That Burke Man

by Diana Palmer

  what he saw. She wasn't brooding anymore, that was obvious. If anything, she was seedling.

  "Will you call Cherry and tell her I'm putting lunch on the table, Todd?" Meg called from the kitchen.

  "Sure."

  He put the car away and went to find his daughter, who was riding in the fenced arena, going around the barrels very slowly.

  "Hi, Dad," she called, waving her hand.

  "How's it going?" he yelled.

  "Fine! I'm working slowly, like Jane told me to. How is she?"

  "She's all right," he replied. "Meg's got lunch ready. Put your horse up and come on in."

  "Okay, Dad!"

  He stuck his hands into the pockets of his slacks and went back to the house. Meg had coffee and sandwiches on the long dining-room table,

  where Jane and Tim were sitting. He

  washed up and then they waited for Cherry, who came to join them a few minutes later.

  "You'll need some food before you start on those books again." Tim chuckled, watching Todd raid the sandwich platter before he passed it

  along to his daughter. She helped herself, talking animatedly to Meg and Tim.

  "I love to see a man with a healthy appetite," Jane murmured, to needle him. She was sitting next to him and nibbling delicately on her

  own sandwich.

  Todd glared at her. She finished her sandwich and leaned toward him, sniffing.

  "Umm," she murmured huskily, so that only he could hear while Tim and Meg were talking. "What is that cologne you're wearing? It's

  very sexy."

  He didn't reply, reaching for his coffee cup instead with an expression as hard as steel.

  "Jane, Todd said that he thinks he can get us operating in the black," Tim said to Jane.

  "Really?" Jane smiled at him. "Can we afford it?"

  He sipped his coffee and put a sandwich on his plate. "It's going to require some belt tightening, if that's what you mean," he said, refusing

  to rise to the bait. He looked directly at her. ' 'And you're going to have to borrow enough to make some improvements."

  She let out a long breath. "I was afraid you'd say that. I don't think we can borrow any more."

  "Yes, you can," he said, without telling her why he was sure of it. His name would convince any banker to let her have the loan, if he was

  willing to stand behind it. And he was. He dealt in amounts that would make her mind boggle. The amount she needed to get the ranch on its feet

  was paltry indeed compared to his annual budget. His backing would give her a good start, and it was an investment that would pay dividends

  one day. Not that he expected to capitalize on

  it. He'd be in the guise of a guardian angel, not a working partner.

  She gnawed her lower lip, all signs of humor gone. "What would we have to do?"

  He outlined the changes he had in mind, including the improvements to buildings, putting the stallions out to stud, building a breeding herd,

  leasing out unused land and apply-ing for land development funds through government agencies.

  Jane caught her breath mentally at the picture he painted of what could become a successful ranch, with horses for its foundation instead of

  cattle. It had been her father's dream to make the ranch self-supporting. Jane had tried, but she had no real knowledge of finance. All she knew

  was horses.

  "Besides these changes," Todd added, "you have a name with commercial potential. It's a hell of a shame not to capitalize on it. Have you

  considered endorsing a line of Western clothing? Other rodeo stars have gone into such licensing. Why not you?"

  "I...couldn't do that," she said hesitantly.

  "Why?"

  "I'm not going to be photographed in a wheelchair!"

  "You wouldn't have to be," he said curtly. "The wheelchair is only temporary. Didn't the doctor tell you so?"

  She rubbed her temples. She was on the way to a king-size headache. Todd Burke headache number one, she thought whimsically, and

  had to bite back a grin.

  "I can't think that anyone would be interested in a line of clothing advertised by a has-been."

  "You aren't a has-been," Cherry said quietly. "You're a legend. My gosh, at the riding school I went to they had posters of you all over

  the place!"

  She knew the poster had been made, but she didn't realize that anybody had actually paid money for one. She looked blankly at Cherry.

  "You've forgotten, haven't you?" Tim asked. "I told you that they had to reprint the posters because of the demand. But it was right after

  the wreck. I guess you weren't listening."

