The Cattleman
Beth took a step toward the kitchen to follow.
“No, no. You stay there and enjoy your coffee. It’ll be so nice having another woman around here. And you know, there really is a lot Nick can teach you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she mumbled after her hostess went through the door.
Nick Burke had been a thorn in her side since she’d arrived in Marfa, Texas. Each way she turned in this investigation, there he stood. He was thrown in her path or she was thrown in his. Even the horrid horses she’d been on had worked against her efforts to stay away from him.
Now her supervisors had arranged for her to bunk at Burke’s ranch and practically be bait wiggling on a hook. With one phone call, Ranger McCrea had assured the very people who had sent her here to fail that she had no problems. He’d told her boss that she was vital to the task force and that the firing of her weapon and subsequent death of an attempted murderer fell under his jurisdiction. The matter had been investigated and was closed.
Then he’d turned to her and said she needed to learn more about the area and enhance her riding skills.
What riding skills? She was a city girl, used to mass transit and high-rises on every corner. She’d refused to resign after her mistakes in Chicago. So as punishment, they’d sent her on an assignment she couldn’t possibly complete. The wide open spaces made her feel small and inferior. Not to mention the wild animals...or the tame ones.
Nothing could be worse than banishment to West Texas for letting her guard down.
Well, it wouldn’t happen again. There would be no hesitation. None. Ever.
She sipped her coffee, and wandered around the immaculate room. She lifted a picture of a young Nick and Kate McCrea back in high school. Was that a twinge of jealousy eking its way into her emotions? No. She wouldn’t fall for the hurt, silent cowboy no matter how compelling his story.
But it didn’t matter. She set his picture back in its spot on the writing desk. Every time he opened his mouth it was easy to push him further into a “don’t touch” category. Almost as far as she seemed to have landed on his “not worth the bother” list.
The smell of baking biscuits soon filled the air. She should offer to help in the kitchen again, but she truly was hopeless there. Her mother had tried to teach her often enough, but nothing had stuck. When setting the table she could never remember which side of the plate the knife or fork should be set. Of course, that wasn’t the reason she was here. The real reason was about six-three and didn’t want her near him...or his mother.
“Mornin’.” Nick’s greeting was anything but pleasant in tone. It was something close to—but not quite—reluctant tolerance. “How’s your arm?”
Beth gulped the last swallow of coffee and continued to stare out the window toward the mountains that looked close enough to touch. So did he—at least his reflection.
The T-shirt he wore was tight over a sculpted chest any woman would envy to be near. He pushed his arms through the sleeves of a second shirt that hid the uneven but nice work tan. His dark blue jeans were loose around his lean thighs. He needed new jeans to show off his perfection. She forced her body not to squirm in anticipation. She’d experienced exactly how muscular his legs were.
It was rude to keep her back to him. But as much as she’d tried to prepare herself for his arrival, facing him again was harder than she’d anticipated. At least she wasn’t alone. He wasn’t facing her, either.
She watched him drop his chin to his chest and rest his hands on the back of the couch that split the room from the formal dining table. It was probably a good idea to keep a large piece of furniture between them.
“Guess you’re okay if you’re up and about. I heard you needed a favor.”
That deep voice did something to her insides every time. His sexy tone seeped somewhere down her spine and made her very aware of how his breath had touched her there—and a lot of other places. She shifted and could see his reflection in the window again, seated in the side chair now, bent at the waist, pulling his boots on. Muscles rippled in his arms just like when they’d—
Whew. She couldn’t go there every time they were in the same room. But it was so easy to return to that blanket, next to the mountain fire, under a gazillion stars. His hair was wet, dripping onto his shirt. She’d seen it before. Seen just about all of him in the buff.
“That was a quick shower,” she said as if she knew how long his showers were normally.
He stamped his heel into place inside his boot as he stood. “Mom’s baking biscuits. Tends to get me out fast. Do you need something or not?”
All right, the biscuits were a priority and he hadn’t taken a quick shower just because she was waiting. That was good to know.
“Your arm is okay. Right?” he asked with a shrug.
