“I’m supposed to be your cook, remember? That means I need fresh vegetables for supper. That is the reason I’m planting a garden.”
She started to stomp away, stopped, and turned back. “And dammit, be careful. If something happened to you—” A sharp pang cut off her words and her eyes burned. Turning, she hurried away.
Was this ever going to end? Not only did they have Damon to worry about, now there could be a terrorist in the mix.
Josh caught up with her at the tool shed. She’d picked out a spot for the garden behind the main house that was flat and accessible to water. She set out a rake, shovel, and hoe, but by the time she picked up the trowel, her eyes were brimming with tears.
She felt Josh’s big hands on her shoulders, turning her around. He took the trowel from her hand, set it down with the other tools, and pulled her into his arms.
“Hey. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her face into his chest. “Two of your friends are dead. I’m afraid for you. I can’t stand to think of you getting killed.”
Josh kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going to get killed, all right? I was a soldier. A good one. I know how to take care of myself. I just need to be sure you’re not in danger.”
When she looked up at him, Josh lowered his head and very softly kissed her. He eased back and touched her cheek. “I’ll be watching for this guy every minute, okay?”
“What about a gun? I know you have weapons.”
“Fine, I’ll start carrying, but if I do, I’m teaching you how to shoot.”
“I know how to shoot. I bought a .38 revolver when I got to Houston and took gun safety classes. Unfortunately, in Carlsbad I started thinking I was safe—big mistake—and hocked it when I got low on money.”
“Wow. You know how to shoot. You manage to keep on surprising me.”
Tory wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “Good for me.”
Josh laughed. “I’ll carry the tools for you.”
She let him. But with every step he took toward the back of the house, she scanned the area behind him. She thought of the funeral in Gainesville. Those men were soldiers, too, and someone had killed them.
For the first time she realized she wasn’t just enamored of Josh, she was in love with him.
Since she was pretty sure he was only in lust with her, loving him was a stupid thing to do.
He set the tools down on the ground where she showed him and took a look around. “Good spot,” he said. “I’ll get some chicken wire in town and put it up around the perimeter so you won’t have to worry about deer and rabbits. I’ll pick up some soaker hose, too. That should work to keep it watered.”
“That’d be great.”
He looked down at her, hands on his hips, looked back at the patch that would soon be a garden. Something shifted in his features, flickered in his eyes. He glanced back at the garden. A muscle flicked in his jaw the instant before he turned and walked away.
Tory’s heart started pounding. She knew that look on a man’s face, knew exactly what he was thinking. She ran to catch up with him and grabbed his arm, snaring his attention.
“What?” he asked.
“The garden. It’s not what you think. I’m not . . . it doesn’t mean anything. I’m not trying to trap you. We said as long as it was what we both wanted. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
The muscles loosened across his shoulders, but didn’t completely relax. “Hey, it’s just a garden. A ranch needs a garden, right? Let me know if you need anything else.” He started walking, didn’t look back.
She should have realized how permanent it would seem, a garden that she would take care of. As if she assumed she would continue to be part of his life. As if they were more than just friends with benefits.
Her throat felt tight. She thought of Damon. She had believed he cared about her, even loved her. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
She needed to start planning for the future, find a place where she could make a home for her and Ivy. She couldn’t continue to rely on Josh. She’d been a fool to let her guard down.
She looked over at the patch of ground where she’d imagined the perfect little garden and swallowed past the lump in her throat.
All she saw now was a barren patch of dirt.
