The Texan's Tennessee Romance / The Rancher & the Reluctant Princess

“Should we call animal control while it’s here?”

Casey hesitated. “Give me a couple of days to see if I can make friends with him first. Maybe Kyle will know someone who’d give the dog a home if we can get it to trust us.”

Natalie was still wearing the clothes she had donned for church that morning, a black waist-length jacket buttoned over a lace-trimmed green cami with a knee-length, black-and-green checked skirt. Fortunately, her black shoes had a reasonably sensible, two-inch heel so she had little trouble following Casey across the uneven lawn toward the woods.

She spotted the dog just as Casey stopped ahead of her. Looking as ragged and dirty as it had the day before, it lurked in the shadows, watching them warily, prepared to run if they made any sudden moves.

Holding the water bowl in his left hand, Casey reached out with his right to take the food plate from Natalie. He crooned quietly to the dog as he took a few slow steps forward and knelt to set the bowls on the ground. “Here you go, buddy. Come on. Have some nice pot roast.”

Casey stayed by the plates, waiting to see if the dog was hungry enough to approach the food even with Casey so close. The dog remained where it was, looking from the food to Casey and then back again, its thin body quivering.

Casey sighed, stood and moved back to Natalie’s side, several yards from the food. “Okay. We won’t get too close.”

Apparently reassured, the dog crept closer to the food. It ate quickly, finishing the roast and then cleaning the plate with a few more licks before washing the meal down with several noisy laps of water. Satisfied, it looked at Natalie and Casey again. After a moment in which none of them moved, it gave a couple of quick, tentative wags of its matted tail, then turned and ran back into the woods.

“I think he thanked us,” Casey murmured, glancing at Natalie with a grin.

Though she wasn’t prone to anthropomorphizing, she returned the smile and said, “Maybe he did. Do you think he’ll be back?”

“Could be. I’ll pick up some dog food this evening. That would be healthier for him than table scraps.”

“I’m not sure we’re doing him any favors by not calling animal control. At least he’d be safe and well-fed in an animal shelter. And the nights are starting to get pretty cold.”

“I don’t think they’d be able to catch him,” Casey argued. “And I don’t like the thought of him being trapped. I think I’ll be able to tame him enough to find him a home. He seems like he wants to make friends. He’s just a little skittish.”

“And how long do you think it will take to tame him to that point?”

“I, uh, don’t know,” he admitted with a shrug. “If I haven’t made any progress in the next couple of days, I’ll call animal control and ask for advice.”

She looked at him curiously. “Why are you so reluctant to call them? I’m sure they can catch him very humanely. And it would be so much safer for him to be…”

“In a cage?” Casey broke in to ask. “Deprived of his freedom and locked up somewhere for his own good?”

Startled by his tone, she tilted her head to study him more closely. “Um—?”

His face darkened with what might have been a flush. “Sorry. You’re right, he’d probably be better off in a shelter. But I’d still like to give it a couple of days. The weather’s supposed to be nice for the rest of the week, so I think he’ll be fine.”

She couldn’t say she understood, but it wasn’t as if the dog was bothering her. “Should we leave the water bowl out?”

Still looking a little sheepish, Casey shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt, though there’s plenty of water around this area.”

“And the food?”

“No. Too many other critters to be lured out if you leave food sitting out here. We’ll just feed the dog when we see him.”

She nodded and picked up the empty plate. “Fine. There’s more of the leftover pot roast, if you’re hungry.”

He chuckled. “Feeding the other stray in your yard?”

Smiling a little, she said, “I’ll even get you a bowl of water, if you’re thirsty.”

He shook his head. “Thanks, but I’ve already eaten. I brought lunch with me today. I ate at the picnic table and enjoyed the view. It was nice.”

“So, you’re finished for the day?”

“Almost. I just need to do a little more caulking on the west end of the cabin. Maybe another hour or so today.”

She nodded. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be inside.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Without looking back at him, she went inside. She changed into jeans and a sweater, then put water on to boil for tea. Her computer sat on the coffee table. She reached for it, then changed her mind. She just couldn’t face another fruitless search right then.

