Page 74 of The Outlaw and the Heir

"Men," she muttered, frowning down at the trail. "You all like to act as though you make things simple, but that's not always a virtue. Some things deserve to be as complex as they should be and not reduced to the narrowest definition."

"Have you considered that your perspective is a little skewed?"

"How so?"

"Don't get me wrong. I don't envy being the only daughter of a ranch owner in the middle of nowhere, stuck playing the dutiful daughter and debutante when you’d probably be more at home doing things like this every day. But what you pointed out about my current circumstances has been your circumstances your whole life."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that you don't know what it means to truly struggle, to wonder where the next meal is going to come from, and what you'll have to do to get that meal. Or what you might have to do to find a decent place to sleep and even when you do, wondering if a blade might find you in the night, or perhaps a wild animal because you had to sleep away from civilization just to be safe. It's easy to preach philosophy and complexity when your life has never been reduced to the age-old simplicity of survive or die."

She stared at me, trusting the horse to know the path, unconsciously tugging the reins as her horse started veering as if trying to turn around. "Not one person has ever spoken to me like that."

I raised a brow. “I can't imagine that living with your family has meant you’ve never once been told you were wrong or thinking about things the wrong way."

She smirked. “Please, you should know that's not the case. But it's the first time a man has ever told me I'm wrong and explained it like...well, like I was a man."

"You're a woman," I said with a shrug. "And for what it's worth, not everywhere is as restrictive about what women should or shouldn't do as they are around here. There's quite a few places in this part of the country that don't look at women as any different...for the most part. And I bet your husband has treated you a lot better than you're making out."

"Not at first," she said with a snort, frowning at the horse and then forward toward the path. "It took him a while to understand that the Elizabeth he knew in public was not the same person as Lizzie behind closed doors."

"Oh?"

"Get that lecherous tone out of your voice...though that is true too. Even women have their needs."

"You don't need to tell me that. I'm well aware."

"Are you?"

"What, am I so hideous and lacking in charm that you don't think I’ve known a woman?"

She glanced at me, her brow furrowing. “I never said that."

"Mmm," I hummed, wondering where she had been going with that thought originally before shifting tactics slightly. "And for what it might be worth to you, I think your father would be more cosmopolitan than you give him credit for."

"How so?"

"Well, he hasn't interfered in Ambrose's deal with you."

"I love Ambrose, but he can be exceptionally dense at times. He may not realize it, but I know our father trusts him more than he trusts others by far and certainly more than Ambrose would ever consider."

"And you are your father's daughter."

"Now there's a compliment and insult all rolled into one that I've never heard before."

At that, I winked at her. “You know, if circumstances and...other things were different, I might be tempted to betray your brother's trust and try to seduce you. As I said before, you are a woman after my own heart."

At that, she snorted derisively. “Other things."

"Is that funny?" I wondered, feeling a trickle of unease down my spine at the suspicious, almost knowing in her voice.

"Perhaps," she said, her eyes going up to the rocks above and then down to the ground again.

"You're looking a little peaked," I said, raising a brow and giving her a curious look. Something most certainly had her attention, but I couldn't tell what it was. But I knew better than to speak too openly, even if we were out in the middle of nowhere with only the two of us around.

"I need to take a break for a moment and drink some water," she said in her normal volume, giving me a slight shake of her head. "I think I left it in your saddle bag."

"Let me get it," I said. "Couldn't bring yourself even to have your horse carry it for you? And here I was, just getting ready to say you aren't that spoiled."

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