“I’ll see you at the supper table,” she said, firming her voice, straightening her shoulders and jerking the lead line from his grip.
“Lowery!” J.T.’s voice rang out across the yard, and in seconds a reply came from inside the barn.
“I’m here, J.T. Something wrong?” The copper-haired cowhand hustled from the shadowed interior, a bridle in one hand, a lariat in the other. “I was just headin’ out to the pasture to rope another one of the herd. Figured I had plenty of time…” His voice trailed off as he caught sight of J.T.’s face.
“Come take this horse and cool him off. Chloe and I have got something to take care of.”
Lowery shrugged. “Sure, I can do that, boss. Give me a chance to work out some of the kinks.” With a show of nonchalance, he took the lead line from Chloe’s fingers, and with a cheerful whistle set off down the lane, the horse ambling along behind him.
J.T.’s hand was firm on her waist as he led Chloe toward the orchard. The leaves were fully unfurled, the blossoms falling to the ground in snowy splendor, and new grass grew beneath the widespread limbs. It offered a lush blanket and with little ceremony, he pulled her to the ground and sat beside her.
“Now,” he began, “talk to me. Tell me what I can do to make things right with you.” Lifting her hand to his knee, he held it firmly, his rough, callused fingers tracing the lines of her palm; then turning it, he brushed small bits of dust from her fingers. She was silent and he sighed, lifting her fingers to his lips.
She jerked away, but he refused to loosen his hold, and her eyes flashed as she met his gaze. “I told you once before about bullying me. You don’t have to prove how strong you are, mister.”
He reached to wipe a tear from her cheek, and she inhaled sharply. “Why the tears?” he asked quietly, ignoring her accusations.
“Something in my eye,” she lied, her jaw taut as though she fought for control.
“You’ve got tears in your eyes, Chloe. Don’t give me that stuff. And I want to know what’s wrong with you.” He was impatient now, his nights of broken sleep and days of long hours stealing his good nature.
“I swear I’ve done more crying in the past weeks since you showed up than I’ve done in my whole life. And on top of it all, I wish Pete had stayed away,” she blurted out. “I feel so angry with him most of the time, and the rest of the time I yearn for things to be right between us.” She lifted her free hand to swipe furiously at new trickles making their way down her cheek. “That’ll never happen, J.T.”
She tilted her head back and he noted circles beneath her eyes, apparent in the unforgiving glare of afternoon sun. “Damn!” she blurted out harshly. “He’s not carrying his share of the load, and you’re putting up with it, and you shouldn’t have to.”
“Maybe not, but he’s your brother, Clo.” And as if that were reason enough for his actions, he allowed his anger at Pete to fade. “I’ll put up with him for a while, because I know he’s mad at the world in general right now.”
“He’ll never make a rancher, will he?” Her fingers plucked at the grass beside her and she lifted her hand, allowing the fragile stems to float to the ground. “My father wanted so much for Pete to run the place, but he was never suited to the job. And they didn’t hit it off, not from the time Pete was a kid.”
“Did you get along with your pa?” J.T. asked.
“Always,” Chloe told him. “We were on the same track, like our minds worked in harness. He’d stand on the back porch with me in the morning, and I almost knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. Pa was a good rancher, but he didn’t have the ideas you do. It was simpler to let things go along and just tend to the calves and foals as they were born.”
“Well, I’ll agree with you there. He wasn’t much of a breeder.” J.T. looked at her, and she met his gaze.
“You’ve got him pegged,” she said. “He never thought of improving the herd or bringing in new blood, the way you have.”
He cleared his throat and reached for her hand once more. “I’ve been thinking about looking for a new bull, maybe next year. I’d like to get more bulk in the steers. If we breed the cows early on, as soon as they drop their calves, we’d have some dandy beef to sell in a couple of years.”
“Sounds to me like you’re sinking your money into this place hand over fist,” Chloe said, allowing his fingers to grip hers. “You’ll end up owning it, won’t you?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not planning on anything but a partnership with you. I don’t mind investing my nest egg, Chloe. I’ve been handed the chance of a lifetime, with a base of stock that’ll tide us over until the new blood makes a difference. Nothing is for sure, but if we’re willing to work at it, I’d say we could have a thriving operation within three years.”
