Her Rugged Rancher

When they reached the big red barn, Bella opened the double doors, then gestured for Noah to lead Mary Mae inside.

Once they were standing in the middle of a wide alleyway, Noah looked around him with interest. “You must’ve had the barn built of cinderblock for fire purposes.”

“That’s right. I’m sure that you know as well as I do that up here on the mesa, water is a scarce commodity. And we probably live at least twenty miles from town and the nearest fire department,” she reasoned.

“I didn’t realize the barn was this big,” he remarked. “From the road it looks smaller.”

“Jett says I went overboard. But I wanted plenty of room.” She pointed to a hitching rail made of cedar posts. Beyond it was a room with a closed door. “There’s the tack room. Let’s take Mary Mae to the hitching post to unsaddle her.”

At the hitching rail, he gave the mare’s reins a wrap around the post and proceeded to loosen the back girth on the saddle. While he worked, Bella decided to talk more about the barn. Hopefully, the subject would distract her from the sight of Noah and the way his broad shoulders flexed beneath the blue chambray shirt.

“Besides the tack room, there’s six horse stalls and a feed room,” she said, while thinking she sounded more like a real estate agent than a woman trying to make conversation with a sullen man. “The loft has plenty of space for several tons of hay, too.”

“Very nice,” he said.

Did he really think so? Or did he think she was just a girl with too much money to spend on things she knew nothing about?

The answers to those questions hardly mattered, she thought. She might have erotic fantasies about Noah, but he’d never be anything more than a ranch employee to her. After six years of ignoring her, he’d made it fairly clear he wasn’t interested.

“Thanks. I’m proud of it.”

It took only a few moments for him to finish unsaddling the mare. While he stored the tack and saddle away, Bella grabbed a lead rope and looped it around Mary Mae’s neck.

“There’s no need to put a halter on her. She’ll lead like this,” Bella explained. “Come along and after we put her out to pasture you can join me for coffee.”

Even though she didn’t glance his way, she could feel his eyes boring a hole in her back. As though she’d invited him into her bedroom instead of her kitchen.

“Uh, thanks, Ms. Sundell, but I’d better be getting on home.”

Impatient now, she said, “My name isn’t Ms. Sundell to you. It’s Bella and furthermore, you know it. As for you getting home, you live not more than five minutes away. And there’s still an hour or more before sundown. What’s your hurry?”

Not waiting to see if he was going to follow, Bella headed down the alleyway until she reached the opposite end of the barn. There, she opened a smaller side door and urged the mare through it.

Once the three of them were outside, walking beneath the shade of the pines, he answered her question, “I have a busy day scheduled tomorrow. I need to rest.”

A loud laugh burst out of her and from the corner of her eye, she could see the sound had put a tight grimace on his face.

“Rest? Right now I imagine you could wrestle a steer to the ground and not even lose your breath. You need to come up with a more believable excuse than that.”

He moved forward so that he was on the right side of the mare’s neck and a few steps away from Bella. “Okay,” he said, “here’s another reason for you. I’m nasty and sweaty. I don’t need to be sitting on your furniture.”

She laughed again. “It’s all washable. Besides, I made a rhubarb pie before I went riding. I’ll give you a piece.”

“I’ve never eaten rhubarb.”

“Good. You’re in for a treat.”

“I don’t think—”

She interrupted, “It would be impolite for you to refuse my invitation. Besides, the pie and coffee will be my payment for the shoe job. Fair enough?”

“I wasn’t expecting payment.”

No. He seemed like the type of man who didn’t expect anything from anybody and it was that cool sort of acceptance that completely frustrated her.

Holding back a sigh, she said, “I realize that.”

Bella hardly thought of herself as a femme fatale, but she figured most any single, red-blooded man would be happy to accept her invitation. For the pie, if no other reason. But Noah wasn’t like most men. She expected if there was such a thing as a loner, he was the perfect example of one.

A short distance away from the east side of the barn, the pines opened up to create a small meadow. After she turned Mary Mae in the pasture to join Casper, she fastened the gate safely behind her.

