Right Here Waiting (13 page)

“Have you thought this through?” He seemed uncertain.

“Yes I have. I would like to get back to my life and my
job I have waiting for me in New York.”

“Are you prepared to give up all your rights to the ranch
and turn it all over to Blade Thorne?”

“Yes. Can we get this over with?” The quicker she signed,
the faster she could get out of here and put all this behind her.

“Yes, if you are sure this is what you want.”  She
couldn't help but notice how hesitant he seemed.

“I’m sure.”  She just wanted to get it over with.

He adjusted his eyeglasses before sliding a document towards
her that he retrieved from a file folder. “Just sign and date where the ’X’
is,” he said, indicating where it was with the tip of his ink pen. She breathed
a sigh of relief.

She signed the document and asked, “Does this mean “I’m
free to leave Idaho?"  She held her breath; waiting for his response.

“Not yet?”  Now what?

“Tell me why not?”  She felt her heart rate speed up.

“Part of the clause states both parties have to agree. I
will have to contact Mr. Thorne and have him come into my office and sign the
document. After he does, I’ll need to file and process the paperwork and wait
for all of it to go through. You won’t be able to leave for at least three to
four weeks from now.”

Her heart sank. Would Blade sign? He thought she was a
slut. He would probably sign the document just to get her off his property once
and for all. She would only be too glad to go and never return. At least she
wouldn’t need to wait the full year to leave. She thanked the attorney and left
his office.

* * *

B
lade just stepped out of the shower
when he heard someone knocking on his bedroom door. Megan? He threw his
bathrobe on and made a beeline for the door. He opened it to find Martha
standing on the other side.

“You better go downstairs quickly,” she told him. “The
attorney who's handling the will is on the phone. He says he must speak to you.
It’s urgent.”

In a flash, Blade was downstairs and on the phone mounted
on the kitchen wall. “Hello?”

“Blade, I’m so glad I caught you. I need to speak to you
about the will.”  He began to panic.

“Has something happened?”
Was something wrong?

“Megan was just in my office. I’m not going to beat
around the bush. She has decided she no longer wants the ranch. She signed a
document to turn it over to you. I need you to come by my office tomorrow and
sign it as well. As you’ll recall, the will states you both must agree to this.
How does two ‘o clock tomorrow afternoon sound?” Blade absorbed what the man
was saying.

“I’m sorry. I won’t be coming in tomorrow afternoon.” He
wasn't about to let Megan slip away from him as easily as she might like to.

“We can schedule it for another time. Do what works best
for you.” When hell freezes over, he thought to himself, but he didn't voice
it.

“I’m not signing it.” Had he hurt Megan so badly she wanted
to get away from him?

“Blade, she says she wants to get back to her life and
her job in New York.” Blade thought about what the man was saying, but decided
to stick to his guns on this one.

“I’m not signing it,” Blade snapped. “Her life is here
now.” Before the attorney could respond, he hung up the phone.

Anger boiled up in him. There was no way in hell he was
letting her go back to New York. He would do whatever it took to keep her on
the ranch with him.

* * *

T
he next morning she laid stretched out
on the bed where Josh insisted she sleep while he slept on the sofa. She heard
a knock on the cabin door. She groaned and pulled the blankets over her head.
Josh could answer it. She wanted to sleep in longer.

“I need to speak to Megan.” That got her attention.

She sat up in bed when she heard Blade’s voice. What did
he want? Didn't he realize he hurt her enough? She couldn't take anymore.

“She’s still in bed," she heard Josh tell Blade.
I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

“You slept with her?” Blade shouted. What the hell was
Blade up to?

There was a loud crash followed by shuffling sounds. What
was going on out there? She leaped out of bed and grabbed for her bathrobe. She
threw it on as she ran towards the living room to try to resolve the problem.

“Megan is mine,” Blade yelled just as she entered the
room. Blade was on top of Josh slugging him. She gasped as she took in the
scene before her.

“Blade?” she shouted to get his attention. It took him a
few minutes to register she was there and shouting his name. He finally turned
to look at her.

“Get off him! Now!  Do I make myself clear?” she ordered.
As far as she was concerned, Blade was acting as if he were a little child.

Blade jumped up. Josh stood and moved to the other side
of the room to get away from him. She never saw Blade this way before and it
was beginning to scare her.

“What has come over you?”  Whatever his answer, there
were no excuses for his behavior.

He waited until he caught his breath before he spoke.
“How could you let him have sex with you?”  Once again he accused her of having
sex with another man. Did he think she was jumping from bed to bed the way he
did?

She felt as if he slapped her. “I can’t believe you,
Blade. Don’t you ever stop? First you accuse me of having sex with Rex. You practically
called me a slut when I was in your bedroom yesterday morning. Now you are
accusing me of having sex with Josh. It's not any of your business, but Josh
slept on the sofa last night. We don’t have the kind of relationship you think.
He’s like a brother to me. Of course you probably don’t believe me because you
think I put out to every man who comes along.” She turned away as tears began
to sting her eyes.

“Megan, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” She was unsure if
she would ever be able to.

“I’m not sure if I can," she explained. You hurt me
too much.”

“Can we talk privately?”  She thought about it.

She turned and looked from Blade to Josh. Josh got a wash
cloth and was washing the blood off his lip.

“Give me about an hour to eat breakfast, and get bathed
and dressed. I’ll meet you outside the cabin,” she said at last.

