“I know it is,” Kai said, taking the card and tucking it into her pants pocket, “but it’s still a good, hardworking machine. It has a lot of years left in it.”
Joe gave her a slight smile. “They make Deeres to last forever.”
“You know,” Chuck said, moving closer to her, “I have a complete repair facility. Do you know how to rebuild a motor? A carburetor?”
“I do. Why?”
“Well,” Chuck said, “I’d be happy to take you over there to check out our repair shop. If you bring in what you need repaired, I have the tools, the machinery and other items you need to do it. Now, I wouldn’t charge you anything but a fair hourly rate to use my equipment. If you needed spare parts, my man, José, could probably find the things you need in our spare parts department. Why don’t you come over with me? Check it out? Might save you the loss of a day having to drive to Idaho Falls and back.”
The idea was tempting. Kai said, “Let me call Talon Holt. I need his permission. Could you give me an idea of costs?” She liked that Harper was willing to help her, but it wasn’t lost on Kai that he liked her, either. Right now, as bruised as her heart and ego were from the blowout with Gil, it was nice to be appreciated by a man. Especially someone like Harper, who appeared to be kind and thoughtful.
Chuck took a piece of paper from Joe and scribbled down the rates and handed it to her. “I’ll wait by the door,” he said. “Let me know what Holt says.”
“Thanks,” Kai murmured, pulling out her cell phone.
* * *
GIL WAS COMING down the porch steps from the main ranch house near four in the afternoon when he saw Kai drive in. She parked her truck with the rest and climbed out. He saw her wrestle with a large cardboard box that was obviously heavy. He met her halfway.
“Let me take that for you,” he said gruffly, reaching out for it.
Kai scowled. “I got it.” She glared up at him.
Gently, Gil eased his hands around it. “Let me help you, Kai.”
Her heart twisted and Kai didn’t want him touching her, so she released the box to him. Why was she still so drawn to him? Why? It frustrated the hell out of her. “They’re parts. I need to take them to the green barn.”
“Okay,” Gil said, turning and beginning the walk around the ranch house. “Were you able to get the John Deere parts you needed?”
Kai fell into step with him, keeping plenty of room between them. “No. But I met a really nice guy, Chuck Harper.” Instantly, she saw Gil’s face go hard, and his gaze snapped to hers. He halted abruptly, staring down at her.
“Harper?” he snarled.
Shaken, Kai said, “Well...yes. Why?” She saw blackness in Gil’s eyes and it bothered the hell out of her. “I called Talon Holt about this hours ago,” she began defensively, her chin jutting out. “He gave me permission to use Ace Trucking’s repair facility to make the parts I needed for the tractor. Why?”
Gil compressed his lips, staring at her. “Stay away from the bastard. You hear me?”
The snarl in his voice tore through her. Confused, she muttered, “What are you talking about? The guy was nice. He offered me his facility so I could make the parts I needed for the tractor. Talon approved the payment and I wrote him a check afterward. Why are you looking at me like that?” Her heart rate ramped up and she could feel the sudden tension gathering around Gil. He was acting as if he was about ready to go into a firefight. She’d seen and felt that same kind of energy around Sam anytime he was threatened. Why the hell was Gil threatened by Chuck Harper? Or was he angry at her? Jealous? Either way, Kai felt her stomach knot. Her hands curved against her Levi’s as she stared him down.
Cursing softly, Gil said, “Let’s get these parts to the barn. I’ll fill you in there.”
Kai almost had to run to keep up with his long, swift stride. In no time, Gil had placed the cardboard box on the table where she had her toolbox. He turned, pushing up his Stetson.
“Harper is a bastard,” he growled at her. “Did Talon know who you were dealing with?”
Struck by the ferocity of his words and the way his body had tensed, Kai muttered, “Yes, I told him. Why the hell are you acting like this, Gil? I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Dammit, I’m not angry at you, Kai.” He took a swipe at his jaw, looking out the barn door as if he was trying to put the right words together. “Where did you meet Harper?”
Scowling, she told him. The look in Gil’s eyes was glittering and she could feel his sudden, almost overwhelming protectiveness cascading around her. She remembered that sense of safety and protection in his arms. He was an operator, and he protected his own. Just as Sam had once protected her. In as few words as possible, she told Gil where she’d met Harper and their subsequent conversation.
“He’s not to be trusted. I don’t care how damned nice he was to you, Kai.”
She stared at him, mouth dropping open. “What is this, Gil? I just saved this ranch a lot of money by arranging to use his facilities to fix that tractor.” She saw him scowl, his game face in place. Kai hated that unreadable expression. She had hated it on Sam, too. Black ops men were screwed up so damned badly in her opinion precisely because they sat on their emotions to do their jobs. And Gil was looking like that right now.
“Harper is a bastard in the finest sense of the word,” he gritted out.
She snorted. “I know a bastard when I see one, Gil.”
The muscles in his jaw ticked. “You’re new to this area, Kai. You don’t know the lay of the land yet. If you don’t trust my assessment of Harper, just go to Gwen Garner at the quilt shop in town. She’ll give you a fair readout on him.”
A little unnerved because she saw something in Gil’s eyes that set her on warning. Was he jealous of Harper? That couldn’t be! Searching his eyes, there was worry in them. For her? Why? Gil didn’t even like her! She was a burr under his saddle by being here. So what was his angle at getting all huffy, protective and upset that Harper had done something decent for the ranch? “When I get time,” she said, turning and walking out of the barn. Let him stew in his own juices. Kai was confused by the raw care burning in his eyes for a second in the barn. There was no way Gil cared for her. No way in hell!
As she quickly walked down the gravel slope, Kai couldn’t contain her emotions. She knew that look in Gil’s eyes. She’d seen it the night before he left her and walked away. The sense of protection had surrounded her as she lay in his arms and he had gently moved several tendrils of her damp hair away from her brow. Kai hadn’t known she could fall so hard for anyone as she did Gil. It had never happened before or after him.
One kiss!
Just that one haunting, searing kiss as his mouth took hers with desperation had turned her world upside down and her life inside out. Her knees had weakened and he’d literally swept her into his arms, holding her tightly against him, ravishing her mouth, his other hand holding the back of her head as he plundered her lips, her heart and her soul. It was as if a lifetime of need and hunger had been built into his one life-changing kiss with her. Kai got in that instant how much he had desired her over the years and, even more poignant, how much he needed her right then. The feeling that washed over her was if he didn’t kiss her right now, he’d die. It was that intense. That soul-rocking. Without thinking, Kai touched her lips with her fingertips, that branding kiss always with her. No man had ever kissed her like Gil Hanford had.
Anguish rose in Kai, tearing at her heart, turning it into bloody ribbons