Guarding Miranda (27 page)

Friendship...

It was just further proof that Brian was incapable of feeling for her the way she felt about him.

“You may very well be right,” she replied slowly, carefully choosing her words and her tone. 

She was angry, angry for allowing herself to develop feelings for Brian, angry at Brian for being so... so damn friendly. 

Friendship.

Ha!

She had plenty of friends. 

What she wanted was a man who could challenge her, be her equal.  She had been beginning to entertain the crazy idea that she had found her equal in Brian. 

It upset her to her core to discover that she had been wrong.

Horribly, horribly wrong.

“Thank you for supper, Brian,” she said softly. “It was lovely.  But I’m going to bed.”

She left him before he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. 

Damn him, anyway. 

He was too – too hot-blooded Aussie male for her tastes anyway.

In the bathroom, she brushed her teeth quickly and studied her reflection in the mirror.  There was a great deal of color in her cheeks, the kind of rosiness left only by lovemaking. 

Extensive lovemaking.  Only the look in her eyes was no longer one of satisfaction, it was one of upset.

There were tears there, just waiting for an opportunity to be shed.

Well of course she was upset! 

She had thrown herself at Brian in the Jacuzzi tub she now stood by, engaging him in long, torturous foreplay and wild, unprotected sex. 

How was she going to be able to bathe now and shower, knowing what had come to pass there? 

And what of the frame of mind she had been in throughout the underwater adventure? 

Loving him, hoping that he might have the capacity to love her back, only to find out that he thought they had embarked on a friendship. 

A
friendship!

Miranda damned him again as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, tears wetting her somber green eyes.

Chapter Twelve:

Miranda woke alone Saturday morning, knowing that she should call Tommy Tyson and have him mow the lawn. 

It was getting quite long and it bothered her to think of all the creepy crawlies that could be lurking there, waiting for her to step on them. 

The shorter the grass, the happier she would be.

She rose from her bed and stretched with a great yawn, trying to remember something from her dreams. 

Half memories of battles won and lost crossed her mind, followed by ghost like images of Brian, smiling at her as he told her how much he looked forward to their friendship, how very dearly he hoped they could be good friends.

Morpheus certainly wasn’t favoring her of late. 

Nightmares, dreams of battles and dreams of Brian...

She removed her green silk robe and yawned again, standing naked before the mirrored closets. 

Had she gained weight? 

No – the mirrors were slightly flawed, bowed, giving the impression that she had.  Even so, it would do her good to start working out again. 

She hadn’t practiced her tae kwon do since arriving in Waterhen and knew that her flexibility and endurance would suffer if she didn’t get back with her program soon.

But first, she wanted to go grocery shopping. 

That and get in some sun. 

Comfortable in her total nudity, she walked out unto the balcony of the master bedroom, enjoying the feel of the warm breeze on her bare skin. 

Yes, it was going to be a beautiful day. 

It was barely ten o’clock and already the sun was offering a pleasant amount of warmth, its light streaming in rays through the windows of the French doors.

She glanced at the water below her, in the river. 

There were silvery flashing waves rippling the calm surface.

Today, Miranda felt like the river. 

Aggravated, irritation lingering over Brian’s comment about them embarking on a friendship.  A
beautiful
friendship, at that.  She was a fool for thinking herself in love with him. 

Love
.  She snorted. 
What good had love done her, over the years?
 

No good whatsoever...

Yes, she was annoyed with Brian. Not that she could blame him for being male.  A big, dumb Aussie male.

He was an oaf. 

Bull-headed. 

Sexy. 

Too good looking for his own good...

She considered other names and titles for him as she dressed in her little black bikini and matching thong.  She decided on a casual pair of denim shorts and the black baby T-shirt with the intricate red butterfly embroidered on the front.

She had bought the T-shirt in Mexico. 

It was a trip she had taken with Richard. 

Richard. 

The bastard. 

She removed the T-shirt immediately, threw it as hard as she could into the waste bin and chose an article of clothing that didn’t remind her of him, a whispy green short sleeved shirt. 

The shirt was of a sheer see-through material and brought out the lighter flecks in her forest green eyes. 

Affixing sandals to her feet, she left the room and headed down the stairs.  Brian was there, in the arm chair he favored, watching a TV program.

“G’morning, sunshine.  Sleep well?”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat as she descended the last step.

“Plans for today?”

“I have to make a phone call and then I’d like to go grocery shopping.” She told him evenly, her voice betraying nothing of her annoyance with him.

