The Texas Rancher

by Jane Corrie

  Tosie blinked in astonishment. Why, that was full time! Of all the nerve! Her lips closed tighth before she answered. 'Out of the question, Im afraid,' with just as much firmness as he had shown, and the spark in her eyes bore out her feelings on the matter to prove that she meant what she said, then she stood up quickly to indicate that

  the interview was over, on her part anyway! Kade Boston did not move, but sat there watching her with a speculative look in his eyes, and this

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  irritated Josie beyond measure, for she knew he

  was summing her up, then still without a word he

  pointed to the chair again. But Josie stood her ground. 'Nine to ten, Mr. Boston. I'm afraid that's all the time I can give; if you can't accept that,

  then that's all there is to say.' She gave him a level

  look. 'We do have to eat, you know,' she added meaningly, just in case he had overlooked this fact, but wealthy as he was, she doubted if this point

  had occurred to him.

  His expressive brows shot up at this last remark of hers, but that long forefinger of his still pointed at the chair. 'Sit down. Miss West,' he said softly. 'We haven't finished yet.'

  'I have,' retorted Josie furiously, thinking how intent he was on getting his pound of flesh.

  'But I haven't,' he replied in a soft but deadly voice that warned her to watch her words. 'Now calm down and listen to my proposition. I'm fully aware that you have to earn a living�well�you will�and you won't find me ungenerous. If you take the job I shall consider the debt paid. All you earn will be yours, to do whatever you wish with; I can't say fairer than that, can I?' he drawled dryly.

  Josie's eyes widened. Forget the debt? But that was the only reason she had agreed, if only tacitly, to the arrangement. Her soft mouth set in a stubborn line as she replied in a voice that held a hint of pride in it, 'You're very kind, but I'm afraid it's still out of the question. Nat and-Lucy Muntrose have also been very kind to me, and I have no intention of letting them down, and as you mentioned earlier, there's Billy to consider, too. He still needs extra coaching, so vou see, under the

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  circumstances ...' She was silent for a second or so, then glancing up at him she flushed as she took note of the way his gaze slowly travelled over hei slight figure and came back to her now indignant � eyes, for she had caught a trace of amusement in his as if the very idea of her opposing him was causing him some entertainment. 'As for forgetting the debt,' she ground out, 'I couldn't possibly agree to that�it was,' she added in a bitter-sweet voice calculated to take that amused look out of his eyes, 'the only reason I could even contemplate

  your proposition.' Kade hadn't liked that one bit, she thought with a flash of triumph as she saw the amused look replaced by one of fury, then his heavy lids were lowered to mask his feelings. Although he must have been seething, his voice was as controlled as it had been before as he drawled matter-ot-factly, 'You do appear to have misjudged me. Miss West. I did not forget Billy, and I've made arrangements for him to attend the classes at Blue Mount.' He gave Josie full time to digest this, and then continued in a haughty voice, 'It will be a small class, you understand�my niece, Billy Muntrose, and three other children who are in dire need of education. The three other children are also staying at Blue Mount�er�their fathers are in my employment.' The ice in his eyes was echoed in his voice as he continued coldly, 'As for letting Nat and Lucy down, they'll have no difficulty in filling the vacancy, I can assure you. I've had a word with them on this, and they're quite willing to release you.' Josie was stunned, and her wide blue eyes regis

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  tered the shock he had given her, making that

  amused look return to his eyes as he watched her

  reaction.

  The stunned look was soon replaced by one of fury. How dared he? Without so much as a 'do you mind?' he had adjusted affairs to suit his purpose, making Josie feel like a puppet on a string�made to move only when directed by the man manipulating the strings�Kade Boston! As for Nat and Lucy, of course they would have agreed, she thought mistily; they would have considered it a good opportunity tor her and wouldn't have dreamed of standing in her way�but did Nat really want Billy taken away from the local school? He had not been in favour of it before when Lucy had hinted at Josie taking over his entire education.

