The Wrangler's Woman

“No, I mean the real pretty one, the one with that long black hair. She’s Niki.”

Jack looked at Niki more carefully, and somewhat belatedly realized what a knockout she was. Funny how he hadn’t noticed anything special about her at first glance. “And the others?”

“The one in the red jacket is Toni, so the one who just came in must be Dani—process of elimination,” Dylan concluded with a guffaw. “They called the old lady who looks like Mrs. Santa Claus ‘Grandma.”’

“Did you get identification on the horse?”

Dylan blinked. “What horse?”

“Let it go.” A formal introduction, Jack was thinking. That’s what he needed, seeing as Dani had seemed so leery of him. Hell, he was going to be neighbors with her—with all of them, he hastened to add. Might as well be friendly.

Joe Bob slid onto the stool on the other side of Jack’s. “Man, did you get a load of that?” He jerked his head toward the women.

Dylan nodded, but then his look of eager anticipation faded. “They’re still Keenes and that means they’re off-limits,” he said in a warning tone. “Damn shame, since they’re so blasted cute.”

“Yeah, a shame,” Joe Bob agreed. “But lookin’ won’t hurt us any.” And he banged Jack on the shoulder with a friendly fist, nearly knocking him off the stool.

A COWBOY WITH HANDS so big they dwarfed the coffeepot offered refills and bashful smiles all around.

Dani cocked her head and watched him slosh coffee over the rim of her chipped mug. “Don’t quit your day job,” she advised.

“Huh?” He seemed to be having trouble pulling his gaze away from Niki.

“Do you work here?”

“Naw.” He chortled at the very thought. “I just wanted to get a closer look at y’all.” Still laughing, he backed away.

“Wait a minute.”

“Ma’am?”

Dani wanted to groan. She knew she must sound like a drill sergeant, but he didn’t have to “ma’am” her. “Do you know where the office of an attorney named John Salazar is?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do.”

“Well, would you mind telling me where it is?” she asked, exasperated.

“Oh. Sure.” He pointed toward the front door. “Out there, turn right one block and left one block. It’s in the Snake-oil Building—sorry, I mean the Snaesull Building, but we all call it the Snake-oil Building.”

“Oh, lord.” She rolled her eyes, then added a belated, “Thank you very much.” To her family she said, “I’m going to walk on over so I can get the keys. Wait here and let the locals look you over. In fact, you probably should go ahead and eat.”

Toni frowned. “Don’t you want one of us to go with you?”

Dani shook her head. “If I need you, I’ll come get you.” She slid out of the booth. “I won’t be long.” She didn’t wait for their response, knowing they’d acquiesce. She was, after all, the oldest of the triplets; she’d been born seven minutes ahead of Toni, who was born thirteen minutes before Niki, the baby of the family. Besides, business was Dani’s forte, as being nice was Toni’s and being beautiful was Niki’s.

Dani just wished she was as good at her thing as they were at theirs.

DANI WALKED OUT the front door and Jack hopped off that stool and was after her like a shot. Wherever she was going, he’d just tag along in case she needed…anything, anything at all.

All in the interest of repaying a debt, of course. Nothing more.

By the time he got out the front door, she was standing at the curb, looking around with great interest. He trotted up to her with a smile.

“Looking for something?” he asked in his most winsome tone.

“Is that just another good guess?”

“Yep. Maybe I can help you.”

“I don’t need any help, thank you.” She made a sharp right turn and walked quickly away from him.

He took that “thank you” as a good sign and followed. In a few long strides, he was beside her. She gave him an annoyed glance.

“Are you following me?” she demanded.

“No, ma’am, I’m being hospitable is all.”

“Ohh!” She clenched slender hands into tight fists. “If one more person calls me ma’am—!”

“It’s not your age,” he explained. “It’s your attitude. You are a tiny bit…intimidating.”

She didn’t miss a step. After about half a block, she said, “You don’t know me well enough to make that judgment. In fact, you don’t even know my—”

“Dani Keene,” he interrupted.

Then she did miss a step. “How did you know that?”

“Everybody does. We’ve been waitin’ for the Keene brothers of Montana to roll into town and here you are. I’m Jack—”

“I don’t care who you are.” She crossed the street and he kept pace. “I don’t take up with strangers on the street. If this is the way Texas men treat women—”

“Now hold it right there! Texas men don’t take a back seat to any men in their treatment of women. I’m tryin’ to be nice and helpful here, is all.”