“How do you water the horses?” he asked curiously.

“In spite of what I just said about water being scarce, I found a small spring with a small pool not far from here on a ledge of the canyon wall. The horses can access it easily and the pasture fence includes it. I try to check it daily to make sure it hasn’t dried up.”

“You’re fortunate.”

Bella knew he was talking about the water supply, but she couldn’t help thinking that he was right in so many ways. After her divorce from Marcus, she’d not been able to see much of a future. Oh, she’d not given up on life by any means, but she’d certainly been bitter and disillusioned. Coming to the J Bar S, and living with her brother, had helped her get past the failure of her marriage. She might not have the family she always wanted, but at least she had a home of her own and a blossoming career as a lawyer.

“Believe me, Noah. I realize that every day.” She turned toward the house. “Come on. Let’s go have a piece of pie and you can tell me whether I can cook or not.”

* * *

A few moments later, Noah followed Bella across a stone patio filled with lawn furniture and equipped with a fire pit. For entertaining her many friends, he thought. Most of them would probably be business people or folks connected to her law practice. He doubted a simple cowboy like him, who spent his days in the saddle, would be sitting under the shade of the pines, sipping summer cocktails.

They entered a screened-in back porch filled with more furniture and potted plants and then she opened a door that took them directly into a spacious kitchen equipped with stainless-steel appliances and a work island topped with marbled tile.

“Sorry for bringing you in the back way,” she said. “But it would’ve have been silly to walk all the way around to the front door.”

It was silly of him to be in the house in the first place, Noah thought grimly. In fact, he felt like a deer tiptoeing into an open meadow. He was just asking for trouble.

“I’m used to entering back doors, Ms.—uh, Bella.”

She laughed softly. “Maybe one of these days you’ll tell me about some of those back doors you’ve walked through.”

Only if he was drunk or had been injected with sodium pentothal, Noah thought.

“That kind of confession might incriminate me,” he said.

Her eyes sparkling, she laughed again and Noah felt the pit of his stomach make a silly little flip. Without even trying, she was the sexiest woman he’d ever met. And her sultry beauty was only a part of the reason. The richness of her voice, the sensual way her body moved, the pleasure of her laugh and glint in her brown eyes all came together to create a walking, talking bombshell.

“You need to remember that information shared between a lawyer and his client is private,” she joked, then pointed to a long pine table positioned near a bay window. “Have a seat.”

He looked at the table and then down at his hands. “I think I’d better wash my hands first.”

Pink color swept over her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, Noah. I haven’t really lost my manners. I just wasn’t thinking. Follow me and I’ll show you where you can wash up.”

They left the kitchen through a wide opening, then turned down a hallway. When they reached the second door on their right, she paused and pushed it open to reveal an opulent bathroom.

“There’s soap and towels and whatever else you need. Make yourself at home,” she told him. “When you’re finished you can find me in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.”

She left him and Noah entered the bathroom. At the gray marble sink, he scrubbed his hands and face with soap and hot water, then reluctantly reached for one of the thick, fluffy hand towels draped over a silver rack. If his hands weren’t clean enough, they’d leave traces of dirt and manure on the towel. It would be embarrassing to have Bella discover he’d messed up her fine things.

Hell, Noah, why are you worrying about a damned towel or tracking up the tile? And why should you be feeling like a stallion suddenly led into a fancy sitting room instead of a barn stall? Bella isn’t a snob. In fact, she acts as if she likes you. Why don’t you take advantage of the fact?

Disgusted by the voice sounding off in his head, Noah hurried out of the bathroom. The sooner he accepted this payment of hers, the sooner he could get out of here and forget all about her and her warm smile and sweet-smelling skin. He could go back to being a saddle tramp. A man without a family and a past he desperately wanted to forget.

Chapter Two

When Noah returned to the kitchen, Bella was standing at the cabinet counter. The moment she heard his footsteps, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him.

“I waited about pouring the coffee. It dawned on me that since the day is so warm you might prefer iced tea.”

