Page 18 of A Forever Kind of Rancher

They’d been two seconds of prolonged eye contact away from admitting it, for all those years. Never speaking of it wasn’t enough. Because their eyes were determined to give them away.

Then the hitch in their breath.

And Boone...

She remembered him looking like the big bad wolf and the savior of the universe all at once. She’d wanted him to take a step toward her, and she’d wanted him to turn away. She’d wanted him to come for her, and she’d wanted to pretend she’d never even met him.

He’d taken a step.

And she’d taken one back.

And he’d stopped.

He’d listened to her. To everything she couldn’t say. To the single footstep that had been her begging him to stop. To not take them another step further because it would be too far to turn back, and she’d wanted—she’d needed—to be able to turn back.

Just like she’d needed to jump out of the truck now, and he’d let her. She appreciated that.

The way he listened, even when she didn’t speak.

“I’ll just... I’ll just go change,” she said again. “And then I’ll get started.”

His face was like granite. Like at the wedding. “Okay. See you later.”

She couldn’t have made it any clearer that she didn’t want him in her space today. She also couldn’t have made it any clearer that she was attracted to him.

Attracted was a crucial descriptor. Because it was different from wanting.

He wanted her.

He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her. He wanted to take her to his room and strip her naked and have his way with her.

He wanted her.

Like breathing.

More of a need than anything else.

She was attracted to him, and she did not want it. Not at all.

And he...well, he knew his place here. He was helping her. He cared about her, dammit all. And he was far too familiar with the fallout that happened when people didn’t fulfill their obligations to the ones they were supposed to love.

She’d trusted Daniel and he’d betrayed that trust. Boone would never do that. He would never put her in a position where she felt obligated to him.

That wasn’t why he was helping her.

He never shirked his responsibilities. Not ever.

He didn’t leave people to fend for themselves.

That might be his oldest brother’s way, it might be Daniel’s way. But it would never be Boone’s.

Some people might live in a fantasy world, and others lived with their heads up their asses. Not Boone. He was a realist, and he handled things. He didn’t need to lie to himself or anyone else to get through life.

He’d been like that once. Someone who couldn’t face the hard truths. It caused more harm than good, that was for sure.

He thought about that, a whole lot. The lines between attraction, desire, want, need and feelings. Obligation. All while he worked. Mostly he thought about her. Because she was in that house behind his, and it was the kind of proximity he’d wanted with her for a long time.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

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