“What part of ‘leave me alone’ don’t you understand?” She stopped so suddenly that he took a couple of steps past her. She was obviously checking out the two-story buildings in front of them.

“That one.” Jack pointed.

She blinked. “That one, what?”

“You’re lookin’ for the Snake-oil Building—excuse me, the Snaesull Building, right?”

“Yes, but how did you know that?” She faced him with fists on her hips and suspicion in her eye.

“Because John Salazar is your attorney.”

She looked on the verge of an explosion. “How do you know John Salazar is my attorney?”

“Because he was your father’s attorney.”

She almost flinched at the mention of her father, and some of the fight went out of her. “What else do you know about m-my…” she swallowed hard, looking suddenly vulnerable “…my father?”

“Quite a lot, now that you bring it up.” He wondered why she’d had so much trouble with the word father. “I grew up here and I’ve watched the Bar K…go through a lot of changes. If there’s anything I can do to help you while you’re here—”

“You make it sound like I’m on a vacation,” she said. “I’m here to stay.”

He nodded, pleased to hear it. “That’s fine by me, but…things may not be exactly what you expect. All I’m saying is that if I can help, I’ll be glad to do it. Any questions?”

She looked almost panicky for a moment, but a shaky breath seemed to steady her. “This isn’t a good time. Look, Jack, I don’t mean to seem unfriendly but I don’t have the faintest idea who you are and I’m in no mood for company, anyway.”

She remembered his name. That was a good omen. “Jack Burke, of the XOX Ranch, at your service.” He put out his hand, hoping for a shake so he could touch her.

She ignored his outstretched hand. Her blank look said that the next time they met she probably wouldn’t even remember him. “Thanks for your interest, but I have business to attend to. If you’ll excuse me…”

What if he wouldn’t? She didn’t wait to find out, just wheeled and walked into the Snake-oil Building. For a long moment, Jack stood on the sidewalk looking after her, thinking she might be as prickly as her old man.

But a whole helluva lot easier on the eyes.

BACK IN THE CAFÉ AGAIN, Dani sat down hard on the booth seat and looked at her startled siblings and grandmother. “He wasn’t in,” she said.

“The lawyer?”

Dani nodded. “His secretary gave me a set of keys and wished me luck. I got the feeling she thought I’d need it.”

Toni picked up a french fry. “At least you didn’t waste the walk.”

“I needed the fresh air to clear my head.” Not that it had succeeded. “I…” She saw the tall cowboy—Jack something or other, he’d said—at the counter again and she quickly turned her gaze away. The café had only emptied out a little. “I’m getting a funny feeling about this.”

Toni and Niki exchanged glances. “Funny how?” Toni asked.

“Funny…like the ranch isn’t all we’re expecting it to be.”

Granny leaned forward and patted her granddaughter’s hand. “Don’t be negative, dear. I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

“That’s right.” Niki nodded firmly. “We saw the brochures and brochures don’t lie.”

Dani had thought at the time that the brochures looked at least thirty years old, but swept up in the excitement, hadn’t mentioned that little qualm. “I’m sure you’re right.” She sighed. “It’s just that this has been a long hard trip and I’m tired. You all must be, too.”

Toni laughed. “Why should we be tired when you did ninety percent of the driving? Once we get to the ranch, you deserve a nice long rest, Dani.”

“We all do.” Somehow Dani didn’t think any of them would get much rest, but she wouldn’t rain on their parade. “Why don’t I pay the check and we can get out of here? Until we see the place, we won’t know what we’re talking about.”

“Uhh…”

“Uhh…what?”

Again those surreptitious glances, and Granny said, “It’s a little complicated—the directions, I mean. There are two ways, the long way and the short way. The long way is complicated, but the short way is practically a secret, from what the lady who runs this place told us.”

“Are you saying we need better directions?”

“Or a guide,” Toni said, grinning. “Come on, Dani, cheer up! We’re almost there—Gone To Texas! The promised land. Remember?”

“I remember.” Dani told herself she was being ridiculous, but ever since that brief conversation with the cowboy, she’d had the oddest feeling that something wasn’t quite right at the Bar K. “I’m just being silly,” she added. “Stay here while I pay the bill and get decent directions.”

