All for a Cowboy

by Jeannie Watt

  When she’d first mentioned an exit strategy, Jordan had been stunned. Hell, he’d felt betrayed until he managed to convince himself that she’d only broached the matter out of concern. She’d been unusually quiet after their argument, and when she left, they’d kissed goodbye, but it hadn’t been with the usual passion or promise. The first rift had appeared and Jordan wasn’t certain how to fix it, but he did know who was responsible.

  Damned Miranda.

  On Friday morning Jordan awoke to the sound of a big diesel truck pulling up close to the house, followed by a knock on the door.

  “Where you want me to start?” the burly man asked.

  “Start what?” Jordan growled.

  “The plumbing,” the man said impatiently.

  “I don’t know anything about plumbing,” Jordan said. “You need to get in contact with whoever hired you.”

  Ashley showed up shortly thereafter and Jordan did his best to ignore her as she flitted around, directing “repairmen” who worked on the plumbing in the bathhouse and continued to replace the floors in the cabins. He did exactly what he’d planned to do when this day came: live his life.

  So much fricking easier said than done. There were people everywhere, banging and making noise, making it difficult to get his horses to focus on him and him alone. When the backhoe rolled in, he gave up and released the mare, then retreated to his house—where he had next to nothing to do. He was an outside guy. He worked horses. He did not do well trapped in a house with a poodle for company—even a good poodle like Clyde.

  But he couldn’t bring himself to go outside and face the mayhem. Every now and again he pushed the muslin curtain aside and looked out. The backhoe was ripping up the old septic area and Ashley was standing a good fifty feet away, calling directions the driver couldn’t hear.

  Disgusted, he walked back to his old leather chair and sat down, feeling very much the prisoner.

  It was happening. Miranda was slowly but surely taking over his ranch, renovating under the guise of repairing and moving forward with her plans. He put up with two more days of the repairs that weren’t capital investments, and therefore out of his realm of influence, before deciding that he had to take action. He couldn’t let Miranda just waltz in here without challenging her.

  And challenge her he would. Even if it got his ass sued.

  * * *

  IT WAS A LONG, stressful six-day week, but by late Saturday Shae was not only very close to nailing down the deal Mel had been working on before she left, she’d also gotten a call for an interview on the other side of the state. Miles City. A long, long way away from the High Camp.

  At the moment she wasn’t certain how she felt about that. She desperately wanted a job that wasn’t connected to Miranda in any way. And as things stood, perhaps some distance from Jordan would be a good thing.

  Yeah. That was why she had a bag packed and waiting in the car. She didn’t know what kind of a reception she was going to get, but she was driving to the High Camp as soon as she got off work—even though she’d have to drive back the next morning. She hated the way they’d parted last Sunday and she needed to see if she could make peace with him—if the barrier that had risen after she’d mentioned giving up the ranch could be breached.

  Her question was answered almost as soon as she parked her car. She’d barely opened the door when Jordan appeared. He stood before her, tense and uncertain, then opened his arms and she walked into them, pressing herself against him as she brought her cheek to rest against his solid chest.

  “I missed you,” he said against her hair.

  “I missed you, too,” she murmured, feeling his heart beat beneath her cheek. She eased out of his embrace and smiled up at him, glad to see that some of the tension had left his face. “Can we go to the house?”

  Jordan reached into the Audi for her bag, then closed the door and followed her up to the house. Clyde’s nose was pressed against the window and when Shae came inside he practically did a flip in his joy to see her. Shae laughed and knelt down to ruffle his fur. “Taking good care of the man?” she asked in a low voice as she dodged kisses.

  “My turn,” Jordan said, leaning down to put a hand beneath her elbow and helping her to her feet.

  “I got an interview,” she said with a smile. “Next week.”

  “Where?”

  “Miles City.”

  A shadow crossed his face before he said, “How do you feel about that?”

  “Hopeful,” she said, smoothing her palms over his chest. “And how’re things here?”

  “I’m trying to focus on the positive,” he said, his hands slipping down over her ass.

  “Good plan,” she murmured, pressing herself up against him. “I think you should make me feel very, very positive.”

  “I’ll see what I can do to spread the joy,” he said, swinging her up in his arms and heading down the hall. Shae squealed, her feet banged the doorframe, but Jordan didn’t put her down until they reached the bed. And then, good as his word, he made Shae feel better than she’d felt all week.

  She returned the favor and was just about to drift to sleep when Jordan eased himself out of bed. She didn’t think much of it until the front door opened and closed. Shae pushed herself up on one elbow, then let herself back down on the pillow. Five or six minutes later the door opened and shut again.

  Jordan got back into bed and dropped an arm over her. Shae snuggled closer to him and seconds later was asleep.

  The next morning Jordan cooked her breakfast and they ate out on the back porch, where they couldn’t see the abomination Miranda and Ashley were creating. Shae didn’t want to leave without clearing the air between them. Yes, they’d made love and yes, it’d been good—makeup sex always was—but she wanted official closure...which didn’t seem to be happening, since neither of them wanted to ruin the moment.

