Taming Clint Westmoreland - Brenda Jackson [8]
“According to Hightower, there isn’t. You heard him for yourself.”
“I say let’s fight it.”
“And I say let’s just do what we have to do and get it over with.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Fine, but there’s still the issue of where we’ll stay. Here or Waco.” Each knew how the other felt on the subject. Alyssa knew she was being hard-nosed. To handle his business properly, he would have to be on his ranch, whereas she could operate just about anywhere, as long as she had her computer and server.
“Alyssa?”
She glanced up at him. “Yes?”
“I’m sure you prefer handling your business from Waco, but is there any reason you can’t do it here if I help get things set up for you?” he asked, evidently thinking along the same lines as she had earlier.
She decided to be honest with him. “No.”
“All right. Then will you?” he asked. “My ranch isn’t all that bad. It’s pretty nice actually. And with the hours I work, I’d barely be home most of the time so it will be as if you have the place to yourself. I won’t be underfoot.”
She tilted her head to study him. In other words they really wouldn’t be under the same roof for thirty days—at least not all the time. In a way, she would prefer it that way. Being around Clint 24/7 would be too hard to handle. But she knew he was right. They had to do something and since it was easier for her to make the change why sweat it. That didn’t mean she had to like it. At least the two of them were working together and doing what needed to be done to get their lives back on track and end what had been the agency’s screwup and not theirs. But still…
“What about a steady girlfriend?” she decided to ask.
“Don’t have one, steady or otherwise. Don’t have the time.”
She lifted a brow. When did men stop making the time for women? She thought they lived for intimacy.
“What about you?” he asked her. “Is there a steady man in your life?”
She thought about the occasional calls she got from Kevin as he tried to make a comeback, as if she didn’t know that he and Kim were still messing around with each other. Kim took pleasure in making comments every once in a while to let her know she and Kevin were still seeing each other now and then. “No, like you, I don’t have the time.”
He nodded. “So, there’s really nothing holding us back to do what we need to do to get the matter resolved,” he said.
If only it were that simple, she wanted to say. Instead she said, “I need to sleep on it.” She preferred not to make a decision right then.
“Okay. In that case would you mind doing your sleeping at the ranch?” Clint asked. “That way, you can check out the place to see if it will work for you.”
She’d rather not stay at his ranch tonight but what he’d said made sense. She was used to living in the city. She wasn’t sure how she would handle being out in such a rural setting. “Okay, Clint. I’ll spend the night at your ranch and will give you my decision about things in the morning.”
He tilted his head and looked at her. “I can’t ask for any more than that.”
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 haven’t developed your own personal technique