Barbara Dunlop - An Intimate Bargain

The question didn’t exactly take Abigail by surprise, but that didn’t make her any happier about it. Thinking some more about Zach was the last thing she wanted. But she knew being coy with her sister was only going to prolong the conversation. And there was no reason to hide it from Mandy. Well, most of it anyway.

“Not much to tell,” she said breezily, reminded of the times she’d encourage Mandy to go to Caleb’s hotel room to be with him. They’d always been honest with each other about men. “I met a guy. Hurt my arm. We had a fling. And I’m now home again.”

Mandy turned to look at her, obviously fighting a grin. “I hate it when you go into so much detail.”

“That’s all there was to it.”

“It’s going to be a long ride.”

“I know how long the ride is.”

“I’m just saying you might want to help the time pass by filling in a few more details.”

“They’re building a restaurant up at the brewery,” Abigail offered.

“I’m more interested in what Zach-it’s Zach, right?-in what Zach looks like naked.”

“Does your husband know you’re wondering about that?”

Mandy laughed. “Was he great? I mean, he must have been great. You stayed up there five days.”

And she would have stayed longer if not for Seth. And she’d go back, if not for Zach’s stubborn insistence she walk away from her family.

“It was great,” she admitted to Mandy. “He’s a smart, fun, sexy guy, and he was letting me help him design his restaurant. I liked that,” she admitted.

“Why’d you leave?”

“Irreconcilable differences.”

“What, over the tablecloths and menu choices?”

“Something like that.”

“Abby.”

“Can we drop it?” Abigail’s tone was sharper than she’d intended.

Mandy went silent. Abigail focused on the sound of the horses breathing and their hooves rustling the grass as they made their way up a slight rise.

Mandy’s tone went sympathetic. “Did he break your heart, Abby?”

Abigail’s chest tightened, and her throat tingled in reaction. She wanted to be strong, keep the secret to herself. But she needed her sister’s shoulder to lean on. “Only a little bit.”

They came to the top of the rise, and a vast valley spread out in front of them. Abigail stopped Diamond to take a long look.

“His fault or yours?” Mandy asked softly.

“His. Mostly. Well, mine, too.” She had left abruptly with Seth. Maybe she should have told her brother to mind his own business. Maybe she should have stood up to him in that moment and bought herself a few more days with Zach.

“So what are you going to do about it?” Mandy asked.

Abigail shook her head in answer, both to her sister and to herself. “There’s nothing I can do.”

“You can talk to him. These things never run smoothly. Heaven knows Caleb and I had our share of rocky moments.”

“Zach’s not Caleb.”

“You can still talk to him.”

Abigail gripped the saddle horn. There was a catch she couldn’t quite keep out of her voice. “I’ve left messages. He didn’t call back.”

Without giving Mandy a chance to respond, she kicked Diamond into a trot.

* * *

Abigail couldn’t seem to get Mandy’s words out of her head. Was it better to try to talk to Zach or would a smart woman simply walk away? She couldn’t decide. And she was afraid her judgment was clouded by her intense desire to see him again, no matter what the circumstance.

Then again, she reasoned, if her own judgment was clouded, maybe she should go with Mandy’s. Mandy was a smart woman. Her advice had been specific and concrete. Abigail should take it. After five miserable days she didn’t see how things could get worse.

She knew she could use Ozzy as an excuse to return to Craig Mountain. When she’d left with Seth and Lisa, she hadn’t been able to find the puppy. Not surprising, since Ozzy had taken such a shine to Zach. They’d probably been together.

Mind finally made up, she headed for the brewery, easily finding Zach alone in an office.

She breezed in, playing it cool, pretending there hadn’t been a seismic shift in their relationship. Half of her hoped he’d pull her into his arms. The other half knew that was a hopeless fantasy.

“I tried to call you,” she began, hoping against hope for a simple, logical explanation that would switch everything back to normal.

But instead of answering, he stepped behind the wide desk, obviously putting some distance between them. His expression was guarded. “You shouldn’t have come here, Abigail.”

Her faint hope fled. “You should have returned my call.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you. I knew you’d be busy. You’ve told me what it’s like on the ranch.” His tone was cool. His eyes were cold.

She wanted to run from the chill, but she forced herself to step closer, coming up against the desk. She gathered her courage. “Is this you pouting?”