“And how long do you think Pete will stick it out?” she asked.
He was silent, his callused fingers brushing across the back of her hand. “Till he gets tired of taking orders, I expect. And I think he’s about at that point right now, honey.”
She nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s managed to get lost in the shuffle most every day the past week. No one seems to know where he is or what he’s doing. I keep waiting for you to nail him.”
His laugh was harsh, and he took her hand between his. “You may not have to wait too long. He’s about played out every inch of rope I’ve given him.”
From the barn, raised voices caught their attention and Chloe turned her head, alert to the anger Hogan made no attempt to disguise.
“Damn it all, Pete. I sent you out to ride the fence line and catch up with any strays, and you came up empty-handed again. What the hell did you do all morning?”
“I don’t answer to a ranch foreman,” Pete snarled, his voice carrying to where J.T. and Chloe were scrambling to their feet. He looked in their direction, as though their movements caught his eye, and his eyes blazed scornfully.
“Why don’t we ask my sister who I’m answering to around here these days?” he said. “Looks to me like her and her new partner are both taking the day off, sittin’ under an apple tree, makin’ monkeyshines.”
J.T. stepped ahead of Chloe, and in less than five seconds was reaching for Pete’s shirtfront, lifting him from the ground and shoving him against the side of the barn. “You’ll show a little more respect to your sister,” he muttered, his fist twisting in the dark fabric, his knuckles just beneath Pete’s chin.
“J.T.” Chloe moved to his side, and her hand was warm on J.T.’s upper arm, where the muscle bulged beneath her fingers. “Let him down,” she said quietly, and with a glance in her direction, he did as she asked.
Pete’s triumphant grin encompassed the watching ranch hands, Lowery and Hogan standing in the barn door, their eyes apprehensive as they waited for J.T.’s response.
“You’ll either do as Hogan tells you, or you’ll pack your duds and be on your way,” J.T. said quietly. “I won’t have a man on the place who doesn’t pull his weight.”
“Is that so?” Pete asked, his hands cocked on his hips. His eyes narrowed as he turned to Chloe and his query was loaded with assurance. “What do you think, Sis? Are you letting the gamblin’ man kick me off the ranch?”
Chloe was torn, unwilling to back from the stand she’d taken, yet aware that if Pete left, she would likely not see him again. “J.T.’s in charge of the ranch operation,” she said finally. “You’ll have to deal with him, Pete.” Her heart ached as her brother turned away.
“Made up your mind, son?” J.T. asked mildly, and Pete stopped just inside the barn door.
“Yeah, I expect I have,” he said. “Riding the fence line beats cuttin’ bulls any day of the week.” He led his horse from its stall and out into the sunshine. His face was stony, his jaw clenched as he mounted, and he tugged at his hat, shielding his eyes from view. “I’ll be back for supper,” he told Hogan. “And I’ll drag all the lost strays with me. Hope that makes you happy, little sister.” His final words directed a
t Chloe, he turned his horse with a jerk of his reins and trotted past the corral into the near pasture.
“I thought for certain he’d bolt,” Hogan said to J.T. as he watched the young man ride away. “He’s never been one to take orders, even from the old man.”
“So I’ve heard,” J.T. answered. “I’d keep an eye out if I were you. Maybe one of the men can ride herd on him for a few days.”
“We’ll take a shot at it, but we don’t have enough hands to play nursemaid,” Lowery said harshly. “Pete’s gonna go too far one of these days. You mind my words, he’s headed for trouble.”
Supper was a quiet affair, with Pete arriving late, after the first bowls of food had been passed among the men and emptied. Chloe stood at the stove, platter in hand as Tilly lifted pork chops from the big skillet. She turned as the door opened, and her heart lifted as Pete waved a greeting.
“Located a dozen strays for you, Sis,” he said jauntily. “I put them in the pasture till they can be checked over.” He settled at the table, drawing his plate closer as he prepared to heap it from the newly filled bowls of vegetables and gravy.
