The Reluctant Rancher

by Patricia Mason

  She’d show the arrogant rancher she could make him money. Not a lot, but a tidy enough sum for him to consider financing her business for the next year or two. A five-year projection of income and expenses for her agency lay in her briefcase. Experts were predicting that the health-care industry would be the wave of the future and she wanted to ride that crest to the top. Now she just had to convince the reluctant rancher.

  Chanting now or never under her breath, she hurried to catch up with the fast disappearing man.

  Once inside the beautiful home, she followed the sound of his booted footsteps. As she passed through the living room, she faltered and came to a complete stop.

  The large room seemed to open into thin air letting the beauty of the ranch inside. One wall, composed entirely of tinted glass, gave the room’s occupants an unobstructed view of the frozen grassland and the splendor of the snow capped mountains beyond. Even though everything was barren now, Mary knew in just a few short months the surrounding mountains would be lush and green, abundant with life. Her resolve firmed to convince the man to take a chance on her. Fiddler Creek was home. A home she didn’t want to give up.

  She admired the sanded pine floor covered here and there with colorful braided rugs. A huge stone fireplace dominated another wall. Two chocolate colored leather couches flanked it and a soft bearskin rug lay in front. It was the ideal picture of home and hearth.

  Staring dreamily into space, she imagined a beautifully decorated blue spruce at Christmas with presents piled knee deep beneath it. She envisioned a loving couple nestled together watching with amused indulgence as black haired boys and delicate, angelic featured girls ripped open their brightly wrapped packages to see what Santa had brought them.

  She refused to speculate on the reason why the couple bore a striking resemblance to herself and the man quickly disappearing down the hall.

  “Get a move on,” Luke yelled, his voice rudely interrupting her daydream. She snorted indelicately and muttered words of ire under her breath. She prayed he was not always so abrupt.

  Following the sound of his voice, she silently encouraged herself to see this through to the end. She may have walked into the lion’s den, but she had no intention of being on this evening’s menu.

  * * * * *

  Lost in her thoughts, Luke realized Mary didn’t see him stop at the entrance to the kitchen. His hands went out, stopping her forward motion as she plowed into him.

  “I am so sorry,” she apologized. Her hand flexed against the hard plane of his chest. The other had a death grip on her briefcase. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  Luke grunted in response and removed his hands. He could feel the heavy fullness of her breasts through the thick layer of her coat. Damn, but she was all woman. “No harm done. I’ll introduce you to my grandfather later. Since the accident, he usually takes a nap this time of day. I wake him right before dinner.”

  “What accident?”

  “He and my stallion, Lucifer, had a little disagreement. Grandpa broke his arm. That’s why we need a nurse.” Luke watched with narrowed eyes as she placed her briefcase on the counter and removed her parka. The dark blue garment had effectively hidden the color of her hair and her ample figure from his sight, but he’d known instantly who she was. He’d seen her occasionally with the Talbots and on his ranch last summer at the camp for delinquent kids. He indicated she should hang her parka by the door.

  She walked across the floor to hang her coat on the hooks, the movement of her hips as fluid and graceful as any runway model. Luke could tell Mary appreciated her own body. It showed in the way that she carried herself. And damned if he didn’t appreciate her as well. Even though a little on the heavy side, her curves suited Luke just fine. It sickened him to look at women on television and in magazines who appeared little more than flesh over bones. To maintain their appearance he knew they survived on nothing more substantial than carrot sticks and water. Hadn’t Debbie?

  Hellfire, he cursed silently. Why did thoughts of his ex-wife haunt him so much today? The woman had been five foot of nothing. No meat to sustain her waif-like figure and no substance on the inside either.

  He took a well-worn apron from its hook by the sink and forced his thoughts back to preparing dinner. A lot of men would feel awkward or silly performing such a feminine task, but not Luke. Thanks to his grandmother, he was as at home in the kitchen as he was rounding up cattle.

  “How serious was your grandfather’s injury?” Mary took a seat on the barstool, the movement causing her full, silvery blonde hair to sway.

  Luke turned away, ignoring the enticing citrus scent emanating from his guest. An unexpected flare of awareness blossomed in his loins but he firmly squelched it. He had learned his lesson well with his ex-wife and he didn’t need any remedial training. Luke Tanner and women didn’t mix, plain and simple. This woman appeared to be no different. She was here because she needed something. Another demanding female he could do without.

  Not for the first time, he wondered if being such a success was worth it. He had to believe his great-grandfather had found more happiness in his two-room shack than Luke did in the five-bedroom house that stood in its place. At least his ancestor had had a wife and family to keep him company. That first Tanner had known his family loved him for himself, not because his bank account had more zeros then the Circle T had cattle.

  He peeled and chopped potatoes, welding the long, sharp knife with the ease and finesse of a sous chef. If he used a little more force than was absolutely necessary, he didn’t admit it to himself.

  “According to Doc Logan, Grandfather’s break is a simple fracture and will heal just fine. But he did suggest we get someone to help out around here for a while. Grandpa is no longer able to cook and clean and I don’t have time to play house frau.”

