by Helen Conrad
Jessie was trembling. There was only one man who knew what had happened between Bud Harvey and her. But... it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.
“No, sir,” she said as firmly as possible. “I haven’t got anything at all to say about this matter.” She looked the sheriff in the eye. “I guess it was just some Good Samaritan who knew Bud Harvey had done me an injury once and figured to make sure he didn’t do it again. I hope you can leave it at that.”
She stared at the sheriff and he stared back. Finally a smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth. “For someone who’s got nothing to say, you said plenty, Jessie.” He pushed the pie dish away. “I reckon I’ll take what you said under advisement. See y’all.” He stomped out of the cafe to his car.
Jessie swallowed hard. “He didn’t pay,” she complained to Harley.
“He never does,” Harley returned, looking curiously at his daughter. But he knew better than to question her. All in good time. She’d tell him when she was good and ready.
Jessie opened the freezer, just to have somewhere to look that faces weren’t watching at her. It couldn’t be. Could it? Her mind was in state of panic and she stared into the freezer until frostbite threatened her nose. Just as she was closing it again, she heard a sports car pull up outside.
Jessie didn’t move, but her hand went to her hair. It was in those awful braids. She heard the screen door slam, but she didn’t turn around.
“Howdy,” Harley was saying. “Pick any place you want, mister.”
From the creaking sound, she could tell the man had taken a seat at the corner. She waited, holding her breath.
“What’ll it be?” her father was asking.
“Actually, I came in to see about a job,” the man said. “But I’ll take a cup of coffee.”
“A job. You mean on the ranch? You’ll have to talk to my daughter about that. Jessie? This here fella’s looking for work. Weren’t you saying your wrangler is going home to Montana next week?”
Jessie turned slowly. Michael’s silver-blue eyes met hers from under the brim of a gray Stetson, sending an exquisite shiver down her spine, sending her heart into a race that threatened to take her breath away. He was dressed Western, but everything was brand-new, from the hat to the shiny new cowboy boots. The picture he presented might have been comical if it hadn’t been for his strong, tall body and handsome face. There was nothing funny about that.
“Yeah, Larry’s leaving,” she said slowly, coming up to the counter. Michael gave no sign of knowing her. She could feel the bright spots of color in her cheeks, but she couldn’t do anything about that. “But it’ll take a damn good man to replace him.”
She waited, wanting a cue from him, something that would tell her why he was here. For all she knew, he’d come back to yell at her again, to let her know just how miserable she’d made him by turning him in. But nothing changed in his eyes. For all any onlooker knew, he was a stranger. Just a drifter looking for a job.
Harley had no idea who this was. He was poking her with his elbow, saying out of the corner of his mouth, “Come on, Jessie. He looks like a pretty good fella to me. Don’t cut him off at the knees before you’ve given him a chance.”
But Michael didn’t need Harley to plead his case. “Tell me, Miss Jessie, just what does it take to be a ‘damn good man’?” he asked pointedly.
She leaned on the counter, fascinated that he would ask. “Well, I’ll tell you what Larry can do. Larry can ride everything from a Brahma bull to a rattlesnake. He can shoe a horse in ten minutes flat, brand a calf in ten seconds. He knows where every head of stock is, no matter what time of day or night, and can smell a cougar coming two counties away.” She raised an eyebrow. “Can you do all that?”
His silver-blue eyes were guileless. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”
Harley was sputtering in the background. He poured Michael’s coffee and nearly spilled it all over the counter as he listened, agape, to the crazy things Jessie was saying.
“What have you tried, mister?” she challenged now. “Ever been on a horse at all?”
He nodded. “Now this will surprise you,” he told her quite seriously. “When I was a teenager I got myself a part-time job giving riding lessons to little girls in Montgomery Park, near where I lived in the Bay Area. I can ride, Jessie. In fact, I’m pretty good.”
Wonderful. But why are you here? This cat-and-mouse game was beginning to get on her nerves. It was just like Michael to throw her off guard this way.
“Riding is all well and good. But there are other things necessary to earn the ‘damn good man’ title.”
Harley swallowed hard and looked from one to the other of them, wondering if his daughter had burned out too many light bulbs. She’d always been a tough employer, but she wasn’t usually rude to people. And to such a good-looking fellow, too. It seemed a shame.
“Oh, yeah?” Michael was replying to Jessie’s thrust. “Like what?”
Okay, Michael Drayton. This is where you get it with both barrels. She stared at him, her eyes full of all she was feeling. “Like kindness and consideration for other people. Like listening and trying to understand another point of view. Like forgiveness.” Her voice shook on the last word and she cursed silently, wishing she could take it back.