He removed his gray cowboy hat and Bella watched one big hand swipe over the thick waves. His hair was the blue-black color of a crow’s wing and just as shiny and she suddenly wondered if a thatch of it grew in the middle of his chest or around his navel. And how it might feel to open his shirt and look for herself.

“The coffee would be good,” he told her.

Clearing her throat in an effort to clear her mind, she said, “Great. Well, if you’d like, you can hang your hat over there by the door and I’ll bring everything over to the table.”

He waited politely until she’d put the refreshments on the table and taken a seat, before he sank onto a bench on the opposite side of the table from her.

Bella cut a generous portion of the pie and served him, then cut a much smaller piece for herself.

“I’d offer to put a dip of ice cream on top, but I’m all out,” she told him.

“This is more than fine,” he assured her.

Even though he began to consume the pie and drink the coffee, Bella could see he was as taut as a fiddle string. Apparently he was wishing he was anywhere, except here with her. Strangely, the notion intrigued her far more than it bothered her.

From what Jett had told her, he’d often encouraged Noah to find himself a woman, but the man had never made the effort. If Jett knew the reason why his foreman shied away from dating, her brother had never shared it with her. And she’d not asked.

It would look more than obvious if she suddenly started asking Jett personal questions about his foreman. Still, she’d often wished an opportunity would come along for her to get to know more about the rough and rugged cowboy.

Now, out of sheer coincidence, he happened to be sitting across from her, without anyone around to listen in on their conversation. She wanted to make the most of every moment. She wanted to ask him a thousand questions about himself. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to voice even one. She didn’t want to come across as a lawyer digging for information, any more than she wanted to appear like a woman on the prowl for a man.

“So how do you like your new house?” he asked.

Encouraged that he was bothering to make conversation, she smiled. “I do like the house. It’s comfortable and meets my needs. But I have to be honest, there are times the quietness presses in on me. After living with Jett and Sassy and three young children, the solitude is something that will take time for me to get used to.”

“I don’t think Jett expected or wanted you to move out of his home.”

She shrugged with wry acceptance. “I didn’t want to end up being one of those old-maid aunts who got in the way and made a nuisance of herself.”

She felt his blue gaze wandering over her face and Bella wondered how it would be if his fingers followed suit. The rough skin of his hands sliding along her skin would stir her senses, all right. Just thinking about it made goose bumps erupt along the backs of her arms.

He said, “I doubt that would’ve ever happened.”

She grunted with amusement. “Which part do you doubt? Me being an old maid? Or getting in the way?”

“Both.”

“You’re being kind.”

“I’m never kind,” he said gruffly. “Just realistic.”

Yes, she could see that much about him. A practical man, who worried about the dangers of life rather than embracing the joys.

“Well, it’s all for the best that I moved up here on the mesa. Sassy and Jett need their privacy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had another child or even two to go with the three they have now.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me, either.”

A stretch of silence followed and while she sipped her coffee, she watched him scrape the last bite of pie from the saucer.

When he put down his fork, she decided she’d better say something or he was going to jump to his feet and leave. And she didn’t want him to do that just yet. Having him sitting here in her kitchen felt good. Too good to have it all end in less than fifteen minutes.

“Jett tells me the calf crop is turning out to be a big one this year,” she commented.

“That’s right. And Sassy has had some new foals born recently. Have you taken a look at them?”

“No. Unfortunately, I’ve been tied up with several demanding cases. But I plan to stop by the ranch house soon to see the kids. Maybe she’ll drive me out to the west range to see them.”

“You like being a lawyer?” he asked.

His question surprised her. She figured he wasn’t really interested one way or the other about her personal life. But he’d taken the trouble to ask and that was enough to draw her to him even more.

“Yes, I do like it. That’s not to say that I don’t get exhausted and frustrated at times. But for the most part, I like helping people deal with their problems.”

“Must be nice for you to get to work with your brother. Jett is easy to get along with. Me being here for seven years proves that,” he added.

