Here Comes Trouble (9 page)

Terri stomped out of the dark room, down the
hall and straight to the front door. Her stomach was sick, she was
sick, so there was no way she could eat now, even if the food was
manna from heaven. She slammed the front door behind her and
stalked off the porch, down the steps and started walking through
the dark night toward the bunkhouse. She'd have all her stuff
packed and ready by the time the cowboys came back from supper,
then she'd get Dylan to help her move up to the big
house.

With every step she made toward the bunkhouse,
her anger ratcheted up a notch. By the time she made it there
twenty minutes later, her eyes were burning and a tsunami of anger
was bottled up inside of her. She held it back until she walked
through her bedroom door, then the dam burst and she shut and
locked the door, then threw herself across the bed and let it
flow.

Thirty minutes later a knock sounded at her
door, and after a couple of gasps, and a few more knocks, she
yelled a muffled, "Go away," into her pillow.

When the knocking stopped, she pulled herself
together and sat up on the bed, then walked to the dresser and
pulled a couple of tissues from the box there. She couldn't believe
she was crying. Lately, she'd cried more than she had in her entire
life. But dammit she was mad and hurt.

Her brother accused her of being 'tough as a
nickel steak' a time or two, because in situations where most women
were reduced to tears, Terri had always sucked it up and taken
action to change things instead. Like ending her marriage with her
cheating bastard of a husband. She hadn't shed a tear when she
signed the papers.

Crying sure hadn't helped in the situation at
the hospital, and it wasn't going to help her now, nor was it going
to change their opinion of her. The people at the hospital thought
she was a liar, and Joel thought she was a whore.

Lifting her chin and staring at herself in the
mirror, determination filled her. She couldn't change his opinion,
but she could teach Joel Rhodes a lesson or two about judging
her.

CHAPTER FIVE

Terri stalked down the hallway and Joel's
office door was open a crack, so she pushed it open, but didn't see
him sitting at his desk. Turning her back, she started to walk back
down the hall, but she heard lowered voices and went back to the
door and walked inside.

He was sitting in the second chair against the
wall, next to a tall dark haired woman who had on what had to be
the shortest suit skirt Terri had ever seen. The gold silk shirt
she paired it with was tight, and unbuttoned about two buttons past
decent. Her long legs were crossed which made the skirt creep up
even more.

Joel was beside her with his arm over the back
of her chair, while he leaned in close, looking down at paperwork
she held in her lap. Either that or he was looking down her shirt,
Terri couldn't be sure.

Whoever the woman was, Joel evidently knew her
well. His relaxed posture and easy smile said he was comfortable
around her. If she was an employee, or he was interviewing her, it
looked like his rules about fraternization only applied to Terri,
not him.

When neither of them acknowledged her
presence, Terri cleared her throat to get their attention. Two pair
of eyes swung up to her and Joel's face flushed, then he
straightened and moved his arm from around the woman.

Terri glared at him then handed him the paper
in her hand. "Here's your list of supplies and equipment I'll need
for the first-aid station. Let me know if you have questions. I'm
going to
town
, I won't be back tonight," she told him
shortly, then turned her back and walked out.

Let him read into that whatever he wanted. She
wouldn't be back tonight, because she was meeting some of the ranch
hands at a local bar tonight, then getting a hotel room. In the
morning, she planned to go visit Jenny and check on her.

She needed some space, and some down time.
Dinner, a few drinks and some dancing would make her feel better,
even if she was eating alone.

Being in the big house with Joel for two days
had made her feel like she was trapped in a small box, and couldn't
get away from him. The first aid station was almost set up, except
for the things on the list she'd given Joel. It was Saturday and
she'd been working her butt off since Wednesday, she deserved a
break.

"Terri, wait!" Joel shouted behind her and she
heard his boot heels on the hardwood floor. She stopped in her
tracks, but didn't turn around to face him.

"Yeah?" she replied when he stopped behind
her.

His hands moved to her shoulders and he turned
her around to face him. His jaw worked a few times, then he told
her, "I haven't had a chance to apologize for the other
night...you've been kind of scarce," he started.

She held up a hand and took a step back from
him. His hands fell to his sides and anger flickered in his eyes.
"No need to apologize, Joel. You said what you said, and that's
that. You're the boss, it's your opinion, and you're entitled to
it," she said then turned and walked off.

He caught her again near the end of the hall
and she huffed out a breath, then turned around again. Her hand
went to his on her shoulder and she peeled it off. "Keep your hands
off of me," she told him bluntly. "Is there something else you
needed?"

His face flushed and his jaw ground again,
then he said, "I uh...wanted to ask if you'd have dinner with me
tonight, so I could apologize."

"Sorry, I have plans," she said with a lifted
brow.

"With Dylan?" he asked gruffly.

"That's none of your business...my time is my
time, and I won't be on your ranch," she replied and took a step
away from him. "That was your stipulation right?"

"Terri, c'mon...I know you're pissed off," he
said consolingly and tried to put a hand on her shoulder again, so
she feinted left.

"You don't know a damned thing about me, but
you sure have your assumptions," she told him angrily, then huffed
a breath and clarified, "You're my boss, Joel...nothing more, don't
forget it. I certainly won't."

When it looked like he was going to say more,
she spun on her heel and walked faster toward her room at the other
end of the hallway.

A few minutes later, she'd changed and packed
her overnight bag. Putting the bag in the middle of the bed, she
took a look at herself in the mirror. The new bedazzled blue jeans
she'd bought with her boots in Henrietta fit her like a glove, and
the tight red western shirt hugged her in all the right places.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, she put on earrings, then dropped
her black Stetson on her head.

