The Reluctant Texas Rancher

“What about your family?” Liz asked quietly, knowing this couldn’t be going over well with the Andersons. They would be furious at even the implication that Travis had acted less than admirably.

“They know I quit my job in Houston, although I was vague about the reasons. They don’t know about the six-month suspension of my law license, or the lawsuit. And I don’t want them to know until after it’s resolved.”

Liz could understand that. Being falsely accused was humiliating and demoralizing.

Still, it didn’t mean keeping his loved ones in the dark was right. “They’d be on your side,” she predicted.

Travis frowned again. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want them embarrassed by any of this. And I especially don’t want them to offer to help out with any of the legal expenses.”

Ah, yes, money … “Why not?” Liz asked. Kelsey and Brady Anderson ran the Double Deal Ranch, one of the biggest, most successful cattle and horse operations in the state. They could easily afford it.

“Because—in their view, anyway—that would entitle them to be involved in strategy.”

Liz empathized with him. She was fiercely independent by nature, too. “This is your problem. You want to solve it.”

Travis nodded. “With your help.”

He made it sound so personal … but why was she even considering this?

Years ago, she had fallen hard and fast for Travis. And had her heart stomped on as a result.

Now he needed her.

She should say no.

The irony of it was that she wouldn’t—couldn’t—turn away. Partly because she loved helping the underdog and could never resist a challenge. And Travis was that. The rest was more insidious. And deeply personal.

Now that he was back, she had to prove she’d gotten past the devastation of their breakup. That he no longer had the power to hurt her. That she had moved on to a happy, defiantly single and bulletproof life.

This was the best way.

Liz paused, sizing him up, her attorney radar on full alert. He remained all-innocence. Too innocent!

She tapped her index finger against her lips in a parody of thoughtfulness. “Why do I think you’re still not telling me everything?” she asked suspiciously.

“There is one small difficulty.” Travis’s mouth compressed grimly. “I don’t have the money to pay you.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“I can compensate you monetarily for the initial consultation. Beyond that …” Travis stood and lazily ambled toward her “… I’ll have to work off whatever I owe you, on this ranch.”

THE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS alone should have been reason enough to turn down Travis’s request. Add to that the fact the two of them had once dated, albeit a very long time ago … But the bottom line was that the Four Winds bank accounts were at record lows, and he would be doing them a favor, embarking on a bartering agreement.

“You’re saying I can deduct my fees from your salary,” Liz ascertained, thinking how much that would help the ranch coffers.

“Until we’re even. Yep.”

Confident that she could easily separate the business from the personal, she held out her palm. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

They shook on it. Unprecedented warmth spread throughout her body as Travis’s hand engulfed hers. Liz’s throat went dry as she gazed up into his eyes. Maybe it wasn’t going to be as easy to keep her emotional distance as she thought.

Luckily, the moment was interrupted by the loud chiming of the ranch bell.

Smiling cheerfully, she let go of his palm and stepped back. “Dinner is ready.”

Travis reached for his hat and slapped it back on his head, tugging it low across his brow. “Best not keep the ladies waiting, then.”

Together they slipped out of the homestead and headed past the barns to the ranch house.

“One more thing,” Travis cautioned after a moment.

Liz kept moving, staying a careful distance away from him, but slanting him a curious look.

“I’d rather Tillie, Faye Elizabeth and Reba not know I’ve retained your services as an attorney. At least until my, uh, difficulty is all cleared up.”

Thanks to the way Liz had been running off at the mouth earlier, the other Cartwright women already knew she’d suspected Travis was in some sort of downward spiral. Not that any of them seemed to care.

Liz sidestepped the opportunity to tell Travis that, and said, “I’m bound by attorney-client privilege now, as you well know. So they’ll hear nothing from me about what you’ve just told me. But lawsuits are a matter of public record, as are the suspension of law licenses.” For the second time, she warned, “This is going to get out.”

He nodded, clearly aware of that. “But until it does … we’ll let others assume that you and I are spending time together to go over ranch business, or reestablish our previous friendship. Agreed?”

Secrets of this sort bred an intimacy they did not need. Yet what choice did she have? Reluctantly, Liz conceded. “For now, no one else needs to know I’m representing you.”

He exhaled in relief.

Bound together by the confidence, they continued walking toward the house, through the back door and into the kitchen.

“Where have you two been?” Faye Elizabeth demanded, as always on the alert for romance in Liz’s life. “And why don’t you have your things? I assumed that was what was taking so long at the homestead.”

Not quite, Liz thought, keeping her expression bland so as not to give anything away.

Travis removed his hat and put it on a hook near the door. “That was my fault, I’m afraid.” He flashed a winning smile and ran a hand through the rumpled layers of his dark brown hair. “I got to talking….”

And asking for help, Liz thought, still a little amazed he had needed it.

Clearly exasperated, Tillie herded them all toward the large, old-fashioned kitchen table—and the dinner the women had lovingly prepared. “Let them be. We’ve got a hot meal to eat.”

And a big, strapping man to feed….

“As well as serious business to discuss,” Reba added as they all sat down at the big oak table.

Travis’s knee nudged Liz’s as they got situated.

She flushed at the unexpected wave of heat that resulted, and edged back in her chair.

Oblivious to Liz’s reaction, Reba complained, “We are way behind in the ranch work.”

Liz forced herself to concentrate on something other than Travis’s big, rangy frame.