“Fine.” He wondered what she was going to do that afternoon, and decided that he’d keep an eye on her. “Do we drive or take horses?”
“You drive whenever you can on this ranch. The horses don’t have cell phones.”
She shot a look over at Levi, who pretended to ignore her. Why the insistence on keeping in contact? he wondered. Did it have something to do with the men he assumed were hiding somewhere on her ranch? That was another thing he’d find out.
Shea leaned back in her chair and once again he was aware of the energy that seemed to vibrate out of her. Jesse could well believe that Shea could keep a ranch this size running almost single-handedly. He had no doubt that she was able to will herself and her employees to do almost anything.
He didn’t want to admire anything about Shea, but it was impossible not to be impressed with her devotion to the ranch. It was clear she’d sacrifice just about anything for the Red Rock Ranch. So why was she risking it to smuggle illegal aliens into the country? Didn’t she know that she could lose the ranch if it was used for illegal purposes? And especially why would she smuggle in criminals? It could only be for the money.
Anyone as passionate about their property as Shea seemed to be probably wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to keep it going. She must be paid handsomely for the risks she was taking.
She leaned toward him, and her scent seemed to curl around him. It was surprisingly feminine, a mixture of oranges and some subtle, fragrant flower. It had to be her shampoo or her soap, he decided, trying to distract himself from the effect it was having on his body. She didn’t seem like the type to dab on perfume before she went out and wrestled cattle.
“Ready to go?” she said as she pushed away from the table.
“I’m set.” He waited for Levi, then walked out of the house with the older man. As they headed toward a truck parked next to the barn, he felt Shea’s eyes on his back. When he turned around, she was standing on the porch, watching them leave. She stood gazing after them as the truck bumped down a rutted track next to the pasture. Jesse watched her in the rearview mirror until the truck rounded a corner. She stood still as a statue until they were out of sight.
Shea waited until Levi and Jesse’s truck disappeared around a corner, then she took a deep breath. Thank goodness Jesse was going to be gone all afternoon. She’d been too aware of him at lunch, especially after that moment up on the cliff, next to the car. She was being foolish, she knew, but she was glad to have some space. She waved goodbye to Ben as he headed back to Cameron, then let herself relax.
“Maria,” she called as she went into the house and the screen door slammed behind her. “Do you have that food ready?”
“It’s here,” the housekeeper grumbled. “But I don’t know why you have to go up there today. That Miguel, he’s shiftless but he’s perfectly capable of preparing meals.”
“But the children love your fried chicken so much, Maria,” she teased. “Even Miguel has complimented you on it. Don’t you want to make them happy?”
“Me, I’d be perfectly happy never to see that Miguel around here again,” she muttered. “But take the chicken. There are some beans and corn bread, too. Those poor children need some good meals.”
Shea put her arm around the housekeeper’s shoulders and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Thanks, Maria.”
Maria watched her with concerned eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re doing, Shea, but you need to be careful. That man you hired, he has knowing eyes. He watches everything. I saw him, today at lunch.”
Shea tightened her hold on Maria, then stepped away. “I know. That’s why I sent him out with Levi this afternoon. Levi will keep him busy and away from the cabin. And in a couple of days, all the children will be gone. Then there won’t be anything to worry about.”
“Until the next group comes along. Mark my words, Shea. That one is going to bring trouble.”
Shea managed to keep her face carefully blank. She had no intention of telling Maria that Jesse Coulton had already brought trouble to the Red Rock. He’d made her feel things she’d never experienced before. And all he’d done was press his leg up against hers. Even Kyle Diggett had never caused the sensations that fluttered inside her every time she looked at Jesse.
“I can handle trouble, Maria.” She winked at the housekeeper and grabbed the baskets of food off the counter, anxious to get away from the older woman’s knowing eyes. “Doesn’t Mom always say that trouble is my middle name?”
“And she says that someday it will catch up to you, too,” Maria called after her as she hurried out to the Bronco.
Loading the food carefully into the back, Shea looked around once to make sure that Levi and Jesse weren’t close by, then jumped into the truck and headed back up into the mountains.
By the time Levi and Jesse returned from mending the fence, Shea was mounted on Demon, her huge black gelding. She’d set up the barrels in the corral and was practicing racing around them.
She didn’t hear the truck, but she knew the instant that Jesse came into view. Bending closer to Demon’s neck, she urged him to go faster, to cut the corners a little closer. And, as usual, he responded, putting on a burst of speed that left her breathless. After the final run, she reined the horse in and dismounted, looping the reins over the top rail of the corral.
“That was impressive,” Jesse said as he watched her approach. He leaned against the railings, his chambray shirt pulled taut over his shoulders. He’d discarded his hat, and the sun made his dark hair gleam.
“It was a good workout.”
“Do you compete in rodeos?”
Shea ran her hand down Demon’s neck. “We have been known to race around a barrel or two.”
