Courting the Enemy (6 page)

“Me, either,” the younger one said.

“I imagine she did leave you with chores to do, though, didn’t she?” Grady said pointedly.

“That she did,” the old man agreed.

Even so, for a minute Grady thought they might stand right there for the rest of the day to keep an eye on him. But eventually their sense of duty overcame
their suspicions and they wandered away, the old man still muttering under his breath about the nerve of some people.

Ironically, Grady was actually relieved by their reaction. It meant there were people looking out for Karen, people who had her best interests at heart, even if they were sadly misguided where he was concerned.

Or maybe not, he thought wryly. Maybe they had it just right. His intentions weren’t quite as honorable as he’d made them out to be. It would be wise if all of them remembered that, himself included.

He went back to work, contenting himself with the progress he was making in scraping off the old paint. That was why he’d come, after all. He wasn’t here to see Karen Hanson with her big blue, vulnerable eyes and kissable lips.

And pigs flew, he thought with a sigh as his gaze strayed time and again toward the driveway where he hoped to catch a glimpse of her beat-up old truck kicking up a plume of dust.

But as night fell, there was still no sign of Karen. Even though the two men had told him she’d gone out, Grady knocked on the door in case they’d merely been trying to throw him off, but there was no answer. No welcoming lights came on in the kitchen as it grew darker.

He poured himself a last cup of coffee from his thermos and settled into the shadows of the front porch to wait for her return. He was grateful for his sheepskin-lined jacket as the air turned cold. There was the scent of snow in it, though a blizzard hadn’t been predicted before the following week.

As the minutes ticked by, he was tempted to throw
in the towel and leave, but he stayed right where he was. He couldn’t explain why he was so determined to hang around until Karen’s return. He felt sure he wouldn’t like the answer if he tried.

When Karen drove up at last, the headlights cut through the darkness, clearly outlining him in the rocker. She turned off the pickup’s engine, but she didn’t emerge. He could just imagine her sitting there, battling irritation…or maybe even temptation. Was she struggling with it the same way he was?

When she finally stepped from the car, slammed the door and headed his way with a brisk stride, he concluded irritation had won. He stood to meet her, eager for a battle that was bound to warm the air by several degrees.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” she asked mildly enough. “You’re too far away from the barn to claim you’re painting.”

“I was waiting for you. You were out late for a woman with so much work to do around here,” he said mildly.

“I thought
you’d
taken over all the hard chores,” she tossed back. “So I figured I could take a day off,” she added cheerfully.

“Is that it? My guess is you were hiding out. Surely, I don’t scare you, do I?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You annoy me, you don’t scare me. On top of that, my comings and goings are no concern of yours,” she declared with an expected flash of temper that virtually heated the chilly night air.

He concluded that he’d hit the nail on the head. She’d stayed away today to avoid him and was thoroughly exasperated that the tactic had failed.

“A lady can never have too many people worrying about her,” he said. “Not in this day and age.”

She stuffed her hands into her pockets and met his gaze evenly. “Would it surprise you to know that the only thing in my life my friends are concerned about is
you?
”

Grady felt his lips twitch. “Not a bit. I imagine you’ve painted a pretty dark picture of me. Your two hands certainly seemed suspicious enough when they found me here.”

“I imagine they were. Dooley and Hank were very loyal to Caleb. They look out for me.”

“There’s no need to worry about me. I’m not such a bad guy,” he asserted.

“Couldn’t prove it by me.”

“You realize, of course, that you don’t know me at all,” he reminded her yet again.

“I know enough.”

He took a step closer, admiring the fact that she didn’t back away. “Such as?”

“You’re a scoundrel and a thief,” she said flatly, dredging up old news.

Even though they’d been over this ground before, it was evident she intended to cling to that description. Maybe it was what she used to battle the undeniable sparks of attraction zinging between them even now.

He stepped closer, deliberately crowding her. She continued to stand her ground, though there was an unmistakable flash of alarm in her eyes. “Really?” he said softly. “You know that for a fact?”

“My husband said—”

He lifted his hand and brushed a wayward strand of hair away from her cheek, felt her skin heat. “Yes,
you’ve quoted him before,” he said, pulling away before the gesture could turn into a caress. “But what do you know, Karen? Not rumor. Not innuendo. Pure fact.”

In the light of a pale half-moon, he could see her throat work as she struggled with the possibility that she had judged him unfairly. It was clear she didn’t have an answer for him, and just as clear that she didn’t like that about herself.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said in the same coaxing tone he’d use to gentle a wild horse. “You get to know me. Spend time with me. If you still think I’m a scoundrel and a thief, I’ll walk away and not bother you about the land again. If I prove otherwise, you’ll sell the ranch to me and get on with that traveling you’ve always dreamed about.”

