When Roses Collide

Chapter Fifteen

Harley took her time, strolling down the street enjoying the warmth of the sun and the smell of the fresh clean air. She had to hand it to Wolf Springs, Montana. It was a beautiful place which seemed to have erupted right out of Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Posts. Complete with quaint little brick store fronts, a gorgeous square full of plenty of shade trees, sitting benches and giant statue of some long forgotten hero gracing the middle.

Sidewalks coasted up and down both sides of the streets, beckoning for hand in hand Sunday evening strolls. Sturdy homes lined either side with perfectly sculpted yards and Harley could easily picture the 2.2 kids with a golden retriever selling lemonade on a summer afternoon.

A little slice of Americana heaven everywhere she looked and it gave her a warm special feeling of coming home. Everything she had daydreamed about in a small town was pictured here. Though her tastes leaned more towards having a few hundred acres between neighbors, she could still appreciate the draw of Wolf Springs.

She sighed at the thought of her neighbors. One, made a sexy smile float across her lips while the other, caused her forehead to crease in a frown. One neighbor lead to possible exquisite pleasure and a hopeful future, while the other one caused her grief and a large amount of alarm complete with wrinkles if she didn't stop scowling.

She wasn't afraid of Rafferty, not one tiny bit, but his out and out show of pure hatred against her gave her pause. She had been here for such a short amount time and already she could see the lines drawn in the dirt when it came to that overstuffed browbeater. She wasn't about to back down to his show of superiority, but she also learned to not smack a hornets nest with a stick. Harley figured she could just stay out of his way and maybe, given some time, he would learn to accept the fact she was here to stay. Problem relatively solved. Her other delectable dilemma wasn't so easily dealt with.

Harley grinned as she climbed into the cab of her pickup. Staying away from Travis Montgomery was the last thing she planned to do. Whether he was aware of it or not, she had plans for her new mighty fine friend. She wanted and craved another taste of that electrifying chemistry they shared. Her skin tingled from the memory of his touches and she shivered. His husky demand to call his name continued to keep her squirming with need every time she thought of it.

As Harley pulled out onto Main Street heading for the feed store, she thought the only thing lacking in her conquest of Travis's surrender was a way to see him again. Preferably without an audience. They'd managed to jump one hurdle and came up as friends, but what lay ahead would be a bit more difficult.

She knew Travis still questioned who she was. Desi said he was like a dog on a bone trying to figure it out. She sighed. He was so confusing. One minute he was pushing her away, the next he's pulling her close and promising her more of those toe curling kisses he was so capable of. During those moments, when they weren't at each other throats, she felt safe, protected and cherished.

There was no doubt in her mind, their little run in at the grocery store wasn't an accident on his part. Come to think of it, there had been a few "accidental" times were she ran into him. Obviously, he cared enough to become a terrible stalker, so this thing between them wasn't without hope. Harley frowned and nibbled on her lip. But how was she going to get around his suspicion over her identity?

Woo-boy, as anal as he was, it might turn out to be a huge undertaking. Short of showing up on his doorstep wearing nothing but a smile and carrying her birth certificate, which wasn't exactly subtle, she was at a loss as to what to do. Every time she would think it couldn't be done, or that he was a bumbling buffoon and she wasn't even going to try, he did something utterly charming which made her fall for him all over again.

For the first time, she desperately wished she was more like the heroines in some of her romances. She needed to be more femme fatale and less awkward goose, but she didn't have a clue how to become a seductress. It never occurred to her it would be a skill she needed.