The Reluctant Rancher (6 page)

“
If you’re so fit, then why do you need me here?
”
She
knew
he could have serious problems if he didn’t take some remedial action now.

“
Now don’t be thinking I don’t need you, Mary. I really do. You can show me what I can and can’t eat and make sure I take my medications on time. My cast sho
uld b
e ready to come off in a few more
weeks. You might even need to help me with my therapy afterwards. Say you’ll stay until then. Please?
”
He looked at her pitifully
.

“
Alright. But I want to do something else besides be
ing
at your beck and call and doing a little cooking.
”
Still smarting over Luke’s challenge of doing housework, she continued.
“
Luke said you were taking care o
f the house before the fall. Didn
’t you have a cleaning lady?
”
Mary hated to admit to the curiosity burning inside about the other people in Luke’s life. Especially if there just happened to
be
a woman
somewhere in the mix
.

The old man shook his head.
“
It’s just us, bachelor number one and bachelor number two. As you can see, we tend to neglect this old house. You should have seen it in my mother’s day and before
my
Emma passed away. The floors shone and the windows sparkled.
”
Joseph’s eyes took on a faraway expression.

“
I can’t promise to be Ms. Suzy Homemaker,
”
Mary cautioned, her heart aching in sy
mpathy for the older man’s loss,
“
b
ut I can wield a mean broom and mop when I take a notion.
”

Joseph
rose and placed
his dirty dishes in the big stainless steel sink.
“
That would be fine, Mary. But we didn’t hire you to be a scullery maid. Tell me what you want to do and I’ll get one the ranch hand’s wives to help you with the heavy stuff like I did for Emma. In the meantime, I’ll give you the nickel tour.
”

Even though she’d been dying of curiosity, Mary had so far confined herself to her bedroom and the gener
al living areas. Joseph and Mary usually retired at the same time each night. She hadn’t wanted to be intrusive and spent the early evening hours
in her room, restless and lonely. She now knew the bed creaked, dust bunnies multiplied in the corner
,
and the faucet in the
connecting bathroom leaked.

“
Don’t you mean the ten cent tour?
”

“
Nah, things are a lot cheaper out here, honey.
”
They both laughed at hi
s corny joke as he
allowed her to precede him from the room
.

The first door on the right at the top of the stairs housed the master bedroom. Luke’s room. Mary entered it slowly. This room, hidden behind its solid oak door, held the deepest fascination for her. She sighed as she scanned the spacious room, hoping to catch a more revealing glimpse of the man she now called boss. But no photographs or personal items cluttered the surfaces. As if reading her thoughts, Joseph spoke.

“
Emma and I had many good years in this room but the memories were just too strong for me. I finally convinced Luke to
move in here
about a year ago
. H
e hasn’t done much with it I’m afraid to say.
”

Mary
straightened
the covers on the king-sized bed.
“
You mean he didn’t use this room during his marriage?
”

“
No,
”
Joseph shook his head.
“
He didn’t feel right usurping me. And quite frankly, I didn’t like the girl so I didn’t push the issue. If they had stayed together, I would have gladly moved
to another room
.
”

Mary felt her heart pound. She didn’t want to hear all the intimate details of Luke’s marriage. And yet she did. Did a failed marriage lie at the root of his black moods?

After helping her straighten the bed, Joseph motioned for her to open the door at the other side of the room. Mary walked in and lost her heart. Love seeped from all four corners of the surprising
ly
large space. The walls, painted a pale yellow, provided the perfect contrast for a large mural of snow-white bunnies frolicking in an enchanted forest. A thick layer of dust covered the crib, rocker
,
and changing table, but the beauty of the antique furniture had not dimmed with time.

“
This room
hasn’t been used since Luke was
a baby,
”
Joseph said, a look of sadness in his eyes.
“
Emma saved all of his things. They’re stored in the attic but I don’t think my grandson will ever have any use for them. I’ve told him I’d like to see a great-grandchild or two before I go, but the most important thing to Luke right now is the Circle T. The Tanner land.
”
Joseph sighed and Mary could sense something troubled her patient.

