Can't Stop Believing (HARMONY) Read Online Free Page A

would take a hundred years to heal.
    “I’m not selling,” he said, the first thought that came to his mind. She could probably already smell blood in the water, but he’d lose to the bank before he’d sell to her.
    “I’m not asking,” she snapped, none too friendly for a woman asking for a favor.
    He remembered a time when she’d been home for Christmas break when they were in high school. He asked her for a date and she’d turned him down so fast it took him several heartbeats for his mind to catch up with his ears. They’d both changed a great deal in ten years. She’d grown from a skinny girl to a beautiful woman, and he’d turned into stone. Even now, if he’d been brave or wild enough to pull her against him, she’d feel no heart. Any kindness, any caring, had been beat out of him in Huntsville.
    She straightened, all proper. “What I’m offering is a business deal that could benefit us both.”
    “I’m not interested in doing business with a Britain, and I’m fresh out of favors.” He looked down at her and was surprised to find that she wasn’t looking at him. He’d always pictured her as straightforward and demanding, a queen in her realm. Now he wasn’t so sure. He didn’t know her well enough to be able to tell if she was being shy or simply taking a moment to plan her strategy.
    He’d watched her drive past his land. He’d seen her in town a few times, but they’d never been close enough to speak. Two years ago she’d called the sheriff on him. She hadn’t even given him time to tell her he’d been having engine trouble and was flying low, praying he’d make it to his land before he crashed the plane.
    Her hands tightened into fists, and she slowly raised her head. “I knew I’d be wasting my time coming over here. Since you went to prison, everyone says you’ve been nothing but mean. You don’t have a friend in this world, Cord McDowell, and as near as I can see, you never will. You live out on this dry, worthless land and work all day seven days a week and for what? So you can die alone? I’ll probably be the one who finds the body and has to see about the funeral, and I don’t like you, either. If you weren’t my last choice, I wouldn’t be here, so you’re going to have to listen to me for a minute before I leave and never step on your land again.”
    Cord felt a lecture coming on, so he sat down in one of the metal chairs that had been spray-painted a dozen times. While she paced, planning her next attack, he studied her. Watching Nevada storm was better than watching anything on TV.
    Finally, she stopped and placed the envelope she’d carried onto the porch railing. “I came all this way and I’d like you to at least consider my offer. What I have to say is too important to give up on.”
    “All right,” he said, knowing he wasn’t buying or selling, but listening he could afford.
    She stared out at the open land as she lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “I can’t explain any of the why, so don’t ask. Just hear me out and then say yes or no.”
    “Fair enough.” He propped his long legs on the railing beside the manila envelope. “Tell me, Miss Britain, why’d you come out here?”
    “I’m prepared to offer you the three hundred acres of my land that borders your land.”
    “In exchange for what?” Cord knew, as well as she did probably, that she was offering him the same plot of land their great-grandfathers had fought over. “I fear the price may be more than I can afford.” The rich land was worth more than his farm, and he doubted the five hundred in his pocket would buy more than a few rocks.
    For the first time she didn’t look sure of herself, but she plowed forward. “I can’t tell you why, but I promise you there will be no disadvantage to you. I’ll sign the deed over to you when we’re at the courthouse and our bargain is sealed. The land will be yours free and clear from that time on.”
    He frowned as he rocked back in his