Romancing the Cowboy

“Did you have to go to school to be a cowboy?”

A grin tugged at Jared’s lips. “Not the kind of school with desks and teachers and homework, if that’s what you mean. But I had a whole lot to learn, and it wasn’t easy.”

“Sabrina says I gotta go to college, but I didn’t even like first grade. And I don’t think second grade will be all that much fun, either.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jared hadn’t liked school, either. Not when he’d lived in Houston. It was a lot better when he attended Brighton Valley Elementary, he supposed, but he’d dreaded every minute he’d had to spend away from the ranch.

The boy clucked his tongue. “I’d rather stay here and watch the cowboys work all day long. Maybe, if I did that, they’d let me help round up cows and ride horses.”

“Cowboys don’t need a college degree,” Jared said, “although it might help some. But second grade is important. You sure don’t want to miss out on any of the basic lessons all cowboys ought to know.”

“Like what?”

“Well,” Jared said, rubbing his chin and trying to recall some of the things Clem had told him. “Let’s say there’s an auction and you’re in need of a few good horses. They advertise those in the newspaper. If you couldn’t read, you’d miss out.”

“Maybe one of my cowboy friends could call me on the phone and tell me about it,” the boy countered.

Sharp kid. Jared tried not to grin. “Okay, let’s say they did. How are you going to know how much money you can afford to bid? You need to be able to add and subtract pretty well to balance your bank account.”

“I could hire someone like Sabrina. She’s really good at math and could do that stuff for me.”

“But then you’d have to trust someone else with your money. What if they ran off with everything you owned?”

“Sabrina wouldn’t.”

Jared hoped the kid was right.

But in Jared’s case, he’d learned that some women, like Jolene, couldn’t be trusted. And when they ran off, they took more than a man’s money.

They took his heart and his pride.

Jared fixed himself a glass of iced tea, then took a seat at the kitchen table and watched Connie dry the last of the lunch dishes.

“Have you seen my mother?” he asked the socalled cook.

“She took her mare out for an afternoon ride.” Connie turned away from a three-layer cake she was frosting—a chocolate masterpiece that rivaled any of those in a bakery display case and put this morning’s hotcakes to shame.

So what was the deal? She could make moist, chewy cookies and cakes, but couldn’t whip up a decent meal for breakfast?

Jared cleared his throat. “Well, then, I guess I’ll have to wait to talk to her until she gets back.”

Connie nodded, then returned to her work.

Jared carried his glass into the living room, where Tori the housekeeper was dusting the shelves in the handcrafted bookcase that Granny’s husband had built many years ago. Matt had parked his wheelchair near the big bay window that looked over the driveway. He was holding a Western Horseman magazine in his lap and gazing through the glass into the yard, yet by his expression, Jared suspected his thoughts were anywhere but in the here and now.

He did look up as Jared entered the room, though.

“Did you get that guy stitched up?” he asked.

“Yep. He’s back on the job.” Jared slid his thumbs into the front pocket of his jeans. “Have you had a chance to talk to Granny this morning?”

“Not really.” Matt glanced to the bookshelf, where Tori stood on a footstool, her back to them. “She was busy outside for a while. Then, just after lunch, she saddled Bluebonnet and took off.”

If Granny hadn’t given up her daily afternoon ride, then maybe she was doing okay after all.

“She should be back in an hour or so,” the redhead said, obviously listening.

Jared would have to choose his words carefully, although now might be a good time to quiz the maid and get a feel for the kind of person she was. So he made his way to the bookshelf. “Tori, you mentioned something about Granny’s medication earlier, and I’m curious. What was that all about?”

The attractive redhead, stopped her work and turned, a dust rag dangling from her hands. “Granny was complaining about having to wake up at all hours of the night to use the bathroom, so I asked her what meds she was taking. When she showed me the prescription bottles, I suggested she take the diuretic in the morning. She noticed a big difference.”

“What’s a diuretic?” he asked, wondering if Doc was the one who was slipping.

“Some people refer to it as a water pill. It helps rid the body of excess fluids and sodium, or rather, salt. She’s taking it along with a beta-blocker for hypertension.”

Tori seemed to have a better than average handle on Granny’s medication. And after seeing how she’d dealt with Earl, Jared suspected she’d definitely taken some kind of first-aid course. But now he was beginning to think she might have had more training than that. And if that were the case, then what was she doing working as a maid and not at a hospital or clinic?

“You seem to know a lot about medicine,” he said. “Where’d you pick up all that knowledge?”

She paused for a moment, then shrugged. “I read a lot.”

As she returned to her work, providing him a view of her back, he pondered her response. She’d evaded his question, which made him wonder why she was holding back—and what other secrets she might have.

Tori was a pretty gal, with big blue eyes, a scatter of freckles across her nose and long, curly red hair pulled back with a clip.

Jared slid a glance Matt’s way, only to find that his brother was watching Tori, as well. A hint of masculine interest in Matt’s eyes suggested he found her attractive, and that he had noticed the way her snug denim jeans did justice to a pair of long legs and a sexy rear.

That was a good sign, Jared decided. Tori was the first woman his brother had seemed to notice since the accident. Not that Jared would encourage anything. His brother wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship, although it was a relief to know he might seek happiness with someone new in the future.

Of course, whether he found it or not was another question.

As for Jared, himself, Jolene had done a real number on him, so he doubted if he’d ever trust another woman again.

And although Jared suspected Tori hadn’t been entirely honest with him about her medical background, when it came to stealing from Granny, that didn’t make her any more of a suspect than Sabrina.

Any of the employees, particularly those with free rein in the household, could have taken Granny’s money, yet the pretty, dark-haired bookkeeper was still the most logical.

Jared was open-minded, though. And if Sabrina hadn’t stolen the money, she was also the most likely to help him find the real culprit.

Leaving his brother and Tori in the living room, he headed back down the hall to the office, where Sabrina worked at the computer.

The prim brunette was so intent on what she was doing that she apparently hadn’t heard him walk up. So he watched her for a while, intrigued by the way she ran the tip of her tongue across her full bottom lip.

He decided not to interrupt her just yet, not while he was enjoying the view, but she glanced up and caught him looking at her.

“Got a minute?” he asked.

“Sure. Come on in.”