Have a Little Faith (7 page)

“Do you milk them?”

She rose and took his plate with hers to the sink.
“Sometimes.
Monster and Jim help w
ith
that.”

She was washing
the dishes
when he came up and stood casually beside her.

He picked up the plate she had just
washed and dried
it. He smiled at her astonished stare and went on. He figured she was
a little too
us
ed to handling things herself. “So, you have Joy and Hope.
What about Faith?”

Her eyes filled before she could stop them and she had to press her lips together to keep them from trembling. Lane sat the plate down
,
then
placed his hand on her shoulder for support.

“I see,” h
e said quietly and he thought he did. He knew Alex had a
tender
heart
,
but the pain he saw in her eyes from losing a horse made him realize how
caring
she really was. “Was it long ago?”

She knew he thought Faith was a horse. Nonetheless, she felt compelled to talk about it. “Seven years.” Her voice wasn’t steady as she began to dry the remaining plate.

“Did you have her long?”

She shook her head. “Three months.”

Lane could only stare at her. If she became that attached to a horse in three months time and still hurt so badly after seven years, he wondered how she would deal with losing the ranch and the horses she had now.

“How long have you had J
oy and Hope?”

“Four years for Joy and three for Hope. Her foal’s going to be named Love.” Alex leaned on the counter across from Lane and finished off h
er iced tea. “I name everything,” s
he told him with
a
small
smile when he quirked a brow
.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.
We have Jerk the rooster.”

He threw his head back and laughed.

“Well, it’s the first thing I
think
to call him in the mornin
gs. A couple cows have specific
names. Other than that, I number them. There’s a stray dog I call Cowboy. He comes around for dinner scraps.”

“I don’t blame
him. You’re one hell of a cook.
” He frowned when Alex dropped her gaze. “Why can’t you take a
compliment
? Is it because it’s coming from me or
do
you just have a low self esteem?”

Her gaze snapped back to his and color rose to her face. “I don’
t have low self esteem.”

“All right, you just don’t like me.”

“It’s nothing…” She trailed off realizing she was about to say the same thing she had said the previous evening.

“Personal?” h
e finished for her, amused.

“I have chores to do,” s
he told him before turning to leave. He blocked her way easily.

“They’ll keep.
” He laid a broad palm on her shoulder. He felt her quiver beneath his hand and was curious. “You’re an odd woman.” When she didn’t even blink at that he casually placed his other hand on her other shoulder. “There’s something about you that makes me want to figure out why you’ve been keeping me up at night.”

Alex swallowed her suddenly dry throat and lowered her gaze.
What does he expect me to say?
s
he
wondered
in panic.
Is he going to kiss me again?

“Your mouth is a little too wide for you
r face. Do you know that?”  H
is voice
was
low and seductive.

Alex nodded.

“And you have eyes of a witch. Icy blue
,
but they’re wide and innocent. Are you?” He
skimme
d his finger down her cheek, smiling
when she shivered.

“Am I what?”

“Innocent.”

“No.”

He was surprised by
the
quick pang of
regret,
but it quickly faded. He had never sought virginity in a lover
,
but for some reason, Alex had the look and feel of a wide-eyed innocent.

“Good,” h
e said making up his mind. “This won’t take half the time I thought it was going to take.” His hands crept up until they cradled her face and he brought her mouth to his.

She was surprised that she could feel anything besides the thudding of her heart beating
painfully
in
her ribs
. She was surprised she could tell the difference between this kiss and the punishing kiss they shared the previous night.

Where that kiss
had been
hard and bruising, this one was soft and smooth. Without realizing it, Alex brought her hands to his wrists and held his hands to her face.

Oh, it felt so good to be
tasted so thoroughly by a man—
b
y
this man. Never in her life had she felt
so desired.

Lane pulled back and
he smiled
when he saw her lips were parted in surprised and dazed pleasure. His own blood was raging in his ears. He pulled her against him and lowered his lips to her throat. The sound she made was derived from shock just as much as wonder.

Alex clung to
him
and shuddered in pure delight as he assaulted her throat
and neck
. His hands began to caress her back. When his tongue slipped up to her ear, she was lost. Her muscles went lax and her knees buckled.

Lane felt her surrender and reveled in it.
When he found her mouth again, she was no longer passive or frightened. She gave back as much as he was giving to her. Her arms wrapped around
his neck, her fingers dove in his hair while she opened for him.

His blood had been boiling at her hesitance but was now raging from her boldness. He thought momentarily of control. He had always had it, but shrugged it away as he nipped her full bottom lip.

“Come upstairs with me,” h
e murmured against her mouth.

“What?” Dimly she heard him. Even as the thought crossed her mind that she never wanted him to stop, his words slowly connected to her brain. “Upstairs?”

“Come upstairs with me.”

Alex jolted as if he had struck her. His arms had slackened so she slipped out of his hold and backed into the counter.

