Expecting A Lone Star Heir

“Call me Mike,” he said. “That’s easier.” They smiled at each other.

“Glad to meet you, Mike. I’m leaving, but I’ll take these chips and salsa to the patio.”

“I’ll carry them,” he said, taking them from her hands. “Now you can start your weekend off.”

“Thanks. Welcome to the Tumbling T. Do you need anything else before I go?” she asked Vivian, who shook her head as she opened a beer for Mike and then got a tray for everything they would take outside.

“No, thanks. You have a nice weekend and I’ll see you Monday.

She was aware of her old jeans, faded red T-shirt and bare feet. She resisted the urge to smooth down her hair, which was pulled back in a thick braid, and instead, led Mike outside.

“It’s been a busy week and a good one getting to know everyone,” he said once they were seated and he’d taken a draft of his beer. “I’ll miss Slade because he’s a nice guy, but I’m happy for him to get to retire and it sounds as if he needs to.”

“He definitely needs to. The last time he was home, Thane said Slade should have retired a couple of years ago. Thane thought it might have saved him so much back trouble.” She took a sip of her cold water. “I hope you like the job. I’m sure Slade hopes you do, too.”

Mike nodded. “It’s a good job. I can see Thane’s touch in things all around the ranch.” He put his beer on the table and sat back on the cushioned chair. “I told you when I came that I’m muddy because we had a water pipe spring a leak. A long stretch will have to be replaced.”

As they talked, she gazed into his green eyes and became so lost in them, she barely heard what he was saying. Why did she have this keen awareness of him? Was it purely the absence of a man in her life? She didn’t think so. She was surrounded by men on the ranch. Henry, the staff that worked in the house and in the yard, the cowboys that she saw when she went to the garage or one of the barns. It went beyond a keen awareness and no matter how much she wanted to ignore it, she had to admit it was there. She was attracted to Mike and she knew he felt something, too. She didn’t want that attraction to him and she suspected he didn’t want to feel it, either.

Right now, she was acutely aware of him. Looking into his thickly lashed green eyes made her heart race. He was tall, broad-shouldered, good-looking. Maybe too good-looking, an inner voice told her. How difficult was it going to be to go to a charity ball with him next weekend? The thought of stepping into his arms to dance made her tingle from head-to-toe.

She had talked to Slade about Mike and the old foreman was as enthused about him as Thane had been, which was a relief but not a surprise. Slade was ready to step down and let Mike take over. With Slade retiring in south Texas where his son and oldest daughter lived, her life was changing again. Slade and Thane had been a big part of her life for the past year and soon they would both be gone. But Mike Moretti would not be in her life as much as Slade had been.

She didn’t expect to see much of Mike when he took over. First of all, he was new to the job so she expected him to be at work most of the time when he was on the ranch. He would report during the week via emails and texts. Slade always had come by at least once a week to talk to her about the ranch and she expected him to tell Mike to do the same.

Why did the prospect of seeing him at least once a week excite her?

And why was Mike looking at her now as if he expected her to reply?

“I’m sorry,” she said, forcing her thoughts back to the conversation. “What were you saying?”

“I said you’re from Dallas, right? I mean, I really don’t know anything about you except that you were Thane’s wife and happily married.”

“Happily married and married too short of a time,” she said. “Sorry. I miss him. We used to sit out here and talk at night when he came in off the ranch.”

“He was a really good guy.”

“That’s high praise. He thought you were, too. He always said he could count on you to come through.”

Mike looked across the yard as if looking far away from the ranch. “I didn’t come through at the last. I tried, but I couldn’t save him.”

“Don’t take any blame there. Neither could the doctors at the hospital. A chaplain wrote to me that Thane was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a field hospital. He died when they were transferring him to the hospital.”

They were both silent a moment. “You came through, Mike. You tried to save him, but they wrote he was too badly injured. You got all his last messages and what he wanted you to take home. That gave him some peace, I’m sure.”

Mike turned to focus on her and another tingle tickled her. “I don’t know much about you except what I’ve seen in Dallas papers about your dad. I know more about him and his success in the hotel business. You have a brother-in-law who helps your dad run that business now, don’t you? And your brother runs the oil business.”

