Page 23 of Deadly Evidence
The veiled criticism in his voice grated against Anna’s nerves—all the more because Lacey knew better than to stray very far, but sometimes she did it anyway.
“We aren’t in the big city, Mr. Coleman. There are few of us on this ranch and there aren’t any neighbors for miles. It’s broad daylight.”
Brady leaned back in his chair and crossed a booted foot across his opposite knee. “Even during the day, I don’t want to take chances.”
The reminder hit her like a bucket of ice water down her back. “Neither do I.”
“Have you said anything to her about me?”
“Nothing. She was at camp, and I haven’t seen her since she got back.”
He lifted a brow. “Well, when I told her I’d be working here for a while, I got the feeling that she’d like to drop me into the nearest rattlesnake-filled ravine.”
Not a good start, then, and knowing Lacey, she was already planning to make life difficult for him. “I haven’t dated much over the years, and she hasn’t taken well to the idea when I have. Maybe she thinks you’re potential trouble.”
“Then she’s a potential problem.” Brady uncrossed his ankle and leaned forward to brace his hands on the rim of her desk. “No one but you should know why I’m here. Not even her. Can you deal with her, without giving her any detailed explanations?”
“Dealwith her?” Anna dropped her voice a good ten degrees. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“She’s upset about me being here. If she gets suspicious or says the wrong thing to someone in town, she could jeopardize this entire operation.”
“And?”
“And when I asked her to stay here, she just took off on her horse. What if there’s real trouble brewing and she refuses to listen?”
“Why would she think she had to listen to a total stranger?” Anna leveled a stern look at him. “I’ll talk to her. But I can’t guarantee that she won’t be asking you some tough questions. She’s going to wonder why I’ve never mentioned you before.”
“You couldn’t have told her about everyone you ever met when you went off to college.” He gazed at her thoughtfully. “Platonic or otherwise.”
“I’m trying to avoid lying to my family and neighbors, Coleman, and I’m still uncomfortable regarding what to say when you leave.”
“That I was interested, and you weren’t, I guess.” He flashed a wicked grin. “That would be believable, wouldn’t it?”
“Hardly,” she muttered. “Why would a guy like you be swept off his feet by a woman who practically lives on a horse and doesn’t even own a dress?”
He laughed at that and reached across the desk to take her hand. “You have no idea how beautiful you are.”
She knew he was only being kind, but the contact of his hand on hers instantly quickened her heartbeat.
Their eyes met, and something indefinable passed between them, reminding her of just how dangerous this ruse was.
To him, it was simply a cover so he could do his job.
But to her, after just a few days, it was getting harder to remember the line between fiction and reality.
It would be all too easy to become entranced by those warm, compelling eyes and to imagine things that would never be.
He, on the other hand, would soon leave here without a backward glance.
Brady abruptly released her hand, leaned back in his chair, and cleared his throat. “On to other things. There’ll be times I need to go to town—like tomorrow—so try to think up errands for me. At least the first time, I’d like you to come along.”
“An eighty-mile round trip to town isn’t something I do often,” she said dryly as she scanned the calendar on her desk. “But I could try to move up my appointment with the banker. What else?”
“I’ll also be doing surveillance most nights—you can assign me to watch your herd then, given the cattle you’ve lost in the past. But sometimes I’ll need to be in other places as well.”
“And what about me?”
“Just stay absolutely clear of any action that happens here. That goes for your family and hired hands as well.” His voice lowered as he caught her gaze with the intensity of his own. “The less everyone knows, the better.”
