Rancher's Proposition

“Sorry. That’s not in my plans.” Cal grinned as Rilla gave her charge a final squeeze and pushed her toward his waiting truck.

“You go ahead, honey. I want to have a little word with Mr. McCall.”

The young woman murmured something in a low voice that he didn’t catch, the first sound he’d heard her utter, and returned the woman’s hug with a stranglehold that would have been lethal if she’d been any bigger than a twig. Then the two women parted, and Lyn reached for the pathetic paper bag.

“I’ll get that.” Cal moved toward her. It couldn’t be too heavy but he’d bet his last dime she’d struggle to drag it to the truck. He reached out for the bag she was about to pick up, and the girl gave a panicked squeak. Cal stepped back involuntarily, and Lyn backed away from him so fast she fetched up hard against the lady still standing behind her.

“Honey, honey,” the woman soothed. “It’s all right. Mr. McCall’s a gentleman. He’s only going to carry the bag for you.” She patted Lyn’s shoulder and gave her a gentle push. “You go get in the truck now.”

There was a brief silence while Lyn took a deep, shaky breath that he could hear clear over where he waited, then walked off. Cal shook his head, pushing his hat back and hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, rocking back on his heels in thought. This was looking worse and worse. How was he going to deal with a housekeeper who was terrified of him? “I’m not so sure this is going to work out,” he said to Rilla.

“Well, I’m not sure it’s going to work, either,” the big woman informed him, hands on hips. “Your sister thinks you’re a saint. But frankly, I’m not so sure you’re up to the task of dealing with a little wounded critter like that.” She pointed to his truck where Lyn was sitting obediently.

That stung. It was one thing for him to say it wouldn’t work, but he’d be damned if he’d let somebody else judge him and find him lacking.

“I can deal with her,” he said, injecting confidence into his tone. “I just don’t want to scare her any more than she already is.”

Rilla sighed. “She’s got to get used to being around men again. Your sister gave me some references on you and everybody I talked to says you’re a good man.”

He was astounded, then outraged. “You called people for character references on me?”

The woman shrugged, but her eyes were filled with glee. “You bet. I have to be sure my clients are going to be safe when they leave here.” Then the laughter faded from her eyes and a profound sorrow replaced it. “Mr. McCall, you can’t imagine the things I’ve seen. The things some of the women who come through here have endured. For some of them, simply surviving is a victory. Little Lynnie there, she’s got good reason to fear men. I saw her right after your sister brought her to the hospital and I know the doctors weren’t real sure she’d ever be the same again. Physically or in her head.” She paused, then raised her eyebrows. “She says she doesn’t remember anything about what happened. She might never. The important thing is that she have a good, quiet place to recover.”

“Is there anything special I should do for her?” He didn’t have time for this, he told himself even as the words came out of his mouth. He had a ranch to get back on its feet, stock to buy, men to hire. He didn’t have time to baby-sit.

Rilla shook her head. “She doesn’t need medical treatment, just time to heal in her heart. You be gentle, give her lots of space, and time’ll do the rest. She’s got a support group that meets here if she needs it. I’ll call her once in a while and see how she’s doing. Your sister said she’d check on Lynnie occasionally.”

Cal nodded, trying to suppress the smile that threatened at the mention of his sister. He knew that to Silver “occasionally” probably meant two or three times a day. “She’s due back from her honeymoon in a few days and I imagine she’ll be over to make sure everything’s going okay.” He took a deep breath. “Well, Miss Rilla, you come visit anytime you like. We’ll feed you and there are plenty of empty bedrooms for a guest.”

“Thank you.” The woman put out her hand, and when he took it, she gave his hand a heftier shake than many of the ranchers he knew were capable of. “You take care of Lynnie and call if you have any questions.” She reached out and tucked a piece of paper in his shirt pocket. “There’s my number. Any time of the night or day. Emergencies don’t keep business hours.”

That sobered him. He knew all about emergencies. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “We’ll hope that little gal has had all the emergencies she’s going to for one lifetime.”

The hour-and-a-half drive home from Rapid City never had seemed so long. His new housekeeper sat silently in her seat, apparently unaware that common courtesy might direct her to make some small effort at conversation.

His thoughts were a jumbled mess and because he was preoccupied with sorting them into order, he didn’t bother to try to draw her out. When they reached the town of Wall, he asked her if she needed to stop for anything, but she shook her head. He hoped that meant she wasn’t going to need a bathroom for a while because Kadoka, their destination and the next outpost of civilization along this strip of I-90, was another hour away.

When they got off the interstate at Kadoka, he asked her again if she needed to stop, and again she shook her head, so he headed down Route 73 south of town, toward his outfit, and finally, finally, he reached the turnoff to his ranch. His ranch. The notion gave him a rush of pleasure every time it occurred to him that he owned the land. He avoided the worst of the ruts in the lane, promising himself that would be one of the next things he’d see to now that he was back for good.

As they came within sight of the house, he couldn’t help glancing over at his new employee, wanting to see her reaction to his home place.

Tears were streaming down her face.

He was so shocked he slammed on the brake, jolting them both forward against their seat belts. Lyn shrieked and he immediately cut the engine, saying, “Hey, there, it’s all right. It’s all right.”

She took a trembling breath as he ripped off his hat and raked a hand through his hair. When he could trust his voice to be calm again, he asked, “Have I done something to upset you?”

She shook her head, the red hair flying around her shoulders, but she still, as far as he could tell, hadn’t looked directly at him.

“Then why are you crying?” He couldn’t keep the trace of exasperation from his voice.

