Out of Exile

Matthew watched her. He had a feeling there was more to the story, but told himself it was none of his business. She was none of his business.

Still, he had to admit to himself that she was as pretty as she’d been at sixteen…even prettier. She was still slender, but with curves in the right places. Her hair wasn’t as long as it had been years ago, but it still framed her face with glossy darkness, a perfect foil for her startling blue eyes.

“You never married.” It was a statement, not a question.

She turned to look at him once again. “Neither have you,” she countered.

“That’s right. And I never intend to marry.” Matthew knew well the reasons why he would never bind himself to a woman. “I like living my life alone. What about you?”

She gave the horse a final pat. “For the most part I’m comfortable alone. I’ve never felt the need for marriage. I think there are just some people who aren’t cut out for the institution.” She grinned. “And no, I’m not gay.”

He blinked in surprise. “That didn’t even cross my mind.”

“You’d be surprised how many men discover I’m thirty-five and never been married and just assume it must be because I’m gay, or at the very least highly dysfunctional in some way or another. There are times it gets quite irritating.”

He felt a grudging grin curve his mouth. Even as a young woman she’d been in touch with her emotions and had no problems verbalizing them. He’d always admired that about her.

“So how long are you planning on staying?” he repeated as they headed for the stable door.

“A week, maybe two if that’s all right with you. I’d like to see Aunt Clara settled in.” She grinned, the infectious smile he remembered from their youth. “But don’t worry, Matthew. I’m a big girl now. I don’t expect you to squire me around on this visit. I’m perfectly capable of entertaining myself.”

They both halted as the door to the stables opened and Jacob Tilley walked in. “Jacob!” Matthew said in surprise.

He hadn’t seen Jacob since six months ago when Jacob’s father, Walter Tilley had been sent away to prison.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Matthew,” Jacob said. “One of your men told me you were out here and I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.”

Matthew turned to Lilly. “Jacob, this is Lilliana Winstead.”

“Yes, I remember you,” Jacob said and held his hand out to her. “You used to visit in the summers.”

“That’s right,” Lilly replied. “And you used to come with your father when he’d have a meeting with Adam.” She shook his hand, then stepped back from them. “I’ll just get out of here and give you two some privacy.” Without a backward glance she left the stables.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Jacob observed when she had gone.

“She’s all right. What can I do for you, Jacob?” Matthew asked, curious as to why this man would show his face around here.

“I hear the ranch is doing well,” he said as he swept his hat from his head and fingered the brim. “Heard you’re booked up solid through Christmas.”

“We’re doing all right,” Matthew replied. He eyed the man patiently, knowing eventually he would get around to the reason for this visit.

Jacob shifted from one foot to the other, his gaze not meeting Matthew’s. “This can be a tough town, an unforgiving town.”

“Are you here on behalf of your father?” Matthew asked. Seven months before, Walter Tilley had been the executor of Adam Delaney’s will and the family lawyer. Then it was discovered he was running illegal aliens through the ranch and was responsible for the death of a young woman who’d been working the ranch as a social director.

“No, I’m here on behalf of me…and my family.” For the first time Jacob looked him square in the eyes. “I hear you’re doing some hiring.”

“I always do this time of year,” Matthew replied. “I’ve got interviews set up for tomorrow.”

“I was afraid if I tried to set anything up with you, you’d turn me down,” Jacob replied. He frowned. “And of course, I wouldn’t blame you if you did. What my father did to you, to this ranch, was inexcusable.”

“I’ve never blamed you for the choices your father made.” God help him if anyone judged him by his father’s sins, Matthew thought.

“Then give me a job, Matthew.” There was a touch of undisguised desperation in Jacob’s voice. “I can’t get anyone else in this town to even talk to me about a job. Everyone knows what my father did. Hell, my wife…my kids…we’re all starving because I can’t find work.”

Matthew knew the Tilleys had always been proud, and he knew the emotional toll it must have cost Jacob to come here this evening.

“Be here at dawn in the morning and plan on working harder than you ever have in your life.” Matthew hoped he hadn’t just made a mistake.

Jacob held a hand out to him. “Thanks. I promise you won’t regret it.”

After Jacob left the stables, Matthew remained for a few minutes longer. He sank down on a bale of hay, his thoughts going back to the conversation with Lilly.

Funny, he’d always been surprised that she hadn’t married. He wasn’t sure he’d ever met a woman who had no interest in getting married. Certainly most of the single women of Inferno had marriage on the mind, and there was nothing they’d like more than to snag the last available Delaney.

But Matthew’s desire to remain single went deeper than a mere whim. He would never marry, because he was afraid he was his father’s son. And as his father’s son, he was desperately afraid that if he ever fell in love he would only manage to hurt the person most dear to his heart.

Better not to love than to repeat the sins of the father.

Chapter 2

Lilly left the stables and checked on Aunt Clara, who had retired to her room for the evening. Lilly fixed herself a glass of iced tea, then went back outside and sat on the wicker chair on the front porch.

The sun had disappeared and the purple haze of twilight was fading as stars began to appear as if by magic in the darkening skies.

She saw Jacob Tilley leave the stables and get into his pickup. She waved at him as he drove off, then looked expectantly toward the stable, assuming Matthew would soon follow.

When minutes passed and he didn’t come out, she returned her gaze to the night sky. From her apartment in downtown Dallas she never saw the stars. But here they looked big enough, low enough, to reach out and grab.

She drew a deep breath, feeling more relaxed than she had in months. The frantic tempo of the Dallas city life and the daily stresses of her job seemed very far away at the moment.

A week or two here and perhaps she’d be ready to go back and face her life…and her failure. She drew another breath, fighting against a wave of sadness so deep it sent a piercing ache through her.

She consciously forced her thoughts away from her job and instead found thoughts of Matthew intruding into her mind. As a boy he had fascinated her and she was surprised to discover some of that fascination remained.

As the years had passed and she’d remembered the crush she’d had on him, she’d always believed that she’d been acutely drawn to him due to the raging hormones of a teenager. But she was well past the age of teenage hormones and still she found herself physically drawn to him.

The moment they had pulled in and she had seen him, she’d experienced a slight quickening of her pulse, an acceleration of her heartbeats.

Nostalgia. Surely that’s what she was experiencing. The nostalgia of that first crush, time spent with a handsome young man, the awakening of sexual awareness between two teenagers.

Hearing footsteps, she looked toward the stables to see the object of her thoughts approaching, his boots crunching on the gravel drive.

“Everything all right?” she asked as she saw the frown that deepened the lines on his face.

“I hope so.” He lowered himself into the chair next to hers. “I just hired Jacob Tilley and I’m hoping it’s not a mistake.”

“Why would it be a mistake?”