Looking at the doorknob like it was a dirty bomb, she breathed in deeply, digging deep for bravery. She prayed she could control her emotions and not allow Creed to conjure up the wickedness within her. Stepping inside, she was met with a pleasant combination of vanilla, leather and masculinity. Closing the door, she couldn’t see much. The curtains were drawn on the windows and so it took her a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. She scanned the dimly lit room and found him sitting on the sofa, his legs stretched out and hooked on the coffee table and the TV tuned to a sports channel. He didn’t even look away from the football game.
“You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” Creed complained.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?”
He jumped up from the sofa and turned on the lamp. The golden light filled the space, exposing his surprised expression. “Yes…I mean, no. I thought you were Boone. He was supposed to come by.” A man like Creed wasn’t caught off guard too often. Did he think he needed to gear up for round two?
She waved her invisible peace flag through a smile. He looked good, always did. His wavy dark hair looked like he’d just woken up from a hard night’s sleep. He’d recently shaven but he had a new layer of whiskers. His broad shoulders stretched the knit of the long-sleeved, checked button down. Creed could easily be described as dangerously masculine, sexy and brooding. All those physical characteristics were great, but his eyes…she’d always been a sucker for those denim blues.
But she hadn’t come to admire his good looks.
She’d come to find resolution. To find even ground.
“Let me turn this off.” After clicking off the TV, he replaced the remote in the basket on the table. “I didn’t expect you. Are you angry with me again?”
“No, that’s not why I came.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I came to apologize.” She laughed at his surprised expression.
“You? Apologize? What’s the catch?”
Oh, there was certainly a catch, not that she knew what that looked like. She needed to prepare herself, and him. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
He reshaped his expression into indifference. “Fine. I accept it.”
“Can I have a seat?”
“Sure.”
She took a seat on a worn, flowered chair, crossed her legs, as he sat back down on the sofa. Her every intention had been to stay professional, keep this on a business level, but the way his perceptive gaze seemed to search her soul sent professionalism out the window. They had too much history between them to forget.
“You were angry. I get it.”
“I was. It was a shock to learn what Daddy had done.” She plucked at a loose thread on her best sundress. “But that doesn’t excuse my behavior for storming into your work and venting. I reacted impulsively.” Her throat constricted.
“Does that hurt?”
“What?”
“To admit you’re wrong. You look like it hurts.”
“Maybe I was wrong that you and I could have a talk.” She stood.
“Come on. Sit back down. I’ll keep my pestering to a limit. I promise.”
Sitting back down, she clasped her hands in her lap. “I’d appreciate that.” He had the upper hand in this and she didn’t like it.
“Did you finally have a heart to heart with Rusty?”
“I don’t think heart to heart would surmise the conversation, but yes, we did have a discussion.” She felt a surge of impatience. “I can’t, and won’t, say that I understand why he didn’t speak to me first, but crying over spilled milk won’t do any of us any good. I’d like to speak to you about a proposition.”
“I’m not selling the land back to you,” he blurted.
“That’s not what I’m wanting.”
“Then what?”
The next part was hard to say. “Whether you realize it or not I love Sage Ranch. It has always been my home. Truthfully, I don’t want to run Sage Ranch. I only want to buy back a portion of the land.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not? I’m only wanting to be able to ride horses along the west ridge, where the old barn is. You know that’s my favorite place on the property.”
“Mindy, you’re welcome to ride anywhere on the ranch.” He scooted to the edge of the cushion.
“It’s not the same. It will no longer belong to the Sage family. What if I wanted to build a house along the ridge?”
“Do you?”
“Maybe.”
“Save your breath. I’m not selling.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Your sweet facade is slipping.”
“And you said you’d keep the pestering to a limit. You are refusing to consider my offer.”
“That’s right. I am.”
She laid her hands on the arms of the chair, squeezing. “What will you do with all the land? You have this farm and now most of Sage Ranch. I’m only asking for twenty acres. You’ll barely miss it.”
“Twenty acres? You talk as if that’s nothing.”
“Okay. I’ll compromise. Ten.”
“Forget it.”
“Won’t you think about it?”
“To sell to you so you can build a house? I thought you were going back to California?”
“I never said that would happen.”
“I’m not interested in selling prime land to someone who never showed interest in it for over nineteen years.”
“You’re really being unfair.”
“Call it what you like. Just so you know, I want to build a place on that plot of land, and now that it’s mine, I can.”
“You’re only saying that to bother me.” She couldn’t believe her ears.
“Dad! Where’s grandma?”
Mindy jumped at the voice. A beautiful teen stepped into the room from the hallway. Her dark curly hair bounced around her heart shaped face. The teen lost her confidence in the surprise at finding Mindy sitting in the living room.
Blue, curious