  Finally Shae set down her cup and addressed the matter. Because that was what she did—addressed things that needed to be addressed. “About last weekend,” she said.

  Jordan’s gaze jerked up. “Yeah?” he said cautiously.

  “I know I have a rep for bulldozing over people to get my way, and I want you to know that I’m not going to do that with you.”

  “Good to know.”

  “However, I will let you know what I think.”

  “You’ve done that.”

  “And I’d appreciate it if you did me the courtesy of listening to my opinion.”

  “I will.”

  “But please...because this isn’t easy for me...don’t mistake my opinion for bulldozing. Okay? I’m still working all of this out.” She shrugged ruefully. “Old habits are hard to break, so be patient with me, okay?”

  “That goes both ways,” Jordan said, smiling warmly.

  Shae reached out and took his injured hand, her thumb smoothing over the damaged skin on his knuckles. “I’ve got to go,” she said. “But I wanted that clear. I’m trying. I’m not going to do to you what I did to Reed.”

  “And probably a few others.” Jordan smiled and Shae squeezed his hand before letting go.

  “Maybe a few.”

  Ten minutes later Jordan set her bag onto the backseat of the car and then, instead of saying goodbye, told her he’d ride with her as far as the gate.

  “It wasn’t closed when I came through,” she said.

  “It’s closed now.”

  Shae shrugged and got in behind the wheel while Jordan got into the passenger seat. If he wanted to open the gate for her and walk back, well, she’d happily take those extra moments with him. But he hadn’t come along just to open the gate—he’d come along to unlock the big-ass padlock securing the chain around the gate. Shae’s heart sank.

  After taking the car out of gear, Shae got out and walked over to the gatepost. She lifte
d the heavy chain with one hand. He was locking Miranda out. One lawsuit, coming up.

  “You don’t expect this to work, do you?”

  “I expect it to work for a while. The crew doesn’t show up today, but sometimes Ashley does, and tomorrow...” He smiled in anticipation as the words trailed off.

  “And what happens after a while? After she sues you for access and wins?”

  “What makes you think she’ll win?”

  “Just a nasty feeling I have.”

  “If she wins this one, I’ll think of something else.”

  For a long moment Shae stared at him. Nothing good was going to come of this, but what could she do? Demand that he unlock the gate? Finally she simply took his face in her hands and kissed him long and hard before getting into the car. She drove through the gate, watching in the rearview mirror as Jordan closed and locked it behind her.

  * * *

  THE CHAIN WORKED for just about as long as it took Ashley to report back to Miranda that her access was blocked and for the burly cowboy to show up with bolt cutters. Jordan had expected no less. The small chain was his warning shot.

  Ashley went to work as if nothing had happened and Jordan spent the day gritting his teeth and waiting for her to leave. When Shae had been working at the High Camp, he’d been able to go most of the day without seeing evidence of change, but Miranda was pulling out all the stops now and every day something new was done to one of the old buildings. The cabins had been gutted and new flooring had been laid over the old. Since there’d been an issue with rot, it was technically a repair. Miranda seemed able to twist everything around so that it was technically a repair. She could probably build a structure from the ground up and it’d be considered a repair. That was the way life worked for her.

  “Excuse me.” Jordan turned from where he was putting the buckskin through her paces in the round pen to find Ashley standing close to the gate. The expression on his scarred face must have been pretty damned spectacular, because she took a quick step back before she tilted her chin up and said, “We need to talk about the peacocks.”

  “What about them?”

  “They need to go. They’re encroaching on our property.”

  “And right now you’re standing on mine. Get off.”

  She hugged her clipboard to her chest and then fled without another word.

  Good. But he couldn’t help thinking that Shae would have never backed down. She would have said her piece, listened to him and then told him where he’d gone wrong. And she would have looked damned hot while doing it.

  He turned back to his horse, but his concentration was shot. He walked toward the horse, which met him halfway across the round pen, and rubbed her ears.

  Damn it, Dad. Why did you put me in this situation?

  After Ashley and her crew left, Jordan went to the barn and found the logging chains his grandfather had used. It was all he could do with his injured arm to get the damned things wrapped around the gate and gatepost.

  Ashley and her crew weren’t able to breach the new chain. The padlock was old and thick and beyond bolt cutters. A torch would get the job done, and it was probably coming soon. Then the flood of repairmen would start again. As it was, Ashley walked onto the property from where she’d parked her truck on the other side of the gate. She stalked up to him and said, “This isn’t going to work.”

  “Seems to be doing okay so far.”

  She let out a huff of breath and pretended to go to work, but there wasn’t much she could do with no crew to direct. The contractors were stopped at the gate and most likely went back home. That was probably going to cost Miranda a pretty penny for nothing and Jordan was going to see to it that it kept costing her. He had several lengths of logging chain.

