The Sheikh's Scandal

by Holly Rayner

  “I was wondering where you were, Buckle! Were you hiding under the porch all night long?”

  The cat meowed, continuing to rub against her legs until Anne-Marie was forced to stop and lift the purring creature into her arms. She scratched the cat’s head as she continued on toward the barn.

  “I’d ask if you’re hungry, but you’re feeling pretty portly this morning. I take it the mice were good eating last night?”

  Buckle continued to purr contentedly, happy to rest in her arms until she reached the barn door. When she put him down to open it, he protested with a loud meow.

  “I have other tenants to take care of too, you know. It can’t always be about you.”

  Sliding the barn door open, she was met with a long pathway surrounded on either side by horse stalls. The barn smelled of hay and horse manure, and Anne-Marie made a note that today would be a stall-mucking day. Those were not always the best of days.

  A gentle chorus of neighs met her as she walked in to get her supplies.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Anne-Marie said.

  Hearing her voice, the horses grew excited and began pawing at the ground.

  “Calm yourselves down now. I’ll get to each of you this morning.”

  Anne-Marie grabbed her brushes and leads and started at the first stall.

  “Good morning, Sunshine,” she said to the cream-colored horse in the first stall.

  Sunshine was a retired mare that had been sent from New York to live out a peaceful life in the country. She was a gentle girl who loved carrots and apples, but especially sugar cubes. Actually, everyone in that barn loved sugar cubes, including Anne-Marie. She gave the horse a gentle pat on the nose before giving her a good-morning brush and leading her out to the grass-covered field, releasing her to do as she pleased.

  Sunshine dipped her head and began eating grass, content, and Anne-Marie returned to the barn and continued down the line until all seven horses were brushed and let out to pasture. Buckle stuck by her side as she worked, his little head darting around at the slightest hint of a mouse. By the time Anne-Marie had put all her supplies away, the sun was well up in the sky, warming the earth after a cool spring night.

  Anne-Marie washed her hands at a silver basin before stepping back outside and checking on the horses, who all seemed to be in good spirits that morning. Satisfied that they were all set, she headed back to the farmhouse, opening the door as Buckle rushed in and headed to his food and water bowls.

  “I think you’ve had enough. Don’t you?” Anne-Marie asked with a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

  Buckle seemed to disagree, as he hungrily munched at the fish-shaped food pellets in his bowl.

  Anne-Marie chuckled as she pulled out saucepans from a cabinet and pulled eggs and sausage from her small refrigerator. She stirred the eggs together with a fork as she turned on the stove, the mixture hissing as she tipped it into the hot pan.

  The house warmed with the smell of hot food, and Anne-Marie brushed a strand of chestnut hair from her face as she finished scrambling her eggs and made sure her sausage was fully cooked. Dishing the food onto a cracked blue plate, she set it on the table and grabbed a fork and a glass of milk before digging in.

  Smelling better fare, Buckle leapt from his own food station to the table and licked his chops as he watched her eat. Anne-Marie pointed the fork at him.

  “Not in your life, buddy. I get to have my breakfast too, just like everyone else.”

  Buckle glared at her.

  “If you’re not going to be good company, you can go back outside and hunt for mice. Go make yourself useful, why don’t you?”

  Buckle considered her words for a moment before he seemed to find wisdom in them and jumped down. When he got to the door, he looked at her with expectation in his eyes. With an eye roll of her own, Anne-Marie stood and opened the door, gesturing toward the great outdoors.

  “Your Highness,” she said mockingly.

  The cat didn’t seem to pick up on her sarcasm, and he darted outside and headed toward the barn.

  Anne-Marie closed the door behind him and headed back toward the table, finishing her meal. She washed her dishes and replaced them in the cabinet, keeping her solitary little kitchen clean and tidy, just like her mother had always liked it. Setting her tool belt back on her hips, she stepped out onto the porch and raised a hand to block the sun from her eyes.

  The day was warming up quickly. While it was only spring, it was still Texas, and the weather got hot, fast. A recent storm had brought the long grasses back to life, and Anne-Marie stared out at her many acres of land that stretched as far as the eye could see. She would never tire of the view.

  As beautiful as the view was, however, it took a lot of work to maintain, and Anne-Marie headed over to Sunshine as she chomped happily at grass covered in sweet morning dew.

  “All right, girl, you’re coming with me this morning,” Anne-Marie said.

  The horse blew out a stubborn huff and continued munching. Anne-Marie gently pulled her head away from the grass and slid a worn-down bridle over her head.

  “I promise, you can eat when we get there. This will be far more work for me than it will be for you.”

  Sunshine huffed again, though she didn’t protest as Anne-Marie gently gripped her mane to lift herself onto the animal’s broad back. Anne-Marie had been riding bareback since she had first sat on a horse, and it had always been her preferred method of riding. All that heavy saddlery never had looked comfortable to her eyes, and anything she could do to alleviate an animal’s suffering was always the best option.

