The Rancher's Mistress

‘I wouldn’t mind a piece of toast to go with it, if there’s any going spare,’ he said when Alex handed him a cup of the hot black coffee. ‘Figuring always did work me up an appetite.’

‘I’m surprised you don’t employ an accountant,’ she commented.

‘I did at one time, until I found he was cheating me blind.’

Blue eyes lifted to regard the strongly carved features, taking in the firm line of his mouth, the hardness of jaw. ‘What happened to him?’

‘He spent some time behind bars.’ The tone was matter-of-fact. ‘He was lucky.’

‘Meaning he might have got worse if he hadn’t been locked up?’

‘Meaning he was out inside a few months. We don’t do any stringin’ up these days.’

It was hardly what she had meant, but she let it pass. Chair tipped back, Cal looked in imminent danger of having it slide from under him, but she doubted if it would. Stretched out the way they were, and encased in close-fitting denim, his legs were long and straight, his thigh muscles clearly defined, his hips lean and hard. There was no bulging of surplus flesh above the belt at his waist, just a broadening of frame to meet the wider line of his shoulders.

‘Margot was going to show me round the place this morning,’ she said on a somewhat edgy note. ‘Have you seen her?’

‘She’s helping out over at the cabins,’ he advised. ‘One of the girls called in sick. I said I’d look after you till she’s through.’

‘You must have better things to do with your time.’

‘Not especially. I’d hardly leave a guest to her own devices anyway.’

‘I’m not a guest,’ she pointed out. ‘Not a paying one, at any rate. You don’t have to entertain me.’

He flicked her a deceptively lazy glance, dwelling on the soft fullness of her mouth. ‘Is that what I’m doing?’

Alex felt a sudden and unwelcome spiralling of heat from the pit of her stomach, the warmth running up under her skin as for a crazy moment she imagined what those lips of his would feel like on hers. She might not like the man but it had little bearing on her responses when he looked at her that way.

‘Superbly,’ she responded, emphasising the sarcasm in an effort to cover her confusion. ‘The perfect host!’

‘I’m gratified.’ The expression in his eyes suggested an inner amusement. ‘How much longer do you reckon on staying in the same line?’

The abrupt change of subject left her floundering again for a moment. She recovered with an effort, summoning a dismissive shrug. ‘As long as the jobs keep coming in, I suppose.’

‘And when they don’t?’

‘Something will turn up.’

‘Or someone?’

It was all she could do to keep an even tone. ‘Maybe even that. Providing it was the right someone.’

There was irony in his smile. ‘True love or nothing, you mean? I didn’t have you down for a romantic.’

‘Just goes to show how wrong impressions can be. Maybe you’re not quite the cynic you come across as either,’ she added with deliberation. ‘Could be I’ve totally misread your attitude where my brother’s concerned.’

‘An attitude based on two months’ observation,’ came the dry return. ‘He’s given me little reason to believe he cares for Margot the way she cares for him.’

The same doubt she had herself, Alex acknowledged wryly, but wasn’t prepared to admit it.

‘Few men wear their hearts on their sleeves,’ she defended. ‘That doesn’t mean they don’t feel anything. Greg wouldn’t have married her if he didn’t love her.’

‘It’s been eight years since the two of you were together,’ Cal observed. ‘Do you consider you still know him all that well?’

Alex bit her lip. ‘People don’t alter all that much.’

‘Depends where they’ve been and who with. Eight years bumming round the world is hardly likely to strengthen character.’

‘He had jobs,’ she protested. ‘He worked on an Australian sheep station, for one.’

‘So he says.’

‘It’s true! He wrote to me from there.’ Alex had no intention of admitting that it had been only the one letter. ‘He was in a job when Margot met him, wasn’t he?’

‘Nightclub barman!’ Cal made it sound like the lowest of the low. ‘She didn’t belong in any nightclub to start with.’

‘So blame the people who took her there in the first place.’

‘I do,’ he said grimly. ‘They won’t be coming here again, that’s for sure!’

Alex could hardly blame him for that—any more than she could blame him too much for failing to be overjoyed when his baby sister turned up with a husband in tow. In all fairness, she didn’t see the present-day Greg as ideal husband material herself, but if he was what Margot wanted then it was surely best for her that every effort was made to keep the two of them together?

‘Has it occurred to you,’ she ventured, ‘that if you did succeed in getting rid of Greg you might just finish up losing Margot too?’

‘She wouldn’t go with him.’ It was a flat statement of fact.

‘You mean you wouldn’t allow it?’

‘I mean I doubt very much that he’d want her to go with him.’ He brought his feet down to the ground again, the chair back onto its four legs. ‘If you’ve finished, we’ll go fix you up with a horse.’

