by Jeannie Watt
She’d probably never know, but she wanted to. He’d been so damned perfect back in their rodeo days—all lean, hard muscle and get-it-done attitude. There was something about confidence that Shae found sexy—one of the reasons she’d made that bet. His reserved, can’t-get-to-me quality had been another. Shae did love a challenge.
Now the challenge was different, the circumstances vastly changed. It wasn’t the time to be wondering about naked Jordan. Or to be lamenting his injuries. She did love perfection, though, and the fact that he was no longer the specimen of manhood he’d once been did bother her. How shallow was she for that?
Pretty damned shallow, she admitted, pursing her lips as she studied her reflection in the trough. Shallow and petty—which was exactly how he saw her. Mel, her brother, Jordan. All had recently been very free in pointing out her imperfections. And maybe they had a point.
Shae pushed the thought aside, but it edged back almost instantly. Three people, two of whom she cared about, had judged her harshly. Four if she counted Reed.
Later. She’d confront these issues when she wasn’t trying to save her professional ass. At the moment, she had a job to do and a few things she needed to straighten out with Jordan now that this was her home away from home. Pulling her hair back into a barrette, she stepped out into the sun. Where was the man? In the barn? In the pastures? Had he circled around while she’d washed her face and gone back to the house?
The pig spotted her as she walked toward the bunkhouse and came galloping toward her. Shae froze, telling herself the animal had no teeth and the worst she could do was knock her down—which she tried to do, sideswiping Shae as she ran by, then turning to jog back as Shae caught her balance.
“No!” Shae commanded, just as she had last time, and again the pig slowed to a stop.
Shae cocked her head.
“Stay,” she said firmly and the pig stood its ground as Shae took a couple steps back.
A trained pig. Did Jordan know? Probably. And hadn’t told her.
Shae walked around the pig and then turned to face it, walking backward toward the bunkhouse. The animal didn’t move and Shae smiled to herself. Cool.
“Uh...” she said once she was in the doorway, wondering how to release the animal. “Run free....” She waved her arms. “Shoo. Go do pig stuff.”
One of the words worked and the pig started snuffling along the ground again. She went into the bunkhouse and changed her clothes, stuffing her old clothes into a duffel bag she’d brought for that purpose. She thought about taking a few minutes to put on some makeup and then decided that while she was here, she wasn’t going to bother. Even if she felt kind of naked without it.
Now to deal with Jordan—if she could find him. She’d seen his dog at the barn, so that seemed like the place to begin the search. When she slid open the heavy barn door, she was greeted by the thud of hooves and a sharp curse as the horse that Jordan had been in the process of haltering shied violently and shot out the gate to the pasture. He sent her an angry look, but Shae only shrugged.
“Nice animal,” she said as the mare sped across the pasture to the far corner to join her friends. Belinda whinnied from the adjoining corral.
“Yeah,” Jordan replied, making Shae wonder how long he’d worked to get close to the horse.
And then she noticed what she hadn’t noticed when she’d faced off with him in her panties—he looked like hell.
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked.
“Always,” he said with such heavy sarcasm that Shae realized she’d touched a sore spot. “You?”
“You inquired earlier if you recall, but for the record, I slept splendidly.”
“Well, now that we’re done lying to each other, what is it you want? Because I don’t think you purposely came down here to scare off my horse and I doubt you came down to say good morning.”
“No. I did just want to say good morning.”
“Bullshit,” Jordan said matter-of-factly.
“I want to have the power turned on,” she said, expecting him to balk on general principles.
“Pay the deposit.”
Shae frowned at him. “That’s why you don’t have power? The deposit?”
“I don’t need it right now.”
“You don’t need plumbing?”
“There’s an outhouse.”
“I prefer plumbing,” Shae assured him. “And the EPA frowns on outhouses now.”
“Well, the plumbing is in the house and that’s not part of your domain, even if the water was turned on.”
“I can make plumbing part of my domain,” Shae said mildly. “There’re facilities in the bathhouse.” A toilet sitting in the corner of the room that had four shower spigots coming out of the wall and one big drain in the floor. Every bit of plumbing was from the 1930s, when the bathhouse had been built during the last small gold rush in the area. “I’ll just repair existing facilities in the bathhouse.”
She sauntered closer as she spoke, noting the way he drew himself up in response, as if preparing for an assault. Because he despised her? Well, he might despise her, but that hadn’t kept him from giving her a good once-over not that long ago.
“That’s legal, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I need to talk to my attorney.”
“Well, while you do that, I’m calling a plumber.”
* * *
SHAE’S PLUMBER ARRIVED in the early afternoon. As soon as he opened the door, the pig charged, but Shae held the animal off with a quick command.
How the hell had she figured that out?
Shae smiled as she approached the wary-looking guy, spoke briefly to him, then turned toward where Jordan was working on his corral. Even at a distance he could see the smug expression on her face. He also saw the plumber give her a good once-over, his gaze lingering on her ass for longer than Jordan thought necessary. And although Shae wasn’t looking at the plumber, she was aware of what was going on. Jordan was sure of it. Women like Shae were born aware of the power they had over other people. And Shae enjoyed the power.
