Claiming the Rancher's Heart

“Anna wants me to round up some more guys for the survey,” Seth said. “Most ranchers from the area will be at the dance tonight. I promised I’d ask around.”

A rush of relief flowed through Josh. For a second, he’d let his imagination soar. “So all we have to do is recruit?”

“That’s all I have to do,” Seth said. “You have a different assignment.”

Josh stilled. Why did he have the uneasy feeling the other shoe was about to drop? “Which is?”

“You’re escorting Stacie to the dance.” Seth motioned to the waitress for more coffee. “When the guys see how good your match turned out, Anna figures they’ll want one of their own.”

“This doesn’t feel right.” Stacie stared in the mirror and frowned. Dressed in blue jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with pearl snaps, she looked more like an extra in a Hollywood Western than a stylish twenty-first-century woman.

“I knew it.” Anna’s gaze dropped to Stacie’s feet, to the Tony Lamas they’d picked up in town. “I thought you should have gone up a half size—”

“They fit fine.” Stacie hastened to reassure her. If boots were indeed de rigueur for country dances, she’d found her fashion statement. The pink crunch goats had been the prettiest the Montana Western store had to offer.

“O-kay.” Anna tilted her head, confusion clouding her blue eyes. “If it’s not the boots, what doesn’t fit?”

All the misgivings that had been plaguing Stacie since she first heard Anna’s plan surged forth. “Me. Josh. This going-to-the-dance-together bit. I don’t want to do it.”

Anna’s eyes widened as though this was the first she’d heard of Stacie’s misgivings. Which didn’t make sense, considering they’d been having this discussion off and on since Anna dropped the bombshell in the café. Frankly she’d been stunned when Josh agreed to the plan. When he’d taken her home after their first—and only—date, it had been clear to both of them that a romance wasn’t going to work.

“I thought you liked him.” Anna sounded hurt. As if Stacie was dissing her friend.

“I told you before…Josh is a wonderful guy.” Stacie dropped on the bed and heaved a heavy sigh. “But he’s not the man for me. And this—” she fingered the collar of her cowgirl shirt “—this isn’t me.”

For a moment Anna didn’t say anything. Then she sashayed across the room, the rhinestones in her jean skirt glittering in the light. Once she reached the bed, she plopped down next to Stacie. “I’m not saying you have to stay in Sweet River and marry the guy. Just go to the dance with him. Have some fun.”

“Going as his date just seems so…” Stacie struggled to find the words that would convey her feelings without insulting her friend.

Anna met her gaze. “Deceitful?”

Stacie nodded, relieved that Anna finally understood. “We were matched, but we aren’t a couple.”

“I believe,” Anna pressed a finger to her lips, a contemplative look on her face, “you’re thinking too hard.”

Stacie blinked, stunned. It was the type of dismissive response she usually got from her family…as if she were too stupid to understand. She expected it from them, not from her roommate.

She lifted her chin, but when she met Anna’s gaze, there was no condescension in the liquid blue depths.

“Why do you think most of the guys filled out the survey?” Anna asked when she remained silent.

“Because your brother made ‘em.”

“Good answer.” Anna smiled. “Why else?”

“Because they’re lonely and looking for their soul mates.”

“Perhaps,” Anna conceded. “Why else?”

Stacie shifted under Anna’s expectant stare.

“Marriage or even a long-term relationship isn’t really what Lauren’s study is about,” Anna explained.

“It’s not?” Stacie couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. Though Lauren’s dissertation topic wasn’t fixed in her mind, she’d been sure the bottom line was matchmaking.

“You and Josh have a lot in common, right?”

Stacie thought for a moment. “I like to cook. He likes to eat.”

Anna’s lips twitched. “What else?”

“We both love animals,” Stacie added, warming to the topic. “And he’s easy to talk to.”

“You enjoyed his company,” Anna said matter-of-factly. “He enjoyed yours.”

Stacie nodded. She couldn’t deny it. In fact, when Josh had driven her home that night, he’d taken the long way, giving them more time to talk. He hadn’t been uncomfortable, despite what happened. And though he hadn’t kissed her again, the look in his eyes had told her he wanted to…

“Some guys are looking for a wife.” Anna stood and moved to the mirror, pulling her long blond hair up in a ponytail before letting it drop back down. “But a lot of them would be satisfied with simply meeting someone who enjoys their company. Someone to go out with and have a good time. Someone to be their friend and take the edge off their loneliness.”

Stacie took a moment to digest Anna’s words. She thought back to her evening with Josh. She’d had fun and knew he had, too. Maybe that was enough.