Alex replaced her empty cup in its saucer, aware of the futility in attempting to pursue the subject further. Not that there was a great deal more she could say on Greg’s behalf, in any case. It was up to him to prove his own worth.

‘I’m quite happy to wait until Margot’s free,’ she declared, reluctant to spend any more time in his company than she had to. ‘In fact, I’d be more than happy to lend a hand.’

‘Not necessary,’ he said. ‘But the offer’s appreciated.’

Like hell! she thought sourly. Ten to one he took it for granted that she wouldn’t know one end of a vacuum cleaner from another. If he had the same idea where horses were concerned, he was in for a surprise.

CHAPTER THREE

THERE were over a dozen animals in the corral, including the grey Alex recognised as the one Cal had ridden the previous evening. She settled her gaze on a deep-chested bay gelding restlessly pacing the perimeter fence.

‘Is he available?’ she asked, nodding in his direction.

‘Available, yes,’ Cal confirmed, ‘but not suitable. The pinto is a good, smooth ride. Likewise the sorrel.’

‘Suitable for a novice, maybe, but I have ridden before,’ Alex returned firmly. ‘The bay will suit me fine.’

‘I said not.’ The tone was level enough, but there was no doubting the determination.

Argument was obviously going to get her nowhere, she accepted with reluctance, squashing the urge. What was needed was a demonstration of her abilities.

‘I’ll take the chestnut mare over there, then,’ she said, judging her the liveliest of the rest.

Cal inclined his head in mocking acknowledgement of her compromise. ‘Let’s go get a saddle.’

The tack room was at the end of the barn she had seen everyone making for last night, the tack itself in plentiful supply. Cal picked up a tooled leather saddle which looked twice the size of its English equivalent, dumping it into her arms with scant ceremony.

‘Everybody does their own toting,’ he notified her, hearing her involuntary gasp at the weight. ‘Most folk like to stick to the same mount the whole time they’re here.’

‘I’d like to try different ones,’ she said. ‘If that’s okay?’

The shrug was easy. ‘Fine. Just stay away from the bay. He can be a cussed beggar when he has a mind.’

He wasn’t the only one, thought Alex determinedly. She would ride that horse if it was the last thing she ever did!

The saddle grew heavier by the second as they made their way back across to the corral. She was thankful to sling it over the rail while Cal went in to put a bridle on the chestnut with a dexterity that thwarted her attempt to evade it. Hardly on a par with the bay, Alex considered, but at least not devoid of spirit.

She lofted the saddle over the gleaming back without waiting to be told, feeling the strain on her muscles. Talking softly to the animal, she reached for the girths, fastening them loosely at first, then taking up the slack when the deliberately drawn breath was released.

Ears pricking to the sound of her voice, the mare stood still as a rock as she gathered the reins in one hand and put a foot in the stirrup. A light bound and she was up and astride, settling down into the depths of the saddle with a lift of her eyebrows at the man watching.

‘Feels fine,’ she said. ‘Like sitting in an armchair! I’m used to a lot less saddle than this.’

‘A few less hours at a time in it too,’ returned Cal drily. ‘Walk her round a bit.’

She did so, enjoying the feel. ‘What’s her name?’ she asked.

‘Minty,’ he supplied. ‘Try a trot.’

Minty responded without hesitation to a touch of the heels. Using the Western-style one-handed hold on the reins, and refraining from rising, Alex found no difficulty in signalling changes of direction. She was showing off a little, she knew, but it was time Cal realised how far from a novice she actually was.

‘Guess that’s good enough,’ he declared after a minute or two.

Alex leaned forward to pat the silky neck as she brought the mare to a halt, wryly accepting that that was all she was going to get by way of approval. ‘Any limitations on where I can go with her?’

‘I’ll be going into town this afternoon,’ he said. ‘You can ride in with me. Don’t bother putting the tack away. Stick it on the rail over there.’

Alex sat where she was for a fuming moment as he moved off back towards the house, strongly tempted to take the bit between her own teeth. She had already shown she could handle the animal; there was no call for any further supervision!

Discretion beat rebellion into reluctant submission. The fellowship between her and her sister-in-law’s brother was tentative, to say the least. Defiance of the kind she was contemplating was hardly scheduled to improve things. Like it or not, while she was here on the Lazy Y, what he said went.

Having arrived on the scene in time to hear the edict, Margot grinned as she dismounted, obviously aware of the brief struggle. ‘I half expected you to take off regardless.’ she commented.

‘He’s the boss,’ Alex responded lightly, unbuckling the girths. ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing the town anyway. How far is it?’

‘A few miles. Not that it’s anything like what you’re used to.’

