laughter… to more yearning.
And it occurred to her in that shocking moment of clarity that somewhere along the way, she had no idea when, she'd lost the last of her protective barriers with him. He'd torn down her brick wall, the one protecting her heart, one brick at a time.
She was bare. Vulnerable.
No. No, she wouldn't allow it, not when he wasn't the same way. She backed to the door, reaching blindly for it.
He blinked and whistled low and long, and shook his head. 'The way you do that, switch gears so fast, is positively frightening.' He leaned close, so close she could see specks of blue light dancing in his gray eyes, and they were no longer light and happy. 'Go on, run inside. Run away from this, from me.'
'I'm not running.'
'Yeah? Then tell me how you feel about me.'
His challenging voice wasn't what penetrated, but his eyes. They weren't sharp and daring, but… needy? Wait a minute… the tough, unshakable Ty Jackson needy?
'Know what I think?' he asked, his voice low and taunting. 'I think you're crazy about me, about your sisters, too. But you can't even say so.'
She cuddled the kitten close, unwilling to expose her emotions when he hadn't done so first. 'What do you know about love, Ty?'
His eyes shuttered and he stepped back, alarmingly distant. 'We're not talking about me.'
But suddenly she wanted to be. 'No, tell me. What makes you such an expert on this subject? You're alone, too.'
He stared at her, then looked at the sky for a moment, then at the kitten, and finally, back to her. 'I used to be an expert,' he said, his voice rough. 'I loved my brother.' He swore softly, shoved his fingers through his dark hair and abruptly turned away. 'I'm behind on chores.'
'Ty, wait-' He didn't stop and she let out a despairing sound, knowing his temper now was spurred by pain, pain she'd brought to the surface. 'Ty!'
His long legs churned up the distance to his truck. His wide shoulders were hunched, his hands stuffed in his pockets, as if he carried the weight of the world. But somewhere under all that bunched muscle and frustration beat a wonderful, caring heart.
She was holding proof of that heart. 'Dammit.' She snuggled the kitten and ran after him.
He had the truck running when she caught him. 'Go inside,' he said wearily, looking straight ahead, even when she leaned in his opened window.
'I want to talk.'
'You want to be real sure about that, Zoe.' He turned then and searched her gaze with his tortured one. 'Because when we talk it's going to go both ways, and there won't be any holding back.'
Involuntarily she stepped away and he let out a laugh completely void of amusement. Anguish settled in his eyes. 'Go away, Zoe.'
And he drove off.
The truth was hard to deny when it was staring her in the face. Zoe pushed back the set of books she'd been working on, bent her weary head on her arms and sighed.
'Mew.'
'Hey, Socks.' Not exactly an original name for a red kitten with white paws, but it worked for them. Socks butted his head gently against Zoe's hand until she relented and petted him.
He dropped to her papers, sprawled spread-eagled on his back and started to purr, making her smile. Her sisters loved him. And seeing their happy, laughing faces had been a great reward. Their happiness meant everything to her.
She was happy, wasn't she? Even if they were still drowning in financial woes. They had fixed up the bare minimum on the house. They'd put the barn in shape, ignoring for now the series of cottages on the edge of the property. They continued to lease part of the land to Ty, which, at the moment, was the only solvent part of the ranch.
The problem was the price of stock was high this year, higher than anticipated. They couldn't afford both livestock and crew. One or the other, yet they needed both.
Bottom line-they were still short money.
It was so frustrating, she wanted to scream. Grim and bleak, with energy pulsing through her, Zoe got up. She scooped up Socks and gently set him in Maddie's dark, silent bedroom, where she knew the kitten would find a warm, welcome bed.
The night was complete, the moon just a sliver against the black sky. Long silver clouds streaked across, blanketing the stars from view.
Zoe passed her truck-too much blood pumping through her veins for a sedentary ride. Instead, she started running, letting the cool night take her.
Ten minutes later, breath puffing, she stopped at the end of Ty's drive, uncertain.
Why had she come here?
Telling herself it was to see Danny, not his owner, she walked toward Ty's barn.
A shadow emerged in front of her, shifting into the shape of a man. Ty. He wore black jeans, a black shirt and a black expression to match, and as he stood there watching her, his face impassive and stoic, something passed between them, belying that very distance.
He felt it to his toes, then cursed himself for it.
'I wanted to see Danny,' she said defiantly.
'Zoe,' he said wearily, slipping his hands in his pockets to keep them off her. 'Truth.'
'Okay, truth.' Her jaw tightened. 'I don't have what it takes to get the ranch going.'
The admission startled him, and her misery tore at something deep inside. Despite his resolve to stay the hell away, he took a step toward her. 'Of course you do.'
'No.' Impatient, she shook her head. 'I mean, we don't have enough money. Something has to give, only there's nothing left. I've checked the numbers a hundred times.'
Her frustration felt like his own. 'I tried to make your loan bigger.'
'You gave us enough.'
'Your pride doesn't belong here.' He got angry because her grim eyes were too hard to take. The last time he'd seen eyes so despairing, he'd been looking into Ben's dying face. And into that dying face he'd made a promise that haunted him to this very day. 'You could let me buy-'
'No.' She whirled around in a circle, staring into the dark at his small spread. 'I want to make it work. I want…' Her shoulders sagged and her voice broke. 'I want it all. Dammit, is that so wrong?'
She covered her face and her suffering was too much for him to bear. 'It's okay,' he whispered, coming close and setting his hands on her shoulders. Gently he drew her close, cursing himself as he did. 'It's going to be okay.'
'How can I be so close and fail?'
Same reason he could be so close to her, could see her for what she was-a woman determined to never need another soul-and still so desperately want her for himself. 'You won't fail, Zoe. It's not in you.'
Determination filled her fierce expression, but she hugged him back, her body willing to trust him for comfort even if her mind wasn't.
'It seems obvious to me.' Cade took another bite, moaned with pleasure, winked at Maddie and spoke again. 'A guest ranch.'
Zoe sputtered, nearly choking on her iced tea. 'A what?'