“Yes. My brother-in-law Sam is good at what he does. He’s married to my older sister, Natalie. They have two cute kids, Holly and Fletcher. Holly is eight and Fletcher is six. I miss them, but they’re in school and even if I were back in Dallas I wouldn’t see them much.”

“Where did you meet Thane?”

“He was good friends with Phil, my older brother. This was the Warner family ranch, but Thane’s folks had a home in Dallas, too. His dad never much liked the ranch, but when Thane graduated from college, he came here to take over from his grandfather. His dad never really came back to the ranch. The oil company in Dallas was his love.”

“So you knew Thane a long time,” he said, looking at her. Just a glance was like a physical contact and she couldn’t understand the volatile reaction she had to simply sitting with and talking to him. He was polite, even a little remote. While he was friendly, she had a feeling he had a lot bottled up inside that he didn’t talk about.

“That’s right. Phil and Thane were friends all through school. Thane was six years older than I am. It made a difference when I was in school. It didn’t later.”

“Clint Woodson wasn’t around much until Thane left, right? I mean, Thane never even mentioned his neighbor.”

“That’s right. I barely knew who he was until Thane deployed. And like I said, I didn’t let Thane know what a pest Clint has been. I didn’t want to worry him when he was so far from home. He couldn’t do anything about Clint.”

“He could have asked some guys here to be a buffer to keep him from disturbing you.”

“I was afraid he would ask Slade and Slade has all he can handle.”

Mike nodded. As he sipped his beer and looked at the yard, her gaze ran over him. She guessed he was several inches over six feet. He had a narrow waist and long legs. He had one booted foot on his knee and he looked completely relaxed. With the physical awareness she had of him—she was certain it was mutual—was she asking for more trouble by going to the club with him next weekend?

He had been nothing but polite toward her, yet she knew he felt something, too. That made her doubly aware of him. At least, in Mike’s case, his reactions seemed unwanted. He seemed to have no personal interest in her and she was glad. She hurt over her loss of the man she loved and she didn’t want anyone else in her life yet.

“I hope we’re doing the right thing by going to the club Friday night.”

He misinterpreted her meaning, and she let him. “It won’t hurt to let him think there’s a man in your life now. Besides, it’s an evening out,” he said, smiling at her.

Maybe, she thought, but it wasn’t an ordinary evening out. Not when her skin sizzled at his smile.

“I hope Clint is there Friday night. The tickets were bought in my name, so he can find out if I plan to attend.”

“If I had to bet, from what you’ve told me, I’d put money on your neighbor being there Friday night.” He finished off his beer then stood. “I should get going now, Vivian.” When he simply said her name, she felt another ripple of attraction.

He began to pick up the dishes but she stopped him. “Leave everything, Mike,” she said. “I can carry that stuff to the kitchen.”

“So can I,” he said and left with everything on the tray except her glass of water. She waited until he returned.

“Thanks for coming to work at the Tumbling T Ranch.”

“I promised Thane I would. I’m keeping that promise. If it’s a quiet weekend, I won’t even come by Monday morning. I can send you a text.”

“Thanks. Be sure to make a list of what you want done to Slade’s house and when he leaves, we can be ready to get a crew started making changes.”

“Sure. I travel lightly, as I said before, and all I need is a bed at night, so I don’t think I’ll have many changes. Thanks for the beer and I’ll see you next week,” he said and turned to walk away in long purposeful strides.

She watched him get in his pickup and drive away without looking back.

He said he traveled light and there was no woman in his life to mind if he took her out Friday night. Thane and Slade thought he was a great guy. Other than that, she knew nothing about him. She had a feeling she would have to depend on him for a lot of things concerning the ranch. She had with Slade, but that had been different, she admitted.

She pulled the diamond pendant Thane had sent home from under her red T-shirt and rolled the diamond between her fingers while she thought about Mike. She added one more item to the list of what she knew about the man: She had an electrifying reaction to him.

“Thane, sweetie, why did you hire Mike and send him here?” she sighed. “I have a feeling he’s going to complicate my life.”