His words filled her with happiness. Unable to control herself, she found herself smiling up at him. “So, are you saying that even you had a good time?”
He slowly nodded. “Guilty as charged. You have a natural way with people. Men and boys in particular. My father believes you walk on water—”
She shuddered. Not anymore he doesn’t.
“As for Clay—” Gabe continued, unaware of her chaotic emotions, “he’s developed an oversize crush on you. The other boys have been given a detailed description and can’t wait to meet the woman in the barn who’s more beautiful than any movie star.”
Heat washed over Stefanie in waves.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Clay’s vulnerable right now. Since you’ll be leaving soon, I’d advise you to tread caref—”
“Don’t worry,” she interrupted, fighting not to break down in tears because he couldn’t wait for her to be gone from the ranch. “I’ll keep my distance with all the boys and treat everyone the same.”
He raked a hand through his black hair, a gesture she’d seen him do on other occasions when he’d had something serious on his mind.
“That would be the best plan. There are eight students so far, four to each cabin with their own set of surrogate parents. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the Clarks and the Millwards who live here year round and have been trained to serve in that capacity.”
“Which of course I haven’t,” she muttered in a brittle tone. “For the record, I promise to stay in the background. Is there anything else?”
Lines darkened his handsome face, making him appear older. “I’m afraid so.”
Her head flew back. “Obviously I’ve made another faux pas, or worse.” She had to pause to catch her breath. “Is it Marva?”
His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Last night she didn’t seem very happy about me being here.”
Gabe shifted his weight, making her unbearably aware of his potent sensuality.
“Marva hasn’t discussed anything with me. If there’s something wrong, I’m sure it has nothing to do with you. But rest assured I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
She bit her lip. “If this isn’t about Marva, then you were probably going to warn me to leave Clover alone. I know very well how important it is for a watchdog to only have one master. But when she seeks me out, it’s impossible to ignore her. She’s been endowed with a loving nature, very much like my old golden lab, Mitzi.”
“You had a dog?” He sounded incredulous.
“A succession of them from the time I was born. But Mitzi was my favorite.”
“How come you never talked about her?”
“She got killed by a drunk driver on the day I graduated from high school. For a long time afterward I felt like I’d died, too. Mom and Dad ran right out to get a replacement for me, but I didn’t want another dog unless it was Mitzi. I couldn’t bear it.”
Her eyes smarted in remembrance. “After that, I was away at college and the circumstances were never right to get another dog.”
Gabe’s chest rose and fell heavily. “While you’re here, you’re welcome to love Clover all you want.”
“But—” she fired at him, knowing there was still something else he wasn’t pleased about.
“You’ve met Mack.”
She blinked. “And?”
“He’s my right hand.”
“Naturally, since he’s your foreman.”
“Before his wife died of cancer a year and a half ago, he was a rancher of a little spread in another part of the state. The medical bills soared. After the funeral he was forced to sell everything.”
“That’s horrible,” she whispered.
“I agree. Since they were childless, he had nothing to keep him there, so he moved around working for various people, attempting to deal with his pain.”
That’s exactly how I felt when you left me, Gabe.
“When he saw the ad I ran in the newspaper, he applied for the job of foreman here. There were a lot of applicants, but for a variety of reasons he stood out head and shoulders above the rest.
“In truth I would have hired him for his ranching skills alone. But it was when he told me how much he’d wanted to have children, and was looking forward to teaching the boys those skills, I realized how fortunate I was to have him on board.”
Stefanie had an idea where this conversation was headed and didn’t like it one bit.
“What you’re trying to say is that he’s vulnerable, just like Clay.”
“Yes,” was Gabe’s tight-lipped response. “You are an exceptionally beautiful woman, Stefanie. Your kind of looks are rare, and will always turn a man’s head. I have no doubts Mack took one look at you and thought he was in love again.”
“That’s absurd!”
“Why else would he agree to take you on?” Gabe drove the point home. “As it is, the man requires all hours of the day he can find to accomplish everything needed doing around here. Tell me exactly what he said he was prepared to do for you.”
She sucked in her breath. “I’m to report at seven every morning to get used to the horses and clean out the stalls.”
“What else?” he demanded.
Uh-oh.
“H-he said he would give me riding lessons every day after lunch.”
Gabe gave an emphatic shake of his head. “That’s out.”
“Well, since the stockmen and married men of your staff are off limits, I guess that means you are the only member of the masculine gender around here who’s impervious to my wiles.”
When that didn’t get a reaction out of him, Stefanie grew more reckless. “After a year of marriage when you never touched me, I guess I have unassailable proof.”
The tension crackled like a lightning storm between them.
“All the better then if I’m the one who teaches you the fundamentals of riding. That way we’ll avoid any complications.”
“I’d say there’s already a big one!” she blurted in fresh pain.
“How so?”
“I’ve lived with you, remember? No one can get busier than you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll fit you in.”
Her heart leaped. “When?”
