Lured by the Rich Rancher

Fee grinned. “Then I’d say he’s met his match because once I’ve made up my mind I don’t give up.”

“The next couple of weeks should be very interesting on the Big Blue ranch,” Colleen said, laughing. “What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall when the two of you butt heads.”

“I’m not only hoping to have his agreement within a week, I’d like to get a photographer to start taking still shots for the first print ads,” Fee confided in her new friend. “Most of those will start running by the end of the month.”

“It sounds like you have things under control.” Colleen took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you get Chance to go along with all of it.”

“Thanks,” Fee said, nibbling on her scone.

She didn’t tell Colleen, but she had to get him on board. Her entire campaign was based on him and his down-to-earth cowboy persona. The Lassiter family had been ranching in Wyoming for years before Lassiter Media became the communications giant it was today. Besides the down-to-earth appeal of a cowboy, it just made sense to capitalize on the family’s Western roots. She wasn’t going to let a little thing like Chance’s reluctance to be in front of the camera deter her from what she knew would be an outstanding promotion.

* * *

On Monday afternoon when Chance parked his truck in front of the house Lassiter Media had rented for visiting executives, he felt a little guilty about the deal he had made with Fee. He had promised that he would consider her arguments for his being part of her PR campaign and he did intend to think about it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help the family; he just couldn’t see why one of his cousins wasn’t more suitable for the job of spokesman or for that matter, even his mother. She was the family matriarch and had been since his aunt Ellie had died over twenty-eight years ago. They all knew more about Lassiter Media than he did. He was a rancher and had been all of his life. That’s the way he liked it and wanted it to stay. Besides, he’d never been the type who felt the need to draw a lot of attention to himself. He had always been comfortable with who he was and hadn’t seen any reason to seek out the approval of people whose opinions of him didn’t matter.

All he wanted was to get to know Fee better and that was the main reason he’d suggested that she stay with him on the ranch. They could have some fun together and at the same time, he could prove to her that he wasn’t the man she needed for her ad campaign. He knew she wasn’t going to give up easily and would probably still insist that he was the best choice. But he seriously doubted she was going to make a lot of headway with her efforts.

Getting out of the truck, he walked up to the front door and raised his hand to ring the bell just as Fee opened it. “Are you ready to go?” he asked as his gaze wandered from her head to her toes.

Dressed in khaki slacks and a mint-green blouse, she’d styled her long blond hair in loose curls, making her look more as if she was ready for a day of shopping in some chic, high-end boutique than going to stay at a working cattle ranch. He hadn’t thought it was possible for the woman to be any prettier than she had been two days ago when they’d had lunch, but she’d proved him wrong.

“I think I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, pulling a bright pink suitcase behind her as she stepped out onto the porch.

His eyebrows rose when he glanced down at the luggage. It was big enough to fit a body and if the bulging sides were any indication, there just might be one in there already. It was completely stuffed and he couldn’t imagine what all she had in it.

“Think you have enough clothes to last you for two weeks?” he asked, laughing.

“I wasn’t sure what I would need,” she answered, shrugging one slender shoulder. “Other than attending the wedding the other night, I’ve never been on a ranch before.”

“My place does have the convenience of a washer and dryer,” he quipped.

“I thought it would,” she said, giving him one of those long-suffering looks women give men they think are a little simpleminded. “That’s why I packed light.”

When he picked up the suitcase, he frowned. The damn thing weighed at least as much as a tightly packed bale of hay. If this was her idea of “packing light,” he couldn’t imagine how many pieces of luggage she’d brought with her for her stay in Cheyenne.

Placing his other hand at the small of her back, he noticed she was wearing a pair of strappy sandals as he guided her out to his truck. “I’m betting you don’t have a pair of boots packed in here,” he said, opening the rear door on the passenger side of the club cab to stow the suitcase.

“No. I didn’t expect to be needing them,” she answered. She paused a moment before she asked, “What would I need them for?”

He laughed. “Oh, just a couple of things like walking and riding.”

“I...I’m going to be riding?” she asked, sounding a little unsure. “A...horse?”

“Yup.” He closed the rear door, then turned to help her into the front passenger seat. “Unless you want me to saddle up a steer so you can give that a try.”

She vigorously shook her head. “No.”

“You do know how to ride, don’t you?”

There was doubt in her pretty blue eyes when she looked at him and he knew the answer before she opened her mouth. “The closest I’ve ever been to a horse is seeing them in parades.”

“Don’t worry. It’s pretty easy. I’ll teach you,” he said, giving her what he hoped was an encouraging smile as he placed his hands around her waist.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, placing her hands on his chest. The feel of her warm palms seemed to burn right through the fabric and had him wondering how they would feel on his bare chest.

