The heifer sidestepped, giving Jesse a run for his money. With quiet patience, he wrangled the unborn calf into the proper birthing position, head and forelegs facing him. Putting the chains on each leg, he leaned back, exerting strong, steady pressure.
Muscles in his shoulders bunched and flexed. Lee was so drawn to him she almost stepped toward him. That pulled her up short. This mustn't happen. It was wrong. What about her husband? What about Wess? She spun to face the back of the pen. Who was this wild cat that had taken over her body?
The young heifer bawled to high heaven. Lee unclenched her fists and turned back around. The calf's forelegs appeared, then the knees, along with the nose and head. In no time, a healthy little heifer lay on the ground.
Lee, aware of Jesse standing back near the inside of the barn, dashed a bit of water on the baby's head, pulling the mucous out of her nose and mouth, and untied her momma. The cow hurt some but would be back to normal in no time.
As the cow turned to lick her hard-earned baby, Jesse and Lee picked up their tools and moved out of the stall.
Jesse washed in the water trough in the corral.
When he walked inside, Lee offered him her hand, keeping her eyes carefully on his face and away from his muscular chest. "Nice work, partner. You did a good job coaxing that little girl out of her momma. We're always happy around here when we birth a heifer calf."
He smiled warmly as he put his shirt on, and her heart hammered away. She said, "Let's go up to the house and eat a late lunch. Then I'll take you out and show you where I want to put in that new pond."
"I'm with you, boss." His lazy smile as he looked into her eyes set her heart pounding harder. Damn. She turned on her heel and strode to the truck.
AN HOUR LATER, JESSE's elbow rested on the open window ledge as he enjoyed the view of Lee's profile out of the corner of his eye. The soft swell of a breast showed under the arm she casually held to the top of the steering wheel as she drove. She was damn sexy—his gaze travelled down her long, shapely leg—and she was smart to wear Kevlar snake boots in this country. He wore ropers—a habit from his calf roping days.
The easy hum of the motor relaxed him as they drove toward Woodbury. He'd caught her cool, clean scent like fresh soap and sunshine when they stepped into the truck. No perfume for this lady. He smiled to himself. He bet if he ever got to dip his nose in that shiny hair of hers, he'd smell sweet flowery shampoo. Aww, in your dreams, cowboy. This woman was all business. Remember that.
She glanced at him then returned her eyes to the road. “I own a great place off 3109 with good pasture and two ponds on it."
Jesse nodded. "That's nice country up that way. How many head are you running?"
"There are sixty-seven cows and two bulls on there right now." She glanced at him again. "So, tell me, what was it like being a rodeo cowboy all those years?"
He considered for a few seconds. "I enjoyed roping. The road life is hard, but easier in some ways, too. I was ready for it to be over. I'm looking forward to finding the right place for me and my boys."
"Your boys? Were you married, then?"
Hmm. Did he detect something in her voice? Interest in him maybe? "Yeah, I was for a while, but I don't have any kids. My boys are my horses, Marty and Gringo. Which reminds me, I'll bring one over whenever there's cowboying to do, if you like."
"Sure, thank you." She turned to him, smiled, then went back to the road.
The sound of the wind through the windows filled the truck. He leaned his head back. At first, he wondered what it would be like working for a woman, thinking it might not go too well. But he enjoyed the hell out of it. Lee knew her business, respected him, and didn't order him around. They worked great as a team. And he was drawn to her. Not just because she was beautiful. He admired her. Loved her strength, and yet he knew she was vulnerable. There was much more to this tough lady rancher than met the eye.
Soon they turned down 3109, eventually crossing the red cattle guard and entering the pasture. Lee started blasting the siren about 200 yards in. Using one was the only way to call stock in a place that went on for miles. With Jesse dribbling feed from the tailgate, they fed three bunches of cows down the road and pasture trails. After locating, feeding, and tallying the last bunch, Lee was only four cows short. She said she knew who they were and would look for them the next time she was out that way.
