Convincing the Rancher. Claire McEwen

he said, his eyes still crinkled with humor. “A lot of people would consider you in paradise, not exile. We get tons of tourists out here to hike, mountain bike, camp, fish, rock climb, horseback ride...”

      “None of which I have the slightest interest in.”

      “What are you interested in?”

      Tess opened her mouth to answer and shut it abruptly. She thought quickly, mentally trying to pick apart her life in San Francisco. “Work, mostly. I shop. Go to the gym. Spend some time with friends.” She suddenly wished she’d made time to take up a hobby.

      “Huh.” That was all he said—but it said a lot. When she looked at her answer from Slaid’s point of view, her life, which she always tried hard to portray as glamorous and fascinating, actually seemed pretty boring.

      Then he spoke. “How about you try a few of those things I mentioned while you’re here?”

      “You mean fishing? Hiking?”

      “Why not? If your boss sent you out to live in the middle of nowhere, why not use a little of the time to try something different? I’d be happy to show you around, strictly as professional colleagues, of course. Maybe I could teach you a few new skills.”

      She flushed at his choice of words. He actually had taught her a few things during their night together. She was pretty sure she’d taught him a few, as well.

      “Not like that.” How had he read her mind? “Not to be crude, but I don’t think you need much tutoring in that area.”

      Heat flooded her veins and lit up every nerve. “Slaid, I think it’s best that we agree not to talk about that topic. We need to pretend that Phoenix never happened.”

      “Maybe.” There was a pause and she glanced at his profile as they walked, trying to read what that maybe meant. He didn’t elaborate.

      “I’m here to work,” she reminded him. “I have to be professional or I could compromise my credibility. And I’d hate to do anything to damage your image as mayor.”

      “And how might you do that?” He was looking down at her with a half smile. “You don’t really strike me as the kiss-and-tell type. More like kiss and leave.”

      “Trust me, Mayor Jacobs. I was doing you a favor by stepping quietly out of your life—I won’t apologize for that. And I told you yesterday, if you insist I stay on this project, I will, but that’s the only thing I’m here for.”

      “Work isn’t everything, Tess. And if you get to know the area, you might think twice about destroying it.”

      So that was his motivation. She shouldn’t care, but for a moment she’d thought he really wanted to spend more time with her. And even if it was out of the question, it had been an enticing thought. “I don’t know how else to explain it to you. I represent this project, but it’s not mine. I have nothing to do with it and I’m not destroying anything—I’m simply here to interface with the public.”

      “But you just agreed that the project will destroy the area.”

      Tess wasn’t sure if it was humor or malice that she saw in his eyes. “I agreed to no such thing! Stop trying to box me into a corner or make me feel guilty. I’m here to do my job and I intend to do it well. I assume you’ll do your job to the best of your abilities, also. Just two civilized adults doing what we’re being paid to do.” They’d reached the gate in her picket fence. “I appreciate your time this morning, Slaid. I’ll keep you informed as the project progresses. And thank you for the shopping trip.”

      “Are you warmer now?” he asked, and there was a softness in his voice that surprised her.

      “Yes. Not my usual attire for the office, but it will have to do.”

      He looked her up and down. She could almost feel his gaze under her layers of warm clothing.

      “I think it’s an improvement. They have business casual clothing, why not business country? Business wilderness?”

      “I’ll ask my boss about it.” She couldn’t stand there with him any longer. Not with the strange wanting, that couldn’t, shouldn’t be rushing through her.

      “Goodbye,” she told him, and fled past the gate and through her front door, shutting it gratefully against the chill of the air and the heat that was Slaid. Maybe she was a coward, but she was ready to hide out in the temperate climate of her little cabin.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      TESS SAVORED THE rich taste of her cappuccino as it rolled across her tongue. After five days in Benson she’d fled to Samantha and Jack’s house this morning and begged for espresso. She’d been as desperate for her fix as any addict. She swallowed blissfully and leaned back in her chair in Samantha’s sunny kitchen. “Slaid deiced my car.”

      Samantha stopped stirring her coffee. “When?”

      “Every single morning this week. I don’t know when he does it because I never see him, but every morning someone has scraped the ice off my car. It has to be him!”

      “Well, he is known for keeping early office hours,” Samantha said. “Maybe he’s doing it after dropping off Devin, his son, at school.”

      “He’s making it hard to stay mad at him.”

      “I know you didn’t appreciate him pressuring you to stay here. But can’t you see that it’s a little sexy, too? Maybe the guy is really happy that you’re in town.”

      “But why?” Tess asked. “We’ve met twice since I arrived and all we did was argue! He thinks I’m an evil developer and wilderness destroyer and I think he’s close minded and full of himself.”

      “They say there’s a thin line between love and hate.” Samantha’s smile was so obviously hopeful that Tess laughed.

      “We are not talking about love here! Quite the opposite.”

      “Okay, lust, then. Lust isn’t logical. And admit it, you’ve thought about him over the past couple years, haven’t you?”

      “Once in a while.” A lot. Way too often.

      “Maybe you should just go out with him,” Samantha suggested tentatively.

      “Like on a date?” Tess repressed a shudder.

      “Yes, a date. Like regular people do.”

      “Honey, I am not regular people when it comes to that stuff. I can’t stand it.”

      “Even when there are perks like not having to scrape the ice off your car?” Samantha raised an eyebrow.

      “Well, that is the one temptation.”

      “Now I know you’re lying. He’s a temptation. Half the women in this town are in love with the guy! Just his shoulders alone melt knees. In the summer they did a dunk tank for charity and he was in it and I don’t think the female population talked about anything but his abs for months afterward.”

      “Okay, fine,” Tess admitted. “Two temptations—he deices my car and he’s good-looking. But it’s irrelevant. I’m here for work, and even if I liked him, which I don’t, or he liked me, which he doesn’t, we couldn’t get involved. Our relationship has to remain strictly professional.”

      Samantha sighed. “Well, you can’t blame me for dreaming.”

      Tess laughed at that. “I know you’re happy here in Benson, Sam, but don’t get any ideas about being my matchmaker.”

      “But if you lived here, we’d see each other all the time. You could be in your godson’s life almost every day!”

      Tess stared at her friend in shock, then realized that the expression of horror on her face probably