Her jaw tightened. “I still think it would impact your work at the ranch.”

  That’s not for you to say. But he wouldn’t throw her words in her face. “I might have to juggle my obligations, but the result would be worth it. I’ve unconsciously controlled the scope because of the physical limitations I have here. I could make a real impact on the problem by setting up a headquarters practically next door. That excites me.”

  Having her sitting only a few feet away excited him, too, but in a very different way. He’d take care not to let on.

  “Wouldn’t it be better if you rented a storefront in town? That would be way more visible.”

  He shook his head. “It wouldn’t be bird-focused. The raptors need to be in the same location as the headquarters so people can see the birds and understand the urgency. But these are wild creatures. I won’t take birds to town and turn them into a window display.”

  “But you will put them on display at the house, in a sense.”

  “Not any more than they are now. I won’t allow noisy crowds of people out by the aviaries.”

  “Will you let them fly free in the house?”

  He stared at her. “Are you kidding?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “These are wild creatures, not pets. I’d never turn them loose in the house.” He studied her. “Is that why you were so upset this morning? You thought the house would become an aviary?”

  She shrugged. “The way you were talking, it seemed possible.”

  “That wouldn’t be safe for the birds or the people who come to visit. The atmosphere will be controlled and low-key.”

  “Yeah, with big signs everywhere.”

  “They won’t be huge signs. You make it sound like I’m setting up a theme park. It’s a non-profit with an environmentally friendly concept. The last thing I want is to make it look like a roadside attraction for tourists.”

  She drank more beer and scowled at him. “You’d probably decide to pave the road leading into the property, though.”

  “That’s pricey, but I’ll definitely keep it graded more than it is now. I’d rather not have a potential donor break an axel on the way there.”

  “The road’s not that bad.”

  “It is that bad. I followed you home the other day because you were driving a little car that could get lost in one of those potholes. The road hasn’t been a priority for your mom, but it would be for me.”

  “Obviously.” She folded her arms and crossed her legs. Her body language screamed resistance.

  “Mandy, what’s the problem? I thought you were in favor of the raptor program.”

  “I am. I truly am. I just…I don’t want you to buy the house and use it for that. I don’t want my bedroom turned into an infirmary or an operating room.”

  “What difference does it make what happens in your bedroom?” He almost laughed because that was funny, but she might not think so. “Once your mom sells the house, whether to me or somebody else, the new owner can do whatever they want, including tear it down and start over.”

  Her eyes widened. “Nobody would do that!”

  “I hope not because it’s a great house. I love the dining area with a view of the deck. Hell, I love the knotty pine paneling. I wouldn’t dream of changing that, but someone else might rip it out.”

  “That would be awful.” She took a shaky breath. “But…Zane, please don’t buy the house.”

  “Why not? I thought you wanted your mom to live with you in New York ASAP.”

  “I do! We’ll have a terrific time there, too.” The jut of her chin said it all.

  “Okay.” He approached the subject with caution. She was very smart and would have made valedictorian except she lost her concentration their senior year. He’d given her credit for being logical, too. “If I buy the house now, your mom will have the funds to make that move sooner.”

  Her chin lifted a notch higher. “She’ll have the money to finance a move after she gets back the down payment on the condo.”

  “Technically she will, but –”

  “There’s no rush to find a buyer. She might get a better price during the summer when it’s warmer.”

  “But surely she’d feel better about leaving if the house is sold.”

  “Not necessarily.” She took another gulp of her beer. “If you think of yourself as a white knight riding in to make her life easier, then –”

  “I don’t. This is supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

  “You might see it that way, but Mom and I have been taking our time cleaning out all the stuff that’s accumulated over the years, and then you show up ready to close on the house immediately and start moving medical equipment in. That’s too…too abrupt.”

  “Like I said, I thought she’d like not having to go through the listing process, the open houses, the last-minute requests to show the place.”

  “Or she can head off to New York with me and leave the real estate agent to handle all that. Instead you’re yanking the house out from under her before she’s ready.”

  He held onto his temper with difficulty. She really was a maddening woman. “I’m not yanking anything. Aunt Jo can set her own timetable. I’m not trying to push her into this but I thought having a buyer, one she knows and trusts, would take some of the pressure off.”

  “It might if you weren’t planning to make all these changes and transform it into something completely different.” Her voice rose. “Have you considered all the loving care she’s put into that house?”

  “I know she has.”

  Her hand trembled as she set her empty beer bottle on the floor. “She might be too polite to say so, but I’ll bet she’s cringing at the idea of her pretty little guest room becoming a surgical ward for injured birds.”

  “Then I’d better have another talk with her. I got the impression she’d be proud to know that her former house would be a center for promoting the health and safety of these raptors. Are you saying she doesn’t feel that way?”

  She propelled herself out of the chair and loomed over him, her eyes shooting sparks. “I’m saying…Don’t. Buy. The. House.”

  Struggling to stay calm, he stood, too. They were inches apart. He absorbed the heat and frustration she was giving off but had no idea what to do about it. “Because your mom doesn’t want me to?”

