Finally Home (14 page)

Slowly, she went to the window. She knew he was down there, so why was she torturing herself? He had been around the corral all morning, helping the ranch hands with the horses.

Now, as her eyes rounded, she noticed him playing with Stormy. She pressed her cheek to the window and gazed at Noah. The man she loved. The man who wanted to leave Moonlight Ranch for good. Leave her for good.

Webster suddenly woke from his nap and barked furiously. Amanda whirled around and wagged her finger. “Stop that, Web! What are you barking at?”

A knock at the door caused her to jump. Combing her hair back with her hands, she moved to the door and opened it.

“
Miss Amanda, there is someone here to see you,” Maria seemed nervous. “He insisted following up here....”

Webster growled as a thin blonde man entered the bedroom. His dark blue eyes narrowed on the dog as he smiled. “That pooch never did like me.”

Amanda swallowed a lump in her throat. “Brandon, what are you doing here?”

“
It’s been a while,” he grabbed her hands. “I’ve missed you.”

She snatched her hands from his. “How in the world did you find me here?”

“
It wasn’t hard. You used to mention this place all the time when we were going out,” he bent toward her but she dodged his kiss.

“
Maria, do you mind getting two glasses of tea ready? Brandon and I will be downstairs shortly,” Amanda waited for Maria to leave and then faced Brandon.

“
She seems very obedient,” his eyes were cold as he nodded after Maria. “Did she come with the house?”

“
Now I remember why I stopped seeing you,” she shoved her hands onto her hips.

“
Honey, don’t you think it’s time our little break was over? I’ve forgiven you for turning down my wedding proposal, so now we can resume our relationship again. I presume you’ve realized the mistake you made when you left Chicago...and me, of course.”

“
Oooohh, you are unbelievable,” she groaned.

“
Darling, let’s go downstairs and have our tea. My throat is parched from that long flight,” he pranced down the hallway.

Amanda trailed after him, searching for a way to get him to leave as soon as possible. She scolded herself for ever getting involved with him. He had been a client of hers and had coaxed her into going to dinner with him after she had finished his web page. What a mistake that was. And what had she been thinking when she had continued to date him for three months?

Maria was in the dining room when they arrived. She smiled at Amanda. “Would you like some lemon cake with your tea?”

“
Thank you, Maria. That would be wonderful,” Amanda pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

“
No cake for me, please,” Brandon smoothed down his blue tie, his pale fingers unbuttoning the suit jacket he wore. “Lemon makes me ill. I’ll swell up like a watermelon.”

Maria discreetly stuck her tongue out after he turned. Amanda forced back a giggle.

“
So you just happened to stop by the ranch? What business do you have here in Texas?”

He sat opposite her, his nose crinkling at the iced tea before him. “I am not here for business. I thought I made it clear that I was here to convince you to return to Chicago with me so we can take up where we left off.”

She watched as he pushed the tea glass away from his reach. “This is my home. Why would I go back to Chicago with you?”

“
Ridiculous. Chicago is your home,” he turned in his chair when he heard Maria enter the dining room. “Please, come here.”

Maria moved toward him. “Yes, sir?”

“
This cold tea just won’t do. I don’t drink cold tea! Please get me some hot herbal tea or green tea,” he waved his hand and sniffed, his nose in the air.

“
Here is your cake, Miss Amanda,” she said through gritted teeth, not taking her dark eyes off of Brandon.

“
Thank you,” Amanda reached out and squeezed Maria’s hand.

“
I will get you that hot tea right away, sir,” Maria snatched his unwanted tea glass. As she walked by him, she wiggled her hips and bumped his shoulder, causing his chair to teeter unsteadily.

“
How rude,” Brandon commented and straightened in the chair. “Why do you keep her on?”

“
She’s part of the family. Please treat her with respect,” Amanda hissed.

