Cowgirl Rescue (Selkirk Family Ranch Book 3)

by Irene Vartanoff

  As the four by four turned in to the long ranch access road, Tess woke. “Why didn’t you wake me? I could have spelled you.”

  “Three reasons. D-U-I.”

  “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” she asked, showing pique.

  He smothered a grin. “Not if it gives me an advantage. You’re a pepper pot, honey. I’ve got to grab my chances as I see them.”

  “Stop here.”

  “Do you see a critter?”

  She shook her head. There were at the top of the slope that led to the ranch house compound. “I want to get out. Just for a minute.”

  “It's late. What are you up to now?”

  “Stop. You'll see.”

  As soon as he did, she hopped out and came around to his side of the vehicle. He reluctantly opened the driver door. She tugged at his hand, pulling him out and dragging him to the highest spot of the driveway.

  “Look. Isn't the ranch beautiful in the moonlight?” Her voice softened. “Don't you just love it?” She turned around and looked at him. “Don't you?”

  Despite the profound darkness, punctuated only by a couple of safety lights near the stables, they could see the compound clearly. The two-story white clapboard house glowed in the moonlight. It looked antique, as if from the nineteenth century, because of all the elaborate gingerbread on the screened in front porch. In reality, it was a reproduction of the classic farmhouse design, complete with modern conveniences and an in-ground swimming pool out back. Near the house were garages and stables, all in perfect condition. The compound was tidy and snug, sprawling without being pompous or grandiose. A comfortable, unpretentious home.

  “I never really thought about it. Yes. I do love it here,” he said. He put an arm around her slender body. “Glad to be back home?”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, emotion evident in her voice. “I dream of home every night.”

  “Then why won’t you stay here?”

  She pulled away from him. “You had to spoil it.”

  She paced back to the four by four, and put one foot on the front bumper and hoisted herself up onto the hood. With her elbows braced on her knees, she leaned her chin on her hands. She stared out at the ranch in the moonlight. “What if you loved what you saw, but you couldn’t make it your own?”

  “I know a little something about that,” he said, looking at her.

  She made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “That’s not what I mean.” She turned back to staring out into the valley. “I love this ranch, every bit of it. And I don’t own a single square inch. Maybe I never will.”

  “Get your brothers or your father to sign some acreage over to you.”

  She sighed. “It’s not that simple.”

  He reached up and pulled her down into his arms. “Some things are very simple.”

  She purred a happy response, nuzzling his chest. “I agree. Let’s go straight to your cabin.”

  He pulled back. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “But why not?” Her voice was almost plaintive. “We’re fantastic in bed together.”

  “You know why.”

  “Yes, your silly vow of chastity or whatever it is.”

  She put her lips to his, surprising him and knocking him off-balance. Her tongue lightly caressed his lower lip as he struggled not to give in to the powerful urge to respond. He couldn’t help a groan escaping when she boldly plunged her tongue into his mouth. Just one second of ecstasy…

  He broke away, breathing heavily, trying to hide his powerful need for her. “No. Not without a commitment.”

  She stamped a foot in the dust. “You’re like a virgin in a melodrama. It’s just sex. No big deal.”

  He said nothing.

  She tossed her hair in an impatient gesture. “You’re no fun.”

  Tess stalked around to the other side of the car and got back inside. “Okay, fine. Drop the Prodigal Sister at the kitchen door and wash your hands of me.”

  He got in and turned the key in the ignition. “Don’t be like that. You know I care for you.”

  She shot him a look. “Do you? When I open my heart to you, you shrug it off as if the things that trouble me are easy to solve. I don’t do that to you about PTSD.”

  “That’s different. Anyway, I’m mostly over it.”

  “What about what happened on the San Bernadino Freeway? That was PTSD. You’re probably still in denial, the way JD was for so long.”

  “I’ve done therapy,” he said shortly, putting the car in gear.

  “If you have, if you’ve really plumbed the depths of your soul, why are you so determined to pretend that I have no depth at all? I’m not a manic pixie dream girl, with no interior life of my own. My interior life splashes all over my exterior.”

