“What if I moved out here?”
Surprise widened her eyes. “Where?”
He shrugged. “Here?”
“Here!” Her mouth went dry and perspiration cloaked her forehead.
“Yes.” Slade rose. “There’s got to be something that could work.” He began to pace as though he needed to keep moving in order to gather momentum. “Maybe we could get married? For Mindy.” The second he said those words, he halted, his eyes huge with shock.
“Married?” Stunned, Tory watched him begin walking again from the swing to one end of the porch, then back.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Yes, married,” Slade said, moving toward her. He came to sit across from her, pulling his chair closer so that his knees were only inches from hers, the shock replaced with enthusiasm. “I could help you with this ranch. You could hire someone to assist you. You’ve been worried about money. With my expansion nearly completed, my company’s going to be doing well. Money won’t be a problem. We could help each other.”
Still stunned, Tory listened to his words as though she were a bystander observing the scene from above. She had a hard time getting past the word married. “But—” Nothing else came to mind.
“Don’t answer me right now. Think about it. We’re friends. We both care for Mindy. You would be a terrific mother for her. In fact, I can’t think of anyone better for that role. Mindy needs someone like you in her life on a permanent basis. This could be a good partnership.” The eagerness in his voice made his words rush together.
Marriage? Partnership? Was that a possibility? She’d given up hope of ever getting married, even though she wasn’t quite thirty. She’d given up hope of ever trusting enough to have a real marriage. Desperate, Tory grasped on to a sane rational reason not to go through with his proposal. “Marriage is a serious step. There’re so many things involved.”
Leaning forward, he clasped her hands. “I know. That’s why I don’t want you to give me an answer right away. Think about it.”
“You should, too.” The intensity in his gaze burned heat into her cheeks. “I mean we aren’t in l—” She couldn’t seem to say the word. It lumped together in her throat and refused to come out.
“We aren’t in love?” One brow quirked. “No, but we are good friends. I can tell you things I haven’t told another. I trust you one hundred percent with my daughter.”
The last sentence produced a surge of pride. For a moment she relished that feeling, but then reality took over, bringing her back to the problem at hand. “But what if you find someone later who you fall in love with and want to marry? To me, marriage is forever.”
A shadow crossed over his face, darkening his eyes as if a storm gathered in them. He pulled away and stood. “I won’t. I had that once in my life.” He paused, angled his head and asked, “But have you?”
Tension constricted her muscles until she had to force herself to relax. The drill of his gaze prodded her to answer by shaking her head. She didn’t think she could ever trust someone that completely that she could let down her guard and fall in love. To be in love was to give more of herself than she thought possible.
“Then perhaps you’ll fall in love one day and want to marry?”
She came to her feet, face-to-face with him, only a yard separating them. “No, I won’t.”
“Why not? You have so much to offer any man.”
But not you, came unbidden into her mind, and she wondered why her heart contracted with that thought. She knew she needed to say something, but what? Silence stretched between them; the only sound drifting to her was from the people talking on the television show Mindy was watching.
Slade took one step closer. “Why not, Tory? You’re a warm, generous person. You would be a perfect mother. I’ve seen you with Mindy and the other children you work with.”
She wanted to back away, but the chair was behind her. For a few seconds she felt trapped, her heart quickening its pace, her breathing becoming shallow. No, this is Slade. A friend. Mindy’s father. Someone she’d been alone with many times. She forced deep breaths into her lungs and said, “I was badly hurt once.”
“What happened?”
The question, spoken low, the words laced with compassion, focused all of Tory’s attention on the man before her. Painful memories, buried deep, threatened to swamp her. She shoved them back into the dark recesses of her mind, where she was determined they would remain. “Not important now.”
He covered the small space between them and took her hands. “I’m a good listener.”
The warm, comforting wrap of his fingers about hers attested to the man she had come to know, a man who loved his daughter so much he would marry Tory to give Mindy a mother. “I know.”
“When you’re ready, I’ll be here for you.”
His quiet statement mesmerized her. She found herself leaning closer, the scent of his lime aftershave enveloping her in a protective cocoon. He released one hand and cupped her face. She stared into the blue depths of his eyes, no longer stormy but gleaming like diamonds on water. She felt herself become lost, drawn toward his kindness. Was it possible to be more than friends? The honking sound of a flock of geese flying overhead broke Tory’s trance.
She pulled back and to the side, forcing a smile to her dry lips. “I appreciate your offer, but to me what has happened in the past is best left in the