“When it’s convenient.” If he was intentionally trying to taunt her, he was doing a perfect job of it.
“In other words, never.”
From joy to despair in a matter of milliseconds. Stefanie couldn’t take any more.
“On the contrary,” his low voice sounded mocking. “Spring is calving time. On Friday you can ride with me while I check on some of the cows near the river. If it’s too strenuous for you, we’ll find out in a hurry.”
She wouldn’t put it past Gabe to take her on a monster ride into the mountains over boulders and snowdrifts, hoping it would put her off horses permanently. Then he wouldn’t have to bother with her again.
But she loved him so much, she’d go with him and endure it, even if it killed her!
Wait— Friday was days away. In all probability, he would make himself scarce until then. Which gave her an idea…
She stirred restlessly on the cot. “What shall I tell Mack? About the riding lessons, I mean.”
After a brief pause, “I’ll thank him for accommodating you in the mornings, but let him know his offer to give you afternoon pointers goes way beyond the call of duty. On a personal level, he’ll be disappointed as hell. Professionally, however, it’ll be all right with him.”
“That’s good. So—do I assume my afternoons and evenings are free?”
“Of course. You can come and go as you please. No need to check in with Marva. Meals are served cafeteria style. It doesn’t matter if you show up or not.”
He couldn’t have made it more explicit that the less anyone saw of her around the ranch house, including him, especially him, the better.
She had news for Gabe. He was going to get his wish!
“If you’ve come to the end o
f your long list, I find that I’m tired and would like to go to bed.”
“It’s the altitude,” he said with unflappable calm.
“By the time you’ve become fully acclimatized, your two weeks will be up. Good night, Ms. Jones. Sleep well.” The door clicked shut.
Sleep well.
She threw one of her pillows at it with all her might.
Gabe heard a thump coming from Stefanie’s room. He paused midstride, wondering if her cot had collapsed. When there was no other sound, he continued down the hall to the dining room where Marva was finishing up last-minute details before going to bed.
“How are you doing, Marva?”
“I’m fine, Gabe.” She kept filling the salt shakers.
“You want another slice of peach pie?”
Stefanie was right. His cook did seem a little offish.
“Why do I get the feeling there’s a burr under your saddle?”
She shook her head. “Pay me no mind. I just work here.”
“So do I. By now I thought we were good enough friends that if something was wrong, you could come to me.”
“I always have.”
“Except for this time.”
“This time it’s none of my business.”
“Then I give my permission for you to make it your business.”
She put the big salt carton away and wiped off the counter. Halfway through, she squinted at him.
“I’ve been your greatest admirer from day one, so for the life of me I can’t figure out why you put Teri Jones in that freezing old closet when there’s a perfectly good guest bedroom upstairs!”
Stefanie had a champion and didn’t know it.
“I like to keep that room open for one of the boys’ parents, in case they drop in without calling first,” he countered on a burst of inspiration. “Strictly speaking, Ms. Jones isn’t a guest. She came to the ranch looking for work. I could hardly put her on the couch in the living room where the staff likes to congregate at night. Right now she’s on probation.”
Marva frowned. “Probation—”
“If she can’t do the job at the barn, Mack will have to let her go.”
“That barn’s freezing in the morning!”
“Rain or shine, the work has to go on. You know that.”
“Well if you ask me, which you haven’t, it seems like she’s being set up to fail.”
He reached for an apple in the bowl and bit into it. Marva was more shrewd than he’d realized.
“If she does, it’ll save me having to find a better place for her to sleep. She can’t bunk with the stockmen. Let’s be honest. I need people around here who can pull their own weight. That’s one of the reasons I hired you.”
His remark produced the friendly smile he was looking for.
“What’s the other?” she quipped.
“Your sourdough bread. It’s to die for. But you already know that.”
“It’s still nice to hear.”
“As a matter of fact I love everything you make. So do the boys. There’s no substitute for real home cooking. Your delicious food oils the wheels around here and keeps the inmates happy. Don’t ever quit on me.”
“I don’t plan on it anytime soon.”
Gabe stopped munching. “Are you trying to tell me something else?”
“No, of course not. But you never know when unforeseen circumstances will happen. Looking down the road, it probably wouldn’t hurt to train another person.”
He blinked. “You have someone in mind?”
“Well—if Ms. Jones needs a job and it doesn’t work out in the barn, maybe she’d like to try the kitchen.”
Damn. He should have seen that coming. Stefanie’s arrival had caused him to lose his edge.
She could make coffee and heat up frozen TV dinners, but he had no idea if she could cook or not. He’d gone to great lengths to keep their lives separate. As a result, they’d never eaten meals together at home. One thing was certain. The kitchen was the last place Stefanie planned to end up. The day would come when she would be conferring over menus with the White House chefs.
“I’ll think about your suggestion for a helper. But let’s put the idea of Ms. Jones on hold. It’s possible she’ll call it quits before the week is out and head for greener pastures.”
Marva flashed him an enigmatic glance. “If you say so.”
