Capturing the Cowboy's Heart (19 page)

Danners
pushed his weather-beaten hat higher up on his forehead.  “So what do you want me to do now?”

“
Torch the hayshed.  That will hit Tyler
where it hurts – his
wallet.”

“Will do.”

“
After that, I’m going to get another long awaited slice of revenge.”

“Which is?”

“Going after that murdering beast of his
,”
Brandt
replied with a sneer.

“Bluster?”

Brandt shook an angry finger at him.  “That bull’s name is never to be spoken in my presence.  Ever.”

“
Understood. 
But
I’m not sure how we’ll get to that bull. 
Tyler keeps
it
in the pasture closest to the house.  Someone might see me.” 

Brandt rolled his eyes.  “Must I do all the thinking for you, Danner
s
?
 
You don’t have to go near the beast to take it down.  See that something gets into its
feed.”

“
Poison it?” he replied, contemplating the thought.  Then he nodded with a grin.  “It could work.  With only Burk and me helping at the ranch they’d know it was me, but with Lacy Dalton working the ranch, too
...”

“Working the ranch?”

“
Apparently, your little reporter
gal
made a deal with Tyler to work for him as one of his ranch hands in exchange for hi
s
letting her do the story.  She’s as green as they come when it comes to ranching.  She could easily poison the cattle without knowing it.”

“I like that.  But wait until she’s got her story.  Then I could care less what happens to her.”

“Will do.”

“And
Danners
...”

“Yeah?”

“Be damned careful.  Reporters are naturally sharp.  Make certain Miss Dalton doesn’t catch on to our little plan or you’ll be doing more than poisoning cattle.  Understand?”

He did.  Stealing, lying and poisoning cattle
were
one thing, but he had no desire to add murder to his list of crimes. 
That was Brandt’s department.  Most of all, he had
no desire to find a cement block attached to his feet.  “I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.  I’ll be in touch.” 
The tinted window of Brandt’s
Mercedes
closed, the man’s permanent leer disappearing behind it.  A moment later, he backed out and
drove away.  

*
             
*
             
*

Lacy busied herself with anything that would keep her thoughts off
both the loss of her grandmother and her
growing feelings for Cade.  It was getting harder and harder to keep
all
her emotions in check
, but she was determined to do so
. 

S
he walked over and g
rabbed a package of cold cuts from the refrigerator and the only package of cheese that didn’t look like the fairway on a golf course.  Didn’t men ever think to clean their refrigerators out?

Moving about
the kitchen,
she dug
through the cupboards in search of bread and plates.  Then, she began to make the lunch she’d promised Cade.  She came across a slightly overripe cantaloupe in the back of the fridge that she was able to salvage, cutting it up into bite size chunks. 

When she finished,
she
carried the plates over to the table and stood staring at them with a frown.  It just didn’t seem like enough food for men the size of Cade and Burk. 
Thankfully, Danners never ate at the ranch.  There wasn’t enough lunchmeat left for even a small sandwich.  The hand preferred to take his meals in town.  Usually at the boarding house where he stayed since coming to town.

Lacy made
a mental note to pick up what
ever groceries
they needed the next time
she was
in town.
  Crossing the kitchen, she stepped out onto the back porch and called out,
“Cade!  Burk!  Lunch is ready!”

“Time to eat,” Burk said, swiping his sleeve across his brow.

“Good.  I’m starving,” Cade said, wiping his hands on the front of his jeans. 

They made their way out of the barn
with
Domino
close
on their heels.

“
So Lacy can
cook, too
,”
Burk said with a grin
.

“So she says,” Cade replied as
they stepped up onto the porch.

“My kind of woman.”

Cade shot him a warning glance.  “
Don’t get too excited.  I told her not to cook anything.”

“You told her not to?  So what are we having for lunch?  Cereal?”

“I
’m sure she’ll figure something out.  Dalton’s a smart girl.”

“Girl?  You had your eyes checked recently?”

He didn’t need Burk reminding him of how sexy Lacy Dalton was.  It was a constant on his mind.  “My eyes are fine.”

“So you say,” Burk said with a shrug. 
“I
sure
hope
Lacy
’s forgiven you for pissing her off
the other day.  Otherwise, our stomachs might pay for your being an idiot.”

“She’s over it
,” Cade said, ignoring his friend’s insult.  “
I
even
took her out with me
today
to feed the cows.”

“How romantic.”

“You really are a pain in the ass,” Cade informed him as he r
eached for the screen door.

Burk chuckled.  “I try my best.”

Lacy turned from the sink when they stepped into the kitchen, a freshly filled ice cube tray clutched in her hand.  “Didn’t take you two long to get here,” she
said with a grin
as she returned it to the freezer.

“What can I say?” Burk replied as he hung his hat on its hook.
  “We’re starving.” 

Cade glanced toward the table.  “
Impressive work, Dalton.
”

“Thanks.”