“You’re short and...the truck is pretty tall,” he said, trying to ignore the hitch he’d suddenly developed in his breathing. “I thought I’d help you out.”

“I assure you, I could climb into the truck,” she said.

“I’m sure you could,” he said, smiling. “But you want to shoot me a break here? I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

Staring down at her, it was all he could do to keep from covering her lips with his and kissing her until the entire neighborhood was thoroughly scandalized. His heart stuttered when he realized she looked as if she wanted him to do just that.

He wasn’t sure how long they continued to gaze at each other, but when he finally had the presence of mind to lift her onto the seat, he quickly closed the truck door and walked around to climb in behind the steering wheel. What the hell was wrong with him? he wondered as he started the engine and steered away from the curb. He’d never before been so completely mesmerized by a woman that he forgot what he was doing. Why was Fee different? What was it about her that made him act like an inexperienced teenager on his first date?

“I still don’t understand...why you insisted on coming to get me,” she said, sounding delightfully breathless. “I could have driven...to the ranch.”

“You could have tried,” he said, focusing on her statement instead of her perfect coral lips. “But that low-slung little sports car wouldn’t have made it without drowning out when you forded the creek. That’s why I suggested you leave it here. If you need to go somewhere, I’ll be more than happy to take you.”

“When we drove to the ranch for the wedding, I don’t remember anywhere along the way that could happen,” she said as if she didn’t believe him. “The roads were all asphalt and so was the lane leading up to the ranch house.” She frowned. “I don’t even remember a bridge.”

“There isn’t one,” he answered. “Most of the year it’s just a little slow-moving stream about three or four inches deep and about two feet wide,” he explained. “But July is the wettest month we have here in Wyoming. It rains almost every day and the stream doubles in size and depth. That little car sits so low it would stall out in a heartbeat.”

“Why don’t you build a bridge?” she demanded. “It seems to me it would be more convenient than running the risk of a vehicle stalling out.”

He nodded. “Eventually I’ll have the road to my place asphalted and a culvert or bridge put in. But I only inherited the ranch a few months ago and I’ve had other things on my mind like cutting and baling hay, mending fences and moving cattle from one pasture to another.”

“Hold it just a minute. Your place?” She frowned. “You don’t live on the Big Blue ranch?”

“I’ve never lived anywhere else,” he admitted. “I just don’t live in the main house.”

“There’s another house on the ranch?” she asked, her tone doubtful.

“Actually there are several,” he said, nodding. “There’s the main house, the Lassiter homestead where I live, as well as a foreman’s cottage and a couple of smaller houses for married hired hands.”

“The only buildings I saw close to the ranch house were a couple of barns, a guest cottage and a stable,” she said, sounding skeptical.

“You can’t see the other places from the main house,” he answered. “Those are about five miles down the road where I live.”

“So I won’t be staying with Marlene?” she inquired, as if she might be rethinking her decision to stay with him.

“Nope. The actual ranch headquarters is where we’ll be staying,” he said, wondering if Fee was apprehensive about being alone with him. She needn’t be. He might want to get to know her on a very personal level, but he wasn’t a man who forced his attentions on a woman if she didn’t want them.

Frowning, she nibbled on her lower lip as if deep in thought. “I was led to believe that the main house was the ranch headquarters.”

Chance almost groaned aloud. Nothing would please him more than to cover her mouth with his and do a little nibbling of his own. Fortunately, he didn’t have time to dwell on it. They had arrived at the stop he’d decided to make when he learned she didn’t have a pair of boots.

Steering his truck into the parking lot at the Wild Horse Western Wear store on the northern outskirts of Cheyenne, he parked and turned to face her. “My uncle built the main house when he and my late aunt adopted Sage and Dylan. That’s where we have our family gatherings, entertain guests, and Lassiter Media holds corporate receptions. The actual ranch headquarters has always been at the home my grandfather and grandmother built when they first came to Wyoming. I renovated it about seven years back when my uncle turned the running of the ranch over to me. I’ve lived there ever since.”

She looked confused. “Why not have the headquarters at the main house? Doesn’t that make more sense?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Headquarters is where we sort cattle for taking them to market and quarantine and treat sick livestock. A herd of cattle can be noisy and churn up a lot of dust when it’s dry. That’s not something you want guests to have to contend with when you’re throwing a party or trying to make a deal with business associates.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” she finally said, as if she was giving it some serious thought.

“Now that we have that settled, let’s go get you fitted for a pair of boots,” he suggested, getting out of the truck and walking around to help her down from the passenger seat. “How many pairs of jeans did you bring?”

“Two,” she said as they walked into the store. “Why?”

“I’m betting your jeans have some designer dude’s name on the hip pocket and cost a small fortune,” he explained as he walked her over to the women’s section.