  She drew a deep breath, and her fuming eyes met the now mocking ones of the man who sat watching her so calmly. 'If you don't mind, I'd prefer to have a word with Nat on this before committing myself,' she said stiffly, adding on a note of fury, 'Do you always expect people to jump to your bidding, just like that? As if they had no will of their own?' she demanded furiously.

  The mocking light was still in his eyes as he replied softly, 'Only when necessary. Miss West, and I think,' he added in a soft maddening drawl, 'that you'll eventually see that in this case the arrangement is eminently suitable all round.' He gave an offhand shrug of his powerful shoulders. 'If it's the matter of the debt that's worrying you, then I shall deduct a small amount each month until it's cleared.' He stood up abruptly, and gave

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  Josie a hard searching look. 'Now, have you any other objection? I take it you do want to do the work you were trained for?' he asked bluntly.

  Josie's indignant eyes met his cold ones, and she was forced to answer crossly, 'Of course I do! There was much more she would have liked to add to this, but he gave her no chance of a comeback by giving ^L curt nod as if satisfied on this point at least. 'Then I shall expect you at ten on Monday Use the main entrance, will you? Nat will show you the way,' he ordered brusquely, and placing his stetson on his head and giving the completely bemused Josie another curt nod, he took his leave *

  of her. For a few seconds Josie stood right where she was, as if she had taken over the role of puppet, and now that her master had left would remain lifeless until his return. Then she gave herself a mental shake; she must be going soft in the head. The trouble was, she had never met anyone like Kade Boston before, although she doubted that two such men could exist. She frowned; Lucy had said he reminded her of her grandfather when he was younger, and she slowly shook her head. Her grandfather wouldn't have trampled on people the way Kade Boston was trampling on her, and not only on her, but on Nat and Lucy too, unless she was very much mistaken. On this thought she marched into the hall and to the telephone. She would speak to Nat then and there; Mr High and Mighty Boston might think it was all cut and dried, but it wasn't�not until she had ascertained Nat's feelings on the matter. Her fingers started to dial the number; Nat

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  wouldn't hold out on her. He would tell her what

  he really thought about it. Her dialling finger poised on the last number as a thought suddenly struck her�but would he? He certainly wouldn't

  if he thought he would be standing in her way by refusing to accommodate Kade Boston, and Josie was sure Kade Boston would have rammed that point home to ensure Nat's co-operation. So just asking Nat for his thoughts on the matter would

  produce only confirmation.

  Josie replaced the receiver slowly. This wasn't the way to do it. She had to go and see Nat and Lucy. She knew Nat well enough to be able to judge his real feelings on the matter, Lucy too, by now, and neither of them could fool her into

  believing they were satisfied with the arrangement. if they thought otherwise.

  With her grandfather busy with his game of chess with Dan, Josie wouldn't have a better opportunity to straighten things out before her grandfather became aware of the situation, for she was in no doubt of the advice he would give her on the matter, and it certainly wouldn't be in Nat and Lucy's favour�not because he preferred Kade Boston to Nat�but because he wanted Josie to take her rightful place in the profession she had trained for.

  Collecting a light cardigan, for the eveni
ngs were a little on the cool side, Josie sneaked a quick look in to the sitting-room and found that as she had thought, Dan and her grandfather were completely engrossed in a world of their own, and all attention was focused on the board in front of them. Although Josie did give a casual, 'Won't be

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  long, Gramps,' she was sure neither players heard her, and she smiled as she slipped out of the house.

  On the way to the store, she thought about Kade Boston and how by rights she ought to have welcomed the chance to do the work she was trained for, and it it hadn't been for the autocratic way he had handled the situation, she would probably have jumped at the opportunity. As it was, she found herself actually hoping to find Nat and Lucy in full agreement with her own thoughts on the matter, and regretting their earlier decision�if it had been their decision, she thought scathingly, for when a man like Kade Boston wanted something he would leave no stone unturned to achieve his aim. He had as good as agreed with her on this

  point�no half measures with Mr Kade Boston!