Glancing at her watch, she noted that it was only four o’clock. She had a long evening ahead with little to do. It was too late to go out for a walk, since it would be dark soon. She thought about calling someone—her mom, her dad, or Amber, maybe. But she couldn’t think of anything to say if she did. Nothing had changed.

She picked up a novel she’d been trying to read for the past week, though she’d had a hard time concentrating on it. She made it through about five pages before a tap on the front door brought her attention out of the story again.

The way Casey glanced downward let her know he’d noticed she’d changed clothes, though he didn’t comment. “I’m calling it a day. Anything you need before I leave?”

“No, thank you. Have a nice evening.”

His mouth crooked into a wry smile in response to her ridiculously clichéd words. “Thanks. Same to you.”

She’d almost closed the door before she jerked it impulsively back open. “Casey?”

Halfway down the steps, he looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

She tried to think of a good reason to keep him there a little longer, to delay the inevitable return to solitude and worry. “Do you like to play games? You know, cards and board games?”

His eyes lit up. “Sure. Doesn’t everyone?”

“I found a whole stack of games in the cabinet next to the fireplace. Maybe you’d like to stay and play Scrabble or something for a while? I have some of Aunt Jewel’s leftovers I can heat for dinner. If you don’t have any other plans, of course,” she finished, belatedly realizing that he might have things he’d rather do.

He smiled. “I was going to work in the cabin tonight, but playing games sounds like a much nicer way to spend the evening. I warn you, though, I’m pretty good at Scrabble. And I play to win.”

Something about his smile made her very glad she’d let herself give in to temptation. She smiled back at him, ignoring the little voice in her head warning her to step carefully. “So do I.”

He walked back up the steps. “Looks like the competition’s on.”

Chapter Five

Casey could almost see Natalie loosening up as the evening progressed. She had been so tense earlier, her eyes shadowed, her mouth taut, but after a couple of no-holds-barred Scrabble games, one game won by each of them, she was laughing and relaxed. He took full credit for the transformation, though he did so privately.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” she asked, reaching for the bottle on the table beside her glass.

Okay, so maybe he couldn’t take all the credit, he thought, shaking his head with a smile. “I have to drive in a little while. Considering those winding roads, I’d better stick to coffee now.”

She slapped her forehead lightly. “Of course. I wasn’t even thinking. Let me refill your coffee cup.”

“Thanks.”

She poured herself another glass of white wine. “Whose turn is it?”

“Yours.” He tapped the Scrabble board. “I played ‘quid.’ For a tidy number of points, I might add, considering that the Q is on a triple-letter square.”

She studied his play and then her tiles. A smile tipped up her lips, and then she set several tiles on the board with a flourish. “Vista,” she said rather gloatingly. “With, you will note, the S in front of your ‘quid,’ turning it into ‘squid.’ And may I also direct your attention to the triple-word square beneath the V.”

He couldn’t help laughing at her obvious delight in besting him. As competitive as he was, he didn’t mind losing when Natalie seemed to be having such a nice time winning. Whether because of the wine or the game or—he wanted to believe—the company, she was smiling more than he’d ever seen her, and the lighthearted mood looked good on her.

“It’s been years since I played board games,” she said, taking another sip of the wine. “I’d almost forgotten how much fun they can be.”

He picked up his coffee mug. “Your friends back in Nashville don’t get together to play games?”

Her smile dimmed a few watts. “Not so much. I’ve been hanging around with a bunch of workaholics for the past few years, I guess. Their idea of fun is a cocktail party with plenty of networking opportunities.”

So she’d been corporate. Didn’t surprise him. He still couldn’t decide if she’d burned out or lost her job, but something made him suspect the latter. Laying out tiles to spell “maid,” the longest word he could manage at the time, he said casually, “Sounds to me like you needed a vacation.”

“I suppose I did.” She took a few moments to study her tile rack, then played on his M.

“Not much fun, though, if you’re spending it all here in this cabin.”

She shrugged. “I needed the rest.”