  “You can expect to hear from our lawyer soon,” Ashley said as she started back down the driveway that afternoon.

  “Can’t wait,” he replied.

  But it turned out that he could wait, and he did. Ashley didn’t show up the next day, or the following day, either. And the beaver-hatted lawyer didn’t appear at his door with a cease-and-desist order. Jordan was starting to get edgy. Miranda hadn’t gone away.

  * * *

  WITH WALLACE’S BLESSING, Shae took Friday off and flew to Miles City for her interview. She flew back with a job offer and two weeks to decide. Her flight got in early, and after loading her overnight bag in the Audi, she headed straight for the High Camp. Straight to Jordan.

  It wasn’t until she got to the gate that she realized getting to the ranch was going to be more difficult than anticipated, primarily due to the presence of one very large chain holding the gate shut. Shae got out of the Audi and walked up to the gate, feeling a deep sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. The battle of the gate had obviously escalated.

  Shae shook her head and climbed through the fence, taking care not to snag her linen pants, and then walked the quarter mile to the house, her stomach knotting more tightly with each step.

  Jordan was just coming from the corrals when he saw her and even at a distance she saw a wide smile form on his face. He met her before she reached the driveway, taking her in his arms, kissing her soundly.

  “The first chain didn’t work?” she asked as his lips left hers, resisting the impulse to lose herself in the moment and pretend all was well.

  “No. This one is doing a better job. I hate to leave the property, because I don’t know what to expect next. I have lots of chains, though, so I can keep this up as long as they can.”

  Shae took a small step back. “And what happens when you get the official notice to allow your lessees access?”

  “I’ll have to think of something else.”

  Shae framed Jordan’s face with her hands. “Is this how you want to live your life? Thinking of something else? Fighting the inevitable?”

  He broke away from her, frowning, and even though Shae told herself to shut up, that this wasn’t her battle, she couldn’t stay quiet.

  “Staying here, being bitter while Miranda builds her guest ranch around you is going to destroy you.”

  “So what am I supposed to do? Just...let it go?”

  “Yeah. Let it go.”

  He stared at her, anger etching across his features. “And if I can’t?”

  Shae pushed her hair back from her forehead with both hands to keep from touching him again. “I know how much she’s taken from you. I won’t presume to know how devastating that was, but I can tell you that if you stay here, it will affect any chance we have to be happy.”

  “You’re making me choose between the ranch and you.”

  “No.” She blurted out the word, shocked. “The last thing I’d do is give you an ultimatum.”

  “You’re asking me to give up the ranch. You’re indicating that if I don’t, we won’t be happy.”

  She dropped her hands back to her sides. “You have to choose whether or not to ruin your life over a woman who wants to see you in hell. If you stay here, she gets her wish. You’ll be miserable.”

  “And if I leave she gets her wish, too.”

  “If that’s the case,” Shae said, “then you have to choose the lesser of the two evils.” He wore an expression of such utter betrayal that she knew it was useless, but she tried one more time.

  “You don’t have to sell the place—”

  “I have no capital to set up anywhere else,” he said angrily. “This is it. This is what I can afford right now, and this is where I have to stay.”

  For one very long moment, they faced off, Shae’s throat tightening as she realized the futility of arguing further. “You might have to stay, but I can’t.”

  “You’re giving up on us.” His voice was cool, bordering on icy, but there was no mistaking the flash of pain in his eyes.

  “I can’t stay
and watch you destroy yourself.”

  “That’s not what’s happening.”

  “Yeah. It is, whether you want to admit it or not.”

  “And in your opinion, selling the ranch, will make things better.”

  “Getting off the ranch will move you out of Miranda’s sphere of influence.”

  “I’m not giving up.”

  “Then...” Shae spread her hands in a helpless gesture.

  “So my choice is to do what you want or lose you?” he asked in a deadly tone. “Sounds a hell of a lot like an ultimatum to me.”

  “Sorry you see it that way.” Sorry enough that it felt as if her heart was breaking, but she’d told the stone-cold truth when she’d said that she couldn’t stay and watch him destroy himself. It was now crystal clear that keeping his battle with Miranda was the most important thing in Jordan’s life. He couldn’t let go, and Shae couldn’t live with it.

  Shae walked back to the gate alone. Jordan had coolly offered to go with her, but she’d turned him down. It was hard enough to walk away as it was. But walk she did.

  What now?

  She didn’t know. The one certainty, though, was that if hating Miranda was more important than building something with her, then there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Oh, she could try and everything in her gut told her to go for it, to not lose the best thing that had happened to her, but if there was one thing she’d learned over the past two months, it was that getting her way through strength of will didn’t solve problems. It just changed them.

  She couldn’t have everything she wanted just because she wanted it.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  SHAE DIDN’T COME back to the High Camp, didn’t try to contact him. Jordan drove to the cattle guard several nights in a row and tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. He was once again very much alone.

  He hated it.

  Hard to believe that his dearest wish a couple months ago was now the thing he hated most, next to Miranda.