Michael shoved the hat back away from his face and met her gaze with total candor. “I can do all those things, Jessie. I may not have done much to prove it lately, but I know I can. Will you give me a chance to show you?”
What was he asking? If only she were sure. She stood very still, waiting for a revelation, some sign...
Jimmy came banging out of the kitchen, swaggering in his cowboy boots. His eyes widened when he saw who was visiting. “Hey, Michael,” he said with a nod, climbing up onto a stool beside him. “’Bout time you got here.” He looked at Harley. “I finished the dishes. Can I have some pie?”
Michael’s face dissolved into a grin. He looked at Jessie. He hadn’t known she’d kept Jimmy with her. “Who is this smart-aleck kid?” he asked her. “Where’d he come from?”
Harley was staring at him, finally getting it. “Is this...?”
Jessie’s joy was brimming over. “It sure is,” she said, her voice choked. “It’s Michael Drayton.”
“Why, you look different, son.” Harley stuck out his hand and gave Michael’s a firm shake. “Glad to really meet you after all this time.”
Jessie’s eyes were full of tears. Thoroughly ashamed of herself, she tried to duck away to find a place to wipe them, but Michael was up off his stool and around the counter and holding her by the shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. She couldn’t really see him. Through her tears all she saw was a blurry image. But she could feel his lips when they gently brushed hers, and the tears began to stream down her cheeks like small rivers.
“Oh, Michael,” she cried out, and his arms were around her and he was holding her so tightly, so sweetly, she didn’t want him ever to let her go.
“Does this mean I get the job?” he asked, his own voice husky with emotion.
“I don’t know,” she said, sniffing. “How long do you need it for?”
His arms tightened. “The rest of my life,” he said. “What do you say?”
Jessie couldn’t say anything. She was crying so hard the words wouldn’t come.
EPILOGUE
A Wedding Present
Jessie heard Michael’s car roar into the driveway that evening and she gave a quick glance at the mirror. She looked okay. She’d tied her hair back with a pink velvet ribbon, and she was wearing a soft white dress that clung to her body. She couldn’t have looked more feminine if she’d tried. And that made her grin.
It seemed so long ago that she’d been afraid to dress up, to be a woman. She’d actually felt that it was a sign of weakness, that men would walk all over her if she gave an inch. She didn’t believe that anymore. Oh, she still lived in jeans most of the time. But it was fun to put on a dress now and then. Especially
tonight. Michael was coming.
“Hi.” She met him the door. “You’re early.”
He looked her up and down and smiled. “I couldn’t stay away.” Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her once, twice and then again. “God, you taste so good. I don’t even need dinner.”
“But dinner is what you’ll get,” she said primly. “Harley and Jimmy have gone into town to the movies and we’re going to have a proper meal.”
“You cooked just for me?” He gazed at her wonderingly. “When did you have time?”
A sheepish look passed over her face. “Well, if you want to know the truth, Harley cooked the dinner before he left.” She perked up. “But I’m real good at heating things up, and I can pour wine into goblets like a champ. Just watch me.”
As good as her word, she poured out a glass of wine and handed it to him, her gaze slipping over him as she did so. He was so wonderful. So handsome, so good. Her heart ached with love for him. What had she done to deserve this luck? She’d never know. He’d walked into the café that afternoon and the sun had come back into her life.
“Let’s go into the living room and talk,” she said once she’d poured some wine for herself. “I want to hear all about everything.”
She’d worked hard at sprucing the living room up, getting herself some green plants and things, and she was proud of how it had turned out. Michael didn’t comment, but that didn’t surprise her. He didn’t know how bad things had been before. Back when she didn’t care.
They settled on opposite ends of the overstuffed couch. “You promised to fill me in,” she said, loving the way the late-afternoon sun slanted in and made his silver streak gleam. “Though I do know some things. Bob Taylor kept me posted on how you were doing.”
“Did he?” Michael’s grin was rueful. “Good old Bob. He helped me out a lot in the end. Without his backing it would have taken me a lot longer to get an investigation going on Matthews Aviation.”
“So Sky was a crook?”
“You’d better believe it. It seems he had his fingers in a lot of pies. But the worst was selling computer secrets to those middle eastern countries.” He took a sip of wine and went on. “He’d hoped to scare me into coming back into the fold with the warrant for my arrest and the reward. When that didn’t work, he wanted me shut up quick, before I did any more damage to his operation.”
She nodded. She’d already figured that out herself. “What happened after Bob took you back to California?”
