So Not a Cowgirl (3 page)

“
Of course he does. He wants and needs help with the ranch books, and now with his new business’s books, too. Right, Bro?” Mandy said as she strolled over and poured cups of coffee for her and Tanya.

Drew looked up, annoyance in his expression, and then all but gaped at Tanya. Jeans hugged her short, shapely legs. But it was the body hugging, v-necked purple sweater that captured his attention. Good Lord, if she dared to bend over those breasts—those plump, full breasts—would burst free of confinement. Not that he was totally opposed to that happening. He was a man, of course.

She walked over and took the cup Mandy held out to her. Her hair had grown longer, reaching nearly to her waist as it hung free in a cascade of blond waves. Damn if he didn’t want to touch it. Without even trying to, she was playing serious havoc with his sanity.

“
I’m really pretty good at my job,” she offered, lifting her blue gaze to his.

Embarrassed about being caught avidly admiring her assets, his tone was rougher than he would have preferred as he said, “So why aren’t you still with whatever firm it was you were with in Sacramento?”

“
Drew!” Mandy snapped in outrage.

Tanya’s face pinkened with a blush that instantly made him feel like a jerk. She tilted up her chin and said quietly, “I was temporarily suspended while they investigate a situation between one of the partners and me.”

“
You had an affair with one of the partners?” he questioned, not particularly wild about the idea. It also irritated him that an affair was the first probability that crossed his mind.

Mandy slugged his arm. “Idiot! That wasn’t the problem at all.”

He watched Tanya’s face heat even more, sensed she was praying his sister wouldn’t say anymore. He should apologize or something.

Before he could get his foot out of his mouth, Mandy angrily explained, “The scumbag got a little too handsy in the office. Gropped her. On more than one occasion, too.”

Drew stiffened, outraged himself now. “The hell you say!” He looked at Tanya. “Why did
you
get suspended? That shouldn’t have happened.”

“
Damn straight it shouldn’t have happened!” Mandy inserted.

“
He’s a partner. I was a staff accountant.” Tanya focused on her cup of coffee. “Besides, it’s no longer a suspension. I quit before Mandy and I left Sacramento. I’m not dumb enough to think they would take me back.”

She met his gaze again, almost in challenge. “Especially when I broke his wrist for touching me inappropriately. Accidentally broke it, although I don’t really regret that.”

He blinked, and then grinned. “Broke his wrist, huh? Good for you.”

Tanya’s warm blue eyes widened in surprise. After a second, she drew in a breath and said, “As your sister mentioned, I really do need this job. At least for a month or so. After that, I’ll try to look for something else.”

He should hold firm to his decision about not hiring her. But, damn, she had the most amazing eyes. Amazing body, too, and that was really a potential problem for him. No, he couldn’t have her staying anywhere around here.

“
Drew?” Mandy prodded.

“
A month,” he blurted out, wanting to bite his betraying tongue off when he’d meant to say
no
. He set his cup on the counter and strode toward the back door. “Tomorrow. You can start tomorrow.”

He stopped, remembering that his sister had overstepped the boundaries of his privacy and had shoved this blond walking temptation into his personal space. He met and held Mandy’s gaze. “We’ll
talk
about this later. In private. I’ve got some ranch chores to attend to right now.” His “talk” would involve mainly applying his hand to her bottom, and he was pretty sure from the way her eyes widened that she understood.

A glance at Tanya caught him by surprise. Her eyes had widened, too. Instinctively he realized that she understood his hidden warning to his sister. Almost immediately he envisioned taking that little blond over his knee, and it wouldn’t take much of a reason for him to want to do that. It wouldn’t take but the barest hint of invitation and he’d want to take that same woman to his bed. Lord a’mighty, he was in more trouble than he’d first thought!