No. There wasn’t a lot to like about her.
Which was probably why it was killing him that he was finding her more fascinating than he should. It’d been ages since he’d been laid, and yeah, she’d looked damned good in her panties, but that was no excuse. Not when he knew what kind of person she was. How many people had he seen her run roughshod over during high school? And she’d appeared so freaking oblivious. That was what had really fried him. She hurt people, pushed them around, and didn’t seem to notice the effects of her actions. Hell—that was exactly what she was doing to him now with this guest-ranch business.
He watched her lead the way to the bathhouse, smiling and talking to the plumber, confident in herself and her ability to control all situations. There were a lot of similarities between Miranda and Shae—they were both attractive, charming, manipulative and used to getting their own way—and it behooved him to remember that. Especially when it was his own eye being drawn to her ass.
Disgusted with himself, Jordan focused back on the fence.
It would kill him to have Shae think she was getting to him. That he found her attractive on any level, because then she would try to work him...or rather, try harder to work him.
He wasn’t going to let that happen.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SHAE’S PLUMBER WAS PLEASANT, helpful and mildly flirtatious. He also had to break the news to her that the septic system for the bathhouse was nonexistent due to age. To get the system up and running, she’d have to have a new septic tank installed and then have extensive work done on the pipes. It was possible she’d have to get Jordan’s permission to dig up what was left of the old septic system. Not the answer she’d hoped for, and if she was not mistaken, Jordan looked pretty damned smug over in t
he round pen, where he was pointedly ignoring her and the plumber as he brushed down the buckskin filly he’d worked that morning.
Shae walked with the plumber, who’d insisted she call him Cody, back to his truck, smiled and shook her head when he asked if she spent much time in Missoula, then shooed the pig away when he started the engine. Damn, damn and double damn.
Once the dust from Cody’s truck had settled, Shae unfolded the written estimate he’d given her. Repairing the plumbing had been an area she’d pegged as a high-budget item, but she hadn’t realized that none of the existing system could be used. The figure was about four times what she’d estimated, she still had no facilities and Jordan was probably not going to give her his go-ahead.
She was going to do it anyway. Miranda had said to proceed and she was proceeding. She now had one estimate for plumbing repair in the bathhouse and she planned to get at least two more. She’d also get estimates for making changes in the bunkhouse and the cabins that she’d yet to fully explore.
Even if Jordan had more rights than Miranda was willing to concede, the High Camp would become a guest ranch. Of that, Shae had no doubt. She’d gotten the strong feeling during their last meeting that Miranda would operate it at a loss if she had to, just to show Jordan he couldn’t continue to harass her. It was more than apparent that he did have some kind of vendetta against his stepmother, and she against him, and Shae was going to have to walk a thin line to stay out of the middle of it. The thought nagged at her for most of the morning. All she wanted was to do her contracted job, not to be caught up in a family drama. Especially not this family.
Finally, close to noon, she got into her truck and drove down to the cattle guard to make a few calls. She hung up from the last one, a contractor who specialized in restoring historical buildings, who’d thought he might be able to squeeze in a trip for an estimate within the month, and then dialed the Cedar Creek Ranch and asked for Miranda.
“She’s not at the ranch,” Ashley said with a snip in her voice. “She’s due back late tonight.”
“Thank you,” Shae said. “Would you please tell her that I’m staying at the High Camp, so I have no phone service? I’ll check in every day or two.”
“Noted.” Ashley, who was not the forgiving sort, gave a small sniff and asked if there was anything else.
“Nothing for now,” Shae said and then ended the call without saying goodbye. For a moment she sat in her truck, staring straight ahead, the siren song of a hot shower luring her to drive on toward Missoula. Shae fought with herself for another few seconds, then put the truck in gear and made an illegal U-turn across the highway, heading back the way she came. She still had work to do. The shower, as lovely as it would be, could wait.
She’d just crossed the cattle guard when the Subaru came around the corner and she and Jordan swung to their respective sides of the road, the vehicles brushing past each other. She glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled back onto the road and smiled with a touch of satisfaction.
He’d probably thought she’d be gone for the day. Well, now he was going to have to contend with her being on his precious ranch without him. She brought her eyes back to the road.
Maybe while he was gone she could figure out just where it was that he bathed.
* * *
THE PHARMACIST SHOOK his head after typing Jordan’s name into the computer. “I’m sorry. The prescription’s yet to be filled. We never got verification from your former pharmacy.”
Jordan stared at the man, telling himself this wasn’t happening. Not when he’d just taken his last pill the night before. “Could you check again? When I talked to the assistant here last week, she said transferring wasn’t a problem.”
“Well, there was a problem,” the pharmacist said. “Too many refills in too short a time. According to the note here, we tried to call you, but your phone was out of service.”
“I live in a nonservice area,” Jordan muttered, digging in his wallet for his physician’s card. Once he found it, he shoved it across the counter. “Can you call my doctor, please? See what you can do?”
