“You need a hand with that?”
She looked up to see Colt striding across the yard toward her. His hat was pushed back, and he moved with the easy grace of a man accustomed to physical labor. He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead he picked up the newspapers in one hand by the knot of twine and carried them over to the woodpile.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Don’t worry about carrying those out,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t mind doing it,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I mind,” he said, but the hint of a smile on his lips softened his words. “You don’t need to do that for me.”
Jane met his gaze. “I’m pitching in.”
“Okay...” He paused for a moment, his eyes moving over her face. “I got a call from the credit union.”
“Oh?”
“They’ll have the money in my account in ten business days,” he said. “Then I’ll pay you.”
“Oh!” Jane nodded a couple of times. “As easy as that?”
“It would seem. We’ve already signed for the sale.”
“Right.” She felt a rush of emotion pass through her. This was it—the fresh start she and her girls needed so badly. And yet, it also meant that her time here at the Marshall ranch was through. “I suppose I should be heading out then. It’s all lined up.”
“You don’t have to go right away,” he said. “Why not stay for a few more days? You could do some riding.”
“This isn’t a vacation, Colt,” she said with a small smile.
“I want you to stay,” he said, his voice dropping and those dark eyes of his locking onto hers.
“This was only for a short time. We agreed on that,” she said.
“We agreed on that before we got to know each other better,” he countered. “I want you to stay. As my guest, or as an employee—whatever keeps you here. I’m not ready to just stop—” He didn’t finish the thought, and he broke eye contact then shuffled his boot in the dirt.
“Colt, this went further than it ever should,” she said quietly. “It doesn’t matter how we feel right now. We both know what we want for the long term. Don’t we? I don’t want an ex-boyfriend in my wake. I want a friend—the real kind.”
“We’ve slid past that,” he murmured, and he stepped close. “Way past it.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked up at Colt. His tender gaze met hers, and she didn’t have it in her to look away.
“I knew better...” she breathed. “I never should have...”
“Hey, I knew better, too,” he said. “But here we are. I told myself I just wanted to help you out. I wanted to make up for some of what you lost. I almost had myself convinced, too, but...” He brushed her hair away from her face and dipped his head down, catching her lips with his. Her eyes fluttered shut and Colt slipped his arms around her waist. She put her hands against his broad chest and pushed him back. He released her, his arms falling limp at his sides.
“You have helped me out,” she whispered hoarsely. She wished she could lean back into those strong arms, but she couldn’t. “You’ve been really nice.”
“Is that what you think this is?” Colt asked bitterly, and Jane’s heart skipped a beat in her chest. His glittering gaze drilled into hers, and he shook his head irritably. “Everything we’ve done together so far? This isn’t a guy being neighborly, Jane. This is a man in love with you!”
As soon as the words were out, Colt regretted them. What good did it do to tell her how he felt? Except he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He was nothing if not honest, even when it was better to keep his mouth shut.
“What?” she breathed.
Colt shut his eyes, trying to find that sense of self-control again, but it was gone. He’d said it because it was true. He shrugged helplessly. “I’m in love with you.”
“Colt, don’t say that.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Why not?” he demanded. “It’s the truth!”
“Because it doesn’t help us!” she retorted.
Maybe she didn’t feel it. Maybe she could flirt and open herself up without too much emotional toll on her, but he wasn’t made of the same stuff.
“Whatever this has been for you...I’m not the kind of guy who just plays around with hearts. I tried to keep my distance, but it just didn’t work, and there’s only one reason for that. So maybe it hasn’t meant as much to you, or—”
“It isn’t just you,” she sighed, putting a hand in the center of his chest again. She didn’t look up, and he put a finger under her chin to raise her face. Her brown eyes met his and he saw tears shining here.
“I didn’t think so...”
“But loving you doesn’t make this work!” she blurted out. “It only makes everything harder!”
“I need you around here. I don’t want to just watch you go.”
He stared down at this woman, her eyes glistening and his heart pounding with the force of his feelings. Why couldn’t she understand that?
“And then what?” she whispered. “What happens then, Colt?”
“Then we don’t have to say goodbye. We can...figure it out.”
“Figure out what?” she demanded. “I don’t want marriage, Colt! I’ve been the naive young thing falling in love and dreaming about happily-ever-after. But that isn’t me anymore. Marriage is hard. It’s draining. It’s two people trying to figure each other out and never quite managing. I can’t do it. I know what I can give, and I can’t be a wife again!”
Her words hit him solidly in the heart and made his chest ache. “I know,” he sighed. “But I feel the same way about what I can offer. I don’t want marriage, either. I haven’t been through the heartache that you have, but I’m equally scared of it. I don’t think I could survive a divorce.”
“So what happens if I stay?” she asked, shaking her head. “We try to be friends.