Rising, she picked up the check and took the few steps to the cash register. She handed it to the pleasant-faced woman behind the counter, along with a twenty dollar bill.

The woman smiled and shook her head. “It’s already taken care of,” she said.

Dani frowned and glanced at the table. All three women shrugged; none of them had paid the check. “I don’t understand,” she said. “None of us—”

“Jack took care of it,” the woman announced. “Y’all come back, hear?”

Jack. The cowboy. This couldn’t go on. Dani marched up to where he sat at the counter, grinning.

She was steaming. “Look,” she said shortly, “I can’t let you do that. Tell me how much our bill was and I’ll…” She fumbled her wallet out of the pocket of her jacket, hoping she’d have the exact change.

He shook his head. “My pleasure,” he said.

“Dammit, Jack, you can’t—”

“It’s done. Short of making a scene, there’s not much you can do about it.” His calm, almost patronizing expression didn’t waver.

Dani gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. He was right, but how dare he put her in this corner? “Okay,” she muttered, “you win this one. Thank you very much, but don’t you ever do this again.”

“No, ma’am, I sure won’t.” Clear hazel eyes crinkled at the corners. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“There certainly—is.”

His grin widened. “Just name it.”

“Can you give me directions to the Bar K? My family seems to think it’s at the end of a labyrinth or something.”

“Umm, not too many labyrinths in Texas that I know of. It is a little tricky to find if you don’t know your way around, though.”

“You can draw me a map.”

“I can do better than that.” He rose from the stool.

“There is nothing better than that,” she flared. “Wait. Grandma always has paper and pencil in her purse.”

“Don’t bother.”

“But—”

“I’ll lead you there.”

“I don’t want you to show me the way,” she objected in alarm. She really hated how he was pushing in, mostly because she found him so damned attractive.

“Yes, you do.”

“Don’t tell me what I want!”

“Dani,” he said in that lazy drawl, “you do, you just don’t know it yet. Trust me on this—when you get your first look at the Bar K, you’ll be damned glad to have me around.”

Dani’s stomach dropped to her knees and she could only stand in dumb alarm while he waltzed around her to introduce himself to her family. That lump of dread had just turned into a boulder.

2

KEEPING JACK’S PICKUP in sight, Dani drove down dirt roads, through miniforests, over hills, until suddenly the Bar K Dude Ranch lay spread out before them.

The ramshackle Bar K. A sudden silence fell, and then from the back seat of the Jeep, Toni uttered a faint, “Oh, dear.”

A tight-lipped Dani braked in a large gravel parking lot in front of the ranch house. To the right lay several outbuildings and a barn; to the left a number of log cabins and a swimming pool, empty and sad in the March sunshine.

The first word that leaped into her head was paint. The Bar K was in dire need of paint, preferably many coats of it. The house itself, although a pleasant sprawl with a wide front porch running the entire length of the building, looked shabby and unloved. The outbuildings were equally neglected and the barn was practically gothic.

Granny cleared her throat. “You girls will be amazed at what a little elbow grease will do for this place,” she announced in a determinedly cheerful tone.

“But the brochure…!” Niki wailed.

Dani opened her car door. “It’ll look like the brochure again,” she said grimly. “I’m afraid it’ll take more than elbow grease, though.”

“Whatever it takes,” Toni said, “we’ll see it gets it. We’re not afraid of a little hard work.”

“Or a lot, for that matter.” Dani climbed out and stretched, trying not to give in to panic when she thought of the state of their bank account.

The road from Elk Tooth, Montana, to Hard Knox, Texas, had been a long one. Without waiting for the rest of them, she hurried around to open the door to the trailer and back Sundance out. By the time that was accomplished, everyone had alighted and Jack had joined them.

His expression, Dani thought, was evasive, to say the least.

“So what do you think?” he inquired, his tone guarded.

“Uhh…” Toni licked her lips. “It’s a little more…run-down than I expected.”

He nodded. “That’s true, but the underlying structure is still strong. After Miss Elsie died, Wil did kind of let things go—” He stopped short. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound critical of your father.”

“Feel free,” Dani invited. Tossing the rope lead over the horse’s neck, she grabbed a hunk of mane and swung up. After settling herself firmly on the bare speckled back, she turned the horse and tightened her knees to urge him forward.

They took off toward the trees at a slow lope, Dani reveling in the rippling muscles between her thighs. All that pent-up power raised her spirits considerably.