“Maybe you’d like to do something a little different this week? Maybe a hike or something? I’ve been told there are some pretty nice trails around here.”

“I haven’t been hiking in a long time, either. But maybe I will go this week.”

“You know, this is my first visit to this area. I’d like to go with you on a hike, if you don’t mind.”

She didn’t even hesitate this time before she picked up her wine glass again and nodded. “Sure. Why not? I could use the diversion.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about being used as a diversion—but then again, wasn’t that what he was looking for, as well? Something to think about other than returning home and taking up his life where he’d left off—a prospect that left him feeling empty and inexplicably anxious?

She won the game, by less than twenty points. “That makes you the champ tonight,” he said. “Two games to one.”

“It was close,” she replied, beginning to gather the game pieces. “We’re pretty evenly matched.”

He thought about those words for a moment, but decided not to comment on them. Instead, he took another sip of coffee while Natalie closed the Scrabble game box.

Her gaze met his across the table between them and he was struck by something he saw in her eyes. His well-developed intuition told him that though she had laughed and played for a couple of hours, something was still eating at her. Something an evening of games—and half a bottle of wine—couldn’t entirely banish.

He wondered just how much of a “diversion” she was looking for with him.

She drained the wine from her glass, and looked for a moment as if she were tempted to refill it again. But then she pushed her glass away and replaced the stopper in the wine bottle. “Can I get you some more coffee?”

“Actually, it’s getting late. I guess I’d better be going.”

He saw the expression in her eyes before she lowered her lids, but he couldn’t interpret what he had seen. Was she reluctant for him to leave? If so, was it because she really wanted him to stay—or because she didn’t want to be alone?

She followed him through the living room. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Yeah. Thanks for dinner. And the games.”

“You’re welcome. I enjoyed the company.”

“You mean, the diversion,” he murmured, remembering what she’d said earlier.

“That, too,” she replied with a slight shrug.

She reached for the door at the same time he did. They collided, and Casey caught her shoulders to steady her. “Okay?”

Smiling a bit sheepishly up at him, she said, “Clumsy. I rarely drink wine. I must have overdone it a little tonight.”

He didn’t release her immediately. Nor did she step away, instead gazing up at him as he searched her face. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, her eyes a little too bright, and it was all he could do not to cover her slightly parted lips with his own. He suspected she knew full well that he wanted to kiss her. Just as he suspected she wouldn’t mind so much. Maybe she even wanted him to kiss her.

But because she’d had too much wine, and because she’d admitted that she wasn’t quite steady tonight, he allowed himself only to touch her face as he brushed back a strand of hair from her cheek.

He wanted to tell her that he was a pretty good listener, if she wanted to talk, but he didn’t think she would respond to that just now. It was obvious that she didn’t want to talk about whatever had brought her here, which he could certainly understand. But he wanted to do something to make her feel better.

“I was serious about wanting to go on a hike with you,” he said, keeping his tone casual. “It sounds like fun. How about tomorrow morning? I can’t put the furniture back on the deck until afternoon at the earliest, so I don’t have a lot to do tomorrow. Unless you have something you would rather do?”

Her mouth twitched a little, as if his somewhat pointed question had hit home. “No, not really,” she admitted after a moment. “A hike could be fun.”

He hoped his smile didn’t look smug, but he was pleased that she had accepted his invitation. “I’ll see you in the morning, then. I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock?”

She nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

He brushed her cheek with his hand again, not to tuck back her hair this time, but simply to enjoy the feel of her soft skin. “Let your problems go for a while,” he said lightly. “Have some fun. You’ll know what to do when it’s time.”

Her eyes narrowed and she pulled back. “What do you mean? You haven’t been talking about me behind my back, have you?”

Giving an exaggerated sigh, he shook his head. “I know nothing about you that you haven’t told me yourself, or that I haven’t observed while I’ve been with you. I can just tell that something is causing you stress. I hope you can leave it behind tomorrow and have a little fun.”

She looked at him a moment longer, then gave a rather weary-looking smile and said, “Thanks. I’ll try.”

