Here to Stay (2 page)

“You don’t know anything about me anymore,
Blackrope.” He was just as arrogant and hardheaded as she
remembered. He hadn’t changed one iota.

“Right.” He choked out on a thin laugh. “I
know all I need to know.” Resentment, hard and bitter, pooled in
his eyes.

Unable to tolerate one more moment of the
mounting tension, Paige marched to the door and jerked it open.
Belatedly she considered how lucky she’d been to miss any shards of
glass. “Good night, Mr. Blackrope.”

Two excruciatingly long beats passed before
he moved. And when he moved, her breath caught. He sauntered over
to the door in that self-assured gait that made her heart thud. He
stopped right in front of her and gazed down into her eyes. She
inhaled his scent before she had the presence of mind to hold her
breath. A wild, earthy essence mingled with the same enticing
aftershave he had always worn. This close, she noticed the fine
lines around his eyes that didn’t used to be there. Lines that
spoke of hard work, fast living, and maybe too much personal
loss.

Every instinct urged her to run, but her
heart wouldn’t let her. A gust of April’s cool, night air swept in
through the door and made her shiver. The breeze sent a wisp of
hair fluttering across her face, trapping itself against her
lips.

Gently, tentatively almost, he reached out
and smoothed that loose tendril of hair back from her cheek. “You
still look like Daddy’s little girl,” he murmured, his hand
hovering near her face.

“And you look like the same bitter man you
were the last time I saw you,” Paige replied as close in the
vicinity of calm as her emotions would allow. She wanted to shout
at him but he suddenly covered her mouth with his own in a
punishing kiss.

Paige didn’t move—she didn’t dare. She
couldn’t even close her eyes at first. She watched the pained
expression that settled over his stony features as his firm lips
ravaged hers. She’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that
she had dreamed of being kissed by Nathan just one more time. And
then she closed her eyes and surrendered to the kiss. Warmth glowed
inside her as his mouth moved over hers. His tongue touched her
lips then plunged into her mouth. He tasted of good Tennessee
sipping whiskey, and Nathan—hot and demanding. He snaked his free
arm around her waist and molded her from breast to thigh against
his body.

She squeezed her hands into fists at her
sides. Her heart ached to touch him. His lean, hard body felt
rigid, ready to snap, against her. Rage and resentment radiated
from him like heat rising from the miles of concrete and asphalt in
downtown Memphis. She knew it would only take one touch to break
him. She’d give anything to put her arms around him right now and
soothe the tautness away, but she couldn’t. God, she just couldn’t.
To touch him would be to admit that she wanted this as much as he
seemed to. And she could never do that. She moaned softly in spite
of herself as his kiss hardened to a bruising intensity. A deep
groan sounded from him, filling her, intensifying the need she
wanted desperately to deny.

Nathan tore his mouth from hers and glared
down at her, his breath ragged. She wanted to look away, but his
expression held her captive. It was the same fierce look he had
worn when she had first met him as an unhappy, rebellious boy of
ten fresh off the reservation.

Then, in one slow, sensuous movement, he
flicked his tongue over his lower lip and made a satisfied sound.
“You still taste like daddy’s little girl.”

Paige slapped him as hard as she could. Her
fingers stung from the blow. Anger consumed everything else she’d
felt or imagined she’d felt. “Get out of here before I call the
police and have you thrown in jail for assault.”

Nathan grasped her chin in his hand and
forced her to look him in the eye. “You were a willing
participant.” A muscle in his jaw jerked. “You wanted that as much
as I did.”

“I don’t want anything from you,” she spat
back, her anger a protection from the other dizzying emotions
clutching at her. Paige twisted free and turned away from his
haughty gaze. She stared at the dark night, waiting for him to
storm out the door. He didn’t move. He remained so close she could
feel his warm breath on her skin.

“There was a time when you wanted all of me,”
he whispered against her temple.

“Please leave.” She tilted her head back and
launched a warning glare. Swiftly changing emotions danced across
his face before contempt took center stage.

I’m going,” he muttered, and then pushed away
from her. He walked out the open door without a backward
glance.