“The most important thing happened before I ever left Las Vegas. I talked to Nargeant and convinced him to do something about Sky.” He set down his glass of wine on the coffee table. “You see, Nargeant may come close to the edge at times, but on the whole, he’s an honest businessman. He’d had dealings with Sky and hadn’t been pleased with the results. Kerry had contacted him and gone to Las Vegas to ask for his help in nailing Sky, but Nargeant had been reluctant to get involved. Then when I backed up what Kerry had been telling him, he began to change his mind. After Kerry was murdered, he came in behind me all the way. But it took time to get that through the system. The FBI had to get involved first. In the meantime, I sat in jail.”
She nodded, her eyes clouded. “But you’re still alive. Kerry’s not.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “True,” he said at last. “But I can’t pretend I wasn’t furious with you for what you did.”
“I know.” She tried to smile. “And I paid for it.”
He leaned closer. “I forgive you this time. But the next time you have me thrown in jail, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She lifted her face for his kiss. “Did you give the diamonds back to your mother?”
His face was stony. “No. She’s in Paris. I don’t think we’ll be seeing her very soon.” His shoulders straightened. “She proved a bad caretaker. I don’t see any reason to give her another chance. So the diamonds will go to the next Mrs. Drayton. Don’t you think that’s appropriate?”
Jessie blinked and nodded. “I guess so.”
His gaze skimmed over her, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “They really are exquisite, you know. They deserve to be worn against flawless skin, around an elegant neck. Only a woman with that certain je ne sais quoi can carry that off. Don’t you think?”
Jessie stared at him. Was he trying to tell her something? Like maybe they didn’t belong on a ranch? She knew that. He didn’t have to rub it in.
“I guess so,” she muttered. “Although I don’t know what good a string of shiny rocks like that is to anyone, anyway.”
He raised one dark eyebrow. “You don’t want them?”
She stared at him. “Me?”
His sigh was pure exasperation. “Of course you. Who did you think I was talking about?”
She babbled, confused. “But you said...”
His arms came around her and he gazed down into her puzzled face. “What do you want, Jessie? Do you want me to go down on my knees and beg you to marry me? If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.” He kissed her nose. “Just say the word.”
She was still not sure. “But you can’t marry me,” she sputtered. “I’m a rancher. You belong in the city.”
“I belong with you.” His breath tickled her ear. “I’ve never known anyone like you. I can trust you, Jessie. I can always count on you to do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts. That’s something I can bank on. I want that something in my life.”
“Michael...”
“I love you, Jessie Carrington. And I want to live out here on your damn old ranch, where the air is clean and people say what they mean and you can trust your neighbor.” He kissed her hard. “I want to make love with you every night and have a dozen little brothers and sisters for Jimmy and watch Harley grow old. Will you let me do that?’’
“Michael! Oh, Michael!” Her arms went around his neck and she clung to him, her heart overflowing. “I love you more than anything, anything.”
“Of course.”
“But wait.” She drew back, looking worried. “I don’t know, Michael. I don’t think you understand just what life is like out here on the ranch. You’ll start to hate it and then you’ll start to hate me.”
“Never.”
“You’ll feel like you’re so far from civilization and all you’re used to…”
He nodded. “I might have my moments,” he admitted. “I’ve thought of that.”
She shrugged, feeling hopeless. “Well, then…..”
“And I’ve taken care of that eventuality.”
“Huh?”
He grinned. “I went and bought a ranch of my own, cowgirl. A wedding present for you. I bought some land just outside of the town of Destiny, just a half hour from the ocean. There’s a nice ranch house and some fine grazing land. You’ve got all those Carrington relatives all over the place. I figure we can spend some of our time there, and when Harley gets fed up with working night and day in that café, he can sell it and we can all move to California.”
“California!” she cried, as though it were the worst thing she’d ever heard of.
“Or not.”
It only took seconds for her to realize what a good thing this was going to be if she only let it.
“Oh,” she said, a new future opening wide before her. “Oh my goodness!”
But by then he was kissing her. His mouth on hers prevented any more talk for a long, long time. Finally Jessie stirred and managed to whisper just a little plaintively, “Dinner...”
Michael laughed softly against her cheek and his hands began to move over the white dress. “Throw it out,” he growled. “We’ve got six months of lost lovemaking time to make up for. Starting now.”
That was all right with Jessie. She felt herself blossom at his touch. Ranching had always been her first love, but she had a feeling this new activity was going to take its place real soon.
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The next Ranch book takes you to Hawaii!
SAVED BY YOU
Destiny Bay Romances, The Islanders Book 1
You can go home again. Sometimes you have to.
Kane Carrington can't resist a call for help from the girl he secretly loved in high school. He goes back to the ranch near his Hawaiian home, only to find he's still the "bad boy" to her golden girl image. But now he's a man, not a boy and Annie Ventura can't resist him. But does he have to destroy her memories of her dead husband in order to seal the deal?
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(Excerpt)
