Raleigh And The Rancher (Wranglers & Lace #3)

by Laura Anthony

  The cook rang the bell and Raleigh picked up Dan’s order. Her hands trembled as she set the cheeseburger in front of him and tried for a quick escape.

  “Got any catsup?” he asked.

  She snatched a bottle from an empty table and plunked it down. “Anything else?”

  “May I ask you a question?”

  “If you must.” She sighed and settled her hands on her hips.

  “How come you’re working here?”

  “I decided to go slumming and see how the poor and wretched live,” she snapped sarcastically.

  “You’re too good of a farrier to be wasting your talents hustling tips.”

  “Thank you for your sage opinion, Mr. McClintock.” She narrowed her eyes. “But seeing as how you couldn’t afford to hire me, I took the only job I could find. By the way, how did you know I was working here?”

  “Stopped by your house this morning. Your brother told me.”

  “What were you doing at my house?” He’d actually come looking for her? Excitement coursed through her at the thought.

  “I came to offer you a job.”

  “Oh? And where did you get the money since Monday? Rob a bank?”

  He laughed. The deep, rich sound thrilled her to her toes and she didn’t know why. “No. I can’t promise you money. At least, not until the dude ranch is open to the public.”

  “Such a flattering proposition,” she said snidely, trying in vain to camouflage her attraction to him. “What do I tell them at the grocery store when they want hard, cold cash in exchange for a beef cutlet?”

  “Tell them to put it on my account.”

  “I can see this job has limitless opportunities,” she wisecracked.

  “Actually, it does.”

  “Yeah? How’s that?”

  “Pete suggested it.”

  “Suggested what?” She couldn’t deny he’d piqued her interest.

  “Inviting you and your brother to live in the log cabin. Pete and I stay in the big house, so you’d have complete privacy. Room and board, all expenses paid, plus ten percent of the yearly profits.”

  She opened her mouth to refuse his offer, but instead she hesitated.

  “Best deal you’re likely to find in these parts.”

  It would solve their housing problem and get her out of the diner. But did she dare risk working for Daniel McClintock? What if these unsettling feelings she had for him erupted into something she couldn’t contain?

  “Of course, the job entails more than just shoeing horses,” Dan continued. “You’d be in charge of all the animals and keeping the stables in shape. Pete and I have more than we can deal with getting the house, grounds, and guest rooms renovated.”

  “Caleb could do mowing, painting, shoveling out the stalls...things like that,” she mused.

  He nodded. “Sounds good.”

  The idea appealed to her—living in the country again, being near horses, working outdoors, her kind of life. The perfect solution to her problems, except she’d be totally dependent upon Daniel McClintock.

  “Before I’d consider accepting your offer, you and I would have to come to an understanding.”

  “And that is?” He arched an eyebrow. It gave him the rakish appearance of a thoroughly bad boy.

  “I want things kept on a strictly professional basis. Is that clear?”

  “My sentiments exactly.”

  Somehow she didn’t believe him. “No ulterior motives?”

  “None.”

  “Then why are you extending me this proposal?”

  “Because you’re a good farrier and I’d like to help you get out of here.” He waved his hand. “Plus, I’d benefit myself in the process.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Not a very trusting soul, are you?”

  “Why should I be?”

  The cook slapped the bell twice and scowled in Raleigh’s direction.

  “Gotta go.”

  “Saved by the bell,” Dan observed.

  “Humph,” she snorted, and rushed off.

  Considering the dormant feelings Dan stirred in her, working for him would be sheer lunacy. But wouldn’t it be great to work as a farrier again? a little voice in the back of her mind prodded. Once people realized what magnificent blacksmith talents she possessed, others would hire her, then she could afford to move away from Dan’s ranch and build her own clientele.

  When she passed by his table, Dan lifted a finger. “Check, please.”

  “Sure.” Anything to get rid of him. Digging into her apron pocket, Raleigh laid his tab on the tabletop.

