Rebel Heart (13 page)

Bugle stumbled. She caught him up. Two steers brushed into him. He stumbled again and she fell over his shoulder, hitting the ground in a numbing jar. Scrambling to her feet, she was relieved to notice that she’d kept the reins in her hand.

“Easy, fellow. We’re fine.” She patted his neck, trying to calm him. When he took a step, he favored his offside foreleg.

“No! Not now, Bugle. I need you.” She ran her hand down his foreleg. There was already swelling near the hoof. She couldn’t ride him if he were injured. Two steers ran by, blinded by the smoke, bellowing long and loud.

“Yes, you stupid animals, I feel that way myself.” She’d give anything to awaken in her bed and find out this was a nightmare.

Knowing it wasn’t, she started for home, leading her injured horse.

Behind her the heat grew more intense, the crackling louder. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the fire line only yards away. Fear swamped her. Could she outrun it? Could she force her horse to run with them both?

Just then Jase thundered up, bandanna across his nose and mouth, his hat pulled low. He looked like a bandit.

He looked like a knight in shining armor.

“What the hell are you doing? Don’t you see how close the fire is?” He leaned over and swept her up before him.

“Bugle’s injured. I took a spill. And yes, dammit, I see the fire.” Even as she gasped out the words, he headed Shadow away from the fire. They mingled with the cattle, Bugle straining to keep up. Shannon held his reins in a tight grip, not going to lose one of her best horses if she could help it.

“God, Jase, it’s awful. I’ve never lived through anything like this.” She wanted to cry, wanted to turn back the clock, wanted the fire to be out!

“Yeah, it’s bad. But we’ve got a lot more men helping now. You take Bugle back to the barn and see to him. They should have the firebreak completed around the house. If we can keep the fire from jumping it, we’ll be home-free.”

“If I have a home.”

“They’ll save your home, darlin’. Go on.” He dropped her well beyond the fire line. She wanted him to go with her, but before she could say a word, he headed back to the thick of things. With a frustrated sigh, she turned and started walking toward the barn, leading her limping horse.

The last of the fire fighters left just after sundown. The firebreak the tractors plowed held. Deprived of its fuel, the greedy flames gradually died down. The cattle were all contained in sections of the range nearest the house. Dozens of women and men from neighboring ranches had come to help, with the cattle, the fire fighting, or bringing food to feed the army of workers. Everyone had been fed and sent home.

Shannon was numb, so tired she could scarcely see, too tired to even get up and go to bed. She sat on the back steps, having waved off the last of the volunteers. She was so grateful for the volunteers who had worked hard to save her home.

Would she ever be able to move again?

“Go to bed, darlin’,” Jase said, coming in from the barn.

“How are the horses?” she asked listlessly. She should have seen to some of them. Jase was recovering from injuries. Dink and Gary were too old to be doing all they'd done today.

“All doing fine. The vet looked at Bugle, wrapped the leg, gave him something for the swelling. Shadow got a couple of burns, nothing major. The horses the Johnsons used were burned a little, they’re fine, too.” He sank beside her. They both smelled of smoke.

“Did this destroy the ranch?” she asked, voicing her deepest fear.

“Nope. Might have set you back a bit.”

“A bit? I was set back a bit when Rod stole all the money. This is more than a bit.”

“From what we can tell, you have most of your herd, you still have your land, once the rains come, the grass will grow.”

“Sure, but you know what, Jase? It’s been a long time since we've had much rain. Then there’s the winter. I have no feed for this herd. Where am I going to get the money to carry me over the winter?”

“My offer as partner still stands,” he said slowly.

She sighed and slowly rose. She ached all over. She was so tired she could scarcely breathe and so dirty and smelly she could hardly stand herself.

“I’m going to bed, after I take a long, hot shower.”

“Shannon, think on it.” Jase stood, as well. He brushed his thumb across one of her cheeks, studying the soot he wiped off.

“I have some insurance, I don’t need a partner,” she said, turning to go into the house.

Shannon slept twelve hours straight. It was late morning when she awoke. For a long moment she lay in bed, mustering the energy to get up and face all the work needed to recover from the fire.