She looked at her sleeve as if she could see through it to the deep graze she’d received when she’d been shot. A consequential wound that had made her woozy enough not to remember exactly what had transpired before she embarrassingly passed out. “Yes. It’s healing nicely.”
This boring conversation was quite different from their last. At that time, Nick had said something along the lines that she was an inept agent and he never wanted to see her again. And here she was feeling like a tossed-off girlfriend. Juliet and Kate had assured her it was necessary to convince Nick that staying here was all her idea. But the women didn’t know they’d slept together. That put an embarrassing spin on things.
Having to take the blame for staying at the Burke’s wouldn’t encourage him to believe she didn’t want a relationship. Honestly, there couldn’t be any fraternization now. She could fight it. She was a professional. This was her work environment. If she ever wanted to be transferred from this desolate area and back to the real action... Well, she needed to learn how to be successful here. She had to get along with Nick Burke.
Shooting the man holding him at gunpoint had been easier than facing him. He wasn’t smiling. And beyond all reason she still felt the attraction throughout her entire body.
He slapped his thighs, breaking her stupor.
“So what’s this favor?”
Chapter Two
“Your mother has a great sense of humor,” she began, hesitating at his quizzical expression. “She, um, volunteered your ranch as a favor for the DEA. Not really a favor for me—”
She braced for a barrage of reasons why she should leave the Burke ranch. Nick couldn’t possibly want her here. Should she fight him or let him win? No question, she had to fight him. This was the only place for her to learn what she needed. The Rocking B and Nick Burke were her last chance.
“She volunteered the ranch for what?” He fisted his hands and rested one on each hip, waiting for the answer. It didn’t take a genius to interpret the rapid pulse visible in his neck or the dread his voice didn’t disguise.
Nerves froze her in place. Even though she didn’t want to watch his reaction, she couldn’t turn away. “My headquarters.”
“Right. That’s hilarious.”
“I’m not... It’s not a joke, Nick. I need a place with easier, quicker deployment into the mountains.”
“I’m willing to help the task force find the creeps behind the smuggling. But you don’t know the first thing about a horse. How are you supposed to investigate anything?”
“That’s the favor. I need you to teach me to ride and survive in the mountains.”
“No way. There’s no way in—”
“I’ll stop you before you say something you’ll regret,” Juliet said, pushing through the swinging door at the end of the dining room. “Breakfast is ready. Beth, we eat in the kitchen unless we have company.”
“What’s she?” Nick asked.
“She’s moving in. Get over it or you know the alternative.” Nick’s mother disappeared behind the swinging door.
He crossed the room. His boots sounded heavy on the wooden floor as he headed toward her. He didn’t stop until he stood almost on top of her Jimmy Choo shoes. How he got that close without touching her, she didn’t know. And she hated that if he had touched her, she would have welcomed the intimacy.
She was literally nose to nose with him in her heels. Sometimes her near six-foot height intimidated men. Not Nick. The first time they’d kissed, he’d told her how much he enjoyed the way their bodies fit. She’d enjoyed it, too, more than she wanted to admit.
Living across the hall from him is going to be seriously difficult.
Loud music filtered from the kitchen. White noise Juliet obviously supplied so Nick could have a private conversation. The woman was very smart.
“I’m not going to help you pass the time while you’re here,” he whispered. “On a horse or anywhere else.”
“And who’s asking you to?” She wanted to retreat, to give him ground. His jaw muscles clenched, his whiskey-colored eyes burned brighter with the sun in his face. She stayed put, deliberately tipping her nose a little higher. “This is business. There’s nothing personal about asking to stay here.”
“Good, ’cause there isn’t any personal left between us. No matter how much my momma would prefer it that way and may push us together. You should have listened to me last week instead of concocting a reason to stay here.”
“You are so full of yourself.” She took a step sideways. Ready to march out the door, ready to demand another cover story and place to stay. But that was exactly what Nick wanted. “Some things are more important than our personal relationship—which I agree to be nonexistent. I listened to what you said at the sheriff’s office last week. It’s insulting and egotistical that you believe I’d want anything to do with you after that.”
