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“I don’t want them hurt.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them, make sure they stay out of mischief.”
“I meant emotionally.” She sipped her coffee. “What Gerry said tonight, about the kids being strays. I don’t want them to hear people saying those things,” she said, reining in her anger. “They deserve a chance. They need to be accepted.”
Her words touched him, the strength in them, the fire in her eyes. Did these kids know how much they were loved? he wondered.
“They won’t hear any of that garbage over at Cable Downs. I only have four men on the payroll and they’re all good blokes. Once I introduce the kids, the men know to act accordingly.”
Lucy wished he didn’t sound so sincere. It just made it more difficult not to like him. And Lucy was determined not to like him. Neighbourliness was one thing, but liking opened up a whole other can of worms that Lucy knew should stay very firmly closed. She emptied her cup and looked over at his. “Finished?”
Clayton grinned. “Is that your subtle way of telling me it’s time I was going?”
She raised an imperious eyebrow, trying to ignore what that smile did to her insides. “If subtle worked with you I would be upstairs asleep and you wouldn’t be here.”
He feigned a wounded look. “You mean to say you’d send me out on a night like this with just one cup of coffee under my belt?”
And that tack wouldn’t persuade her either. “Thomas would say I was doing you a favour.”
Truth be told she was right. After that one mouthful, he wasn’t expecting to get any sleep tonight. How the hell he was going to finish the whole lot he didn’t know. But he thought of it as a test. Though he’d like to know what she used to put the coffee in the percolator. He was guessing garden spade. A large one. He looked down at his plate and then back to her, grinning. “I’ve got cake left.”
Lucy sat back, hoping for that bored, unaffected look Lisa did so well. “Then I suggest you eat it.”
Oh, he would. The cake was world-class compared to the coffee. He waved his fork in her direction. “Give me a chance, Lucy. I’ll grow on you.”
Give him a chance? Not if she had one ounce of self-preservation in her body! “I don’t even know you.”
His gaze pinned her with undeniable challenge. He aimed to change that as soon as possible. “What do you mean you don’t know me? I help damsels in distress, children like me…and I drink your coffee. I think that last one should qualify me for some kind of bravery award. What more do you need to know?”
How to get you out of my life before you become a complication I can’t afford, she thought ruefully. “You haven’t finished the coffee yet,” she reminded him smugly. “And what do you mean bravery award?” She frowned. “Are you saying my coffee’s lousy?”
“Of course not.” And he wasn’t lying. It left lousy in the dust. Lousy gave the impression it could be improved. Clayton doubted anything short of an exorcism could make her coffee fit for general human consumption.
“It’s getting late,” she pointed out.
Clayton grinned. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What you’ve got is a hide thicker than any rhinoceros.”
He smiled again and this time she couldn’t muster a defence for it. She had to get him out of her kitchen, out of her house…and then she had to avoid him as much as possible. Either that or try to forget he was the reason they put the S in sinful.
“I’ve never had any complaints about the state of my hide, Lucy. I think you should wait until you have firsthand knowledge of it before you make rash statements.” He smiled as he purposely reached for the mug and drank the coffee. He hoped his medical insurance was up to date. How much did a stomach pump cost? he wondered.
Lucy leaned her arms on the table and met his gaze with a direct one of her own as he put the mug back on the table and finished off his cake. This was something they needed to get out of the way right now. “We’re neighbours. You’re helping the kids to feel more at home here and I appreciate it, but we are never going to be more than that.”
So, she could tell he was interested. That was a good start. “Never is a long time, Lucy. Are you sure you don’t want to renegotiate the time frame?”
She stood up. “Go home.” He put the fork on the plate along with his mug then pushed to his feet, still grinning as if he was having the time of his life. Great…just great! That was definitely the combination she needed in a man. Drop-dead sexy, lethally charming and annoyingly persistent.
“Don’t you want to know my idea?”
Lucy scowled. “Do I get a choice?”
“No.”
She glared at him. “Fine, as long as it gets you out of my house.” His smile wasn’t triumphant enough to be a smirk but it came darn close.
“Do you ride?”
Lucy didn’t trust his casual tone. She just knew there was a trapdoor here somewhere. She hoped she saw it before it was too late. “Horses?”
He chuckled. “We’d better stick to livestock or this conversation could take on a whole new meaning.”
Too late! She’d have to watch for the next potential slip. “No, I don’t ride horses.”
“Then I’ll teach you.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t know how to ride a horse. I just said I didn’t ride them.”
“Well, can you ride?”
She folded her arms and wondered if she really would have to push him out the door. “No.”
“Then I’ll give you lessons.”
