She gritted her teeth. “It’s important work. And I’m proud to be doing it.”
Rocco gave a harsh laugh. “I guess there’s cosmic justice in that. I’ve spent a lifetime tearing the world apart. You’ll spend a lifetime putting it back together.”
Mandy watched Rocco, assessing him. Having a conversation with him was like licking a cactus. No matter what she said, she got a mouthful of thorns in return. She refused to sink to his level of fury.
Her gaze shifted to the floor, but his long legs filled her vision. His thighs were nicely formed. She dragged her eyes off his legs and absently wondered if Kit would come back as broken as Rocco. She tried not to think about Ty Bladen, the third member of their unholy trio. He’d always scared her. If he came home any angrier than he was when he left, he’d probably have to be locked up.
“How’s your milkshake?” she asked Rocco, forcing her mind to different thoughts.
He looked at his nearly empty glass. “Cold.” He swallowed the last of the thick drink and set it on the counter, then straightened. “Thank you.”
“Sure. Listen, Rocco, I need you to take your meals with me from now on.”
“That a condition of employment?” he asked, arching a dark brow at her.
“It is.”
“I don’t eat breakfast. And likely it won’t be convenient for me to stop work when you’ve got lunch ready.”
Mandy drew herself to her full height, which was less than strategic given that he had more than six inches on her. And even though he was lean, he was all muscle. “What part of a condition of employment didn’t you understand?”
“I don’t need a goddamned mother. I can feed myself.”
“And yet you don’t.” They stood almost chest-to-chest. This was so not good. She liked the way he smelled. Dark stubble shadowed his chin and jaw. His black eyes were utterly devoid of warmth. If he didn’t yield, there was only one way she could force his compliance. “Don’t make me call Kit.”
His brows lowered. “That’s a dirty trick.”
She smiled. “But useful. We’ll settle on suppers. Do you have any food allergies?”
“No.”
“Any dishes you’ve been craving? Any requests you’d like to put in?”
His gaze moved over her face, lingering on her lips. It took him the length of a breath to answer. “No.”
And of course, lacking any sense of self-preservation, Mandy asked one last question. “Are you a vegetarian?”
His lips parted on an inhaled hiss. He leaned close, bracing his hands on either side of the counter behind her, so close that she had to arch her neck.
“I. Eat. Meat.”
Mandy closed her eyes, feeling the rumble of his voice as it left his body and entered hers. Oh. God. And then the air cooled around her. When she opened her eyes, the kitchen door was closing behind him. She stared at it, wishing she didn’t feel what she felt.
Rocco was not the type of guy a rational woman would start mooning over. It was his eyes. They were so intense, so eloquent, that she couldn’t help but imagine how he would look at her if they were ever to be intimate. It would be as if she were the only woman in the world, the only woman for him.
She crossed her arms, yanking herself from such foolish thoughts. Rocco was a long way from being ready for a relationship. He couldn’t even touch anyone-how could the two of them be intimate? No, they weren’t meant to be. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be here for him. She owed it to her brother.
Chapter 6
Mandy forced herself to rise with the sun the next morning. She’d barely slept the night before; her dreams were so filled with a certain granite face and dark eyes. What would Rocco be like to kiss? Gentle and tender? Rough and edgy? Hurried and self-focused? Just thinking of him made her feel warm inside. She was definitely crushing on him. Not a good thing-she would never have carnal knowledge of him. Best accept that and move on.
She showered, then hurried to get breakfast prepared. He’d said he didn’t eat in the morning, but she hoped that if she simply presented him with food, he’d take some of it. Besides, it gave her an excuse to run into him this morning.
Mandy loaded a tray with the morning meal, then started down toward the bunkhouse. Hearing someone inside the toolshed, she detoured that way. The big overhead door was open. Rocco was inside, loading up Kitano’s feed and water buckets. He wore his running gear-loose pants and a T-shirt. She let her gaze roam over the muscles in his back as he filled the water bucket and carried it to the hand wagon.
As soon as he turned to her, she forced herself to look at his face. “Morning!” she greeted him cheerily.
He looked from her to the tray, then back again. He nodded at her. “What’s that?”
“Breakfast. I didn’t want to eat alone. I thought I’d catch you before you started on the fence.” She set the tray on the counter where her gutted weed whacker had been. It now hung on one of the walls, next to several other farm tools.
He didn’t come any closer. “We agreed on suppers.”
Mandy shrugged. “There’s more than I can eat here. Just have a bite. I have coffee for you,” she offered, hoping to tempt him.
He frowned at her, clearly not pleased. He washed his hands at the utility sink, then walked toward her. Prowled toward her, actually. “Anyone ever tell you you’re persistent as hell?”
Mandy handed him a cup of coffee. “Why would I back down when winning is important?”
“If I eat, what do you win?”
“Not what I win, it’s what you win. You get your health back.”
“What makes you think I’m not healthy?”
“Besides the day terrors? You’re not sleeping. You’re not eating. You work twenty hours a day.”
He sipped his coffee, watching her over the rim. “If I eat, I’ll be doing what you want. What will you do for me in exchange?” As he asked, his gaze lowered from her eyes to her mouth.
Mandy had to wait until her heartbeat slowed down before answering. “What do you want in exchange?”
“A secret. I want you to tell me something about yourself that Kit doesn’t know, that no one else knows.”
“I don’t have secrets.”
“Everyone has secrets. You broke a law. You cheated. You smoked pot.”
“Can I lie?” she hedged.
“Hell, no.”
“Fine.” She filled a plate for him, loading it up with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and fruit. “Eat your breakfast. All of it. When you’re finished, I’ll tell you my secret.”
He took the plate and glared at the food. “If you renege, you’ll regret it.”
Mandy bit her bottom lip. What the heck was she supposed to tell him? She really didn’t have any dark secrets. She hadn’t broken the law. And she didn’t smoke pot. She’d never stolen anything. And she never, ever, cheated.
They ate in silence. She knew he watched her. Her face was flushed-she was uncomfortably warm beneath his silent perusal. Too soon, he set his empty plate back on the work counter.
He quirked an eyebrow. “Time to pay the piper.”
Mandy had barely touched her meal. And now her stomach knotted. She looked up at Rocco. He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer.
“When I was a very young girl,” she sighed, wishing she didn’t have to tell him this, “I had a crush on Ty Bladen.”
Rocco’s brows lifted in shock at her confession. He barked with laughter. “Blade? You were hot for Blade?”
“I was a kid. I wasn’t