Paige sucked in a deep breath. This was a
mistake. She should have known better than to think she could work
out anything with him. Nathan stopped at the edge of the porch and
shifted to face her. Tension outlined every angle of his powerfully
built body.

“I had a message on my answering machine
about James. Seems he’s got a virus or something. Puking his guts
out according to his wife.” He paused long enough for her to absorb
the ramifications of his statement. “I’ll take care of his chores
the next few days until he’s back on his feet.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Paige could
certainly handle things if Robert’s ranch manager couldn’t work for
a couple of days. “I can do whatever needs to be done myself.”

“I have a feeling you don’t know what you’re
getting yourself into,” he said flatly.

“I said I’d do it myself.”

“There’s a lot more to it—”

“What’s wrong with you, Blackrope?” she cut
him off. “Don’t you understand English?” She’d had it with his
arrogant, self-assuming attitude. Paige didn’t want him taking care
of her.

“I understand completely. I’m just not so
sure you do.”

“I spent every summer of my life on this
ranch until college. I think I have a pretty good idea of what has
to be done.”

“I thought maybe you’d forgotten about those
summers.”

“I only forgot the parts I wanted to forget.”
She didn’t miss the flicker of hurt in his dark eyes. The hurt
reverted to contempt so quickly, she wondered if she’d imagined
it.

“All right, then.” His lips eased back into a
firm, thin line. “If you decide you need help with anything, let me
know.” He turned and started down the steps.

Paige shook her head. That was a low blow and
she knew it. “I’m sorry, Nathan. I do appreciate your offer to
help.” She wanted to wring his neck, not hurt his feelings. She
didn’t hate him…that much. No matter what he had done in the past,
he didn’t deserve that.

He hesitated and then looked back over his
shoulder, his profile harsh and flinty. “Don’t thank me, Paige. I’m
not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Robert.”

Paige slammed the door shut in response to
his stinging rebuke. She felt the tears well in her eyes. She
wouldn’t cry. She had cried over Nathan Blackrope the last time she
ever intended to. She closed her eyes and allowed the image of
Jesse to envelope her. She’d never have put herself in this
position if it weren’t for Jesse. Any other time she would’ve
turned Robert’s invitation to come to Trinity down flat. But fate
had forced Paige to see that she had no choice. So here she was in
Trinity to try and settle the past with a man who didn’t know the
meaning of compromise.

Despite everything she had told herself, it
only took one kiss for her to know that her feelings were still way
to strong for Nathan. No matter. She and Nathan were over. She
would never forgive him for what he’d done. Even if he got down on
his arrogant Apache knees and begged her to forgive him for being
the jerk he was—which he would never do—Paige would not forgive
him.

~*~

Nathan braced himself against the truck. He
closed his eyes and tried to still the emotions raging inside him.
He concentrated with all his might to erase from his mind the
picture of Paige standing there in that skimpy undershirt, her face
still flushed with sleep. Blue eyes clear and bright. Soft, blond
hair flowing over her shoulders. Slender curves and long, shapely
legs that could drive a man crazy. Just looking at her had awakened
the long-buried hunger he’d never felt for anyone else.

Why in the hell didn’t Robert tell him she
would be here? Paige Weston was the last person on earth Nathan
wanted to see. He didn’t like being reminded of the past. Robert,
the old fox, had pulled one over on both of them. She had been just
as shocked to see him as he was to see her.

The way his body reacted to hers tonight
proved beyond a doubt that he would never get over her, not even if
he lived a dozen lifetimes. He’d tried every way known to man to
forget Paige, but he couldn’t. She was part of him. She had been
since the first time he’d seen her.

Nathan had been ten at the time and
angry—very angry. When Amos Collins had married his mother and
brought the two of them to Trinity, Tennessee, from the reservation
in Arizona, Nathan had done everything in his power to fight the
situation short of running away. Though he’d hated Trinity, he
would never have left his mother. She was the only real family he
had left.