“See any sign of trouble?” Hogan asked, lifting his fork to his mouth as he bent over his plate. He watched Pete carefully as the young man buttered a thick slice of bread. “Any fence down, Pete?”
“Nah. There’s nothing going on out there. Those rustlers are long gone. I’ll bet they sold those steers before they went twenty miles.”
“Not with the Double B brand on them, they didn’t,” Hogan said sharply. “There’s not a man around who’d buy branded cattle. Not an honest man, anyway.”
“Nothing to get all in a dither about anyway,” Pete said sharply. “What’s a few head of cattle when the range is full of stock?”
“You wouldn’t be so generous with them if they were yours,” J.T. said harshly. “I’d say you need to rearrange your thinking, boy.”
Pete pushed his chair back from the table and stood. “I’m not a boy,” he snarled. “I’m more entitled to this place than a penny-ante gambler any day of the week. Hiding that fourth jack up your sleeve might have made you a bigwig, Flannery, but you don’t impress me.”
“It didn’t make me a bigwig to hold four jacks. It made me half owner of a ranch.” J.T. stood, his chair moving soundlessly as he lifted it aside. “Now, if you’d like to go outside and talk about cheating at cards, I’ll be glad to meet you behind the barn.”
Pete’s eyes shifted from J.T. to his sister, and Chloe was breathless as she faced the choice she must make. “Don’t do it, Pete,” she said quietly. “Take back that absurd lie before you go too far.”
“You’d believe him instead of me?” Pete’s face flushed with anger as he turned to face his sister head-on. “He’s a gambler, a lousy four-flusher, Sis. He played me for a fool, and walked away with my share of the ranch.”
“I haven’t any reason to think he’s lying,” she said, making the decision that might cost her the love of her brother, one she would rue, should that happen. Yet, maybe if she sided with J.T. in such a way that Pete could no longer play them against each other, things would be better. And at that thought, she made up her mind.
“I’m going to marry him,” she said quietly, aware that J.T.’s hand fisted against his thigh, and his gaze was bent in her direction. She looked up into dark eyes that flared with satisfaction. “We’ll go into town and see the preacher tomorrow.”
“Well, it’s about time,” Tilly said sharply. “You’ve dillydallied long enough, Chloe.”
J.T.’s lips twitched and a dark flush touched his cheekbones as he cut a glance in Tilly’s direction. And then he aimed a hard look at Chloe. “That’ll suit me fine,” he said, his voice husky, his nostrils flaring as if he sought her scent. And then he was against her side, his arm circling her waist.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want to tell the men until the deed was done, honey,” he drawled. “But, anyway you want to handle it is all right with me. The sooner the better.”
Hogan grinned from his seat at the other end of the table, and Lowery chuckled, a low, satisfied sound. Willie rose from his chair and ducked his head. “I’d better be getting out to the barn,” he said harshly. “Chores won’t wait for this sort of foolish talk.”
“Well,” J.T. said slowly, waving the boy on his way, “I’d like to think it’s far from foolish when a woman finally makes up her mind and decides to tie the knot. Matter of fact, I’d like to propose a toast to the new Mrs. Flannery.” He lifted his cup of coffee from the table and held it high, and the men scrambled for their glasses and mugs.
Pete’s chair fell to the floor, and the screen door slammed behind him as J.T. made his announcement. But it was no deterrent to Hogan’s laughter as he pushed his chair back and stood before his place. “Don’t know much about proposing a toast,” he said, “but I’ll drink to a wedding any day of the week. Chloe’ll make you a good wife, boss man. And there’s enough of us here to be sure you treat her right.” He swallowed deeply of the dark brew, then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.
“Now, I’m gonna finish my pork chop and have another helping of green beans, Tilly.” With a satisfied grin, he settled down again, and the men laughed, jokes flying fast and furiously as they passed the food around the big table, apparently determined not to allow Pete’s hasty exit to dim their excitement.
Chloe looked up at J.T. “Will he be all right?” Her words were spoken in an undertone, lest the others at the table overhear.