“As a matter of fact, I did get them from a boutique on Rodeo Drive,” she said, frowning. “Does that make them unsuitable?”

“That depends,” he answered truthfully. “If you don’t mind running the risk of getting them torn or stained up, they’ll be just fine. But if they’re very expensive, I doubt you’ll want to do that. Besides, they probably aren’t boot cut, are they?”

“No. They’re skinny jeans.”

He swallowed hard as he imagined what she would look like in the form-fitting pants. “We’ll pick up a few pairs of jeans and a hat.”

“I don’t wear hats,” she said, her long blond hair swaying as she shook her head.

Without thinking, Chance reached up to run his index finger along her smooth cheek. “I’d hate to see your pretty skin damaged by the sun. You’ll need a hat to protect against sun and windburn.”

As she stared up at him, her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips and it was all he could do to keep from taking her into his arms to find out if they tasted as sweet as they looked. Deciding there would be plenty of time in the next two weeks to find out, he forced himself to move. He suddenly couldn’t wait to get to the ranch.

“Let’s get you squared away with jeans and boots,” he advised. “Then we’ll worry about that hat.”

Three

Fee glanced down at her new jeans, boots and hot-pink T-shirt with I love Wyoming screen-printed on the front as Chance drove away from the store. When had she lost control of the situation? When they walked into the store, she hadn’t intended to get anything but a pair of boots and maybe a couple pairs of jeans.

She had to admit that Chance had been right about her needing the boots. Her sandals definitely weren’t the right choice of footwear if she was going to be around large animals. Even his suggestion about getting new jeans had made sense. She’d paid far too much for the stylish denim she’d purchased in one of the boutiques on Rodeo Drive to ruin them.

But when he had suggested that she might want to start wearing the boots right away to get them broken in, that’s when her command of the situation went downhill in a hurry. She’d had to put on a pair of the new jeans because the legs of her khaki slacks hadn’t fit over the tops of the boots. Then she’d taken one look at her raw silk blouse with the new jeans and boots and decided to get something more casual, motivating her to get the T-shirt. She glanced at the hat sitting beside her on the truck seat. She’d even given in to getting the hat because his argument about protecting her skin had made sense.

Looking over at Chance, she had to admit that a shopping trip had never been as exhilarating as it had been with him. When she stepped out of the dressing room to check in the full-length mirror how her new jeans and T-shirt fit, she’d seen an appreciation in his brilliant green eyes that thrilled her all the way to her toes. It certainly beat the practiced comments of a boutique employee just wanting to make a sale.

She sighed heavily. Now that they were actually on the road leading to the ranch, she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d gotten herself into. On some level, she had been excited about the new experience of being on a working ranch. It was something she’d never done before and although she felt as if she would be going into the great unknown, she had thought she was ready for the challenge. But if the past hour and a half was any indication of how far out of her element she was, she couldn’t imagine what the next two weeks held for her.

Preoccupied with her new clothes and how ill-prepared she had been for her stay at the ranch, it came as no small surprise when Chance drove past the lane leading up to the main house on the Big Blue ranch. They had traveled the thirty or so miles without her even realizing it.

Now as she watched the lane disappear behind them in the truck’s side mirror, Fee felt the butterflies begin to gather in her stomach. It was as if they were leaving civilization behind and embarking on a journey into the untamed wilderness.

She was a born and bred city dweller and the closest she had ever been to any kind of predatory wildlife was in the confines of a zoo. There was a certain comfort in knowing that there were iron bars and thick plates of glass between her and the creatures that would like nothing more than to make a meal out of her. But out in the wilds of Wyoming those safety measures were nonexistent and she knew as surely as she knew her own name there were very large, very hairy animals with long claws and big teeth hiding behind every bush and tree, just waiting for the opportunity to pounce on her.

“Do you have a lot of trouble with predators?” she asked when the asphalt road turned into a narrow gravel lane.

Chance shrugged. “Once in a while we have a mountain lion or bobcat wander down from the higher elevations, but most of the time the only wildlife we see are antelope and deer.”

“Doesn’t Wyoming have bears and wolves?” she asked, remembering something she’d read about their being a problem when she’d gone online the night before to research ranching in Wyoming.

“Yeah, but they’re like the big cats. They usually stay up in the mountains where their food sources are,” he said slowly. “Why?”

“I just wondered,” she said, looking out the passenger window.

She didn’t like being afraid. It took control away from her and made her feel inadequate. Fee couldn’t think of anything that she hated more than not being in charge of herself. But that was exactly the way she was feeling at the moment. But as long as the really big, extremely scary wildlife stayed in the mountains where they belonged, she’d be just fine.

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