“Sure doesn’t seem like you were listening. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“As of matter of fact, I looked for another place. But when it came down to choosing, the agency had the last say,” she lied. “Since you already knew I was working undercover, it made more sense to use this as my base.”
He took a step back and crossed his arms. “If that’s the only reason, I’m a fly on a horse’s ass.”
If she said that she thought he was the rump and not the fly, he’d be even more likely to request that she leave. No matter what his mother had demanded, he’d stick by what he’d said to the sheriff and be done with investigations. How in the world was she ever going to get him to open up about the shooting? That was the only reason Juliet wanted her living at the ranch. Ultimately, Beth was supposed to get him to either talk about the trauma of being shot or get him to see a shrink.
If only her parents were here. Both were well-known psychologists and that was the reason Juliet had suggested the arrangement. The only reason. It had nothing to do with a possible romantic involvement between Nick and Beth. But she couldn’t tell him that.
His strong jaw twitched with each clinch. His eyes burned into her, and she wanted to tell him the truth. Did he realize how much power he had over her when he was nice?
What if that power worked both ways? Was that what he was so worried about? If she were truthful about why his mother wanted her there...
“I like your parents. They’re so easy to talk to. Mine dissect every word I say looking for hidden meanings. They’re both psychologists.”
His eyes narrowed, suspicious of her words. As he should be. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Your parents want me to psycho-babble you while you teach me to ride.”
He rubbed his old wound as he had several times when around the task force. She’d barely caught a glimpse of the scars before he’d kissed her into forgetting to look. His silence wasn’t what she’d expected. First he rubbed his shoulder, then his forehead. The man was giving considerable thought to her words instead of kicking her to the curb. Or the gravel drive in this case.
“Secondhand therapy? My mom’s crazy if she thinks that will work.”
“I know, right?” Her acrylic nails clicked at her side and she immediately stopped them. She’d developed the bad habit after the addition of long hours spent alone, shunned by her fellow agents. She was nervous, but wouldn’t allow herself to show it. “I...um...would say she’s more desperate to help you. At least that’s how she appears to me.”
Nick’s forehead had deep furrows from his concentration. “Desperate? She’s desperate because of me? That’s why she issued her ultimatum.”
Where was the man who lost his temper at the slightest inconvenience? “It’s ridiculous to think I’d be of any help. I’m not a therapist.”
She could deal easier with the irate cowboy. This concerned son drew her in, encouraging her to help. Therapist or not, she knew how to deal with trauma. She’d lived it, worked through it, dealt with it daily. She probably could talk him through his nightmares. Perhaps even get him to see where therapy would be helpful. Everything she needed was bookmarked on the internet or stored on her hard drive.
Nick began pacing, looking at the ceiling, twisting bric-a-brac in circles on the mantel. “How the hell am I supposed to teach you not to fear a horse?” he mumbled, but again loud enough for anyone in the room to hear.
“Does that mean you’re going to agree?” She was bewildered. Every approach she took with Nick Burke backfired.
He nodded agreement. “Dammit.”
The music covering their conversation from his mother was suddenly quiet.
“Nick, please go get your father from the men’s quarters,” Juliet called from the kitchen, breaking up the standoff.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said loud enough for his mother to hear. He marched the couple of steps across to Beth and leaned close to her ear. “Just how do you plan on explaining to the county that you’re staying here?”
Just his breath darting across her earlobe made her quiver with anticipation. Stop! she silently cried out to her insides.
“It was suggested...” She swallowed hard, unable to state it. He’d be madder than a cross-eyed bee. Well, then, she could say it. When he was angry, it was easy not to give him the time of day. She couldn’t possibly like him more than when she’d arrived here this morning. “I’ll be posing as your girlfriend. Fiancée would be an even better cover. You’d be part of the team.”
“You’re kidding me. You want me to join their task force?”
“It’s really Cord McCrea’s suggestion. He’s in charge of trying to find the smugglers who keep using your land. Staying here was his idea. You’ll serve as the official guide or tracker...something like that. But you won’t carry a gun or anything.”