“No.”

“I didn’t pick my family over you.”

“I didn’t say you did.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“We’re talking now.”

“This isn’t talking.”

He drew a tight breath. “Trust me, Doll-Face. This is talking. And you need to listen.” His words dropped like icicles. “It was always going to be temporary between us.”

Her lungs went tight, and she couldn’t catch her breath.

“And it’s over,” he finished, and her heart sank like a stone.

She shouldn’t have come. She’d completely misjudged the situation. How she wished she’d stayed away. He’d wanted her to leave.

She swallowed hard, a sick feeling bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. Oh, no. Had he been waiting for her to leave? Maybe he’d asked her to stay only out of politeness.

She took a shaky step backward, a chill coming over her body, while humiliation washed through her. The fling had run its course, and she’d embarrassed them both by showing up like this.

She struggled to speak, her voice going small. “I came back to get Ozzy.”

Something flashed through Zach’s eyes. “Ozzy’s fine.”

She gathered her pride. “I’m sure you took good care of him, and I thank you for that.”

“He can stay.”

A fresh flash of pain seared Abigail’s chest.

“I don’t think he likes the ranch,” said Zach.

“He’ll get used to the ranch.” The puppy was hers, not Zach’s.

“Why should he have to do that?”

“Because it’s his home. He’s my dog, not yours.” If she couldn’t have Zach, she could at least have Ozzy. She knew her emotions were off kilter, but giving up the puppy suddenly seemed like a final defeat.

“Leave him here, Abby.”

Her voice rose. “I want my dog.”

“He’s more my dog than yours.”

“That’s not true.”

Zach braced his hand on the desktop. “He’s happy here. Let him be happy. Why don’t you want him to be happy?”

“I do want him to be happy. I want him to be happy with me.”

“You Jacobses are all alike,” Zach snapped.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He’d barely met any other Jacobses.

“It means…” Zach paused, and for a split second she saw raw pain in his dark eyes. He backed away from her. “It means…”

“Zach?”

His back came flush against the office wall. “You need to leave. Right now.”

Her anger immediately vanished, replaced by a hollow loneliness that shattered the last vestiges of her pride. “What did I miss? What happened?”

“Life happened. Your life. My life.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his stare went cold again. “Time started up again, Abby.”

Her heart ached, and her stomach clenched. “So you’re ending it between us.”

“Yes.”

“It was a fling, and you’re ending it.”

“How many ways do I have to say it?”

She tried to laugh, but it didn’t quite come off. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a bit slow on the uptake. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

She’d never had a one-night stand, never had a fling, never fallen in love and had her heart broken.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, voice breaking.

“It’s all right,” Zach returned, without a trace of emotion.

“You can keep Ozzy.” Everything Zach had said was true. Ozzy was happier at Craig Mountain. He and Zach should stay together.

“You can take him,” Zach unexpectedly offered.

But Abigail shook her head, backing toward the door. She might as well make a clean break of it. She didn’t know what she’d expected by coming out here. But she hadn’t come after Ozzy. She’d come after Zach.

Zach didn’t want her. It had only ever been about sex for him. Well, sex and the water license. And maybe it had only been about the water license. The sex was a bonus. He really was lucky. He got everything he wanted and then some.

She groped for the doorknob, twisting it with a slick palm, letting herself out and rushing back down the hallway, desperate to end this sorry episode of her life.

Zach was going through his days on autopilot. Though he was far from being an expert, he strongly suspected he’d fallen in love with Abigail. Worse than missing her was the knowledge that he’d hurt her, and he was now powerless to do anything about it. He had to fight with himself every single day to keep from calling to see how she was feeling.

One day he spotted her on Main Street. He nearly called out, but then he saw Travis coming out of the hardware store behind her. He was under no illusion that Travis felt any differently than his brother, Seth. Zach gripped the door handle of his Jaguar, watching her move alongside the ranch pickup truck, wondering if she’d recognize him from this distance, honestly not sure what he would do if she saw him. He didn’t think he could bring himself to ignore her.

She was carrying a cardboard box. It was impossible to tell if it was heavy, but the urge to stride down the block and lift it from her arms was overpowering. And then he saw she was limping. He swore from between clenched teeth.