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Rafe grabbed his shirt. “What will she...do if...knows the truth?”
“I don’t know, but whatever she does, it won’t help the title claim.”
Rafe sagged, and his expression fell.
Great, now Daniel felt as if he was torturing both of them, Anna with lies and Rafael with the truth. “You made this problem—you need to help clean it up.”
“Fine.”
“I’ll tell Ma to heat up food like she would if you really were returning,” said Daniel. And coffee. He needed about a gallon of coffee. Because he was going to have to distract Anna to keep her from seeing Juanita sneak about with the horse and hope like hell Anna didn’t hear anything. And then she would be Rafe’s problem to fix.
* * *
Daniel changed out of the clothes he wore and cast a yearning glance toward his bed. He was so tired his bones ached and his eyes burned as if he’d been trailing a dust-raising herd and the grit churned up by hundreds of hooves had settled under his eyelids.
Hell, this morning he’d been nearly asleep on his feet until a wet black sock had slapped him in the face. Woken him up good and reminded him her laundry was hanging in the courtyard. He’d been dead tired then and he was more tired now, but he couldn’t let on. He had to distract Anna long enough so Juanita could get a horse saddled and Rafe could pretend to ride in after a long day out tracking.
A few minutes later, he stepped out on the front porch. Anna continued to gaze off into the night.
“No sign of Rafe yet?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s pretty dark.”
Her forlorn appearance tugged at him. The urge to stroke her hair and tell her none of it mattered tore at him. But he had her on the defensive. He couldn’t let up. What he was about to suggest by way of distraction might be a huge mistake, given how much he wanted her in his arms. Hopefully, he could get her to come inside and it would be easier to stage Rafael’s arrival.
Daniel leaned and looked out at the starlit sky. “It’ll be easier to see when the moon rises.”
“I suppose the darkness will slow Rafael down even more,” she said tentatively. Her eyes searched his.
His blood heated. No, he couldn’t let that happen. “I hope so. Can’t afford to lose another horse because he’s anxious to get home to you.”
“Mmm.” She cast an arched look in his direction. “I do hope his horse doesn’t go lame, or he doesn’t decide to stay the night elsewhere rather than travel after dark.”
She was looking for the next lie. His pulse kicked up a notch. Thank goodness he’d insisted on his brother making an appearance. Otherwise she may have just cut the legs out from underneath any explanation they could come up with for Rafe not showing up.
When he didn’t respond, her voice dropped lower and she said, “I don’t think he’s anxious to be around me at all.”
She thought Rafael was rejecting her. He had to convince her that wasn’t the case. No man would reject her. “Then he is the biggest fool in all creation.”
Her eyes widened, and her lips parted. His gaze dropped to her mouth as unwanted heat thrummed through him. He could so easily show her how desirable she was. She lowered her chin. “Would you tell me if he no longer wants me?”
The spell shattered. What was he thinking? She wanted Rafael to want her, not him. “He wants you, Miss O’Malley. He just has to put the needs of the ranch first. Many people depend on him.”
Her brows drew together.
He didn’t like her thinking on that too long, because even he couldn’t figure out how chasing down two horse thieves and stagecoach robbers was putting the needs of the ranch first. “Madre’s making coffee and food. Wouldn’t you like to come in and have some?”
She shook her head. “No, I will just wait out here. It is a beautiful evening.”
Hell, he couldn’t leave her alone or there was too great a chance she’d see Juanita sneaking toward the paddock or leading a horse away. And really he didn’t want to leave her. Her scent spiced the air. He wanted to lean in and inhale. Her hair beckoned with the warmth of a thousand fires. Even the dusting of freckles across her nose enchanted him. He reached to put an arm around her shoulders and realized what he was doing just in time.
“It is.” Daniel walked to the end of the porch, peered out, then turned and leaned against a post as if he were just enjoying the night. With a few feet of distance, he could breathe normally again.
“Back in Connecticut it would be getting colder at night.”
Juanita skittered by the far edge of the porch. Anna looked over her shoulder.
Daniel cleared his tight throat. Had she seen anything? His heart hammered. Surely she would have said if she had, but he had to get her attention on him, away from the horses. “Now would be a good time to teach you how to waltz.”
“We haven’t any music.”
If they went inside, there was much less chance of Juanita being seen. “I can remedy that.” He walked across the planks and held the door for her to go inside. “I have a music box we could use.”
She shook her head.
“I’d rather not have your mother or Juanita walk in on waltz lessons. Can’t we do it out here?”
Damn, she was stubborn, but he couldn’t really fault her since she was onto them. “It isn’t really wide enough.”
Her eyes swept the length of the porch, and she tilted her head. “Seems to me we’d have more open space out here, unless you’re planning to move the furniture.”
He gave up and fetched the music box. He’d just have to make sure she was facing the wrong way as Juanita saddled the horse and then point her in the other direction in case Rafe didn’t ride it completely out of sight before coming back. He hesitated a second, then propped the door open with a chair to hold the music box. “Don’t want to miss it when Madre brings the coffee.”
That and it would narrow her field of vision. Less chance she’d see the horse being led to the back door.
He turned the box over and wound a small metal key. “My father brought this all the way from Germany.”
It was one of the few possessions he had of his father’s. He had a hazy memory of his father leading his mother around with it playing. One of the few pleasant memories he had of his parents. Most of his memories of them together weren’t so nice.
The only reason the box was still around was because he’d needed it to fall asleep for a long time afterward. The tinny music soothed him when his mother told him he was too old to need a lullaby. But she’d rather he had the music box than have him crying himself to sleep because he missed his poppy.
When he opened the lid, a tinny waltz began to play. He stepped closer. “Ready?”
Her throat closed and all she could do was nod.
“Put this on my shoulder.” He lifted her arm and situated her hand. He held out his other hand. “And the other like this.”
The minute their palms met, a tingle raced through him. It was just dancing, he told himself sternly. People did it all the time. He put his hand on her back, and he just wanted to pull her close.
He had to pretend this was instruction, not seduction. As adorable as she was, she was off-limits. His body thrummed with disagreement. If he wasn’t so blasted tired, he could probably keep a better handle on his base desires, but he was exhausted.
He’d ridden for miles and miles in the past twenty-four hours. Between yesterday’s fiasco of a holdup, taking the horses to the hills, coming back to grab a bite to eat before riding all the way into town, then tracking since a little after dawn, he’d been awake and in the saddle far too long. He felt as if his bones were wearing through his skin. He either wanted sleep or her in his bed to rejuvenate him, and neither was going to happen.
He had to keep this light and about learning to waltz. “I’ll try not to step on your toes, although I might be a bit rusty.”
“I am more likely to step on yours, I think.” She looked down at the boards. “I might be better suited for a reel than a waltz.”
“Look into my eyes, not at your feet,” he instructed. At least if he could make her focus on him, maybe she wouldn’t notice the shell game going on around them. “I have to look away occasionally to make sure we’re not going to run into other couples.” He grinned to let her know he was joshing her.
“Or fall off the porch,” she suggested. Her voice sounded high and breathy.
Was she as affected by their proximity as he was? A new layer of heat built on top of the layers that shouldn’t be there.
“Or fall off the dance floor. Every time I look down at you, I should see you looking at me.”
“All right.” She looked up at him.
He was lost in the green pools of her eyes. Only he had to dance. He pulled how to waltz from the dregs of his memories. His father had insisted he and Rafael learn the dance, even though neither of them wanted to. “Do you hear the tempo? One—two—three. One—two—three. Here we go.”
