Page 14 of Catch Me, Cowboy
She almost said, “I don’t think so.” But she stopped herself. It was a reasonable request given the fact that the Carrigan Ranch was a bit of a drive from the Forty-Six and they weren’t paying high wages. One corner of her mouth tightened. “That makes sense. Where’d you get the trailer?”
“Long story.” She tilted her head. “Callen felt sorry for me.”
“She’s okay with you moving it?”
“Mine until I don’t need it any more. When do you want me to start?”
“Does tomorrow work? Because Gramps is out there today busting his ass alone.”
“Tomorrow it is. I’ll talk to Callen and move the trailer later today.”
“Thanks, Ty.” She meant it.
“Shelby?”
She had her hand on the truck’s door handle when he said her name.
She glanced back at him. “Yes?”
He sauntered a few steps closer, moving with only a hint of a limp from his wreck earlier that year, everything about him so damned… male. “Don’t you want to lay down some ground rules?”
“I’m pretty sure you can figure out the ground rules. You’re there to help Gramps.”
“Then let me lay down mine.”
Shelby’s eyebrows lifted as she let go of the door handle. “You have ground rules?”
“You aren’t the only one who can draw a line in the sand, Shelb. I did as you asked and stayed away for four long years. It wasn’t easy.”
“You’re making me seriously rethink this job offer.”
Ty simply raised an eyebrow, telling Shelby he was now aware that she needed him more than he needed her. He knew the ranch; he knew the operation… he knew Gramps.
She cleared her throat, but her voice was still a touch husky when she asked, “So, what are your ground rules?”
She expected him to move closer, to drive home his point that, in a way,hewas now in the power position. He did not.
Instead he crossed his arms over his crookedly-buttoned shirt and said, “I can’t change the decisions I made four years ago.”
A long measure of silence followed. Shelby finally broke it. “What are your ground rules, Ty?”
“My groundruleis very simple. We start fresh. The past is gone. We let it go.”
Shelby opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand and she closed it again.
“I didn’t say you needed to like me or consider me a friend. I’m kind of getting a clear picture of your feelings there. But we let the past go. Clean slate.”
“You’re asking a lot.” She folded her arms over her chest, mimicking his stance. “Because, believe it or not, I harbor some resentment.”
“You hide it well.”
Shelby’s lips twitched.
“Do this and I’ll make certain your grandfather feels like he’s working his ass off when he’s not.”
Shelby blew out a breath. Then she gave a curt nod and dropped her arms. If it were anyone else she’d shake his hand, but it wasn’t anyone else. It was Ty and just being close to him made her nerves dance in a crazy way.
“Deal,” she said.