  “Because I don’t want you to, okay?” She began to shake and tears dribbled from the corner of her eyes.

  “Why, Mandy? Because you don’t want medical equipment in your bedroom?”

  “Yes!” The tears came faster and she angrily wiped them away. “I mean no, that’s not the reason. It’s just…don’t buy it, damn it! Don’t buy my house! Just don’t.” With a wail, she spun away from him.

  He was stunned by her outburst. It was so unlike her to lose it. “Hey.” He took hold of her quivering shoulders and turned her gently around. “Hey.”

  She clutched his shirt and buried her face against his chest.

  “It’s okay.” He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, Buttercup.” Then he held her while she soaked his shirt with her tears. He didn’t have to guess what kind of tears they were. The reality of selling the house where she’d grown up hadn’t hit her until he’d offered to buy it. She was grieving.

  If he imagined his mom selling the ranch, he could somewhat grasp how much Mandy was hurting. For her it might be more complicated because of bad memories, but she still had fifteen years of her life tied up in that house. Detaching from it had to be tough.

  He shared her pain as best he could and tried to comfort her. He rubbed her back and smoothed her hair. When he kissed the top of her head, he breathed in the coconut scent of her shampoo. She’d always liked coconut.

  Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her temple. She snuffled and slid her arms around his neck. After that, he lost track of things. What he’d intended as comfort became something else as he kissed her wet cheek and she turned her head so he connected with her mouth.

  Her lips were soft and moist, like rose petals after a rain. They parted easily, inviting him in. He tasted the salt of her tears and hesitated. She was distraught. He nibbled gently, waiting for her to change her mind.

  Instead she whimpered and clutched the back of his head to pull him closer, deeper. God help him, he responded, thrusting his tongue into her mouth with a groan of surrender. Yes, oh, yes. This.

  She arched against him, her body a warm, yielding promise. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. She belonged there, right there. He carried her to the bed, laying her down on the colorful squares of his handmade quilt.

  She gazed up at him, her expression open and vulnerable.

  Once again, he waited, giving her time, a moment to reconsider.

  She swallowed. “Love me.”

  He’d never been so willing to answer a plea. He began to undress her and she watched him with luminous eyes. As the delicate scent of coconut teased him, he slowly revealed the swell of her breasts, the sweet curve of her hips, the tempting space between her silken thighs. He paused along the way to touch, to kiss, to taste. With every caress, her breath came faster.

  When he removed the last of her clothes, she grasped his hand and her voice was barely a whisper. “Now you.”

  Standing, he pulled off his clothes and she followed every movement. The muted glow from the fire gave him just enough light to see the flush on her cheeks when he shoved down his briefs. Tossing them away, he took a package of condoms from the bedside table. He’d bought them more than a year ago. Never broke the seal.

  He held her gaze as he ripped open a foil packet, rolled on a condom and climbed onto the bed. At each stage in this journey he’d expected her to balk, but when he moved between her thighs, she lifted her arms and welcomed him.

  Sinking into her warmth was the most natural thing in the world, as if he’d been making love to her for years. Maybe they would have if things had turned out different. It didn’t matter. He was grateful for this moment.

  She didn’t let him linger over it. Her body rose to meet his with an eagerness that sent heat shooting through his veins. The urgent press of her fingertips drove him on and he plunged into her over and over. Each time he made that connection, the jolt of sensation nearly took his head off.

  Her wild cries and deep moans told him that he was getting it right, that he was loving her the way she needed to be loved. This was communication on a basic level in a language he’d never shared with her but which came to him instinctively.

  He felt her tighten around his cock. She was ready to come. He could slow down and draw out the experience but he made a guess that she wouldn’t want that. He gave it all he had, pounding into her until she reached a very noisy climax and he followed right after.

  For a while their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. He stayed balanced on his forearms as he slowly came to his senses. What now? With any other woman, he’d know what to say, what to do next.

  But these were Mandy’s thighs he was wedged tightly between. These were Mandy’s breasts he brushed against whenever he moved even a little bit. He couldn’t give her a lingering kiss and tell her she was amazing and the sex had been incredible. She was and it had been, but they still had issues to settle and they hadn’t solved anything by getting naked.

  Instead they’d complicated the hell out of the situation.

  Chapter Nine

  Now what? As the haze of lust gradually cleared, Mandy lay there, stunned by her own idiocy. How could she have allowed this to happen? After putting a stop to their ill-advised kiss yesterday she’d turned around and…and…. She couldn’t even put words to what she’d done. As her breathing returned to normal, she kept her eyes closed because she couldn’t bear to look up and see Zane staring down at her.

  She was naked, and worse yet, he was naked. She’d never seen him without clothes but she certainly had, now. He was gorgeous, but still, he was Zane. She’d managed to set aside that pertinent fact while letting him undress her. She’d writhed beneath him without even a tiny bit of ladylike restraint. Because of her delusional thinking, she’d had the most satisfying orgasm of her life.