“
Part of what family--”

The front door slammed, causing both Amanda and Brandon to twist in their chairs. Noah sauntered into the dining room. His tan face was dirty, glistening with perspiration. His black hair was damp, the ends curling from the humidity that had replaced the cooler weather of the past few weeks. Amanda’s heart jumped in her chest at the sight of him. He looked sexier than ever.

Wiping his hand on his dirt-covered shirt, Noah offered it to Brandon. “Howdy. Noah West.”

Brandon made no move to accept his handshake. He snorted, turning his head away.

Amanda stood immediately. “Brandon, Noah is part owner of Moonlight Ranch.”

“
Oh, pardon me,” Brandon rose and held out his bony hand. “I thought you were some...ranch worker. My name is Brandon Barrington.”

This time, Noah was the one to refuse the handshake. “You’re visiting Amanda?”

“
I knew him in Chicago. He tracked me down. I had no idea he was coming....”

Noah smirked. “You’re allowed to have company. Don’t have to explain yourself, Amanda. Why do I care? I won’t be here much longer.”

Her eyes followed Noah as he stepped closer to Brandon, towering at least four inches over him. To her, there was no comparison between the two men. Noah was tall, dark and handsome. Brandon was lacking in height, pasty, and genteel.

“
Mr. Brandon Barrington, hope you enjoy your visit,” he pulled off his cowboy hat and tapped it with his finger. “Don’t forget a hat if you wander outside. Gotta protect that delicate skin of yours from the nasty sun.”

After a sideways glance at Amanda, Noah walked into the kitchen.

“
That man owns this ranch?”

“
He’s half owner,” Amanda said.

“
Who owns the other half? And does he know how crude his partner is?”

“
I own the other half.”

Brandon laughed. “Amanda, are you joking?”

“
No, I’m serious. I own fifty percent of the ranch.”

“
Then you have to sell it. And sell it right away!”

********

Amanda still couldn’t believe the nerve of Brandon Barrington! Couldn’t he take a hint? He was determined to drag her back to Chicago with him. And the worst part was that Noah seemed not to care!

She picked up a crystal bowl from the floor and glanced around the kitchen. It would probably take a few days to clean the house. And she noticed a window in the living room was broken. Chewing on her bottom lip, she pondered over the fate of her grandparent’s little cottage. Mr. Ellinger or whomever he hired to trash her home sure did a thorough job. She wished she could see Mr. Ellinger one more time so she could give him a piece of her mind. Knowing he wasn’t in jail for what he did, made her sick to her stomach.

She was startled when Noah stepped into the kitchen, his boots heavy on the wood floor. “Hi, what are you doing here?”

“
I saw you walk up here earlier. Thought you might need some help with the cleanup,” he bent over and scooped up a dish towel. “Grandma’s little helper?”

She stole the towel from him. “A gift from grandma a long time ago. I used to love helping her in the kitchen.”

His eyes roamed over her face. “What’d Kate say about the house when you told her? Was she upset?”

“
Upset because I could’ve been hurt.”

“
Well, you should be safe now.”

“
Thanks again, for what you did.”

“
That conversation, between Ellinger and me, wasn’t meant for your ears.”

“
So you were just going to keep your meeting a secret from me? And then how were you going to explain leaving the ranch? Just spring it on me one day...or pick up and leave without saying goodbye?”

“
Look, when I came back to the ranch, I came with a purpose. I never intended to stay for more than a few months. Then, things happened.”

“
Things like what? Your father’s death? Seeing me again....”

“
Yes,” he nodded, turning his face from her so she wouldn’t see the turmoil he was feeling.

Closing her eyes, she tried to calm herself. Her mind was at war with her heart. Her mind wanting to keep distance between her and Noah, to accept that they had no future together. Her heart...wanting to ignore the gap between them and jump into his arms.

“
I-I don’t know if I’m up to cleaning the house today,” she stated flatly.

“
You know, you might as well move into the main house, Amanda. It’s yours now.”