She smiled faintly. “Jett values your work, Noah. If it wasn’t for you taking charge of everything I’m not sure he could even have this ranch. Aside from that, he cherishes your friendship.”

“Yeah, well, I owe him a lot.” Avoiding her gaze, he placed his cup on the table, then scooted the bench back far enough to allow him to rise to his feet. “The pie was delicious, Bella. Thanks. I can now say that I’ve eaten rhubarb.”

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Going already?”

He still didn’t look at her. “I have chores at home to deal with.”

“Then you probably don’t have time for me to show you through the rest of the house?”

“Afraid not.”

She tried to hide her disappointment when she spoke again, “We’ll save that for next time.”

He didn’t reply to that and Bella figured he was probably telling himself there would be no next time. She’d never had a man make it so clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. But rather than put her off, it only made her more determined to spend time with him again.

As he gathered his hat from the rack on the wall and levered it onto his head, Bella stood and joined him at the door.

“I’ll walk with you out to the truck,” she told him.

“No need for that.”

There wasn’t any need, she thought. But she wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. “Don’t deny me. It’s rare I have company of any kind.”

They left the house the way they came in and as they walked toward his waiting truck, he said, “I imagine you have plenty of company, Bella.”

She smiled faintly. “What makes you think that?”

“Jett does a lot of entertaining at home. And you two are brother and sister.”

“Jett and I are siblings, but we think differently. Besides, most of his entertaining has to do with his law practice or ranching cronies. As for me, I don’t normally mix business with my home. I have invited our mother over for a night or two, though. She thinks I need my head examined for building a house up here on the mesa, away from everyone. She’d go crazy from the solitude.”

“And you haven’t?”

That made her laugh. “Not yet. Of course, my sanity is subject to opinion,” she joked.

He didn’t smile. But then, she didn’t expect him to. She’d never seen a genuine smile on his face.

By now they’d reached the driver’s side of the truck. After he’d opened the door and climbed behind the wheel, he glanced at her briefly, then stared straight ahead at the windshield.

“You be careful when you ride in the canyon,” he said.

She wanted to believe his warning was out of concern for her safety. Not because he was a bossy male. “I will. And thank you again for your help.”

“No problem.”

He closed the door and started the engine, leaving Bella with little choice but to step back and out of the way.

“Goodbye,” she called to him. “And you don’t have to be a stranger, you know. The sky won’t fall in if you stop by once in a while and say hello.”

He lifted a hand in acknowledgement, then put the truck into gear. Bella remained where she stood and watched the truck follow the circle drive until it disappeared into the dense pine forest.

So much for making an impression on the man, she thought. Noah hadn’t even bothered to give her a proper goodbye. But then Noah Crawford wasn’t like any man she’d ever met before. And that was darned well why she was determined to see him again.

* * *

Later that night, as Noah sat on the front step of his little cabin, he was still cursing his unfortunate luck of running across Bella. If he’d stayed with the men a half hour longer before heading home, he might have missed her. Or if she’d still been down in the canyon, he would’ve never known she was there or that her mare had thrown a shoe.

But for some reason, fate had aligned everything just right to put them on the road at the same time. No, fate had situated everything all wrong, he thought dismally. Now he was going to have a hell of a time getting Bella off his mind. After this evening, each time he passed her fancy house, he would think about too many things. How the kitchen had smelled of her baking, the way she’d talked and smiled as they’d sat at the pine table, and last, but hardly least, the way his heart had thudded like the beat of a war drum each time he’d looked at her.

Through the years Noah had worked for Jett, the man had never warned him to steer clear of his sister. Why would he bother? Both of them knew that Bella would never give Noah a serious look, anyway.

No, early on Noah had made his own decision to avoid Bella. Because he’d instinctively understood she was the sort of woman who could cause him plenty of trouble. Certainly not the devastating kind that Camilla had brought him, but enough to cause havoc in his life.

The sky won’t fall in if you stop by once in a while and say hello.

Had she truly meant that as an invitation? he wondered. Or had she simply been mouthing a polite gesture?

