He looked down at her engine, trying to force his eyes anywhere but on the too-tempting dish in front of him. Why was he reacting this way to her? She wasn’t polished or beautiful. She wasn’t even wearing makeup anymore. She’d cried it all off. She looked a little lonely, a little needy. She probably looked a little like him.
He wasn’t just looking for a lay, he realized. He was starving for someone, anyone who might be able to like him. Pathetic, yes, but it was the truth. She’d said she was on her way to Del Norte. Bliss was fairly isolated. There was a good chance she’d never heard of him or his infamous flameout. He went over all her fluids, checking each carefully as he thought about the situation. Maybe he could ask her to dinner. He could use someone to talk to. He hadn’t had that in years. Well, he hadn’t had anyone who didn’t bark or growl or whine back at him.
“I think your radiator is shot, but I also think you’re leaking oil. And maybe brake fluid.”
“Is that expensive?” Her eyes were round under her glasses.
He wanted to tell her no. But the truth would hit her soon enough. “Just about everything on a car is expensive, and this one is old. They might have a hard time finding parts. I think you’re going to need a tow. I don’t have a cable.”
Why didn’t he have a cable? His dads would have had his hide if they knew how little emergency equipment he had in his truck. He could hear Daddy Fred telling him that ranching required a man to always be prepared.
“Oh, uhm, it’s okay. If you don’t mind giving me a lift into town, I can take care of it from there.”
This was all ending way too soon. “I could just take you home. Do you have a shop you like to use?”
She started biting that bottom lip again. It was her tell, proclaiming loudly to Noah that she wasn’t being truthful. “Oh, yes, I have a shop. I’ll just get into town, and they can come pick it up and fix it, no problem.”
Crap. He hated it when someone lied. And Hope didn’t even do it very well. She was hiding something. He should shrug and move on, but he felt his eyes narrowing. “What’s the name of the shop, sweetheart?”
Her bottom lip disappeared, sucked into her mouth. Yeah, she was a terrible liar. “Uhm, it’s just a shop. I can call them when I get to Del Norte.”
Curiouser and curiouser. He wasn’t sure exactly why, but he didn’t like little Hope lying to him. “There’s only one shop in Del Norte. I happen to know the owner. I’ll come in with you.”
She shook her head, her face flushing again. She got to her feet. Butch danced around her. “It’s okay, really.”
Noah let the hood drop. “No, it’s not all right. I’d like to know what’s going on. You’re lying about calling a shop. Why?”
“It’s really none of your business.”
Brat. He’d missed brats. He’d spent five years with a woman who was perfect on the outside and rotten on the inside. He liked the fact that this woman had no idea how to handle him. “As I’m the one standing here on the side of the road with you, I think it is.”
Her chin came up. “You don’t have to stand here. I thank you very much for stopping. I’ll be fine.”
Stubborn little thing. She ruined her stand by sniffling as her bottom lip quivered.
“You want me to go?” He had no intention of going.
“I want you to take me into town and not ask a lot of questions.”
Yes, that would be the easiest thing to do. He could satisfy his conscience and move on. Except he really didn’t want to. Standing here and talking to Hope was the first time in a long time that he felt like he could help, maybe make something better.
“Are you going to call your husband? Your boyfriend?”
She took a quick step back. “Are you some kind of weird serial killer? Someone knows where I am.”
Another lie. “So let me get this straight. You don’t have a husband or a boyfriend, and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going. And from all the stuff in the backseat of this car, it looks like you’re living out of it.”
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s none of your business.”
So many things fell into place. She was in trouble. She was trouble. Big trouble. And he was a masochist. It wasn’t the role he usually liked to play. “You don’t have enough money to fix this car, do you?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“You don’t even have enough for a tow.”
“It’s none…”
He didn’t let her get any further. It was stupid, but he had to reach out to her. Tears coursed down her face. “I’m making it my business.”
She shook her head, but didn’t fight him at all as he pulled her into his arms. So sweet and naïve. Damn, she needed a keeper. She shuddered a little, and her head sank to his shoulder.
“You should let me go.” Her words came out in little gasps.
“Shhh.” It felt so damn good to be the one in charge. “It’s going to be all right, Hope.”
He held her, holding his hips as far away as he could from hers so he didn’t scare the crap out of her. She would probably notice his massive hard-on if he got too close. In the distance, he could see a truck pulling up. Drive by. Drive by.
But the truck pulled over, its big wheels driving up dirt and crunching gravel. Hope pulled away, wiping at her eyes. Their little moment was over, and Noah was the slightest bit pissed at the man who had broken it up. He stepped back from Hope, Butch’s tail thumping at his feet.
“You folks need help?”
Noah took a look at the newcomer—and did a major double take. He recognized the ridiculously handsome face. Trevor McNamara—the former king of pro football’s bad boys. He’d been a tabloid favorite before he’d gone into rehab and dropped off the face of the earth. What the hell was he doing in Colorado on the side of the road helping out a broken-down motorist?
“Hi,” Hope said, waving a little. “I think I mentioned I might not make it home.”
McNamara’s face split into a high-wattage smile. “You did, indeed, Hope. And I offered a little help.” He held out a hand. “Trev McNamara.”
Noah nodded and took the proffered hand. McNamara had been a hell of a quarterback. And he’d walked away from it all. “I know who you are. Noah Bennett. You and Hope know each other?”
“We just met today.” Hope sniffled a bit, but she moved closer to Noah.
He could feel himself stand a little straighter. Fuck, what was she doing to him? “Her car is trashed. Do you happen to have a tow cable?”
Trev smiled. “I certainly do. We can get her out of here. No problem. Where am I going?”
Noah could see the hesitation on her face. He took over. “Uhm, I think we need to get to Del Norte.”
She shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I should probably go to Bliss. It’s a little town between Del Norte and Creede. I have some friends there.”
She was from Bliss. His heart constricted a little.
Trev’s smile was practically a mile wide. “You’re from Bliss? My ranch is just outside of Bliss.”
Noah felt his eyes widen. What the fuck was that? There was only one ranch anywhere close to Bliss. The Circle G. The Circle G was pretty damn big. There wasn’t any room for another spread. “Really? I thought the Circle G was outside of Bliss.”
“You’ve heard of it?”
Noah’s stomach rolled. “James Glen owns the Circle G.”
Trev settled his cowboy hat on his head with a satisfied air. “He’s owns half of it. I own the other half.”
“He sold our fucking land?” He hadn’t meant to yell, but he was pretty sure his voice echoed through the valley.
Trev’s mouth dropped open. “Holy shit. Are you Noah? James’s brother?”
“Yes,” he spat out. “I’m Jamie’s brother, and I really want to figure out why he would sell our land.”