LITMIR.BIZ

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business. What happened last night will not happen again.”

      We’ll see about that, Patrick thought. “Agreed. Strictly business.” He shook her hand then released it before he broke his promise right here and now. “Talk with Nora and she’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

      He started down the steps toward the barn, then turned. “I’ll be busy most of the day, so you’ll be fending for yourself. But tomorrow I expect to see you in the barn at 6:00 a.m. If you’re not, I’ll figure you’ve changed your mind.”

      “Oh, I’ll be there,” she tossed back, a challenging look on her beautiful face. “So be ready to live up to your reputation.”

       Three

       F our hours later, Cynthia and Kelly returned to the Tanner Ranch from town. Cynthia had brought back her car, along with two suitcases filled with jeans, blouses and a couple of pairs of boots for her stay.

      Nora greeted them, then took her to the ranch house, recounting some of the history of the hundred-year-old structure. The place had been remodeled, showing off shiny hardwood floors throughout covered partly by taupe-colored rugs. The large, overstuffed furniture in the main room was done in earth tones and arranged around the stone fireplace and a large television.

      “Years ago Patrick knocked out the wall between the dining room and living room,” Nora explained. “He said he needed to keep an eye on all of us girls and this way it was easier.”

      “What about your parents?” Cynthia asked, surprised that Nora hadn’t mentioned them.

      Sadness flashed in the young girl’s eyes. “They’re dead. My mother passed away when I was about nine and my father a few years later.”

      “I’m sorry.” Cynthia knew how it was to be without a father since her parents were divorced, but to lose both would be devastating.

      “Thank you. It was tough at first,” Nora explained, “but Jane, Karen and I had Patrick. He was the one who kept the family together, who worked around the clock to save our home. He’d just turned twenty-one when Dad died, and had been handling the ranch long before that.”

      Nora managed a shaky smile. “Will you listen to me go on. I’m sure you’re not interested in our family history.”

      “Not so. I know what it’s like to be without a parent. Kelly’s and my father left us when I was ten.” Of course it had been better than the nonstop fights, Cynthia remembered sadly.

      Just then the back door opened and Patrick walked in carrying her two suitcases. Kelly followed behind him with a small duffel bag. His wary gaze was directed at her. He didn’t say anything, but the meaning was clear. He wasn’t happy she was here.

      “I’m putting these in Janie’s old room.”

      Kelly handed Cynthia the duffel. “Better go with Patrick and see your accommodations.”

      Cynthia reluctantly crossed the room to the wide oak staircase. On the second floor, there was no sign of Patrick Tanner so she continued down the hall, glancing into several of the bedrooms. Each one of them was neat and tidy, adorned with subtle homey touches. So unlike her modern hillside house in LA. Finally she found her host in a soft yellow room with an ivory chenille bedspread covering a canopy bed. Cynthia smiled. She would have given anything to have had a room like this growing up.

      At the row of windows across the room Patrick pulled back the floral curtains, then raised the windows, letting in the sweet-smelling country breeze.

      Patrick turned around, but he refused to look at Cyndi. What had he done to deserve this? He never brought women to the ranch—to his home. Not since Gwen. Damn. He hated thinking about how stupid he’d been back then. How much it had nearly cost him.

      “The bathroom is across the hall,” he instructed her. “Towels are in the cupboard. I don’t have a full-time housekeeper, so you’ll have to make your own bed and clean up after yourself.”

      “I can manage that.”

      Patrick stole another look and his breath caught in his chest. She was beautiful. Her face, her flawless skin, those expressive eyes. Memories of last night came flooding back. Cyndi’s passion, her eagerness in their lovemaking…then her disappearance. It had never crossed his mind that she was the movie star Cynthia Reynolds.

      “Good,” he said, “because no one here has time to wait on you.”

      “Patrick, have I made you angry?”

      Hell, yes. “No, I’m just busy. I have a mare in season.”

      “Please, don’t let me keep you,” she told him without any sarcasm in her tone. “I said I didn’t want any special treatment, and I meant it.”

      Cynthia wondered if she would ever again see the Patrick she’d met at Morgan’s. The man who had been so attentive, so loving. She realized she wanted to see that sexy smile of his again.

      He gave her a sharp nod. “Sounds good to me,” he said, but remained standing there with his hands on his hips. Those narrow hips attached to those long muscular legs. She let her gaze move upward over his flat stomach, to his broad chest and shoulders, unable to erase the memory of every alluring naked inch of this man.

      Her pulse shot off, racing. Staying here for the next ten days was going to be torture. If this movie role wasn’t so important, she wouldn’t be here.

      She picked up one of her suitcases and tossed it on the bed just as Nora and Kelly came in, nearly running into Patrick as he tried to get out the door.

      Nora called to him, “Patrick, I’m cooking a tri-tip roast for dinner so be on time.”

      He mumbled something impossible to understand, then all they heard were footsteps on the stairs.

      “Oh, Cyndi, I had another room picked out for you,” Nora said as she glanced around. “I don’t know why my brother put you here. We can move you.”

      “No, this is fine. I think we’ve disturbed Patrick enough for one day. I’m going to try and do exactly what he wants.” She glanced at her sister. “And you, I’m not finished with you. You didn’t even give me a chance to decide what I wanted to do. I’m not sure I can handle this.”

      Kelly didn’t seem fazed as she helped unpack the clothes, putting things inside the dresser drawers. “If I’d waited, the movie role would have been gone before you decided to get near a horse again.”

      Cynthia took out her cosmetic bag along with her bottle of NoWait oil. She glanced at Nora. “Is she like this at the office? If so, I feel sorry for you.”

      Nora smiled. “I thought my sisters and I were the only ones who argued like this. I’m the baby so I have no sympathy for older sisters. I got bossed around by everyone.”

      “Yeah, but I bet you were spoiled, too,” Cynthia said, glaring at Kelly. “Just remember all the mistakes are made on the oldest child.”

      “And I got all your hand-me-downs,” Kelly tossed back.

      Cynthia knew that Kelly wasn’t just talking about clothes. During their teenage years they’d shared a few boyfriends, too. She surprised herself by saying, “Not anymore.”

      Kelly grinned. “I guess there are some things we need to put off-limits.”

      Cynthia wondered what had gotten into her. Had she gotten territorial over Patrick? She shook away the thought, knowing she needed to concentrate on her challenge of learning to ride.

      But which one was going to give her the most trouble—the horse or the man?

      After dinner, Patrick stood out on the back porch watching a light rain wash over the mountains. Billowy clouds clung to the peak, hiding the last of the day’s sun. He loved this time. The end of a busy day, when his body felt a satisfied tiredness, which meant he’d accomplished a lot. And he

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