“Wow, how many plants do you have in here?”
Rachel began watering her plants, rotating from the ones she’d watered yesterday. “Over one hundred twenty-six.”
Cash walked farther into the room. “Any weed?” he joked.
“No. If you want that, you’ll have to go see Greer.”
“No, thanks. He would probably lace it with cyanide,” Cash said mockingly.
“No, he wouldn’t. He would just lace it with cat shit.”
Cash’s mouth dropped open. Rachel had to choke back her laughter. She would take a bet The Last Riders would be finding another source for their weed. It would hurt, too, because her brothers might be assholes, but they produced the best-tasting weed in the state.
He reached out a finger to touch a fragile plant. “What’s this?”
“Pipewort.”
“If you’re so interested in plants, how come you didn’t go on to college?”
“I did, for two semesters. I didn’t like it. I’m taking a few classes online now, though.” Rachel didn’t tell him how far she had actually progressed with her degree; it wasn’t any of his business. She wasn’t about to fawn all over him just because he showed a sudden interest in an important part of her life.
She had been gradually moving down the row, watering the plants until she came to him. Rachel looked at his lean body without a shirt, with loose-fitting jeans, and felt absolutely nothing. She lifted her clear eyes, staring him in the face steadily until he moved back, burying his hands in his pockets, so she could continue watering her plants. If he’d thought she was going to see his body and melt in a puddle at his feet, she had just proved him wrong.
She didn’t try to make conversation with him, although she did answer his questions with monosyllabic replies.
“Rachel, I want to apologize for the way I acted the night of Mrs. Langley’s party.”
It took Rachel a second for his apology to set in, then another to get the meaning of what he was saying.
“I’d like us to start over, maybe go to a movie or out to dinner.”
She quit watering the plants. “Why?”
Cash cleared his throat. Was he pretending to be unsure of himself? Rachel didn’t think Cash had ever felt unsure of himself.
“Why do most people go on dates?”
“I know why most people go on dates, but you don’t. You pick the girl up, drive her to one of your spots, have sex with her, and then bring her home. It’s the same thing you always do.”
“That’s not true. I’ve—” Cash denied.
“Name one woman you’ve bought a burger for? A steak dinner? You can’t, can you?”
Cash’s mouth snapped shut.
“I didn’t think so. The most you’ve treated your women to is a picnic lunch Mag packed for you. I don’t even know why I called them your women; you’ve never laid claim to a woman, yet you’ve taken more than your fair share,” she said with a mocking voice.
“You have a really low opinion of me, don’t you?” Cash’s eyes searched hers.
Rachel gave him her honest answer. “I don’t have any opinion of you at all.”
He winced at her reply.
Once upon a time, she would have jumped at the thought of dating Cash, thinking she could be the one to change the bad-boy biker. Now, she felt nothing; absolutely nothing.
“I’m not a bad guy.”
“No, you’re not,” Rachel agreed. “You’re just not the guy for me.”
“How do you know if you don’t give me a chance?”
“I don’t need to stick my hand in a fire to know it’s going to hurt like hell,” Rachel replied mockingly.
Cash picked up a tendril of her hair that had escaped her ponytail, pulling it taut. “Sometimes, the best way to fight fire is with fire.”
She shivered at the warning in his voice. He was telling her that he couldn’t forget them having sex any easier than she could. Her nipples tightened under her t-shirt while she masked her reaction.
“And sometimes, the best thing to do is just pour a bucket of water over it.”
*
Cash stood, looking down at Rachel, his throat tightening. The young girl who had been in the background of his life for years was gone. Now, in her place, was a beautiful woman who stared at him with revulsion in her eyes. He had fallen off the pedestal she had placed him on, and there was no redeeming himself in her eyes.
She had excused his behavior as sowing his wild oats until he had taken her. Now, she saw herself as another woman he had used. Her witnessing him with Cheryl and Bliss had made her feel as if he had thought of her as one more conquest.
He turned away for a moment, staring down at one of the plants blindly. She had never been obvious about her feelings; she was too cautious for that. It had been the furtive, secret glances that had given her away.