No Ordinary Cowboy

Amy shook his hand.

“So, you’re stayin’ with us the whole summer?” Willie asked after he sat.

“No, only long enough for me to figure out the finances.”

Hank’s abs tightened.

“Uh-huh. What are you gonna do about the finances?” Willie asked.

Amy’s eyes darted to the children. “Well, I’m going to take a look at the books and make some recommendations for Leila.”

“Uh-huh? Like what?”

Hank knew that Willie was only making conversation, but this particular discussion didn’t belong here, now, in front of the children.

“We can discuss this after lunch,” he said and the accountant nodded, the tension around her mouth relaxing. Looked like she didn’t want to talk about this in front of the children any more than he did.

They finished Hannah’s excellent minestrone then Amy said “no” to dessert. Watching her weight? Lord, why? He stole a glance at as much of her body as he could see above the table. Her lovely chest rose and fell with her breathing. She wasn’t a large woman, nor was she too thin. She was just about right.

Hank finished two servings of Hannah’s apple cobbler. Then, while the children lingered over dessert with Willie and the counselors, he asked Amy if she would join him in the living room.

He led her across the hall to the far end of the room and gestured toward one of the two maroon sofas. He sat in an armchair across from her.

“Listen,” he started. “There’s been a mistake.”

She frowned. Quizzically. Great word.

“I don’t know what kind of letter Leila got from the bank,” he continued, “but there isn’t a problem here.”

“There must be something wrong or the bank wouldn’t have sent a letter.”

“Did you see it?” Hank asked. “Do you know what it said?”

“No, Leila called me from Seattle. Her boss sent her there this morning to handle a business emergency. She expressed grave concern about the state of the finances here.”

“I called the bank this morning,” he said, raising his arms and linking his fingers behind his head.

Her gaze dropped to his chest. “What did they say?” she asked.

“That nothing was wrong,” he answered. “They didn’t send Leila a letter.”

Amy’s gaze returned to his face. “But I know Leila received a letter.”

“I guess you’d better head back to the city and take it up with her.”

She looked at his chest again and he realized his shirt was stretched real tight across his pecs. She was staring. Made him feel warm. Self-conscious. He wasn’t used to women looking at him like that. She wasn’t thinking about money and banks. She was thinking about him and his chest. He lowered his hands to the arms of the chair.

She relaxed against the back of the sofa as if a string stretched tautly from him to her had let go. “I’ve told her I intend to check things out here, and I will,” she said.

“But there’s no need,” he insisted, his pulse picking up.

“In this situation, as the owner of the ranch, Leila is my boss, and I answer to her.” Her voice was quiet, but there was no denying her determination.

There it was, the bald truth he hated so much—that Leila could do whatever she wanted with his ranch, with or without his cooperation. He curled his fingers into his palms.

“What are you looking for?” he asked, unable to hide the belligerence in his tone. He’d been raised better than to treat a guest badly, but his heart rate was shooting through the stratosphere. Leila had been desperate enough to send a stranger here to look at the books. That could only presage bad news.

Presage. He liked that word.

Hank flexed his jaw and narrowed his eyes.

“I’ll look for evidence of neglect—” She hesitated, her manner cool now, then said, “Willful misuse of funds.”

She couldn’t possibly find out, could she?

Mice with sharp claws skittered up Hank’s spine, accompanied by foreboding.

Naw, he’d called the bank himself. Things were fine.

“Best-case scenario,” she said, “I’ll make recommendations on how to maximize your income and minimize your expenses.”

Hank’s throat burned. His pride ached. It had suffered when Dad had willed the ranch to Leila. Now here it was again, rearing its godforsaken head.

“Worst-case scenario?” Hank asked, his voice even rougher than earlier.

“We can discuss those options after I look at the books.”

Buzzing hummed in Hank’s ears. He shook his head, but it only grew louder.

He couldn’t stop. He needed to know. Now.

“Tell me,” he insisted, grinding it out between clenched teeth while panic rose like bile into his throat. This was what he’d always feared, wasn’t it? That he would screw up so badly he would lose everything that mattered to him.