Chapter Two

Tanya sat on one of the bar stools lining the longest eating bar she’d ever seen in a kitchen while Mandy stirred a pot of beef stew across the room. They’d unloaded Tanya’s few belongings in the little log cabin, and then driven into Dodge City to buy some things to help feminize the place. They’d also picked up groceries. Mandy had wanted to smooth over some rough edges with her brother by cooking for him. The smells swirling around the kitchen almost made Tanya’s mouth water. Almost. She couldn’t get past the idea of beef parts swimming around in all that mix of vegetables and broth.

Mandy turned her way and shook her head in amusement. “These men—including my brother—work hard. They need sustenance, lots of it. Good thing cooking for him isn’t part of your job description.”

“
I’m a good cook,” Tanya protested, pinching off a piece of rice cake to nibble on.

“
I’d hardly call warming up pre-cooked vegetarian dishes in the microwave
cooking
. Certainly Drew wouldn’t.”

Mandy’s cell phone rang and she dashed across the room to answer it, saying, “Drew should be coming in any minute now. Can you get the cornbread out of the oven? Put the stew in a bowl? While I take this call.”

Abandoning the rice cake, Tanya went to do as asked. She had to hold back the urge to gag, though, as she poured the stew into a bowl and noted all the chunks of beef. She’d just put the bowl on the counter where Mandy claimed her brother ate all of his meals when heavy footsteps came their direction.

“
Damn that smells good,” he said in a tone of pure male pleasure. He glanced at Tanya, with a curious look. “You cook this?”

“
Hardly!” she countered and took a seat again, as far from the bowl of stew as possible. To settle her stomach, she picked up the rice cake and took a bite.

Mandy disconnected her call and carried over glasses of iced tea. “Tanya doesn’t eat meat. She has a hard time even being around the smell of it cooking.”

Drew looked horrified. His gaze shifted to the cake in Tanya’s hand. “Is that one of those taste-like-cardboard vegetarian things I’ve heard about?”

Tanya rolled her eyes and primly said, “They’re quite tasty actually. Better for you than that pot of cut up cow.” She shuddered just at the thought.

He glared at his sister, who glared right back. “This is a ranch, for God’s sake. We raise cattle here. We eat beef here.”

“
You didn’t hire Tanya to cook, Bro.” Mandy ladled some stew into her bowl and passed the ladle to Drew.

Clearly annoyed he couldn’t argue with that comment, he nodded toward Tanya. His glance settled on her spiked red-and-white polka dot sandals with wrap-up ankle straps. “Did you see her shoes? What kind of footwear is that to wear on a ranch? Walk around on gravel?”

Offended at his attack on a pair of her newest and cutest heels, Tanya raised her leg up so he could have an even closer look. She watched his nostrils flare at his couldn’t-help-himself male interest, and then she slowly wiggled her foot at him.

“
I
always
wear high heels. They make my legs look good, and they make me feel good. What I wear has
nothing
to do with my work skills. So get over it.” She wiggled her foot one last time for good measure before lowering her leg.

He bristled, although he seemed to have trouble pulling his gaze from her leg.

“
I made apple pie for dessert,” Mandy inserted, drawing Drew’s attention again.

He went back to glowering at his sister. The air between them sizzled with tension and Tanya felt as if she were intruding on something personal. So she slipped from her chair, snagged a second rice cake, and announced, “I’m going to put up the curtains we bought. See you later, Mandy.”

She stopped in the middle of the room to add, “Wait until you see the shoes I planned to wear tomorrow.” Then she pranced toward the doorway, purposely adding sway to her walk because she knew Drew was watching her.

As soon as she was around the corner into the hallway, she heard him practically growl, “Mandy…” Not wanting to hear their argument—which would probably be about her—she speed-walked out of the house.

To her disgust, she nearly twisted her ankle halfway across the ranch yard. Thankfully she didn’t break the heel off her new shoes. Sore ankle or not, she vowed to
never
let the gruff cowboy know that he just might be right about her choice of footwear.

The sky had already darkened for the night and Tanya had put up not only the new living room curtains but also the ones in the main bedroom by the time she heard Mandy open the front door. She’d had a long talk with her brother, something that kind of concerned Tanya. She really didn’t want to be a problem between them.