“Okay. I’ll do it,” Stacie said reluctantly, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. “I’ll do it. But I refuse to wear a hat. And square dancing is absolutely out.”

Chapter Four

“All jump up and never come down, swing your pretty girl round and round.”

Stacie twirled, the pink boots sliding on the sawdust-covered dance floor. Her breath came in short puffs and her heart danced a happy rhythm in her chest.

The large wooden structure that housed the Sweet River Civic Center was filled to capacity. The dance floor, brought in specifically for the occasion, took up a good third of the building. The rest was filled with tables decorated with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. Baskets of peanuts doubled as a centerpiece.

Food supplied by ladies in the community sat on tables against a far wall, next to kegs of beer.

Though many of the younger men and women had left the floor when the square-dance caller took the stage, Stacie and Josh had stayed. She adjusted Josh’s cowboy hat more firmly on her head during the promenade, a smile lifting the corners of her lips.

She’d been determined to remain hat free. But when Josh teasingly plopped his Stetson on her head, declaring her the prettiest cowgirl he’d ever seen, it seemed right to leave it there. And when the square dance had started and he asked her to give it a try, she hadn’t had the heart to say no.

Surprisingly Stacie found herself enjoying the experience. But she hadn’t realized how exhausting this style of dancing could be. The two-step and country swing moves had been challenging, but this—she allemanded left for what seemed like forever—set her heart pounding and turned her breathing ragged.

When the set ended and the caller started up again Stacie shook her head at Josh’s questioning look. They’d barely relinquished their spot when an older couple took their place. Though it was almost midnight, the party showed no sign of slowing down.

Stacie wove her way through the tables, hopping aside just in time to avoid being plowed over by a drunken cowboy with a ten-gallon hat.

Josh slipped an arm around her shoulders, sheltering her with his body. He shot the man a quelling glance. “Watch where you’re going, Danker. You almost ran into the lady.”

Danker—all 285 pounds of him—stopped and turned. Stacie had never liked bulky linebacker types. Their size made her uneasy. But not this guy. With his chocolate-brown eyes and thick curly hair, he wasn’t a grizzly but a teddy bear.

A huge, drunk teddy bear. His glassy eyes fought to focus.

“I did what? Oh.” His gaze shifted from Josh to Stacie and a big grin split his face. “Is this her? Your new honey?”

“This is Stacie Summers,” Josh said, then proceeded to introduce her to Wes Danker.

She learned that Wes raised sheep and that his ranch was twenty miles from Josh’s spread. But when Josh mentioned Wes had recently returned to Sweet River after a stint in a Wall Street brokerage firm, Stacie couldn’t hide her surprise.

“I need another drink,” the man bellowed, punctuating his words with a belch.

Josh’s gaze narrowed. “Tell me you’re staying in town tonight and sleeping this off.”

Wes’s expression brightened as his gaze returned to Stacie. “I could sleep with you. If’n you’d let me.”

Josh’s blue eyes turned to slivers of silver in the light. “Ain’t gonna happen.”

Wes let loose a hearty laugh. “I was just kiddin’. I know she’s yours.” His expression sobered. “I wish I had a woman.”

“That’s why you need to fill out the survey,” a familiar voice responded. Seth pushed through the crowd to stand beside Wes. “I told you, buddy. You want a woman. You fill out a survey.”

“Probably won’t get matched anyway.” Wes grabbed two full plastic cups out of the hands of a man passing by. He took a big gulp out of one and then the other.

The cowboy whose beers he’d stolen just laughed and continued through the crowd.

“You won’t know if you don’t try.” Seth’s gaze settled on Stacie and Josh. “Look at Collins. Who’d a thought he’d get matched?”

“Hey.” Josh gave Seth a shove. “Watch it.”

“I want one as pretty as her,” Wes said, as if placing an order for a side of fries, his gaze lingering on Stacie.

Was it only her imagination or did Josh’s arm tighten around her shoulders?

Seth slapped the big man on the back. “You stop over at Anna’s house tomorrow, fill out that survey and she’ll do her best.”

“’Kay.” Wes finished off the beer in his right hand and crushed the plastic cup between his massive fingers. “I gotta take a leak.”

As he stumbled off, Stacie swallowed the laughter bubbling in her throat. “I cannot imagine him on Wall Street.”

A smile lifted the corners of Josh’s lips. “He was good at what he did. Made bucket loads of money.”

“Sounds as if he’s going to do the survey.” Stacie slanted an admiring glance at Seth. “Anyone ever tell you that you are one fantastic recruiter?”