“If we have to,” Amy whispered, “we would sell the ranch.”

The pronouncement bounced from the walls. It shot through the buzzing in his ears.

Hank sat in the eerie silence that followed and felt his heart fall through his body to the floor.

Sell the ranch.

The very worst the world could dish out.

But things weren’t that bad. Why would Leila and this woman think they could be?

Anger blazed through him, and the buzzing returned with a roar.

“Come again?” Hank yelled at the pale woman on the sofa.

The knuckles of Amy’s clenched hands turned white in her lap. “Leila is afraid that selling the ranch might be the only option.”

“You can’t—” His jaw tightened. “You wouldn’t—”

“I’m just preparing you for the worst.” Amy’s voice was gentle again, but it tore through Hank’s skin. Like thistle-down coating barbed wire, it did nothing to ease his pain.

“But things aren’t that bad. Donna at the bank would have warned me,” Hank insisted, his heart pounding his ribs.

“Because of the letter Leila received, she seems to think they are. We have to consider all options.”

Hank couldn’t figure out what was going on here. He’d been so careful.

Leila was making a mistake. This woman shouldn’t be here, talking about worst-case scenarios. He surged out of his chair.

No, he refused to accept this.

Hank pointed a finger Amy’s way and raised his voice. “Maybe where you come from, people consider all options, but in these parts, we don’t consider options we don’t believe in.” The pain of his unruly emotions, and his shame, and his fear of his own incompetence built in his chest. “We work hard to keep what’s ours.”

He towered over her and, for the briefest moment, she shrank against the back of the couch.

Then, her green eyes glittered with defiance, like she was building her own head of steam, and she sat up straight. One cheek turned pink, only one, fascinating him. It was the damnedest thing to watch that cheek turn even redder, while the other stayed pale. Peculiar. Another of those words he loved.

Forget the damn words you love!

She was casting a spell over him. Was this how she worked? Pulling men into some kind of obsession? Damned if he’d let her.

He felt the heat and anger of his own helplessness, at his own lack of control over the ranch he’d grown up on and loved, steamroll over this petite, dangerously beautiful woman.

“You’ll sell this ranch over my dead body,” he hollered.

He turned and stormed from the room, only to draw up short. Willie was herding the children out of the dining room into the hall and toward the front door. They stared at Hank with wide eyes.

His gut churned. He’d never raised his voice in front of any child before.

He rushed from the house and raced across the yard to the stable.

CHAPTER THREE

AMY STARED at his retreating back. The man wasn’t as mild-mannered as he looked.

The counselors began to herd the children through the front door.

“Take them to the field and start a game,” Willie said. The counselors nodded.

Willie walked to where she sat on the sofa.

“He has a temper,” she said, glancing at him for confirmation, but the ranch foreman looked at her as if she’d crawled out from under a rock.

“That there,” he said, leaning toward her, “is the first time I’ve seen that boy lose his temper since he was sixteen.”

He smacked his dirty hat onto his gray hair and pinned Amy with shrewd eyes. He got close enough for her to smell coffee on his breath. “You couldn’ a picked a better way to make an enemy of the sweetest boy on the face of this earth.”

He left the room, the heels of his cowboy boots banging reproach on the floor of the hall.

Amy sat dazed.

She’d seen the censure of every child and teenager standing in the hall when Hank had stormed out. Rather than blame him for his bad behavior, they’d looked at her as if she were the one at fault.

She raised her hand to her hot cheek, thinking of the way Hank had looked at her a few moments ago, not with the heat of anger, but with something almost like hunger. Then rage had taken its place, all of it directed at her.

The commingled heat of anger and chagrin burned through her.

How dare Hank make her look bad in front of these children?

Two years ago, she would have found a way to handle the situation better, but she was so far off her stride these days. Why hadn’t Leila warned Hank about this option? Perhaps she’d been wary of Hank’s reaction and had left it for Amy to deal with. So odd for take-charge Leila.

Amy stood and walked to her room, where she sat on her bed and fumed. How dare he treat her as if she was the villain here? He’d gotten himself into financial trouble, not her.