Mandy looked flushed when Tanya spotted her, pissed off, too. She warily asked, “So, am I fired already?”

“
You most certainly are not! He’s even promised to bite his tongue about the whole vegetarian thing.” Mandy hesitated before adding, “He’s still annoyed with the footwear matter. But that’s
his
problem, not yours.”

Mandy headed for the kitchen and snagged a bottle of beer from the apartment-sized refrigerator. “Worked up a thirst. Do you want one too?”

Tanya nodded and when they had both taken their first swig, she went to curl up on the corner of the thick, really comfortable sofa. She watched Mandy ease down into the matching over-sized chair by the stone fireplace. “Are you all right?”

With a sigh, Mandy bobbed her head. “He can be such a pain in the ass sometimes.” She met Tanya’s gaze with a telling look. “Well,
on
my ass sometimes.”

Taking a long drink, Tanya mulled over the admission. One time a couple of years back Mandy had casually mentioned during another of their girl-talk/drinking sessions that her older brother occasionally spanked her. They’d never really discussed it after that. But Tanya couldn’t help but be curious now, especially now that she would be working here at the ranch.

Trying to sound casual, she asked, “He spanked you?”

Mandy wiggled a bit and pursed her lips in annoyance before answering, “Yes, the wretch did.”

“
I’m sorry,” Tanya said awkwardly. Yet she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to be taken over the big, handsome cowboy’s knee. Probably not any fun. Still, the idea intrigued her, definitely more than being taken over her father’s knee.

“
We had a difference of opinion. He settled it the way he does occasionally, with the application of his hand to my posterior.” She shrugged. “After he’s vented in his way, things settle down. He’s just a domineering kind of guy, but I love him in spite of that fact.”

She knew she shouldn’t ask, but Tanya did anyway. “Did he uh…did he spank his ex-wives?”

Swallowing another sip of beer, Mandy looked thoughtful before saying, “Probably. I don’t know for sure. But a man who believes in spanking, spanks. Maybe that was part of why the marriages didn’t work. Maybe neither of them could handle a sometimes hard man like Drew. They were stupid, though, if that was the reason they quit on him. He’s a good man, really good.”

With a yawn, Mandy pushed to her feet, wincing slightly. “I’ve had it for today. Plus I’ve got to leave early in the morning.”

Tanya was thinking about her own mixed impressions of Drew and if they could get along for a month when Mandy stopped in front of her.

“
Hold your own with him and you’ll be fine. He’s tough, but he’s a pussycat too. Part of why he feels so strongly about taking in wounded and abandoned animals.” She moved toward the tiny second bedroom, walking gingerly in her tight jeans.

“
A pussycat who spanks,” Tanya mumbled. Still, she didn’t race to her room to pack her bags and flee the ranch with Mandy. Maybe she was nuts.

By the time Tanya managed to drift out of the depths of slumberland and glance at the bedside clock, she almost felt rested. The last couple of days had been long ones. Flying from California, and then driving from Denver. Plus there was all the stress in her life. Especially about this new job.

New job! Tanya shot up in bed, heart racing. Good golly, Molly! This was Monday. The first day for that new job. Another glance at the clock and the time finally registered in her foggy brain: 9:30 a.m.
Oh no!
Late. On her first day.

She nearly fell out of bed from being tangled so much in the sheets. The instant her feet hit the carpeted floor, she raced from the bedroom, fully intending on demanding to know why Mandy hadn’t awakened her earlier. A genuine morning person, Mandy was always the first one up whenever she stayed with her. She always had coffee brewing by the time Tanya strolled into the kitchen like a zombie.

Tanya sniffed the air. No coffee smell. The house was silent, too. Mandy always had the radio on and turned to country music, something which Tanya hadn’t quite gotten her mind wrapped around yet.

Then she froze in the middle of the small living room and realized that Mandy was already gone. Tanya’s slowly functioning brain was just absorbing the idea when someone knocked on the front door.