He caught just a hint of the dimples at the corners of her mouth. Just enough to make him want to see them again.

He cleared his throat and forced himself to move away from her before he forgot that he was trying to be a gentleman. “Okay then, see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Casey.”

“Good night.” Hearing the door close behind him, he moved thoughtfully toward his truck. So maybe the evening had almost ended awkwardly, thanks to his poorly timed advice to her. But he would be seeing Natalie again in the morning.

That prospect made him feel just a little too eager for his own peace of mind.

Natalie yanked on the laces of her left hiking boot with a bit more force than necessary, tying them tightly enough to cut off the circulation in her foot. And then she loosened them a little because her self-recriminations didn’t extend to inflicting actual pain.

It wasn’t that she was annoyed with herself for agreeing to go hiking with Casey. Though it had been a while since she’d been, she liked to hike. And she was the first to admit that she needed to get out of the cabin, spend a day doing something else, getting some fresh air, trying to clear her mind. Casey would be an entertaining companion, the pleasant diversion she had acknowledged needing and which he didn’t seem to mind providing.

What really irked her about last night was that she had been so out of control of her emotions that she’d allowed Casey to see that she was wrestling with a problem. She’d let herself drink too much, something she almost never did, and apparently her unguarded expressions had given away much more than she had intended. She must have looked pathetic. Casey hadn’t asked her any personal questions, but he’d made it clear that he’d noticed her behavior and that he was sympathetic, if not outright curious.

She wondered why he hadn’t kissed her when he left, when they both knew he had wanted to.

Shaking her head impatiently, she put thoughts of kissing Casey out of her mind. For now.

She could only hope he wouldn’t start asking questions today. She wouldn’t lie to him, but she didn’t want to talk about what had happened, either. Even though she suspected that he would be a very good listener. And she couldn’t help being curious about him and what he was running from back in Dallas.

For their outing, she wore a long-sleeve white pullover with a high-necked, half-zip front, slim navy hiking pants, a quilted red vest and mid-height hiking boots. Her hair was too short for a ponytail, but she’d topped it with a red baseball cap to keep it out of her face. The weather was predicted to be cool, in the low 60s. It would be even cooler in the higher elevations, so she had tried to dress appropriately.

Ready a little early, she decided to try to call Beecham again. Because of the one-hour time difference, it was quite early in Nashville, but she didn’t care if she woke him. She needed to know that he, at least, was making some progress while she whiled away the morning with Casey.

Expecting his voice mail again, she was pleased when he answered, instead. “Rand Beecham,” he said briskly, as if he’d been up for hours.

Because she had no doubt that he’d checked his caller ID before answering, she wasn’t particularly impressed. “It’s Natalie Lofton,” she said, anyway. “I haven’t heard from you in several days. What have you found out?”

“I’m following several leads, Ms. Lofton. Several very promising leads.”

“Like what?”

“Like there’s a woman in your firm who’s suddenly come into some money.”

“I’m aware of that. Everyone knows that. Have you found out where the money came from?”

“I can’t prove anything yet, but don’t you worry. I’ll find out what’s going on. Just give me another few days to put together a strong case.”

Another few days to bill her account, she added silently with a frown, not to mention the fairly sizable amount she’d paid upfront. She wished she had more experience with this sort of thing, but she tended to focus more on the business aspect of the law. Contracts, prenups, bankruptcies…hired snoops were hardly her area of expertise. “Mr. Beecham, I must insist that you provide some results soon or I’ll have to find someone else who can. My career is on hold until you find who framed me. I can’t afford to wait much longer, for several reasons.”

“I’m on that, Ms. Lofton. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve got what you’re looking for, okay?”

She would have liked to push him more, but a tapping on her door let her know that Casey had arrived. Telling Beecham she expected to hear from him soon, she disconnected, completely dissatisfied with the conversation.

Trying to smooth the frown from her face, she moved to open the door.

Casey wore jeans, a denim jacket over a gray pullover and sneakers. “Whoa,” he said when she opened the door to him. “You look great. Very hiker chic.”