  By the time Josie had reached the store, she had

  convinced herself that aided and abetted by Nat

  and Lucy, she would make Kade Boston look else

  where for someone to teach his niece! There was

  still the debt to be repaid, though, she mused

  thoughtfully, and once again she wished she had

  not been so conscientious as to offer to pay their

  share, and if he had been as fine a gentleman as

  everybody seemed to think he was, he wouldn't

  have taken her up on the offer. It wasn't as if he

  were a poor man and needed the money, she told

  herself darkly, but what he did need was someone

  to teach an obviously obnoxious child, and had

  seen a way of making use of Josie. As she jabbed

  the bell outside the side door of the store that led

  to Nat's private quarters, her finger pressed harder

  on the button when she recalled the calm way he

  had told her that Nat would show her the way to

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  Blue Mount�as if Nat were an employee of his,

  Ten minutes later, however, Josie found the only one who was being aided and abetted was Kade Boston! And she was the only one taking a stand against him 1

  'Honestly, Josie, it's a chance for you to do the work you want to do,' urged an earnest Lucy. 'And we don't mind Billy attending classes at Blue Mount one bit�in fact, we're rather proud that Kade made a point of including him�aren't we, Nat?' she appealed to her husband.

  Josie's hopes that Nat might not see things quite the same way as Lucy were completely dashed as she saw his confirming nod accompanied by the familiar grin. 'Sure am,' he answered. 'Thing is, we'll have a job in cutting young Billy down to size afterwards. He's already kidding himself he's as good as on the payroll of the biggest cattle ranch in Texas I'

  On seeing that Josie was still not entirely convinced, for she was eyeing the pair of them with what could only be described as a suspicious look, it not an accusing one, Lucy carried on in the same theme, saying how marvellous it would be for Josie getting such an opportunity so early after her return home.

  Josie wished she could wholeheartedly agree with her, but she had a curious sensation of let down, and felt that everybody was ganging up on her. She wanted to teach, of course, but she would have liked the chance of choosing not only where she would teach, but who would employ her�and she indignantly muttered as much.

  To her extreme annoyance, instead of gaining

  THE TEXAN RANCHER his sympathy, Nat gave her a wide grin. 'Well,' he drawled in that characteristic way of his, 'you haven't been unhappy so far, have you?'

  'Of course I haven't!' Josie retorted quickly, not really seeing what Nat was getting at. 'Well then,' went on Nat carefully, 'same boss� but different job. You'll be okay, Josie.'

  Josie stared at him. What did he mean by the same boss? She worked for Nat, didn't she?�or did she? Her eyes widened as the implication hit her�Kade Boston didn't own the store, did he? Oh no! She swallowed quickly. 'Are you telling me that Kade Boston owns the store?' she demanded accusingly to Nat.

  Nat's eyes met Lucy's briefly before he answered, as if seeking her approval for what he was about to tell Josie, and on receiving an answering nod from her, he gave a wry smile. 'On paper, yes,' he began slowly. 'You'll remember me telling you that there were a lot of debts outstanding when I

  took over the store,' he gave a slight shrug. 'To be honest, I couldn't see myself clearing them in time to give us a decent living, and was seriously considering selling up.' His glance centred again on his wife, and softened as he continued, 'Well, Lucy didn't want that. The place was home to her, she

  was born here, remember. So we tried to find some

  other way of settling the debts and hanging on

  until it started to pay for itself.'

  He paused for a second and searched for his

  cigarettes, then lit one, and after inhaling deeply,

  carried on, 'My dad had a pretty good idea of how

  things were, although we tried not to worry him

  with our problems, but before we knew it, he'd

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  cooked up this scheme of selling up his place and going into lodgings. He knew there wasn't room for him here�we had three kids then. He'd got it all worked out that the cash he got from the house would have settled the more pressing debts, which it would have done, but we didn't want that for obvious reasons. There was no guarantee that the place would pay for itself, and we'd have felt pretty bad about things it we failed.' He took another pull on his cigarette. 'Things were pretty dicey for a while; I was trying to stall Dad from selling up, and looking for a job elsewhere to keep the wolf from the door.'