What does it matter, Noah? Even if she meant it, you can’t strike up a friendship with Bella. Getting cozy with her would be pointless. She’s an educated lady, a lawyer with enough smarts to figure out a loser like you.

Shutting his mind to the mocking voice trailing through his head, he watched a small shadow creeping along the edge of the underbrush growing near the left wall of the cabin.

“Jack, if that’s you, come out of there.”

His order was countered with a loud meow and then a yellow tomcat sauntered out of the shadows and over to Noah. As the cat rubbed against the side of his leg, Noah stroked a hand over his back.

“Ashamed to show your face, aren’t you? You’ve been gone three days. Hanging out somewhere with a girl cat, letting me believe a coyote had gotten you. I ought to disown you,” he scolded the animal.

In truth, Noah was happy to have his buddy back. A few years ago, he’d found the yellow kitten all alone, on the side of the highway near the turnoff to the ranch. And though Noah had never owned a small pet before, he’d rescued the kitten and brought him home. Later on, when Jack had grown old enough to be considered an adult, the cat had made it clear to Noah that he was going to be an independent rascal. Whenever he got the urge, Jack would take off, then come home days later, expecting Noah to fuss over him as though nothing had happened.

“But I won’t disown you,” Noah said to the cat. “And you damned well know it.”

Rising from the step, he opened the heavy wooden door leading into the cabin and allowed Jack to rush in ahead of him. Inside, Noah went over to a small set of pine cabinets and retrieved a bowl.

After filling it with canned food, he set it on the floor in a spot Jack considered his dining area. With the cat satisfied, he walked over and sank into a stuffed armchair. To the left of it, a small table held a lamp and a stack of books and magazines. Noah didn’t own a television. Something that Jett often nagged him about. But Noah had no desire to stare at a screen, watching things that would bore him silly. Instead, he’d rather use his small amount of time at home to read or listen to music.

Home. Most folks wouldn’t call his cabin much of a home. Basically it was a two-room structure, with the back lean-to serving as a bedroom, while the larger front area functioned as a living room and kitchen. The log structure had been erected many years before, when Jett’s maternal grandparents, the Whitfields, had owned the property. According to Jett, as the ranch had prospered, his grandfather, Melvin, had needed a line-shack and had built the cabin and its little native rock fireplace with his own hands. After a while, he’d upgraded the dirt floor to wooden planks and built on the extra room at the back. To Bella this cabin would be crude living, but to Noah, the simple space was all he needed. That and his privacy.

He was thumbing through a ranching magazine trying to get his mind on anything other than Bella, when his cell phone broke the silence. As he picked it up, he noted the caller was Jett.

“Did I wake you?” he asked Noah.

Noah rolled his eyes. “I’m not getting so old that I fall asleep in my chair before nine o’clock.”

Jett chuckled. “I thought you might be tired after branding today. That’s why I’m calling. Just checking to see how everything went.”

Jett wasn’t one of those bosses that called daily to line out the next day’s work. Ever since Noah had taken this job, Jett had been content to let him run things his way and at his own pace. That was just one of the reasons Noah wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“No problems,” he told him. “One more small herd to go—the one over on the western slope and we’ll have them all branded. Can’t do it tomorrow, though.”

“Why not?”

“Used up all the vaccine we had. Me or one of the boys will have to go into town tomorrow for more.”

“After I sent Bella home, I ended up being swamped with work today, but I would’ve found a way to go by the feed store and picked up the vaccine for you,” Jett insisted.

“I thought about calling you. But we need a roll of barbed wire and a few more things anyway. Better to get it all at one time.”

Besides working on selected days at his law office in town, Jett also acted as the lawyer for the Silver Horn Ranch, a position he’d held for years. Since his wife Sassy was a member of the Calhoun family, who owned and operated the notable ranch, Noah figured Jett would keep the job from now on.

“Well, there’s no urgency about the branding. Whenever you and the boys can get to it will be soon enough. I don’t plan to sell any of the calf crop on the western slope, anyway. I’ve given them to Sassy.”