Lyn raised her head. Slowly, she turned to look at him and for the first time, he got to see what she looked like under all that hair. Her eyes were green. No, that was wrong. Her eyes were huge, emerald pools. Unfortunately, around those striking eyes were green and yellow bruises, and a deeper yellow lump stood out on her forehead. Her skin was fair, except for the faint shadows of bruises mottling her face and neck, and she had a faint sprinkling of freckles across her nose and over her cheeks. But it was her mouth that drew his notice.

A long, ugly wound marred the otherwise flawless lower half of a pair of lips that formed a pretty Cupid’s bow. The scar came from beneath her jaw on the left side and reached up to claw through her lip. Red marks indicated that stitches had recently been removed, and he suspected that plastic surgery had been done, because the repair looked neat and efficient and already seemed to be fading from what he was sure had been a doozy of a cut.

He was afraid she’d see him staring, so he quickly looked back at her eyes, willing himself to ignore the obvious evidence of damage to her face. Her eyelashes and eyebrows were a rich dark chestnut, the brows arching elegantly above those unforgettable eyes.

Eyes that were still sparkling with tears, he suddenly realized.

Again, he said, “Why are you crying?”

She opened her mouth. Worked it, but no sound came out. Again she tried, and this time a trickle of a husky whisper reached his ears. “I used to live here.”

One

Nine weeks later…

Lyn Hamill glanced at the sturdy waterproof watch on her left wrist. It wasn’t exciting, as jewelry went, but she treasured it because Cal McCall had given it to her the second week after she’d come to work at his ranch. Almost four o’clock. Good. She used the back of her arm to wipe sweat from her forehead and grabbed the tongs, deftly plucking the canning jars from the boiling water and replacing them with another batch while the first ones cooled. She would have enough time to finish the last half-bushel of tomatoes before her employer came in for dinner.

Carrying a load of completely cooled tomato jars to the basement, she took a moment to survey her handiwork with a feeling of satisfaction. Although she had arrived at the ranch in July, too late for any planting, she had managed to get a good start on stocking up for winter. Now, onions and garlic hung from the wooden rafters in net bags and bushel baskets of potatoes stood on the bare dirt floor. She was steadily filling the wooden shelves that stood against three walls. Already they held canning jars filled with bread-and-butter pickles, green beans, peas, plum butter, buffaloberry jelly and the tomatoes she was putting up today.

Cal gave her a household allowance from which she was to buy groceries and anything else she thought they needed. She was a frugal shopper and the allowance was generous, so she’d bought vegetables to replace the things she would have planted if she’d been here in the spring. Neighbors had given her the tomatoes and a number of other things. Or more accurately, they’d given Cal gifts to welcome him back to the community and she’d been the logical recipient, since he was out on the range most of the time.

She’d helped Cal’s sister dig the potatoes, and Silver had insisted she take some home. And just yesterday she’d harvested some squash that had come up by itself and managed to survive all summer unattended. It was September now and she’d been home—here—nearly nine weeks. It’s not your home anymore, she reminded herself sternly. She was merely an employee of the owner. And as such, she’d pick apples tomorrow and make pies with the little red ones. The others would make good applesauce and apple butter.

Upstairs, a door slammed. Her hand flew to her throat and her body jolted. Her breathing stuttered, and for a moment, she could hear her heartbeat roaring in her ears. Fear froze her feet to the floor.

He’d finally found her. If she’d still been holding the tomato jars, they’d be shattered on the sod floor. Wayne. God, what was she going to do? She was trapped down here. What if he—what? What if he what? Just as she had each time she tried to recall the events of the last months, she drew a blank. Oh, if only she could remember!

“Lyn? Where’s the peroxide?”

Cal. Relief swept through her and she consciously relaxed all the muscles that had tensed in subconscious dread—of what? She took a deep, calming breath. It was only Cal.

Turning, she hurried up the steps and into the kitchen.

Her employer stood before the sink and as she reached his side, she saw blood dripping from a cut along one finger. Quickly, she got the peroxide from the cupboard where she’d organized all the first aid supplies and held it out to him, noticing as she did so that her hands were shaking visibly, a remnant of her fear. Then she realized he wouldn’t be able to unscrew the cap easily so she did it for him, moving to his side and tilting the bottle over the injured finger.

Cal hissed in a breath between his teeth as the cleanser washed away the blood and bubbled dirt to the surface of the wound. She hated hurting him but there was no help for it. Gently, she slipped her hand beneath his and angled the finger up, pouring more peroxide over the torn flesh. And as she concentrated on the small task, the stomach-knotting sense of panic inside her faded, to be replaced with another feeling.

Cal’s steely arm was pressed against her shoulder and she shivered with pleasure at their proximity. He treated her casually, in a friendly offhand manner, and there were very few times when she’d been this close to him. There were even fewer times when she’d actually touched him.

Her fingers trembled beneath his and Cal made an abrupt motion, taking the bottle from her and stepping a pace away. “Thanks,” he said. “I can do it.”

She was so disappointed by his dismissal she could have cried. Turning away, she went to the stove and checked the timer, then took the next batch of canning jars from the water.

“Tomatoes.” Cal’s voice sounded hopeful. “Maybe you could make some spaghetti sauce with a few of those this winter.”

She nodded, unable to keep her face from lighting up. Mentally, she made another note in her “Special Things To Do For Cal” file. Forgetting anything that might make Cal McCall’s life more comfortable or enjoyable was unacceptable to her. He’d given her back so much that she could never repay him. This was her small way of letting him know she appreciated it.