Wrangled and Tangled Read Online Free PDF Page A

could discern some differences in impending weather. But it’d take a lifetime to catch the nuances. That prospect appealed to her more than she’d ever imagined.
    Bang bang bang pulled her out of her musings .
    Only one person knocked with that much authority. And arrogance. Mr. Tenacious would keep banging until she answered.
    She took her time crossing the room. Wouldn’t want him to think she jumped when he beckoned. She peeked out the blinds to find those vivid blue eyes peering back at her. Eyes the same beautiful hue as the Wyoming sky on a hot summer day.
    “Dammit, Tierney, let me in.”
    Sighing, she flipped the locks.
    Renner rushed over the threshold. “We need to talk.”
    “How about in the office tomorrow morning?”
    He stopped wiping his boots on her rug, peeking at her from beneath the brim of his black cowboy hat. “Why not now?”
    “Because it’s my day off.”
    “Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but there are no days off in the ranch business.”
    “Hate to break it to you, sweetheart , but this isn’t a working ranch—I’ve yet to see a single cow. And last night you put me in my place as far as the horses are concerned. Since we won’t have guests checking in until tomorrow, I’d like one day this week without a confrontation with you.”
    “ You threw the drink in my face, remember?”
    “You deserved it, remember?”
    A scowl twisted his full lips. “Believe it or not, I don’t get off on fightin’ with you.”
    She resisted the urge to retort, Coulda fooled me .
    “You gonna move and let me off your rug, or what?”
    Say no. “Fine.” Tierney headed for the kitchen, where they’d have to stand, to keep this talk short. “What’s on your mind?”
    “It occurred to me when I saw you at the store today that we didn’t discuss your role in helping out at the Split Rock until Harper gets back from her honeymoon.”
    “Helping out how?”
    “Hands-on help with the guests and employees instead of hiding in the office.”
    Her cheeks heated. “I don’t hide. There’s actual work done in my half of the office.” Sort of. For the first time in her working life, she had little to do and all sorts of time to kill. She stretched out her accounting duties, but they still took less than half of her workday. In the last month, she learned to look busy, disguising her online chess games and closing her e-books whenever he blew into the room like an angry bull.
    “We’re shorthanded on opening week, so I’ll need you acting as Split Rock hostess for the guests.”
    “No.”
    He cocked his head like he’d misunderstood. “Come again?”
    “I said no. Now, was that all?”
    It pissed her off that Renner stalked her until her back hit the edge of the counter. It really pissed her off she allowed him to force her retreat.
    “What? Think you’re too good to mingle with the common folk?”
    No. I’m too awkward. I’ll embarrass the resort and myself with my obvious lack of social graces.
    Not that she could tell him that because the shrewd man would lord her insecurity over her forever.
    At her nonresponse, he goaded her. “Don’t want to get your manicured hands dirty? You feel it’s beneath your lofty position as financial whip cracker?”
    Rather than lashing out, Tierney said, “You really have me pegged. I’m a stuck-up bitch who has no place in the hospitality business. I can’t imagine why you’d want a snob like me hanging around making our guests feel uncomfortable, so I’ll pass on your charming request. Now please leave my house.”
    “Like hell.”
    The man remained as solid as a stone wall in front of her, but he sure threw off a lot of heat. Tierney kept her face aimed at the floor, her arms folded over her chest. Her posture screamed “back off,” but apparently Renner was deaf because he kept trying to provoke her.
    “Is this some new tactic?” he demanded. “Insulting yourself, then giving me the silent treatment? Hoping I’ll get confused and