Page 9 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
Instead of running and hiding, though, Karen braced herself and pushed forward. “What are these propositions, Finn? Don’t beat around the bush.”
“I want you to help me get things prepped for the dude ranch. The areas where you’re an expert, like purchasing horses and helping hire the stock crew. I know you’re here for four months before you take off for school. I doubt we’ll be fully operational by the fall, so I don’t expect you to have everything in place. But I’d like to hire you to do what you can.”
She had not seen that one coming. “Okay. I’ll have to think about it for a little bit because I already made some commitments for my time here.”
“Working at the grocery store is not really your forte,” Finn drawled.
“Stalking me?” Karen inquired even as she shook her head. “Forget I said that. I get it. Small town. You probably asked two questions and got all the information you needed.”
“I’ve been living with Josiah Ryder since March,” Finn confessed. “I pretty much know everything that’s been going on in the Heart Falls area.”
She was so killing her sister.Sisters, because Lisa was now living with Josiah, but there was no way Tamara wasn’t in on the news as well.
The only one who would maybe get away without a tongue-lashing was their newly discovered youngest sister, Julia.
“You are a sneaky devil, aren’t you?” Karen said.
“Only because I had a reason. I wanted to buy this place, and I needed time.”
Right. Seemed fair enough. “Give me your number, and I’ll call tomorrow about working for you, June to September.”
“Number’s the same as it’s always been. You know that.”
Yeah, she supposed she did. Had stared at it enough times over the years, to boot.
He rose and closed the short distance between them, grasping her hand and pulling her to vertical. “The other thing I want? While you’re here—we pick up where we left off.”
Heart pounding. Throat tightening. “Finn.”
He stared at her with that intense look that sent shivers over her. “We had something special, and it didn’t finish the way it should’ve. I think we should try again, and this time we change it up just enough to give us a real shot.”
Dear God, temptation was being handed to her on a silver platter.
But she was finally getting to spread her wings. Not to mention, how would she bear it if after four months of spending time with this man he turned around and walked away, and so did she?
Having him leave her a second time just might put her six feet under.
“All the reasons we had before for not being together permanently—none of that has changed, Finn. If anything, it’s gotten more complicated.” Karen had to explain, maybe a little to herself as well. “I’m only here for a short time to visit with my family before I head to school. I’m doing something that’s important to me, plus it’s the first time in my life I get to experience a world outside of Whiskey Creek and the Coleman spread.”
“We spend the summer together here, and at the end of it, if you want to go to school, then you go. It doesn’t mean we can’t be together.” His grip on her fingers was gentle enough she could pull away if she wanted to, but tight enough to make it clear he didn't want to let her go. “I’m not who I was five years ago,chérie. We have more options, but first we need to get on firm footing.”
“And what does that look like? Do we start another fling? Fooling around in corners of the barn again and you crawling in my bedroom window?”
His lips curled upward. “While I’m very willing to crawl in your bedroom window, the hiding part needs to change. We do this the right way. We spend the summer together, but it’s not going to be secret. It will be you and me out there, giving the world hell and doing everything we want. Everything that makes you happy—because you’re right. You’ve had a rough time of it, and you deserve to spread your wings. I’m all for helping you. But not in the dark.” He lowered his tone a notch, the words coming out a deep rumble that caressed her skin. “Except when you want it dark.”
Dear God. This wasn’t just temptation; this was temptation wrapped in shiny paper with a Godiva chocolate on top, waiting for her to take a bite.
So she did the only thing she could. Karen pulled her hand free, planted her palms on his shoulders, and turned him on the spot. “Go home, Finn. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He walked toward his boots with less complaining than she’d expected. It was only after he’d pulled them on and adjusted his hat that he looked her up and down. “Call me early. I want to get started as soon as possible.”
“Cocky bastard,” Karen called after him as he slipped out the porch door and disappeared without a backward glance.
She followed onto the wooden decking, watching his strong body as he paced into the distance.
What a wild, mixed-up situation.
It only took a couple minutes to grab a glass of juice and position a chair toward the rolling hills in the hopes that from somewhere out there, wisdom would come fluttering toward her.