“Certainly, but we don’t keep this drug in stock. It takes an extra day to fill, since this is not a common prescription. It’s normally not a problem, once the patient knows to order in advance.”
“I thought I had.”
The pharmacist looked over his glasses, clearly commiserating but unable to do anything about the situation. “Once we get through to your doctor and he gives the okay,” he said patiently, “we can have the medication here by one p.m. tomorrow.”
Jordan cleared his throat. “Fine. Do you mind if I wait until you make that call?”
“If you’d like.”
Ten minutes later Jordan left the store, telling himself that he’d slept without the pills in the past without issue. He was taking them as a precaution. No need to be concerned...except there’d been no one around to hear him if he did have a nightmare. Now there was.
Get a grip. He’d already had one nightmare with Shae there. Obviously the chances of her hearing him, or doing anything if she did, were nil if she spent the night closed up in the truck again. It couldn’t have been that comfortable sleeping in the truck...though he had to admit that he was kind of impressed she had gone that far to prove a point.
She had to be either pretty damned angry or pretty damned desperate to prove her worth as Miranda’s right-hand woman.
Jordan unlocked his car and got inside, running a hand over Clyde’s head. The dog curled up between Jordan’s chest and the steering wheel, his body warm and comforting. “You can’t ride there,” Jordan said. Not if he wanted to steer effectively.
As if he understood, Clyde slunk off his lap and sat beside him, his little chin tilted up, looking out the window. Jordan put the car into Reverse. A quick stop for groceries and water, another for a mineral block, then he could get back to the ranch, where Shae was enjoying some undeserved alone time. He hated the thought of her being there without him.
Hell, he hated the thought of her being there with him. It froze him up, sharing his space, even if he did have the opportunity to see her half-naked. And if he felt like this with one person around, what was he going to feel like with a crew of enthusiastic vacationers tromping all over the place? Did he seriously think he was going to be able to work his horses with people standing at the fence asking questions?
He would deal with that when he had to. Right now he was going to keep his heels stubbornly dug in and hope he could somehow win this battle.
And what if you can’t? What then? The stubborn voice refused to silence itself as he drove home and by the time he crossed the cattle guard, his head was throbbing. All he’d wanted when he’d started his cross-country journey a few weeks ago was to go home and heal.
Miranda and Shae were making that an impossible thing to do.
* * *
IT DIDN’T TAKE long after she’d trapped the pig in the backyard and closed the gate for Shae to find the trail through thick brush and trees from Jordan’s house to the ponds several hundred yards away. She’d spotted the connected dredge ponds on the aerials, knew they were remnants of the placer operations that had flourished between 1890 and the 1930s, but she hadn’t realized just how picturesque they were. As they were located on Forest Service land, anyone could have access to them, but the area was so remote that they were virtually untouched. Shae kicked her shoes off and waded in, the icy water sending a shiver through her. If Jordan bathed here, he was a stronger person than she was. Shae stood for another moment on the smooth gravel bottom, telling herself it wasn’t that cold. But it was, so she waded back out. She could bathe tonight in Missoula while she waited at home for Miranda’s call.
She was on her way to the barn to saddle Belinda for her first trail reconnaissance when the sound of a diesel engine stopped her. She reversed course as a new
red Dodge drove into sight. The Cedar Creek Ranch trucks were white and the woman who climbed out of the cab after parking was unfamiliar.
“Hey,” she called, waving cheerfully. “I’m Devon. You called my dad today about a renovation?”
“Hartley Renovations?” Shae asked as she crossed the distance between them.
“Yeah. Dad realized I was in the area and asked me to stop by and take some photos for him. He knows you’re on a schedule and thought if he had some information it’d make it easier for him to work up an estimate for you.”
“Great,” Shae said. “I’ll show you the buildings and get you a copy of the measurements.” Miranda’s copy, but she’d make another tonight.
They went inside the bunkhouse and Shae explained that she didn’t yet know how extensive the renovation might be. “I’ll be in touch with your father within the next week or two and let him know what we’ve decided on before he makes the trip out.”
“Budget issues?” Devon asked as she lowered her camera.
“Among other things. But I’m certain the project will progress no matter what.”
“Cool,” Devon said. “Can I see the other buildings?”
“Sure.” Shae heard the Subaru drive in as they stepped outside, but ignored it and led Devon to the bathhouse.
“We could turn this into a really nice sauna,” Devon said, snapping a picture and moving forward to open the door. “We’ve refurbished a couple buildings like this on other ranches.”
“I’d love a sauna,” Shae said. She’d love a bath. Anything except an icy swim.
The Subaru door opened and closed and then Jordan called his poodle back with a quick command. Devon looked out from the bathhouse, but Shae refused to turn around. If all went well, Jordan would disappear into his house and she could get through this impromptu consultation without incident.
* * *
JORDAN CARRIED IN his groceries, dumped them on the counter and then went to stand near the living room window, arms crossed as he watched the invaders making plans for his place.