Her gaze flew to his face. He was staring down at his boots, avoiding her eyes. “It will always be half yours, Noah. I don’t care what you say. I will not take the whole of Moonlight Ranch from you. I couldn’t do...that...to Thomas. It was obviously important to him that you share in it with me.”

“
Maria can’t stay in the house alone. She would go crazy. Please, think about it. We could still clean up this place,” he stretched out his arms and looked around the house. “You could rent it out or use it as an office.”

“
Maybe,” she felt tears spring to her eyes. The reality of Noah leaving was beginning to weigh on her. If he left...would the ranch still feel like home? Maybe her Grandma had been right. Maybe the reason she loved the ranch so much was because Noah was a part of it. Choking back her emotions, she moved into the living room.

“
Well, I need to get back to the corral,” Noah’s voice was soft as he dared to glance at Amanda.

She was locked in his gaze. Couldn’t pull her eyes away. “Noah, about Brandon…”

“
So this is your little cottage,” Brandon’s voice sliced into Amanda’s sentence. “Amanda, darling, where are you?”

The soft emotion in Noah’s eyes turned hard instantly. He continued to stare at Amanda. “I thought for sure that he would have left by now.”

“
I-I didn’t invite him here, Noah,” she reached out to grab his arm. “You have to believe me.”

“
He’s the one who proposed to you back in Chicago, isn’t he?”

She wanted to hide. Hide from Noah’s cold eyes and hide so Brandon wouldn’t find her. “Yes, but what does that have to do with him being here now?”

“
Everything,” Noah stated and gently pulled his arm from her steel grip. “If you didn’t want him here, you would’ve sent him away minutes after he arrived.”

“
Noah!” she cried. But he was heading to the living room. Following after him, she hoped Brandon wouldn’t feel the urge to interrupt. Of course, she should’ve known better.

“
There you are Amanda. I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Brandon patted his glistening forehead with a handkerchief. “That housekeeper of yours does not speak the best of English. I wasted thirty minutes attempting to communicate with her, trying to find out where you were!”

Noah smirked, knowing Maria had been toying with Brandon. She didn’t like him anymore than he did!

“
S-Sorry,” Amanda wanted to giggle. She, too, knew what Maria was up to and noticed the amused glimmer in Noah’s eyes.

“
I’m all settled in my room. I thought we could have a nice talk,” Brandon clapped his hands together. Sniffing the air, he suddenly cringed. “But not in here. It’s much too dusty!”

“
How long do you plan on staying at the ranch?” Noah couldn’t believe how fussy this man was. What did Amanda see in him?

“
As long as it takes to get Amanda to accompany me back to Chicago,” Brandon walked around the living room. “Hopefully, that won’t be too long. I can’t comprehend the attraction of this ranch.”

“
Brandon, I--” Amanda started but was cut short when Noah brushed past her and marched toward Brandon.

“
Moonlight Ranch may not mean anything to you, but a lot of people call it home. So don’t assume there is nothing special to it,” he was breathing heavily, feeling a strange anger toward Brandon.

Amanda inhaled deeply, not believing her eyes. She had never seen Noah defend the ranch so passionately. Confused more than ever, she went to the two men, grabbing both their arms. “Let’s not get overheated, guys.”

Noah swiped his arm from her grasp, moving backward toward the door. “I have work to do. I’ll leave you two alone now so you can have your nice little talk.”

“
You don’t have to leave, Noah,” Amanda released Brandon’s arm, but he grabbed her hand.

Noah glared at her. “I’m sure you want to be alone.”

“
Yes, we do. We have a lot to work out,” Brandon pulled Amanda closer.

Amanda felt the circulation being cut off in her hand, squirming she tried to break free of Brandon’s steel grip. Before she could stop Noah, he left the house.

“
Let me go, Brandon,” she demanded, tearing herself away from Brandon’s hands. “Don’t do that again. Don’t give Noah any reason to think you and I are involved!”