  "No," she agreed. "I was in shock." She looked at Todd. "If there's a chance that we can make the ranch into a paying operation, I want to take

  it. If I lose, okay. But I'm not going under without a fight. Do whatever you like about the loan and the financing, and then just point me in the

  right direction. I'll do whatever you want me to."

  "All right," Todd said. "We'll give it a shot."

  Chapter 4

  Todd insisted on going to the Jacobsville bank alone when he went to apply for the loan. It wouldn't do for Jane to find out how he was going

  to manage financing for his improve-ment program.

  The bank manager was sworn to silence and he had re-ceived Todd's written backing for the loan. A few phone calls and it was all arranged.

  He had the necessary amount credited to Jane's account and then he set about replacing old equipment and hiring contractors to make

  improvements to existing buildings on the ranch.

  When Jane saw the first bill, she almost called for a shot Of whiskey.

  "I can't afford this," she gasped.

  "Yes, you can," Todd assured her. He sat across from her at the desk in the study. "You certainly can't afford to let things go further

  downhill. In the long run, maintenance is much less expensive than replacing everything you own."

  She groaned. "But the electric fence...!"

  "Less expensive than replacing a wood and barbed wire one, and less damaging to livestock," he said. "I've also contacted the Soil

  Conservation Service about assistance with a pond for water impoundment."

  "A tank," she said absently. "We call them tanks here in Texas."

  He raised an eyebrow but he made no further comment. "Another tiling," he added, "I've arranged for some roof repairs on the house.

  You've got pots and pans all over the place to catch the water from leaks. If you don't fix the roof, you'll have to replace it. The wood will

  eventually rot."

  "How will I pay for it all?" she asked the ceiling.

  "I'm glad you asked," he said with a smile. He leaned back, propping one big booted foot against the lower rung of a nearby chair. In

  the pose, he looked lean and fit and very masculine. Jane had to control a sigh, and hide the surge of attraction she felt.

  "Well?" she prompted.

  "I'm advertising two of the stallions for stud purposes," he said. "They're champions with well-known bloodlines and they'll command a

  high price. I'm also going to purchase two or three good brood mares. We're going to breed them to other champions. Their offspring will add

  to our own blood stock, and the ones we don't add to the stud, we'll sell."

  "We'll need a better barn," she began.

  "We're going to build one," he said. "I've already hired a contractor."

  "You take my breath away," she said, leaning back. "But all this will take time, and the ranch is on the edge of bankruptcy as it is," she

  added worriedly.

  "That's where you come in," he said quietly. "I've approached a clothing manufacturer in Houston. They're interested in having you

  promote a line of women's Western wear, primarily leisure wear, such as jeans."

  "Do they know...?"

 
He nodded. "They won't photograph you in a wheel-chair." He told her the sum they were offering and she flushed.

  "You're kidding!'' she bellowed.

  He shook his head. "Not at all. You'll want to see the manufacturer, of course. I wouldn't expect you to endorse clothing you haven't

  seen."

  She was excited at the prospect of having her name on a line of clothes, but she was afraid to become overenthusiastic. No deal was final until

  contracts were signed. And there might be a reason to keep her from signing. "I won't endorse something cheap or sloppy," she agreed.

  "I'm fairly sure that this is a reputable clothier," he told her. "and not a fly-by-night enterprise. We'll see. They'd like to come down and talk

  to you next Friday."

  She smiled. "Okay."

  He watched her with interest. Her face was animated, her blue eyes twinkling. She looked like a different woman. Her hair was in its usual

  long braid, held in place with a rubber band, a few wisps of it escaping down into her face. She brushed it away impatiently and his eyes

  fell reluctantly to the soft thrust of her breasts against the knit fabric of her blue pullover shirt.

  "Stop that," she said at once, lifting her chin. "If I can't ogle you, you can't ogle the."

