he were looking through the haze of a ghost.
"You may have closed the door, but apparently it hadn't shut all the way or I wouldn't have ended up in a heap on your floor."
He had to have flown through the house to have made it to her room this quickly.
"You need to leave, Cody."
"I will. But not until I've finished what I have to say."
"Do it and then please leave."
A vein jumped to life in his neck and his jaw clenched. "This is my home. My sanctuary.
I don't care what my father asked of you."
"Your sanctuary, huh? Just how deep does that sanctuary go? How long are you going to stay buried here before you realize you aren't even living?"
The initial intrusion forgotten, Lyssa found her blood pounding stronger than it had been by the pool.
"You have no idea what you're talking about, Lyssa. How could you know if you've never been blind?"
"For your information, Mr. Know-it-all, I was blind for twenty years of my life. I've sat in that dark seat just the same as you, so don't give me that line of crap that I don't know how you feel. I was there!"
Lyssa's voice had risen to a fevered pitch, leaving her ears ringing and her heart pounding. With each word she uttered, she rose up, as if trying to reach the unreachable brass ring.
Cody stopped short.
"You .. . you're blind?"
It took a second for her to draw in a deep breath as she reeled in her anger.
"I was blind at one time. I'm not anymore. And when I was blind I managed to go to school, go shopping, visit my friends, and work a job. This job. I've only been able to see for about four years. And there's nothing I do now that I didn't do when I was blind."
"You just never learned how to swim."
She shook her head and would have laughed at the sarcasm in his voice if she'd been in a better frame of mind.
"I never got around to that."
"Did you ever ride horses?"
"No. I've never been on a horse, either."
He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Why not?"
"I... don't really know. We didn't have horses like you have here. My sister was never interested and frankly, neither were my parents. They're not really the outdoorsy type. I guess I was just never exposed to them."
He nodded.
"Get out of those wet clothes and we'll go riding, then."
It was just like that. His anger was gone. Vanished—as if it were never there.
"Wait. I just told you I've never been on a horse before."
With his hand stretched out in front of him, Cody turned and made his way to the wall, then the doorway. "There's always a first time."
"If I do this, will you stop being so obstinate about working with Otis?"
"You're putting conditions on this?"
"Yes. Or no deal."
Her heart hammered. A horse? Yeah, she liked them, but had never really been within twenty feet of one. Still, she wasn't about to lose the ground she'd gained.
"Deal."
"Good. Give me about a half hour."
"How long does it take you to get out of wet clothes?"
"I need a half hour," Lyssa insisted.
Cody hesitated, then nodded. "I'll meet you downstairs in a half hour then."
Holding the wall, he backed through the doorway and turned toward his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Lyssa closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't need the half hour to dry off and dress. That would only take a matter of minutes. She needed the time to compose herself, rid herself of this unsettling feeling that had engulfed her. She hadn't expected to feel the things she'd felt when Cody had held her. She hadn't expected to be so breathless.
Glancing down at herself, she noticed the wide puddle that had collected on the floor around her bare feet and the wet clothes in a heap on the floor. She refused to feel guilty about being glad, just this once, that Cody was blind and couldn't see that the whole time they'd stood there arguing she'd been standing there naked.
* * *
Forget the fact that Cody didn't even ask her if she'd wanted to go riding. His gruff command had been delivered almost as an order. There was something
"You may have closed the door, but apparently it hadn't shut all the way or I wouldn't have ended up in a heap on your floor."
He had to have flown through the house to have made it to her room this quickly.
"You need to leave, Cody."
"I will. But not until I've finished what I have to say."
"Do it and then please leave."
A vein jumped to life in his neck and his jaw clenched. "This is my home. My sanctuary.
I don't care what my father asked of you."
"Your sanctuary, huh? Just how deep does that sanctuary go? How long are you going to stay buried here before you realize you aren't even living?"
The initial intrusion forgotten, Lyssa found her blood pounding stronger than it had been by the pool.
"You have no idea what you're talking about, Lyssa. How could you know if you've never been blind?"
"For your information, Mr. Know-it-all, I was blind for twenty years of my life. I've sat in that dark seat just the same as you, so don't give me that line of crap that I don't know how you feel. I was there!"
Lyssa's voice had risen to a fevered pitch, leaving her ears ringing and her heart pounding. With each word she uttered, she rose up, as if trying to reach the unreachable brass ring.
Cody stopped short.
"You .. . you're blind?"
It took a second for her to draw in a deep breath as she reeled in her anger.
"I was blind at one time. I'm not anymore. And when I was blind I managed to go to school, go shopping, visit my friends, and work a job. This job. I've only been able to see for about four years. And there's nothing I do now that I didn't do when I was blind."
"You just never learned how to swim."
She shook her head and would have laughed at the sarcasm in his voice if she'd been in a better frame of mind.
"I never got around to that."
"Did you ever ride horses?"
"No. I've never been on a horse, either."
He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Why not?"
"I... don't really know. We didn't have horses like you have here. My sister was never interested and frankly, neither were my parents. They're not really the outdoorsy type. I guess I was just never exposed to them."
He nodded.
"Get out of those wet clothes and we'll go riding, then."
It was just like that. His anger was gone. Vanished—as if it were never there.
"Wait. I just told you I've never been on a horse before."
With his hand stretched out in front of him, Cody turned and made his way to the wall, then the doorway. "There's always a first time."
"If I do this, will you stop being so obstinate about working with Otis?"
"You're putting conditions on this?"
"Yes. Or no deal."
Her heart hammered. A horse? Yeah, she liked them, but had never really been within twenty feet of one. Still, she wasn't about to lose the ground she'd gained.
"Deal."
"Good. Give me about a half hour."
"How long does it take you to get out of wet clothes?"
"I need a half hour," Lyssa insisted.
Cody hesitated, then nodded. "I'll meet you downstairs in a half hour then."
Holding the wall, he backed through the doorway and turned toward his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Lyssa closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't need the half hour to dry off and dress. That would only take a matter of minutes. She needed the time to compose herself, rid herself of this unsettling feeling that had engulfed her. She hadn't expected to feel the things she'd felt when Cody had held her. She hadn't expected to be so breathless.
Glancing down at herself, she noticed the wide puddle that had collected on the floor around her bare feet and the wet clothes in a heap on the floor. She refused to feel guilty about being glad, just this once, that Cody was blind and couldn't see that the whole time they'd stood there arguing she'd been standing there naked.
* * *
Forget the fact that Cody didn't even ask her if she'd wanted to go riding. His gruff command had been delivered almost as an order. There was something
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