She’d had a hard time when Bobby left, then died. A hard time when Rod had absconded with her funds.

But this just might be more than she could manage.

Yet the ranch was her responsibility. She had only herself to depend upon.

And Jase.

Could she depend upon him? He had done so much yesterday. He knew what was needed. She could rely on him. She knew it. Yet reliance could be dangerous. She must not learn to depend upon him. They both knew he’d be leaving in a few weeks. She’d learn what she could from him, knowing she had to stand on her own in the end.

There was so much to do, she couldn’t afford the luxury of lying in bed.

Two hours later Shannon wished desperately she had stayed in bed. Slowly she replaced the receiver. She felt lost. Totally numb. She didn’t have any idea where to turn. Slowly her eyes raised to gaze out the window. She remembered the dreams she'd had when she and Bobby first bought the ranch. How those dreams had slowly changed when he’d left to resume the rodeo circuit.

Her whole life had been tied up in this ranch for the last four years.

Tears welled, spilled over. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. She felt cold deep inside, cold and sick and afraid. What was she going to do?

“Shannon, did you tell Dink to—” Jase came into the study and stopped dead, stunned by the tears coursing down her cheeks.

“Shannon, what’s the matter?” He crossed the room in firm strides, going around the desk to her. Leaning over, he brushed away the tears. They kept falling.

“Darlin’, what’s the matter?” His voice was soft, crooning. He lifted her up and sat in the chair, holding her in his lap.

The tight control Shannon had tried to hold on to broke. Burying her face in his chest, she let the tears fall. All her hard work and efforts were for naught. She was going to lose her ranch.

“He didn’t pay the insurance premium,” she said finally.

“What?”

“Rod didn’t pay the insurance premium. He stole that money, too. I’m not covered for the fire. Oh, Jase, what am I going to do?” Her hand clutched a fistful of his shirt, as if that small reality could hold her together.

“The insurance lapsed?” he asked to clarify.

She nodded, the ache in her heart growing. She felt sick.

“If Rod were here I’d strangle him,” she said bitterly.

“You’d have to get in line, darlin’. I’m not feeling too friendly toward the man myself,” Jase said, rubbing his good hand across her back, soothing her with his touch.

“How bad is it?” she asked.

Jase had left her a note that morning telling her he’d gone out to inspect the damage with the fire marshal.

“Over sixty percent of the range is burned, including all the land near the river. Water for the cattle is going to be a problem since there isn’t any grazing near it.”

“Figures, what’s one more problem.” She didn’t want to move. Somehow being held by Jase made the problems seem almost manageable. She’d have to push away soon, but for the time being, she relished being held as if she were cherished.

“And the cattle?” she asked, conscious of his steady heartbeat beneath her fingers. Taking comfort in it.

“We lost about ninety head.”

She sat up and stared at him. “No! Ninety?”

He shrugged, tugging her back against his chest. “It could have been worse. Most of them were steers, but a few were calves.”

“Do I have any cattle left? After you bought so many, and now I’ve lost so many, am I still in business?”

“I’ll take a proportional share of the loss,” he murmured.

“No, I can’t let you do that.”

“You can’t stop me, Shannon. Let’s not argue about this now. We’ve got to start making plans for the next six or eight months. The way I see it, we need to get feed to the section near the river. Then they’ll have food and water all in the same area.”

“And just who do you think is going to extend me enough credit to get food for all those steers for months on end?”

“Let’s think this through logically. You need an extensive influx of capital. Enough to tide you over until next spring at the earliest. Taking out a loan will set you back for even longer.”

She sighed and sat up, resting her hands on his shoulders. “So, we’re back to the partnership thing, are we?”

He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “Not exactly.”

She felt a sense of dread creep over her. Did that mean he was not exactly interested now that there were even more problems on the ranch? It was one thing to offer some ready cash for a short-term need, something else to align himself with a ranch that needed a lot of work to hold it together. The responsibility for bringing it around would be too much for a footloose cowboy more interested in the next town and the next laugh.

