Heart of a Rancher

“Yeah, but Georgiana, my brother’s wife, said she wouldn’t accept your staying in a tiny hotel room when you could stay out here on the farm. Plus, if you want to see the place firsthand, you might as well stay here.” He grinned, thinking about Georgiana’s insistence that their guest stay on the ranch. “There’s only one hotel in town—I’m sure you figured that out. Or if you want to get specific, there aren’t any hotels in town. We have one bed-and-breakfast, and that’s it.”

“Yes, the Claremont Bed-and-Breakfast. That’s where I made my reservation.”

“Naturally we know the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Tingle. So Georgiana gave them a call and told them you wouldn’t need a place to stay, after all.”

Her mouth opened slightly, surprise filling her expression. “She canceled my reservation?”

“Not exactly. I mean, they’re waiting for you to call and officially cancel it, but she did tell them you’d be staying on the farm.” He leaned against the porch rail.

Her hands ran up and down the length of her glass, ice cubes rattling with the movement, as she apparently accepted the way things ran in Smalltown, U.S.A. Quite the contrast from Chicago, no doubt. “I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

He stopped short of laughing out loud. “You’ve already killed our oldest cow—can’t get much more of a burden than that.”

Her mouth fell completely open this time, and John set his laugh free. Then, seeing her shocked expression, he sobered as best he could.

“Sorry, I probably shouldn’t tease you until you get to know me better. You aren’t a burden—you’re company. We tend to think a lot of our guests, and that’s what you are. And you’ll have to take it up with Georgiana if you’re planning to turn down her offer. But trust me, she’ll put up a decent fight. And I’m sure you can tackle the best of city slickers in a boardroom, but you haven’t seen anything like Georgiana Cutter when she has her mind made up.” He shrugged. “In my opinion, you should just go ahead and concede. I’m just sayin’.”

Her hands stopped fidgeting with the glass, and she laughed. “I’ll think about it.” She leaned forward and took another look at the line of fishing shacks bordering one side of the pond. “So, is this where your dude ranch guests will stay? In these cabins?”

“No, our fishing camp guests stay here, so they can be right by the pond. Makes it easier for them to start fishing at the crack of dawn, when the bream and crappie bite best. I’m living in this one, so they’ll have someone handy if they need anything. For the dude ranch, we’ll have campsites by the creek that flows by the hiking trails. I’ll show you when we tour the ranch.”

She scanned the vast pond. Cattails bordered the ends and dark green lily pads dotted the banks with an occasional white lily balancing on top, the scene peaceful and still beneath the afternoon sky. “No one’s fishing,” she said. “You don’t have any guests here now?”

“Nah, it’s barely March. Fish don’t start biting much until nearly April, so right now we only have guests on the weekends. Most of them are here more to relax than because they’re die-hard fishermen. But reservations are already picking up for next month.”

“So you have some guests coming in tomorrow, on Saturday?”

“All cabins filled but mine.”

She twisted in the rocker, eyed the pond and the colorful row of cabins. “This is really lovely.”

Her compliment was sincere, and he immediately felt a sense of pride in the Cutters’ first tourist venture. Hopefully the dude ranch would also hit the mark. “Thanks. We’re fairly excited about the rentals and reservations.”

“Well, your business plan for the dude ranch was impressive. I’m sure the one you did for the fishing camp was, too.”

John had prepared the business plan for the camp, but it was Georgiana’s brainstorm, not his. “Yeah, the bank had no problem with the fishing camp. But they had no desire to fund the dude ranch.”

“Well, I think it’s a great idea, and I’m excited that Brooks International is funding the project.”

“Trust me, I’m very glad about that.” He reached for her glass, and she handed it over, her lean fingers brushing his palm in the process. It could have been John’s imagination, but it appeared her cheeks flushed a little when their hands touched.

Even in her tousled state, she exuded elegance, yet John found her oddly easy to talk to. He hadn’t ever had much interest in “city girls,” especially after MaciJo Riley left his heart in her wake when she chased after her big-city dreams. But right now, this city girl had his attention—that was for sure.

Her throat pulsed as she swallowed. “So did you call your brother?”

“I did. He’s waiting for us to head up to the main house so he and I can go check on your accident. We’ll get the rental agency to tow the Escalade and we’ll take care of Gypsy.”

She straightened in the rocker. “Take care of Gypsy?”

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate.

Evidently she understood that she didn’t want to hear how they would go about taking care of a dead cow. She merely nodded. “And we’re going to the main house now?”