Alex glanced at the younger girl, struck by a certain disparagement in her voice. ‘I’d be very disappointed if it were. You’ll be coming along too, won’t you?’

Margot shook her head. ‘I’ve one or two things I need to do this afternoon.’

Which left her well and truly saddled, Alex thought ruefully, bracing herself for the descending weight.

Turned back into the corral, Minty kicked up her heels, as if in protest at the re-confinement. Alex knew how she felt. A good gallop across the wide open expanses out there would have done them both the world of good.

‘I always envied the girls at school who had ponies of their own,’ she said, reluctant to leave the animals. ‘I’d have been in seventh heaven living your kind of life, Margot!’

Slender shoulders rose in deprecation. ‘I’d be the same if I had your life. Going on shoots, wearing glamorous clothes—seeing all those places! Before that trip to Vegas the farthest I’d been was Denver. I though being married would make things different,’ she added, ‘but it hasn’t. Not really. I’m still stuck in the same rut.’

Alex looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Does Cal know how you feel?’

She shook her head. ‘I didn’t realise what I was missing myself until I went to Vegas. There was so much to do—so many places to go!’

‘All of it costing money,’ Alex said softly. ‘You must have realised Greg didn’t have very much.’

‘I didn’t think about it,’ Margot admitted. ‘We had such a wonderful time together.’

Alex could imagine. With just the one week in which to secure his future, Greg would have pulled out all the stops. It must have been a real shock when he had met his brother-in-law and realised just how far from Easy Street he’d landed himself.

She was doing it again, she acknowledged ruefully, pulling herself up. She had no real proof, as yet, of what Greg’s motives had been.

‘Do you love him?’ she asked, and saw the hazel eyes take on a glow.

‘Oh, yes!’ The glow faded again. ‘I don’t think he loves me, though. Not in the same way.’

‘Men don’t always find it easy to demonstrate their feelings, but I’m sure he does.’ Alex did her best to infuse certainty into her voice. ‘Why else would he have been so eager for me to come and meet you?’

‘I suppose you’re right.’ Margot was obviously eager to be convinced. ‘I’m probably expecting too much.’ She paused. ‘Have you ever been in love yourself?’

Alex summoned a smile, a lightness of tone. ‘I’m still waiting for the bells to ring.’

‘But you must have met a lot of terrific men!’

‘Not ones likely to offer the kind of relationship I’m looking for.’

‘You mean marriage?’

‘Possibly. Something lasting, at any rate.’

‘The way you feel about this kind of life, you and Cal would be well suited.’

Alex cracked a laugh. ‘Like chalk and cheese!’

‘A whole lot better than him and Diane,’ Margot continued, ignoring the irony. ‘She’s nowhere near as nice as you are. Nowhere near as good-looking either.’

‘Well, thanks.’ Alex was watching the bay, admiring his powerful conformation. ‘Who is she?’

‘Joss Lattimer’s daughter. He owns the Circle X.’

‘They have an understanding, do they?’

‘Diane would like to think they have.’ Margot wrinkled her nose. ‘I’d hate to have her as a sister-in-law.’

‘Well, if she’s what Cal wants...’ Alex turned away from the fence, dismissing the subject from her mind. ‘You were going to show me round.’

They spent the next hour looking over the homestead. Log-built, the six guest cabins were self-contained and comfortably furnished, two of them capable of sleeping four people if required, although the majority apparently came in pairs and sometimes even singly. They were heated by wood-burning stoves in the winter when people came to ski and sleigh-ride, with Calor gas fires as stand-bys for the cool summer evenings. Alex would have been quite content to live in one of them the whole year round.

The bunk house, over beyond the barn, was for the single hands only, the married ones coming in on a daily basis. Most were out on jobs at present, two of them with Greg, line-riding the fences to check for breakages.

‘The Circle X lost about thirty head to rustlers last week,’ Margot said. ‘They back a truck into the fence to break a section down, and use dogs to bring in as many as they can. Cal set a trap last year and put one gang out of circulation for a while, but that didn’t deter the others for long. It’s too lucrative a game.’

‘What kind of a trap?’ Alex asked, intrigued to hear that rustling actually still took place.

‘He put a bunch of prime steers where they could be easily got at, then lay in wait with several of the boys every night for more than a week waiting for them.’

‘But how could he be sure they’d come? I mean, if they didn’t know the cattle were there...’

‘They send spotters out looking for likely prospects. They must have thought they’d got it made.’

‘They were all caught?’

‘Every one. Got twelve months apiece. If it had been up to Cal, it would have been twelve years!’