LEE TURNED TO JESSE. "Now, let me show you where I think a pond would work out really well." Jesse's masculine scent filled her nose, and she steeled herself against it. Turning down a barely worn path, the truck bumped its way further and further away from the road. Finally, she stopped and got out.
Jesse fell in with her as she walked through the thick brush.
After a few minutes, they approached a steep incline. Lee leaned into it, scrabbling up the side and grabbing handholds of grass as she ascended.
Jesse climbed right behind her.
Just as she rose within two feet of the top, her right boot slipped out from under her. This put most of her weight on her right hand which clutched a clump of grass. The grass pulled out of the ground. She yelled as she fell backward, hitting Jesse's shoulder and chest.
He let go and grabbed her, and they both slid and rolled fifteen steep feet down to the bottom.
"Dammit!" She lay face-down, splayed across Jesse.
He asked quickly, "You all right, Lee?"
She took a deep breath and noted the pounding of her head, which had thumped a rock on the way down. "Only thing hurt is my pride." She stayed where she was for a minute, hoping her head would stop spinning. Her body, despite her wishes, responded to Jesse's as she lay atop him. The hard muscles of his chest made her want to give in, melt into his arms, be vulnerable, for once. But that couldn't happen.
As she struggled to sit up, her arm was pinned beneath her.
Jesse put his arm around her and helped them both upright.
How freaking embarrassing was this? And her butt felt like she'd been kicked by a jackass. Must have hit something hard there, too.
Jesse frowned and brushed dirt and pieces of grass off her shirt and picked sticks out of her hair before taking her head in his hands. "Your head banged that rock over there. Let me take a look." He gently ran his fingers over the sides of her head and down the back of it. "Well, you have a lump. How do you feel?"
"You mean other than like a dumbass?"
"You're not a dumbass. Anybody can slip and fall. Just stay down now. How are your legs?"
"Okay. Other than feeling like I got kicked in the ass, I'm fine."
He laughed. "In that case, I'll get up and give you a hand." As he stood, she noticed, again, how tall and handsome he was. She was a klutzy fool. Where was her damn hat, anyway?
Jesse hoisted her to her feet and held her by the arms. "Steady now. Are you dizzy, do you have a headache, anything like that?"
"No, no, I'm fine."
He stared at her for a few seconds, as if to reassure himself.
She realized how close they were standing and swore she could feel heat coming from his body. Why did he have to be so damn sexy? She stepped back.
"Isn't there an easier way to get to this place?" he asked.
"Yeah, but it's a lot longer walk."
"Well, I vote for that. Do you think you can make it?"
"Well, hell yes! Quit babying me," she grouched and picked up her hat, slapping it against her thigh to dust it off. Without a backward glance, she started walking with what she was sure was a tiny limp. Damn, her butt hurt.
After they looked the spot over, Jesse agreed that the place was perfect for a pond.
Lee said, "This property has a clay pit on it, too, and a friend of mine said I could borrow his dump truck to haul it with. So, you game to start here tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'll give the dozer a once over in the morning and check on your store of hydraulic fluid. You have some gas?"
"I have quite a bit of hydraulic fluid in the back of the barn, and I keep two
tanks full of diesel on trailers. Just let me know when they need filling."
"Sure thing," and he smiled that sexy, lazy smile at her.
Lee headed back toward the truck, ready to get home and frustrated to the point of disgust with her reaction to this man today. Had she no self-control, no self-respect? Remembering how she’d sniffed for his scent, she rolled her eyes. She was really losing it. This crap had to stop.
Chapter Four
AFTER YESTERDAY'S DEBACLE at the 3109 pasture, Lee was determined to start the morning out on a professional footing. She strode purposefully toward Jesse as he parked by the barn. "Hey. We've got lots to do this morning." Standing with her hands in her back pockets, she kept her gaze on his truck bed as he came around the front. No way was she filling her eyes with his sculpted, masculine body or that easy, gorgeous smile of his.