Oh, I’ll just bet you could, Clayton McKinley. “What you’ll give me is a mitigating circumstance for homicide,” she said, exasperated and not totally immune to the fact that he was flirting with her. “As for the lessons, I don’t think so. The farther off the ground you are, the more it hurts when you fall off.”
“What if I promise to catch you?”
Oh, that was a much better idea. Hitting the ground would be less dangerous. “My answer would be the same.”
Clayton would have fun changing her mind. “I’d better be going. Thanks for the coffee and cake.”
“Thank you for the assistance.” Lucy followed him out of the kitchen and through the living room, where he picked up his coat and hat before heading out the door. He turned on the threshold, meeting her gaze. “I’ll see you when you drop the kids off tomorrow.”
“I have some things to do in the morning. I’ll get Thomas to drive them over.”
Clayton smiled. “Are you afraid of me?”
Lucy trembled involuntarily as that low, soft drawl skittered up her spine. With a momentum of its own it radiated to all points of her body. She raised her chin and tried to ignore the sensation, meeting his steady gaze with what she hoped was a withering glare.
“In your dreams.”
“You will be,” he replied easily. “I’m going to be seeing a lot more of you, Lucy Warner.” He reached out and soft as a whisper stroked the back of his fingers down her cheek, mesmerized by the softness he met and by the way she became immobile with…what was that in her eyes? Panic? Fear? He pulled his hand away, realizing he would have to go slower with this woman that he ever had in his life. He put his hat on and shrugged into his coat.
“It doesn’t matter if you hide out here and try to avoid me, Lucy. We’re going to be good together. That is a promise and a McKinley always keeps his promises.”
Lucy couldn’t look away from him, couldn’t forget the feelings his fingers had elicited. She raised her chin a notch and looked him straight in the eye. “You think I can’t resist you?”
He tucked his thumbs into the belt hooks of his jeans. “I think I’d like you to try. Sounds like it might be fun.” Then he turned serious. “And one more thing. I would never hurt those kids to get close to you. I plan to do that all by myself.”
Lucy shivered but it had nothing to do with the night air and everything to do with the man who threatened to thaw her heart with just a sexy smile. He turned and walked down the steps, the porch light illuminating the path to his truck.
“I’m not getting involved with you.” It had seemed important to get that out in the open so there could be no misunderstandings. But when he turned and looked back at her, one hand on the door of the vehicle, Lucy realized how well this man played the game.
“I’ll make a bet with you that we’ll be dining over candlelight before next Saturday.”
Lucy crossed her arms and leaned back on the door-frame, hiding a small smile at his tenacity. “And when you lose that wager, what do I get?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “If I lose, you’ll get the satisfaction of seeing me fall flat on my backside and an extra pair of hands to help you scrape down this house. But I intend to win, Lucy, and when I do, my payment will be giving you those riding lessons you need…and a kiss.”
Lucy considered herself unshockable after so many years spent around kids for whom shock value had its own rewards, but his suggestion almost caught her off guard. Kissing Clayton McKinley was not a good idea. Just the touch of his finger on her cheek had almost curled her toes…and her toes didn’t curl for anyone!
“It’s a deal.”
He touched the rim of his hat and gave her another one of those dangerous smiles. “Yeah, it’s a deal. But it’s going to be a pleasure, Lucy. You can count on that.”
She stood there and watched him drive off into the night, waiting until she could no longer see his taillights in the distance.
Clayton McKinley had stirred her libido to life again as easily as he breathed. And Lucy was scared. Not because of his striking good looks, not even because of his laid-back charm. But because she’d known the man less than two hours and feelings were waking inside her. He’d stroked her cheek and her insides quivered. He smiled and she could almost hear the barricade around her emotions straining under the force of it. She had never felt anything so consuming and that was her fear. How could she protect herself from something she couldn’t control? Lucy had a feeling she’d just let a major complication into her life.
How much damage he did would be up to her.
Chapter Three
If he was surprised the next morning when she drove her car into the driveway of Cable Downs, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked downright pleased with himself. The kids wasted no time getting out, though Max was stiff and sore from his injuries and Katie tried to act as if this whole thing was no big deal, when they all knew otherwise.
Lucy followed after a moment or two in which she got her racing heartbeat back under some semblance of control. He’d been hard at it already. Sweat and dust clung to the thin cotton T-shirt that stretched across his chest and shoulders. He was potent. Masculine. Rugged. A down-home original.
Clayton touched the rim of his hat and smiled at Lucy before turning his attention to the kids. “I’ve got hats and sunscreen for both of you up in the house. And it’s good to see you wore sensible shoes. I reckon I’ll make farmers out of you yet.”
