Read Online Ring of Fire Book Two of the McKay's by Rita Hestand - Free Book Online
Authors: Rita Hestand
Ads: Link
ranch."
"You telling me you are lonely?" he mocked.
"Is that so hard to believe ?" Her expression changed.
He stared at her now, his eyes narrowing on her. "I don't know. Maybe it is…but maybe you should spend more time trying to get to know your sisters again. I'm sure all of you feel like a fish out of water. Your father died, things changed. Sometimes change can be hard to take. Sometimes it takes time to work out the kinks. But you are a big girl, I'm sure you can handle it."
"You don't want to be my friend, do you? " she asked, standing closer to him.
"As I see it, you are the boss, not a friend…" he remarked and turned away from her.
"The boss? How do you figure? Cade and Wade are the bosses around here." She fumed, pulling relentlessly on his arm to get his attention. "I just happen to be kin to the owner, of which is no longer around. People are…just people, Hank. Do you really believe one is actually better than another?"
" No…" Hank seemed to think about that for a moment. "But that isn't what we are debating here. Okay, so you are one of the owners. That's reason enough," Hank answered, jerking his arm free and not looking straight at her.
"Are you that old fashioned, that unreasonable?"
"I guess I am," he answered, looking down at her now. "I'm a cowboy, and not a rich one."
" Are you afraid of what people would say, or what you might feel?"
"Both, maybe…Now why don't you run along, I've got work to do."
Letty shook her head. "Men don't think like women, do they?"
"Probably not."
"I am a woman!" She barely breathed now, being affected by his nearness, their aloneness and the possibilities that presented.
"Of which I'm also well aware…" he remarked lowly, as his eyes went over her with renewed interest. She didn't miss his long bold stare.
Her mouth hung open with surprise that she had gotten this much information out of him.
But he suddenly turned on her and with a decided frown he looked down at her.
" You want it laid out for you? All right, here it is. You stand to inherit a huge sum of money. Every ranch hand on this place knows that. You will be financially secure for the rest of your life. I'm a cowboy, I make a modest living and I've learned to live on it. I can't afford fancy restaurants and high class places to dance all night. I'm not in the same category. We both know that. And yet…I am a man. I appreciate your beauty, your brains and your talents, but you are way up here, and I am way down here."
He demonstrated with his hands. "They just don't mix."
The man had no feelings, he existed by pure logic. How do I fight logic?
Yet s he saw a spark of something in his eyes that mesmerized her and she couldn't stop pushing him now. She wanted to know if he was human or not. If what she felt was one sided or not. He was closing doors in her face, and she didn't like that. There was no reason to do such a thing, unless he truly didn't like her.
Did he?
"I wasn't sure you noticed," she added cattily.
"Go back to the house where you belong ," he muttered, his jaw tightening, his hands fisting on the corral fence. "Before I do something we'll both be sorry for."
That did it! That changed everything. The very air seemed to stand still as though waiting. Tension was like an electrical bar standing between them, expanding like a rubber band, challenging them to move it.
He pulled the horse in front of them now as though shielding them from outside lookers.
"Like what?" she challenged.
" Like this," he barely whispered, as he faced her once more and looked into her eyes.
"I know better," he barely breathed as his head began to descend. "But just once… and to prove we are not made for each other like you seem to be imagining."
Dust, heat, and tension all mingled for a long moment, as his eyes sparkled into hers and then as though something beyond his will to use his head took hold, he pulled her unresisting body to him. He gave her time to pause, to rethink the situation,
"You telling me you are lonely?" he mocked.
"Is that so hard to believe ?" Her expression changed.
He stared at her now, his eyes narrowing on her. "I don't know. Maybe it is…but maybe you should spend more time trying to get to know your sisters again. I'm sure all of you feel like a fish out of water. Your father died, things changed. Sometimes change can be hard to take. Sometimes it takes time to work out the kinks. But you are a big girl, I'm sure you can handle it."
"You don't want to be my friend, do you? " she asked, standing closer to him.
"As I see it, you are the boss, not a friend…" he remarked and turned away from her.
"The boss? How do you figure? Cade and Wade are the bosses around here." She fumed, pulling relentlessly on his arm to get his attention. "I just happen to be kin to the owner, of which is no longer around. People are…just people, Hank. Do you really believe one is actually better than another?"
" No…" Hank seemed to think about that for a moment. "But that isn't what we are debating here. Okay, so you are one of the owners. That's reason enough," Hank answered, jerking his arm free and not looking straight at her.
"Are you that old fashioned, that unreasonable?"
"I guess I am," he answered, looking down at her now. "I'm a cowboy, and not a rich one."
" Are you afraid of what people would say, or what you might feel?"
"Both, maybe…Now why don't you run along, I've got work to do."
Letty shook her head. "Men don't think like women, do they?"
"Probably not."
"I am a woman!" She barely breathed now, being affected by his nearness, their aloneness and the possibilities that presented.
"Of which I'm also well aware…" he remarked lowly, as his eyes went over her with renewed interest. She didn't miss his long bold stare.
Her mouth hung open with surprise that she had gotten this much information out of him.
But he suddenly turned on her and with a decided frown he looked down at her.
" You want it laid out for you? All right, here it is. You stand to inherit a huge sum of money. Every ranch hand on this place knows that. You will be financially secure for the rest of your life. I'm a cowboy, I make a modest living and I've learned to live on it. I can't afford fancy restaurants and high class places to dance all night. I'm not in the same category. We both know that. And yet…I am a man. I appreciate your beauty, your brains and your talents, but you are way up here, and I am way down here."
He demonstrated with his hands. "They just don't mix."
The man had no feelings, he existed by pure logic. How do I fight logic?
Yet s he saw a spark of something in his eyes that mesmerized her and she couldn't stop pushing him now. She wanted to know if he was human or not. If what she felt was one sided or not. He was closing doors in her face, and she didn't like that. There was no reason to do such a thing, unless he truly didn't like her.
Did he?
"I wasn't sure you noticed," she added cattily.
"Go back to the house where you belong ," he muttered, his jaw tightening, his hands fisting on the corral fence. "Before I do something we'll both be sorry for."
That did it! That changed everything. The very air seemed to stand still as though waiting. Tension was like an electrical bar standing between them, expanding like a rubber band, challenging them to move it.
He pulled the horse in front of them now as though shielding them from outside lookers.
"Like what?" she challenged.
" Like this," he barely whispered, as he faced her once more and looked into her eyes.
"I know better," he barely breathed as his head began to descend. "But just once… and to prove we are not made for each other like you seem to be imagining."
Dust, heat, and tension all mingled for a long moment, as his eyes sparkled into hers and then as though something beyond his will to use his head took hold, he pulled her unresisting body to him. He gave her time to pause, to rethink the situation,
Similar Books
