“The plan for the resort won’t work without it. We’ll work something out to protect this area.” She waved her hand around at the cemetery. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
“No, it won’t. You can’t understand unless you’ve lost someone close to you.”
His words ripped a scab off her old wound. The pain was quick and intense. She struggled to swallow down the unexpected wave of pain. “What makes you think you’re the only one to feel pain and loss?”
His head rose, and his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to determine whether she was being truthful. “Who did you lose?”
“My mother.”
The lines bracketing his mouth and eyes eased. “I’m sorry. It’s tough when a parent dies.”
He misunderstood her. Though she didn’t want to delve further into this subject, she felt obligated to correct him. “She’s not dead.”
“But you said—”
Alexis took a deep breath, all the while chastising herself for opening up this subject. “I said I lost her. I guess it’d be more correct to say she walked out on me and my father.”
What had gotten into her to go down this road? She didn’t even discuss the woman with her father, which seemed to suit him just fine. The fact Alexis resembled the woman was enough of a challenge for her father without her bombarding him with questions.
Alexis gazed into Cord’s eyes, finding understanding and support—two things that she found herself craving. Since when had they moved from a business relationship to something more, something she couldn’t quite name?
Cord’s unwavering stare compelled her to continue, to let him know that sometimes the death of a loved one wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. “My mother was beautiful and spoiled. My father gave her the best of everything, but when she got bored of playing mother and wife, she ran off with an associate of my father’s. She never looked back, unless you consider the legal battle she waged to try to strip my father of his company.”
“Surely she saw you. You’re her daughter. What about visitation?”
“She didn’t want to be bothered. I tracked her down when I was a teenager, but she gave me a list of excuses why a visit wouldn’t be convenient. She was preparing for her third marriage, and her future husband didn’t like kids. You see, you aren’t so bad off. At least your parents loved you and would be here if they could. My mother is alive and wants absolutely nothing to do with me.”
His arms lifted as though he was going to hug her. She was surprised by the powerful wave of anticipation that washed over her at the thought of being held in his powerful arms. Something told her that once she was held securely in his embrace, nothing could or would hurt her—at last she’d be safe.
As though he’d sensed the scary direction of her thoughts, he stepped back. “I…ah… don’t know what to say.”
Disappointment flooded her body. “You could admit my idea for protecting the cemetery is reasonable and agree to the sale.”
He cleared his throat. “I can’t. I promised my grandfather I’d always protect Haggerty. It’s all that’s left of my heritage, of my family.”
Their gazes locked. She found herself drawn in by his chocolaty depths. The more she worked past his prickly defenses, the more she liked him. She’d never imagined that they’d have so much in common. If this was another time, another place, they might be able to build on that connection—
She had to get a grip on her rambling thoughts. Cord wasn’t any more interested in a relationship with her than she was with him. She had to stay focused on her plans for the resort and not on how much she enjoyed his touch. And now that she understood Cord’s ties to the land, her initial excitement over the prospect of building the resort dimmed considerably.
When had Cord begun to matter so much to her?
CHAPTER EIGHT
Voices of the past murmured in the breeze. The whispers teased Alexis’s imagination, conjuring images of what Haggerty might have been like more than a hundred years ago. Her fantasy contained a street full of powerful horses with nostrils flaring, the rattle of buckboard wagons, and the hum of conversation between muscled cowboys wearing dusty hats and chaps.
She cast Cord a sideways look. He was a modern-day cowboy, but something told her that he could have toughed it out with the best of them in the good old days. She, on the other hand, was quite happy with indoor plumbing and electricity. Very happy indeed.
They strolled down the dirt lane past the broken hitching posts and came to a stop in front of the crumbling remains of a building. The lines of Cord’s tanned face had eased. Perhaps he’d be willing to share more about the town’s history. She’d have all sorts of things to report back to her father to hopefully placate him for a while. And it would keep her mind from wandering into dangerous territory—thoughts of what it’d be like for Cord to pull her close and kiss her.
She walked closer to the barely-there structure. “Do you know what this used to be?”
“A church. My great-great-grandparents were married here.”
He certainly hadn’t exaggerated about his strong ties to the land. Her heart thudded against her ribs as she imagined being married out here in a flowing white dress while holding a fistful of wildflowers—and staring up at Cord’s smiling face.
Wait. This wasn’t helping her to focus her mind on business. What was the matter with her? It must be a side effect of the desert sun’s strong rays. She ran the back of her hand over her warmed forehead. Her life was in New York—in the city—a place where this cowboy wouldn’t fit in. And at this critical juncture with the business, there wasn’t time for distractions—no matter how good they looked.
She stepped through the gaping hole in the sidewall. She crossed the dirt floor, stopping next to the crumbling wall that now stood only waist-high. After brushing aside some loose pebbles and a bit of disintegrated adobe, she tested its sturdiness. Surprised to find the wall solid, she leaned back and took stock of her surroundings.