just sounds strange that your father would have put the life estate into his will seven years before his . . .” his voice dropped a notch, “ before he passed.”
She blinked, but her face stayed a mask.
Ryan could see that Richard was waiting for an explanation. Charlotte didn’t give him one.
Richard leaned forward. “Charlotte, were your parents happy?”
Charlotte kept her face serious. “She had an affair.” Her voice was quiet. “But he forgave her.” Charlotte’s voice broke. “He forgave her.” She sniffed. “They stayed together, and she saw him through a hard illness. She was there for him when things were tough.” She sniffed again. “He forgave her. He told me he did. He wouldn’t have done this.”
The walls around Ryan’s heart softened. He hated that she had to go through all of this. It made him feel defeated. He hated Nathan Love. He hadn’t even needed to know that Nathan was hitting her to hate him. It was enough that he’d married the woman he’d loved. Now, he had another reason.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte.” Richard let out a sigh. “I set up a meeting in Hidden Falls in two days.”
Charlotte quickly wiped beneath her eyes. “Will you be able to make it so my mother can sell the land?”
Richard frowned.
Ryan didn’t like it when Richard frowned.
“My firm has worked with many life estate cases. They are hard to break. Families put them in place for one reason—to ensure the land doesn’t fall into someone’s hands that is not their family. People get emotional about land. It is something I feel the same way about, but I think the more pressing matter we need to discuss is getting your property current on the taxes, so we have longer to work on the land problem.”
Charlotte’s face paled. “I don’t have a million dollars.”
Richard leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs, looking directly at Ryan.
Charlotte pinched and released the fabric of her skirt. “Isn’t there a way we could work a deal with the government? To give us an extension? Don’t they do that kind of stuff all the time? I’ve been researching cases where the government gives extensions, and I think the ranch would have a fighting chance. I need to go over numbers from the farm and ranch side with my mom, but we could work it out. I think the profits were good last year.”
Richard’s face went stern. “I’ve already spoken to my contacts at the IRS. They aren’t willing to budge on this. It seems your father has been in negotiations with them for the past three years. They’re ready to take the property back.”
Tears welled in Charlotte’s eyes then determination spread across her face. “No.”
Richard leaned forward. “I think the best plan is for you to prepare your mother for possible evacuation from the premises.”
Charlotte shot to her feet. “No, my father wanted her to have that land.”
Ryan stood. “Now hold on, Richard.” This didn’t make sense at all. Richard always told him that he solved problems; he didn’t go to worst-case scenarios. “There has to be another solution.”
Richard lifted his hands. “I’m sorry. If there is another solution, I don’t know what it is.”
Charlotte stood and wiped the edges of her eyes. “I understand. Thank you for trying.”
Ryan ushered Charlotte out of Richard’s office and then hesitated. “Charlotte, go ahead and get your things together. I need to talk to Richard for a few minutes.”
Charlotte blinked and turned in the direction of the main house. Her face was sullen. “Okay.”
He hated the hopeless look on her face. He turned back into Richard’s office and lightly shut the door. “What is wrong with you?”
Richard stood and a wicked glint came into his eyes. “I expect this fighting look on your face means you really do love her?”
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Adrenaline coursed through Ryan’s veins. “Why are you playing games with her? You know a solution, don’t you?”
The side of Richard’s lip etched up. “Yes and you do, too.”
Every part of him wanted to fly at Richard. He hated Richard’s games. “What are you talking about?”
“Check your temper, captain.”
Most people couldn’t tell when he was losing his cool. But, of course, Richard could. “You better explain what is going on.”
“You could help her.”
Ryan leaned back and let out a grunt. “You know what Alan and I are facing right now with this company. You know we need this deal to save our own backsides.”
Richard lifted a shoulder. “Think, Ryan. You have rich friends.”
Ryan was stunned. “You? You’re offering to help? You’ll buy the ranch?”
A tiny smile began in the corners of Richard’s mouth. “No, I don’t buy ranches. I’m definitely not interested in buying something that needs to be managed like that.”
Ryan’s thoughts whirled. “Then you could give them a loan. Check the books. Make sure it’s sound. Eight years ago I know that ranch was in the black. I know it. Frank showed me everything. We would plot together on new ways he could farm and ranch. It was profitable.”
Richard shook his head. “You’re almost there, but you’re still not getting it.”
Irritation swept through Ryan. He didn’t have time for Richard’s games. Richard wanted something, and he was waiting for Ryan to come up with it. Well, he didn’t need Richard’s help. He pushed past him. “Never mind.”
A light chuckle escaped from Richard. “Would you just give it a minute?”
Ryan held the door handle and waited. “I don’t have time for this.”
Richard laughed and opened his computer. “Call me when you figure it out.”
Anger surged through him. Richard liked to do things like this—make others solve their own problems. “You’re such a pompous, arrogant—”
“Uh, uh, uh, don’t say things you don’t mean, friend.”
Ryan glared at him.
At this, Richard laughed, a deep, belly laugh. “I don’t know why you try to hide it all the time?”
