LITMIR.BIZ

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Short intense raps that seemed to echo in his head.

      “Get that, would you?” Jess called from the back of the trailer. He sounded the way Ty felt. Like crap.

      “Yeah.” The word croaked out of his throat. “Coming,” he yelled as he shoved his legs into his jeans.

      He heard the sound of retreating footsteps as he approached the door, stumbling over his boots on the way. Whoever had been at the door was leaving, but since he was now vertical and semidressed, he figured he may as well see who the visitor was. Pushing open the door, he stepped out onto the small landing his brother had built out of scrap lumber. Skye Larkin was walking toward her car, which was parked where his pickup would be if he hadn’t left it at the Shamrock and caught a ride home with Blaine.

      “Hey.”

      Skye stopped dead, her back going stiff, before she slowly turned. And even though he was sore at her, he couldn’t help but think, as always, how ridiculously beautiful she was.

      “Hi,” she said, her voice almost as stiff as her back. She started back toward him, keeping her eyes firmly on his face. Apparently she didn’t want to admire the wonder of his naked torso. Well, women who didn’t want to see half-naked men shouldn’t knock on their doors at unearthly hours.

      “Can I help you with something?” His words were clipped, his voice cold. Couldn’t help himself.

      “You can accept my apology.”

      Unexpected, to say the least. Especially since she’d apparently made a special trip to do so. “You’re apologizing?”

      She came to a stop close to the bottom step, and since Tyler didn’t feel right looking down at her, he started down the steps. Skye took a measured step back, and he stopped. “I am. I was rude yesterday.”

      “Your horse died.”

      Her eyes were red and puffy, as he imagined his were. He didn’t drink that often anymore, because it interfered with his training, but last night he’d made up for lost time.

      “Yes. Well, regardless, sorry. I shouldn’t have told Angie about the loan...but you need to know that I’m not responsible for the buy-the-clear-conscience bit.”

      He narrowed his eyes at her. If she wasn’t responsible for the part that had offended him, then he had only one question. “Why the apology, Skye?”

      “Did some thinking last night.”

      “And realized you needed the loan.”

      The expression that crossed her face, the way she blinked as if she’d just been slapped, made him feel like apologizing, except that he’d done nothing wrong. He’d offered her a loan. He’d offered to help bury her horse. He was not the bad guy.

      “This has nothing to do with the loan,” she snapped. “Except for the part that Angie embellished.” She glared at him briefly, then turned and stalked toward her car. Tyler fought with himself until she was almost there, then bounded down off the porch, making his head throb a little. She heard him coming and stopped with her hand on the car’s door handle. She turned on him with another killer glare and said, “What?”

      He regarded her for a moment. Her nose wrinkled a little, and he realized he probably smelled like a brewery. Tough. “I want to know something, Skye. What do you have against me?” She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her jaw muscles went tight as if she was working very hard to keep words from spilling out.

      “Too many things to articulate?” he asked with mock innocence. His voice hardened as he asked, “Do you need the money I offered you, Skye?”

      “That’s not why I came.”

      “And that’s not an answer.”

      She closed her eyes as she let out a breath, her dark lashes fanning over her cheeks as she debated responses.

      “The truth will do just fine, Skye.”

      Her eyes flashed open. Blue fire. “Yes. I need the money.”

      “What happens if you don’t get it?”

      “I’ll probably lose the truck and...I don’t know about the ranch. Depends if I can get another job.”

      “Two jobs?”

      She nodded, her lips now clamped firmly shut. Tyler raised his eyes to the horizon. The sun was well above the tree line. Maybe it wasn’t such an unearthly hour after all. He breathed deeply, drawing in the scent of grass and pines and Skye. Something in him stirred, and he told it to stop.

      When he looked back at Skye, she was eyeing him warily, as if she were teetering on the brink of something and he had the power to tip her one way or the other. She hated it. He could tell.

      He forced the corners of his mouth up. They fought him, but he got the job done. “I won’t give you the loan...but I’ll buy into your operation.”

      Skye’s chin jerked up. “Wh-what?”

      “I owe it to Mason. He was my friend—whom I did not gamble with.” He needed to make that last part clear. “Here’s the deal. I’ll become your partner. I will infuse cash into your cattle operation, help you catch up on your payments.”

      “What do you get out of it?” Skye asked.

      “Half your profits.”

      “Then you won’t get much.”

      “And I want a place to live.”

      Her eyes flashed, and then she held up her palms as if to ward him off. “You are not moving into my house.”

      “I’ll move a trailer onto the place.”

      “With Jess?” There was a hopeful note in her voice that irritated him.

      “No, Skye. The whole point of this is to not live with my brother.” He rubbed the side of his face.

      “I need more details. Like...how long will we be partners?”

      “Until you buy me out again.”

      “For the original amount?”

      “That wouldn’t be very good business.”

      “Two percent interest?”

      “Three.” Which still wasn’t that great of a return, but, in truth, he wasn’t a very good businessman.

      “I need time to think. And I need more concrete terms.”

      “Three days,” Tyler said. “If you’re still interested, we meet with C.J. and iron out the terms. I’ll make the appointment today.”

      “And cancel if I say no?”

      She wasn’t going to do that. He was almost certain that she couldn’t—not unless some white knight appeared on the horizon. “Sure. I’ll cancel if you say no.”

      She gave her head a small shake, as if unable to believe she was in this situation. She was—and it was not a situation of his making, regardless of what she might think.

      “Hey, Skye...”

      She looked up at him, only this time her gaze skimmed over his bare chest, pausing at the scar on his left pectoral muscle, before moving up to his face.

      “I’ll be gone a lot of the time. Most of the time. Consider that while you make your decision.”

      “Yes.” She lifted her chin, a faint frown pulling her delicate dark eyebrows together. “I will consider that.”

      * * *

      SKYE’S HANDS WERE shaking on the steering wheel as she pulled out of the parking place. Anger? Gratitude?

      Lust?

      Because while Mason had been a hard-body, Tyler was incredible. And she was using his incredible physique to distract herself from the

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