Her Rugged Rancher

by Stella Bagwell

  He removed his gray cowboy hat and Bella watched one big hand swipe over the thick waves. His hair was the blue-black color of a crow’s wing and just as shiny and she suddenly wondered if a thatch of it grew in the middle of his chest or around his navel. And how it might feel to open his shirt and look for herself.

  “The coffee would be good,” he told her.

  Clearing her throat in an effort to clear her mind, she said, “Great. Well, if you’d like, you can hang your hat over there by the door and I’ll bring everything over to the table.”

  He waited politely until she’d put the refreshments on the table and taken a seat, before he sank onto a bench on the opposite side of the table from her.

  Bella cut a generous portion of the pie and served him, then cut a much smaller piece for herself.

  “I’d offer to put a dip of ice cream on top, but I’m all out,” she told him.

  “This is more than fine,” he assured her.

  Even though he began to consume the pie and drink the coffee, Bella could see he was as taut as a fiddle string. Apparently he was wishing he was anywhere, except here with her. Strangely, the notion intrigued her far more than it bothered her.

  From what Jett had told her, he’d often encouraged Noah to find himself a woman, but the man had never made the effort. If Jett knew the reason why his foreman shied away from dating, her brother had never shared it with her. And she’d not asked.

  It would look more than obvious if she suddenly started asking Jett personal questions about his foreman. Still, she’d often wished an opportunity would come along for her to get to know more about the rough and rugged cowboy.

  Now, out of sheer coincidence, he happened to be sitting across from her, without anyone around to listen in on their conversation. She wanted to make the most of every moment. She wanted to ask him a thousand questions about himself. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to voice even one. She didn’t want to come across as a lawyer digging for information, any more than she wanted to appear like a woman on the prowl for a man.

  “So how do you like your new house?” he asked.

  Encouraged that he was bothering to make conversation, she smiled. “I do like the house. It’s comfortable and meets my needs. But I have to be honest, there are times the quietness presses in on me. After living with Jett and Sassy and three young children, the solitude is something that will take time for me to get used to.”

  “I don’t think Jett expected or wanted you to move out of his home.”

  She shrugged with wry acceptance. “I didn’t want to end up being one of those old-maid aunts who got in the way and made a nuisance of herself.”

  She felt his blue gaze wandering over her face and Bella wondered how it would be if his fingers followed suit. The rough skin of his hands sliding along her skin would stir her senses, all right. Just thinking about it made goose bumps erupt along the backs of her arms.

  He said, “I doubt that would’ve ever happened.”

  She grunted with amusement. “Which part do you doubt? Me being an old maid? Or getting in the way?”

  “Both.”

  “You’re being kind.”

  “I’m never kind,” he said gruffly. “Just realistic.”

  Yes, she could see that much about him. A practical man, who worried about the dangers of life rather than embracing the joys.

  “Well, it’s all for the best that I moved up here on the mesa. Sassy and Jett need their privacy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had another child or even two to go with the three they have now.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me, either.”

  A stretch of silence followed and while she sipped her coffee, she watched him scrape the last bite of pie from the saucer.

  When he put down his fork, she decided she’d better say something or he was going to jump to his feet and leave. And she didn’t want him to do that just yet. Having him sitting here in her kitchen felt good. Too good to have it all end in less than fifteen minutes.

  “Jett tells me the calf crop is turning out to be a big one this year,” she commented.

  “That’s right. And Sassy has had some new foals born recently. Have you taken a look at them?”

  “No. Unfortunately, I’ve been tied up with several demanding cases. But I plan to stop by the ranch house soon to see the kids. Maybe she’ll drive me out to the west range to see them.”

  “You like being a lawyer?” he asked.

  His question surprised her. She figured he wasn’t really interested one way or the other about her personal life. But he’d taken the trouble to ask and that was enough to draw her to him even more.

  “Yes, I do like it. That’s not to say that I don’t get exhausted and frustrated at times. But for the most part, I like helping people deal with their problems.”

  “Must be nice for you to get to work with your brother. Jett is easy to get along with. Me being here for seven years proves that,” he added.

  She smiled faintly. “Jett values your work, Noah. If it wasn’t for you taking charge of everything I’m not sure he could even have this ranch. Aside from that, he cherishes your friendship.”

  “Yeah, well, I owe him a lot.” Avoiding her gaze, he placed his cup on the table, then scooted the bench back far enough to allow him to rise to his feet. “The pie was delicious, Bella. Thanks. I can now say that I’ve eaten rhubarb.”

  Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Going already?”

  He still didn’t look at her. “I have chores at home to deal with.”

  “Then you probably don’t have time for me to show you through the rest of the house?”

  “Afraid not.”

  She tried to hide her disappointment when she spoke again, “We’ll save that for next time.”

  He didn’t reply to that and Bella figured he was probably telling himself there would be no next time. She’d never had a man make it so clear that he wanted nothing to do with her. But rather than put her off, it only made her more determined to spend time with him again.

  As he gathered his hat from the rack on the wall and levered it onto his head, Bella stood and joined him at the door.

  “I’ll walk with you out to the truck,” she told him.

  “No need for that.”

