Slow Hand (Hot Cowboy Nights, #1)(62)

“I didn’t perform up to your expectations this time? Sure sounded like you were enjoying yourself.” He felt a slight pull of conscience at the lash of his words.

“Why are you doing this? I thought we’d agreed—”

“We agreed to nothing. I offered to stay and you told me to go. Your message was pretty damn clear. Have you changed your mind?”

“No.” Her blue-green eyes met his. “I’m going to take care of my father and then I’m going back home.”

“So I don’t even factor into your equation?” He waited, needing an answer. “For the last time, Nikki, I’m asking you not to go.”

“Why are you making this so difficult?”

“Because I want you to stay.”

“I told you I can’t just blindly leap into something when we’ve known each other less than a week. How can you even expect it?”

“You can’t always play it safe, Nikki. Some things in life are worth a gamble.”

She stared back at him, her eyes flickering with emotion. “That’s easy for you to say, when you aren’t the one giving up anything.”

“But you don’t have any real ties. I do. You know that. I have to stay here at least until the ranch is sold. After that maybe I’ll want to make some changes too. I’ve got a life to live too, Nicole and I’d like you to be part of it.”

“I told you I need to think. Why can’t you understand that? Things have happened so fast my head is spinning.”

“That’s the difference between us. I don’t have to think about ‘us.’ I’m willing to take the chance.”

“Because you have nothing to lose!” she insisted.

“In reality you don’t either,” he insisted. He jerked his head toward the cabin. “Take a good look. This wasn’t a bad haul for you, Miz Powell. You came to Montana without a red cent, and will leave shortly with a net worth in the millions.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “I can’t believe you said that! You make me sound like some gold digger when you know damned well I had no knowledge of my father’s estate. Please, just go, Wade. Let’s not let this get any uglier than it already has.”

Nikki spun on her heel, leaving him staring after her.

“Now it’s over,” he muttered with a shake of his head. Part of him ached to follow her inside but he was done making an ass of himself.





Chapter 17


Desperate to focus on anything but Wade, Nikki busied herself inside the house, opening drawers and cupboards, seeking clues about her father’s life, hoping to learn something about him but discovering very little to reveal the true man. She didn’t find any books, which led her to conclude that he didn’t read anything beyond his outdoor magazines. But she pretty much knew that already. She was, however, surprised to learn that he didn’t own a cell phone or a computer but perhaps shouldn’t have been. The old VCR should have clued her into his lack of interest in electronics.

In the bedside nightstand she found a bundle of greeting cards and letters that made her eyes blur. There were over a dozen unopened cards postmarked between 1993 and 2005. All were sent in the month of July—her birth month—and all were stamped return to sender. Once more, she felt an overwhelming choking sensation. He hadn’t lied.

She wanted to rant. She wanted to cry. More than anything she wanted a pair of strong arms around her and a broad shoulder to cry on—Wade’s shoulder. Wade’s arms.

Their last exchange was bitter. She told herself the rift was all for the best; it made parting easier. Another big fat lie. Nothing made leaving him easy. Although she’d been the one to push him away, she still couldn’t believe he’d driven off.

What did you expect? It’s what you told him you wanted.

Maybe Wade was right that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but she wanted him to be more patient, to wait for her. To prove he really cared. If he did care, he would wait, wouldn’t he? But he’d made it clear he wasn’t about to be left dangling in uncertainty. Why did it have to be all or nothing with him? The question made her chest ache.

Later that afternoon, Nikki drove into town, checked out of the motel, and then bought a few groceries. She filled the evening hours going through more personal effects, and boxing up clothing and other household items. It was an emotional process, but she needed the time alone to figure out her feelings. When she finally crawled into bed, she’d come to only one conclusion—she missed Wade.

The next morning she was sitting on the front porch, lost in her thoughts and sipping instant coffee when a brand-new Cadillac Escalade came up the gravel drive. Her brows pulled together in a frown when Allison Evans climbed out. She shaded her eyes against the bright morning sun to survey the vast grassland and then approached Nikki with a smile.

“Nice spread you have here.”

“Thanks. It was my father’s place and an unexpected bequest. To be honest, I was shocked. I had no idea about any of it.”

“So I heard.”

So he’d returned to the ranch after all. The knowledge that he’d discussed her with his ex-lover galled Nikki to no end. She wondered what else they had talked about—and if they had done more than just talk. Had he already taken up with Allison again? The thought made her stomach knot. “I guess word spreads fast around here,” Nikki replied dryly.