“I can’t,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“Why not? Don’t you trust your own judgment?”

“Of course, but—”

“It’s a fair deal, Karen. You know it is.”

“I still can’t do it,” she said.

She said it flatly, but Grady thought there was a slightly wistful note in her voice for the first time.

“Suit yourself. I’ll just come up with some other way to go about this,” he said with an indifferent shrug, and started to walk away. He didn’t get far.

“This experiment of yours,” she called after him, sounding resigned. “How long would it last and what would it entail?”

He turned back to face her. “As long as it takes and whatever’s necessary.”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. It’ll only work if there are rules and we both agree to them.”

“Okay, then,” he relented. “A month and we’ll
only share a few meals, a little conversation. Nothing more. What’s the harm in that? We got through dinner last night without the world coming to an end, didn’t we?”

“I suppose.”

“So, what do you say? Is it a deal?”

“Two weeks,” she countered, her defiant gaze locked with his.

“Two weeks,” he agreed, seizing it. He bit back his desire to utter a whoop of triumph. “Lunch and dinner.”

“You’ll be satisfied with that?” she asked, gaze narrowed as she studied him. “Whatever my decision at the end of two weeks, you’ll live with it? You’ll accept it if I say you haven’t convinced me of anything?”

“That’s the agreement.”

She held out her hand. Grady clasped it, felt her tremble, and knew he’d just made the smartest deal of his life.

As he walked away, he murmured under his breath, “Two weeks is a start, darlin’. That’s a real good start.”

W
hat had she done? Karen rested her head on her arms and groaned as she considered Grady’s trap and the way she’d neatly stepped into it with virtually no hesitation at all. She had invited the enemy into the camp and promised to break bread with him. She had to be out of her mind.

But somehow, in the quiet stillness of the night, she hadn’t been able to resist what he was offering—a chance to end this battle once and for all.

More, it was a chance to unravel a puzzle that was increasingly complex. Why she cared so much about that didn’t bear thinking about. She feared it went beyond fair play, beyond curiosity. In fact, she had a terrible sense that it had to do with a yearning that had started in the pit of her stomach and hadn’t let up since the day he’d appeared in her kitchen.

It could be as simple as a yearning for companion
ship, something she’d missed desperately in the weeks and months since Caleb’s death. A worrisome voice in the back of her mind told her it was something more, something specific to Grady, the allure of the forbidden.

She hadn’t been the rule-breaker all those years ago. That had been Cassie. But, oh, how Karen had longed to be just like her, to shake things up, defy convention. Spending time with Grady would certainly qualify. There would be talk. Her in-laws were likely to be outraged. Deep down, even she disapproved of the choice she had made.

But it was done now. She couldn’t go back on her word. It was only a few meals, she reminded herself. How difficult could that be? How much trouble could she get into by spending an occasional hour in Grady’s company?

She found out when lunch turned out to be a daily ritual and dinner slipped into the schedule six nights out of seven. By the end of the first week of their agreement, she’d almost grown comfortable having Grady around. She’d almost forgotten why he was there. The wicked danger of it all faded when he continued to behave like a perfect gentleman.

Then came the Saturday night that snow started falling while they were sharing a meal of beef stew and homemade bread. Karen wasn’t aware that the weather had changed outside as Grady beguiled her with stories of his grandfather.

As the tales unfolded, it became evident that Thomas Blackhawk was an amazing man, one who fought to preserve his Native American heritage while getting along quite well in a white man’s world. He
was mayor of his town in the northwest part of the state and there was some talk that he might run for a position as delegate from the region to the state legislature.

“The first time I ever saw him dressed in a suit and tie, I couldn’t believe it was him,” Grady said, his eyes twinkling. “I’d seen him most often in jeans and flannel, but there he was speaking to a crowd at a town meeting, wearing this fancy black suit, his lined face filled with pride. It was quite a transformation. When I commented on it afterward, do you know what he said?”

“What?” Karen asked, fascinated.

“That all the fancy clothes in the world couldn’t make a man respect you. It was actions that did that.”

“You love him a lot, don’t you?”

“It’s more than that,” Grady said. “I love him and I admire him. He lives a very simple life in the middle of nowhere, in a house he built himself. As a kid I spent a lot of time with him, listening to him talk about nature, about our place in the universe. He taught me all of the old legends and practices, but those weren’t the most important lessons, by far.”

“What were the really important ones?” Karen asked.

“He taught me about self-respect and loyalty, about family and duty.”

