I thought they’d be better here than in Seattle.”
“And because this is where you can afford to live while you look?”
Her jaw shifted. “You know that’s the case.”
“You’re in finance, right?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you’re in financial trouble.”
Her expression iced over. “Do you ever get tired of judging me?”
“What the hell happened, Taylor?”
“Student loans. Tons of them. I didn’t save as much as I should have, because I felt safe and was concentrating on trying to pay off loans—like the one from my grandfather. And I enjoyed my life in the city.”
“Not to mention your car.”
“That car is special.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Jordan’s eyes had practically glazed over when he heard about it. “Selling it would probably keep you solvent for—”
“A few months. Then the money would be gone and the car would be gone.”
“But you’d have a few more months of living expenses. Sometimes you have to sacrifice—”
“My dad left me that car.” The words came grinding out, then Taylor jerked her gaze away, as if she hated showing him emotion that wasn’t pure anger or snark. As if vulnerability was a bad thing. Maybe it was in her world. “I was fourteen when he passed away, and he left me that car. Before I could drive. He wanted me to have it.”
“Okay,” he said after a crackling stretch of silence. “I get it.”
He let out a breath and leaned his head back, telling himself to get out of the vehicle. He didn’t move.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to be kicked to the curb?”
“I’ve had my share of failures.”
“I’m not talking failures. I’m talking rejection—from the very people you were trying to help.” She let out a breath. “You don’t have a clue.”
She grabbed for the door handle, but before she got out, he put his good hand on her knee, and she froze. So did he. But he didn’t move his hand. He didn’t want her to leave yet…and he had to admit to liking the way her leg felt beneath his palm.
“Your attitude when you arrived…it wasn’t exactly defeated.”
“I’m here, Cole. Living in a shack. Doesn’t that smack of defeat?”
He pulled his hand away. Now that they were in the heat of battle, there was no way she was leaving. “It smacked of you expecting to kick me out of the house and get a free ride while you sorted things out.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted.” She didn’t sound one bit sorry. “To tell you the truth, it’s what I still want. I’m tired of the floor bumping under my feet and the wind whistling in through the window frame and having no bathtub, but you know what? I can deal.”
“Because you have no choice?” he asked softly.
“That’s the best reason to suck it up, don’t you think?” She gave a small sniff. “What happens if I refuse to help you?”
“Then I guess I kick you off the property.”
She let out a breath as she stared out the windshield at the bunkhouse. “That’s what I thought.”
Another silence fell, thick with tension. Finally, Cole gave in. “Of course, your grandfather will hate me because I’m messing with his princess.”
“There is that.” She didn’t look at him. Her eyes slowly closed, and she inhaled again, as if centering herself. Or trying to come up with ways to do him bodily harm.
The thing was, right now, he needed her. It was a good thing she was on the farm. The irony of their situation did not escape him.
“You have your six months. More if you need it.”
She sent him a sharp glance, waiting for the catch. “You’d do that for me?”
“I don’t want to.”
“How did you ever work on a guest ranch?”
“By not talking.” He reached out with his good hand to cup his palm against her cheek. Touching her again felt right, as did lightly running his thumb over her bottom lip when her mouth parted. He felt her breath catch, felt it when she slowly exhaled a split second later.
“The pain meds are making you act out of character,” she murmured.
“Not on pain meds.”
“Take the excuse,” she said lowly. Then she turned and reached for the door handle. Cole did the same, awkwardly climbing out of the SUV.
Taylor met him behind the SUV, her back very straight, her chin lifted as she said, “If you work my ass off, I want more than a shack in compensation.”
“What else could you possibly need?”
“Use of the washing machine so I don’t have to go to the Laundromat. And when you have your poker nights, I want bathtub privileges.”
“Not going to work, Evans.”
She frowned at him. “What?”
“First it’ll be the washer and the bathtub and then the entire house.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to be on your guard. Do we have a deal or not?”
He gave her a hard look. Waited for her to squirm. She didn’t.
“Deal.”
TAYLOR REFUSED TO allow herself to replay the conversation she’d had with Cole—not more than a couple of times anyway.
Did he feel sorry for her? After all, it had been a slam in the gut to expect the job, think that she was on her way out of the hole, then find out that she wasn’t. Was that why he was compromising with her?
Or was it simply a matter of needing her help? If so, it would be for only a few days. Why sign on for six months or more?
Maybe he needed more help than she was aware of, but that didn’t explain why he had touched her that second time. When he’d set his hand on her knee, it’d been to stop her from getting out of the SUV. It’d worked. She’d been so surprised that she probably couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to. But when he touched her face…her lip…that had been different. A tentative move in a direction that she was sure he hadn’t considered
