Brady sat up and accepted the cup. “How are the horses?” He lifted the cup to his lips, watching her. She looked upset. Her brows were pulled down, her mouth in a little frown. She started and looked at him, her eyes widening.
“What?”
“How are the horses? Did the storm affect them poorly?”
Dakota shook her head. “No, they seem fine. Maybe they’re a little restless since they didn’t get exercise yesterday afternoon. I mean, I’d be on edge too if I was cooped up and then experienced the storm like they did.”
“You didn’t let them out to pasture?”
She grimaced. “No.”
“Why not?”
Her eyes met his, sadness and frustration practically pooling from them. “There’s more than twenty horses out there. If I let them all out, I would have to get them all back in by myself.”
“I could help.”
She gave him a flat look. “You wouldn’t get halfway to the stable before passing out.”
“That’s not fair—”
“You know I’m right.” She slumped back on the couch, rested her head back, and closed her eyes.
“Something else is bothering you.”
Dakota folded her arms over her head. “Yeah.”
Brady put the glass down, wincing with the movement. “You want to tell me about it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Is it something I said?”
Her left eye opened as she peeked at him. “Why would you say that?”
Brady rubbed the back of his neck. “You haven’t exactly been thrilled about being here with me.”
She groaned. “Sorry about that. It’s nothing personal.”
A short bark of laughter escaped his lips. “It could be nothing but.”
“Okay, you’re right. I’m not thrilled about being here. This isn’t my ranch. You are not part of my family, or my friend—”
“Ouch.”
She rolled her eyes. “—and I have absolutely nothing here that’s mine.” She plucked at her t-shirt. “I’m not even wearing my own clothes. We just went through a storm that not only blocked me from leaving the property today… but will likely prevent me from leaving for a full week.”
His brows shot up and he straightened. “A week?”
Dakota rubbed her face. “Yeah.”
“Why do you think that?”
She blew out a breath. “I called the local guy who would be the one to take care of the tree. Apparently he’s booked. The main road is flooded and blocked. His phone is probably ringing off the hook because all the farms in the area have similar complaints.”
“I see.” He slouched. Dakota didn’t want to be here, yet she was stuck. Two lines of thought competed in his head. He’d get to spend more time with her one on one, which was great. But the guilt over that feeling weighed him down. He didn’t want her to be miserable. Maybe he could help her enjoy the time she would be here. “I’m sorry, Dakota.”
She met his eyes. “Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you summoned the storm.” Her lips twitched. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”
He bit back a smile. “No, I can’t control the weather. Really, though, anything you need to take from Faye’s stuff I’ll replace. She moved out. As far as I’m concerned, anything in her room is up for grabs.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
“I just want you to feel comfortable while you’re here. And I’ll pay you for everything you have to do while I’m out of commission.”
“Brady, you don’t have to—”
He held up a hand. “I do. This place can’t run itself, and I certainly can’t do it on my own—”
“Or at all…” She said it under her breath and he shot her a warning look.
“Fact is, I need someone here and you’re it. Name your price.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re just going to pay me whatever I ask for?”
He shrugged. “Why not? I just inherited this place from my dad. It’s not like I can’t afford you.”
“What if I said I wanted a million dollars?”
He winced. “Ooh, that’s a little steep.”
Dakota laughed. “A little? You have to be joking.”
He set his serious eyes on her. “I’m not, actually. This place is worth a lot more than I even realized and my dad left my siblings and me quite an inheritance.”
“Well, I’m not going to ask for a million dollars. In fact, I won’t ask for anything. AJ is supposed to be paying me for this trip. He can foot the bill. I’ll help out because those horses… and you… need me.”
Brady smiled. “You’re someone special, you know that?”
“I know.”
He laughed out loud. “And you said I was full of myself.” His laugh turned into a cough, his hand coming to his chest.
Concern flashed across her features but he waved her off and took a drink of water. She let a nervous laugh escape. “This is different.”
Brady took another drink and cleared his throat. “How do you figure?”
“I can acknowledge I’m a good person because I won’t leave poor horses and a wounded man to fend for themselves, but unlike you, I don’t flaunt it to everyone who bothers to listen.”
He shrugged. “I don’t think there’s much of a difference. You’re flaunting it now.”
Dakota whacked him with the back of her hand. “It’s totally different.”
Brady coughed again, this time hard enough he became breathless. He gasped as he threw his head back, hoping the motion would open his airways more. His pulse raced and the pounding in his head forced him to lie back.
“Brady, are you okay? What do you need?”
He focused on taking slow, deep breaths until his heart slowed and the irritation in his throat settled. He opened his eyes to see Dakota leaning over him, the back of her hand to his cheek. His heart picked up the pace again. “I think it was just an episode.” She was so close, her perfume lingering in the air between them. All he had to do was sit up and he’d be close enough to kiss her.
Brady’s eyes moved from her eyes to her mouth. He licked his lips, his throat dry. When his eyes met hers again, the concern in her eyes pushed him to his limit. None of the girls he’d dated had bothered to care about him like this. Raising his good arm, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.
A small part of him recognized how she stiffened under his touch, but the rest of him explored this new reality. Her soft lips tasted sweet as he pressed his more firmly to hers.
Dakota broke away from him, her once worried eyes full of anger. She made a show of wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. “Brady! What are you doing?”
His lips quirked into a crooked smile as he tipped his head to the side. “Come back here and I’ll show you.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Absolutely not.” She turned to leave the room.
Brady shifted in his seat and straightened. “Dakota, wait.”
Pausing in the doorway, she spun to look at him. “What?”