expression hard to read. “Then I guess I need to accept her. If she makes you happy…well, that’s good enough for me.”
Seth straddled the four-wheeler, thought about what Walker had said. “I honestly don’t know how I feel about her. She argues with me over nearly every damn order I give her. She does things her own way, at her own pace. She--”
For the first time in as long as Seth had known Walker, the man smiled. “Yep, you like her all right. She challenges you.”
“She stands up to me, yes.” Not that he always let her have her way. But he’d begun to look forward to antagonizing her on things that didn’t really matter. He wasn’t sure he’d like being alone in the house again if she left.
Walker’s smile faded and he frowned. “Not in a bad way, like that bitch Sarah did.”
Seth’s hands gripped the handlebar so tightly they hurt. Sarah was a sore subject, always would be. He’d jumped into lust with her and then a marriage because of it. He sure as hell didn’t want to make that kind of mistake again. He needed to go away, get his head straight, get control of his body once more. “I’ll only be gone a couple of days at the most. Watch after her for me. Make sure she doesn’t leave the ranch.”
Walker nodded and Seth drove out of the building. He slowed to look toward the house, toward his bedroom. Was she still in there? Still naked and… Frustrated, he sped across the ranch yard and headed for the far field of his property.
* * *
Moonlight streamed in through the partially open window of Teri’s bedroom. She’d lolled about in bed ever since Seth had left the ranch, reading two of his westerns. He had a real flare for writing and easily held a reader’s attention. She’d never read that genre before, but she’d read all of his books, what he’d already written and what he would write in the future. But now she was tired. It had been a long, frustrating day. She did feel as if she understood him better and yet there was so much more about him that she wanted to know.
Sadness swept over her. Loneliness, too. She’d spent so many years basically alone, but this was the first time that she really missed someone. She was afraid that two days would seem like an eternity. Maybe he’d come back sooner.
She reached to turn off the bedside lamp and then froze. A shiver wiggled up her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Someone was watching her. Someone was in the room with her. Her heart raced. She almost disappeared but stopped when she sensed that she recognized the visitor.
“They know where you are.”
Tyrone! She turned to face him, pleased to see her old friend, even with this awkward arrival. She pulled the sheet she’d tossed aside earlier back over her naked body. She’d been alone and saw no need to get dressed, now she wished she’d at least put on a night T-shirt. But that was silly. He would be unconcerned with her nakedness, since he was not interested in women.
“They?” Her stomach had knotted with almost certain knowledge of who he meant.
The stocky gremlin, all of three feet tall, stood by the dresser, fingering the locket necklace she’d worn for centuries. It was her one tie to her past. “Still carrying it around with you, I see.”
“Yes,” she admitted, knowing she always would. She didn’t want to talk about it. “They?” she pressed.
He was never one to be rushed. He glanced around the room, focused on her and quietly studied her. She shifted uncomfortably, knowing he always saw more in a person than they wanted revealed. Finally he gave a saucy grin. “Bet the wolf liked your hot little body.”
She stiffened, heat spread up her face. He knew she’d made love with Seth earlier. Darn him and his invasion into her private thoughts. She didn’t want to play this game. “Stop annoying me and answer my question.”
Sniffing, his grin grew bigger, his pointy yellow teeth showing. “I was only guessing, but