“Mmm
..m
mm,” Burk muttered as
he took a seat
.  He
pointed to Domino, “Lay.”
 

The dog o
beyed,
settling under
the table at Burk’s feet.

“Uh...uh...uh,” she said, waving her finger at
both men
. 

Cade froze
halfway into his seat.
  “What?”

She
pointed toward the hallway.  “
Neither of you are eating until you
wash those filthy hands.” 

Burk looked to Cade.  “Can she do that?”

“Suppose so,” he replied
with a grin
.  “The cook runs the kitchen.”

She
cleared her throat and tapped her foot as she waited for her orders to be followed.

Cade didn’t miss her grin as he stepped past her.  “Bossy woman,” he muttered as he went.

When they returned, Lacy playfully reached for Cade’s hands to inspect them.  “Much better.”

“Can we eat now?” he asked, fighting the urge to pull his hand away.  Her touch made him want things he couldn’t have. 

“Eat up,” she said as she released his hand and returned to the sink where she busied herself with wiping
off
the counter. 

“Lacy,” Burk drawled, “aren’t you eating?” 

She shook her head, but continued on with her task.  “No.”

“You’re gonna waste away to nothing,” Cade told her with a worried frown.

She glanced back over her shoulder with a smile.  “Hardly.
 
I picked while I
was making your lunch
.”  She poured them both some lemonade.  “Now, if I’m done with my chores, I’d like to soak in a long, hot bath.” 

The mental image of Lacy
lying
naked in his tub had Cade choking on the drink of lemonade he’d just taken.  He coughed several times, fighting for air.

“Cade!”
she
exclaimed as she ran over to smack him on the back.  “Are you all right?” 

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice strained. 
It wasn’t as if she’d never gotten a bath there.  But it was usually in the evening while Burk and he were out in the barn. 
“You
’re
taking a bath
now
?”

“My chores are done.  Unless there’s something else you’d like me to do.”

Oh, he could think of several things he’d like for her to do – to him.  “No, you’re done for the day.”

“Thanks, boss.  Enjoy your lunch.  I’m going to go
start my
bath
water.” 

“Burk
gave
a playful wiggle of his brows when Lacy left the room.  “Maybe I should
have
offer
ed
to help wash her back.”

“If anyone’s going to wash her back, it’ll be me.”  The words slipped out before Cade could stop them.  He looked across the table to find Burk grinning to beat all.  “Just shut the hell up.” 

Lacy peeked into the kitchen a moment later wrapped in a towel.  “
Cade, t
here’s no hot water.”

“Happens a lot,” Burk muttered.  “Maybe Cade here could give you a hand.

Cade ignored Burk’s muffled snickers.  “
It’s the hot water tank. 
I’ve been meaning to get a new
one
for a while now.”

“But
it’s been working fine
,”
she
whined with a
disappointed
frown.

“Guess you got lucky,” Burk said as he stabbed at a chunk of cantaloupe.
  “Cade will have to rip it apart again and see if he can get it working.”

“So you’re telling me
I have to take a cold bath?
”

Burk nodded. 
“Yep.”

“Afraid of a little cold water?” Cade teased.

“No. 
But i
t’s not the most relaxing way to bathe.”  She reached up to push a strand of hair from her face, making Cade wish he were her towel.
  Wrapped so snuggly around her naked body.
  “
So when do you think you might have time to work on that?”

“
Later this evening
,”
he replied.

“No guarantee it’ll work,”
Burk said around a mouthful of cantaloupe.  “
We went nearly a month once without hot water.”

They had never gone that long without...  Then
it hit Cade what Burk was doing. 
Lacy was at the receiving end of one of his friend’s
practical
jokes. 

“I can’t walk around all day with dust clinging to my skin.” 

Dust wasn’t the only thing that wanted to cling to her skin, Cade thought biting back a groan.

“Reckon she’ll have to do what the rest of us do when the hot water goes out
,” Cade joined in with a grin.

“And that would be?” she asked
as she stood clutching the towel to her slender form
.

“Ride down to the pond to wash up.”

“The pond?”  She made a face.  “Are we talking about the thing ducks and snakes swim in?”

Burk
chuckled
.  “
W
ater’s too cold for snakes this time of year, but warmer than the water here
because of the sun
, so you should be all right.”  He took a long swallow of his lemonade and then thunked the glass down on the table.  “Of course, the ducks might join you if they take a hankering to.”

“The pond, huh?” she replied, looking anything but pleased.

Both men nodded in unison.

“Okay, fine.”  That said, she spun about and disappeared from the kitchen.

“Okay as in she’s going to do it?” Burk asked in
surprise
.

Cade shrugged.  “Beats the hell out of me.  Women usually say one thing and mean another.  Judging by the look she had on her face when she asked about snakes and ducks, I think it’s safe to say no.”

“Reckon you’re right.  Lacy
doesn’t come across as
the outdoor bathing
type
.
  Pity.
”