So did the landscape. All her life she’d heard about the Texas Hill Country, and she wasn’t disappointed. These rolling hills would be beautiful in the full flower of spring. So the buildings were not in the best of shape, the land was wonderful. What had she expected, the moon?

Not exactly expected. More like wanted.

Reining Sundance around, she supposed she’d been naive to believe that brochure. Still, the place was full of potential. It had been successful in the past and could be again. It all depended upon how badly they wanted it.

Dani wanted it more than anything in the world.

With a yell, she let out the tight rein she’d been holding on the Appaloosa’s halter and he shot forward in a dead run. Wind whipped Dani’s hair away from her face and she felt her spirits rise with every pounding hoofbeat.

This would work. She’d make it work. Nothing would stand in her way, not even the dangerously appealing cowboy waiting beside the barn.

DAMN, THE WOMAN COULD ride.

Jack watched the spotted horse sit back on his haunches in a sliding stop. Even bareback and guided only by a halter rope, the animal was under perfect control.

Dani jumped to the ground, her cheeks red and her eyes sparkling. He’d thought she was good-looking before, but he hadn’t seen anything. This was the real Dani Keene, he knew instinctively, not that suspicious woman who’d cut him off back in town.

By the time she reached him, though, the joy had been replaced by caution. “This is beautiful country,” she said, glancing around. “Sure, the ranch itself needs work, but it’ll be worth it.”

“I wondered if you’d see that.” He patted the nose of the curious Appaloosa. “You got a real nice horse here.”

Her smile revealed genuine pleasure. “He sure is. I raised him from a colt and trained him myself. We suit each other just fine.”

“The corral’s empty. You can put him in there.”

She frowned. “Don’t we have any stock at all?”

“Some. Dobe can tell us how much.”

“Dobe?”

“Dobe Whittaker. He’s kinda the caretaker, you could say. He’s around here some—”

“I’m where I’m s’posed to be.” A man stepped from the deep shadows of the open barn door. Looking as old as the hills, he wore cowboy clothes softened by age. The stamp of the West was in far-seeing blue eyes and a lined, leathery face partially concealed by a snowy beard and trailing mustache.

“Howdy, ma’am.” He doffed his hat. “I’m Dobe Whittaker. At the moment you got a dozen horses and a small herd of longhorns and that’s just about it.”

“Dobe.” She smiled, genuinely pleased to meet him. “I’m Dani Keene. My sisters and grandmother are back at the house.”

“Seen ’em go in.” Without waiting for a response, Dobe wheeled back into the shadows.

Dani looked at Jack, her forehead furrowed. “Not very friendly, is he?”

“Depends on who he’s dealin’ with.”

“He doesn’t know me well enough to dislike me,” she pointed out.

“He knew your dad.”

She walked past him, leading the horse toward the corral. “If he disliked my father so much, why is he looking out for things?”

“Because of loyalty to Miss Elsie.” Jack was still cautious about criticizing Wil Keene.

“I see.” She said it so grimly that Jack thought maybe she did see.

Opening the gate, she slipped off the halter, and Sundance trotted inside. Making straight for a patch of dirt stomped and mashed by a multitude of horses before him, he lowered himself and rolled.

When she looked at the horse, her expression softened. Jack wished it would do the same when she looked at him, but so far that hadn’t happened.

Squaring her shoulders, she faced him. “Will you bring Dobe up to the house to meet the rest of the family?”

“I’ll try.” In actual fact, he wasn’t at all sure Dobe was interested in meeting any more Keenes.

“Thank you.” She turned and walked away, covering the ground between barn and house with long, easy strides.

He watched with admiration. She might be a foreigner, but she was no stranger to ranch life. If it was possible to make a go of this run-down dude ranch, Dani Keene was the woman who could do it. Although Jack’s father and grandfather were still determined to own this place, Jack would help her in every way he could.

Or more accurately, in any way she’d let him.

He turned toward the barn and hollered. “Dobe! Come on out here, you old reprobate.”

Dobe shuffled out immediately, his grin sheepish. “Howdy, Jack. What you up to, comin’ in here with them wimmin?”

“Just bein’ neighborly.” They shook hands and then Jack patted the smaller man on the shoulder. “You might give it a try yourself.”

Dobe snorted. “Not hardly. I done my duty by Miss Elsie because nobody else would. Now I’m pull-in’ up stakes. I don’t want nothin’ to do with no more Keenes, no sir-ee-bob, I don’t.”

