Evidence of Trust (17 page)

His own words slapped him in the face. Hearing them in her voice made them sound callus and uncaring. This time, he cared. With
her
, he cared about the fact they’d go their separate ways. He cared that she was hurting and thought this was a way to feel better. He cared that he’d only end up causing her more pain.

“You deserve better,” he repeated.

She eased in closer. “I don’t need you to be all chivalrous right now.”

He steeled his resolve against the plea in her eyes. “Yes you do. You just don’t know it.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “Like you know what’s best for me?”

“In this case, yes.”

She shoved against his chest and he moved back to give her space. Give himself space.

“You’re thinking with your heart right now, Brittany. Trying to ease the pain caused by your father’s and fiancé’s betrayal. Trust me, you’ll regret it in the morning.”

She stared him right in the eye and shook her head. Jaw clenched, she stalked past him to yank open the front door. “I regret coming here
right now
.”

He followed her outside but didn’t try to stop her. If she stayed, they’d end up right where he’d expected when he lied about the SD card in his pocket and she’d accepted his offer to come over. Before he had an attack of conscience.

As she rounded the front of her vehicle to yank the driver’s side door open, he caught sight of the passenger side.

“Whoa.” He backtracked a couple steps to get a better look at her truck. “What happened here?”

“What?” she snapped.

Two scratches marred the shiny black paint, running the entire length of her passenger door and truck bed. “Your truck’s been keyed.” He glanced up to see her frown. “You didn’t see this?”

“No.” She slammed her door shut again and joined him on the passenger side as he fingered the deep scratches. Her surprise was quickly followed by anger as she stared at the vandalism. “Well isn’t this great. It must’ve just happened, because I gave Casey a ride to The Watering Hole and he’d have said something.”

“So either in the parking lot or here.”

She looked back and forth along the sidewalk of the quiet neighborhood. “I’m guessing the lot. There were a group of kids skateboarding when I first got there.”

“I’ll call and see if there are any outdoor security cameras at the bar. We might see who did it.”

“
I’ll
talk to Billy,” she stated as she headed back to the driver’s side.

“You should also file a police report so you have a statement for your insurance,” he advised as he trailed after her. “I can come with you if you’d like?”

She spun around as he reached for her door. Mere inches apart, she sucked in a breath and reared back against the truck. Fire flared in her eyes, threatening to reignite his banked desire. A hard swallow kept him from closing the distance between them as he pulled open the door.

“Thanks, but I’m a big girl.” She climbed into the cab, then leaned to brace her hand on the inside door handle while looking him straight in the eye. “Perfectly capable of making my own decisions and taking care of myself.”

The door was yanked from his hand as she slammed it and drove away.

He watched her taillights in the deepening dusk, hands stuffed in his pockets. His fingers curled around the media card in his right one. Guess tomorrow he’d get a chance to see if a night to think about everything softened her resentment. He also wanted to make sure she was okay. The length and depth of the scratches suggested the attack was personal, not random. It left him with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that had him dialing Billy at the Watering Hole the moment he got back inside.

Unfortunately, the bar’s security cameras only covered the building entrances and windows. No other acts of vandalism had been reported, which only increased his concern.

Had she gone to the police, or stubbornly ignored the advice because she was angry with him? He hoped to God she was smarter than that.

She is
, he assured himself.

Later, as he stripped down before sliding between the sheets, Joel found himself thinking of
clutter
. Tonight, the word had provided a convenient excuse exactly when he’d needed it, but that didn’t make it any less true. He didn’t have time for anything meaningful, what with his endless days on the road.

However, staring at the ceiling in the dark, thinking of Brittany’s observation that he had no personal items of meaning to surround him, he grudgingly admitted having his own place might be nice.

Somewhere to come home to.

Someone
to come home to.

The second thought ambushed him, along with a flash vision of blond hair, green eyes and a beautiful smile.

He jack-knifed into a sitting position on the bed and fisted his hands in his hair.
That
was exactly the kind of thinking he needed to avoid. A place to set down roots was something to consider, but he would never allow himself to need any one person again. He’d seen firsthand how it could destroy a man even as strong as his father, and back in Alaska, it had almost happened to him.

No way in hell would he allow it to become a possibility again.

Chapter 20

The sight of Mitch coming out of the stall next to Paelo’s on Monday morning made Britt’s step falter. His usual welcoming smile was nowhere to be seen as he avoided her gaze and bent to grasp the handles of the wheel barrow.

She squared her shoulders and marched over to block his way. “Why were you in prison?”

Guarded blue eyes met hers as he straightened. “Sounds like Morgan already told you.”

“Only that you have a record. He said the details were on you.”

“Mighty noble of him.”

Yes, Joel Morgan was full of noble gestures. Her jaw tightened, but she ignored the thought and waited for Mitch to give her an answer.

He looked away, then swung his head back to face her. “I got mixed up in a gang with my cousin when I was a sixteen. At seventeen, I was arrested and charged as an adult for dealing drugs and armed robbery.”

Okay,
wow
. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but certainly not that. She did her best to keep her expression impassive.

“I did my stint in jail, then got transferred to a rehab program on a ranch in California. I’m in my last year of probation.”

“Is that where you learned to work with horses?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why you don’t drink.”

“Yes.”

“Mark know all this?”

“We talked when I returned on Friday, and he’s got my probation officer’s number.”

“And you’re still here.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he nodded.

