Читать книгу One Tall, Dusty Cowboy - Stella Bagwell - Страница 10

Chapter Four

Green Lizard was an old local establishment with a low-beamed ceiling, planked wooden floor and a long, polished bar equipped with swiveling stools. Behind the counter a bartender was polishing glasses while several customers watched a basketball game on a television hanging on a nearby wall.

As Rafe escorted Lilly to one of the small round tables on the opposite wall from the bar, he wondered if he was one big sap or one of the luckiest men in Nevada. The kiss she’d given him a few minutes ago had been full of promises, but he wasn’t sure what those promises had meant, or even if he wanted to be a part of them. He only knew that being with Lilly filled him with a mixture of contradicting emotions. And that was definitely something that Rafe had never experienced with a woman before.

After helping her into one of the wooden chairs, Rafe took a seat directly across from her and reached for one of the single-sheet menus propped between a napkin holder and a tall sugar shaker.

“Since you’re ignoring the menu, you must already know what you want to order,” he said. “Tell me what’s good.”

She smiled at him and though it was a genuine expression, he could see the exhaustion in her eyes and around her lips. The thought unexpectedly struck Rafe that he wanted to take her in his arms and soothe away her weariness, to hear her sigh with contentment and see the tension on her lovely face melt away.

“The cheeseburgers are delicious,” she told him. “I try to limit myself to one a week, but sometimes I slip and indulge myself with two.”

“I’d hardly call that overindulging.” He slipped the menu back in place. “Is this where the hospital staff gathers to eat or is it more of a watering hole to relax?”

“A few hit the bar after a long shift. Once in a while I’ll have a cocktail, but normally I’m just here for the food. The hospital cafeteria is okay as far as food goes, but after several days of it in a row I need a change of taste.”

As soon as Rafe had spotted her walking out of the building tonight, he’d noticed she wasn’t wearing her nurse’s uniform. Instead, she’d changed into close-fitting jeans and a pink buttoned blouse with sleeves that ended at her elbows. Somehow the casual clothes made her appear even sexier than she had the night they’d dined at the Sierra Chateau. Or maybe it was the softness in her eyes that made her more appealing, Rafe thought. Either way, the sight of her made it very difficult to keep his mind on anything more than kissing her again.

Trying to shake away that tempting image, he asked, “Exactly how long have you worked at Tahoe General?”

“Close to eight years. I was twenty when I first started as an LPN. Three years later, I went back to school and acquired my RN degree.”

At that moment a young waitress with a long blond ponytail arrived at their table with two glasses of ice water. After she’d taken their identical orders, Rafe rested his forearms on the tabletop and leaned slightly toward her.

“You look very tired,” he told her.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long shift. For the past several hours I’ve only had a pair of five-minute breaks.”

“I wasn’t complaining, Lilly. I’m just wondering why you don’t work in a clinic? That’s meaningful work and the daytime hours would be more normal.”

“Yes, it’s meaningful. But I think I’d feel trapped.” She sipped from the short water glass. “It would be like asking you to keep yourself confined to the ranch yard and never go out on the range.”

A wry grin curved one corner of his lips. “I’d feel like a prisoner. I guess when a person is doing something they like the fatigue factor doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Rafe. A nice, quiet shift is welcomed after an evening like this.” With a hand at the back of her neck, she rocked her head from one shoulder to the other. “So tell me about your work. Bart says spring branding is still going on. I can tell he’s missing being a part of it.”

Rafe grimaced. This was the first spring roundup that Rafe could ever remember his grandfather missing. It was like having breakfast without coffee. It could be done, but it wasn’t the same. For years Rafe had wished the old man would allow him to handle things on his own. He didn’t need Bart getting in the way or yelling out orders that only tended to get on the crew’s nerves. But now that Rafe had gotten his wish, he had to admit that he missed having his grandfather around.

“Yeah. Gramps has never missed roundup. I’m sure it’s driving him nuts. He’s always been the type to give orders and tell everyone how something should be done. He doesn’t think the ranch would survive without him.”

Her thoughtful gaze slowly slipped over his face and he wondered what Lilly really saw when she looked at him. Plenty of women had told him he was handsome, but that sort of thing meant nothing to Rafe. Broad shoulders or a strong jaw didn’t make a man.

“That’s not entirely a bad thing, Rafe. Believing that he’s needed is what keeps Bart going. It’s pushing him to get well and back on his feet.”

“You’re probably right about that, but—”

“Probably?” she interrupted. “I am right.”

“You’re only just now getting to know Bart. He can be demanding, controlling and has a temper that won’t quit.”

She leveled a meaningful smile at him. “He tells me that you’re a lot like him.”

He stared at her. “Gramps said that?”

“He did. You seem surprised.”

Rafe chuckled. “I’ve been accused of plenty of things before, but never being like my grandfather. I don’t know whether to feel flattered or insulted. Bart is a polarizing figure. You either love or hate him.”

“I suspect your feelings for Bart aren’t so black or white.”

From the very first day he’d met this woman she’d seemed to understand him and he’d immediately known she wasn’t the sort he could charm or fool. He respected that about her, yet it jarred him to have anyone, especially a woman, able to read him so easily.

“My feelings for Gramps are hard to define. I love him. But—well, here comes our food. I’ll tell you about it later.”

The waitress arrived with the cheeseburgers and fries and for the next half hour the two concentrated on eating their meal. Once they’d finished, Rafe paid the ticket and they walked out to the street curb where their vehicles were parked.

“It’s still early for me,” Lilly said as Rafe escorted her to the door of her car. “Would you like to come by the house for coffee? I made the mistake of going to the supermarket while I was hungry and ended up buying a gallon of rocky-road ice cream. Someone besides me needs to eat it.”

Groaning, Rafe patted his midsection. “After all that food, I couldn’t eat another bite. But the coffee sounds nice. I’ll follow you there.”

On the short drive to Lilly’s house, Rafe was once again asking himself if he was following her down a dangerous trail or if he should be counting his lucky stars that she was being so warm and inviting.

You don’t have to go to her house, Rafe. If you’re that scared of the woman then ring her cell and tell her that something unexpected has come up at the ranch and you’re needed there.

Damn it, he wasn’t afraid of the woman. Rafe mentally argued with the voice in his head. He was just a whole lot confused, added to even more caution. The moment he’d first spotted her descending the staircase in his family home, he’d been mesmerized by her. His first thought back then had been to get a date with her. A date that would hopefully lead to a night of incredible sex. But nothing had turned out like he’d planned.

Normally, Rafe would have already dismissed a woman like Lilly from his roster of girlfriends. He didn’t have the time or inclination for serious. Now, the fact that he didn’t want to cut himself loose from her, that he wanted to court her in an honorable manner, had him mentally shaking his head.

But his confusion wasn’t enough to make him steer his truck toward the Silver Horn instead of Lilly’s house.

* * *

Up until five minutes ago, no man had ever been in Lilly’s kitchen. But Rafe had changed all that when he’d insisted on giving her a hand with making the coffee.