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In the kitchen he tossed her a towel, and Tessa wiped the rain from her face. As she sat in one of the chairs at the table, she studied him. His face had become lean and angular over the years, his skin dark and tight. But no amount of reconstructive surgery had been able to straighten his nose—a nose that had been broken when he fell from a horse at the age of twelve.
He’d changed. The lines of boyish dimples that had creased his cheeks had deepened into grooves of discontent, and his sensual mouth was knife-blade thin. A webbing of lines near his eyes indicated that he still squinted—but did he laugh and tease and smile as he once had?
After pouring the coffee, he handed her a steaming mug. She took a sip, nearly burning her tongue. Cradling her mug in her hands, she leaned back in a chair and tossed the wet hair from her eyes. “I didn’t really think you’d show up,” she said. “I expected you’d sell your half of the place by phone.”
He scraped back a chair, straddled it and leaned forward, blowing across his mug. “I wanted to, but it wasn’t that easy.”
So there it was. He admitted it. This ranch that she and her father had worked their bodies to the bone for meant nothing to him.
“As I said, there’s a problem with back taxes,” he said. “Seems they’ve been neglected.”
“Money’s been tight.” A defensive note crept into her voice.
“So I’ve heard.”
“And Colton?” she asked, wondering about Denver’s brother. “Does he feel the same about this place?”
“I wish I knew.” Denver glanced pensively into the dark depths of his coffee. “Since he owns half the place, I need to know if he wants to buy out my share or put the whole spread on the market.”
“So, no matter what happens, you’re going to sell.”
“Right.” He took a swig from his cup, without the slightest indication that he felt one second’s regret.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
She leaned closer to him, placing her elbows on the table for support, her wet hair falling forward. “What would you say if I told you I wanted to buy you out?”
His features froze. “You?”
“Right. And not just your share, but Colton’s, too.”
Denver’s mouth dropped open before he clamped it shut. “You don’t want this ranch, Tessa,” he said quietly. “You couldn’t.”
“Don’t you presume anything about me, Denver McLean,” she replied, her eyes serious, her voice surprisingly strong. “I’ve thought about it a long time. I’ve worked too hard on this place to have it sold out from under me.”
“Tessa, this is crazy—”
“I’m not kidding, Denver. If you’re going to sell McLean Ranch, I intend to buy it.” Before he could protest, she added, “I’ve got some money of my own, livestock I could sell if I need to, and I’ve already done the preliminary talking to a banker in Three Falls.”
“So you’ve got it all figured out.”
“Most of it.”
“Tell me,” he drawled, “how do you expect to pull a ranch that can’t hold its own back on its feet?”
“It can be done.”
“With a huge mortgage?” He shook his head and finished his coffee. “I don’t see how.”
“That’s the problem, Denver,” she said evenly. “You’ve got your eyes wide open, but you can’t see what’s right in front of your nose.” Feeling a hot lump forming in her throat, she whispered, “You never could.”
Denver’s fingers curled over his cup. Tessa was beautiful—too beautiful. He kicked back his chair, tossed the dregs of his coffee into the sink and tried to ignore the firm thrust of Tessa’s jaw, the fire in her hazel eyes, the way her damp blouse clung to her skin. Her hair, though wet, shone beneath the dim wattage in the kitchen, and her face was flushed in fury, touching the forbidden part of his soul he’d hoped had smoldered to a cold death seven years before. “I think I’ll unpack.” He needed time to think, time to put everything into perspective, time to remind himself that she’d betrayed him and his family. Distance would help. Being in the room with her, feeling her accusing gaze still drilling hot against his back, wasn’t good.
What was the old saying? That there was a thin line between love and hate? Convinced he was walking that line, Denver realized he had to be careful—or he was sure to fall.
“You can have the room at the top of the stairs,” she said.
