‘‘You’re on a tear this morning, aren’t you?’’
‘‘I suppose I am.’’ She shoved her hands back into her jacket pocket. ‘‘I’m moving to a hotel.’’
He stared at her. ‘‘Why?’’
‘‘It’s for the best. I didn’t realize what an intrusion I would be. It was the tiniest bit imperious of me to insist on staying here. You don’t know me, we aren’t related. You didn’t ask for any of this.’’ She thought about all the arrangements that had to be made. ‘‘It will probably take a couple of days to get everything put together, but I’ll be gone as quickly as I can.’’
‘‘What about your parents? I thought you didn’t want to have to explain extra security.’’
‘‘I’ll think of something. I always do.’’ She glanced around at the clean, well-lit barn and wished she’d taken the time to explore the area. ‘‘I appreciate your hospitality. You’ve been very kind.’’
Mitch mumbled something she didn’t quite catch. He turned his attention back to the mare. ‘‘You’ve got everything in place, the phone lines, the messengers. If it’s not going to get any worse, you might as well stay.’’
As gracious invitations went, she’d had much better. Even so, his words lightened her spirits and made her insides tingle in the most unusual way. ‘‘But—’’
He glared at her. ‘‘Don’t make me beg, okay? Because I won’t do it. You can stay here.’’
He was a grumpy old bear, she thought. But handsome. His mouth still intrigued her, as did his strength. ‘‘Thank you,’’ she murmured.
‘‘You’re welcome.’’
His gaze lingered on her face. It warmed her like a touch…or a caress. The tingling inside of her spread to her arms and legs. She told herself to stop staring, but she couldn’t seem to look away from him. The rest of the world faded into a blurry background. How odd.
‘‘Mitch?’’
He took a step toward her. She had to look up to still meet his gaze, but instead of intimidating her, his size made her feel safe. She noticed her breathing had quickened, as had his. What was wrong with them?
Mitch swore under his breath. ‘‘I’ve got to get back to work,’’ he growled.
‘‘Can I help?’’ Alex asked, surprising both him and herself. She glanced around the barn. ‘‘As I said, I’m good with horses. Maybe I could exercise them for you.’’ She bit her lower lip. ‘‘I can’t seem to fill my days enough with the work I have,’’ she admitted. That was as much as she could say. She refused to tell him that she was lonely.
He pointed to her tailored wool skirt. ‘‘Are all your clothes that impractical?’’
‘‘No. I have a brand-new pair of jeans with me.’’
‘‘Figures. All right, you can exercise a couple of the mares, but only on a lead. No fancy riding until I see what you can do.’’
She smiled at him. ‘‘Thank you, Mitch. You won’t regret it.’’
She turned and headed for the house, ignoring his grumbled complaint that he already did.
* * *
Five hours later Mitch knew he’d been stupid in allowing Alex to exercise the horses. Not that she didn’t know what she was doing, he thought as he stared out his office window and looked at the west paddock. She stood in the center of the ring and exercised a brood mare. Despite their difference in size, there was no doubt who was in charge of the session. Alex held the lead with a skill that only came from hours of practice. She hadn’t lied about knowing her way around horses.
She also hadn’t lied about the jeans, although they were painfully new. He found himself catching his breath as she turned in the ring, exposing her back to him. The stiff denim outlined rounded hips and thighs that just about sent him to his knees. He had a difficult enough time dealing with his wayward desire when he couldn’t see her, but now that she was in plain sight he thought he would go mad.
To make matters worse, he was starting to like her. Lust was safe, but liking—well, that was a different story. Liking led to caring which was a slick downhill road to heartache and trouble. Her earlier confession about being bossy had touched him, although he couldn’t quite figure out why. Maybe it was her vulnerability, or the strength it took to see a bad truth about one’s self.
He should have let her go. She’d offered to leave, but he’d had to tell her to stay because—he didn’t even know why he’d done it. So now he was stuck with her and her perfect little fanny. The worst part was, there wasn’t one thing he could do about her, except continue to stay out of her way. Anything else was impossible. So that was what he was going to do. Ignore her.
Chapter Five
It was a little after six when Mitch heard Alex walk by his office door. He glanced down at the report he’d been compiling, then at the clock above the fireplace in the far corner. Since Alex had arrived, he’d taken his meals later than usual so that he could avoid seeing her. He told himself it was because he preferred to eat alone rather than make idle small talk with someone he didn’t know. The real reason had been because he didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary in her presence. The attraction was difficult enough to control without fueling it with actual contact.
But something had changed, he thought as he tossed down his pencil and rose to his feet. That morning when they spoke, he’d seen her more as a person than as a woman he wanted. Dangerous territory, but one he apparently couldn’t avoid. Besides, if he was completely honest with himself, he would be willing to admit that he was lonely. John was never around much in the evenings, even when he was home, and Betty left at six. Since his folks had moved up to Washington, there wasn’t anyone to talk with once his workday ended. Betty kept ragging on him to get married, but he didn’t think he wanted to. Besides, how many woman actually got excited at the thought of living on a relatively isolated ranch?
He crossed the room and headed down the hall. Dating, he thought. He could start dating again. But the idea didn’t thrill him. The ranch demanded long hours, which made it difficult for him to meet anyone. He would want to get involved with an intelligent woman, someone challenging, but feminine. It wasn’t as if that sort of female simply showed up in a man’s life.
