Have a Little Faith (8 page)

Her chest rose and fell in quick jerks as she struggled to get herself under control. She literally could not believe what she was hearing.
Marriage?

“I’m sorry you wasted your time today,
Tuck
. You can bill us for it.” With that, she turned and stalked out of the den.

“Well, that went well.” Linda snorted and leaned back in her
wheelchair
.

“You mean
she didn’t know about this?”
Tucker
’s mouth dropped.

“No
. And she doesn’t have a choice,
” Linda snapped. “We’ll have a preacher here within
the
week,” s
he said to Lane.

“Wait a minute.”
Tucker
sat down again
and cleared his throat
.
His confusion and distress was evident on his pinched face.
“You can’t force Alex to marry. You just can’t.”

“This is the only offer she’s ever going to get. Why wouldn’t she take it?”

“If you’re saying that because of what happened with Sam Brewster, that’s ridiculous, Linda.
She was a kid.
”

“I’ll give you a call when Ale
x gets over her little tiff,
” Linda said primly.
“Thank you for coming today,
Tucker.”

“Linda.”
Tucker
sighed her name then ran a hand through his sleek cap of blond hair. “Think about Alex.”

“Have a good day, Mr. Cole.”

On a muttered oath,
Tucker
picked up his briefcase and strolled out of the room. Lane rose from his seat and followed
Tucker
out the door.

“Mr. Cole. I’d like a word with you please.”

Tucker
turned around before he reached the front door.

“I’d like you to know,” Lane began, “that I don’t plan on forcing Alex into anything. This is a business arrangement with mutual benefits to both parties. As soon as she see’s that, we’ll have an understanding.”

Tucker
remained quiet for a moment before speaking.

“I’ve known Alex since she was a little thing. Heck, I’m only five years
older than she is. My point is
she never had it easy. I’ve seen her smile more in the past
few
months than ever. I’d hate to see her lose that.”

“That’s not my intention.” Lane
banked
his own temper. “I’m not a monster.”

“S
he loves this ranch, Mr. Tanner, m
ore than anything.”

“I know that.”

“I’d hate to see her lose that, too.”

“I consider myself a fair man, Mr. Cole. When Alex is my wife, no decisions will be made without her assent.”

“Good. I wish you luck, then.”

“I’d also like to know what happened between Alex and Sam Brewster.”

Tucker
sighed lustily. “That was a long time ago and it isn’t my place to explain it.” He took a business card from his breast pocket and handed it to Lane. “Have a nice day, Mr. Tanner.”

Alex was still seething in the barn an hour later.  She wasn’t merely furious, she thought as she stacked and restacked the feed bags. She was
enraged
. The ph
ysical labor helped cool
her temper, barely. The nerve of that man to think she would marry him because he says so.

With a grunt, Alex heaved another fifty pound bag and sat it atop a stack of four.
Pig
.
She yanked another bag out from a pile.
Asshole
.
She tossed it in the corner.
Fool
.

“Do you even name inanimate objects?” Lane asked from the
doorway
.

Alex whirled around. “Excuse me?”

“That one’s Pig,” h
e said pointing to a bag. “That’s Asshole. And this one is Fool.” He picked up
‘Fool’
and sat it atop the pile.

“I didn’t know I
was calling you names out loud,
” Alex said regally before striding out of the barn.
She knew he was following her
,
but she never slackened her pace. She hopped the fence to the coral and strode into the tack room. After lifting a saddle off the rack, she turned and almost collided into Lane.

“Excuse me,” s
he said between her teeth. “You’re in my way.”

“I intend to be for a very long time. Would you put that
thing down and listen to me?” h
e asked
in a
deceptively patient
tone
.

“No. I have no intention of listening to you. I don’t understand you.” She went to shove past him
,
but he stood firm
like a stone wall
. The first trickle of fear
pierced through her anger
. She swallowed audibly and took a step back. “Let me pass.”

“No.”

She clutched the saddle that she held between them and used it like a shield.
“Fine.”
Her voice hitched and Alex was terrified she would cry in front of him. “Say what you have to say so I can get on with my day.”

“You keep sticking that chin up and somebo
dy’s going to take you up on it.” Lane
deliberately
slammed the door
shut behind him with his foot.

Alex wanted to tell him somebody
had
already
taken her up on it many times
,
but
she
only waited
for him to say what he had come to say
.

“Christ, you’re stubborn. All right, Alex. I’ve been trying to speak with you about the proposal for the last two days
,
but you kept avoiding me.” Lane walked idly to the window in the tack room and looked out into the corral.

“I’ve been busy.” She
inched her way toward the door.

“I wouldn’t.”
The steel in his voice stopped her in the center of the tack room.

Sweat trickled down her back as she adjusted the weight of the saddle. Lane turned around to face her and his eyes became instantly annoyed.

“Put that thing down before you collapse.”  When she only shook her head, he muttered a curse and strode over to her. He yanked it out of her death grip and dropped it on the ground
beside her.