“Hard to say.” His shrug was eloquent, admitting his inability to comprehend Pete’s actions. “But he’ll have to make a choice, honey. Either he works at ranching or he’ll have to leave. And you can’t make up his mind for him.”
Her whisper was forlorn. “He’s angry with me.”
“You knew he would be.” His grip on her waist tightened and he drew her toward the table. “Come on and eat now. You can’t do anything about Pete. He’s a man full grown, and he’ll have to live with his mistakes, just like we all do.”
Chloe acceded to his bidding and dropped into a chair beside his. In moments the men had passed bowls in her direction and their small talk seemed designed to lift her spirits.
“Haven’t been to a wedding in years,” Hogan said with a grin. “You gonna do it up brown, Chloe, with a dance and food enough for all the neighbors?”
“You bet,” J.T. said quickly, his smile warm as he bent his attention on Chloe. “It’s gonna be a real celebration.”
“I didn’t leave you an open door, did I?” Chloe leaned against the side of the house. Beside her, J.T. slanted a long look in her direction.
“Who said I wanted one? I’ve been steering you in this direction almost since I got here. I can’t say I’m unhappy with the turn of events. Matter of fact, I think I owe your brother a word of thanks for bringing things to a head.”
Chloe gazed across the side yard to where the orchard flourished, the pale blossoms that covered the grass shimmering in the moonlight. “I was afraid I’d put you on the spot, springing that announcement in front of the men.”
“Did they look surprised?” His words held a cocky note. “They knew the direction I was heading, almost from the first, Chloe. I haven’t made any attempt to hide the way I feel about you.”
“And how do you feel?” she asked, bold in the darkness. Her heart fluttered as she waited, although a declaration of love wasn’t likely in the works. Not from this man, who’d already made it clear that falling in love was not up his alley.
“I feel like I’m about to do the smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said firmly. “You’re smart and pretty and you hold your own, Chloe. You appeal to me more than any other woman I’ve ever come across, and if you’re thinking it’ll be a hardship to share a bed with you, you’ve got a big surprise coming.”
So much for a declaration of love, she thought, focusing on the orchard and the pasture beyond its boundaries. “I’m not sure about sharing a bed, J.T.,�
�� she said quietly. “I’ve always thought I’d have to love a man before I took his name or invited him to my bedroom.”
“I won’t put any pressure on you, honey,” he said quietly, but she thought his words held a touch of disappointment in their depths. “I’ve never demanded anything from a woman in my life. I’m sure not going to start now.”
She turned her head to meet his gaze, peering into dark eyes that were shadowed by the wide brim of his hat. “You’re telling me you’d be willing to stay upstairs while I sleep down here alone in my parents’ bedroom?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I told you I won’t demand anything from you. I didn’t say I wouldn’t try to coax you a little.” And then he smiled, and even in the shadows of night his eyes glittered with satisfaction. “I’ll share your bed, Chloe. I won’t have it any other way, not with Tilly and six men watching every step I take. They’d know in a heartbeat if we said good night at the foot of the stairs and then went our separate ways every night.
“I’ll be moving my things to your room, just as soon as we speak our vows.”
Chapter Seven
“What are you up to in here?” J.T. leaned against the doorjamb, watching as Chloe sorted through a stack of clothing. Dresser drawers were pulled out at odd angles and their contents strewn across the bed. As Chloe glanced his way, exasperation pulled her mouth into a pout.
“Making room for your things.”
“I didn’t know it would involve so much rearranging,” J.T. said mildly, stepping warily into the room. “I just thought you’d clear out part of your dresser for my drawers and stockings and I could hang my shirts and pants on a nail on the wall.”
“You’re not pounding nails into my bedroom wall,” Chloe said sharply. “I have a wardrobe you can hang your shirts in. Both of them,” she said pointedly.
“I’m gonna get some new things next time I go to town,” he assured her. “And I’ve got more than two shirts. You oughta know that.” For some reason she was in a state this morning, and after last night, he’d thought things were well under control. He probed a bit further.
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