Chapter Five - Diane

CHAPTER FIVE

DIANE

The next morning, I roll out of bed and pull on some faded cut-offs. They're too short to wear without getting bothered, but all the men are gone in the city until dinner. I can dress how I want.

My bare feet carry me over the floorboards. It's a good day to get some cleaning done; the kitchen is cool and empty. I grab a muffin from the freezer, heat it up in the microwave, and have it with a cup of coffee.

Maybe I'll take Sunshine out and ride the fence line. It's going to be hot today, but right now, the sun is still buffered by the mountains. We could ride the northern border and be back before noon.

To hell with the chores. I can get them done by the time David gets back tonight.

I walk out onto the front porch, and my heart stops, jumping so far up my throat, I feel my ears roar. There's a man sitting on the chair by the front door.

And he's wearing a black cowboy hat.

"Good morning, Miss Carter," he says.

"Mr. Quinn. "

He's got his knees spread, his hat pulled low. All at once, I feel naked, and I wish I'd put on longer shorts. I glance down at my body, and it looks different today, somehow more feminine, even though my curves are small.

He's not looking, his eyes are lowered.

"Why are you on my front porch?" I ask, moving around to stand in front of him. The railing pushes against my lower back.

This time, he looks up and takes his hat off. His hair is the nicest shade of deep brown, and it's brushed back, somewhere between short and a little bit long. It's just long enough that I could play with the waves on top, but not enough to touch his neck.

His gaze cuts right through me and makes me feel naked.

"You get left here all alone, darling?" he said, his voice low.

My mouth goes dry, and I realize I don't know this man at all.

"No," I say quickly.

"I saw David and the others leave on my way up the road."

"Well, he's coming back. Really soon."

He shakes his head. "No, he's heading down to Lancaster to the auction there. They won't be back until around about seven."

I dig my toes into the worn floorboards. "What's that to you?" I ask.

He rises and towers over me. I shrink back, cowed by his height. My eyes run down his blue shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. I stare at those barbed wire scars, distracted.

"I thought I'd come by to say happy birthday," he says, his voice husky.

Like he's feeling something.

"Thanks. It was yesterday," I say.

"I'm taking you out, Diane." His voice is quiet, firm.

Dead silence falls between us. Does he mean on a date?

The breeze rustles the trees and blows my hair back over my shoulder, the wind tugging it. Deep down in the pit of my stomach, heat tingles and makes me want to press my thighs together.

"I…I don't know if that's a good idea," I say .

He clears his throat, and his intense stare rests on me for a long moment. "Are you going to ask me inside?" he says finally.

For a second, I think about refusing him. Then, I remember there's a pistol underneath the kitchen sink, so I nod and lead the way inside. He sets his hat on the kitchen counter, standing between me and the hall. It should scare me, but it doesn't, just like it didn't the first time.

"You want an iced tea?" I ask. "I can spike it."

The corner of his mouth turns up, and he leans on the counter. "Sure, that'd be nice."

I make two, filling the glasses with ice, lemonade, tea, and a shot of whiskey. It's early in the morning for a drink, but standing next to him, I need a stiff shot in my system. He takes a sip, and I can't keep from staring at how big his hands are on the glass.

"So, what do you say?" he says, setting it aside.

"About taking me out?" I ask. "Like on a date?"

"Yeah," he says, locking gazes. "Like a date."

I want to recklessly say yes, but then I remember David and what he said about Thomas Garrison yesterday. I have my doubts he'll give a cowboy from Sovereign Mountain his stamp of approval over a Garrison.

Maybe I should lie and say I'm taken.

One look into those hazel eyes, and I know he can read me like a book, so I opt for the truth.

"My brother wouldn't like that," I say with a sigh.

"Why's that?"

I bite my lip. "Well, he's trying to set me up with Thomas Garrison, on account of them being so important. I don't think he'd approve of you."

He smiles, like he knows something I don't. "Don't worry about your brother, darling. I'll take care of that."

"You don't have to live with him," I say.

He cocks his head. "What does he do?"

"Nothing," I lie. "He's just mean, bossy."

"Does he hurt you?" Westin asks .

There's something dark and dangerous creeping over him, making my hair stand on end.

I push back the memory of the handful of times David lost his temper with me. He shoved me on the porch steps once, and I split my lip on the railing. He slapped me around a bit, but only once did he take me by the neck and slam me into the wall in the hallway so hard, my head snapped back and left a hot, tender spot on the back of my skull.

I saw the regret in his eyes a second after, as soon as he saw the blood seep from where I'd bitten my tongue.

He let me go and left the house in a rage, like I'd done something wrong not him. When he came home, he told me I shouldn't bait him the way I do. After that, all he'd done was verbally berate and threaten me. Maybe he was right; it's hard to say.

I wasn't sure if I should blame him for it. The only other men I know are the Garrisons, and they're meaner than David.

It hits me all at once that this is my future if I bend to David's plans for my life. I'll be married to a Garrison. I'll keep my eyes on the ground, my head down, and eat leftovers alone in the kitchen. I'm well on my way to that already.

I take a sip of my drink to steady my nerves. I don't want to live my life scared.

I want to run free.

I want to love so hard and messy that I feel like I'm in ecstasy every night. I want to drink whiskey and ride horses, fall for a man who makes me feel the way Westin does. Someday, when I'm ready, I'll have babies and let them do that very same thing when it's their time.

I know one thing for certain: I don't want Thomas Garrison to be the man who knocks me up.

"Fine," I say. "If you can handle David, you may take me out."

His face breaks into a smile, flashing white teeth. My stomach swoops—he's so damn handsome, it makes my head spin.

"Just promise you won't do anything to me?" I say.

"What? "

"Promise you're not going to kidnap me and tie me up or something."

His eyes glint, and he circles the counter until he stands right over me. My heart thumps so hard, my ears roar, and I take a step back and bump into the sink. He takes a step forward until I can smell the scent of aftershave or soap. It's nice, clean and sharp.

"I can't promise you both of those things," he says.

My mouth is dust dry. "You want to kidnap me?"

He shakes his head. "No, darling, I won't kidnap you."

Heat rushes through me.

"You want to…tie me up?" I whisper.

He leans in, and his hands brush my elbows, gathering my wrists. My heart is thrumming so fast, I can hear it in my ears. He pins them gently against my lower back and bends down until I feel his breath on my neck.

"Don't lie and say you don't like that idea a little bit," he says.

I can't think of a single thing to say to that.

He lets me go, and his hands brace on the sink, on either side of my body. His eyes drop, lingering over my cleavage. Over the rise of my breasts, down to the sliver of naked skin on my belly. Over the curve of my hips in my shorts, down my bare legs.

"You're a pretty woman," he says quietly.

My hand comes up, pressing against his chest to keep him off me, for decorum's sake only. It's warm, and I feel his heart thump under my fingers.

It's beating as fast as mine.