  She guided Sunshine toward the outer perimeter of the ranch and leaned down to whisper in the horse’s ear.

  “Feel like going for a run this morning?”

  Sunshine whinnied, which Anne-Marie took as agreement. She gave the horse a gentle kick before leaning in and giving her plenty of rein to run free, which she did, happily.

  Together, they flew through the grassy landscape, and Anne-Marie closed her eyes, letting Sunshine take over for a minute as she let the fresh air glide along the edges of her face. At twenty-seven, Anne-Marie sometimes felt decades older, worn out from work and loneliness, but when she was on the back of a horse, galloping through her fields, she felt like the vivacious young woman she really was.

  Sunshine sped on for some time. When Anne-Marie felt her tiring, she gave the rein a gentle tug to signal her to slow down. They went the rest of the way to the outer fence leisurely, taking their time to smell the open plains and bask in the warm sunlight. If there was a heaven, and Anne-Marie certainly hoped there was, she imagined it would be just like this.

  Minus all the work that went into it.

  When they reached the fence, Anne-Marie stopped the horse and slid deftly off her back, giving her a gentle pat.

  “Good job, girl. When we get back, there’ll be an apple with your name on it.”

  Sunshine huffed and nuzzled Anne-Marie’s face, making her laugh and take a step back.

  “Okay, okay, maybe a sugar cube, too. I suppose you deserve a proper sweet from time to time.”

  Seemingly satisfied with that, Sunshine turned away from Anne-Marie and moseyed over to a patch of fresh green grass before lowering her head and getting back to the important business of eating all day long.

  After watching Sunshine for any sign of weariness, Anne-Marie turned toward the fence and glared at it.

  “So, we meet again, coyote.”

  Kneeling down, she evaluated the line of wire that had clearly been taken down by her arch nemesis, a large coyote that took pleasure in destroying her perimeter, usually in an attempt to eat Buckle, who teased the creature relentlessly. Walking down the line, Anne-Marie sighed as she realized the sheer volume of repairs she would have to do. It would likely take up the rest of the day.

  It was times like this that Anne-Marie acutely missed her parents. For projects that would take a long time, the three of them had always banded together, each taking a po
rtion of the fence, and would have the work done in a third of the time. Now, being totally on her own, Anne-Marie was obligated to spend time she didn’t have making constant repairs without any company but her horse.

  Reaching into her belt, she pulled out the tools she needed to make the repairs, wiped a small trickle of sweat from her brow, and set to work. She pricked her finger on a sharp part of the wire and jerked her hand back, wincing.

  “Ouch!” she hissed, bringing her finger to her mouth and tasting iron.

  The cut was small, but she made sure to clean it out with yet another little packet from her belt. Sometimes she felt like Batman with her utility belt. Her father had been sure to teach her how to make that belt as effective as possible, and the truth was, she couldn’t possibly run things without it.

  After the sting of the cut subsided a little bit, she got back to work, getting the fence back upright. She was glad she had recently gotten her tetanus shot, as the wire was beginning to rust. Anne-Marie didn’t even want to think about the cost of replacing a whole perimeter-fence worth of rusty wire, but it was something she would have to consider. When the safety of the horses was on the line, she simply had to find a way.

  The morning wore on, the sun’s heat beating onto Anne-Marie’s back as she meticulously made the repairs. Her shoulders were aching when she thought she heard the sound of cars and looked up from her work.

  In the distance, a cloud of dust was kicking up along the straight dirt road that led to the ranch. Anne-Marie wiped her glistening brow again and waited.

  Who on earth would be coming to see her?

  TWO

  The sleek black cars seemed to glide up the road, in spite of the fact that it was littered with potholes and in desperate need of fixing…much like seemingly everything else on the ranch. Anne-Marie put a hand up against her brow to block the sun and get a better look as they approached.

  Every window of every car was blacked out, making it impossible for her to see who was arriving. The line of cars stopped in front of her, and she waited with curiosity as the vehicle’s engines quietly whirred, no one visible on the inside. After a pause, the back doors of two of the cars opened and three men in sharp, tailored suits exited the vehicles.

  The first thing Anne-Marie thought was how inappropriate their attire was for the scenery. They looked like they belonged in a banking district in Houston. Instead, they were miraculously not sweating in the early afternoon heat as they approached the fence on the opposite side of her. Each of them wore sunglasses, and she stared at her bubbled reflection, unable to see their eyes.

  “Ma’am,” one of them greeted.

  Anne-Marie couldn’t help but think about the movie The Matrix, with the evil men in suits and sunglasses trying to destroy the world. Were these such men? Either way, she hadn’t been brought up to be rude.

  “Sir,” she replied, tilting her head.

