Love's Deception Read Online Free

for the next load. I expect ten tons will take three trips.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “By yourself?”
    Annoyed at his skepticism, she lifted her chin. “Of course. I’m quite capable.”
    He walked toward her, his eyes sparkling as if he were suppressing a laugh. When she tried to pull the truck door closed he caught it in his hand and held it open.
    “I’m sure you are, but these are heavy bales. If Ricardo and I follow you to unload it, will you try to call 9-1-1 on me again?”
    Embarrassed, she turned her attention to her son. “Danny, put your seat belt on. It’s time to go.” Even with her back to the farmer, she felt his nearness. She met his gaze, wondering why she felt so flustered, why her heart raced wildly when he leaned his head into the cab of her truck, smiling as he waited for her answer. “I don’t even know your name,” she blurted out.
    His voice came out soft and gentle. “Ty. I’m Ty Bradford. Now, can I unload this hay, or will you be calling the police when I follow you? You know, that was all I was trying to do the other night—offer to help you.”
    This close to him, Cat couldn’t help but notice the strong set of his square jaw and the way his broad shoulders filled the space next to her. A rivulet of sweat trickled down the side of his face, distracting her. “Uh . . . no . . . I don’t think I’ll be calling the police today.”
    Abruptly he stepped back and closed her door, watching her through the truck’s open window. “Ricardo, let’s go help the lady unload her hay.”
    “Sí,” Ricardo said with a smile.
    Curious, Cat kept an eye on Ty while she turned the key and waited for the diesel engine light to turn off. The two men got into an old black Dodge that rode on big mud tires and had lost its tailgate. The truck roared to life.
    Cat shifted into drive and pulled out of the barn.
Hopefully I won’t regret this.

Three
    Ty revved the old engine before shifting into drive and following the loaded trailer. His dad expected him to work the thirty acres behind the house this morning. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice Ty’s absence when he got home from his doctor appointment, or there would be questions. Ty had planned to meet Cat Lewis and then leave Ricardo to load her hay. But he had no idea she would turn out to be the woman who had visited his dreams in the last week.
    More than once, he’d caught himself daydreaming about her luminous brown eyes. She undoubtedly worked too hard, which was why she had a perfectly thin figure—the kind of figure some of his female clients paid money for. But he’d never seen a beautiful woman look more haggard than she had the night he found her with the flat tire. For reasons he didn’t quite understand it bothered him—made him angry, actually. He had no intention of letting that happen today. He’d get her alfalfa moved and stacked. The combine tractors could sit in the barn for a day, and the thirty acres would have to wait. He’d combine in the dark if he had to.
    Cat pulled into the driveway of what Ty guessed to be a twenty-acre horse property, and he couldn’t help but wonder where she’d been going after he changed her tire. It sure wasn’t anywhere near here. He grabbed the leather gloves off the seat and opened the truck door.
    “You sure we got time for this?” Ricardo asked.
    “We’ve got time.” Ty pulled on his gloves.
    Ricardo shook his head, suppressing a smile. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.”
    Ty stood behind Cat’s rig, waving his hands to guide her back into the barn. Once she cut the truck’s engine, he and Ricardo each loosened a tie-down strap and then stepped onto the side of the trailer. They pulled on the orange baling twine, toppling the bales onto the wooden platform. Cat brushed past Ty and picked up a bale of hay. She walked it to the back wall of the barn before kicking it into place next to some grass hay. He pulled a bale off the trailer and followed her lead.
    Fascinated,