He smiled at her, his grey eyes bright with things unsaid. “I didn’t make breakfast – I wasn’t sure what time you’d be up.”

“I don’t expect you to fend for me,” she told him, tersely. “I can manage perfectly well.”

“In a bad mood today, love?” Brian was hesitant with his second smile, as though trying to determine whether or not he should be smiling.

“No.” She replied in an even tone, as she pulled a bowl from the cupboard.

She located the Special K breakfast cereal and poured some into the bowl.

Milk followed, along with a spoon from the drawer. 

She completed each task with absolute concentration, trying to keep Brian from her thoughts. 

He had possessed her long enough. 

She knew that it was time for her to get over him.

Time to get him out of her life.

Brian rose from the arm chair, concern weighing down his active mind.

When a woman was frowning and still was able to say that she was in a good mood, it made an obvious liar of her. 

Miranda had not been overjoyed to see him this morning. 

Was she beginning to truly regret his presence here? 

Resent him?

Regret all that had happened between them?  He hoped not and decided to engage her in conversation, to see if he could determine the origin of the negative vibes he was receiving from her.

“Who are you calling?” He asked pleasantly. “Russ?”

She had considered calling him, time and again but decided each time to punish her uncle with a silent treatment. 

Brian had already reported to him that he had informed Miranda of Richard’s activities. 

Let Uncle Russ wonder how upset I am
, she thought, irritated.
I’m not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing!

“No, the boy who’s going to mow the lawn,” she said, with obvious impatience. “Tommy Tyson.”

Brian decided to cut straight to the heart of the matter. “Did I do or say something to piss you off?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She replied tersely, stabbing at her cereal with the spoon. “Kindly
elaborate.
”

“You seem to be in a sour mood.”

“Do I?”

“I was wondering if there’s anything I might be able to do to put the smile back on your face.”

“Give me back my car keys,” she said, with a huff. “Then we’ll talk smiling.”

He considered laughing but did not. “You’re still upset about that?”

“Very,” she lied. 

It wasn’t her main concern. 

Not at the moment. 

She didn’t have anywhere she wanted to go anyway, except to the store and maybe fishing later that night. She stepped around Brian, caught a whiff of his cologne and felt her knees threaten to buckle. 

Finding the strength, she kept walking, straight away to the dining room table. 

She sat down and concerned herself with eating.

Brian was still fascinated by her crabby attitude. 

Could she not see that everything he did was with her interests in mind?  She hadn’t voiced a lot of concern over her assignment to him, yet.  Only the occasional complaint over the ownership of her car keys...

He had to wonder at the way she kept her attention fixed on her bowl of cereal.  Staring into it as though it were not Special K but Alpha Bits that would reveal to her the secrets of the Universe.

There was something she wasn’t telling him... 

His gut impulse was to take her by the arms and shake it out of her. 

Women!  Of all things, their silence was most condemning...and she was condemning him now, he could tell. 

What had he done wrong?

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, taking the chair opposite her.  She did not raise her eyes from her cereal and he wondered at that. Why was she putting the blinders on like this? “I’ll let you do the driving, from here on in.”

“So you’re giving me back my keys?” She looked up at him then, a quirky grin on her lips.

“No, I’m letting you drive.  The keys are to remain in my possession.”

She rolled her green eyed gaze at him. “Figures, that there’d be a catch.”

“Sorry.  I have standards to maintain.”

“You didn’t bring the gun with you to the Clarions’.” She stirred her cereal. “Are you going to be taking it with you today?”

“Why?  Worried I might blow my cover?”

“No, I’m worried that you might needlessly scare the locals.”

“I’ll leave it here, if you like,” he offered, with a shrug. “It’s only a precaution, anyway.”

Her eyes clouded over suddenly. “Have you ever used it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” She looked back down at her cereal and rubbed at her neck.  Her lips curled into a frown.

“Stiff?” He longed to touch her, to soothe her upset.

“A little,” she confessed, glancing back up at him.

“Care for a massage?” He offered, flexing his fingers. “I’ve been told I’m quite good.”

She didn’t doubt that he was. 

She knew, quite well, the magic of his fingers. 

But she didn’t want him touching her. 

Not if they were going to be just
friends.

 “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself, love. Offer stands, all you need do is ask.”

They left for the Tyson Prairie Emporium after booking Tommy for a six o’clock grass cutting.

Miranda was surprised to see Betty behind the counter. “Betty, I thought you said you had the weekends off?”