Your Ranch Or Mine?

The hint of bitterness underscoring the words tore at her heartstrings. Insisting they keep their relationship a secret hadn’t been fair. Not to him. Not to her.

“Sit down, Mitch.” Anna softened the request with a smile. “Please.”

She took a seat first, hoping he would follow her lead. To her surprise he did as she’d asked. Though the kitchen was an adequate size, it suddenly seemed to shrink. And the sight of his bare chest just across the table made her heart flutter.

Don’t look, Anna told herself. Focus elsewhere.

She dropped her gaze to the golden-brown coffee cake in the center of the table. “That looks good.”

“Cassie made it for me,” he said.

Anna swallowed hard against the sudden tightness in her throat and forced an equally casual tone. “Are you two seeing each other?”

“She lives down the block,” Mitch pointed out. “I see her every day.”

He’d deliberately misunderstood her question. But in a way he was right to shut her down. Who he was dating was none of her business.

When a minute passed and she still didn’t speak, Mitch cast a pointed glance at a manila folder on the counter. “I have a client coming at eight.”

She’d been warned. Just like at the YP meeting, the clock was ticking. Only this time Anna wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away. “Over the years I thought about getting your address from Seth, but I never took that step. When I heard you were back in Sweet River, I knew the time had come.”

Puzzlement filled his eyes.

“To apologize.” She folded her hands on the table. “Showing up at the street dance with Andrew James when you and I were seeing each other was inexcusable. I’m sorry I did it and I’m sorry I hurt you. I hope you can forgive me.”

The flash of pain in Mitch’s eyes was gone so quickly Anna wondered if she’d only imagined it.

“You didn’t want to be seen with the son of the town drunk,” he said in a frank tone, his expression giving nothing away. “Understandable.”

He’d made similar comments when they’d been together, but she’d thought he was just joking around. Now she realized the pain had been real. Embarrassment mixed with a healthy dose of regret. She’d never, ever, been ashamed of him. And she wasn’t ashamed now. She just didn’t want anyone to discover they’d had a past because that might bring up other questions.

“That wasn’t how it was at all,” she protested.

“That was a long time ago.” Mitch waved a dismissive hand. “Scarcely matters now.”

“I liked you. But I wanted what was between us to, well, stay between us.” The words came out clunky and awkward and Anna nearly groaned aloud. She’d had thirteen years to plan what to say and this was the best she could come up with? No wonder Mitch looked skeptical.

“Yeah, you liked me so much that instead of going to the centennial celebration with me as you promised, you showed up with the mayor’s son,” he said.

Even now, remembering the look on Mitch’s face when he’d seen her with Andrew filled her with shame. “That was a test.”

Mitch slowly lowered his mug to the table. “Test?”

Her heart froze at the deadly calm in the word.

Mitch had never been the kind of guy a girl could wrap around her finger. And while his aloofness had been part of his appeal, it had also been extremely stressful. Anna had desperately wanted to believe he liked her, but he’d kept his feelings close and she’d needed to know for sure.

“I knew you liked making lo—er, having sex with me,” she said. “But I was never sure you really liked me.”

Looking back, Anna couldn’t believe she’d ever thought going to the celebration with Andrew was a good idea. She’d been so young. So foolish.

The muscle in Mitch’s jaw jumped. “You decided to make me jealous.”

Anna nodded. “If you reacted, I’d know you cared.”

Said aloud, the plan sounded even more childish.

“Why didn’t you simply ask me how I felt about you?”

She’d thought about doing just that. But to ask had seemed rather pathetic and needy. Besides, there was no guarantee he’d have been honest. “People don’t always tell the truth.”

Like her mother, who had insisted she’d be proud of her even if she didn’t become Miss Montana Teen. Yet when she’d taken second place, her mom had been furious. Then there were her high school “friends” who smiled to her face and talked about her behind her back. And who could forget the boys before Mitch, the ones who said whatever they thought would make her sleep with them. Luckily she’d been smart enough to see through their lies.

Mitch had been different and he’d been her first. He hadn’t pushed her to be intimate, hadn’t offered up flowery words of love or made promises he never intended to keep. He’d just been himself. And she’d found him irresistible.

“We had to keep our friendship on the down-low because of my mom.” Anna took a deep breath. “I told her I thought you were cute. She told me you were unacceptable.”

By the time Anna finished speaking the pain had returned to her heart.

Mitch rubbed a hand across his face. “You never had any intention of going with me to the celebration.”

“I wanted to go with you,” Anna said gently. “But I wasn’t willing to risk my mother’s wrath until I was sure of your feelings.”

His gaze searched hers but she had nothing to hide. Well, almost nothing to hide.

“I liked you, Mitch,” she said. “I really did. I feel incredibly bad about what happened. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

“I appreciate your honesty.” The tense set to Mitch’s shoulders eased. His eyes met hers and for a second she had the feeling he was seeing her for the first time. “Coming over this morning couldn’t have been easy.”

Anna brought a finger to her lips and kept her expression serious. “About as easy as eating barbed wire.”

The ring of the doorbell interrupted his chuckle. He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Looks like my appointment is early.”

“Darn.” Anna snapped her fingers. “And we were having so much fun.”

For the first time since she’d walked through the door, he smiled. “I’d say the morning was definitely on the upswing.”

Anna found her own lips lifting. “True.”

“I hate to rush, but I need to answer the door.” Mitch pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “Do you have anything else to tell me?”

Anna hesitated. Coming clean had felt so good that for a second she found herself wanting to tell him everything.

But if she told him her deepest, darkest secret, if she told him about the baby, the fragile truce they were building in this tiny kitchen would be shattered. Worse yet, he’d probably hate her. That was something she couldn’t bear.

“Like I said, I was young and immature. I made a lot of mistakes. But I’m truly sorry.” Anna met his gaze. “And that’s the truth.”

Chapter Four