The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch
By Cheryl Gorman
Cheryl Gorman
http://www.cherylgorman.com
Copyright © 2012 Cheryl Gorman
Cover Art by Rae Monet Designs http://www.raemonet.com
All rights reserved. This e-book is not transferable. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form including but not limited to printing, faxing, e-mailing, photocopying or by any manner of information retrieval through electronic means or through the postal service without the express permission of the publisher. This e-book is a work of fiction and a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person or persons living or dead, places, incidents, locations or businesses is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
"You still take a man’s breath, Lexie."
Alexa Dare froze with her hammer in mid air and her right foot planted in a pile of horse manure. Seven years had passed since his husky baritone had rippled over her nerve endings. Her heart jerked in her chest like a colt not used to the feel of a saddle on his back.
What was he doing here?
She inhaled a breath, turned and faced Mitch Quinn.
He stood in the alleyway of the barn with Colorado afternoon sunlight streaming in behind him and dust motes dancing in the air. No stubble covered his stubborn, arrogant jaw the way it used to. A thin, white crescent scar still showed on his left cheekbone where years ago, her father had slugged him.
An expensive suit and tie had replaced his jeans and T-shirt, but his six-foot frame was still hard and lean enough to make a woman sigh. His blond-streaked brown hair was no longer pulled back with a strip of leather, but cut short exposing his smooth, toned neck. A neck she'd tasted with her lips and tongue, a neck she'd nipped with her teeth.
His gaze skimmed her face and he threw her the same, heart-stopping cocky grin she remembered from their youth. "Mitch. What are you doing here?" Thank goodness her voice was composed.
"Business."
Lexie’s misgivings about Mitch showing up out of the blue increased by the second as she looked past him toward the open doorway.
Dani would be home soon.
She leaned over and grabbed a couple of nails out of the toolbox. She closed her fingers tight around them, the metal biting into her skin. "What kind of business? You haven’t shown your face around here in years.” Not since that awful night.
When she straightened, Mitch's gaze still rested on her. "You understand why I haven’t been back," he stated in a low, steady voice.
She understood all too well. Through his haze of bitterness and grief, her father had threatened anyone named Quinn with a snoot full of buckshot if he so much as set one toe onto Dare land.
"I’d like to say I’m sorry the old man’s dead but...”
Lexie thought of her father, Mason, buried on the ridge behind the house, and cursed him even as love expanded in her heart. She'd been desperate to heal the gap between them and ease the hurt from his disinterest that had plagued her all of her life, but his unexpected death had put an end to her desperation forever. Lexie hammered some nails into a loose board. "You haven’t answered my question."
"The ranch is in bad shape."
She looked at the worn walls where golden fingers of sunlight trickled through the spaces in between the boards. "Dad fell apart after Parker died...drinking, gambling. But you know that. After you left town, the ranch went down hill fast, but I'm determined to bring it back up to speed. Parker would have wanted me to try." And she was determined to succeed.
"He was a wonderful son of a bitch, your brother," Mitch said with a ring of sadness in his voice. "The best friend I ever had."
Lexie glanced at Mitch over her shoulder. "Impossible not to love him, wasn't it? He was such a scamp, but not a mean bone in his body. I wanted so badly to tag along with the two of you, but all I got for my trouble was a yank on my pony tail and a pat on the head.”
Despite his treating her like a pesky little sister, Parker had always been there for her when her father brushed her aside like an irritation. He would put his arm around her, lift her chin, and throw her a crooked grin. Often, he berated Mason on his insensitive treatment of her, but the old man's attitude toward her never changed.
Tears stung her eyes just thinking about the brother she’d loved and lost. "I miss him every day. Each time I go riding, or look out over the land, I still see him there. How could something he loved so much be the site of his horrible death?" Her voice cracked. She shuffled into the tack room and slid the toolbox onto a clear spot on the bottom shelf.
Parker's saddle still sat on the rack in the corner. She knew she should sell his tack or put his things into storage, but if she did she would close a door in her soul she wasn't ready to close.
Lexie bit her lip and choked back tears before crossing the alleyway to the feed room. She gathered pails to prepare the horses' dinner.
Mitch's voice drifted to her from outside the feed room. "Barn's full of horses. These all yours?"
She rejoiced over the occupied stalls, the bright faces of the horses that stared eagerly out at her each morning and evening but they weren’t all hers no matter how much she wished it. Training horses had kept her head above water.
Lexie filled the buckets with sweet feed and oats then placed a piece of raw carrot on top. She wiped her sweaty palms over her thighs as she stepped back into the alley way. "No, they’re not all mine. Why don’t you stop stalling and tell me why you’re here?"
"Why do you love the land so much?” Mitch asked ignoring her question. He leaned against the wall of the alleyway, crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to one side. "Why is the ranch so important to you?"
Her heart swelled with pride. "Because when you give to the land, the land gives back. I tried to give to my father, but he only took and never gave anything back. I give love and attention to the land and it flourishes.”
She gave love to her daughter and she flourished too. The land was in her blood. The ranch was a part of her like Dani was a part of her. She wanted a legacy to leave her daughter and she wanted Dani to know that no matter what happened in her life she always had a home.