“If you’re up to it.”

She stood, looked around the front of the cabin and then toward Red, still grazing nearby. The log cabin was a good piece away, and naturally she couldn’t see it from there. Nor could she see a vehicle, he realized, since John didn’t need one at the shack.

“How are we getting to the main house?” The tiny tremor of trepidation in her tone made him fight another smile.

“I rode Red down here, but I thought we’d take the Gator back, given that your skirt isn’t exactly conducive to horse riding.” He watched Lightning take another interest in her shoes, and he gently steered the old dog in the other direction.

She didn’t notice the dog, her attention more focused on his statement. “The gator?”

John loved how she attempted to sound calm when her eyes gave her away. What, did she think he had some sort of live alligator around that they’d ride to the big house? He might live in the sticks, but he wasn’t ready to be featured on Swamp People yet. He leaned down to scratch Lightning behind the ears and checked his grin. “Come on, I’ll show you.” Then he led her behind the cabin to the small work shed he’d recently added for fishing supplies, opened the rolling door and pointed to the John Deere Gator that he and Landon used around the fields when they weren’t on horseback. “That’s my Gator, and it’s a decent ride. Probably not as fancy as your Escalade, but I can guarantee we won’t hit any cows.”

“That’s your gator.” Relief flooded through her words.

He climbed into the driver’s seat, pointed to the passenger side. “Yep. You ready to go?”

She stood still for a moment, and John wondered if she expected him to usher her in. There wasn’t a door to open; the thing was basically an oversize dune buggy. So, if she wasn’t a princess waiting for a chauffeur to open her door, why was she standing there?

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine.” She blinked, took a step toward the Gator, and then he saw her dilemma—how to get in wearing that skirt. But before he could offer suggestions, she attempted to climb in ladylike and did a pretty good job. The skirt was slim and fitted, so she sat on the seat and then gracefully moved both legs into the vehicle. Then she let out a relieved sigh. “I’ve never seen one of these before.”

Impressed at her ability to adapt, John started the Gator. “They’re pretty much a standard piece of equipment for farms around here.”

She examined the bright yellow seats and the equally bright green exterior, then ran her hand across the shiny black dash. “It looks amazingly fun.”

City girl or not, she was mighty cute. “You want to drive? It’s fine with me, as long as you promise not to take out any more livestock on the way to the house.”

She didn’t mask her excitement with that prospect quickly enough, and John suspected—previous cow collision or not—she was about to hop out, round the Gator and take the wheel. But then she shook her head. “Not today, but yes, I’d like to drive it eventually.” She sounded practically giddy over driving a Gator. And to think John had wondered if he’d be able to impress the Chicago debutante. “And I promise not to hit any more cows when I do,” she added.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Grinning, he backed out of the shed. “So a future Gator drive will go on the books. I’m thinking we’ll probably ride the acreage tomorrow so I can show you what I have in mind for the round pen, the campsites, trail rides and all. We can take the Gator for that, rather than ride horses.”

“Oh, I want to ride horses, too.” She paused, looked at Red, then at the other horses meandering nearby and the multitude of Charolais cattle grazing on the hill. “I need to try everything if I’m going to tell the Brooks International board everything about the ranch. I want this to work, so they’ll agree to fund other similar projects.”

“I want this to work, too.” John noticed her slight smile and suspected she looked forward to her weeks on the farm. Again, a trickle of pride shot straight to his heart.

They passed over the fields with Dana surveying everything, her blond hair whipping wildly in the breeze. She gathered it into a makeshift ponytail and held it with one hand, while using the other to shield her eyes as she took everything in. She reminded him of Abi last fall at the county fair, absorbing all the new sights, sounds and fun. This affluent woman, a millionaire who’d already made her mark following after her father as a venture capitalist, seemed captivated by his world.

John was so busy watching her that he forgot to slow down when they approached the biggest hill in the pasture and consequently caught a bit of air. She grabbed at the dashboard before she slammed back down on the seat.

“Whoa!” Her excited laugh filled the air, and John found himself joining in.

“Sorry,” he said, slowing down and deciding to take it easy for the remainder of the journey. No need to toss her into the field on her first day at the ranch.

She’d lost her grip on her hair when they went airborne, and it whipped in front of her eyes as her laughter subsided. He watched her gather it again and pull it away from her face, and the pale pink polish on her nails shimmered in the sun and added another extremely feminine quality to the woman riding next to him.