Not bad for a city girl, she thought, and the
smile that had been missing all week eased up on her lips. Dylan,
Sheedy and Matt were meeting her at a bar in Amarillo. Tonight,
she'd break in her new cowboy boots, and she'd forget all about the
sexy aggravating rancher that had sent her running to
town.

Jerking the duffle off of the bed, she slung
it and her purse over her shoulder, then headed out the
door.

Joel walked out of the kitchen with the
sandwich he was going to have for supper, and a beer. Penny served
leftovers on Saturday night, so he just made him a sandwich to take
back to his office. He had a mountain of paperwork to get through,
bills to pay. He was seriously considering hiring a bookkeeper,
because this part of the job was overwhelming. He thought he could
handle the daily accounting and managing the operations, but he was
starting to have his doubts. Four hours of sleep a night just
wasn't cutting it. And the place hadn't even opened yet. Monday
their first group of four guests would arrive.

And Gigi wanted to add to his headaches.
During their meeting, she proposed adding a spa component to the
ranch. From a guest amenity standpoint, Joel thought it was a good
idea. From a management standpoint, it meant more employees and
more problems for him.

She also found out that Dylan, Matt and Sheedy
were former rodeo riders. Dylan had ridden broncs and Matt bulls,
Sheedy had been a team roper. Gigi thought maybe a 'Rodeo
Adventure' package and a 'Girl's Spa Adventure' package would
increase their bookings. Her last idea had been an 'Old West Role
Play Adventure' package, which he shot down immediately.

No way in hell was he going to turn the ranch
into the 'Disneyland of Dude Ranches' as she had suggested. He
snorted when he recalled her idea to build an old west ghost town
on the back acreage, hire actors and give guests the opportunity to
see what it was like to live in the old west. He had a thousand
acres, but most of the back acreage would be used for a turnaround
point on the cattle drives for their regular guests.

Joel thought the rodeo package would be a
liability insurance nightmare, but he had a lawyer who could draw
up a release that would be rock solid. The spa package would mean
expensive equipment and hiring trained technicians, but could
eventually pay for itself from the package sales and ala carte
services she recommended.

It was no wonder the woman came so highly
recommended as a marketing consultant though. She could sell ice to
Eskimos, along with window air conditioners in the dead of
winter.

With the exception of her idea to build a
ghost town on the back acreage, somehow, before she left she had
convinced him to agree to her ideas. He knew she'd have a full
proposal for him in less than a week, and would expect him to act
on it. Giselle Hamblin was not only beautiful, she was efficient,
and demanding.

Chase was going to have a bird. To add those
things, he'd have to find another investor fast...maybe they could
talk to their daddy. He didn't want to, didn't relish the idea,
because he knew Jack Rhodes was going to give them a hard time just
for the hell of it, but that would be the easiest
answer.

Joel rounded the corner to the living room and
stopped in his tracks. His heart skidded to a stop, then sprinted
around in his chest bouncing off his ribs. Terri Cassidy walked
toward him with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. That
wasn't the part that had him panting though. She wore painted on
sparkly jeans, and a western shirt so low cut it barely contained
her full breasts.

Her eyes met his, then she turned them firmly
toward the door and strode past him in a cloud of flowery perfume
and attitude. He spun on his heel and swallowed hard against the
desire that slammed into him when he caught the back view of those
jeans, hugging her heart-shaped ass as she sashayed to the door.
She stopped at the door and juggled her bags, trying to open the
door. He finally made his feet move to carry him over there to help
her, then sat his sandwich and beer on the entry table.

Bending down, he hefted the duffle bag up and
onto his shoulder, before reaching around her to open the
door.

"Here you go," he said then stifled a groan as
her scent drifted up to him intoxicating his senses.

She reached for the strap on the duffle, and
he pulled his shoulder away. "I've got it, go ahead," he told her
then wanted to smile when she stomped her foot.

"Give me my damned bag, Joel," she demanded
and put her hands on her curvy hips.

"Just go, sugar...this is pretty heavy,
what've you got in here? Bricks?" he teased with a grin.

"A dead body, if you don't give me my damned
bag," she told him, her eyes dark green and sparkling with
anger.

Joel pinned her with his eyes, and shut the
door, then dropped her bag to the floor. Two steps brought him in
front of her, and she backed toward the wall looking up into his
eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked her
breathing increasing. "I'm leaving."

He saw in her eyes that she felt it too, just
like he felt it in his chest, that magnetic pull between them that
couldn't be denied. He'd tried to ignore it, pretend it wasn't
there, but he was failing badly.

All he could think about was her.

It was clouding his thinking, making him agree
to things he shouldn't, like he'd done with Gigi, making him short
with the ranch hands, keeping him up at night, when he needed every
hour of sleep he could get. If he didn't get some relief soon, he
thought he might lose his mind.

Joel put his hands on either side of her on
the wall and leaned down until his lips hovered over hers. "You
could stay," he whispered roughly, before he lowered his mouth to
taste her. That taste turned into a full out assault on her mouth,
because he couldn't help himself. Terri surprised him when she slid
her hands up his chest and looped her arms around his neck, then
pressed herself against him. Joel moaned and teased her lips open
then found her tongue and deepened the kiss which had turned into
making love with their mouths. His hands were still on the wall,
but his palms burned to smooth over her skin and relearn her
curves.

He didn't want her to leave, didn't want her
going to town, he wanted her here with him, wanted another taste of
heaven in her arms. Her nipples were hard against his chest, her
breathing labored and if her response was any indication, she
wanted him too. He looked down into her eyes and they were dark and
glazed.