"So, what's up, boss lady?"
His deep voice resonated in her belly. She exhaled hard and glanced over at him. "I've ordered three two-man deer blinds, and they've come in. Two will fit on the flat bed, so I'd like you to go pick those up today."
"Sure, not a problem."
Handing him the invoice with the address in Abilene, she said, "I'll be spending a large part of my day feeding and looking for six cows I'm missing out at a pasture of mine off 222. If you could feed here this afternoon, that'd be good. And the other heifer's looking like today's her day. If you would keep an eye on her, I'd appreciate it."
"I'll take care of things, boss. Just do what you have to do."
His smile, meant to reassure her, sent her tummy into flip flops. How the hell was she supposed to be all business when he smiled like that? She gritted her teeth and turned on her heel.
JESSE'S EYES SCANNED the water-starved pastures on either side of the road as he drove, his mind toying with the enigma that was Lee Granger. He'd waited for her to open up, maybe expose a little crack in that steel armor she wore. Hoping she might tell him some things, like why she had worked her ranch all alone. Or why money was so tight that she couldn't hire a hand when obviously she knew how to run her place damn well, which meant she should be making some kind of profit. And she was about the quietest person he'd ever been around. Unless she shared something about the job, she kept to herself.
At times she seemed almost melancholy, and he wondered what dark thoughts might be troubling her. So beautiful she made him hurt, he wanted to hold her at the most inopportune moments. Everything about her unsettled him, said don't touch, and yet he felt he needed to protect her.
Today she'd been all business, but the air crackled between them. His full-bodied awareness of her distracted him. But he'd gotten—something—from her. She hadn't met his eyes, so it was hard to tell. But he’d felt a charge in the air, something in the way she fidgeted and moved. His hands tightened on the wheel, remembering the way her breasts had pressed into him when she fell on him. He inhaled sharply, the memory strong and real. Lee was one hell of a lady, and despite the fact that she was his boss, he'd find a way inside that wall she had around her.
LEE DROVE WITH THE radio turned down the forty-five minutes to her place off 222, her mind rehashing the episode at the 3109 pasture the day before. What bothered her was the way her body had responded to Jesse.
Sighing, she clenched the steering wheel. What was she supposed to do with this attraction for him? No matter how she commanded herself to be proper, businesslike, and even stern, her body betrayed her. She'd find herself caught up in Jesse's scent, the rich, deep sound of his voice, and the confident, sexy way he moved.
She'd worked with men as a DPS Trooper and sheriff's deputy and never had this problem. She was one of the boys, tough and in command of herself. She had no experience dealing with this melting puddle of womanly hormones and she’d better figure out what to do about it, and soon.
She opened the pasture gate, and, after driving through, shut it behind her. When she climbed back in the truck, she started blowing the siren.
She'd brought Texas, her big black gelding with a white, Texas-shaped star on his forehead. He was the only thing that could carry her back up in the rough country where vehicles couldn't go. Chowser looked pleased to be back in his shotgun position again. She'd search like hell for those six cows gone astray today. With money so tight, even one missing cow was a huge loss.
Continuing on up the gravel road, she found the right spot and unloaded Texas. After walking him into the patchy shade under a mesquite tree, she tied him with the halter rope. Unhooking the trailer, she hoped to scare up the missing cows using the siren and the truck and spare herself a long day's ride.
After several hours of driving down the dusty pasture tracks, she came up with three of the six cows, but, unfortunately, discovered another cow and her calf gone. Disgusted, she headed back to the trailer and loaded Texas up again.
She pulled over to the side of the road where she'd found the other three cows. Chowser plopped down beside her as she got out. She stared hard at him. "Okay, lazybones, we've got some work to do. Watch out for cactus and snakes."
He lolled his tongue at her, eyes dancing, like he couldn't wait for the fun to start.
Unloading Texas, she tightened up the cinch, then swung up on his back. At sixteen-plus hands, he got his height from his thoroughbred side. She took her rifle from the scabbard and made sure a bullet was in the chamber.
