Her finger poked into his chest, her head barely meeting his shoulder as she continued to rant with the sun beating down on them. "I make my own decisions, one of which was to come here. It's a mess, I agree on that. But a mess my sisters and I will deal with together. And together, alone, we'll fix it."
"How can you fix it without money?"
"I can hammer just as well as you, that doesn't take cash. And-"
"And you have no idea what you need here. This was a horse ranch, but you have no horses. No money to buy them. And no idea how to work the land to raise crops instead, not to mention no money for that, either."
"I have a little money." Very little. "Delia does, too, though not much because she can't keep cash to save her life. Maddie doesn't have anything, but-"
"It's not enough," he said firmly.
She put her hands on her hips and faced him. "So I ought to just sell it to you, I suppose."
"Sounds good to me."
They were standing toe to toe, nose to nose in the dirt by the truck. "No go. Never. No way," she clarified.
He growled in pure frustration. "You're just being stubborn."
"We'll be fine."
"A loan won't give you the know-how."
She swiped at her forehead, streaking more dirt. She looked stubborn, full of determination and beautiful. "I know. But I have a manager. Unless… you're done here."
"Do you want me to be done?"
"No. We… need you."
He gaped at her surprising admission, while she sighed, clearly not happy about having to admit it.
"Do you?" he asked quietly.
"Yes." She drew a deep breath. "So… will you help?"
"Good question." He could smell the light, tantalizing scent of her. He could feel the heat from her body seeping into his. Their thighs almost brushed, and at his sides his hands curled into fists to keep from grasping her hips and bringing them to his.
"Know what I think?" she whispered.
"What?" His voice wasn't quite steady, and he cleared his throat at the awareness shooting like electricity between them.
"I think you need us, too. You just don't even know it." God, he wanted to put his hands on her again, his mouth on hers. And he didn't want to see that flash of fear in her eyes when it happened. He didn't want to feel this way about her, but he did.
"Isn't that true?" she pressed.
Why couldn't she back off? She didn't want to show him the real Zoe hidden beneath her tough facade; she should just leave him and his feelings the hell alone. He took back his sunglasses and placed them on his nose.
"Chicken," she taunted. "Too chicken to talk to me."
"I want to do a whole hell of a lot more than talk," he assured her, watching her flush with little satisfaction.
"There you go, being a bully again."
That did it. Really did it. She gasped when he stalked toward her, backing her to the side of the truck.
"Ty. What-"
He did what his body demanded. And maybe he was being a bully, but he didn't care.
He swallowed her startled breath with his mouth.
Chapter 5
Zoe's body reacted first, with a delicious shudder as Ty's mouth ravaged hers. Her bones dissolved, but instead of falling she found herself plastered against him. She let the kiss take her, and oh, what a kiss.
The small part of her mind still functioning reminded her that she didn't do such things no matter how wonderful this mindless, floating feeling was. Reminded her she wanted a new life for herself and her sisters, and that didn't include sleeping with anyone, much less a man who wanted her land for his own.
But the sun felt good on her face, and Ty's mouth felt even better against her, so it was a long, hot moment before she found the strength to resist.
Ty tensed when she pushed at his chest. He lifted his head and stared at her warily. "You going to hit me again?"
She sighed and pushed harder. "No. Go away."
"What's the matter?"
He was too tempting, that was the matter. "I don't feel like it, that's all."
His mouth, still wet from hers, curved, but he dropped his hands from her. "You felt like it a moment ago."
"Changed my mind."
He looked as though he might have argued, but the sound of a motor revving on the dirt road stopped him. He cocked his head. "That's one of your sisters."
"How can you tell?"
"Listen to it. The engine sounds like it's on its last legs."
She listened, and he was right. The engine coughed and stuttered. Then it came into sight, and it was indeed the second of Constance's two trucks.
Zoe hadn't been able to believe the run-down condition of the vehicles. It was a silent and gut-wrenching testament to how desperate Constance must have been in the past years of her life. Too old to make a success out of the ranch without a family, and with not enough money to pay someone else, Constance had been stuck.
It was enough to break even Zoe's stoic heart, and while she waited for the truck to come closer, she stole a glance at Ty.
He remained a mystery. Tough, independent. He dodged all personal questions about himself, not to mention how his staff seemed to go out of their way to avoid him. He most definitely was a loner.
Yet he hadn't let Constance down. He might have been unable to get her trucks fixed for her, but he hadn't left her alone. He'd been there for her, until the very end.
Which gave her a funny warm feeling to think about. The ancient, beat-up old truck stopped, and Delia, Maddie and Cade McKnight stepped out into the bright sunshine.
Cade saw Zoe and waved. Even now, after Constance's death, Cade was determined to figure exactly which of them was the true heir-not because he wanted to kick two of them off the land, but because he loved a good mystery.
He was sharp, tenacious and very good at what he did. He was also tall, dark and handsome enough that Maddie's cheeks were red.
So was Delia's whole face, which made Zoe want to laugh, because for some reason Zoe didn't quite understand, Cade seemed to get under Delia's skin.
Oblivious, Cade shook hands with Ty, then smiled at Zoe. "I see you met your neighbor."
Zoe bit back her grimace. Met him and was just kissing him senseless, thank you. "Ah… yes."
Ty lifted a brow, daring her to speak her mind.
Zoe looked away. "We were just… um… fixing fences," she said lamely. "Working really hard, too." Sweat trickled between her breasts. "Hot today, don't you think?"
No one but Ty seemed to notice her discomfort. His smile spread, and with no one watching him, he winked at her conspiratorially.
If they'd been alone, she thought she might have slugged him again.
"Cade wanted to see how we were doing," Maddie said. "Yeah, well, he could have called for that." Delia ran a finger over her latest self-applied manicure. Her nails were electric blue with bolts of lightning on the thumbs. "What he really wanted, Maddie, was another home-cooked meal."
Cade grinned.
"Well, he's in luck, then." Maddie smiled. "We're having a pot roast tonight. With homemade bread."
Cade's eyes lit with hope. "You're too good to be true, Maddie."
Maddie flushed under the praise, looking pretty and cool in her fresh white jeans and a blue denim top, despite the fact she'd been working hard inside all day. Delia looked smooth and very sophisticated as well, with her black silk shell and jeans, leaving Zoe to swipe the grime on her hands down the front of her own already-dirty jeans, wishing for a hot shower.
Cade looked around the empty land with a sad frown. "I guess I also wanted to see if you'd made any plans. I know this place wasn't quite what you'd expected. I didn't know if you'd definitely stay…?"
Zoe looked at her sisters and was relieved to see the same determination on their faces as she knew was on hers. "We're staying," she told him firmly. "No question. But you could have told us, Cade."