“The hell I won’t carry a gun,” he whispered emphatically. “There’s no way you really think we can pull this off. We ha—don’t even like each other.”
He’d almost said hate. Her acting ability would be pushed to the ultimate limit. First pretending not to like him when they were alone. And then making him think she was only pretending to like him when they had an audience—that part wouldn’t be acting. All the while she’d be secretly wanting to repeat everything they’d done on that mountain. It was so very confusing and she wasn’t trying to explain it to anyone but herself.
At the end of the day, she would do what was needed in order to get away from here as fast as possible.
The stubble he’d neglected to shave beckoned to her so she’d use it against him. She reached out and let her nail scrape his cheek down to the corner of his lips. He took it, staying perfectly still, his jaw twitching even more visibly.
“Why, Nick,” she said half closing her eyes and looking only at his lips. “We don’t have to like each other to have fun while stuck in this situation.”
His hand raised and she was prepared for him to push her away. Instead, he wrapped it softly around hers and drew the tip of her finger between his lips. His thumb drew circles on her palm and his breathing changed—or was it hers that hitched in her chest? She tugged her hand back, yet his mouth held on to its prey. She wanted to haul those lips against hers faster than a speeding bullet.
The feeling frightened her more than potentially making a fool of herself did.
Keeping cool and not reacting further was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She could be proud of herself for not succumbing to his sexiness.
“That’s the only logical thing you’ve said since I met you.” He dropped her hand and strutted away.
The door didn’t exactly slam behind him, but he didn’t bother to hide the cursing as he stomped down the porch steps. Nick’s feet hit the gravel on the drive and he let out a growl loud enough to be heard through the window.
“That’s exactly what I said,” she whispered to his retreating image.
“Did he ask about your cover story?” Juliet popped in from the kitchen and Beth had to pull her gaze away from Nick kicking a rock into the barnyard.
She nodded and faced her hostess, her body feeling the rebuff as much as her mind. “This is never going to work.”
“Oh, yes, it will,” Juliet answered before letting the door swing shut as she retreated into the kitchen. “I’ve left him no choice.”
There was an extra gleam in Juliet’s eyes. And for some strange reason, Beth had the feeling that she’d just been taken to the cleaners by a professional con artist.
“Staying here might well be worse than banishment.”
Chapter Three
Back in Chicago, Beth began every day in the gym. No exceptions. Her trainer worked her hard and kept her body humming. But mucking stalls and moving hay bales attacked muscles she’d never known existed.
“How do you do this every day?” she asked Juliet and Alan as she creaked to a halt, leaning on the back of a kitchen chair.
“I cook, dear. The only outside muck I come into contact with is the manure for my garden.”
“Speaking of which, don’t you need some around your corn, honey?” Alan asked.
“Don’t you even suggest this poor thing bring any to my garden. You know we don’t work on it during the winter. Now, out with you, Ronald Alan Burke. Go. Shoo.”
“This will tide me over until lunch.” Alan patted Juliet on the bottom and scooped up a leftover breakfast biscuit with his other hand. “You’ve done a good job, Beth. Thanks for helping out since Nick took off to the mountains yesterday.”
“Not a problem. Like you said, everybody needs to chip in.”
Alan left and Beth should have followed, but she was so tired from yesterday and the couple of hours she’d worked that morning, she didn’t think her feet would actually move.
“You should get cleaned up, Beth. Kate phoned and she wants you to meet her at the café. She’s going to Alpine and thought you might need some things.”
“Shopping? I’m not sure I can stand up long enough.”
“Come on, dear. Nick can’t teach you to ride in designer heels, and you can’t continue to borrow his two sizes too big boots.”
“You want me to buy cowboy boots? What will I ever do with them when I get home?”
“And jeans and a good sturdy coat.” Juliet looked down at the extra-large overalls hanging on Beth’s thin frame. “You never know when the weather’s going to change.”
“I have five coats back home.” Beth sighed at trying to fit another overcoat into her already overstuffed tiny front hall closet.
“We’re expecting the first cold front soon. Do you want to chance it?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll get cleaned up.”