Then Robert Weston’s little niece came along
in that frilly pink dress. Only eight years old, with pale blond
hair and sky blue eyes. Like a vision in answer to his prayers and
fasting. Nathan smiled as he thought of the little girl she used to
be. Somehow she had made things all right for him in his new
home.

Nathan dropped into the seat of his truck and
started the engine. God, how he’d loved her. They’d grown up as
best friends and somewhere along the way their feelings for each
other had gone deeper. Soul mates, that’s what they’d called each
other. Destined to be together for all time—until she’d broken his
heart. Losing Paige had left him empty. No matter how hard he had
tried, he hadn’t cared about much since. Nathan went through life
doing what he had to do and nothing more. He damned sure didn’t
have any right to kiss Paige the way he had just done. But that had
been about punishing her. Fact was, he’d only punished himself.

Nathan shoved the gear shift into reverse and
backed up enough to turn around. He spun away from the house and
headed down the long drive. Living right across the road from Paige
for the next two weeks wasn’t going to be easy. He had trained
himself not to think about her most of the time, but it was the
nights that got to him the worst. He would lay awake at night and
think about how it could have been. He thought of all the years
that had passed. Hundreds of nights that she should have been in
his arms. Should have been bearing his children. Damn Elliott
Weston, anyway. And damn her. Paige had allowed her father to come
between them.

Nathan stopped the truck and released a long
breath. He looked from right to left before pulling across the
dark, deserted highway. He floored the accelerator and drove like a
bat out of hell down his own drive. Elliott Weston might be a blood
brother to Robert Weston, but that was sure as hell all they had in
common. Paige’s father was a pompous bigot. He didn’t want his
lily-white daughter to marry some Apache boy right off the rez. He
wanted her to be exactly like him. And of course, Elliott Weston
always got what he wanted.

Distracted by his anger, Nathan stamped the
brake and skidded to a sideways stop just short of plowing through
his front porch. He turned off the ignition and pressed his head
against the steering wheel. He didn’t want to think about all this
any more. It hurt too much. Maybe he had scared her just bad enough
that she’d go running back to daddy come morning.

He flung the truck door open, pushed himself
out and stared back toward the Weston spread. He struggled to
control the rage he felt. He didn’t want to feel any of this.

“Go back to Memphis, Paige,” he shouted into
the wind. “There’s nothing in Trinity for you.”

Chapter Two

“Everything is under control, Robert,” Paige
said into the cordless handset. “No, I haven’t seen a soul,” she
lied. Paige had a sneaking suspicion that Robert had planned to
throw her and Nathan together as much as possible during this
visit. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how well
his plan had worked.

“Yes, I feel fine,” she lied again. She
hadn’t really felt fine since the surgery, but there was no point
in dwelling on it.

She gave her reflection in the bureau mirror
one last look. Jeans, T-shirt, ponytail. Good enough for country
life, she decided. She listened to Robert’s voice on the other end
of the line as he prattled on about the redecorating. She frowned
at his unnecessary concern.

“Robert, please. You underestimate me. I
spend my days battling hotshot district attorneys. How tough can a
couple of home improvement contractors be?”

Robert shifted the conversation to a brief
overview of the honeymoon thus far as she made her way down the
upstairs hall. Just when she thought her dear, sweet uncle would
finally say goodbye, he set in about the redecorating again.

“Everything is fine here. Yes, I read your
note and reviewed the paint chips, wallpaper, and carpet swatches
you left.” She sighed. “Yes, I’ll keep you up to date. I’m—”

She came to an abrupt stop at the top of the
stairs and did a double take. A man wearing white overalls walked
across the downstairs hall and out the front door. She shook her
head, blinked and looked again. She had to be seeing things. As if
to prove her wrong, the front door opened, the man came back inside
and disappeared into the parlor.

“I have to go, Robert. You and Ginny have a
good time.” Paige pressed the off button and bounded down the
stairs.

When she reached the parlor her mouth dropped
open. Three men in white overalls were painting. All the furniture
had been moved to the center of the room and covered with large
white drop cloths. The windows were bare of curtains. Clear plastic
had been spread around the perimeter of the room to protect the
floor.