“You’re a woman of many talents, it would appear.” His gaze brushed over her skin with the intensity of a caress. Her skin burned as if he’d actually touched her. “I do what I have to do to keep the ranch going. I race for my own pleasure.”
“I’ll bet you usually win, too,” he murmured. He reached out and absently scratched Demon’s nose.
“We win our share of races.” A shiver chased itself up her spine as she watched him. For a moment, she imagined that those long, clever fingers of his were caressing her, stroking down her back, fluttering against her skin. When she found herself swaying toward him, she jerked herself away.
“Did you finish the fence?” She needed to remind herself that she was the boss as much as she needed to remind him. There would be no repeat of the situation that had developed with Kyle Diggett.
“It’s finished.” He straightened, too, and scowled at her. She wondered if he had noticed the tension that had trembled in the air between them for a moment. “Levi found a few other things to do, too.”
“Good. I think I’ll have you stick with him for a few more days. He can show you how we do things around here.”
“Do you have some usual way of working?” he asked. His voice sounded casual, but there was a tension beneath it she didn’t understand.
“What do you mean?”
“Is there a specific way that you divide up the chores? Do you usually work alone, or with the rest of the men?”
“It depends on what’s going on. If we’re branding or vaccinating or castrating calves, we all work together. We try to schedule those kinds of things when we know there’s nothing else pressing or when we know Dev will be around to help. The rest of the time it just depends on what has to be done.”
“I work best when I work alone.”
She gave him a sharp look. “You can’t imagine I’m going to turn you loose on the Red Rock before you know how I like things done.”
“Does that mean you’ll be training me yourself?”
Shea felt as if she was being maneuvered into a corner. She swung around to face Jesse. “Do you have a problem working with Levi? Because if you do, let’s get it on the table right now.”
Jesse held up his hands. “I didn’t say that. I just like to learn from the s
ource. If there’s a way you’d like me to do things, I’d prefer that you teach me yourself.”
“Levi knows exactly what I want. He’s perfectly capable of training you. And as for working by yourself, I’ll see what Levi has to say after he’s worked with you for a while. I don’t turn anyone loose to work on my ranch before I’m sure what they’ll do.”
“You’re awfully defensive. It sounds as if there’s a story there,” Jesse said.
Kyle Diggett’s face flashed into Shea’s mind, and she sighed, her anger dissipating. It wasn’t fair to paint Jesse the same color as Kyle. She really didn’t think Jesse would steal from the ranch. “Maybe there is. But it’s nothing that you need to worry about. Levi will show you what you need to know, and we’ll go from there. I can’t make any promises about what you’ll be doing until I know what kind of a job you do.”
Jesse turned the conversation to the work he had done with Levi that afternoon, and after she’d rubbed Demon down and put him away, they headed up to the house for dinner. He again took the chair next to hers, and once more she was far too aware of him as he sat close to her.
“You need to get a life,” she muttered to herself after he’d brushed his arm against hers and she’d practically jumped out of her chair.
“I beg your pardon?” he said politely.
“Nothing. I was just clearing my throat.” She stared blindly down at the food she was eating, realizing that she hadn’t tasted a thing. Pushing abruptly away from the table, she said, “I’ll see you all in the morning. I have some paperwork to do.”
She hurried into the office and closed the door behind her, then leaned against it. No, she certainly wouldn’t be working closely with Jesse Coulton any time soon. She didn’t like the way her body reacted when he was close to her, and she didn’t like the awareness that seemed to shimmer in the air between them. She needed to look at columns of numbers for a while to get him out of her head.
It seemed like hours later when the phone rang, startling her. She put her finger over the spot she’d been working and answered the phone.
“Red Rock Ranch. McAllister speaking.”
She tensed when she heard the voice on the other end, then relaxed. “That’s not a problem,” she said. “Isobel will be happy that her cousins were able to get here so quickly. I’ll meet you in,” she glanced at her watch, “an hour or so.”
She gave directions quickly to the relatives of one of the children she was shielding, then hung up the phone. The house was quiet and dark. Only the hall was illuminated, and Shea knew that Maria would have gone to bed long ago. The housekeeper was up very early in the morning.
Grabbing a coat against the chilly spring evening air, she slipped out of the house and headed toward the Bronco. There were lights in both Levi’s cabin and the one that Jesse was using. She’d have to be careful.
She slipped into the vehicle and eased it into gear. The house and barn stood on a small hill, so she released the brake, put the truck into neutral and let it coast down the hill. When it had slowed almost to a stop, she started the engine and headed quickly up into the mountains and the cabin where the children were hiding.
Two and a half hours later she returned the same way to the house. There was a little-used road that led out of the mountains and onto the main highway, and she had used it tonight She hadn’t wanted to drive past the house, not with Jesse possibly awake to hear her. She didn’t want him wondering where she had been and what she’d been doing so late at night.
