hundred fifty thousand dollars to have sex with me.”
“Do you have a price you’re comfortable with?” Charlie asked Annabelle.
“I don’t know. Maybe a couple of thousand. Of course, if you started an affair, and added up the number of times you did it…” She stopped talking. “What?”
Nevada cleared her throat. “I think Heidi’s attorney was speaking in more metaphorical terms. That if Heidi slept with Rafe, he might forgive the debt. I doubt she was suggesting a sexual installment plan.”
“Oh.” Annabelle flushed. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” Heidi said, grinning. “But Charlie’s right. You have it bad. You need to find a man.”
“Show me a good one who’s interested and I’m so there. Or not. It probably wouldn’t go well. But back to the issue at hand. Maybe we should find Rafe a woman. Distract him. He would be so busy falling in love that he would forget to be mean to Heidi.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Charlie murmured.
Jo returned with plates of food. Heidi was already feeling a pleasant buzz. But she knew the danger of drinking on an empty stomach, so she picked up a chip and dug it into the guacamole.
“Who are you thinking of sacrificing?” Nevada asked, reaching for the nachos.
“You make the most sense,” Charlie said.
Heidi paused in the act of dipping a second chip into salsa, then realized Charlie was looking at her. In fact, they all were.
“What? No. Not me.”
“You’re there,” Nevada pointed out. “The two of you will be spending time together on the ranch.”
“He hates me. He looks at me with contempt. He’s some big-city rich guy. I loathe that type. He thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
“Maybe on the surface,” Annabelle said, “but if he grew up poor, it may just be a facade. Maybe you could find out about the real man lurking beneath.”
“You make him sound like a sea monster.”
Annabelle grinned. “I’m saying it’s worth a shot. What have you got to lose? The guy is hot.”
“Okay, sure. Ruggedly handsome with broad shoulders,” Heidi said.
“Don’t forget his ass,” Charlie told her. “I’ve seen him walking around town. Very nice.”
“It would be for a good cause,” Nevada added.
“Sleeping with the enemy? Wasn’t that a movie and didn’t it end badly?” Heidi asked.
Annabelle grinned. “Only for the guy. He’ll be overwhelmed by your charms.”
“I don’t have any charms. If I did, they got lost in the move. Rafe isn’t going to fall for me. I’m not his type. He’s certainly not mine. I just need to get through this transition without making things worse. And coming on to him would definitely be worse.”
She also needed to figure out how to earn two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pay May back, but that wasn’t anything she was going to discuss with her friends. Comfort was one thing, pity was another.
“You really could seduce him if you wanted,” Annabelle said. Nevada and Charlie both nodded in agreement.
Heidi clutched her margarita in both hands and laughed. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, however misplaced.” She raised her glass. “To the best friends ever.”
* * *
THANKS TO SEVERAL GLASSES of water, aspirin and her grandfather’s secret remedy, Heidi woke the next morning feeling perfectly fine. No headache, no upset stomach. Maybe she should forget about goat cheese and sell his formula instead.
After working her way through her usual chores, she headed for the barn. Last night, Charlie had mentioned she wouldn’t be able to make it to the ranch for a couple of days. That meant Mason, Charlie’s big gelding, would need to be exercised. Hardly a chore, Heidi thought, anticipating a ride in the cool but sunny April day. She could take Mason out for a couple of hours and still be home in time for lunch. Later, she would take Kermit, their other boarder, on his ride.
“Hard work but someone has to do it,” she murmured happily to herself as she pulled on riding boots. She slathered on sunscreen, picked up a cowboy hat, then headed for the front door. As she stepped onto the porch, a familiar Mercedes pulled up by the house. Instantly, her good mood vanished.
May Stryker bounced out of the passenger seat, waving and smiling. “Hello! I hope I’m not being a bother. I just can’t stay away.”
“You’re not a bother,” Heidi assured her. In May’s case, she was telling the truth. The older woman was lovely, and if she was the only Stryker involved, Heidi believed they could easily come to terms.
The bigger issue—all six-plus feet of him—climbed out of the car more slowly. Rafe stared at her over the roof of his vehicle.
“Morning.”
The single word, spoken in a low voice, caused an odd sort of quivering in her stomach.
This was her friends’ fault, Heidi realized. All that talk last night about sleeping with Rafe had somehow latched onto a synapse in her brain. Yesterday he’d just been an evil corporate guy bent on her destruction. Now he was someone with a great butt she should try to seduce in a pitiful effort to save her home.
“Go away.”
She only thought the words, rather than spoke them, but that didn’t lessen the intensity of her wish. Why him? Why couldn’t May have had a nice son who understood that people made mistakes?
“I was, um, going for a ride,” she said. “To exercise the horses we’re boarding.”
May walked toward her. “That sounds like fun. How many horses are there?”
“The two you saw on the tour.”
“Oh, perfect. Rafe, why don’t you help Heidi? If you ride one of the horses, she can be done in half the time.”
Or they could go into town and each get a root canal. That would be fun, too.
Heidi did her best to keep her expression neutral. “It’s not necessary. I’m fine. Besides, I doubt if Rafe would enjoy riding.” Or know how. Although, she had to admit, the thought of him flopping around in a saddle was kind of nice. Maybe he would fall off, hit his head and get amnesia. Then she could pretend he wasn’t furious with her, and her problems would be solved. If only…
Rafe raised one eyebrow. “Think I’m not up to the challenge?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” He reached into the car and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, then motioned to the barn. “After you.”
“YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE to do this,” Heidi protested as they walked into the barn.
“I know my way around a horse.”
“You’re a guy who probably wears a five-thousand-dollar suit.”
“You’re forgetting, I grew up here. Besides, I want to check out my mother’s land.”
He walked toward the corral where Mason and Kermit were lounging in the sun. Rafe gave a piercing whistle that had both horses turning toward him.
Heidi told herself not to be impressed. Except the horses moved toward him, as if drawn by a force she couldn’t see. Rafe stepped into the corral.
“Where do you want them?”