“Are you clean?”

“Yes.” His gaze didn’t waver from hers.

“All right then.” She smiled and moved toward the stall door.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” A glance over her shoulder caught his look of confusion to match his voice, so she faced him once more. “I respect that you’ve worked hard to turn your life around, and over the past three years, you haven’t given me any reason to distrust you. As long as your past is in the past, then it doesn’t change who you are to me.”

Relief filled his expression and a ghost of his usual smile curved his lips. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

Her turn to nod.

The morning flew by with most of the wranglers out on trail rides while Britt stayed back to cover for Mark until the afternoon. Keeping busy kept her mind off last night. Or it should’ve. Snippets of her conversation with Joel snuck in when she least expected.

Not a good idea.

My life doesn’t allow for clutter.

You’re thinking with your heart.

You deserve better.

Damn it—she wanted him out of her head. Didn’t help that he’d been right on every single damn point.

More than once, her heart clamored for her to listen. This time for a different reason. One that had less to do with her father and more to do with that someone better she deserved. Someone who was too perceptive and unexpectedly gallant.

He wasn’t supposed to make her like him more. Her head knew where they would end up once his investigation was over. It really sucked, but sometimes the head needed to look out for the heart.

And her head told her to get back to work.

She carried two saddles out to the horses lined up at the hitching rail. Jon and Mandy would be back soon and their afternoon ride had an increased guest count. A searching sweep located Kelly leaning against the side of the barn. He brought his hand up to take a long drag off a cigarette.

She set the saddles down with a thump. Mitch she didn’t have a problem with; Kelly was a whole other matter. “A little help would be nice here.”

“Just taking a break.”

“You know there’s no smoking near the barns.”

“I’ll pick it up.”

“That’s not the point. I didn’t say anything to Mark the last time, but trust me, you don’t want this to become an issue.”

He shrugged, squinted toward the lake at the group of guests returning from a ride, and dropped the cigarette. Smoke streamed from between his pursed lips as he crushed the butt beneath his boot heel, then he looked up without barely lifting his head. “Thought you didn’t date here? I saw you with that pretty-boy ranger.”

Something in his tone tripped her pulse. Did he mean last night? She’d seen him at the bar, but was pretty sure he’d left shortly before Joel showed up, so how would he know they’d spent more time together?

A chill prickled along her spine as something else occurred to her. Was it possible he could’ve keyed her truck instead of some random kid? Would he really carry his grudge over her rejection that far?

“What I do is none of your business,” she informed him coldly, refusing to be intimidated. “Don’t mess with me, Kelly. One word from me and you’ll be gone from here faster than you can say
‘just kidding
.
’
”

His gaze wavered, and then he stooped to pick up his garbage. He walked away, his footsteps fading as the clip-clop of horse hooves, creaking saddle leather and guest voices took over.

Britt released the breath she hadn’t even been aware she’d been holding.

With the return of the morning ride, Kelly helped get the next set of horses ready to go. She considered sending him out for the afternoon, but Jon and Mandy worked so well together. In addition to their great rapport with the guests, Britt noticed the shy smiles the two exchanged. Jon was a great guy, and Mandy a sweet girl. The cute couple was so different than the blatant flirting and obvious hook-ups between some of the other resort employees. She didn’t mind assisting cupid with the budding romance, even if it meant enduring additional time in Kelly’s presence.

By the time the afternoon riders were on their way around the lake in front of the resort restaurant, Casey and Mitch were returning from their extended lunch ride. Her attention was drawn to the reflection of the riders in the water with the Rockies rising majestically in the background. Come September, she was sure going to miss it all. Then all she’d have to look forward to would be Chicago traffic, factory smoke in the air, cold winds off Lake Michigan and a hectic work schedule.

City life.

Is that what you want?

She stiffened at the sound of Joel’s voice in her head again. Determined not to listen to him, she went back into the office, leaving the guys to take care of the horses while she caught up on paperwork. About an hour later, a manager’s signature was all she needed to put herself out of her misery and spend the rest of the afternoon working with Gypsy.

Armed with the paper, a clipboard and a pen, she rounded the corner in search of Casey. He was on the far end of the line of horses, giving Diesel a good rub-down while Mitch worked on Banjo next to him. Kelly walked past, leading one of the geldings toward the main corral. Colorado was one of her favorites, and she smiled when the gray horse playfully lipped at the wrangler’s sleeve, caught it between his teeth and pulled. Kelly slapped his nose and Colorado jerked away.

Britt stopped to watch as the gelding reach forward again. It was a harmless game, he didn’t actually bite, he just held the fabric much the same as a playful puppy. Kelly smacked him again and gave a hard jerk on the reins. The horse reared back, the whites of his eyes showing his fear.

She lunged forward and caught Kelly’s arm as he raised it toward the horse again. “Stop it!” One shove got him out of the way and she secured the reins to calm the horse. “Whoa boy, easy.”

“The stupid nag bit me.”

She rounded on him with a glare. “He didn’t bite, he was playing. He does it with everyone.”

Casey had started their way, her shout having caught his attention. Mitch watched from a distance.

“That damn horse needs to be taught a lesson,” Kelly grumbled.

“No,
you
do.” She ran her hand down Colorado’s neck in a soothing stroke. “Mistreat the horses again and I’ll not only make sure you’re gone from here, but you won’t find a ranch to hire you within fifty miles. This is your last warning, and you don’t even deserve that.”