“I understand.”

“I doubt it. I think we should get married.”

She stared at him. “I—did I hear you right? Married?” She was speechless, stunned. It was the farthest thing she had ever expected to hear from him.

Marriage? To Jase?

Her heart began beating heavily in her breast. Mesmerized by the look in his gaze, drawn into the fantasy for a brief blinding instant, she couldn’t look away.

“Yeah, you heard right. Marry me, Shannon.”

“Why? Jase, marriage is the last thing you want. You’ll be leaving in a few weeks. You’ve kicked over all traces of a responsible life, and you certainly don’t want to pick them up here with a ranch that is going to take a lot of work to bring it back in the black.”

“I’ve decided I don’t want to be a partner that you can kick out at your whim. I want to try for the nationals, try to be the best I can be. But then I want to come back here when I’m done. Be involved in building up the ranch.”

“No. I can’t marry you. I can’t do that again. I lived like that with Bobby, I won’t do it again.”

“Where’s the problem? You haven’t found anyone you're interested in to marry. This way, you can use the money I have saved, get a share of the money I earn in the rodeos.”

“And in exchange give up my ranch.”

“We’ll split it.”

She stared at him, longing and hope warring with hard experience of the past. “Sixty-forty?” she asked.

His eyes grew silvery. “I assume I have the forty?”

She nodded thoughtfully. Was she really considering his unorthodox proposal?

“And in return you’ll get forty percent of everything I have, as well,” he said.

She nodded, knowing she couldn’t have forty percent of a cutting horse unless he sold it. But if he wanted to make the deal work both ways, she wouldn't argue.

“Is there a catch to all of this? Why do you want to tie yourself to me? Give up your winnings to build back a ranch you didn't even know existed a month ago?” she asked.

It didn’t make any sense. Not with the Jase she thought she knew. Or not with the man she equated with Bobby Blackstone.

Yet Jase had shown on more than one occasion that he was different than Bobby.

He traced his thumb across her lower lip, brushed across again. “Let’s just say I want to help and I want a place to come back to when I finish the rodeo. Win or lose, I want a place here.”

Love?

There’d been no mention of love.

She wanted to ask him if he felt anything for her beyond the lust that he made no attempt to hide. But it might open up the question of how she felt. And she was afraid to examine that too closely.

“Thank you, Jase, I accept. I’m very grateful that—”

“I don’t want gratitude.” Anger flared. “I wasn’t looking for any and I don’t want you to feel that way.”

“Okay.” She had nothing else to say. She was grateful. But if he didn’t want to hear it, she’d keep quiet.

“We’ll go into town tomorrow and see about the license,” he said.

She licked her lips. Leaning closer, she kissed him. Touching lightly, she drew back and watched as his eyes darkened. They grew stormy when he was aroused. She smiled slightly and slipped her arms around his neck. Boldly, she leaned against him and opened her mouth against his.

His arms tightened around her and he met her with passion already high. For only a moment Shannon controlled the kiss, but Jase soon commanded. His arms pulled her tightly against him as his tongue plunged in to excite her beyond belief. He deepened the kiss until Shannon lost all awareness of her surroundings. She could only cling to him to keep from spinning away on a cloud of delight.

She leaned closer only to hesitate when he groaned slightly when she pressed his ribs. Sitting up, she pulled away and looked at him in concern. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.” He kissed her lightly, his tongue just skimming across her lips.

“Tomorrow we’ll see the doctor again about your ribs, you could have damaged them further yesterday. In fact, I don't know how you did all you did.”

She clung to the mundane to keep her head on an even keel. The sensations that shot through her had nothing to do with evenness.

“See what a good wife you’ll make,” he said mockingly as he kissed her one last time. Then he set her up on her feet. “There’s work to be done.”

She nodded, suddenly worried about the turn her life had taken. Had she really committed to marry another rodeo cowboy?

Had she set herself up for another heartache?

“This is insane,” Shannon grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Jase the next morning as he drove them into Tumbleweed. With stops planned at the courthouse, the hospital, and the feed store, they'd gotten an early start.