  “And far too many martini glasses.”

  She hit the dashboard with the palm of her hand. “Stop ragging on me. I like to drink. End of story.”

  “Now who’s in denial?”

  He drew up at the kitchen door. A faint light shone from inside, but otherwise the house was dark. He couldn’t send her in alone with anger between them. Time for an olive branch. “If you’re interested, I have a meeting with your brothers in the morning. At the ranch office.” He named the hour.

  In a far calmer tone than she’d used before, Tess said, “Thanks. I’ll be there.” She heaved a sigh, not making any attempt to exit the car. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

  “Me neither.”

  “See you tomorrow, then.” She opened the car door.

  Rolf reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, then drew back. Too dangerous to touch her in this mood. Too easy to start the car again and take her to his cabin. She was willing. Eager, even, but one night of sex wasn’t what he wanted from Tess Selkirk.

  “Good night,” he said, his voice coming out more ragged than he liked.

  Tess perked up. “Ha. I dare you to sleep well, knowing that we could have been in the same bed.”

  “Go inside, woman,” he said, laughing. “You won’t catch me this easily.”

  “Come with me. Miss Betty is bound to have left me a plate of cookies.” She smiled coaxingly.

  He shook his head.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Afraid if you come in, I might drag you up to my bedroom? It’s just cookies. Not a big seduction scene.”

  He’d enjoy a seduction by Tess under the right circumstances. Cookies. He had to think about cookies. He took a deep breath.

  “Come on,” she urged. “Unless you’d rather stay here and neck?” The dare was back in her eyes.

  He folded. “Cookies it is.”

  The kitchen door wasn’t locked, of course. This was middle-of-nowhere Wyoming, not big city Los Angeles. They went inside quietly, speaking in low tones so as not to wake Miss Betty, whose apartment was down the hall. They’d called earlier to alert her that Tess was coming, but it was two a.m. now.

  “Told you.” Tess pointed at the kitchen counter. “Oatmeal raisin.”

  He shook his head. “Not the best late-night snack.”

  Tess snorted. “What are you, the nutrition police? She’ll rap me on the knuckles with her wooden spoon if I eat more than a few. She leaves them out as a test. If I take a couple, she’ll know I got in safely.”

  She picked one up and licked the edge. “Yum. Real brown sugar.”

  As she offered the cookie to him, Rolf leaned in and licked those lips. Their nearness for hours had worn him down. Once he touched her, his lips couldn’t stop.

  Tess responded so enthusiastically she knocked the cookie from his hand. She grabbed his head to hold him tight. They kissed and touched. His hands held her shoulders, lightly caressing her skin. Before his hands could roam to touch her breasts, he groaned and pulled away. “You made me drop my cookie.”

  “Sorry. I’ll hand feed you a new cookie.” Her voice was throaty. “In my bedroom.”

  He shook his head. “Nice try. The answer is no, unless you’re willing to make a commitm
ent.”

  “That is not happening.” She sighed. “Okay, I give for now. See you tomorrow.” She sauntered away, giving an extra swing to her hips, aware that he watched the sway of her backside.

  Rolf watched and hungered. His cowgirl was home at last. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to rope and hogtie her.

  Chapter 6

  The morning meeting in the small, wood-paneled ranch office off the back hall was tense before Tess walked in. The men were fresh out of ideas. JD looked tired and Baron, always on a short fuse, looked ready to blow his stack. The brothers were a contrast, JD lean and sandy-haired, usually with a cocky grin, Baron big and muscular, but too quick to anger. Rolf as usual had been letting it wash over him, picking out salient points as they were brought up. Tess gave him a sweet smile before speaking.

  “You all look terrible. What’s the problem?” she asked.

  Her brothers looked up, and Baron leaped to embrace her.

  JD said, “About time you came for a visit.”

  Baron said, “You really messed up in California. You should quit Hollywood.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Did I ask for your opinions about my life? Uh, no. Tell me what’s going on with the ranch that has you both looking like you’re ready to eat tacks.”

