Casey shrugged.“Tilly says when men don’t want to show their emotions, they either curse or yell.You did both, which leads me to believe you were severely upset in a way I did not expect.”
He frowned.Damn, but that woman knew way too much about men for his peace of mind.“At any rate, I am truly sorry.I’m sorry I yelled.I’m sorry I cursed.I will try not to let it happen again.”
She tried to glare.When angry, he was a force to behold, but when penitent, there was something about him that made her want to throw her arms around him and…
Her face turned red as she jumped up from the bed.“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said, and stomped from the room.
Ryder groaned and followed her into the living room.She was fiddling with a stack of magazines.It made him nervous.He had a hunch she wasn’t through yanking his chain, and when she spoke, he knew he’d been right.
“Ryder?”
If he was smart, he’d walk out right now before she dug in her heels, but where Casey was concerned, he wasn’t smart, he was caught, and had been since that day in the bar down in the flatlands.
“What?”
“I don’t understand.Why did you get so angry?”
“I wasn’t really…”
“Truth.”
He sighed.Damn.Delaney Ruban had done a real good job on her.When she got a notion, she stuck to it with fierce intensity, and it wasn’t in him to lie.
“I don’t know.I walked in the apartment.Bea was going through my stuff.Too much was changing too fast.”His voice lowered and Casey had to concentrate to hear what he said.“I guess I’m uncomfortable with change.”
“But nothing has changed,” she said.
“No, Casey, you’re wrong.We’re married.”He held up his hand.“And before you tie yourself into a little knot, I know it’s not arealmarriage, but dammit, I was just getting used to, to…things.”
He took a deep breath.What he was about to say was going to reveal more than he wanted, but she’d asked for the truth, and truth she was going to get.
“Even if we don’t share anything but a name, there is a certain rhythm to our relationship that I was learning to accept.”Then he thrust a hand through his hair and lifted his chin.She didn’t have to like this, but it had to be said.“Dammit, I guess I wasn’t ready to lose what little of you that I had.”
Casey knew she was standing on solid ground, but for the life of her she couldn’t feel it.Something inside of her kept getting lighter and lighter and she wondered if she was going to pass out…or fly.
“I didn’t throw you away, Ryder.I only bought you a bed.”
He took the magazines out of her hands and tossed them on the table, then pulled her into his arms.His chin rested at the crown of her head.His arms locked easily across her shoulders, holding her in place.
“I’m sorry I made you cry.I like my room.I promise to like the bed.”
Casey closed her eyes and tried not to think of trying it out together just to test it for bounce.“And I’m sorry I keep bulldozing my way through your life.”
His fingers itched to take down her hair, lay her across that bed and show her what bulldozing was all about.Instead, he counted to ten, pasted a smile on his face, and kissed the top of her head before letting her go.
“I suppose we should celebrate tonight,” he said.
“Celebrate how?”
“You know, a room-warming.Maybe I should take you back to Smoky Joe’s for some more barbecue.”He grinned.“It’s Saturday.That means it’s alligator night, remember?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Well, then, maybe we could make it a christen-the-bed party, so to speak.”
Casey’s voice rose an octave.“Christen the bed?”
“Yeah, I always heard it was bad luck to sleep in a bed without breaking it in.”
