He studied her with sharp eyes that missed little. Her gaze quickly dropping to her food, Lise silently cursed her expressive face and tried not to squirm. No! she wanted to cry, she wasn’t all right. Damn the man, why did he have to be so comfortable to be with? In spite of her best efforts to keep her guard up with him, he had a way of sneaking past it when she least expected it. Who would have thought he would like the Flamingo? The men she knew cringed every time they walked into the café, though they had no complaint with the food. And then there were his manners.
The man was a drover, for heaven’s sake. A stockman, a cowboy who bummed around the world in search of work. He could have been crude and rough and boorish, but he was nothing like that. He not only opened doors for her, he did it for every other woman he encountered, and he didn’t even seem to realize it. It was ingrained, as was his flashing smile and the way he carried heavier items for her without her having to ask for help. And she found that incredibly appealing—and far too dangerous for her peace of mind.
She should have brought someone else with her to help her—anyone else. The other men didn’t flirt with and tease her. They didn’t make her constantly aware of the fact that she was a woman. They didn’t make her wonder what it would be like to kiss them….
Suddenly realizing where her thoughts had wandered, she stiffened, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. If he guessed what she was thinking, she’d die right there on the spot. “I’m just tired,” she said stiffly. “This time of year’s always hectic, and I haven’t been getting enough sleep. I’ll be fine once I get my second wind.”
That sounded good, but Steve wasn’t buying it. Over the course of the day, she’d grown progressively quieter and more withdrawn, and he found himself missing the woman he’d ridden into town with. For the life of him, he didn’t know what had happened. Had he said something he shouldn’t have? Something that made her suspect his real reason for being there?
Frowning, he thought over everything he’d told her from the moment he’d met her yesterday, but he wasn’t surprised when he couldn’t think of anything he’d said that she would find suspect. After all, he’d been in the business a long time—he didn’t make those kinds of mistakes. He protected his cover at all costs. Which meant that something else had to be bothering her, something she didn’t want to talk about that had nothing to do with him.
“Maybe dessert would make you feel better,” he suggested. “The chocolate praline cheesecake sounds good.”
He didn’t know another woman who would have turned that down, but Lise was apparently made of sterner stuff than that. Pushing her barely touched beef away from her, she wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. “No, thanks. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.”
That effectively ended the conversation. He finished his meal. There was nothing left to do after that except pay the bill and head back to the station.
The ride home was nothing like the one to town. There were no childhood stories, no teasing, no laughter. The minute they got in the truck, Lise turned the radio to a news station, adjusted the volume to one that made conversation difficult and kept it that way for the next two hours.
Another man might have been discouraged, but not Steve. Settling back, he took advantage of the fact that she kept her eyes trained straight ahead on the road. Openly studying her, he said loudly, “You know, sometimes it helps to talk to somebody when something’s bothering you. It helps you get a different perspective.”
“Nothing bothering me,” she retorted.
“Oh, really? So you’re always this quiet.”
For the first time since they’d left Roo Springs, she took her eyes from the road long enough to spare him a glance. “Not everyone has to fill the silences with chatter.”
As far as zingers went, it was a good one. Impressed—and not the least insulted—he grinned. “That was good, boss lady. So is that what I’m doing? Chattering? Some women find it quite endearing.”
For a second, he thought he saw her lips twitch, but then she tossed her head and sniffed. “There’s no accounting for taste, is there? I guess that’s what makes the world go round.”
“I heard it was love.”
“You can’t believe everything you hear,” she said with a shrug. “It’ll get you in trouble every time.”
That was the first cynical statement he’d heard her make, and he had to wonder where it came from. Was that really what she thought of love? If so, he couldn’t say he blamed her. Stuck out here in the bush, she hadn’t had very much positive reinforcement when it came to relationships. In spite of the fact that her parents had supposedly adored each other, Simon had virtually abandoned Lise to the staff after his wife died and hadn’t had much to do with her since. What had that told her about love? That she wasn’t good enough? That she couldn’t expect to be loved if she wasn’t small and petite?
That was the biggest load of bunk Steve had ever heard in his life, and if he could have gotten his hands on Simon at that moment, he didn’t think he could have been held responsible for his actions. No one had a right to do that to a child.
One day soon, before his mission was completed and he left, he’d find a way to tell her she deserved someone better than Simon for a father, but today wasn’t the day. She’d already returned her attention to the road. Staring straight ahead, she ignored all efforts on his part to pull her into a conversation. Giving up in defeat, he, too, stared at the road that stretched endlessly before them and let the rest of the drive pass in silence.
Even though there were others at home to unload the truckful of supplies Lise had bought, she and Steve both stuck around to help. A stickler when it came to neatness and proper storage of foodstuffs, Cookie oversaw the grocery items that were brought into his kitchen and made sure everything was put away in the right spot. Then Lise drove the truck to the barn, where the ranching supplies were quickly unloaded and stacked in the storage area until they would be needed for the roundup.
Lise had been telling herself for hours that she couldn’t wait to get back home and put some distance between her and Steve, but now that the day and evening were over with, she was surprised to discover she was disappointed—which only annoyed her all over again. Damn the man, what was it about him that confused her so? No one had ever stirred her emotions so easily, and for the life of her, she didn’t understand why she continued to let him do it.
Frustrated, needing some time to herself to think, she turned to him stiffly as the rest of the men headed to the bunkhouse. “Thank you for your help today. I appreciate it.”
She didn’t look like she appreciated it. In fact, Steve thought in growing amusement, if her frown was anything to go by, she was glad to be well rid of him. And he had to ask himself why. What wasn’t there to like? He was a damn good-looking man. And modest, too.
Swallowing a chuckle at his silent ramblings, he said gruffly, “My pleasure. Any time, ma’am.”
Her eyes narrowed at that, but before she could come back with a quick retort, she obviously thought better of it. “Good night,” she said coolly. “It’s been a long day, so I guess I’ll turn in.”
Closing the door to the barn, Steve watched her walk to the house in the dark and found himself looking forward to tomorrow. He didn’t know what was going on inside her head, but he could count on her to make the time he spent there damned interesting. If the contents of Simon’s study turned out to be just as interesting, he’d be one lucky dude.
As soon as Lise reached the back porch and stepped inside the house, the porch light went out, and Steve found himself surrounded by the all-concealing blackness of the night. The other hands had gone to the bunkhouse, and for the first time in hours, he was totally and completely alone.
The house stood before him like a present waiting to be unwrapped, and as he watched the lights go out one by one,