  “Don’t worry your head over it. We’ll handle it,” Baron said.

  She put her hands on her hips. “Stop being a big honking sexist and tell me what’s wrong.”

  Baron rubbed the back of his neck, as if he had an ache there. He turned to JD. “You tell her.”

  JD’s face held a pained expression. “Someone is rustling our cattle.”

  “Near in or far out? From a piece of land that’s contiguous—yeah, I know a big word—to our main holdings, or from one of those far-flung fields?”

  Baron frowned. “All in the central area?” He turned to JD for confirmation.

  His brother nodded. “From right under our noses. Don’t know how they’re doing it.”

  “The cattle disappear at night, of course,” she said.

  “Duh,” JD said.

  “We’ve got to stop it. They’re taking more each time,” Baron said. He angrily paced the small confines of the now crowded room, his height and bulk making it seem even more cramped.

  “How many?” Tess asked.

  JD said sourly, “First it was ten head, all thousand pounders,” JD said. “Yesterday it was eight hundred pounders. Twenty of them.” He threw his pen on the desk in front of him.

  “Bigger truck,” Rolf said.

  Tess shook her head. “Not if the rustlers don’t abide by ethical rules of spacing density.”

  “Don’t be stupid. They’re getting bolder, so they used a bigger truck,” JD said.

  Tess’s face fell at JD’s caustic words. As JD and Baron argued over how large the truck would have to be, she attempted to get a word in edgewise a couple of times. Baron ignored her and JD actively frowned at her. Neither brother stopped talking to let his sister speak.

  Rolf narrowed his eyes at the family drama unfolding. Maybe Tess was right about her brothers’ attitude toward her. Baron was affectionate, but JD acted downright nasty.

  “It’s probably a medium-sized truck not meant for cattle,” she finally managed to put in when both brothers were briefly silent.

  JD asked, “You decided that based on what brilliant calculation?”

  Tess closed her lips, visibly intimidated by JD’s crushing sarcasm.

  “No one has seen a strange cattle truck,” JD said flatly. “It’s as if they’re invisible.”

  “The rustlers aren’t using a cattle truck,” Tess repeated.

  JD brushed her aside. “They’re getting bolder, we know that. But how?”

  Tess opened her mouth again, but paused, clearly plucking up her courage to address JD. “Why can’t we track the cattle with GPS? Don’t they all have chips?”

  Baron flushed with anger and pointed at JD. “They did when I was running this place, but little brother here isn’t so hot on spending money outside of his pet projects.”

  JD leaned back in his chair, defying them. “GPS inserts aren’t cost effective with calves.”

  “Because they could get infections when chips are inserted?” Tess asked.

  JD scowled. “No, dummy. They don’t need chips. The calves are in central areas where quick in and out with a truck isn’t likely.”

  Tess looked briefly at Rolf, as if seeking his support, but he kept his poker face. He knew better than to get between siblings.

  She looked to Baron. “I’m guessing the calves haven’t been branded, either?”

  Baron shook his head in disgust. “That’s right.”

  JD said, “We haven’t had cattle rustled in years. We’re big and we have a large crew to keep track of everything. Why go to the expense?”

  Tess rolled her eyes. Baron glared at his brother.

  Finally, she asked, “So, back to the original question. How are they doing it?”

  “Beats me,” Baron said.

  “We have men all over the ranch roads,” Rolf said. “I put on patrols.”

  Tess asked, “What about the roads on the three ranches you’ve turned into veterans’ homes?”

  JD said, “That’s a dumb idea.”

  “Why is it dumb?” she fired up, finally showing her usual spunk.

  “You don’t know anything about those roads,” JD said.

  “I do so—” Tess started to say.

  JD turned to Rolf. “Would anyone at the veterans’ homes notice a big cattle truck at night?”

  “Guys are awake.” Rolf shared a knowing look with his old army buddy. PTSD made for broken or nonexistent sleep. “They’d notice a big cattle truck going by—twice—in the night.”