He could make her smile, even when she was still stinging from the way she’d behaved the night before, and still brooding over her less-than-satisfactory conversation with Beecham. “Thank you. Actually, I haven’t been hiking in years. I bought this outfit last year when I was planning a vacation that fell through. It’s nice to have a chance to wear it.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been on a vacation?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Longer than I like to admit.”

Chuckling, he made a motion toward his truck. “Then let’s go have some fun.”

She snatched up the small nylon backpack she’d prepared for the hike. “I brought a very light lunch in case we get hungry,” she told him, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

He grinned as they fell in step toward his truck. “We won’t go hungry. I’ve got a pack with some granola bars and bottles of water. I wasn’t sure what else to bring.”

He opened the passenger door of his truck for her, and she climbed in, reaching for the seat belt when he closed the door. He loped around the front of the truck, slid behind the wheel and fastened himself in before starting the engine. “Do you have a favorite trail?”

“I looked up a few online last night. Tommy’s favorite was the Ramsey Cascades Trail. He took me on that one a couple of times when I was a kid, and the cascades at the end of the graded trail are spectacular. The hiking guides list it as ‘moderate to strenuous’ in difficulty. It’s pretty steep, rising more than two thousand feet in four miles. The guidebook said it’s an eight mile roundtrip, about a five-hour hike on average. Or there’s an easier trail…”

“That one sounds nice,” he said, putting the truck in Reverse. “I’ve got a few extra hours today. I’d like to see the cascades.”

She nodded. The memories of that trail were bittersweet, but she would like to see the falls again. She remembered thinking they had to be the most beautiful place on earth. She could use some natural beauty today.

“Which way do I turn?” Casey asked, pausing at the end of the driveway.

“Left,” she said, and sat back in her seat.

He was right, she decided. She needed to forget about her problems and have fun today. She deserved that, darn it.

Looking at his attractive profile from beneath her lashes, she decided she had chosen exactly the right companion for a day of determinedly carefree fun.

Casey couldn’t decide which was more beautiful—the stunning mountain scenery on the trail, or Natalie. He finally decided it was almost a tie, with her having just a slight edge, at least as far as he was concerned.

The trail began as an old gravel logging road through the forest running alongside a tumbling stream that Natalie called “The Ramsey Prong” of the Little Pigeon River. In the summer, Casey imagined the trail would be shady and very green. As it was, there was still some color in the leaves that rained down on them with every cool breeze.

The gravel road was surrounded by mossy fallen tree trunks and enormous boulders, but not particularly steep yet. She had warned him that it got much steeper when the old road ended and the trail became a worn footpath.

“In the summer there are wildflowers through here,” she said, gesturing toward the leaf-strewn forest floor, her thin digital camera in her other hand. “Little violets and irises and other things I never learned to identify.”

“There are probably more hikers in the summer, too,” he commented, and though he spoke quietly, his voice sounded almost loud in the hushed forest. It felt as if he and Natalie were the only ones on the mountain, but he’d seen a couple other cars in the lot when they’d parked.

“Oh, yes, especially during the weekends. This is nice, isn’t it? Having the trail pretty much to ourselves?”

He put a hand lightly at the small of her back, ostensibly to help her around a boulder, mostly just because he wanted to touch her. “Yeah. It’s very nice.”

It pleased him that she made no effort to move away from his hand as they continued to walk, stepping ahead only when the path grew too narrow to navigate side by side.

He lifted an eyebrow when they came to a footbridge over the stream. The bridge was a long, somewhat bouncy-looking, narrow log with a single handrail. Water tumbled noisily over boulders beneath the bridge—and the water looked cold.

Lowering her camera after taking a shot of the bridge, Natalie looked back at him. “Problem?”

“No. Just hoping the traction on these shoes is all the ads claim it to be.”

She laughed. “Come on. I promise not to push you in. As long as you behave.”

Was that a hint for him to keep his hands to himself? Watching her delicately crossing the bridge, he told himself it might be worth a cold dunking to touch her again.