She thought she saw where this was going. “Was he the one who taught you to hate the Hansons?”

“Not to hate them,” Grady denied. “My grandfather has never hated anyone. He just made me aware that this land should have belonged to his father, that it should have been Blackhawk land.”

“In other words, he planted a seed in your head,
watered it regularly and now it’s grown into this obsession,” she said, derision cutting into the admiration she had begun to feel for Thomas Blackhawk.

“It’s not an obsession, Karen. It’s a commitment. I want my grandfather to stand on this land someday, look around and know that it’s back with its rightful owners, that it’s Blackhawk land again.”

“Would he be happy about that if he knew the price you’d paid?” she asked.

“Dollars aren’t the issue,” he told her.

“No,” she agreed. “And I wasn’t talking about the amount of money you say you’re willing to put on the table. I was talking about the rest, the attempts you’ve made to force Caleb, and now me, to sell.”

He regarded her with obvious impatience. “Dammit, I’ve told you I had nothing to do with trying to sabotage your herd.”

“If not you, who?”

“Both things could have been accidents. Cattle get ill. Pastures catch on fire during a dry summer.”

She regarded him evenly. “Do you honestly believe that’s what happened? Isn’t it a little too coincidental that both the outbreak of disease and the fire happened to our herd and no one else’s?”

“I’ll admit it looks suspicious, but I had nothing to do with any of it.”

“So you say.”

“In a lot of very powerful circles, my word is good enough.”

“All that tells me is that the world is filled with foolish people,” she said, stubbornly clinging to her—no, Caleb’s—conviction that Grady couldn’t be trusted. She needed these reminders from time to time. Otherwise, it would be too easy to start to like
him a little too much, to begin to believe the pretty words that tripped so easily off his tongue.

He gave her a steady look, one clearly designed to rattle her. “Can you honestly sit there and look me in the eye and tell me that you think I’m capable of trying to destroy your herd just to get what I want? Have I done anything in the last week that was the least bit underhanded? Have I pressured you in any way?”

“No,” she was forced to admit. Not unless the fact that he was here in the first place counted as a crime. The truth was he’d been helpful and considerate. He’d done everything in his power to ingratiate himself with her, tackling odd jobs too long ignored. The ranch buildings had never been in better condition.

“Well, then, shouldn’t you be starting to trust me just a little?” he asked.

“I do,” she conceded with a sigh, then met his gaze. “A little.”

He grinned. “Another good start, darlin’. We’re making progress.”

Karen wasn’t sure they were making the right kind of progress. She was absolutely certain Caleb wouldn’t approve of it. She pushed away from the table, because it was becoming too tempting to linger, to share a second cup of coffee and a little more conversation each time they were together.

“I’d better get these dishes washed,” she said, turning her back on him.

Grady was on his feet at once. “Let me help.”

“No need,” she insisted. “I’m sure you want to be heading home.”

He grinned at that. “Not especially. The company’s better right here. And it’s Saturday night, a
time to settle back and relax a little. I brought a video. I thought maybe we could make some popcorn and watch it together.”

The prospect was more alluring than she cared to admit. “Sorry,” she said edgily. “No popcorn in the house.”

“I brought that, too.”

“You do think of everything, don’t you?” she said in a way not meant to be complimentary.

“I try to,” he agreed, not taking offense. “Shall I get the movie, or are you going to turn me down?”

She hesitated, then asked, “What movie is it?”

“One of Lauren’s,” he said with a smug expression. “It just came out on video.”

She frowned at him. “You knew I wouldn’t be able to resist that, didn’t you?”

“No, but I was hoping.”

The chances to get to Laramie for a movie had been too few and far between. The one she’d seen a week ago had been the first one since before Caleb’s death. The last one of Lauren’s she’d viewed in a theater had been a year ago. She told herself she was merely eager to catch up on her friend’s career, not for the lingering company of the disconcerting man who’d brought the video.

“Get it,” she told him. “I’ll finish up here.”

Grady grabbed his jacket and opened the back door, allowing a blast of frigid air into the kitchen. When he shut it again without taking a step outside, Karen regarded him with curiosity.

“Anything wrong?” she asked.

“I suppose that depends on your point of view,” he said with a wry note in his voice.

She crossed the room and opened the door to see
for herself. Great white flakes of snow were swirling around in blinding sheets. She could barely see the lighted outline of the barn in the distance. The ground had already been blanketed with a layer several inches thick. At this rate, the roads would be impassable in no time, if they weren’t already.

Even as the implications of the blizzard sank in, she couldn’t help being awed by the beauty of the snow-covered landscape. Rugged terrain softened and glistened.