Seth winked. “I’m not done yet.” His eyes settled on a group of cowboys at a nearby table. “Five more and I make my quota.”

Without a backward glance, he was gone.

“I hope Wes finds someone.” Josh’s expression turned thoughtful. “Though he’s not at his best tonight, he’s a good guy. Moving back to take over the ranch when his dad got sick was hard on him. I know he’s lonely.”

Stacie’s heart went out to the gentle giant. In the past couple weeks she’d discovered what Anna had told her and Lauren was true: there simply weren’t enough females to go around. Tonight, guys outnumbered women three to one.

“Seth is certainly doing his part to help make some matches,” Stacie murmured as Josh led her to a table far from the dance floor. “Above and beyond the call of duty.”

“He loves his sister.” Josh pulled out a folding chair for Stacie. Once she sat down, he dropped into the chair next to her.

She thought Josh was clearly the handsomest man in the room. She inhaled deeply and her heart fluttered. He smelled good, too. The spicy scent of his cologne set her pulse racing.

“He’s happy to have her back in Sweet River,” Josh added.

“My parents and siblings would be happy if I were back in Ann Arbor, too,” Stacie said with a wry smile. “It’s hard to run my life from a distance.”

Josh pulled a basket that sat in the middle of the table closer and grabbed a couple of peanuts. He handed one to Stacie. “I don’t think you mentioned your family at all the other evening.”

“Be glad,” Stacie intoned in a ghoulish whisper. “Be very, very glad.”

Josh didn’t laugh or change the subject as she expected. Instead, with his gaze firmly fixed on her, he cracked the shell in his hand. “I take it you don’t get along.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Stacie fought to keep her tone light. She never wanted to be one of those people who whined about their life or their awful childhood. It could be so much worse. After all, high aspirations for your child could hardly be considered abuse. “They’re all very successful. I’m the token low achiever.”

Josh’s gaze searched hers. “Believing your family doesn’t respect and value the person you’ve become has to hurt.”

“Their opinion doesn’t bother me.” A lump rose in her throat at his sympathetic tone, but she shoved it back down. “Most of the time, anyway.”

Looking for an excuse to avoid his perceptive gaze, Stacie grabbed more peanuts. She shelled one and popped it into her mouth. By the time she met his gaze, her emotions were firmly under control. “Fact is, they’re probably right.”

His eyes never left hers. “You don’t believe that.”

Stacie hesitated, not wanting to lie, yet seeing no reason to bare her soul, either. “Sometimes I do. Other times, I tell myself it’s just that I don’t define success the same way they do.”

“That’s the way it was for me in college.” Josh’s eyes took on a faraway look. “Most of the guys I knew were all about making money. All I wanted to do was come back here and be a rancher.”

“That’s what I want, too.” She paused and then laughed at the startled look on his face, realizing what she’d said. “No. No. I didn’t—and don’t—want to be a rancher. I simply want to be happy doing my life’s work. But unlike you, I haven’t found the avenue to my bliss.”

Surprisingly, Josh didn’t laugh. Instead, his expression grew even more serious. “If you could do anything, what would you do?”

He appeared sincerely interested and his tone invited confidences. Unfortunately over the years she’d learned the dangers of sharing her dreams. She’d discovered most men would happily run her life if she let them. Still, Josh didn’t seem the kind to tell her what to do.

As if sensing her turmoil, Josh smiled encouragingly. “C’mon, tell me. I can keep a secret.”

Maybe she’d gotten overheated on the dance floor and it had addled her brain. Maybe it was the knowledge that Josh was a man who understood money wasn’t everything. Or maybe the beers she’d enjoyed this evening had loosened her tongue.

“I’d own a catering company and create fun dishes.” She’d given up talking about her dream when it looked like it would never be a reality. “There’s nothing I love more than parties and cooking and being creative. To be able to do that every day…it would be incredible.”

A longing so intense it took her breath away rose up inside her. She thought she’d buried that dream, but intense emotion told her embers still smoldered.

“Based on the dinner you made the other night, I can see you being very successful.” His supportive words and the sincerity in his tone warmed her heart. “Though I imagine you’d have to live in a large city to have enough clients to make a go of it.”

“I did a business plan several years ago.” Stacie flushed, embarrassed by the admission, yet not sure why. While she’d majored in business only because her father had insisted, she had to admit that some of what she’d learned occasionally came in handy. “The results surprised me.”

Josh raised a brow. “What did you discover?”

“That it wouldn’t have to be in New York or Los Angeles,” Stacie said. “Or even in a city the size of Denver. A town with a population as little as two hundred thousand would work.”

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