  He looked up from studying his cigarette and met Josie's startled eyes. 'We still don't know the

  ' ins and cuts of it, we can only guess that Kade somehow found out how things were, probably from Dad, although how we can't imagine. Dad's not one to blab about our affairs, or anyone's affairs come to that. The next thing we knew Kade offered to help us out by loaning us the necessary cash�without,' he said slowly and deliberately, 'any strings attached�and I mean that, Josie. I pay what I can, when I can, and that was two years ago. It's going to be a little while yet before I can wipe the slate clean, but mark this�not once in all this time has he referred to that debt. He acknowledges the payments, of course, by letter only�and apart from us, and Dad, who had to know�and now you�not a single soul knows of the transaction.'

  He gave Josie a long appraisal before he added gravely, 'So you see, Josie, we've a good reason to respect Kade. We're mighty grateful to him, too.

  ' He's a fine man, as you'll find out in time.'

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  Josie's glance left Nat and rested on the carpeted

  floor. She was at a loss to know what to say, and could hardly back out of the arrangement now, not after a disclosure like that. Besides, it was obvious that Lucy and Nat wanted her to oblige Kade Boston. She sighed inwardly as she looked away from the red and grey patterned carpet, and said quietly, 'He said you would show me the way to

  the front entrance on Monday.'

  That was all she said, and both Nat and Lucy let out a breath of pure relief, and the relief echoed in Nat's voice as he answered swiftly, 'Sure thing. Er

  Lucy tells me you drive?' He looked quickly at

  Josie, and at her confirming nod, grinned, 'Well, there's an old Ford in the garage. It needs a bit of attention, but I can get it fixed by Monday�used to belong to a cousin of Lucy's who sorta forgot to collect it after he took off tor high school last autumn, and we kinda thought you might get some use out of it. I'd be mighty grateful if you'd take it,' he added earnestly. T need all the space I can get now that business is looking up, and th
at machine's been there a sight too long. Don't worry about Harry suddenly claiming it�he told me to get rid of it�he's taken to much smarter jobs these

  'days!' he chuckled. Although Josie was grateful for the offer, 'and accepted smilingly, she couldn't rid herself of the same odd sensation she had experienced soon after Kade Boston had left her a short while before� that of being a puppet and having another's will thrust upon her, and even though the conversation changed to other subjects for the remainder of her visit, she couldn't throw off the feeling of help

  THE TEXAN RANCHER lessness, for she had a strong premonition that her entire future would be somehow linked with the man who was now holding the strings, and it was not a comforting feeling. She had been master of

  her ship for too long to stand aside and just let anyone take over the controls. It meant a few squalls ahead, and Josie was all for a peaceful existence, but not at the cost of her independence

  On her way back home, she found herself marvelling at the sudden change of manner shown by

  Kade Boston, not only to her, but to her grandfather too. He had been almost polite; and that meant she had to be on her guard, for she was sure he still nursed hopes of obtaining Carella. She paused in her stride. Was that why he had offered her the job? Oh, he needed someone to teach his niece, all right�but surely he could have got someone else? The salary he could afford to offer would have assured that. She wriggled a small stone out of her sandal, before she started off again. She had been so mad at the way Kade had handled.

  things, she hadn't given his earlier words much thought�of course he still wanted Carella, enough to take someone he considered a gold-digger on his

  payroll, and she had so very nearly been hoodwinked into thinking he had chosen her because of her prowess with Billy.

  And what, she thought shrewdly, was she supposed to do when the job folded up? There would not be another vacancy at the store. She couldn't expect Nat and Lucy to take her on again. The answer was not long in coming; she wouldn't need a job! Not if Kade Boston succeeded in getting

  'f, Carella�he'd hinted at a respectable remunera