What if the ranch were snatched away one day? What if she couldn't turn things around? What then? The thought of losing the land opened a cold, dark place inside her. As long as she kept the land, Parker's memory would remain alive.
"I know I can save this place if I put my mind to it.” She sighed and voiced the longings she held close in her heart. "I want to build back the herd and train championship horses and be totally self-sufficient. I want to make Dare Ranch one of the best working ranches in the state."
When she walked out of the feed room, Mitch was examining the barn. His gaze slid over the loose boards in the walls and scrutinized the cracked concrete of the alleyway, the worn and ragged condition of the stalls. After a moment, Mitch tilted his head and stared at the hayloft. A kind of stillness came over him; a slight smile played over his mouth. Quickly, his gaze shifted and fixed on her eyes.
He remembered.
Anxiety rose into her throat. She didn’t need to be reminded. Every time she came into the barn or looked into her daughter’s face, she remembered.
To hide her reaction, she moved on to the next stall. The black mare called Morning Star nibbled at the latch on her stall, rattling the metal clasp against the wood until the door swung open. Aspen, next door, pushed his muzzle in her direction and blew softly in her face. Morning Star bobbed her head then nipped Aspen lightly on the nose.
Lexie skirted around Mitch standing by the door and stepped inside the stall. His woodsy male scent wafted past her
and blended with the scents of the barn. Awareness curled in her stomach. She shook her head slightly and smiled to herself. You're not a teenager anymore, Lexie. Stop acting like one.
When she exited, Mitch closed the stall door. With practiced ease, he stroked his large hand over Morning Star's ebony coat.
"You're a pretty girl, aren't you?” His softly spoken words stirred Lexie’s memory. Mitch had said almost the exact same words to her that long ago night. He'd made her feel pretty, desirable and most of all, wanted.
She moved to Aspen's stall. The big palomino gelding crowded the door and shoved his nose into the feed. With a gentle nudge, she pushed him out of her way and poured the grain into his feeding trough. She patted him on the withers and smiled.
Mitch shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on an eye hook used to attach a lead line when Lexie brought the horses out of their stalls for grooming. He grabbed some buckets and helped her finish feeding the rest of the horses.
Muscles knotted between her shoulder blades and a ball of panic tightened in her stomach. He had to leave before Dani got home. Lexie closed the door on the last stall then strolled to the doorway of the barn. She glanced nervously at her watch. Two-forty. Dani would arrive in a few minutes. She had to get Mitch out of here.
To calm her nerves, Lexie skimmed her gaze over the verdant land. Clouds, fat and gray with rain, floated across the azure sky painting fleeting shadows over the pastures. "I love this patch of earth. I'm sure there must be some of the dirt from this place swirling through my blood.” In the distance, her two remaining ranch hands cruised the fence line and moved a stray calf into the herd. They were down to one hundred head on the eighteen hundred acre ranch.
Mitch moved up beside her. His scent reached out and caressed her skin but she refused to allow him to get to her. At least now, his nearness was no longer the searing burn of a young girl's inexperienced emotions.
He'd been irresponsible, headstrong and careless in his youth. She supposed those qualities were what attracted her to him when she was an impressionable teenager, who longed to be a bit careless and irresponsible herself. She’d been so desperate for her father's love and attention she didn't dare be anything other than responsible.
Until he’d given her no other choice.
On that night seven years ago she'd thrown caution and sensibility into the brilliant night sky but she had no regrets. She'd grown a woman’s heart since Mitch left town.
Some mornings when she pulled on her jeans and boots as the sun struggled over the horizon, the burden of responsibility weighted down her twenty-three year old shoulders almost to the breaking point. She was glad for the years she’d had to grow and change since Dani was born. The grief and anger between the Dares and the Quinns had built a wall between the two families that even the tender feelings of two love struck kids couldn’t tear down.
Mitch's hands settled on her shoulders. The heat from his fingers seeped through her shirt, warmed her skin and brought back images of his hands stroking her body, his lips hot and hungry on hers. She pushed away the memories and eased out of his hold.
"Lexie, we never really talked about that night." His voice was silky with encouragement urging her to talk.
The breeze, still warm and ripe with summer, but tinged with a hint of autumn, stroked her face, and ruffled her shoulder length hair.
He opened the top button on his shirt before he loosened the tie at his throat. Her mouth went dry at the sight of light brown hair curling through the opening.
Why did he still have to look so good?
After Parker's death, she spent more and more time in the barn with the horses in an effort to escape from her father’s drunken rages. The night Mitch came to say goodbye, her loneliness spread invisible fingers around her soul. She understood why he had to leave town and make a life for himself, but her heart broke when he told her he was leaving.
Her happiest memories were tied up with Mitch and Parker. She’d never wanted to lose those memories, but she desperately wanted to escape from the cold, distant relationship she’d had with her father. She’d asked Mitch to marry her and take her away from Mason Dare because she had no resources of her own.