  “So much for Tess’s bonehead idea,” JD said.

  Tess looked deflated. “But where else could they truck the cattle out undetected?”

  Rolf suggested the rim road. “It’s longer but it’s a pretty straight shot from the holding pens we use during roundup.”

  Baron said, “What about the valley road?”

  They kicked that around for a bit. JD shot down every single one of Tess’s suggestions, usually with a sarcastic twist to his words. Her brothers talked around her. Mostly ignored what she said unless she pushed hard.

  “We have to find someone who has seen a truck,” Tess said.

  Without acknowledging her words, JD said to Rolf, “Check with the hands again in case they’ve seen anything.”

  “Right,” Rolf said. “Any suspects?”

  JD said, “They’re all longtime, loyal hands. I don’t see why any of them would do it.”

  “For money,” Rolf said flatly. “Maybe someone has a sudden need for cash.”

  JD nodded, “That could be.”

  “Then there’s guys like Davis, who don’t like taking orders,” Baron said.

  JD shook his head. “You and Davis don’t get along, but that doesn’t prove he’d be disloyal.”

  Tess asked, “You can’t mean Cal Davis? The one who always drives me to the honkytonks? But he’s a sweetheart.”

  “He and Baron had some trouble when Baron was running things here,” JD said.

  “Baron isn’t doing any of the direct contact with the ranch hands anymore.” She turned to Rolf. “That’s what you do, right?”

  He nodded. She gave him a wide smile.

  “I always got the idea that Davis had a past,” Baron said.

  “Lot of the guys here have a past. So what?” JD said.

  Rolf silently agreed. Veterans especially, and he suspected Davis was one, didn’t deserve to be accused of criminal activity or perceived as dangerous powder kegs. Serving one’s country shouldn’t be a stain on a man’s record.

  Tess said, “I’ll go talk to Hoot. He keeps an eye on the men.”

  JD said, “You stay out of it. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

  JD’s words visibly stung her. Her beautiful dar
k eyes didn’t try to hide her hurt. “I do so.”

  Rolf said, “I’ll talk to someone at Green Gables, the closest veterans’ home. Where did you get the corny name for it, anyway?” he asked JD, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

  “Paula’s idea.” Just saying her name, JD seemed to soften a bit. When he turned to Tess his demeanor grew hard once more. “Paula’s coming in this afternoon. She’s staying overnight just for you.”

  Tess looked dismayed. “She’s not planning to be here longer?”

  JD shook his head. “Something’s up medically.” The dark look on his face did not encourage more questions.

  Rolf wondered aloud, “Baron, you don’t have any strangers working on your compound, do you?”

  “No. We’re all done. House, stable, geology office, the works. I got the whole complex built by the wedding,” he said. He radiated pride in his accomplishment. “I’ll let you two figure out the rustlers. I’ve got a sandstone cliff to investigate.”

  Tess asked, “Have you found any more dinosaur bones?”

  Baron’s face lit up. “A couple. One might be part of a triceratops.”

  JD snorted. “Bone hunting. You want bones, we’ve got plenty of old cattle skeletons.”

  “It’s not the same, JD,” Tess said, showing her exasperation. “You’re in a rotten mood today.”

  Baron put an arm around her shoulders. “Ignore him. Come over to our house for lunch. I know Addie will want to show you her newest horses.”

  Tess gave JD a dark look, which he ignored. “Better company than what’s here. It’s a deal.”

  Baron grabbed his Stetson and departed. Tess went with him, pretty obviously not happy being in the room with JD even though Rolf was there. That was his fault. He wasn’t a big talker like the Selkirks. He liked to sit back and let the others talk. Although maybe he should have spoken up in defense of Tess’s ideas. They were all good ones. He definitely planned to talk to people at the veterans’ homes, find out for sure what they’d seen or heard.

  ***

  Nobody listened to her. Not even Rolf.

  After swimming off as much frustration as she could, Tess checked in at the kitchen. She hugged the housekeeper and then attempted to grab a bite from the pie she was making. Miss B whacked her fingers.