Alex didn’t doubt it. She could visualise the scene in her mind’s eye: the men lying in wait in the night; the truck coming into view, engine muffled as horses’ hooves might once have been; the sudden commotion as the ambush was sprung. In former days, the thieves might have found themselves strung up on the spot. A few months in jail hardly carried the same deterrent value.

With all the guests on the day-ride, and Greg still out, it was just the three of them for lunch on the veranda. Remembering the amount of food available at supper, Alex conserved her appetite. She might have given up modelling but that was no excuse for gorging herself.

‘You don’t eat enough to keep a sparrow alive!’ scoffed Cal, watching her quarter an apple for dessert. ‘A few extra pounds wouldn’t hurt.’

‘Alex has an absolutely perfect figure now,’ declared his sister with some asperity. ‘I wish I could look like she does!’

‘You’d need stretching a few inches to start with,’ he said. ‘Plus a bleach-job on the hair.’

‘What time did you intend leaving?’ asked Alex, judging it better to change the subject than go for his guts.

‘As soon as we’re through.’ From the glint in his eyes, he was well aware of her irritation. ‘You might find a hat useful. Keep the sun out of your eyes.’

‘I’ve got several,’ Margot offered. ‘You’re welcome to borrow one.’

Alex smiled at her. ‘Thanks. I’ll probably buy myself one as a souvenir to take home.’

The hazel eyes took on a sudden concern. ‘You don’t have to go soon, do you?’

It was difficult to know quite how to answer that without appearing to take too much for granted. ‘I don’t have anything particularly pressing lined up,’ she acknowledged diffidently.

‘Slack time of year, is it?’ Cal gave her no time to answer the question. ‘There’s no limit this end on how long you stay.’

‘Thanks,’ she said again. ‘That’s very generous of you.’

His lips slanted. ‘It’s no hardship. You might like to join in some of the guest activities. There’s a cookout tomorrow night, and the Prescott rodeo on Saturday, with a square dance in the evening.’

‘What about general ranch work?’ she asked. ‘Greg said the guests joined in with that too.’

‘Some of the men like to put in a spell or two.’

‘Women barred, are they?’

Cal eyed the bright cascade of her hair, freed now from its tethering scarf, the fine boning of her features; dropping his gaze to view her well-tended hands with obvious implication. ‘It’s no job for a woman.’

‘Where I come from,’ she said with purpose, ‘women are deemed capable of doing anything they feel capable of doing!’

‘Always providing they don’t overestimate their capabilities.’

‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating. I already showed you I can sit a horse.’

‘Think you could use a rope too?’

‘I could learn.’

The smile was tolerant. ‘I’ll consider it.’ He pushed back his chair and got to his feet, tall, dark and infuriating. ‘See you down at the corral in ten minutes.’

Margot chuckled at the expression on Alex’s face as her brother moved away. ‘You look as if you’d like to stick a knife in his back!’

‘More than one!’ Alex caught herself up. ‘Sorry about that. He is your brother.’

‘You don’t need to apologise. He makes me just as mad at times. You do realise he was needling you on purpose?’

Alex looked at her sharply, then gave a rueful smile. ‘You mean he does let the women take part?’

‘If they show any real enthusiasm.’

‘I thought that was what I was doing.’

Margot hesitated. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but you hardly look the type to enjoy roughing it.’

‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ Alex stood up purposefully. ‘I’ll just have to prove myself, won’t I?’

Cal had both horses already tacked-up when she reached the corral. Seated easily astride the grey, one hand on the rein, the other resting lightly along his thigh, he looked born to the saddle—the embodiment of all the cowboy heroes Alex had worshipped as a child. Not unlike them in essence either, she supposed: the all-male male in a male-dominated world. Fine enough in fiction, maybe, but downright insufferable in reality!

‘Glad to see you remembered the hat,’ he said. ‘Fit you okay?’

‘It’s a bit snug,’ she admitted. ‘Shall I be able to get one of my own this afternoon?’

‘Don’t see why not.’ He pulled his own hat further down over his eyes as he set the grey into motion with a flick of the rein. ‘Let’s get on the way.’

Regardless of the company, Alex found it impossible to feel anything but elated as they moved out under the wide blue Wyoming sky. It was all she had anticipated: the sun hot, the air clear, the scenery awesome in its beauty. What more could Greg want from life? she wondered. What more could anyone want? If she never saw a city street again she wouldn’t care!

There wasn’t much chance of that, of course. She might stretch this to a couple of weeks, but she had to go back some time. Whether she would take the job she had been offered she hadn’t yet decided. They had given her a month to think about it, and she had money put by, so the decision wasn’t pressing, although she could hardly afford to be choosy. Considering the kind of publicity she’d been given, she was lucky to have the opportunity at all.

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