Lexie remembered his soft, indulgent tone when he’d turned her down. He had made it clear they were too young for marriage and needed lives of their own.
Mitch spread his left hand around the nape of her neck bringing her thoughts back to the present. Her pulse skittered and her skin tingled. He turned her to face him and Lexie cocked her head and tried to hide the attraction growing inside her. "Don't tell me the live-for-today Mitch Quinn felt guilty about the night we spent together."
"Yeah, believe it or not, I did. I knew you were hurting. You were innocent, Lexie and I let myself forget that fact until it was too late.”
Mitch lifted his hand from her neck and crossed his arms over his chest. "I remember we talked about Parker and old times. One minute we were laughing and the next you were bawling. Those tears scared the life out of me.” His voice was warm and tender. "I'd never seen you cry like that before. You looked at me with those big, weepy eyes and I took you in my arms only to comfort you, but after one little kiss...I didn't have a prayer.”
A brief, sharp pain stung the secret regions of her heart for reasons she couldn't explain, but at the same time a sense that she'd made the right decision seven years ago lightened the emotional weight on her shoulders. "You shouldn't feel guilty. I wanted to know what it was like to be with a man and I wanted that man to be you.” Her voice broke in a tremulous whisper.
Tenderness filled his gray-green eyes. He stepped closer and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand leaving a trail of heat behind. "That was quite a gift."
A little shiver of pleasure darted through her stomach at his words but she pushed it away. "Don't let it go to your head. I survived.” She’d survived her father’s wrath and much more, but she had never been the type to let life get her down. Lexie forced a smile. "So, do you have anyone special in your life?"
"No, I travel too much. Women like their men to hang around longer than a day or two. Besides, I have no interest in commitment. What about you?"
What about her? Dates were few and far between. Not many men wanted to become involved with a single mother who was drowning in debt. "No.” She grabbed a broom and started sweeping the bits of hay and dirt off the alleyway. "Let’s cut the idle chit chat shall we? Why are you here?"
He waited a beat. "I heard you have a tax problem." His voice was cool and all business.
She gripped the broom handle tighter until her knuckles turned white and the wood bit into her skin.
"Why would that interest you?” Despite the forced lightness in her question, a sense of foreboding filled her chest.
His expression grew serious. "I have my reasons."
She pushed the broom against a small clump of dung and flicked it in Mitch's direction. "That's not an answer."
The chunk landed on top of his shiny, leather shoe and his gaze snapped to hers. A gleam of amused tolerance shone in his eyes. He jerked his foot and tossed the clod away.
"Why are you so interested in my finances? What's going on?"
"The foundation I work for wants to buy this ranch."
Her heart leapt into a gallop. She inhaled a shuddering breath. Why did they have to send him? Did he want to take the assignment? "What kind of foundation? What do they want with my ranch?" She blurted the words aware of the alarm in her voice but unable to temper it.
He assessed her reaction while one dark brow arched in surprise. "Why are you upset? Look, I've done my research. I know this place is in debt. You're barely hanging on by a boot strap, Lexie. If you sold the ranch to the foundation, they could pay off the debt and turn this place into something really useful."
A sudden gush of fury whipped through her blood. "Really useful? The ranch is damned useful. This is my home. I've never lived anywhere else.” The anger she fought to control shoved into h
er throat frosting her words with ice. "You know how much this place means to me.” Or did he even care anymore? "No amount of money will ever tempt me to sell."
"Don't bet on it. Everybody has a price, Lexie.” He ambled over to one of the horses and rubbed his muzzle. "Everybody.” Mitch pivoted and stared at her. "Even you."
"You're wrong. I won't sell no matter what." She was pleased at the uncompromising tone in her voice. Who was she kidding? The bank would leap at the chance to recoup their money. Not to mention the IRS. She could have a clean slate. But, then she wouldn't have the ranch.
"I know you owe back taxes. I did my research. The foundation could pay the taxes today and own this ranch."
A sudden chill leached the warmth from her body. "You can't do that." She hated the desperation in her voice but she couldn’t stop it. She loved the ranch.
"Sure, I can. I have the power to decide how millions of dollars are going to be spent and where. I'm good at what I do. I always make the deal.” He moved over to Aspen and rubbed his golden neck. "Your horses will be just as happy living someplace else."
"My horses aren't going anywhere, Mitch, and neither am I."
Mitch's mouth spread into a tight-lipped smile. "Lexie, I work for the Brookfield Foundation, the largest charitable organization in the country.” His voice sounded resolute and unyielding, his eyes glittered with lethal self-assurance.
Lexie swallowed against a knot of trepidation building in her stomach.
"I cut my teeth working for an investment banker before the foundation recruited me."
Lexie brushed some dirt from her jeans in an effort to still her shaking hands. "So, what is it exactly that you do?"
"I allocate funds to build rehab hospitals, set up hospice care, provide assistance to families who've had a family member severely injured or handicapped in an accident or the result of an illness.” His voice was oddly gentle and full of pride. Softness bloomed in his eyes and the stiff posture he'd held in his shoulders seemed to drain away.
The Secret Truth at Dare Ranch Page 1
