Branded for You (18 page)

She studied him. “Don’t hurt Megan or you’ll have me to answer to.”

Megan’s jaw dropped.

The five-foot-three woman staring up at the six-foot-one muscular man and warning him off would have been amusing if it wasn’t for the dead serious look in her eyes.

“You have nothing to worry about, Tess.” Ryan spoke with a seriousness in his voice that surprised Megan. “I would never hurt her.”

Tess gave him one last look then turned her gaze on Megan. “I’m going to get back to town to check on Mom. Are you okay with me leaving you? Something tells me you won’t have a problem getting a ride home.”

Megan’s jaw dropped. “You can’t leave me here.”

“I’ll get you home safely,” Ryan said.

Megan felt trapped. Tess had brought her out to talk to Ryan and was now leaving her alone with the man. She’d feel like a total idiot if she insisted on leaving now with Tess. It would be completely immature. It wasn’t the same as ignoring his calls.

Was it?

Neither Ryan nor Megan said anything as Tess got into her car. She waved as she backed up, then turned the car around and drove away from the ranch house.

Megan was almost afraid to look at Ryan. She closed her eyes then opened them again.

“Meg?” He rested his hand on her upper arm. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t know why Tess brought me here.” She turned to face him. “My Dad had a heart attack while reading the letter that you were foreclosing on him. I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about.”

“I’m sorry about your dad.” Ryan’s eyes were shadowed by the brim of his hat.

“So am I.” Her father’s last words went through her mind.

I want you to know how proud of you I am.

Why had he waited to say those words until just moments before he’d died?

“I know you’re hurting,” Ryan said. “But will you let me explain?”

He held her gaze a long moment and then she nodded. “I don’t see how that will help, but go ahead.”

“The house your parents bought isn’t mine so I’m not the one foreclosing on them,” Ryan said.

Megan frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ryan pushed up the brim of his hat and she could see the blue of his eyes. “It belongs to my uncle and aunt.”

“Your uncle and aunt?” she said slowly.

“I owe my uncle a favor and I’ve been trying to work everything out to help them.” Ryan took off his hat and pushed his hand through his hair before setting his hat back on his head.

“Your parents bought the house,” Ryan continued, “and my uncle financed it because it wasn’t the right time for a loan for your parents for some reason. They were to either refinance the house by now or make a large balloon payment. They have done neither. My uncle is counting on that balloon payment to make his finances work or he might lose his ranch.”

Megan’s skin prickled. “Is that why you won’t try to work something out with my parents?”

“I talked with my uncle and tried to get him to break it down into smaller payments, but he refused.” Ryan looked frustrated. “He’s a stubborn man. But at the same time, I understand because they do need the money.”

“My parents said you were harsh and they made it sound like you were a real jerk,” she said.

“I hope you know me better than to believe I would treat your parents in any way but respectful.” Ryan studied Megan. “They were angry with me, the messenger. I tried to discuss it with them and they wouldn’t hear of it. Your father said flatly that they couldn’t make the balloon payment. He said they’d continue making payments on the house, but my uncle would have to wait for the big payment.”

He went on, “The payments they were making were not enough and they would not discuss timing on the large payment. My uncle went ballistic. He had the foreclosure notices drafted. I just delivered them rather than have a stranger do it for a service fee.”

Megan put her hand to her forehead and tried to work over the problem in her mind. “What can we do?”

“I attempted to tell your father that I would try and sell the home and make them whole to the extent we get enough on a sale,” Ryan said. “He would potentially not have lost any money that he’d invested. I’d talked my uncle into it.”

Ryan continued, “I couldn’t talk to your father about it because he kicked me out. He obviously refused to read the letter that explained it. Under the circumstances, I can’t imagine anyone being more fair. We had no choice but to foreclose.” Ryan studied Megan. “I’ll still work it out with your mom if she’s interested in talking. I don’t know why they wouldn’t talk about it. I even had a great lender to work with them.”

