Karen saw that she was going about this all wrong, but she was still sorting through her emotions herself. How could she be expected to explain them so Grady would understand? She knew, looking into his shadowed eyes, though, that she had to try, or they would be lost before they’d even begun. He had too much pride to stay with a woman whose heart would always belong to someone else.
“You like steak, right?” she asked.
He was clearly startled by the question. “You’re going to get into a discussion of beef with me?”
“Just hear me out,” she pleaded. “I’m trying to say this so you’ll understand. Do you like steak?”
“I’m a cattle rancher. What do you think?”
“Okay, then—are all cuts of beef the same?”
“Of course not.”
“So, they’re the same, but different?” she prodded.
“Yes,” he agreed, though he still looked puzzled by the analogy.
“A plain old strip steak is tasty, right? Enjoyable?”
He nodded.
“But a filet takes it to a different level, wouldn’t you agree?”
Understanding flared in his eyes, followed quickly by a hint of pure arrogance. “Are you saying I’m filet?”
She bit back a smile at the typically male response. “In a manner of speaking, but I wouldn’t gloat about it if I were you,” she warned. “I’m still not all that sure I’m ready for a steady diet of filet.”
He grinned for the first time all morning. “I’ll bet I can change your mind.”
She regarded him with a mixture of amusement and impatience. “Men,” she muttered. “Give them a compliment and it goes straight to their heads.”
“Or other parts of their anatomy,” Grady said, taking a step in her direction, then another, until he had her backed against a stall door.
When his mouth slanted across hers, her pulse leaped and her doubts fled. The kiss was persuasive, needy, maybe just a little desperate. But then, she was feeling a little desperate herself.
Feeling her senses swim, she was somehow reassured that last night’s reaction hadn’t been a fluke. Passion seethed just beneath the surface once again, ready to claim her and him.
Just not here and not now, she thought with a resigned sigh as Grady moved away, clearly satisfied by having made his point—that he could make her crave filet…crave him…anytime he wanted.
That knowledge filled her with hope, and guilt, all over again. But the guilt wasn’t as sharp somehow, she realized with a sense of bemusement. And that was something she would have to wrestle with another time.
* * *
Grady needed to get away. He’d claimed a victory of sorts with Karen in the barn. He’d gotten an admission from her that she wanted him just as badly now as she had the night before, even if she had a few demons left to fight.
But the temptation to haul her back upstairs was a little too powerful. That wasn’t the answer for either of them. A little time and space were called for.
He sent her in to fix them both the breakfast they’d missed earlier, then went in search of Dooley to make sure he and Hank would be around to keep an eye on things. Assured that they wouldn’t let Karen out of their sight, he joined her in the kitchen.
Over bacon and eggs, he announced his intention of going back to his place to make sure his foreman had everything under control and to pick up the things he’d need for the next few days.
“Now who’s running scared?” she taunted.
“Maybe I am,” he agreed, then offered, “You could always come along.”
He watched her as she considered the challenge, then shook her head.
“No, I have things to do around here.”
He regarded her intently, then warned, “If you leave the house, make sure Dooley or Hank knows where you are. Preferably take one of them with you.”
She nodded.
Grady paused by her chair and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “We’re going to work this out, darlin’. All of it.”
“I know,” she said softly, but with more conviction than she’d ever expressed before.
Once Grady was on the road, he found that the solitude he’d wanted wasn’t nearly as comforting as he’d anticipated or hoped for. Increasingly impatient, he floored the accelerator and made it to his ranch in record time. Too restless to deal with the packing he’d intended to do, he went to the stables and saddled the fastest, most temperamental horse he owned. He needed a hard ride and a challenge. He didn’t miss the irony of knowing that Karen had crept out of the house that morning, feeling the exact same desire.
At the top of a rise, he dismounted and surveyed the rugged terrain spread before him. It was enough. In fact, it was more than enough for him, for a legacy.
Getting the rest had been about pride, not need. He’d accepted the mission because it had been important to people he loved, to ancestors he’d wanted to honor. But maybe it wasn’t his fight. Maybe it was time to let it go and seize what mattered most to him—Karen’s love and the future they could have together.
Before he could be certain of that, he needed to see his grandfather one more time.
As if the old man had read his mind, he was waiting for Grady when he walked into the house after his ride. Glad as he was to see him, Grady was suspicious about the timing.
“What do you want?” Grady asked, regarding him cautiously.
“Is that any way to greet your own grandfather?”
“It is when this is the second visit you’ve paid recently, after years of insisting that I come to you.”
“Well, my messages didn’t seem to be getting any response. I came to see why.”
“What messages?”
“The ones I’ve been leaving on that infernal machine of yours for days now.”
“I must have missed them. I just got in. Is there a problem of some sort?”
“Why don’t you tell me? I’ve been waiting for you since dawn. Either you went out very early or you never came home last night. I thought I heard your truck earlier,
