Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) by Grace Brannigan

relationship?
"What else could it be? We’ve been apart too long to go back."
    Tye
forced herself to nod. "That’s right, Jake. It’s been too many
years. We both agree on that." For a moment she wished she could go back,
could erase the old hurt and pain. From time to time she could still see it in
Jake’s eyes ― the memories, the truth between them.
    Just
when she thought she would learn something from him, he pulled back.
"Never repeat mistakes," he agreed, his voice hard. He lifted his
gaze to her. "Come on. It's quite painless, meeting my friends. Not as bad
as a trip to the dentist."
    Tye
hesitated. "If you recall, we more or less agreed not to invade each
other's privacy."
    "Sure.
But one little barbecue doesn't mean we’re sleeping together,"
    Jake’s
derisive tone made the color flow into Tye’s cheeks. The words conjured a
surprisingly sensuous picture in her mind. But the derision hurt.
    She
found her reaction alarming. Strange sensations assaulted her. The thought
insinuated itself that Jake as a lover would be exciting and unpredictable. A
shiver worked its way across the back of her neck. Don't go there, she warned
herself. Trouble. Delicious trouble.
    "Come
on." Jake held out his hand to her.
    Tye drew
a fortifying breath. Slowly, she reached out and took it. Feeling his wide palm
engulf hers, his fingers close gently but firmly on her own became quite an
intimate experience.
    "On
one condition," she said, holding back a moment. "I'll stay for a
little while, then I’ll leave."
    "Done."
His big hand squeezed hers. The smile he gave her warmed her from head to toe.
They walked toward his friends, and Tye knew it was his ingrained consideration
that made him slow his steps to match hers. She held her hand stiffly in his,
all too aware of the trembling of her arm. She had never felt such a sensation
of walking into quicksand in her life, and all because a man was treating her
carefully. A man she still loved, but who no longer saw her as anything but an
old acquaintance.
    Tye knew
then and there, for the first time in her life, that she would have to watch
her step. Jake Miller was a dangerous man. A man who could hurt her, if she
were careless. He cared about her getting well, but that was the extent of his
interest. If she wanted to remain whole, she had better remember that.

§ Chapter Eight §
    Around
eleven that night Tye sat on the stone wall in front of the house with Jake
beside her. She waved as the last car drove away, the red taillights
disappearing onto the highway.
    Jake
turned to her, one brow lifted, a satisfied smile curving his lips. "So,
on a scale of one to ten, how did meeting my friends rate?"
    Tye
deliberately put her nose up in the air. "For such a pushy guy, you have
amazingly nice friends."
    Without
thinking about it, she jumped off the low wall, then let out a muffled groan as
her leg began to collapse. Jake took a quick step forward and gripped her upper
arms to support her.
    "Easy
there, or you’ll end up in the rose bushes."
    Tye
jerked her arms away. "I’m fine." Carefully, she walked
sideways down the steps to the blacktop drive.
    "Tired?"
Jake asked.
    Tye
nodded stiffly, frustrated by her lack of control over her own body. "When
I've been on this leg too much, it gets a bit sore. I've only been working with
this a short time ― my permanent limb. By that I mean my prosthesis.
Negotiating this ramp sideways takes longer, but it's easier when the leg
bothers me." It was the most explanation she’d offered to anyone
since losing her leg.
    Once up
on the porch, Tye turned and looked back at him. "Thanks, I had a good
time. It almost felt like . . ." She paused, biting her lips. She had been
about to say like old times, but that description might ruin the easy
camaraderie they’d found.
    "Home?"
Jake suggested.
    Tye
nodded. She was no longer the naive innocent of a decade ago. Jake wasn’t
the same man, either. There was a hardness to him she couldn’t get past.
It