She had a good mind to march right back home to Billings and leave the ornery man to deal with his own problems.

Him and his useless pride. Over the past ten years, she’d often run into foolish pride in mismanaged corporations. Boards and managers who called on her for help routinely ignored her hard-won reputation and refused to consider her solutions.

Stubborn, stubborn man. Did Hank think she would be here if the situation wasn’t dire? Did he think übercapable Leila panicked at the drop of a hat?

And Willie. Did he have to look at her as if she was the cause of their problems?

She knew what would come next on Hank’s part—resistance, sly questions about her competence, the insistence on a second opinion. All in all, a noxious brew that wouldn’t let up until she either saved the ranch for them, or sold it.

She rubbed her temples. She was so darn tired of fighting, and she wasn’t sure she had the patience left to help people who wouldn’t help themselves.

The hell with it.

She was leaving.

She picked up her purse and dragged her suitcase from the bed.

As she reached the door, an image of Leila’s worried face popped into her mind. Leila had been her rock for the past two years. Amy owed her big-time and didn’t resent the debt one iota.

She sighed. Of course she wouldn’t leave. One more image of Leila’s normally indomitable face creased with worry was enough to make Amy stay put.

More importantly, if Amy went home, she would be back to square one. Living like a hermit. Ignoring decisions that needed to be made about her business. Wallowing in self-pity.

Leila hadn’t asked Amy to come. Amy had volunteered, both for her friend and for herself.

It was time to get over her problems and get on with life. These children could help her.

She set down her bags, walked to the window and stared at the massive fields of waving grain, at the neat-as-a-pin grounds, and at the large solid buildings—stables, barns, garages—all white and red in the blazing sun. Not one sign of neglect.

Admittedly Hank took care of the place.

In one of the fenced corrals, a mother horse and her baby nuzzled noses. Colt? Calf? No, calves were cows. Weren’t they?

This ranch could help her.

She’d stay.

For one week.

Not one day longer.

If an accountant with her skills couldn’t set this place right in a week, then it was time to change careers.

Amy took a deep, sustaining breath and turned from the window. She needed to call her mother, who would fret until she heard from Amy.

She pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed the number in Billings.

“Hello?” Mother’s voice quavered more with each passing week.

“Hi, it’s me.”

“I was expecting you to call a long time ago, you know?” Rarely did her mother make a statement that didn’t end with a question mark. Maybe the habit came from watching Jeopardy! every night for twenty years.

“Yes, I know, but it was a long drive then I had lunch.”

“When are you coming home, dear?”

Amy sighed. She’d already told Mother a number of times she’d be here until she solved the problem. If Mother had Alzheimer’s or dementia, Amy could understand her behavior. But Amy knew this was an attempt to make her feel guilty about leaving Billings.

She also knew how lonely Mother was.

Caught in a bind between impatience and love, she asked, “Have you gone to any of those socials your church organizes?”

“No. I don’t know anyone there, do I?”

“That is the point of the socials. To get to know other people.”

“But I don’t know anyone now, do I? So I would have to make new friends. That’s hard for me, you know?”

Amy counted to ten. Oh, Mother, darling, get a life.

The silence stretched until her mother broke it. “When are you coming home?”

“I’ll come back on the weekend for a visit. I’ll stay with you on Saturday night. How does that sound?”

“Today is only Monday,” Mother said, a thread of desperation running through her tone. “Saturday is a long way away. Can you come on Friday night?”

Amy squeezed the top of her nose to ease a building headache.

“Yes. I’ll see you at dinnertime.”

She closed her phone with a click and sat with her eyes closed. When had the child become the parent and her mother, the child?

She opened her purse and took out the small jade cat she carried everywhere. Her dad had given it to her after her pet, Princie, had been hit by a car. It sat in her hand, cool and green.

“She’s the exact shade of your pretty green eyes,” he’d said. “This little cat will never die. She’ll be your friend forever.”

That day, she’d felt nothing could harm her while Dad was around.

She set the cat on the bedside table and pushed away those memories.

Enough. No dwelling on pain or death.

