Kara Lennox - One Stubborn Texan

“Wow, that’s a news flash.”

“I made a mistake.”

“You blew it, big-time. Do you know I was actually thinking about moving to Texas? That’s how crazy I am-was-about you.”

“You don’t have to move. I could live here. New Yorkers probably need outdoor adventures in the worst way. I could do tours of the Hudson River and, uh, sewer explorations or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You would never move to New York.”

“If that’s what it takes to be with you, Sydney, then, yes, I would. Not only yes, but hell, yes. Who cares about where you live? It’s how you live and who you live with that matter.”

She studied him, amazed at the lengths he was going to. Was it possible? Could he really care for her that much?

“You just don’t like it that I was the one to walk away.” She was grasping here, because he was getting to her. She’d sworn she would never speak to him again, that his name was no longer a part of her vocabulary. Yet here she was, standing a few feet from him, having to focus hard on not closing the distance between them and throwing herself against him, pressing her nose into his ubiquitous flannel shirt and inhaling that wonderful, manly male smell that was his and no one else’s.

“You didn’t walk away,” he argued. “I drove you away. I knew I’d made a mistake before your car cleared the garage. If you really don’t have any interest in seeing me, that’s one thing. But if you’re angry and hurt that I didn’t trust you-and you have every right to be-there might be a chance you’ll get over it.”

“In fifty years,” she shot back, folding her arms. “Or a hundred.”

“That mad, huh?”

“It’s not just that I’m mad. I…I…”

The elevator doors opened and a cleaning woman emerged with her cart and a vacuum cleaner. Giving Sydney and Russ a curt nod, she plugged in the vacuum cleaner and proceeded to clean the hall carpet.

Obviously they couldn’t continue this conversation here in the hallway. Reluctantly, Sydney turned and led Russ down to her apartment. The moment Russ entered her home, a streak of brown fur went straight for him. Blossom bounced on her hind legs, then rebounded off Russ’s knee and circled around in a dance of puppy joy. Oh, boy, a new friend.

“What is this?” Russ went down to the floor in a heartbeat, welcoming the exuberant puppy into his arms. She bathed his face in dog kisses.

“She needed a home,” Sydney said, cross that she’d been found out.

“You don’t like dogs,” Russ said, laughing as he tried to push the puppy away. It was like pushing the ocean.

“Do you wonder why? She’s the stupidest, most badly behaved animal on the planet.” Sydney sat on the arm of her sofa, defeated. “She would have ended up at the animal shelter if I hadn’t bought her. I was perfectly happy without a dog.”

Russ scratched Blossom behind the ears and amazingly she calmed down. “She looks just like Nero did when he was a pup. Are you going to keep her?”

“You want her? She’s yours.” Of course, she didn’t mean it.

“Okay. But I suspect if she comes, you’ll come with her. You’re crazy about this dog, I can tell.”

This conversation wasn’t going at all how Sydney thought it would. She hadn’t expected to be tempted. She had naively believed that seeing Russ face to face she could banish him once and for all from her thoughts, shut off the memories in a closed file in her mind and get on with her life.

“I can’t be with a man who’s going to think the worst of me at every opportunity. I can’t be with a man who doubts me, who has no faith in me. I’m not going to live my life trying to prove my loyalty. If I’m late for a date, will you assume I’ve been with another man? If I have a friendly chat with the grocery check boy, will you call it flirting? Will you be checking my pockets for notes from secret lovers, checking out my cell phone to see who I’ve been talking to?”

“I’m not like that,” he said, standing up and giving Blossom one last pat. “I’m not normally jealous or suspicious. I’m very laid-back.”

“What I saw yesterday morning was not laid-back.”

“It was an isolated incident. I was shocked by those reporters. You’d been talking on the phone earlier, kind of secretive in the middle of the night, and I put two and two together and came up with five hundred. It won’t happen again, I swear it. Just give me another chance. You can put me on probation.”

How was she supposed to say no to that? She was willing to bet this man didn’t humble himself very often. When she said nothing, because she was too busy hyperventilating, he kept going. She suspected he would keep talking until he convinced her or she kicked him out.

“I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I’m thinking you’re the one I want to be with the rest of my life. Sometimes a man just knows when something is right. I knew when I saw Linhart for the first time that I wanted to live there forever. I knew when Bert offered to sell me the general store that it was meant to be. And I knew when I held you in my arms when we were dancing, and even more when I kissed you, we had something special together. What I’m trying to say is that I love you.”

Sydney blinked back tears. Was this really happening?

Blossom was busy gnawing on Russ’s cowboy boots. Russ shook his foot, trying to dislodge the puppy. “Do you know how hard it is to declare your love with a dog attached to your shoe? C’mon, puppy, don’t take away whatever small amount of dignity I might have left.”

Sydney had run out of resistance. How could she not forgive a man with a puppy attached to his shoe? “I love you, too, you know? Despite my best efforts.”

His sexy mouth started to widen into a grin, but he stopped it. “Is there a but ? As in, ‘but I could never spend my life with you’?”

She shook her head. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Um, Blossom beat you to it. Would you settle for a really good hug?”

She held out her arms. In a flash Russ had her in his embrace. He hugged her long and hard. “I was so afraid I’d never get to do this again. I mean it about moving to New York, too. There’s no law that says you have to be the one to disrupt your life and I would never ask you to move away from your father when he needs you, or your job, since you love it.”

“I don’t care where we live. Just so we’re together.” She could do her kind of work anywhere as long as she wasn’t too far from a city. Austin would do. She would move to Texas in a heartbeat if not for her father. But they could figure out something, she was sure of it.

The phone in her office rang. She considered ignoring it, but she wasn’t really in a good position to turn down work. Russ loosened his hold on her enough that she could slip into her office and grab the phone. “Baines Security.”

“Wade Clancy returning your call.”

Oh, hell. The bankruptcy lawyer. She refused to let that reminder dampen her happiness. It was just money. She made an appointment for the following afternoon, then wrote down the list of things she would need to bring with her-financial statements, tax returns and such.

Russ played with Blossom while Sydney conducted business. He loved how cool and efficient she was on the phone. No one talking to her would guess the passion that lay just beneath the surface.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help hearing part of her conversation, and he realized she was talking to someone about bankruptcy. Oh, hell, he couldn’t let her do that. He’d forgotten his most important reason for coming here. Well, second-most important, after making up with Sydney. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a rumpled and oddly contoured stack of papers. He waited until Sydney hung up, then wordlessly handed it to her.