  “Did I happen to mention that I’m desperate? Not too many folks will work for nothing.” He reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist. His body heat radiated a warm circle on her skin.

  “I—I...” she stammered, thrown off-balance by the intensity of his simple touch. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”

  “Try it for a week. What could it hurt?”

  “Not interested,” she replied, purposefully twisting from his grasp. His fingers left a ghostly imprint of thirsty longing branded on her wrist.

  He pulled a wry face and cracked his knuckles. Had their brief contact affected him the way it had affected her?

  “Think about your brother. He deserves a nice place to grow up. Pete told me about your housing problems.”

  “Pete Grissom talks too much, and you leave my brother out of this.”

  A lazy smile crept across his mouth. He’d found her weakness and he knew it. “You could use the company truck. That heap you’re driving is a road hazard.”

  “I’m not listening to you.” She gathered up his empty dishes.

  “Come on, Raleigh. What’s the big deal? You want the job. I can see it in your eyes, they sparkled when I mentioned horses.”

  “Sorry, I can’t work for you.”

  “Be sensible. You’ve got a teenager to support. What would be best for Caleb?”

  He attacked her again with the guilt trip. Free room and board, all expenses paid. What would it hurt to try the arrangement for a week, a month, even a year? No. She couldn’t risk becoming involved with Daniel McClintock. She’d been through too much pain to ever let herself become so vulnerable again. If the steady thumping of her heart was any indication, falling for him wouldn’t be such a hard thing to do.

  “No,” she repeated. “‘Fraid not.”

  “You don’t have to give me a definite answer today. Sleep on it.”

  “I don’t have to. Working for you would be a complete disaster.”

  “How can you turn me down?” He clasped his hands to the left side of his chest in a dramatic gesture.

  “Easy. I’m heartless,” she quipped.

  Dan slid out of the booth and stood. “Think it over, Raleigh. Discuss it with Caleb. You can call me tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, pink is decidedly not your color,” he said smartly, plunking his cowboy hat on his head and strolling out the door.

  * * *

  “Awesome,” Caleb said when she told him about Dan’s offer.

  They were in the cramped kitchen of the duplex, dining on fried hot dogs, baked beans and macaroni and cheese that Caleb had cooked. He stopped shoveling food into his mouth long enough to swallow.

  “It’s not as great as it sounds,” Raleigh cautioned. “For one thing, we won’t have any money of our own.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t have any money now and soon we won’t have a place to live, either.”

  “True,” she conceded.

  “If Mr. McClintock pays for all the food and stuff, then we wouldn’t need money.”

  “You’d have to give up your paper route.”

  Caleb shrugged. “Who cares? We could see Pete every day, swim in the pool and play tennis.”

  “Who told you about the pool and the tennis courts?”

  “Mr. McClintock did. This morning when he came by to talk to you.”

  Frowning, she pushed a forkful of beans around her plate. Obviously
Dan had already charmed Caleb with promises of material things—things she couldn’t provide.

  “Do you like Mr. McClintock?”

  Caleb nodded. “He’s real cool. You know what else he’s got?”

  “No.”

  “Video games. Can you believe it? A grown-up with video games? And he doesn’t even have any kids.”

  That sounded like Dan, all right. A big overgrown boy. Instinctively she knew he was a relentless dreamer, just like Jack had been. How could she stake her future on such a man? What if his ranch went bankrupt? She and Caleb would be caught in the middle. Victims once more of life’s circumstances.

  “There’s another consideration. Do you realize this ranch is ten miles out of town and there aren’t any kids around? You’ll have a hard time seeing your friends.”

  “Already thought of that, and guess what? Mr. McClintock said I could invite my friends over anytime. He even said we could camp out on the ranch. Pretty radical, huh?”

  Mr. McClintock said this. Mr. McClintock said that. Apparently in her absence Dan had waltzed in and taken over her brother. Raleigh pushed back from the table, got up, and scraped the remains of her supper into the trash can. At the sink, she stopped the drain, squirted in liquid soap and turned on the hot water.

