Taming Clint Westmoreland - Brenda Jackson [60]
Three “C an you ride a horse?” Alyssa glanced over at Clint. Sunlight streaming in through the windshield seemed to highlight his features. It had been bad enough sitting across from him at the diner trying to eat. Now they were back in the close quarters of his truck and everything male about him was out in the forefront again. She moved her gaze from his face to the strong, sturdy hands that were gripping the steering wheel, and then lower to his lap where the denim of his jeans stretched tight across muscular thighs. “Alyssa?” She nearly jumped when he said her name again, reminding her that she hadn’t answered his question. “Yes and no.” He glanced over at her and frowned. “You either can or you can’t.” “Not necessarily. There’s another option—can and don’t. Yes, I can ride a horse, but I choose not to.” He gave her a strange look. “Is there a reason why?” “Yes. What if I say that horses don’t like me?” He gave a half laugh. “Then I’d say that if you feel that way it means you have
Four I nviting Alyssa to spend the night at the ranch wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done, Clint decided. From the cliff the ranch house looked huge. But when you stood directly in front of it and got a close-up view, you got a clear picture of just how spacious it was. He hoped Alyssa would decide that in a house as large as his they could easily avoid each other for four short weeks. The front door opened and Chester walked out. The man, who for years had been Clint’s cook, housekeeper, and if there was need, ranch hand, was big. He stood at least six-four and weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. At sixty-five he looked intimidating and mean as a bear. Once you got to know him, however, it didn’t take long to see he was as soft and easygoing as a teddy bear. Clint knew that Chester considered himself a surrogate father to the triplets. The old man was quick to brag that he’d helped Doc Shaw deliver the three. For that reason—in Clint’s opinion—Chester lived under the false
Five “I tell you, Alyssa, that girl is up to no good.” Alyssa tugged off her earring and switched her cell phone to the other ear. Claudine often said that about Kim, but in this case she was inclined to believe her great-aunt. She hadn’t heard from Kim in months, at least not since her cousin’s last attempt to sabotage one of the projects she’d been working on for a client. It had cost Alyssa two weeks of production time and she had had to work every hour nonstop to meet the deadline date she’d been given. Of course, as usual, Kim had denied everything and there hadn’t been any way Alyssa could prove her guilt. “You’re probably right, Aunt Claudine, but there’s nothing that I can do. You know Kim, she’s full of surprises.” Usually those surprises cost Alyssa tremendously. Kim’s bag of dirty tricks included everything from sabotaging important projects to sleeping with Alyssa’s fiancé and then having a courier deliver the damaging photographs just moments before she was to leave her ho
Six A lyssa’s heart immediately began beating harder when she walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Clint seated at the table. Although it appeared he was just starting in on breakfast, she knew he was there waiting on her. His expression indicated that he wanted to know her decision. She glanced around the large kitchen, trying to ignore the pulse that was erratically thumping in her throat. It was a sin and shame that Clint looked so good this early in the morning. He was staring at her with those dark, piercing eyes of his, and the way the sunlight captured the well-defined planes of his face made him appear hauntingly handsome. Alyssa found his good looks quite disturbing, given the fact she was trying to resist her attraction to him. Seeing him only reminded her of her behavior with him last night in his office. He had once again kissed her mindless, engulfing her with a degree of passion she thought was possible only in those