Once and Always (Women of Character) Read Free

you left. Did you go on to school for engineering?" She had
regained some of her cool and tried to keep her expression passive. How many
times had she wondered what happened to him? How many nights had she cried
herself to sleep, alternately aching for Tyler and hating him? At nineteen it
had hurt to know how easy it had been for him to leave her behind.
    His jaw clenched. "No. An old
friend of my dad's offered me a job in California. When we were released from
custody, we headed west with the shirts on our backs."
    "I―I came to see you,
but you'd left." Without a word.
    "Why would you come? You made
it clear whose side you were on."
    "There were no sides!"
Anna said fiercely. "If there were, we all lost."
    He laughed. "Don't delude
yourself. There was only one side―the old man's side. You made your
choice quick enough the night he caught us making out in the cottage. By the
way, I see you got rid of the cottage. Too many memories?"
    "What you're saying is
unforgivable." It hadn't been making out. She'd loved him and made love
with him. He'd whispered he loved her. "How gullible I must have
seemed." All of it had been a lie. She pressed her lips together so they
wouldn't shake.
    Tyler made a sound of impatience.
"I didn't come here to rehash history. If you won't sell then I'll lease
the place. I'll top any offer put on the table."
    "Why come back when you act
like you hate it here? Why torment both of us like this?" Anna felt
mortified by what she'd said. She sounded so vulnerable and it was years too
late for personal questions.
    He stared at her as if he could
see the vulnerable part of her that used to care about him.
    "It's about getting back
something vital that should never have been taken away, my name, my pride. What
better way than me taking over this place and making it viable for everyone to
see? It sticks in my craw the way this town turned its back on us."
    "So it's about revenge,"
she stated quietly, disappointed.
    "Revenge involves emotion,
and there's no emotion left in me for this place. I could care less about Marsh
Plains."
    Or for her. As far as he was
concerned she'd turned her back on him, and therefore he'd wiped her from his
heart.
    "You make it sound so simple
and final." Anna hadn't wept over the loss of their love in a long time,
but she wanted to weep now. "As if we're strangers." Their lives
could have been great together, but now the waste felt like such a tragedy.
    Anna knew that no matter how much
she didn't want to lease the ranch, the end was near. She had enough money to
take her through two more tax rolls and that was all. This was a last ditch
effort to buy herself more time.
    "Think about it Annie. With
the Double B heading downhill fast, how many options do you have left?"
    "If you leased the ranch,
what would you do with it?"
    He didn't show any surprise at the
abrupt turnaround. "First thing it's going to need is a major
facelift."
    "I know what the ranch looks
like." The deterioration was a festering sore.
    "I train reining and pleasure
horses and I'd take in boarders for starters. Of course, if people decide to
turn their noses up at a Stanton running this place, then I might have a long,
lonely summer ahead." His mouth twisted. "So you see your success in
keeping this ranch out of tax delinquency depends on my success, or rather the
success of whomever you let have the lease. Would you rather take a chance on a
stranger instead of me? I'd be willing to sign a year-long lease with all the
money up front."
    "What if no one will do
business with you?" She could hardly credit she was considering giving him
the lease, but desperation made circumstances tough.
    His mouth twisted. "You'd
still get your money." He pulled his hat brim down. "However, I'll
come out on top, even if I have to go out of state to bring in clients."
    Anna believed him. Despite his
reasons for wanting the ranch and what he felt she owed him, she understood
what compelled him. He wanted to retrieve his family