CHAPTER SIX
WHAT a difference in the weather from two days ago! Since the storm had blown itself out, Stefanie had seen nothing but sunshine. It was a relief to travel over dry ground and know she wouldn’t get caught in another storm.
If memory served, the riding stable she was looking for had a name that started with a D. She recalled seeing it on the north end of Kalispell every time she’d been to the town.
One more bend in the road.
Dankers. That was it!
Excited by her find, she left the highway and pulled into the parking lot. But her spirits deflated when she walked over to the barn door and discovered the place was locked.
Her gaze shifted to the adjacent house. There was a pickup truck in the driveway. Maybe someone was home.
Not to be defeated, Stefanie climbed the porch stairs and pressed the buzzer. In a few minutes an attractive brunette woman probably in her late twenties answered the door. She gave Stefanie a friendly hello.
“Are you Mrs. Dankers?”
“Yes. Can I help you?”
“I hope so. My name is Teri Jones. Forgive me for disturbing you, but I’ve driven some distance to go riding. Actually I was hoping I could pay someone to teach me how to ride, or at least give me a few pointers. What are your hours? I didn’t see a sign of any kind.”
“That’s because we don’t officially open until June.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize.” Stefanie had had such hopes! “Maybe you could tell me if there’s another stable in the area where I could take some riding lessons?”
“There are several, but like us, they don’t open much before summer when the tourists come.”
Ridiculous as it was, she found herself fighting tears. “I’m afraid summer will be too late for me, but thank you anyway. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Goodbye.”
Stefanie turned sharply away and started down the stairs.
“Wait!”
With pounding heart, Stefanie looked back over her shoulder.
“I’ve got a couple of hours I can spare before I have to pick up my daughter Mandy at school.”
“You’d be willing to teach me?” Stefanie cried out in excitement.
“Sure. Why not. Let me grab my jacket and keys and I’ll walk you over to the barn.”
Stefanie only had to wait for her a few minutes. As soon as she reappeared, Stefanie said, “Mrs. Dankers—I promise I’ll make it worth your while. Name your price.”
The other woman smiled as they walked side by side. “It’ll be the same as I would charge anyone else. The name’s Pam.”
“Pam, you’re wonderful! The thing is, I have a confession to make. I need to learn how to ride by this Friday!”
“That far away, huh?” the other woman teased.
Stefanie felt an immediate liking for her and laughed out loud. But when she remembered her mission, she sobered.
“It’s very important. My boss has put me on two weeks probation. If I don’t measure up, I’ll be out of a job.” She tried to swallow, but there was a boulder-sized lump in her throat. “I can’t lose it. I just can’t.”
Pam eyed her speculatively before unlocking the barn door. “If that’s the case, you’re going to need more than one lesson.”
“I know. My problem is, I work every morning and can’t get away until noon. But after that, I’m free until bedtime.”
“I’m free at this time tomorrow. On Thursday I have to volunteer at school, but I’ll get my husband, Hayden, to help you. One look at you and he won’t mind a bit.”
The woman was pure gold. At this point Stefanie couldn’t prevent the t
ears. “You’ll never know what this means to me.” Her voice shook.
“Mind if I ask a question before we get started?”
“Of course not.”
“How long have you been in love with your boss?”
Stefanie let out a quiet gasp.
“Hey—I was only kidding. I meant no offense.”
“I’m not offended,” Stefanie assured her. “Your instincts must be infallible. I—I’ve loved him for a long time.”
Pam whistled. “This is serious stuff.”
“Yes,” Stefanie chuckled in spite of her agony.
“Well then, you’re going to get the crash course. You may not be able to take home the rodeo queen trophy by Friday, but we’ll make darn sure you can hold your own!”
True to Pam’s word, by the time Thursday night rolled around, Stefanie had been put through the paces and her body was paying for it. Between raking out the stalls in the morning, then putting hours in the saddle all afternoon, she couldn’t tell which part of her anatomy hurt the worst.
To compound the problem, she always stayed in Kalispell after her lessons and ate dinner by herself. Then she would take in a movie before heading home. Anything to while away the time so she wouldn’t have to face Gabe and explain where she’d been. As a result, her muscles tightened up on her before she had the chance to soak her aching limbs in a hot tub.
When her alarm went off Friday morning at six-thirty, she wanted to die she was so tired and sore. Here she’d been waiting, living for this day to come so she could spend it with Gabe, and now she could hardly move without moaning in physical pain.
She dressed with difficulty before staggering to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and one of Marva’s fabulous cinnamon rolls. As she entered through the French doors, Gabe was just coming out. Anytime she saw him after deprivation, her heart turned over on itself.
His gaze made an intimate perusal of her face and body, scorching her with its intensity.
“Where have you been the past few days?”
He sounded angry. Had he missed her? Oh, how she hoped so!
“Driving around getting acquainted with the area.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Until ten-thirty at night?” he derided.
Husband for a Year Page 8