  She stood in silence, waiting to see what they wanted. In her experience, it was more useful to let others say their piece rather than trying to pry it from them. With that in mind, she crossed her arms and waited while the men stared at her. Finally, another one of the suits spoke.

  “We’re looking for Anne-Marie Benson. Do you know where we can find her?”

  Anne-Marie was taken aback by the request. Why would men in suits and expensive cars be looking for her? Were they the IRS? Did she mess up her taxes or something? Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

  “Depends,” she drawled. “What are you hoping to find with her?”

  The man in the middle, the only blond in the group, removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of startling blue eyes. As beautiful as they were, there was a coldness in them that sent a shiver down Anne-Marie’s spine.

  “We’re hoping, ma’am, to find a deal.”

  “What kind of deal?” she said, her arms still firmly crossed, her expression stony.

  This in no way seemed to put the blond man off. His gaze was like steel as he stared at her, and for reasons she couldn’t possibly understand, Anne-Marie began to feel self-conscious. It had been a long, long time since an attractive man had appeared on this ranch, but somehow, in spite of his handsomeness, she instinctively wanted nothing to do with Mister Blondie.

  He took a few steps forward, his gaze unmoving.

  “Will you just admit that it’s you? We know no one else lives out here.”

  Anne-Marie felt terribly vulnerable in that moment. Of course the man was right, but the fact that she was the only woman within twenty miles was not something Anne-Marie wanted to be public knowledge.

  After a pause, she nodded. “All right, you’ve found me. Now who are you, and what do you want?”

  The man lifted an eyebrow.

  “I should think you would already know. After all, we’ve been sending you piles of letters with an irresistible offer. I thought you would have taken us up on it, considering the…condition of this place.”

  The man glanced down at the beaten-up, patched-up fence. Anne-Marie’s eyes darted down as well before she looked back up and released her iron, cross-armed grip, dusting her hands on her jeans. She feigned nonchalance as best she could.

  “Yes, I think I remember those. I threw each and every one of them out. This ranch is not for sale.”

  She’d had offers on the place in the past, but they had been made cordially, in a friendly manner, and when she’d said no, the prospective buyers had tipped their hats and been on their way. Anne-Marie could feel the bully in these men. They had come to intimidate her, and she would not be cowed by a bunch of suited-up city dwellers.

  Seeing the tension in the men’s shoulders, Anne-Marie glared them down as she heard another car door open. When she looked past their shoulders, she saw a tall gentleman making his way to the melee. He was olive skinned, with thick dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes. He towered above the other men, even though, physically, he wasn’t that much taller than them. It was his presence. Anne-Marie knew instantly that he was their leader, and her body responded to him in a way she had never felt before.

  He approached the fence and watched her with a serious expression.

  “Are you Anne-Marie Benson?”

  “People have been asking me that a lot today.”

  The olive-skinned man frowned. He had a slight accent, and Anne-Marie realized then that he must be from the Middle East, or somewhere thereabouts. She wondered what had brought him to Texas, and why his chin was so perfectly sculpted, before giving herself a mental shake and staring him down. The two of them locked eyes in a battle of wills for several tense moments before the man turned to the others.

  “Give us a moment, will you, gentlemen?”

  There was a hesitation, especially from the blond man, but after a pause, all of them headed back to their cars and closed the doors behind them. Anne-Marie turned her attention back to their fearless leader, the man with the musical accent.

  “Miss Benson,” the man began, “I believe my colleague informed you of our desire to acquire this land. There is no need to delay in this transaction, as you are clearly unable to maintain the upkeep of it. That being said, I am prepared to make you a very generous offer.”

  The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small checkbook. Anne-Marie held out her hand to stop him.

  “Hold on. I don’t even know who you are. What are you doing here?”

  That gave the man pause, and he glanced up, even as his hand was still poised to write in his checkbook.

  “My apologies. My name is Sheikh Kaled Al-Qarali.”

  With that he turned his head down toward his checkbook again and began writing.

  Anne-Marie stared at him. Sheikh? A Middle-Eastern royal had shown up at her ranch, and for what? Just so he could buy it up, like any other toy she imagined he had taken for himself? He tore the check from his book and handed it to her.

  Anne-Marie stared at the paper in his outstretched hand. Unable to be rude, not to mention wildly curious, she took the check
and looked at the amount.

  Then she choked.

  Masking her shock with a quick cough, she handed the paper back to him. Kaled stared at it before looking back at her without reaching for the check.

  Since he wouldn’t take it, Anne-Marie began to tear it up.

  “Thank you for your interest, sir, but this ranch is not for sale.”

  Kaled stared at her. His expression seemed to be one of disbelief, and Anne-Marie indulged in a small victory for her ability to deprive a privileged royal of what he wanted. She imagined it didn’t happen often.

  “Might I ask why you are so quick to reject this offer? You must know it is well beyond anything else that you may be offered for this place.”