  His eyebrows arched. "I don't remember saying you couldn't ogle the."

  "Yes, you did. Quite emphatically. This is a business re-lationship now. Let's keep it that way."

  He chuckled softly, then pursed his lips. "Are you sure you want to?" he asked with a honeyed drawl.

  She was already out of her league, and she knew it, but she wasn't going to let him gain the upper hand. She simply

  smiled. "Yes, I'm sure," she told him. "Now what time next Friday do these people want to see the?"

  By the next Thursday morning, all the arrangements were finalized for the meeting with the clothing manufacturers and the public relations

  people. The improvements on the house were underway, and noise had become a part of everyday life.

  Jane escaped to the corral with Cherry after breakfast to get away from the carpenters. Todd was holed up in the study with the telephone, and

  the door was firmly closed. Jane wondered how he could hear above the chaos.

  "Noise, noise," she groaned, holding her head. "I'm go-ing to shoot those men just to get the hammers stopped!"

  "It will be better to get the leaks stopped," Cherry told her with a cheeky grin.

  "Ha!"

  Cherry finished saddling the nice little quarter horse mare her father had bought her. "I named her Feather. Isn't she pretty?" she asked.

  "She's very pretty, and she can do those turns blindfolded," Jane assured her. "You have to trust her, Cherry, You have to sit loose in the

  saddle and not pull on the reins. If you can do that, she'll make those turns as tight as a drum."

  Cherry slumped a little. "I can't," she said miserably. She sat down on a bale of hay beside Jane, holding the reins in one hand while

  Feather nibbled at the hay. "I do try, Jane, but when she goes so fast around those turns..."

  "You're afraid you'll fall off," Jane finished for her.

  "Well, there's that, too," Cherry said. She picked at a piece of straw and snapped it between her fingers. "But it's the horse I'm most

  afraid for. My first time on the barrel-racing circuit, a rider went down and so did the horse. The fall broke the horse's leg." She threw away

  the straw. "They

  were going to put her down, but I begged and begged, and

  DAD bought her for the. She lives with a relative back in

  Wyoming, and she's doing fine, but I've had a hard time

  racing ever since that day."

  Todd hadn't told Jane that. She slid an affectionate arm

  around the girl and hugged her warmly.

  That's very rare, you know," she said gently. "People

  in rodeo, people who ride, love their horses. Nobody ever

  an animal in a way that will harm it—not if they want

  to stay in rodeo. Cherry, I've been riding for twenty years,

  . . . I was five, and I've never had a horse go down under

  the when I was barrel racing. Never. I've fallen off," she added humorously. "And once I had a rib broken when a horse kicked as I fell.

  But when I was racing, there wasn't a angle mishap." "Really?" Cherry asked, brightening. "Really. Riding skill is largely a matter of having

  a well-trained horse and then not trying to exert too much control over the horse. Haven't you watched riders put quarter horses through their

  paces?"

  "Sure. They're wonderful to watch. All a good rider has to do is just sit and the horse does all the work of cutting a steer out of a herd."

  "That's right. The horse knows his job, and does it. Where the problem begins is when the rider thinks he knows more than the horse and tries

  to take control." Cherry's gray eyes widened. "Oh. Oh!" Jane grinned. "You're getting the picture, aren't you?" "Wow! Am I ever!"

  "Now let that sink in while you're putting Feather through her paces," she suggested. "And don't rush. Just go slow and easy."

  "Slow and easy," Cherry echoed. "What is this, a conference?" Todd asked from the doorway.

  "Cowgirl talk." His daughter chuckled. "Hi, Dad! Want to come and watch the?"

  "Sure, in just a minute. I have to talk to the boss."

  "I always thought you were the boss," she murmured as she went past, sharing a private joke with him.

  He chuckled. "So did I," he agreed.

  "See you later, Jane!" Cherry called. She led Feather out into the sunlight and climbed aboard with ease.

  "She looks happy," Todd remarked.