  That part had been spectacular. But now that the glow had faded and her brain was functioning again, she had to deal with the fact that Zane had been intimately involved in that ecstatic moment. If he had any sensitivity at all he would leave the bed immediately without saying a single word so she could leap up, throw on her clothes and vamoose.

  But no, he remained right where he’d been at the end of the action, although he wasn’t talking, either. Maybe, like her, he was struggling with what was appropriate to say after having no-holds-barred sex with his former best friend. She had the answer for him. He should keep his mouth shut and allow them to regain a small portion of their dignity.

  At least the lighting was dim and he wouldn’t be able to see her naked self very well. That might not matter anymore, though. After asking him to love her – how embarrassing was that? – she’d let him remove every item of clothing from her body and kiss whatever areas he pleased. That had turned out to be quite a lot.

  Dear God, this was beyond awkward. Why didn’t he just move? Clearly he wasn’t going to, so she’d have to be the one to get them out of this pickle. She cleared her throat. “Um, I should go.”

  “Sorry, what?” He sounded dazed and confused.

  She found the courage to open her eyes. “I need to leave.”

  His face was in shadow. “You don’t have to. You could –”

  “I have to. I didn’t leave a note for Mom.” She’d intended to be out and back before her mother realized she’d been gone. But she’d been away much longer than she’d planned. And she’d done things she’d never, ever meant to do.

  “Oh.”

  “So if you could just…”

  “Right.” It must have dawned on him that he was pinning her down. “I’ll head into the bathroom.”

  He withdrew with care and climbed out of the bed. She grabbed the covers and pulled them up to her neck on the off chance he’d glance in her direction. He walked into the bathroom but didn’t close the door, damn it.

  She had to take advantage of this opportunity, regardless. Leaping out of bed, she located her panties but not her bra. She abandoned the search in favor of pulling on her jeans and her sweater. She crammed her feet into her boots and snatched up her jacket from the floor as he came out of the bathroom.

  He hadn’t taken any of his clothes with him so she was afraid to look. Instead she quickly put on her jacket. Her sweater sleeves bunched up because she shoved her arms in too fast but that was a small matter.

  “You could send your mom a text if you think she might wake up and be worried.”

  “A text?” She searched the floor for her bra. “You mean tell her where I am?”

  “What’s wrong with that? She doesn’t have to know that we –”

  “I’m not texting her.” She located her bra but had to take her phone out of her jacket pocket before she could stuff her bra inside. His comment made her decide to check the screen in case her mom had texted her, which would be bad. She hadn’t.

  “Hang on and I’ll drive you.”

  Not happening. She couldn’t imagine trying to ignore him while he put on his clothes. The room was getting smaller by the minute. “I’ll be fine walking.” She gave him a quick glance and was relieved that he’d had the decency to wrap a towel around his hips. Even so, there was a lot of male muscle on display.

  She zipped her jacket and picked up her hat and scarf from the floor. Maybe if they hadn’t had sex his nakedness wouldn’t bother her so much, but what was done was done. She’d never be able to look him in the eye again. She started for the door.

  “Mandy, let me drive you back. Or at least walk you over. Give me a minute to put on my clothes.”

  “No can do.” A blast of cold air made her gasp when she opened the door.

  “See? It’s damned cold out there. Come back inside and wait for me.”

  “See ya.“ She made her getaway and prayed he wouldn’t follow her. That was one advantage of leaving him while he wore only a towel. She jogged over to the path and race-walked once she was into the trees.

  She didn’t turn on her flashlight app until she tripped on a tree root and almost did a face plant. She’d known every inch of this path years ago but the forest had made a few changes. Anyway, she could slow down, now. Zane wouldn’t follow her after she was already on her way. That would scare her to death and he’d know that.

  He understood her too well, unfortunately. She’d contained her meltdown this morning only to have a spectacular one here. In the process, she’d revealed way too much, starting with her body.

  But that wasn’t all she’d let him see. Now they both knew she was still emotionally attached to the house and to him. His offer to buy her old home had touched off a landslide of memories and heartaches.

  But as the walk helped clear away the mental and emotional debris, she thought about the comments he’d made before things got crazy. If she wanted her mom to move to New York, then someone else would live in the house. Like Zane said, the new owner could do whatever they wanted, including tearing the place down.

  Maybe knowing what would happen to the house and who’d bought it would be slightly easier than imagining someone buying it for the land and taking a bulldozer to the house. She’d heard stories of families who’d sold a beloved home to a stranger and had returned later to find it gone.

  Well, Zane McGavin was certainly no stranger. Now she knew him in the Biblical sense. But if she played her cards right, she’d never have to see him again. She had no plans to return to Eagles Nest.

  But her mom probably would want to come back to visit friends. She’d drive out to the old house because that’s what people did after they’d moved away. If Zane owned it, her mother could go inside and she’d know what to expect. She wouldn’t get any nasty shocks.

  An owl hooted in one of the tall pines along the path. Another one answered. Mandy hooted back. She’d perfected the technique as a kid but she was a little rusty. Even so, she got a response.