Lucy watched them bask in his praise. No matter how she felt about Clayton, this would be good for Max and Katie. They’d been dreading the holidays. Soon enough their farm would be up and running, though not on the grand scale of this one. Until then, the chores were boring, repetitive and uninteresting.
“Go on up to the house,” he said, “and you’ll get morning tea before we head out.”
They didn’t need to be told twice, and when they were gone, Clayton stood face-to-face with the woman who had haunted what little sleep he had managed last night. “So I guess you’re not afraid of me after all.”
If he weren’t so darn charming his words would have almost been arrogant. “I wouldn’t have taken the bet if I was afraid of you.” He smiled and Lucy didn’t even try to shield herself from the effect, taking it as a given when a shiver skittered down her spine.
“Walk with me up to the house before all the goodies disappear with the hungry hordes,” he said, leading the way to the large homestead with its low-slung veranda and jasmine vines clinging to the railing. “I didn’t think you’d go for that bet, but you surprised me.”
“I know I’m going to win.”
Clayton smiled, wondering if he would ever get to see her in anything but jeans. She had a lemon-coloured sweatshirt on today and a pair of worn boots. Granted, she did things to a pair of jeans that would give a corpse palpitations, but he’d wager those legs would look dynamite in a skirt.
“Confidence. I like that in a woman. I find it sexy. You know, wondering if it spills over into other facets of her life.”
His smile had Lucy thinking of crisp cool sheets and Clayton…a combination that would get her in deep trouble, fantasy or not. “Just so we don’t get our signals crossed, are you flirting with me, McKinley?”
He took off his hat as he approached the veranda steps. Damp hair clung to his forehead and he reached up to brush it back with a smooth, long-fingered stroke. “I believe that’s what they call it,” he replied, not the least bit bashful. “Flirting is the basis of any good seduction.”
Lucy took a deep breath. Why couldn’t he just beat around the bush now and again without always having to just come right out with what he was thinking?
“You can’t seduce me.”
“Oh, it might take a while, since you’re not quite sure what my motives are…or whether you can trust me,” he said, never once breaking eye contact with her. “But it will happen.”
“I’m not attracted to you,” she said, wanting it to be true. His expression told her he knew otherwise and darn it if he wasn’t right.
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“That’s right, I’ve had a vaccination to protect me from charming men.”
Clayton raised a dark eyebrow at her. “You think I’m charming?”
Loath as she was to admit it, Lucy knew there was no use denying it. “At the risk of encouraging you, any red-blooded woman would find you charming.” His soft smile sent a spiral of heat through her body.
“But I don’t want just any red-blooded woman…I want you.”
Lucy might be one hundred percent shockproof but she still wasn’t immune to a sexy man saying those words to her, looking at her with unmistakable desire. No man had ever desired her. But she could see it in his eyes. Attraction. She felt it all the way to her bones.
“Does the word subtle have any significance for you?” she said. “You can’t just go around saying whatever’s on your mind.”
He shrugged. “Seems to me it saves time and confusion. Have dinner with me,” he said, changing gears again. “Tonight. In town.”
Lucy chuckled. He got full marks for persistence. “You think I’m going to make it that easy?”
“Lord, I hope not. That would take all the fun out of it.”
Lucy bit back a smile. “I meant it won’t be that easy to catch me out and win the bet by inviting me to some candlelit restaurant.”
Clayton held the door open for her. “You’ll say yes to me, eventually.”
And she wondered if that was another McKinley promise he intended to keep. Inside she didn’t get much of a chance to do more than nod politely to the four men who sat around the oblong-shaped wooden table in the kitchen. No sooner had Clayton introduced her to Shay Hamilton, ranch housekeeper and family friend, and the farmhands than the men were plucking hats off the rack in the corner and heading back out to work.
Shay looked across at her. “Coffee?”
Lucy smiled. “Thanks.”
“Boss, me and Charlie will keep going on that other section of downed fence.”
Clayton poured himself a cup of coffee. “Okay, Bob. We should finish it in case that predicted storm blows in. I’ll be down in a few minutes. Harry, you and Derek keep going on the combine so it’ll be ready when that part comes in this afternoon.”
The tall, red-haired man nodded. “Real nice scones, Shay.”
“Thank you, Harry.”
Lucy watched the young auburn-haired woman fuss over Max and Katie, who both milked the attention for all they were worth. They questioned Clayton about everything from what kind of animals he had apart from sheep, to what they might be doing all day. Clayton mentioned they had a pig that was pretty close to giving birth and Katie was in heaven. Max, on the other hand, seemed more interested in what a combine was.