  There wasn’t any need, she thought. But she wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. “Don’t deny me. It’s rare I have company of any kind.”

  They left the house the way they came in and as they walked toward his waiting truck, he said, “I imagine you have plenty of company, Bella.”

  She smiled faintly. “What makes you think that?”

  “Jett does a lot of entertaining at home. And you two are brother and sister.”

  “Jett and I are siblings, but we think differently. Besides, most of his entertaining has to do with his law practice or ranching cronies. As for me, I don’t normally mix business with my home. I have invited our mother over for a night or two, though. She thinks I need my head examined for building a house up here on the mesa, away from everyone. She’d go crazy from the solitude.”

  “And you haven’t?”

  That made her laugh. “Not yet. Of course, my sanity is subject to opinion,” she joked.

  He didn’t smile. But then, she didn’t expect him to. She’d never seen a genuine smile on his face.

  By now they’d reached the driver’s side of the truck. After he’d opened the door and climbed behind the wheel, he glanced at her briefly, then stared straight ahead at the windshield.

  “You be careful when you ride in the canyon,” he said.

  She wanted to believe his warning was out of concern for her safety. Not because he was a bossy male. “I will. And thank you again for your help.”

  “No problem.”

  He closed the door and started the engine, leaving Bella with little choice but to step back and out of the way.

  “Goodbye,” she called to him. “And you don’t have to be a stranger, you know. Th
e sky won’t fall in if you stop by once in a while and say hello.”

  He lifted a hand in acknowledgement, then put the truck into gear. Bella remained where she stood and watched the truck follow the circle drive until it disappeared into the dense pine forest.

  So much for making an impression on the man, she thought. Noah hadn’t even bothered to give her a proper goodbye. But then Noah Crawford wasn’t like any man she’d ever met before. And that was darned well why she was determined to see him again.

  *

  Later that night, as Noah sat on the front step of his little cabin, he was still cursing his unfortunate luck of running across Bella. If he’d stayed with the men a half hour longer before heading home, he might have missed her. Or if she’d still been down in the canyon, he would’ve never known she was there or that her mare had thrown a shoe.

  But for some reason, fate had aligned everything just right to put them on the road at the same time. No, fate had situated everything all wrong, he thought dismally. Now he was going to have a hell of a time getting Bella off his mind. After this evening, each time he passed her fancy house, he would think about too many things. How the kitchen had smelled of her baking, the way she’d talked and smiled as they’d sat at the pine table, and last, but hardly least, the way his heart had thudded like the beat of a war drum each time he’d looked at her.

  Through the years Noah had worked for Jett, the man had never warned him to steer clear of his sister. Why would he bother? Both of them knew that Bella would never give Noah a serious look, anyway.

  No, early on Noah had made his own decision to avoid Bella. Because he’d instinctively understood she was the sort of woman who could cause him plenty of trouble. Certainly not the devastating kind that Camilla had brought him, but enough to cause havoc in his life.

  The sky won’t fall in if you stop by once in a while and say hello.

  Had she truly meant that as an invitation? he wondered. Or had she simply been mouthing a polite gesture?

  What does it matter, Noah? Even if she meant it, you can’t strike up a friendship with Bella. Getting cozy with her would be pointless. She’s an educated lady, a lawyer with enough smarts to figure out a loser like you.

  Shutting his mind to the mocking voice trailing through his head, he watched a small shadow creeping along the edge of the underbrush growing near the left wall of the cabin.

  “Jack, if that’s you, come out of there.”

  His order was countered with a loud meow and then a yellow tomcat sauntered out of the shadows and over to Noah. As the cat rubbed against the side of his leg, Noah stroked a hand over his back.

  “Ashamed to show your face, aren’t you? You’ve been gone three days. Hanging out somewhere with a girl cat, letting me believe a coyote had gotten you. I ought to disown you,” he scolded the animal.

  In truth, Noah was happy to have his buddy back. A few years ago, he’d found the yellow kitten all alone, on the side of the highway near the turnoff to the ranch. And though Noah had never owned a small pet before, he’d rescued the kitten and brought him home. Later on, when Jack had grown old enough to be considered an adult, the cat had made it clear to Noah that he was going to be an independent rascal. Whenever he got the urge, Jack would take off, then come home days later, expecting Noah to fuss over him as though nothing had happened.

  “But I won’t disown you,” Noah said to the cat. “And you damned well know it.”

  Rising from the step, he opened the heavy wooden door leading into the cabin and allowed Jack to rush in ahead of him. Inside, Noah went over to a small set of pine cabinets and retrieved a bowl.

  After filling it with canned food, he set it on the floor in a spot Jack considered his dining area. With the cat satisfied, he walked over and sank into a stuffed armchair. To the left of it, a small table held a lamp and a stack of books and magazines. Noah didn’t own a television. Something that Jett often nagged him about. But Noah had no desire to stare at a screen, watching things that would bore him silly. Instead, he’d rather use his small amount of time at home to read or listen to music.