Instead, figure out what you plan to do about this ranch.

And what you plan to do about Hank Shelter. She had a bone to pick with him.

He owed her for embarrassing her in front of everyone. She’d wait until the time was right then let him have it, full blast, both barrels blazing.

Images of his sweet smile and the sensitive way he played with the children flashed through her mind, and she hesitated, but the memory of him towering over her and yelling at her won out.

Hank Shelter deserved a set down, and she was just the person to administer it.

HANK PACED the length of the stable’s center aisle from front to back and back to front again.

Time to be honest with himself. This whole situation rattled him. She rattled him. He remembered the way he’d stood over Amy, trying to make her take back what she’d said about selling the ranch. He never used his size to intimidate people, ’specially not women or children.

Whether or not the bank said there was nothing wrong, she and Leila could sell the ranch out from under him and he wouldn’t have a speck of power to prevent it.

He pounded his fist against the wall.

“Damn you, Dad. It should have been mine.”

Hank knew the truth, though, knew exactly why Dad hadn’t left the ranch to him, and he hung his head, choked by shame. Once that woman got to the books, she would know, too. In a matter of time, the whole world would.

He leaned his forehead on the rough wood and breathed heavily, hot air hitting the wall and bouncing back to bathe his face. He’d lived with his problem all his life. He would live with it for the rest, but Lord help him, he needed to do it here, on this ranch, where he felt strong and capable. And of value.

The sound of his fist hitting the wall again reverberated in the cavernous room.

Stop, he warned himself. Pull yourself together.

No. He wasn’t losing this land that was more precious to him than his own life. He was not abandoning those kids, who needed this place with every breath they took.

He threw back his head and yelled, “I’m not leaving this ranch!”

“That’s the spirit.”

Hank spun around at the sound of Willie’s voice. The older man stood silhouetted in the open doorway of the building. Was it a trick of the sun that made him look shorter? Willie stepped into the cool interior and Hank noticed for the first time how stooped his foreman was becoming.

“Feel any better after that outburst?” Willie’s tone held reproach. He walked closer and stood with arms akimbo.

Hank ran his fingers through his hair and his anger abated. “Can’t believe I got mad enough to yell where the children would hear me.”

“I think the next county heard you,” Willie said. “Haven’t seen that since you started bringing the children here.” Willie’s voice wavered, thinner than it used to be. A lot of things were thinner about Willie these days. He was getting old. Hank would have to lay him off if he lost the ranch. Where on earth would Willie go at his age?

Hank would lose the best friend he’d ever had. He’d had a stronger connection with the foreman than he’d ever had with his own father.

Nope. Wasn’t about to happen. He was losing neither the ranch nor Willie.

“If things got really bad, we might have to sell.”

Willie dropped his arms to his sides. “It’s that close?”

“I don’t know.” Hank scuffed a boot in the dirt. “I kind of forced her to tell me the worst that could happen.”

Dust motes drifted in a sunbeam that shone through a high window.

Willie set his foot on a bale of straw and rested his elbow on his knee. “Sounds like you aren’t gonna take this sitting down.”

“I plan to fight back,” Hank answered.

Willie’s white mustache curled up at the corners. He looked at Hank with gray eyes. “Glad to hear you say that.”

“I shouldn’t have made a scene in front of the kids.”

“Nope. But you did, so move on. Should have a little talk with them. Reassure them everything’s all right.”

Hank nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do that.” He straightened. “Now.”

Funny how the sound of those kids chattering across the yard gave him hope. When they’d gotten here two weeks ago, they’d been the saddest, quietest bunch of tots he’d seen in an age.

“Can you help Haley and Rich watch the children for a while?” Hank asked.

“Sure can. Whatcha have in mind to do?”

“I’m going to keep her out of that office,” Hank said.

“You sure that’s wise? Why not let her in and get it over with?”

Hank shrugged. “Just can’t let her in there.”

“Don’t forget, you catch more flies with honey.” Willie laughed. “Sweeten her up.”

Hank smiled and it felt strained. He knew kids. He didn’t much know women.

Time to learn.

Fast.

