Free Back to the Heart by Sky Corgan Page A

sentence, he had turned into an enemy. “He fired me. And as bad as that sounds, it wasn’t the worst. I tried to get a job, but no one would hire me. I applied at a retail store that one of my friends worked at. My friend told me that when her boss called Fasken Law Firm for a reference, Rick Fasken had told them I was a horrible employee, that I called in sick all the time, made a lot of errors, and that he thought I was on drugs.
    “I took the Fasken Law Firm job out of my résumé, but by that time it was too late. I was almost out of money, and my apartment lease was about to be up. Rick pretty much left me for dead. He didn’t give a crap if I, or his child, starved to death on the street. And here I am now.” She sighed, looking up at the light shining down through the barn window, casting a luminous glow on the hay and dirt near their feet.
    Ryan cursed, and when Ana looked over at him, his expression was sheer anger. “This Rick Fasken guy can’t be that big of a deal if I’ve never heard of him.”
    “Why would you have heard of him? You live in Pittsburgh; he lives in New York. And what would it matter if you had heard of him?” There was nothing Ryan could do. Even if he wanted to solve her problems for her, Rick was nearly two thousand miles away. The best thing she could do was forget about it, move on, and not repeat the same mistake.
    “But anyway, now you know my story. Now you know why I can’t handle anything more right now. I came here to put my life back together. Allowing myself to get close to you, it would only make me fall apart again.” She shook her head, picking at one of her nails.
    “I can fix this for you.” He turned to her with determination in his eyes.
    “It’s a sweet gesture, but there’s no need.”
    “Rick may be a lawyer, but I have bigger lawyers on my side. What he did to you is defamation of character. You could sue him, and you could win. You can’t let him ruin your life like this, Ana.”
    “It’s too late for that.”
    “It’s not too late. This guy should pay for what he did to you.” Ryan’s passion was endearing to Ana. There was no doubt in her mind that he would reach out to whoever he could to try to help her. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. She certainly didn’t have any cards of her own left to play.
    “I can’t afford a lawyer.”
    “Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I can do for the kindness you and your family have shown me.” The lines in his face softened with her surrender.
    “The kindness of keeping you out in the barn and making you work from sunup to sundown,” she teased, bumping her shoulder against his.
    “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, Ana.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, causing her body to throb with desire.
    “Well, I’m hoping you’re not expecting anything in return, otherwise I’ll have to refuse your generosity.”
    “All I want from you is your time. Nothing more.” His body spoke the opposite. The heat in his eyes was scorching, and it was hard for Ana to look at him without her own need bubbling to the surface.
    “I think I can give you that.”
    “If I were to stay, would you feel differently about me?”
    The question caught her off guard and filled her with a sense of hope. Was he thinking about staying? “You’re an amazing person. I don’t think I could like you any more than I do right now.” Ana’s cheeks flushed.
    “I’m glad.” His face lit up with a smile.
    “I mean, I’d like for you to stay. I’d like to get to know you better. But I’d like to take things slow. I’m still not ready for—”
    “Then I’ll stay.”
    “What?” Her heart skipped a beat in disbelief. Did he really mean it? Was he going to stick around just for her?
    “I’ll stay, and we’ll take things slow, as slow as you need to take them.” He slid his hand over hers, lacing their fingers together.
    Ana was too shocked to pull away. “You mean . . . you’re