  “Sis?”

  “Uh-huh?”

  “What’s wrong.” Caleb came to stand behind her. “This is an answer to our prayers.”

  With strings attached, she thought, irritated.

  “That’s the catch, Caleb. It’s too good to be true.”

  Her brother rinsed the dishes as she washed, stacking them neatly in the drainer to dry. Raleigh cast a sidelong look at him. She saw disappointment etched on his freckled face.

  “Caleb, I want to do the right thing.”

  “Then quit the diner and let’s move to the ranch.”

  “You don’t realize what I’ll be giving up.”

  “Oh, like the glamorous world of waiting tables,” he quipped.

  “Caleb Brent Travers, don’t you dare get smart with me.”

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  “Listen, the main drawback in working for Daniel McClintock is that we would lose our independence. I would no longer be a free-lance farrier. We couldn’t come and go as we pleased. He would have to pay for everything. We’d be living in his cabin on his land,” Raleigh explained, attempting to clarify her position.

  “I don’t see the difference. Right now you’re working for Fay, not shoeing horses,” Caleb persisted. “We’re living in Mr. Vine’s duplex and he’s telling us to get out.”

  The boy had a point. Raleigh sighed. How could she make him see the difference and the inherent danger involved? She must avoid an entanglement with Dan at all costs, for Caleb’s sake as much as her own.

  “It’s just not that simple.”

  “Okay.” Caleb stopped rinsing dishes and turned to face her. When had he gotten so tall? “What’s your answer? How do we get out of this mess?”

  She stared at her younger brother, who suddenly seemed to be growing up too fast. “I’ll get another job. I can work two jobs. And we’ll move to a cheaper place.”

  Caleb shook his head.

  “Not a good idea?”

  “You’ll be exhausted all the time and grouchy. You know how you get when you have to do something you don’t like. Besides, what place would be cheaper than this?” Caleb swept his arm expressively, indicating their meager surroundings.

  Peeling yellowed wallpaper hung in patches. The aging linoleum was cracked and worn thin. Two burners on the stove didn’t function. The water faucet dripped continuously, and the refrigerator was at least thirty years old.

  Raleigh exhaled deeply. Caleb was absolutely right. Where could they find a place more affordable than this and still be able to tolerate it?

  “Do you really want to move to McClintock’s ranch?” she asked.

  “Yes. I think it would be good for both of us.”

  “I suppose we could give it a try.”

  “All right, sis.” Caleb slapped her a high five. “This is going to be great.”

  Or perfectly awful, she thought.

  * * *

  Twilight descended over the ranch in muted hues of deep pink, dark blue and vivid purple. A yellow half-moon hung low on the horizon. The tantalizing hint of peanuts wafted on the breeze from the peanut field next door. In the distance a horse whinnied as the joyful chorus of a hundred singing crickets split the silence. Drawing a breath, Dan inhaled deeply, savoring the richness of the moment.

  He’d forgotten over the years how much owning a ranch meant to him. As a child it had been his constant dream. He and his two brothers, Jamie and Mike, had spent their summers on a dude ranch. Despite the fact that his father had constantly scoffed at his plans, Dan had vowed to one day possess his own ranch.

  He smiled into the gathering darkness. Well, it had taken him twenty years, but his dream had come true, or at least, it almost had. By spring, finances willing, the ranch would be open to the public.

  Gazing out over the pasture, a feeling of pride and contentment welled up inside him so strong he was forced to swallow back the lump of emotion rising in his throat. At age thirty-one, Daniel McClintock had finally found his place in life. He knew without a doubt he was meant for this.

  Working hard the entire day, he and Pete had made tremendous progress repairing one of the downstairs bedrooms. Another day or two and the room would be finished. Dan appreciated the way physical labor made his muscles ache, the way it caused him to fall asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. No lying awake at night tossing and turning and pondering the folly of his daily decisions, as it had been when he’d been employed at his father’s plastics company.