The shower had made her feel human again, along with some serious stretching. She felt even more herself slipping into her Jimmy Choo shoes, then jumping behind the wheel. She loved driving the ranch’s Jeep. The top was off, the seats faded and mud all over the body, but it was the neatest car. The cool air from outside mixed with the blasting heater at her feet. She just felt...free.
Maybe she should get something like this when she got back to Chicago. Carroll and Elizabeth would kill her. It would be impractical and get horrible gas mileage in the city. But she didn’t care.
Then again, sitting in traffic she’d be choking from the other cars’ exhaust. No, she’d just enjoy the fresh air while she could here in Texas.
Parking at the café/gas station, she saw Kate McCrea wave from just inside the window. Her new friend gestured for her to come inside, but didn’t sit at the empty tables near the entrance. Instead, Beth followed her to the back corner booth. Cord McCrea pulled up a chair with one hand and balanced his son with the other. The remaining seat left her with her back to the door.
Exposed.
Knowing she could trust the Texas Ranger to warn her of impending danger, she sat and didn’t ask to move. She couldn’t complain to him or make a suggestion that he not sit with his wife. He was the boss and he’d placed himself against the wall.
In more ways than one. He was depending on her when no one else would.
Beth had only admiration for the man who’d pulled some strings to get her assigned to his three-man task force. In his shoes, she would have acted much differently. He and Kate had plenty of reasons not to want to be in the open, either. They had a long history with the cartel that included tragedy and victory over a vicious murderer just a year before. They’d divorced, remarried and now had a child. She understood exactly why he didn’t expose his back to the room.
“Thanks for the invite, Kate. Juliet assured me you’d know everything I needed to get for an extended stay.” She tapped her nails on the tabletop and quickly covered them with her other hand to keep them still.
“Oh, it’s entirely my pleasure. Do you want some tea or something?” Kate didn’t wait. She waved at Brandie and raised her own glass. “Add another iced tea to our bill, please.”
“You aren’t ready to leave?” Beth asked, eager to escape the peering eyes of Marfa citizens breaking for lunch.
“Believe me, I’m so ready. But we’re waiting for Pete and Andrea. They’re staying at the house and babysitting Danver. Cord and I have been called to Lubbock for a couple of days. We’re flying there when we get back.” She leaned across the table and brushed her son’s full head of soft hair.
“Keep your voice down, Kate. You don’t know who’s going to overhear,” Cord said, giving the entire room another look and landing on the mechanic leaning in the archway to the gas station.
Beth cringed at the thought of facing Andrea. The sheriff’s girlfriend had no reason to trust her abilities. Her inadequacy with horses had put Andrea in danger and was yet another reason Beth needed to learn how to ride.
“I’m glad you thought about me for a shopping trip.” Beth searched the occupants, too, giving the mechanic a closer look. He seemed too alert, watching his surroundings constantly. Almost like she paid attention to details and her surroundings. A well-toned body was hidden under his coveralls. He wiped his hands as if he was used to grease under his nails. Cord watched him for a couple of minutes, raised an eyebrow and the man left.
“You’re the perfect excuse to take off for the afternoon,” Kate continued, smiling at her husband. “Just girls. Baby and husband free for the first time in months. Cord only trusts me to be out with someone licensed to carry.”
“I’ve got a good reason for keeping you close,” the Ranger mumbled before turning to Beth. “You do have your weapon, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kate ignored Beth’s response and her husband’s question, for that matter. “Shopping over the internet and in downtown Marfa’s just not the same as trying on clothes. And especially picking out things for someone else.”
“Where can you buy clothes here?” Beth lowered her voice so the rest of the café wouldn’t think she was complaining. If her cover was going to work, she had to make them think she actually liked their small town. “The commercial part of Marfa is about the same size of one block in downtown Chicago. Comparing the two just depresses me. Sorry, I know this is your home.”
“Not a problem. We know it’s a culture shock for most. I attended school in Austin. Cord’s originally from Dallas. Believe me, sometimes I really miss the convenience of a department store just a few minutes away.”