“Thank you.” He apologized to Josh and left. She still
felt shock over what just happened.

She turned to Josh. “Are you okay?” She felt bad about
what Blade did to him.

“I think I’ll survive. I just got my lip split open and
I’m going to have one hell of a black eye.” She winced. It looked Painful.

“I’m sorry this happen to you.” She meant what she said.

“Well, it wouldn’t have happened if you two would have
just admitted to each other you are in love. I think you two should do it now
before some real damage is done.”  His words echoed in her ears. She wished it
were that simple.

* * *

B
lade decided to go for a walk while he
waited for the time to pass. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the
crisp morning air.

He could kick himself. How could he lose his temper this
way? To make matters worse he put his foot in his mouth and accused her of
having sex with Josh. It sure as hell didn't win him any points with Megan.

How could he get himself out of this mess? He wasn’t
quite sure what he was going to say to her when the time came to talk. He hoped
all the right words would come to him because he didn’t want to lose her. He
would do whatever it took to fight for her.

If Megan left because of his big mouth, he wouldn’t be
able to live with himself. He wouldn’t be able to live without her period. He
never felt more alive, more complete, until she came back into his life.

In the short time she had been back, she turned his world
upside down and made him see things a lot differently. He looked at his watch.
It would soon be time. He started walking back towards Megan’s cabin.

Before he reached it, Shanice Williams approached him. Since
Megan came back into his life, Shanice did nothing for him.

“When are we going out again?” she cooed in his ear. She
made it sound like a date and it grated on his nerves.

Why did he go and promise her horseback riding lessons?
It was too late to say no. After all, she was a paying guest and she was paying
extra for the riding lessons. He was hoping to do something special this
afternoon with Megan. Now it would have to wait until later on in evening.

“How about this afternoon?” he asked with faux
excitement. He would fulfill his commitment, but not because he wanted to. He
couldn't get out of it.

“I think it would be marvelous!”  The blond grinned from
ear to ear.

“I’ll be by your cabin at one ‘o clock. Now if you’ll
excuse me,” he said, prying her arm off from him. “I have somewhere I need to
be."

* * *

M
egan stood outside her cabin waiting.
She watched Blade talking to the blond. From here, he looked happy to be
getting some affection from her. Maybe the two were meant for each other. He
was now heading in her direction and she did her best to push away all thoughts
of Blade with his lover away.

Why was she willing to talk to him? She didn’t know, but
she should have told him no. She hated knowing her name now joined the
undoubtedly long list of women he bedded, especially if the blond, who was
watching Blade walk away and licking her lips as if Blade were an ice cream
sundae she wanted to dive into, was among the ranks.

Now that she was weak and gave into him, Blade thought
she was just like the blond he was walking away from. She knew she needed to be
strong. All Blade needed to do was sign the document and she could go home.
Three weeks seemed like an eternity. She hoped he would talk to her about the
document and tell her that he made an appointment for that afternoon. She
didn't want to stay here any longer than she needed to.

“I’m glad you’re giving us a chance to talk this
through,” he said when he reached the spot where she was standing. “You must
think what we have is worth it, as do I.” Could he be for real?

She looked at him in disbelief. “What are you talking
about?”

“Megan, we are meant to be together. I can feel it deep
in my soul. I just can’t figure out why you keep fighting it.” She blinked at
him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t let
him get to her. The kind of relationship he was offering her wasn’t what she
wanted. But was she prepared to give him up all together? She reminded herself
to be strong. She needed to move on and forget about Blade forever. She wasn't
the teenage girl she once was who idolized Blade. She was a grown woman with a
life waiting for her back in New York City.

“Blade, the only thing I want from you is your signature
on a particular piece of paper freeing me to go home.”

“I’m not signing anything. You can forget it.”

“You really do enjoy torturing me, don’t you?”  Did he
plan on dragging this out longer than necessary?

“It wouldn’t be so bad if you’d stop fighting it,” he
said as he reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. She
shivered and almost lost all her resolve as his fingertips made contact with
her flesh. “I’d like to finish this conversation where we won’t have an
audience," he said suddenly. "Let’s go for a ride in my truck.”

She never noticed until now, but some of the guests
started coming out of their cabins, some still in their bathrobes. She allowed
him to take her by the arm and lead her towards the truck, trying not to put on
a show for them all. Maybe she’d be able to convince him to sign the form so
she could go back home.

Once they were in his truck, neither said a word. Blade
drove until they came to a clearing and turned down a dirt road. She knew
exactly where they were headed. Why would he be taking her there now? What did
he have as a motive for it?

Her family had a cottage on their property. When she was
younger, it was used as a guest house. Her grandparents used to stay in it when
they would come for Christmas. She forgot all about its existence until now.

She was beginning to feel as if she made a mistake when
she agreed to go on this ride with Blade. She felt maybe he wanted to do more
than just talk to her. If truth be told, neither one could trust the other and
the two of them being alone could snowball into a situation she didn't want to
find herself in again.

He was in for a disappointment. There was no way she was
going to have sex with any man who thought she was a slut.

“Blade, why are you bringing me here?” She started to
worry.

“So we can be alone to talk.” She searched the expression
on his face for a clue there might be another reason, but she could see none.
Still she felt there could be more to it.

“Can’t we go back to the ranch?" she asked, put off
by all the orders Blade made since she arrived back in Idaho. We can always go
to the barn to talk.”