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“I can’t,” he drawled, and Tessa felt a telling flush creep up her neck. She knew in an instant that he was baiting her again—seeing just how far he could push. “I’m looking forward to California,” he said, and for a minute she was afraid he’d tell everyone about their bet. His gaze flicked around the table. “Unfortunately, I might not be able to wait until the place is sold, so I’ve got to make some plans to get it back on its feet before I leave.”
“And do what?” she asked, standing. “Run the ranch from a cell phone while you’re getting a tan at Malibu Beach?”
Denver didn’t react. “If that’s what it takes,” he responded calmly.
Tessa felt everyone’s gaze on her, but she didn’t flinch. Leaning over the table, she smiled sweetly and said, “Don’t bother. I’ve already talked to the bank for the mortgage, and I can come up with the down payment. Now, all that has to happen is for you and me to come to some sort of an agreement. You won’t have to worry about this place
once you’re back in L.A.!”
“You and I already came to an agreement,” he reminded her. “About California.”
Her jaw dropped, and she silently pleaded with him to keep their wager to himself.
“But do you honestly think it’s possible for us to agree on anything?” he asked, returning to the question of the ranch.
Relieved, she said, “If we’re both willing to cooperate.”
“And what about the back taxes on this place?”
“Pay them—or make a provision for that payment in the sales agreement. Lower the price of the ranch by the amount of taxes owed, and I’ll take care of them.”
“And Colton?”
“Find him.”
“Seems as if you’ve got it all figured out,” he drawled, lifting his coffee cup and scrutinizing her carefully over the rim. His eyes became slits.
“Almost. Just as soon as you come up with a reasonable price.” She felt the tension in the air. Everyone at the table had fallen silent. Not one fork scraped a plate. As if to break the charged silence, Milly coughed. Mitchell scooted his chair back, and Curtis fished nervously in his breast pocket for his cigarettes.
“You prove you’re serious. Make a formal offer,” Denver said deliberately. “Then, if you can come up with the money and I can find Colton, we’ll have a deal.”
Tessa couldn’t believe her ears. “That’s all?” she asked, waiting for the hitch—the strings that had to be attached.
“That—and a certain payoff.”
“Payoff?” Mitch repeated.
“It’s nothing,” Tessa said quickly. She wondered if Denver were lying again—tricking her into believing he would sell. She had no option but to call his bluff. “I’ll have everything ready as soon as possible,” she said, her throat suddenly dry at the prospect of buying the place and thereby allowing him to leave. Now that he’d returned, the prospect of living without him again loomed in her future like a gaping black abyss.
Denver grinned, that easy, crooked smile that Tessa found wickedly irresistible. “I’m looking forward to it. Then maybe you could take a break from this place. Find some sun and sand and relaxation.”
Tessa wanted to drop through the floor.
Denver shoved his chair from the table. “Thanks for the meal,” he said to Milly, then he strode, whistling—whistling for crying out loud—down the hall.
Tessa snatched several plates from the table and carried them into the kitchen. Her entire body was shaking, and the china rattled in her hands.
“Careful now,” Milly warned, eyeing Tessa’s flushed features. “You’re letting that man get to you.”
“He’s not getting to me!”
Smothering a knowing smile, Milly snapped an apron from a hook near the stove and tied it around her thick waist. “Whatever you say, Tess,” she said, turning on the tap. Hot water began to fill the sink, steam rising to Milly’s face.
“He’s as changeable as a chameleon,” Tessa sputtered. “One minute he’s nasty as can be, the next he’s sweet as pie, praising everyone, asking their opinions, when all he wants to do is get the hell out of here!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Milly said, sliding a knowing glance Tessa’s way as she began to stack rinsed plates into the dishwasher.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tessa had been placing leftover stew into a bowl, but she paused.