  He was looking very Western in his jeans and boots and blue patterned shirt with the gray Stetson pulled low over his eyes. He had a rodeo

  rider's physique, square shouldered and lean hipped, with long, powerful legs. Jane tried not to notice and failed miserably. It was a good thing

  there was so much shadow in the barn.

  "We were talking about barrel racing. She told the about the injured horse you bought for her, back in Wyoming. That was kind of you."

  "Kind." He shrugged. "I didn't stand a chance once she started crying. Tears wear the down."

  "I'll have to remember that."

  He cocked an eyebrow. "Cherry's tears," he said emphatically. "I'm immune to any others."

  She snapped her fingers. "Darn the luck!"

  His pale eyes swept over her slender body. She hadn't come down here in the wheelchair. She had her crutches instead. "That's

  dangerous," he said pointedly. "You could take a bad fall trying to maneuver through the gravel."

  "No pain, no gain," she told him. "I can manage or I wouldn't have tried. I don't enjoy spending weeks in bed."

  He decided that it might be best to ignore the remark. "I've been talking to Cherry's mother. She does want her this weekend after all," he

  said. "She's going to take Cherry shopping, so I'll drive her up about ten tomorrow morning. With any luck, I'll be back before those clothing

  representatives

  arrive. But in any case you need to have your attorney read the contract before you sign it." "I know that," she said. "Good."

  She got up from the bale slowly and held on to her

  crutches, easing them under her arms. It was hard going,

  balancing on them, but she was doing better at it every day.

  "Do Cherry and her mother get along?'' she asked as they

  left the barn and went toward the corral where Cherry was

  practicing.

  "Yes, most of the time. Cherry doesn't like her stepfather."

  "I don't imagine she does. Many children of divorced par-ents live with a hope that their real parents will get together again, or so I've

  heard."

  "Cherry knows better. She hated the way i
t was before the divorce. Too many arguments can make home life hell for a young girl."

  "I suppose so."

  "Didn't your parents ever argue?" he asked her.

  "I don't know. My mother died when I was barely old enough to start school. My dad raised the. Well, my dad and Tim and Meg," Jane

  amended.

  "It must have hit you hard to lose him."

  She nodded. "At least I still had Tim and Meg. That made it easier. In an odd way, the injury helped, too. It gave the a challenge, kept the

  going. If I'd had time to sit and brood, I think I might have gone crazy. I miss him so."

  Her voice was husky with feeling. He glanced down at her with mingled emotions. "I lost my mother nine years ago," he said. "My dad

  followed her two years later. I remember how it felt. We were a close-knit family."

  "I'm sorry."

  His broad shoulders rose and fell. "People die. It's the way of things."

  "That doesn't make it easy."

  "No."

  They stopped at the corral fence. Cherry was leaning over Feather's neck, talking softly to her. She glanced at Todd and Jane, grinned and

  suddenly urged Feather into a gallop.

  As they watched, she bent low over Feather's mane, her hands not clinging to the reins, closed her eyes and let nature take its course. Feather

  took the first barrel so low that she seemed to slither around it, easily regaining her balance and heading for the barrel at the other end of the

  corral at the same feverish pace. She circled that one with the same ease, and kept going until an elated Cherry whooped loudly and gently

  reined her in on the side of the corral where the surprised, delighted adults were standing.

  "Did you see?" Cherry burst out, red-faced and laughing so hard that tears ran down her dusty cheeks. "Oh, did you see! I did it!"

  "I saw," Jane said with a smile. "Cherry, you're just great!"

  "You're the great one," the girl said shyly. "After all, you told the how to do it. I won't be afraid anymore. Feather knows just what to do.

  All I have to do is let her."

  "That's right. Slow and easy. You're doing fine now."

  "I am, aren't I?" Cherry asked.

  "You're a champ," Todd said as he found his voice, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. "I'm proud of you."

  "Thanks, Dad!" She laughed again, and gave Feather her head.