  Home. Most folks wouldn’t call his cabin much of a home. Basically it was a two-room structure, with the back lean-to serving as a bedroom, while the larger front area functioned as a living room and kitchen. The log structure had been erected many years before, when Jett’s maternal grandparents, the Whitfields, had owned the property. According to Jett, as the ranch had prospered, his grandfather, Melvin, had needed a line-shack and had built the cabin and its little native rock fireplace with his own hands. After a while, he’d upgraded the dirt floor to wooden planks and built on the extra room at the back. To Bella this cabin would be crude living, but to Noah, the simple space was all he needed. That and his privacy.

  He was thumbing through a ranching magazine trying to get his mind on anything other than Bella, when his cell phone broke the silence. As he picked it up, he noted the caller was Jett.

  “Did I wake you?” he asked Noah.

  Noah rolled his eyes. “I’m not getting so old that I fall asleep in my chair before nine o’clock.”

  Jett chuckled. “I thought you might be tired after branding today. That’s why I’m calling. Just checking to see how everything went.”

  Jett wasn’t one of those bosses that called daily to line out the next day’s work. Ever since Noah had taken this job, Jett had been content to let him run things his way and at his own pace. That was just one of the reasons Noah wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

  “No problems,” he told him. “One more small herd to go—the one over on the western slope and we’ll have them all branded. Can’t do it tomorrow, though.”

  “Why not?”

  “Used up all the vaccine we had. Me or one of the boys will have to go into town tomorrow for more.”

  “After I sent Bella home, I ended up being swamped with work today, but I would’ve found a way to go by the feed store and picked up the vaccine for you,” Jett insisted.

  “I thought about calling you. But we need a roll of barbed wire and a few more things anyway. Better to get it all at one time.”

  Besides working on selected days at his law office in town, Jett also acted as the lawyer for the Silver Horn Ranch, a position he’d held for years. Since his wife Sassy was a member of the Calhoun family, who owned and operated the notable ranch, Noah figured Jett would keep the job from now on.

  “Well, there’s no urgency about the branding. Whenever you and the boys can get to it will be soon enough. I don’t plan to sell any of the calf crop on the western slope, anyway. I’ve given them to Sassy.”

  It wasn’t surprising to hear Jett had given the calves to his wife. The man was always giving or doing something for her. On the other hand, Sassy deserved her husband’s generosity. She’d given him three beautiful children, worked hard to make the ranch a success, and most of all she adored him. Jett was a lucky man and he knew it.

  “I—uh, ran across your sister today,” Noah said as casually as he could. “She’d gone riding and her mare had thrown a shoe.”

  “Yes. I spoke with her earlier over the phone. She was very grateful for your help. Thanks for lending her a hand, Noah. You know, she’s very independent. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you she’d take care of the mare’s shoe herself.”

  Noah rose from the chair and walked over to the open door. If he looked to the southwest, he could see the lights from Bella’s house, twinkling faintly through the stand of pines. Now that he’d been inside her home, it was much too easy to picture her there.

  “She didn’t put up a fuss,” he replied.

  Had Bella told her brother that she’d invited him inside for pie and coffee? Noah wondered. The memory of his brief visit with her still had the power to redden his face. Looking back on it, Bella had probably thought he was a big lug without enough sense to paste two sentences together. Even now in the quiet of his cabin, he couldn’t remember half of what he’d said to her.

 
; “Speaking of fussy, I wish you’d stop being so damn hard to please and try to find yourself a woman,” Jett said.

  “That isn’t going to happen,” Noah muttered. “Not ever.”

  “Never say never, Noah. You don’t know what the future holds for you.”

  “My future damned sure won’t have a wife in it!”

  His outburst was met with a moment of silence, then Jett said, “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re feeling like your old self tonight.”

  Noah swiped a hand over his face. When he’d first responded to Jett’s ad for a ranch hand, he’d expected him to ply him with all sorts of questions. That was the nature of a lawyer, he figured. But the only facts Jett had seemed interested in was whether Noah had experience taking care of cattle and if he was wanted by the law. It wasn’t until time had passed and a friendship had developed between the two men that Noah had confided he’d left a bad situation behind him and it had involved a woman. Jett had seemed to understand it was a matter that Noah wanted to keep to himself and he’d never asked him to elaborate. Still, that didn’t stop his friend from urging him to find a wife.

  A wife. The idea was laughable.

  “Why wouldn’t I be feeling like my old self?” Noah asked grumpily.

  Jett said, “Oh, I don’t know. One of these days you might soften up and be a nice guy for a change. Miracles do happen.”

  Before Noah could think of a retort, Jett went on, “I got to go help Sassy. She’s trying to get the kids to bed. If you need me tomorrow, call me.”

  “Yeah. Good night, Jett.”

  Ending the conversation, Noah slipped the phone into the pocket of his shirt and stepped back outside. The night air had cooled and the clear sky was decorated with endless stars. A gentle breeze stirred the juniper growing at the corner of the cabin and somewhere in the canyon he could hear a pack of coyotes howling.

  Normally he savored soft summer evenings like this. But tonight he was restless. Being near Bella has stirred up dreams and plans that he’d pushed aside long ago.

  This job was all that he wanted and his friendship with Jett was too important to let a woman ruin it, he thought grimly.