  “And I suppose I do, Mr. Tanner?” A blonde eyebrow quirked in inquiry.

  “Doing a few dishes and cooking a few meals above your calling, Ms. Carter?” Luke watched as the beautiful face before him took on an outraged expression and her whole body quivered with an effort not to explode. It had been a long time since someone besides his grandfather had stood up to him.

  The woman had spunk, he had to give her that. Maybe she was just what the doctor ordered to lift his grandfather out of the blue funk he’d fallen into lately. If the truth be told, they could use more than a little help. Even before the accident, he’d been thinking of getting someone in more frequently to clean. Eyeing the intriguing woman before him, he thought this might prove to be an interesting arrangement. A very interesting arrangement indeed.

  As the silence stretched, he watched her become even more flustered. She parted her full lips and a small pink tongue came out to wet them, sending that same long forgotten shiver of awareness down his spine. He could tell she wanted nothing more than to march out the front door and to tell him to take his job offer and shove it where the sun didn’t shine. She held her temper. Just barely.

  “Would you like for me to cook dinner tonight?” She sounded as if she’d rather run naked through a cactus patch and he grinned to himself as she clenched her fists against the granite countertop.

  “No, thanks, I’ve got everything under control,” he answered. He finished the potatoes and put them on to boil. Pulling the makings for a salad from the fridge, he gestured toward the living room. “Why don’t you go wait in there?”

  “Yes, sir, anything you say sir,” Mary mumbled under her breath as the arrogant man waved her away. Taking deep, calming breaths, she made her way into the spacious room that had captured her fancy just moments before.

  She picked up a faded black and white photograph from the mantel. A man and woman stood, arms entwined, looking not at the camera but at each other with so much emotion it made Mary’s chest ache. The man was tall and rugged and the woman, Mary noted with great satisfaction, had a well-rounded figure. She sighed, thinking she had been born in the wrong century. Apparently, the early mountain men
of Wyoming liked their women with a little meat on their bones. As she studied the two blurred images, soft footsteps sounded behind her.

  In walked a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to the one in the picture. All three of the Tanner men looked strikingly similar. Joseph Tanner was the handsomest of the three, Luke apparently having taken after his great-grandfather with his raw-boned look. Joseph still cut a striking figure for a man in his seventies. Specks of white sprinkled his once jet-black hair and the proud set of his shoulders barely drooped.

  Before she could introduce herself, he spoke. “That’s a picture of my mother and father, Adam and Rachel Tanner. She had hair the color of copper and he stood as high as the mountains.”

  The reverent tone of his voice reflected the obvious love and pride he felt for his parents. Taking the picture from her hands, he studied it briefly before gently replacing it on the mantel. “She came here as a mail order bride and some say before that she worked in a brothel in St. Louis. But that didn’t bother my dad. He said he loved her from the day she stepped off the train.”

  “We all have a past,” Mary said, wanting to assure the elder gentleman that she had nothing against him because of his heritage. Having endured so much herself, she tried never to stand in judgment of anyone else.

  “So we do, so we do.” The man agreed. He gave her a measuring look. “But sometimes that past interferes with the present and the future.”

  Mary saw the look he threw her and returned it in full. She had been tested many times by her elderly patients. Their generation judged a person on self-worth and not material possessions. But the look in Joseph’s eyes seemed to reflect something else entirely. A warning perhaps?

  “Dinner’s ready.” Luke’s voice boomed from the kitchen, startling her.

  “Is he always so curt?” she asked irritably.

  Joseph chuckled and placed his hand on her elbow to guide her from the room. “He’s always been an impatient sort. Even as a child. Seemed to learn to ride before he could walk. Drove my Emma crazy.”

  They arrived at the table in time to see Luke placing large pieces of stake on a platter. Bowls of creamy mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, the garden salad Mary had watched him fix sat on the end of the serving bar. Without a word they each helped themselves to the delicious smelling side dishes.

  “This tastes heavenly, but I wish you had allowed me to help.” She still smarted over his comment about menial labor being beneath her. He had a lot to learn about the nursing profession if he thought hard physical labor didn’t play a part.

  She cut into her steak gingerly. Looking up, she caught Luke’s eye and smiled sheepishly. She hated meat that wasn’t well done. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

  “Most women like their steak burnt to a crisp.”

  Mary’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not most women. And I don’t care for people who label others. But you are correct, I don’t like my meat to moo when I try to eat it.” She gestured to his almost raw piece of steak, the smile that curved her lips sugary sweet, if not downright condescending.

  Joseph laughed at Luke’s steely expression, making Mary realize that very few people ever talked back to the man. She stabbed a green bean with a vengeance. Well, Mr. Tanner, she thought savagely, don’t look now, but I’m about to rock your world.

  After she took a few more bites, she turned her attention to Joseph, deciding to ignore the big man by her side. With the looks he kept casting her way, she’d be lucky if she didn’t get indigestion. “Exactly what kind of ranch is this, Joseph?”

  Luke answered before his grandfather could speak. “What kind of ranch do you think it is, city girl?” His disdain for her laced his voice. “An ostrich ranch?”