“Absolutely not,
”
s
he managed as she pulled at her wrinkled shirt.

“You seemed agreeabl
e a minute ago.” He leaned
back against the opposite counter. He didn’t want to admit his hands weren’t steady and his heart was racing.

Color lit her face as she struggled to bank her own needs. Needs, she thought furiously that she didn’t have before Lane Tanner. Needs that had no room in her life. Because she felt the uncontrollable urge to weep, she lifted her chin.

“Stay away from me. You may think you’re taking my ranch, but you have no business coming after me
,
too. Just stay away.”

“That’s not possible now,
” Lane said calmly enough. “You know what just went on between us doesn’t happen every time.”

The wild look in his eyes had Alex bracing as he crossed to her. With two hands, he grabbed her
by the
shirt and hauled her against his rigid body. “I mean to have you, Alexandra. And I will.” He all but flung her away as if she were nothi
ng and stalked out of the house.

Chapter Six

Tucker
Cole
thumbed out an antacid as he walked across the drive at the Morgan Ranch. In the three days since he had received the contracts for the buy and sale of Morgan Ranch,
Tucker
knew he had a potential catastrophe on his regularly manicured hands. And that catastrophe was standing on the porch snarling at him.

“Mornin, Alex.”
Tucker
strolled
on
up the stairs.

“
Tuck
.” Alex greeted her
longtime
attorney and friend. She tried to keep the scowl off her face. It was, after all, no fault of his that her mother had temporarily lost her mind.

“Is Linda around?”

Alex raised a brow a
s if asking, where could she go?

“Right.”
Tucker
shifted his weight and sighed. “I’m sorry, Alex.”

She shrugged
. “I’ll go tell Mom and Mr. Tanner you’re here. We can talk in the den.”

With a nod,
Tucker
followed Alex through the house.

With
in minutes they were all sitting in the den each holding a glass of tea that Alex had prepared. Lane sat in Alex’s father’s old rocker while
Tucker
shared the couch with Alex. Linda was content in her chair next to Lane.

It’s them against me
, Alex thought dispassionately.

The tension in the air was thicker than fog. Alex sat with her back rigid. She appeared calm and confident
,
but a watchful eye could see her foot tapping lightly against the hardwood floor and
her
knuckles white from gripping her glass. Lane was very watchful.

After two full days of Alex avoiding him, his temper was simmering. He wanted to get her
alone at least once to discuss the new contract. But she never came in the house except, Lane figured
,
late at night always leaving before Jerk crowed. The woman was exasperating.

“I have read and reread the contracts in question.” He shot a look at Lane. “I have reservations.”

“About which part?”
Lane asked
,
unconcerned
.

“Ah, about the… supplementary.”
Tucker
swallowed. “It’s not… That is, I’ve never had a contract come through with this type of… clause.”

“What do you mean? It’s a standard buy and sale contract, isn’t it?” Alex asked.

Tucker
turned to her and smiled
. “Well, it’s an excellent way for you to make sure you have some control in what happens to the ranch. I just don’t know how we can go about legalizing the second contract. Other than the
conventional way
of course, but it would almost need to be two separate matters. Not lumped together. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Confused and not a little annoyed, Alex frowned. “No, I have no idea what you are saying,
Tuck
.”

“Marriage is
its
own contract all together. You really can’t mix one with the other. That would need to be done first,
and then
the original c
ontract signed to make it legal; with your new name, of course. That way there wouldn’t b
e
any questions.
”

“What are you talking about?” Alex asked, dumbfounded.

“He means, our wedding should take place before your mother and I sign the contract.” Lane spoke easily. “I agree.”

Alex stared at Lane without blinking. He wanted to grin at her stupefied gape
,
but thought better. The silence hung for nearly two minutes without either Alex or Lane breaking eye contact.
Tucker
finally cleared his throat.

“Are you crazy?” Alex finally said and turned to leave without giving him the chance to answer.

“Do you have the mar
riage license with you, Tucker
?” Linda asked.

Alex spun around. Her face was live wit
h fury. “You were in on this?” s
he asked her mother.
“Of course you were.”

“It’s a perfectly respectable offer, Alex.”

“Respectable?” Alex fumed. She turned
to
Lane. “What the hell have you told her?” she demanded. “Why are you doing this? Isn’t the ranch enough? You have to come here take my home and insult me while you do it?”

Lane waited calmly while Alex let out her frustration. She looked amazing, he mused. Her long, dark hair swung as she paced the room like a
livid
tiger on the prowl. Her bright eyes weren’t wide and innocent
,
but darkened to sapphire from anger. Again, he found himself suppressing a smile.

“To answer your first question.
No, I’m not crazy. I’m doing this because I see something I want and I take it, which is exactly what I told your mother. The ranch isn’t enough. And I’m not trying to insult you
in the least
.”