She had learned long ago how to weather a storm. There were supplies on hand, a generator to keep the most basic electricity functioning and a well-stocked woodpile by the back door.

The only problem, of course, was the fact that she was going to be stuck here for who-knew-how-long with Grady. She couldn’t send him out in this, not with the distance he’d have to drive. Maybe if he lived just up the road, they could have risked it, but he was miles from home.

The prospect of allowing him to stay under her roof didn’t disconcert her nearly as much as it should have. This was an emergency. Who could make anything of it if he stayed? Who would even know?

She closed the door carefully, then announced briskly, “You’ll stay here, of course. I’ll go check the guest room and make sure you’ll have everything you need.”

“Karen,” he said softly, drawing her attention.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t plan this.”

She allowed herself a brief smile at that. “No, I imagine not even
you
can control the weather.”

“I didn’t know it was predicted,” he amended.

“Grady, I know enough about storms to know that they can come up unexpectedly, be worse than anticipated, any of that. I’m not thinking that you somehow conspired to find a way to spend the night here.”

He nodded. “Okay, just so we’re clear.”

“We are,” she said, amused despite herself. “Why don’t you go ahead and get that movie and the popcorn?”

“If you’re sure. I could still try to make it home.”

“And wind up stranded in a snowdrift? I don’t think so. I don’t want that on my conscience.”

“And we both know how worrisome you find that conscience of yours,” he said lightly. “I’ll get the movie. And I’ll check on the stock in the barn to make sure there’s plenty of feed.”

“Thank you. Now go, before it gets any worse.”

Only after he had gone outside did she sag against the kitchen counter. She had just invited Grady Blackhawk to stay in her home. The only thing the Hansons would consider a worse betrayal was if she’d invited him into her bed.

Grady trudged through the deepening snow to the barn and checked on the horses. It took no more than a few minutes, but by the time he went back outside, the house was lost behind a seemingly impenetrable wall of white. He found the guideline installed for occasions just like this and made his way slowly through drifts than were now knee-high and growing.

Thankfully his truck was parked close to the house. It took him several minutes to wipe the layer of snow from the door. The lock was frozen, but he always kept a de-icing tool in his pocket this time of year. Shivering, he got the door open, grabbed the video
and popcorn, then closed the truck up and headed inside. He stomped the snow from his boots on the back steps, then removed his jacket and shook it off before stepping into the kitchen.

The heat felt like heaven to his stiff fingers. Not even gloves had been much protection against the falling temperature and wind. He was rubbing his hands together when Karen came back into the kitchen. She took one look at him and grinned.

“My, my, an honest-to-goodness snowman in my kitchen,” she teased.

“I shook my coat off,” he protested. “And knocked most of it off my boots.”

“But you should see your hair,” she said, stepping closer to brush away the lingering snow. “Even your eyelashes are covered.”

As her fingers grazed his cheek, Grady felt his breath catch in his throat. The temptation to kiss her was so powerful it was almost impossible to resist. Her sweet, warm breath was fanning against his skin. Her lips looked warm and inviting. In fact, they promised the kind of heat that could chase away that last of his chill.

No, he told himself firmly. He couldn’t do it. It would ruin everything. Certainly, it would destroy her fragile trust in him.

He forced himself to take a step back, to capture her hand in his and hold it away from his face.

“Thanks,” he said a little too curtly. “I can finish up if you’ll get me a towel.”

There was a startled flash of hurt in her eyes before understanding dawned. Then, cheeks flaming, she nodded and quickly ran from the room. When she returned, they had both regained their composure.

Grady toweled his hair dry as Karen made hot chocolate. His gaze kept straying to her rigid spine, to the soft curve of her hips, to the bare nape of her neck. He wanted to trail his hand down her spine until she relaxed, to rest his palm against that very feminine backside. He wanted to press a kiss to her neck, feel the shudder ripple through her.

He wanted things he had no business wanting, he chided himself, turning away. Staying here might be a necessity tonight, but it was a bad idea. He’d honed his willpower over the years, resisted more than his share of temptation, but this…this was torment. Karen Hanson was the kind of woman made for loving—not just physically, though that was the strongest temptation at the moment—but through and through.

Was that how Caleb had seen her, Grady wondered, as a woman who deserved a carefree world? Was that why he had struggled so hard to keep this ranch afloat, to give her a home? It was funny how the last week or so had taught him a thing or two about Caleb Hanson, when his goal had been getting to know the man’s wife. He found himself walking in the man’s shoes, understanding his stubborn determination in a way he never had before, even admiring it.