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Ben lit his cigarette, shoved his hat over his brow and nodded mutely.
Chase glanced uneasily up the hill to where Dani was working in the garden, but, as usual, she seemed disinterested, as if she weren’t paying any attention to what was happening on the property adjoining hers. He hoped to God that it wasn’t an act and waded farther downstream to the middle of Dani’s land before taking more samples.
* * *
Dani pursed her lips in frustration as she watched Chase slip through the fence. Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, she leaned on her hoe, wiped the sweat from her forehead and wondered if she really wanted to make a scene in front of his crew. Not that she wanted to, but damn the man, he was forcing the issue! She watched him walk backward, downstream, farther onto her property.
And just last night he’d promised to stay away. Now he was breaking his word, pushing her to the limit in full view of his workers. After her argument with Cody, she was in no mood to get into another fight. But she really didn’t have much of a choice.
With a sigh she put the hoe on the porch, wiped her palms on her jeans and started through the gate and down the sloping field to the creek.
Chase was there, just as he had been the first time she’d come across him, except for the fact that he was about a hundred yards away from Caleb’s land and right in the middle of hers. He was digging on the bank and taking samples of the water. Her water.
She felt her pulse begin to race but assured herself that it was because she was furious with him as well as Caleb Johnson.
“I thought you understood that I didn’t want you here,” she said as she approached the bank.
“I did.” He looked up, smiled, and then went about his business.
Infuriated, Dani planted her hands on her hips. “I wasn’t kidding about calling the sheriff.”
“Go ahead—call him.”
“Chase—”
He looked up again, his piercing sky-blue eyes causing her stupid heart to flutter. “At least this time you didn’t bring that damned rifle.”
“I hoped that I didn’t need it.”
“You don’t.” He offered her a brilliant smile that was meant to dazzle away her worries. It softened her heart, but didn’t quite convince her head that he was on the up-and-up.
“What’re you doing?”
“Taking samples.”
“I can see that, but why?”
“I just want to check the creek. Remember, I did ask for permission.”
“And I didn’t grant it.”
“Right.”
“So you just barged right over here anyway.” She crossed her arms under her breasts and didn’t bother to hide her exasperation.
He grinned again and muttered, “Actually I tried to sneak.”
“In broad daylight? When I was up in the garden?” She smiled despite the headache beginning to pound at the base of her skull. “I’ll admit that I don’t know you very well, but I doubt that you were trying to sneak. You did a much better impersonation of a cat burglar last night.”
The corners of his lips were drawn down and deep furrows lined his tanned brow. “Maybe we’d better not talk about last night.”
Dani couldn’t agree more. “I don’t want to talk about anything. I just want to know why you’re defying me.”
“I don’t like edicts.”
“But this is my land—”
“So I’ve heard. About a hundred times. From you.” He sighed and placed another small vial into his fishing creel before wading downstream deeper into her property.
