The Rancher's Bride

Rose nodded. “That’s just about the size of it.”

“So what are we going to do?” Chloe asked sinkingly. “If we sell our stock there’s no way the ranch can make money!”

Adam began pushing away the offered spoon, indicating to Rose he was full. She wiped the baby’s face and hands, then began filling her own plate. She wasn’t going to let what her father had done, or what Harlan might do, ruin her supper.

“We’re going to open up our land to Mr. Hamilton and hope that he’ll be patient about the loan. Right now, he says water is the only thing he wants from us,” Rose told the two women.

Like a fallen rock Chloe dropped back into her chair. “Oh Rose, you’re so gullible where men are concerned. You haven’t been around them enough to know they’ll tell you anything that suits them—no matter how far from the truth it is.”

Rose leveled a dark look at her sister. “Oh, I think you know I learned all about men a long time ago, Chloe. That’s exactly why I stay away from them. But as for Harlan— we have no choice but to trust him. He’s holding all the cards.”

Chloe sagged against the back of her chair.

Kitty looked at Rose. “What do you think about this Mr. Hamilton, Rose? Do you think he can be trusted?”

Did she? Since her ordeal with Peter more than eight years ago, Rose had never trusted any man, except her father. And even that had turned out to be a mistake. She’d be a fool to believe Harlan was sincere. Yet for some reason she wanted to think he was different from the rest, that maybe he was one of those few men like her sister’s husband, Roy Pardee. An honest man with morals and a good heart.

“I don’t know, Aunt Kitty. I found out he’s a widower with a teenage daughter. He appears to be a responsible man and father, but who’s to say? We thought Daddy was a responsible man and father.”

“Tomas must have been a very troubled man to do what he did. Having an affair with that woman, paying her all that money and now this! I just thank God my sister Lola isn’t alive to know about it.” Kitty shook her head sadly. “So what’s going to happen next?”

Rose took a long drink of ice water. She’d never felt so exhausted in her life and to think of getting up and facing Harlan in the morning was nearly more than she could bear.

“First thing tomorrow I’m going to meet Harlan at the cut in the fence and we’re going to decide what to do about the cattle. As for the money, I’m sure you both know we don’t have it and there’s no chance we will have it for a long time to come. He says his use of our water will count for a payment on the loan. I don’t know how much money that means, but I’ll find out.”

The kitchen went quiet, except for the babies, who were squealing and straining to grab the other’s face across their high-chair trays.

Rose finished the food on her plate, then lifted Adam into her arms. The baby nuzzled his head against her neck and she savored his innocent affection. The twins were the only good thing to come out of this mess their father had made. And whether the law ever managed to track down their mother or not, the whole family was determined to keep them and raise them as true Murdocks. “I’m going to give Adam a bath and get ready for bed. Will one of you call Justine and tell her the news?”

Kitty nodded solemnly. “I will. Maybe Roy might have some idea that could help us.”

“Roy’s a good sheriff, but I don’t think he can help us out of this mess,” Rose said, then turned to leave the kitchen.

“Rose,” Chloe called after her.

Rose turned to look at her younger sister. “Would you rather I met Mr. Hamilton in the morning?”

She and Chloe had always been opposites. Chloe was normally bubbly and outspoken and very self-confident, whereas Rose was just quiet, old Rose. Yet there had always been a deep love between them and Rose could feel it now more than ever.

“Thanks for offering, Chloe, but this is—well, it’s something I have to do myself. After Daddy died we agreed that the horses were your responsibility and the cattle mine. I’m not going to run from my job just because I don’t like dealing with a man.”

“We never said we couldn’t help each other out, if the other needed it,” Chloe said gently.

A wan smile touched Rose’s face. “I know. But oddly enough Harlan Hamilton doesn’t scare me. It’s just that— there’s something about the man that bothers me.” Adam tugged on a loose tendril of her hair. Rose absently kissed the baby’s cheek. “But I can put up with him for as long as it takes to get this ranch back to a solid business again. And I’m making a promise right now. Harlan Hamilton is never going to own the Bar M.”

Chapter Three (#ulink_eb2070d9-eab5-540c-8b61-278d6f888aac)

Long before Rose reached the faint bend in the river, Harlan spotted her on the sorrel. From the hill where he sat on his black mare he watched and waited for her to ride closer.

She was dressed as she had been yesterday in a pair of worn jeans, brown boots and a gray felt hat. The only difference was her shirt. This one was deep green and buttoned tightly at the cuffs and throat.

Last night after he’d taken the woman home, he’d found it nearly impossible to stop thinking about her and he couldn’t figure why. True, she had a quiet, natural beauty. But he’d seen plenty of good-looking women since Karen had died and none of them had stirred him in any way. Yet there was something about Rose Murdock that made him itch in all the wrong places.

Nudging the mare’s sides, he decided to ride down the slope to meet her and the spotted blue dog trotting at her heels.

“Good morning,” she said as he stopped abreast of her.

“Good morning,” he drawled.

She shifted in the saddle as his dark brown eyes scanned her face. She didn’t know why the man had to look at her like he enjoyed it. She was too thin to have much of a figure and her features were sharp and angular. The only nice things about her were full lips and gray luminous eyes. But in Rose’s opinion nothing about her warranted a second glance.

“I’ve talked with my family about letting you use some of the ranch,” she said to him.

“And?”

And? Did he honestly think they were in a position to refuse him? Rose wondered. She said, “Of course they’re in agreement. They’re leaving it up to me and you to decide which parts of the land would work best for all of us.”

“I’m glad they understand my problem.”

Rose came close to groaning out loud. His problem? All he needed was a little water. She and her sisters needed a miracle.

“My sisters and I would like to know how much money you’re willing to allow us for our water,” she told him.

He studied her for a moment, then named an amount that Rose considered surprisingly generous.

“I think that’s more than fair,” she said awkwardly as her eyes skittered away from his tough face.

Looks to die for. That’s the way Chloe had described him. Rose didn’t know about that, but she knew whenever she looked at him she couldn’t think or breathe or do anything but gawk like a naive teenager. Her reaction to him was downright silly. But she didn’t know how to stop it.

Harlan motioned toward the section of land they were presently on. “I have a hundred head to graze and water. Can this spot do that? It’s the closest one to me and the most feasible one to use. Or do you have cattle in here now?”

She nodded. “Fifty head. But I can move them.”

“That’s a lot of trouble.”

It was. But she was getting pretty used to dealing with trouble. First they found babies abandoned on the doorstep, then they discovered their father had been blackmailed by the mother into making exorbitant payments, and now this loan to Harlan Hamilton. Rose couldn’t imagine what else might turn up as a result of their father’s reckless behavior.

“There’s no other choice,” Rose told him.

“Where is your open pasture?” he asked.

Her eyes flickered back to Harlan. The gold of the morning sun was rising behind him, outlining his thick shoulders, the rolled brim of his black hat and the dark curls lying against his neck. He looked like a moonlighter, something the old men of the west called a cattle thief. Could she trust him with her cattle? Her land? Herself?

“Several miles from here.”

Rubbing his unshaved jaws, he thoughtfully studied the land spread to the west of them. The river was dry in spots, but in other places the water was deep and cool. If heaven had a name, the Bar M had to be it, he thought.

“I see you didn’t bring a wrangler with you,” he said to Rose.