  Mary threw him a frosty glare, determined not to let him intimidate her. “For all I know it might very well be. I believe they do quite well in Australia.”

  Luke muttered a colorful word under his breath, earning himself a warning glare from his grandfather.

  “We raise cattle,” Joseph said. “And Luke also has a fine string of purebred stallions. His stud service is quite impressive.”

  Mary sputtered and almost choked on her tea as not-so-innocent images of Luke flashed through her mind. Setting her glass on the table, she hoped neither man noticed the slight flush on her face. She breathed a sigh of relief as Joseph rose to refill his plate without saying a word.

  “Well, well, well.” Luke’s voice whispered in her ear as he leaned across the space between them. Those enticing eyes bored into hers, as if he could look inside her very soul and discover all her hidden secrets and fantasies. “What naughty thoughts we’re having Miss Carter. Care to share?”

  “Only in your dreams, buster,” she shot back, mortified. If only he knew.

  “You’d be surprised what dreams I have,” he said softly, sitting back in his chair. His eyes turned a bright shade of green and held hers for endless moments. Joseph returned to the table and Luke turned his attention back to his meal.

  Mary trembled. She could have sworn she’d seen a small spark of desire in his eyes. Then just like water on a flickering flame, the light had been extinguished and his face had taken on the hard, cynical expression she had become accustomed to in so short a time.

  But then she knew she had only imagined that brief awareness. After all, who would want Mary Carter?

  Pasting a smile on her face she turned back to Joseph. “How long have you been in the cast?”

  “Only two weeks,” he grumbled. “Doc said it would be another month or so before he would even consider taking it off.”

  “That’s not very long. The time will go by before you know it.” Mary consoled the older man with stories of other patients she had nursed with broken bones, delighting him with some hilarious antics.

  Eventually she ran out of tales and grew silent. Laying her fork beside her plate, she waited while the two men finished up. She had decided over dinner not to proceed with her plan to ask Luke for the loan. She would think of something else. Something that had nothing to do with the rich rancher.

  Once the men were done, she gathered up the dirty dishes and ran some warm water in the sink. She pushed up the sleeves of her sweater, determined to do the cleanup.

  “Well, just don’t stand there, Luke, help the girl.” Behind her she heard Joseph scold his grandson and could just imagine the scowl the younger man sent his way. Hushed whispers floated back to her and she didn’t have to guess at the content of their conversation. Luke’s grandfather had not been very pleased with his grandson’s behavior at the dinner table and she smiled at the thought of the large, formidable man being dressed down by his elder.

  Several long minutes passed before she heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back. Seconds later a pile of dishes appeared at her elbow.

  “This isn’t necessary.” Luke stood at her side, watching her with those dark green eyes.

  “I know, but I want to help.” Mary kept her head down, her eyes focused on the suds forming in the sink.

  “Why? Do you think it will earn you brownie points? Make me grab my checkbook and give you the money on the spot?”

  Let him think what he wanted. “You’ll be happy to know I’ve changed my mind, Mr. Tanner. I’ll find the money another way. Doing the dishes is simply my way of repaying you for your hospitality and dinner.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?” Mary rinsed a plate beneath a steady stream of cold water and tried to cool her rising temper at the same time. What an insufferable man! “Why wash the dishes? Because my mother did instill some manners in me. Believe me, it’s only common courtesy, not a fool proof way to your wallet.”

  “You’re damn right it’s not. It would take more than a few household chores for that.” His gaze traveled up and down her well-endowed figure, lingering on the rise and fall of her breasts beneath her sweater. Seeing the direction of his gaze, Mary’s breath quickened. His look made her think of the many delightful ways she could repay the
big man.

  She dropped the dish into the drainer and faced him. “What would it take, Mr. Tanner?” she asked, her voice a husky dare. She knew this false bravado came from the hot edge of her temper, but she didn’t care.

  At her words his face closed up tighter than a pickle barrel. “More than what you have to offer, that’s for sure.”

  Her face flooded with color at his insult. “Why you –”

  “Did you two get the details all ironed out?” Joseph walked into the room, cutting off the searing retort Mary had been about to deliver.

  She took a deep breath and turned toward Joseph, unmindful of the fact that Luke’s gaze was again riveted to the front of her sweater.

  Joseph did notice and tried to cover his chuckle with a cough. “When can you start?”

  Mary gained control of herself and looked at the other man. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay, Joseph. I know I would have had a wonderful time looking after you, but I just can’t.”

  “I’ll give you the loan if you work for me,” Luke’s words, short and clipped, fell from tightened lips.

  Mary looked from one man to the other, her mind torn between accepting the offer and proving the rancher wrong, and wanting to walk out the front door, never to look back.

  Joseph took her arm and ushered her from the room. He threw his grandson one last hard look. “It’s simple, Mary. I need a nurse for a month, maybe longer. You need a loan. Once you leave, Luke will give you the loan and your business will be on top in no time. You’ll also receive a salary while you’re here. That should tide you over in the meantime.”

  “But he hasn’t heard my proposal,” she protested weakly, feeling as steamrolled as fresh laid asphalt but unable to think of a single protest.