He stepped into the sun-drenched yard and spotted the children in the field on the other side of the corral. He joined them there.

“Kids,” he said as they swarmed him, clutching his arms, sitting on his feet, wrapping arms around his waist. “I got to give y’all an apology. I shouldn’t have yelled at that lady like that.”

Cheryl’s solemn gaze disconcerted him. She was the most fragile of the group and the wisest—an old woman in a child’s body. She raised her arms to be lifted.

He picked her up and settled her against his chest.

“Don’t be mad,” she whispered.

“I’m not mad, darlin’, not anymore,” he said.

Nope, not mad. Determined.

AS AMY WALKED across the yard, she watched Hank talk to the girl with the haunting eyes. Looked like there was some kind of bond between them.

She wouldn’t let sentiment overcome her resolve, though.

“We need to talk,” she said as she approached. She nodded her head toward the children, who watched her warily. “Privately.”

Hank put down the girl. She and the other children ran to the counselors in the field.

“I’d like to see the office,” Amy said.

Hank cracked the knuckles of his left hand. He frowned intensely, like he was thinking hard about something, then his face lit up.

“Hungry Hollow!” he shouted, then lowered his voice. “You need to see the neighboring ranch.”

“Later. I really think—”

“It’s the working part of this property.”

That stopped her even more than the cunning look in his eye. The working part would be important. She had to get to those books, though.

“But—”

“It brings in a good income,” he said.

Okay, she would need to know how Hank supported this whole operation. She nodded. “I should check it out.”

“Yeah, we can ride over.”

“Ride? On a horse?” She placed a hand against her chest, then dropped it the second she realized it drew his eyes to her body.

“I’ll drive over,” she said, “and meet you there.”

“No need. We can take the pickup truck if you don’t want to ride.”

“No,” she said, her voice shaky. “I’d rather not ride.” Not on your life.

Half an hour later, Amy sat in Hank’s dusty black pickup, checking out the details of this man’s life. A crack in the upholstery had been repaired with duct tape, gray against the black. In contrast, a top-of-the-line CD player shone through a coat of dust on the dashboard.

Amy noticed the cover of an audio book on the dashboard: Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Wow, heavy reading. Amy had tried it once and hadn’t had the patience for it.

A rancher listening to Hawking? Hank?

Okay, Amy, back off on the prejudices.

As the truck bumped along, Amy felt like a sack of turnips, tossed around by the ruts of Hungry Hollow’s driveway.

Hank’s hand on the gearshift brushed her knee. The man radiated heat like an oven. Her fingers hurt from gripping the door handle to stay on her side of the truck, and still she could feel his heat.

It felt too good.

“I need to apologize to you for yelling,” Hank said above the noise of the truck as he geared down. “I don’t normally do that.”

“So Willie led me to believe.” Amy knew she sounded cool but didn’t care. The man had been unreasonable.

Hank nodded.

A bag of candy in the cup holder caught her eye and she picked it up. “Humbugs,” she cried.

“Yep. They’re my favorite.” Hank looked her way. “You like them?”

“I love them, but I don’t see them very often.”

“Help yourself. I get them in Ordinary, in a shop called Sweet Talk.” Hank steered the truck onto a dirt road with a house in the distance.

“You should take a drive into Ordinary,” he said. “It’s a real sweet little town, the lifeline for all of us ranchers in the district.”

Amy doubted she’d make it into town during this short visit. It had nothing to do with her job here.

After circling into the yard of a big old brick farmhouse, they pulled up in front of a corral teeming with men, horses and dust.

Amy felt the truck dip and lift as Hank stepped out, yelling, “Hey, Angus. What’s up?”

Angus, a dark-haired, fortysomething man with enough character in his face to make it more than handsome, shook Hank’s hand and swatted him on the arm loudly enough for Amy to hear from the open passenger window. Hank didn’t budge an inch. He tapped Angus on the shoulder, raising a cloud of dust from his shirt.

“The boys are practicing for the rodeo,” Angus said. “You here to do some bronc-bustin’?”

“Naw, not today. I’m just showing my guest around.”