  How had he managed to waste so much of his life, first in college and then at a career he’d neither wanted nor cared about? Why had it taken him so long to gather enough courage to buck his father? Briefly he thought of Jenny, and grimaced. No matter, the past was over and his future looked bright.

  Dan sat down on the tailgate of his pickup and watched the sunlight die. Chester wandered up and jumped into the bed of the truck beside him. Dan reached over and scratched the dog’s floppy ears.

  Inside the house, Pete was cooking supper and the delicious aroma of chicken-fried steak permeated the air, mingling with the scent of peanuts and producing in Dan a powerful sense of home, a feeling of rightness to the world. And then he thought of Raleigh Travers.

  Even now, merely thinking about her, a heaviness settled in his heart and his palms grew damp. Falling for her would spell nothing but trouble. Because she’d be living so close if she accepted his proposal, Dan knew he’d have to fight to keep his emotions on a tight leash. He pondered the wisdom of his decision in offering her a job. She was a good farrier and he needed reliable stable help. When Pete told him about her dismal financial circumstances, he’d felt compelled to hire her despite his own rigid budgetary allotments. But was it a smart thing to have done? The push-pull of his conflicting emotions produced a tugging sensation in his chest.

  Regretfully he recalled another time he’d fallen in love inappropriately. Jenny Harris had been a long-legged brunette, with a head for figures and a hunger for money. He’d been completely duped by her winning smile and calculating heart.

  Dan winced at the memory. Running a hand through his hair, he marveled at his youthful trust and optimism. Even though he’d dreamed of owning a dude ranch, he’d allowed Jenny to talk him into going to work for his father. She’d promised him instant happiness, a wonderful marriage and lots of children. Because he’d been so blindly in love, he’d done everything she’d asked. His parents had thought Jenny had hung the moon, and a career in the family plastics business was the ultimate prestige their son could achieve. His powerful father, who wasn’t used to taking no for an answer, had shelled out the money and ordered him to get an M.B.A. Nobody had bothered to ask Dan what he’d wanted.

  As the youngest c
hild, his desire to please others usually overshadowed his own goals. The few times he had voiced an opinion concerning his future, his mother had smiled and called him her Dreamy Danny, while his father had snorted and told him to get a grip on reality.

  So he’d gone to college and obtained his M.B.A. Following graduation, he’d started working at the plastics factory just like his two brothers before him.

  He and Jenny had set a wedding date. But when it became apparent to her that Dan would never be more than a peon on his father’s payroll, she’d left him standing at the altar one sweltering July Saturday afternoon to run off with a multimillionaire ski resort owner from Taos.

  The memory still hurt.

  But with Jenny’s departure, his old hopes and desires had roused and he knew it was indeed his one chance to make his dreams come true. He’d kept his job at the plastics plant, saving every bit of his money until he’d amassed a respectable pile, purchased this bargain-basement ranch, and told his father goodbye. His dad’s derisive laughter still rang in his ears.

  Closing his eyes, Dan envisioned his goal again. People vying for exclusive reservations at McClintock’s World Famous Dude Ranch. Children riding horses, swimming, playing tennis, just as he had as a boy. Guests coming and going all year round. His father proud of him at last. And, by his side, an adoring wife.

  He thought of Raleigh again and shook his head.

  No. Not now. Even if Raleigh Travers was very different from Jenny Harris, he could not allow himself to care about her. For the first time, he was truly independent from his father’s control and, for a while, he wanted to enjoy that freedom.

  Sliding off the tailgate, he dusted his palms on the seat of his pants. Chester whined and thumped his tail for attention.

  “Maybe she won’t take me up on my offer,” Dan said to the mutt.

  Chester gazed at him and continued to wag his oversize tail.

  “Problem is, I really need her help.”

  Chapter Four

  The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. Raleigh jerked awake and slapped the annoying clock into silence. Yawning, she sat up.