She couldn’t see his face, with that cowboy hat hiding everything.
“Let’s go,” he said quietly.
She frowned and opened her mouth to protest.
He took the flashlight back. “I shut off the water. There’s nothing else for you here tonight. You can come back tomorrow and see the rest of the damage.”
She felt exposed, vulnerable, and suddenly so weary. He’d seen the mess in the restaurant, just as if he’d seen the mess in her life. She couldn’t waste the last of her money when she was going to need every dime to fix this place.
“Listen, cowboy,” she said firmly, “I know this looks bad, but it isn’t up to you to make my decisions for me.”
“Is that right?” He tipped up his hat to look her in the eyes.
She suddenly noticed that his drawl had disappeared, and he spoke in crisp, cool tones.
“Well, it’s a shame you didn’t tell me what you were doing here from the beginning because I could have saved us all this hassle. I do have a say in your decisions”—he briefly looked past her—“or at least my father does, because you don’t own this property outright. My dad lent your mother money, and he has a lien on the place. She’d been paying him back over time.”
Emily gaped at him, still standing a step up so he couldn’t crowd her in the tiny hallway. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was. I’ll tell my father about your arrival and word of your mother’s death.”
“She died last year!”
“We’ve been receiving regular payment through a lawyer. If you don’t believe me, I’ll bring the papers to show you.” He sighed. “He would never stand in the way of you selling the building—to an appropriate business, of course.”
She felt her face heat. “Excuse me?”
“With how land is selling in Valentine Valley,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “you’ll have no problem getting a decent price, and you’ll be able to keep most of it.”
Swallowing, she knew it was best to keep her temper until she saw those papers. She’d thought she was on her own, independent at last, and now to find out someone else controlled her, after everything that had happened in her marriage . . . To her mortification, she felt her eyes sting. Thank goodness for the darkness.
Nate was still watching her. She stiffened and met his gaze with what she hoped was a look of cool defiance and a tilt of her chin.
“I’m glad you’re being calm and reasonable about this,” he said. “That means you’ll also understand that you can’t stay here tonight. It may be spring, but the nights are cold in the mountains. I have a place you can stay.” When she drew in a furious breath, he held up both hands. “Not with me. My grandmother has a boardinghouse for her and all her friends, and I do occasional work for her. There’s an empty room right now, and you can stay there until you figure things out.”
For a crazy moment, Emily wanted to refuse, to kick him out, to hunker down in the only place that was hers. But common sense intervened at last, and she let out a frustrated breath. “I guess I don’t have a choice. I’m sorry you’re forced to help me once again.”
He didn’t answer, just stood looking at her. She was suddenly very conscious of the quiet, of the lateness of the hour, of how very alone they were. Without thinking about where she was, she took an instinctive step back—and hit her heel on the next step and started to fall backward.
He caught both her arms and briefly steadied her. Even that little touch brought back those hot moments when he’d stood between her thighs and kissed her.
“Let’s go,” he said gruffly, and walked out of the building into the rain.
Emily took a few minutes to lock both interior doors, then the outside one, before running back to the pickup. She received a sniff to the back of the neck from Scout, but she’d been prepared this time.
Without a word, Nate drove slowly down the alley and out onto a street. Within a few minutes, they left behind the twinkling lights of Valentine Valley, and she got the impression of immense darkness rising on one side of the pickup. They were driving closer to the Elk Mountains, if she remembered her map correctly, and they must blot out the stars. After crossing a bridge, they turned and followed the creek for