“That’s probably because the restaurant is failing and they wouldn’t qualify for a loan with anyone else,” Megan said.

“The restaurant is failing?” Ryan looked surprised. “But it’s a nice place and I’ve heard the food is great.”

“Only to those who don’t listen to bogus reviews and rumors.” Megan clenched her hands. “Apparently there’s a man with a vendetta against Mom and Dad and he’s been creating a lot of problems. They can’t prove it, but the signs are there.”

Ryan narrowed his gaze. “Who is this guy?”

“Roger Meyer,” she said. “He owns the restaurant next door to the Hummingbird Café.”

“I know who he is.” Ryan’s frowned. “Why don’t you tell me the story while I take Laredo into the barn?”

Megan nodded her agreement and she fell into step beside him as he took the horse’s reins and they headed for the barn. The horse’s hooves clopped on the ground and its glossy coat gleamed in the late afternoon light.

She relayed what her parents had told her about Meyer, including the fact that he’d wanted to lease the building to expand his own restaurant. Her parents had outbid him and Meyer had told them they’d be sorry they ever opened it.

“Where’s Ossie?” she asked as they walked.

“In the barn with Bill, one of my part-timers,” Ryan said. As she walked by him she caught his scent of sun-warmed flesh, horse, and leather.

He paused and caught her by her hand. “I missed you, Meg.”

She swallowed then said, “I missed you, too.”

He smiled and they stepped into the barn. She sneezed from the dust wafting through the air from the alfalfa hay. A young man was taking hay bales off of the bed of a truck and stacking them in a corner of the barn. The dust from the bales floated in the air.

“Bill,” Ryan said and the young man looked up from what he was doing. He took off his work gloves, tucked them into his back pocket, and walked toward Ryan and Megan.

“Bill, this is Megan.” He turned to Megan. “This is Bill, one of my ranch hands.”

The young man hurried to take off his green John Deere cap and shook Megan’s hand. His grip was firm, his palm callused. “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he said.

“Good to meet you too, Bill,” she said.

“How’s your mama?” Ryan asked Bill with a concerned expression.

Bill shook his head. “Not so good.”

“Does she need any more help?” Ryan asked.

“That check you gave us was more than enough, sir.” Bill shook his head. “It helped get us through this month. Now that you got that part-time job for me with Miss Danica, I should make enough for us to pay our bills.”

“What about the medical expenses?” Ryan asked, his eyes intense.

Bill stared at the ground then met Ryan’s gaze. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay them. We’ll just pray. It’s about all that we can do.”

Ryan put his hand on Bill’s shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”

Bill looked earnest. “You’ve done more than enough.”

Ryan handed the horse’s reins to Bill. “Put up Laredo for me after you brush her down.”

“Yes, sir.” Bill gripped the reins, said good day to Megan, then took the horse down the aisle between the stalls and disappeared into the back of the barn.

She turned from watching Bill leave and saw that Ryan was putting on a green work shirt. She was both relieved not to have the distraction of his naked chest and disappointed because she missed the view.

But then reality hit her and the pain of her father’s death caused her to choke up and tears blurred her eyes.

Ryan seemed to realize what she was going through. He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her out of the barn and up to the house. She leaned her head against him as they walked. Her anger had faded but the pain felt magnified.

They went into his house and he got out a jar of sun tea and poured each of them a glass and added ice. He took a long drink of his tea, clearly needing something after being out working in the sun. She sipped hers and it soothed her a little.

She stared at her glass as they stood by the counter. “My mom isn’t doing very well and we haven’t been able to open the restaurant since my father died.”

When she looked at Ryan she saw that he was watching her. “We’ll figure something out,” he said. “There’s got to be a solution, we just need to find it.”

She nodded. “I hope you’re right.” She paused. “I saw you in the church and at the cemetery. Thank you for coming to my father’s funeral.”

“I wanted to pay my respects,” he said. “I care about you and how you were hurting for someone you loved. I just wanted to be there whether you knew it or not.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer or return your calls,” she said.