Alex breath began to hitch
,
but he didn’t notice. She didn’t want to be there, was all she could think. She
had only
to get outside into the open. She could jump on Joy and ride away.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Lane asked after returning to his position by the window.

Alex let out the breath she had been holding. She could talk to him when there was distance between them, she thought hopefully.

“I’ve been busy,” s
he repeated. She was glad her voice was steady because her nerves were a jumbled mess.

“Yes, I realized something the other day. I had a little talk with Jack about your duties on this ranch. Are you aware you have none?”

“I take care of my animals,” s
he said defensively.

Lane crossed the room to her, closing the safety net between them. Alex checked the urge to back away.

“Are you aware that you work close to seventeen hour days?”

“It’s not work to me. It’s my life.”

“What about friends? Do you have any?”

She thought of Lindsay Preston, her childhood friend and Sam Brewster, the father o
f her child. “I have friends,” s
he said stiffly. “I don’t see how any of this is relevant.”

“It isn’t. I’m only curious. You
’re very young to be so jaded, s
o mysterious.” He fisted her hair into his hand and held it. “You’re a puzzle that I can’t help but solve, Alex.”

“I’m not a puzzle. I’m a person.”

“You are that.” His gaze skimmed down the length of her body and back up to her face
before his lips curved.
“A very beautiful person.”

Alex swallowed and tried to back away then
,
but he only tightened his hold on her hair. “Do you want to know why I’m going to marry you, Alex?”

“No.” It came out in a raw whisper. The finality, the certainty in his tone sent chills down her spine.

“I want you. But you know that. I also want this ranch. It occurs to me that this place is indeed special to you. If I were to give you my name, you would own this ranch with me.” He released her hair and laid his hand on her shoulder. Her heart thudded in her ribs. “I need a wife and have already been through one horrific marriage and don’t intend to do it again.”

“What makes you think I won’t turn out like your last wife?”

“You’re nothing like her to start. And I won’t tolerate the type of behavior I allowed Roxanne to have.” Again, there was underlying steel in his voice.

Alex shuddered before she could control herself.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Lane.”
She tried to leave again
,
but he tightened his hold where his hand had slid down on her arm. The firm grip reminded her belatedly that any man was capable of anything. Her father had such big hands. The thought of her father sent ice skidding up her back.

“Tell me you’ll think about it.”

“I can’t.” The knot in her stomach began to tighten. If he really wanted to keep her in there, he could. It was all she could think while his leaf green eyes seared into hers.

“Why?”

“I just can’t. Please let me go.” Her voice was strong. She held onto that.

“No,” h
e bit out. “You’re not running away from me this time. I need an answer and I need
it now.”

When she remained silent
, his jaw tightened with his anger. Alex dimly remembered her father shouting at her after she had told her parents she was pregnant.
You’re not going to run away from me. You whore! Take what you’ve earned!
Then
he
had
raised his belt.

Lane felt her body shaking under his hand. Raising a brow, he looked into Alex’s eyes to see they weren’t wide and innocent, nor were they darkened and brilliant. They were dull and flat and not a little
terrified
.

She looked to be in a trance. Lane reached out his hand to touch her cheek. Alex jerked backwards with such force, she slipped out of his
slackened
hold and rammed back against the wall. She made no sound, only shoved herself up and braced her back up against the wall.

Her breath was co
ming in jerks. As Lane advanced
slowly and cautiously to her, he noted that her eyes were no longer dull and unfocused. They were glassy with terror. Lane stopped in front of her and placed his hands on either side of her, caging her in. She began to tremble
violently
.

“It occurs to me,” he said slowly, “that I’ve misunderstood you completely.” She was looking at a spot just above his left elbow.
Lane reigned in on his questions, on his fury at what the answers may be.
“Alex,” h
e said softly. Slowly, she brough
t her gaze back to his. “T
ell me what’s wrong.”

Her eyes filled before she could prevent it. For a moment, one terrifying moment, she
had been
a little girl, a teenager again and her
father’s
hand smacked unmercifully across her face. Again and again, she found no escape except to close her eyes and wish the pain away.

“Alex.”

His voice was soothing. She didn’t understand how it could be. No man had ever made her
feel safe
before
. Alex dropped her gaze to Lane’s shoulders. They were wide and strong like his hands, she mused. But he wasn’t touching her now.

“I’m sorry.” She
concentrated on
stand
ing
up the rest of the way. She wanted to curse
herself for almost giving in—
f
or almost usin
g his shoulder to cry on. She’
d never needed one before, she thought furiously. Why would she want one now?

Because he was looking at her with concern instead of anger in his eyes. His arms were caging her in, but she wasn’t suffocating.

“I’m really sorry,” s
he said again.

“Who hurt you, Alex?”

She shook her head and excelled a breath when he dropped his arms. She focused on righting all the overturned buckets she had knocked over in her fall. Lane stared at the back of her head and waited.