She smiled as she let the truck roll to a stop next to the garage. Isobel had recognized her cousins and flown into their arms with tears on her face. The joy shining out of the little girl’s eyes when she’d turned to say goodbye to Shea made all the risks she took worthwhile. Only a week before, Isobel had been a frightened, confused child, alone in a strange country and wondering what was going to happen to her. Now she’d been reunited with members of her family, and with a little help would have a safe and happy life in this country.
The smile lingered on her mouth as she slipped out of the truck and quietly closed the door. All the lights were off in both Jesse’s cabin and Levi’s. Both men had worked hard today, and they were probably sound asleep. She needed to sleep, herself, but she knew from experience that it would take a while for her to wind down.
She headed over toward the pasture. The moon shone down on the grass, giving it a pearly glow, and the cattle in the distance were shadowy, almost abstract figures. The air had a cool bite to it, but the night was clear and beautiful. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the pine and animal scent, relishing the quiet moment.
She was almost at the pasture fence when she heard a sound behind her. She started to spin around but two bard arms wrapped around her chest and a hand clamped over her mouth. When she began to struggle with her assailant, he roughly wrestled her to the ground.
She landed on her stomach, dazed and winded, the weight of the man pressing her into the dirt. Metal clicked next to her ear, and something cold and hard touched her head.
“Don’t move.”
Chapter 4
Shea froze, the harshly whispered words echoing in her ear. A stone ground into her cheek and her fingers dug into the cool dirt. Momentary shock held her immobile. Assaults like this weren’t supposed to happen in Cameron, Utah.
The cold metal was abruptly removed from her head and the heavy weight on her back shifted. Immediately she tried to turn over, to see her assailant. She drew a deep breath to scream, hoping that it would rouse Levi or Maria or Jesse, but the hand clamped over her mouth again. And the arms that were so frighteningly strong held her in place easily.
“It’s all right,” the whisper said, and the hands holding her shifted, gentled. “Don’t scream. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Shea recognized that voice. She struggled harder, finally freeing one of her arms and using it to pry the hand away from her mouth. “Let me up,” she managed to pant
The weight disappeared from her back and Jesse Coulton’s strong arms lifted her to her feet. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, watching him slide a deadly looking gun into the waistband of his jeans.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said coolly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She dragged her hands through her tangled hair and tried to quiet her still-pounding heart.
“I heard someone out here, obviously trying not to make any noise. It’s late at night, everyone’s supposed to be sleeping. I thought you were a prowler of some sort, and I did what anyone would have done.”
“No one on my ranch carries a weapon like that.” She nodded at the gun protruding from the waistband of his jeans. “Who are you, Coulton, and what’s going on?”
The moonlight dappled his face, highlighting the hard planes of his cheeks and shadowing his eyes. It was impossible to read his expression. “I’m a cowboy who takes his job seriously. There are two women and an old man living on this ranch. I’m sure everyone in town knows that. I had no idea who was out here, but I came prepared.”
“This isn’t a big city, Coulton. We don’t have muggings in Cameron. And none of my neighbors would try to hurt me.”
Even in the dim light, she saw his face harden. “The way I understand it, Cameron has had its share of big city problems lately.”
“Everything that happened in Cameron in the last year was directed at specific individuals. And the criminals, however twisted their thinking, all thought they had good reasons to do what they did. We’re not having a crime wave.”
“And I intended to make sure nothing happened on your ranch.”
Shea sighed, finally noticing that his shirt wasn’t completely buttoned and his feet were bare. Clearly he had run out of the cabin only when he’d heard her. “I suppose I should be thanking you instead of snapping your head off, even though you did overreact. But the gun is another matter. I don’t want to see it again.”
“I have a permit to carry it.�
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“I don’t care if you have a license to carry around a whole arsenal. My hands don’t carry weapons.”
“You have plenty of guns in the house.”
She was surprised he’d noticed the gun case. He’d only been in the dining room, and the case was in the living room. It was just another reminder of his attention to detail, she told herself grimly. And another reason she needed to be careful.
“That gun collection was my father’s, not that it’s any of your business. It has nothing to do with cowboys packing side arms.”
For the first time, his face softened. She almost thought he was trying to hide a smile. “Isn’t that a little melodramatic? You’re making me sound like some kind of desperado.”
Her lips twitched in response, and finally she laughed. “You’re a piece of work, Coulton. I guess I’m glad you were paying attention tonight. But please put that gun away and don’t let me see it again. You took ten years off my life tonight.”
He leaned against the fence and appeared to relax. She wished she could see his eyes, though.
“Where were you tonight, anyway?” he asked. “I thought you had paperwork to do.”
It was just a casual remark, she told herself. A conversation. A way to dissipate the tension and get things back to normal again. But the air around them seemed to tighten and swell with unasked questions.
“I went for a ride up into the mountains.” She waved her hand in the direction of the cliffs behind them. “I was tense and I needed some fresh air and solitude.”
“Kind of dark up there, wasn’t it?”
“There was plenty of moonlight. And I didn’t go for the scenery.”
The Fugitive Bride Page 5