“You just went through a lot, Meg.” He studied her. “I don’t blame you for anything.”

She set her glass down on the counter. “Thank you.”

He placed his glass beside hers and took her by her shoulders. “Tell me that your feelings for me haven’t changed.”

Memories of everything they’d done together flipped through her mind…from the county fair, to their dinner out, to dancing, camping… They’d packed a lot into the short time they’d known each other.

And during that time she’d seen how much people liked him, how kind he was, how thoughtful. A lot made up the man, and she knew that she could never stop loving him.

“I should have given you the chance to explain.” She met his gaze. “I hope you can forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” He bent closer and kissed her forehead, then stroked hair from her face. His hand felt warm as it skimmed her cheek. “Let me know if you need anything, all right?”

“Okay.” She gave a slow nod. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” He hooked his finger beneath her chin and raised her head. “I would do anything for you. Anything.”

“Your support means a lot to me.” She brushed the tear from her eye that came from nowhere. His sincerity, his caring, meant the world to her.

He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, catching her off guard. The next thing she knew, she was crying on his shoulder.

“Cry all you need to, honey.” He rocked her as she sobbed, the weight of her father’s death crumbling down on her.

He was gone. Her father was gone.

But he’d given her a gift when he’d told her he was proud of her, and all of the other things he said that she would hold in her heart forever.

“Do you have time for dinner?” Ryan asked. “I can fix something here or we can go out.”

Drying her tears with her fingertips, she drew away from Ryan. “It’s getting late. I should probably get home. My mom still isn’t doing well.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and walked out into the dusk to his truck and took her to the passenger side. Before he let her climb into it, he gave her a kiss that soothed her and sent warmth throughout her.

On the drive back to town, he held her hand on the console. The connection between them felt vibrant and alive.

While he drove in the darkness, he asked her about the restaurant and how business had been.

“Tess could tell you more than I can,” Megan said. “She’s been working with my parents in their restaurants since she was a teenager.” Megan gave a self-deprecating smile. “I’ve never had the aptitude for it. I made a terrible waitress, I can’t cook, and running a restaurant takes a special set of skills.”

Ryan nodded but looked thoughtful. “I’ve never run a restaurant, but I’m a businessman and I may have some ideas for you. Let me think on it.”

“Any ideas you might have would be welcome,” Megan said.

When they reached her parents’ home, he parked and walked around to her side of the truck and helped her out. He cupped her face as he looked down at her, a streetlight illuminating her face.

“I’ve missed you,” he told her again as his gaze searched hers. “Please don’t leave me again.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” Her voice came out softly.

He lowered his head and brought his lips to hers. It was a searching kiss, a loving kiss that permeated every bone in her body. She felt it flow through her like warm rain on a summer’s day.

When he drew away from the kiss, she smiled up at him. He looked like he wanted to say something else but he just studied her as if holding tight onto whatever it was that he was thinking.

She smiled up at him and gave him one last look before she walked up the stairs, into her home.

Chapter 20

Still feeling the warmth of Ryan’s kiss, Megan dreamily walked up the stairs to the porch of her parents’ home. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as he waved to her then pulled his truck away from the curb. She stayed there, watching and waiting until his red taillights disappeared into the night.

For a long moment she stood on the porch, daydreaming about him. She wrapped her arms around a column, her head resting against the wood as she looked out on the street of the dark, tree-shaded neighborhood.

He’d said there was nothing to forgive after the way she had ignored his calls and messages. He’d understood what she was going through and the doubts that had been in her mind.

No doubt the first day she’d met him was the day that she’d fallen in love with him. Everything she’d seen of him and had experienced with him since then had made her feelings grow stronger day by day.

The time she’d been separated from him had been excruciatingly painful. It had been as if a part of her had been torn away and her heart ripped to shreds. She’d never felt anything like that for any other man. Not even close. She’d locked the pain deep inside of her but he’d given her the key to unlock the pain and release it.