Page 35 of Deadly Evidence
“I want you to stay home tonight.”
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise.”
Armed with her Ruger, she was more than enough match for anyone daring to cross her land, whether Brady thought so or not.
“I can’t afford to stay home and risk losing my cattle. Dante found a section of fence cut yesterday. Not just down, butcut.My problems aren’t over.”
He pinned her with a searching gaze for a moment, then set his coffee mug on the porch railing and rested his hands on her shoulders. “This is important.”
His words registered, even if she didn’t intend to obey.
But unfortunately, the warmth of his hands registered, as well—all the way to her bones. Just that simple touch stirred up emotions she’d avoided for a long, long time. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
Maybe he felt it too, because his gaze turned dark and smoky.
He blinked and stepped back. “I...” He faltered, then found his voice. “I mean it, Anna. I’ve got to stake out a spot a few miles from here, and there’ll be other agents positioned out on the highway to take up pursuit if our tip was correct. You and the others need to stay here, where you’ll be safe and out of the way.”
She gave a vague nod.
“Why,” he muttered with obvious exasperation, “are you so stubborn?”
“Why,” she challenged, “is a woman with a mind of her own calledstubborn,while the same sort of man is calledassertive? But of course, I won’t interfere. I want this all over as soon as possible.”
A long silence stretched between them as their eyes locked once more, and she sensed that if she didn’t move, he was going to kiss her. It seemed as inevitable as the scorching Texas heat of summer or the rise of the moon at night.
The light brush of his mouth against hers felt like a sweet promise. Wrapping a gentle hand behind her head, he kissed her again, at once tender and gently possessive.
It had been so long since anyone had kissed her.Yearssince anyone had made her feel this way. But this was wrong.Once his work was done here, he would be gone for good.
She stared at him, feeling unfocused and completely embarrassed. “I don’t usually—I mean—you’re just here as part of your job. Nothing more than that.”
“You’re right. Nothing more.”
He fell silent for moment. “So, how’s everything going?”
His question, so ordinary after the most extraordinary kiss she’d ever had, caught her by surprise.
If he could slip back into the mundane so quickly, he hadn’t been nearly as affected as she.
It wouldn’t happen again.
“I have to haul a load of cattle to auction tomorrow afternoon. Jonah’s not feeling well, and Vicente probably won’t be able to do anything for four to six weeks. I’m not too happy with him right now, to tell you the truth.”
“He’s not a good patient?”
“He totally blew off his granddaughter’s arrival and won’t listen to a thing I say. The poor girl came clear across this entire country by bus, only to be completely ignored. Why on earth would Vicente treat her that way?”
“We’ve got four new foals, Grandpa,” Anna said as she helped Jonah swing his legs down to the floor.
Hooking his arms over her shoulders, she grabbed the belt at the small of his back and helped him move slowly to the window.
He grunted in response as she helped him turn and ease into his chair.
His hands were shaking more today, despite the medication, and he’d had more trouble than usual with his supper.
He wouldn’t let anyone help him, of course, and with half of his dinner in his lap, he hadn’t gotten nearly enough to eat before shoving the bedside table away and refusing the rest.
That pride had led to the loss of a good thirty pounds over the past six months, and he didn’t have much more to lose.