“You got ’em all wrong, Dobe.” If he couldn’t talk the old man into staying, Dani’s row was going to be even harder to hoe. Dobe had earned the respect of the cowboy community, and if he refused to hang around, who would? “They’re real nice, those Keene sisters and their grandma. Don’t you think you could cut them a little slack?”

“Nope.” The old cowboy shook his head decisively. “I’m leavin’ pronto, already packed and ever’thin’.”

“And going where?”

Dobe blinked. “I can find a job,” he declared defensively. “Don’t you worry about me none.”

Realizing he’d taken a wrong approach, Jack nodded. “It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s the Keenes. They need you, Dobe, whether they know it or not.”

“Yep, but I don’t need them.”

“Why not? They’ll pay you a fair wage—” Jack assumed they would “—and they’re smart enough to realize you know the lay of the land and they don’t.” He hoped.

“They ain’t got a prayer of gettin’ this place back on its feet,” Dobe scoffed.

“Not without you,” Jack said, buttering up the old codger. “How about giving them a chance?” When that didn’t bring instant acquiescence, he added, “As a personal favor to me.”

Dobe thought that over. Then he let out a disgusted snort. “When you put it that way, I don’t have a whole lotta choice. You always been square with me so… Okay, Jack, I’ll do it as a favor to you. But if they turn out to be anything like their old man, I’m outa here, no ifs, ands or buts.”

“Fair enough.” Jack felt great relief. “How about comin’ up to the house with me so you can meet the rest of them?”

“Okay, but I ain’t gonna like ’em.”

You might, Jack thought. That grandma could be just your type.

“THE HOUSE HAS TONS of possibilities,” Toni announced.

“And some of this furniture is wonderful.” Niki ran a hand over the dusty arm of a leather chair with armrests made of animal horns. “I wonder how old this stuff is.”

Dani, who was much more interested in the outdoors than the indoors, looked up from the old ledgers she’d pulled from a desk drawer. “Could be from the twenties. That’s when dude ranching really took off in a big way, according to the research I’ve done.”

Toni looked around with surprise. “Gosh, I didn’t know you’d done research.”

“It’s an interesting subject.” Dani closed the book and leaned her elbows on it. “For instance, dude ranching got started in the late nineteenth century. A lot of people from back East visited friends in the West, and sometimes they stayed and stayed and stayed. When it got too expensive for the ranchers to support all those frequent guests, some of them started charging and voilà! The dude ranch was born.”

“I don’t know about that.” Toni looked worried. “It doesn’t sound too nice to charge your friends.”

“Oh, dear,” Granny exclaimed. “Don’t let Toni handle the billing or we’ll be broke in a month.”

Everyone laughed. Opening a drawer, Dani pulled out a wad of papers. Old bills, mostly, but when she unfolded a piece of lined notepaper it revealed a scrawled message: “Are you having fun yet? You girls don’t know half as much as you think you do.”

“What in the world?” she wondered aloud. “Granny—?”

The front door opened and Jack walked in, leading the old cowboy she’d met briefly at the barn. Hastily stuffing the piece of paper in her jeans pocket, she stood up to greet them.

While Jack made the introductions, she tried to calm her jangled nerves. Finding the unsigned note had upset her because she was sure her father had written it. Reading it had been like hearing his voice from the grave. While he was alive he’d had no interest whatsoever in his daughters, leaving Elk Tooth before they were born and never so much as contacting them afterward. It had been a shock to learn he’d left them this dude ranch, but she’d supposed he’d had no one else to pass it on to.

Now she wondered if he’d simply lured them here to torment them from the netherworld.

“And you met Dani at the barn.”

She smiled automatically and nodded, pulled back into the here and now. Dobe wasn’t looking at her anyway, but at Granny. And he wasn’t smiling, he was glowering.

So was she, Dani saw with surprise. Grandma, who liked everybody and was liked by all in return, did not look impressed by Dobe Whittaker. It didn’t take much to figure out why, either.

If Grandma looked like Mrs. Santa Claus, Dobe was the spittin’ image of Mr. Santa Claus. Tilly Collins didn’t like that, not one little bit. He was stealing her thunder, and worse, he’d got here first.

Dani intervened quickly. “So when will it be convenient for you to show me around?” she asked the old cowboy.