Claire McEwen - Convincing the Rancher

She looked up then. His expression had grown serious, his voice soft. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.” He was so close she could kiss him if she just leaned forward a few inches.

“And that is totally inappropriate,” she reminded him, and herself, pulling away abruptly. But some strange fragment of her heart fluttered at his words. And she realized that by never sticking around to get to know the men she slept with, she’d missed out on little compliments like this. And another thought flickered. What else had she missed out on? She turned away and went to the front of the store, loading her items on the counter.

The clerk was on a ladder, hanging up climbing ropes on a high rack near the door. Slaid wandered up next to her and called, “Harris, this is Tess Cole. She’s in town for a while and needed some warmer clothes.”

Harris turned and grinned. “Hey, Slaid.” The man climbed down and surveyed the pile of clothes. “Gotta make sure you’re layered up for the mountains. You be careful out here, Tess. The weather can change on a dime, and you can count on some pretty cold nights this time of year.”

“It’s hard to believe I’m just a day’s drive from San Francisco.”

“A day’s drive but a world away.” Harris smiled as he loaded the clothes into a big paper bag.

“You’re not kidding.” Tess handed him her credit card, feeling hollow at his words. A world away and not the world she wanted to be in.

She sighed, unbuttoning her beloved wool coat and folding it carefully for Harris to put in the shopping bag. She slid her arms into the new parka, vowing to smack Slaid if he tried to help her into it, and ignoring the tiny twinge of disappointment that winged through her when he didn’t. Zipped into the fluffy down, she was incredibly cozy, but all that puffiness felt a bit like she was wearing a spacesuit—as if she needed another reminder that she was in an alien environment.

But as soon as she stepped outside she was grateful for the down barrier between her and that crisp cold. They started along Main Street, back toward Tess’s little cottage.

“I’m a little apprehensive to continue our meeting,” Slaid said. “It seems as though when I’m around you, my foot goes in my mouth and I say the wrong thing. I’m sorry.”

“Let just focus on work,” Tess said. “Let’s forget about that night two years ago. It doesn’t matter, it’s irrelevant.”

“Right.” Slaid nodded, but he gave her a slightly quizzical look. “Completely irrelevant.”

“Yes.” She hoped she could follow her own advice. His moments of kindness and humor had her a little worried, too. She couldn’t afford any complications. Succeeding at this job required all her focus. And she could already tell that Slaid had the ability to make things a lot blurrier.

“So—” Slaid slowed his stride to match hers “—to sum up our meeting, strictly business now, Renewable Reliance wants to put a wind farm here. And you get to be their spokesperson. What happens next?”

“I’ll get all the informational materials together,” she answered. “Make some pamphlets, translate the environmental impact report into clear talking points and make a video that we’ll have available for people to download or watch at the library.”

“All in a month?”

“If I’m lucky. I think a month of exile in Benson is all I can handle.”

Slaid laughed. “Is that how you think of this? Exile?”

“Pretty much,” she answered, glancing at him. When he really laughed it was low and deep, as if he was truly enjoying himself.

“You know,” 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.