Heading her horse toward the arroyo that was near the north side of the pasture, she’d see if one of her lost cows might have fallen in. Without a hint of breeze, the sun baked the ground. Heat rose and engulfed her booted legs. Texas was a surefooted boy and managed well in the rough terrain. Chowser was in his element. His scruffy head alternated between up in the air sniffing the currents and close to the earth, scouting for the scent of cattle and ignoring deer trails and jack rabbit runs.
The hard, yellow sun beat down on her shoulders, the scant shade from her straw Stetson doing little to cool her. Arriving at the arroyo forty-five minutes later, Lee scanned as far as she could see in both directions. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Turning west, she and Texas weaved around brush and rocks, staying near the meandering cleft. Chowser was on the other side, ahead of her, and out of sight around a bend in the gulch.
Urging her horse forward, Chowser soon appeared, standing at the opposite edge, looking down into the crack. Jerking his head up, he stared hard at her, mouth agape. His eyes drilled into her as she headed toward him on her side of the wash.
Lee dismounted and ground-tied Texas. The rotten smell of death drew her as she approached and she wondered which one of her cows lay in this narrow gully. At the lip, she knelt and craned her head, peering down to discover what had caught her boy's attention. "Oh, God! Oh, no, no, no!" She lurched backwards, falling on her hands.
Chowser bounded across, licking her face and whining.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" She closed her eyes, but the vision stayed before her. A girl lay in the cleft, with hair just like Lee’s Megan's and about the same size. The body had bloated, then shrunk again. She was partly decomposed—insects and small animals having begun their work. "Oh, God, Megan!" Lee sobbed. Falling to the ground, she turned on her side and her body wracked with sobs.
After a few seconds, she quieted and rubbed her eyes, sniffling into her hand. Wiping her snotty nose on her arm, she sat up. I'm being ridiculous. This isn't Megan—not even close. This girl has tattoos and everything. But, oh God, the poor thing died out here alone and hurt just like my sweet girl. Blood had run from deep cuts all over her, and she lay naked. Lee wondered if this girl had cried out for her momma, too, in the end.
Lee started to cry again and yanked herself quiet. Dragging to her feet, she staggered a few yards away, vomiting her guts up into a wild persimmon bush. The acid mess burned her throat, tasting of sour coffee. Wiping her mouth with the hem of her t-shirt, she swallowed hard. Her brain began to function again.
She approached Texas and reached in her saddle bag, pulling ou
t her cell phone. Of course, no bars. Her law enforcement experience kicked in. She'd better snap some pictures of the scene before she left to call the authorities.
Trying to stay in her same boot tracks, she walked back over to the edge and took photos of the area on both sides of the arroyo. Kneeling down and steeling her thoughts, she took close-ups of the body, head to toe. Twisting her waist, she took snapshots of the inside of the cleft, east and west. When she finished, she strode to Texas, feeling gut-shot—every organ in her belly violated.
The horse stood still as stone, hip slung and head down. He was worth a million bucks in her book. After making sure her cinch was tight, Lee mounted up and headed back toward the truck.
Glancing at her phone every couple of minutes, she finally got a signal as Texas reached the road and she dialed 911.
The afternoon heat beat down on her, an insect buzzing her ear as dispatch came on the line. "Sheriff's Department, what's your emergency?"
Lee strove for calm. "Gwen. This is Lee Granger. I'm up on my place off of 222, and I've found the body of a girl in a dry wash. Can you send Cody over to check it out?"
"Oh, my God, Lee. I'll radio him. Give me some directions. Is the gate unlocked?"
As she filled Gwen in, Lee held her composure. After hanging up, she thought a minute and called back. "Gwen, this is Lee again. Listen, this country is damn sure rough. They'll probably need horses and a sled to carry her out unless they have one hell of a four-wheel-drive vehicle."
Gwen said she'd pass that along and hung up.
True-Blue Texas Cowboy Page 3