“
Is that wrong?
”
she questioned.
“
I would think you’d be glad Luke showed
such
an interest in running the ranch.
”

“
Oh, I am,
”
Joseph hastened to reassure her.
“
It’s just that he hasn’t found the true spirit of the land yet.
”

Mary couldn’t help but ask.
“
The true spirit?
”

Joseph looked her straight in the eye, the faded green reminding her so much of Luke’s.
“
It all means nothing –
the la
nd, the wealth, the success –
unless you have someone to share it with.
”

“
I’m sure Luke will get married again when the time is right.
”

Mary’s heart beat a frantic tattoo against her ribs at the thought of Luke marrying. At the thought of Luke marrying her.

That brought her up short. When had her feelings changed from a slight crush to
a
full blown obsession? When you saw just how sexy and appealing he was up close and personal the l
ittle voice inside her taunted.

For her own sanity she decided to change the subject.
“
Where are Luke’s parents now? Does he have any brothers and sisters who could use these lovely things?
”
H
er fingers caress
ed
the smooth surface of the dresser.

“
Luke is an only child. His parents didn’t have the most ideal marriage. They married too young. By the time he turned eighteen my son, Wayne, had decided he didn’t want to be a rancher and headed off to college where he met Luke’s mother, Madeline. They were the perfect pair, both selfish to the bone. Ten months later they had Luke. Six months after that,
Wayne
knocked on our door saying they couldn’t handle raising a child. Emma and I filed for custody and brought Luke up as our own.
”
Joseph shook his head sadly, lost in his memories.

“
Where are Luke’s parents now?
”
No one, not even the most die-hard gossips in town, had ever mentioned the missing Tanners.

Joseph fingered the warm wood of the cradle.
“
They’re both dead. They died in a car crash soo
n after Luke turned three. They ha
d moved to the city and were living the high life on the trust fund I’d set up for
Wayne
when he was a child.
”

Mary didn’t know what to say and Joseph had apparently decided he’d said enough.
“
Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the house.
”

CHAPTER THREE

Luke rode hard and fast to the south pasture trying to make up for lost time.
 
He should have been out on the range an hour ago.
 
With a muttered expletive, he jammed his hat down tight as the wind threatened to tear it off.

What had possessed him to touch her?
 
Just five minutes in Mary’s presence and he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
 
Who was he trying to kid?
 
Just waiting for her to come downstairs had made
anticipation build
like a child on Christmas mo
rning.

He’d thought the slow, sensual heat he’d felt when she’d first appeared on his front doorstep had been a fluke, but apparently it had merely disguised a raging brushfire. When he touched her, his whole body responded.
 
Heaven knew he hadn’t felt any type of sexual desire for a woman in more than two years.
 
Not even with the young and
forward
groupies who followed the rodeo circuit and hung out at the stockyard sales.
 
Like the ones in
Newport
who had made it perfectly clear they would be willing to help him pass the dark lonely nights.
 
He hadn’t joined up with any of the women, though.
 
Instead he’d spent his free time holed up in his hotel room, watching re-runs of Gunsmoke and thinking of Mary.
 
Something he had to stop doing.
 
And soon.

He reined Lucifer in and let his eyes take in his surroundings.
He’d spent the whole of his thirty-eight years making the Circle T the most successful cattle operation around, building upon what his great-grandfather and grandfather had started.
 
A few lucky breaks and some shrewd investments on Wall Street had ensured the future of the ranch well into the next millennium.

Tanner land.
 
Land passed down from generation to generation.
 
The land was his life.
 
The land never left you, never betrayed you.
 
It was the one constant, never changing fact of life a man could depend on.
 
Something even the most cynical and barren of heart could believe in.
 
It gave you everything and asked nothing in return.

“
Hello, boss.
”
H
is foreman, a grizzled old cowhand, greeted him
as he swung gracefully from his horse.

The closed expression on Luke’s face did not daunt the older man.
 
He had been foreman on the Circle T for too many years.
 
First for Joseph and now Luke.
 
Very little
escaped the tall, silent man
.

“
Good morning, Hawk.
 
Anything new I should be aware of?
”

“
We’ve got some cattle lost in the lower pastures according to the new guy, Johnson.
 
I thought I’d send a couple of men out to round them up while we finish up here.

Luke knelt near a bundle of posts that needed to be separated.
 
The hands spent the cold winter days repairing the broken down fences in preparation of the spring roundup which was almost upon them.
 
“
How are the new guys doing?
”

“
Okay, I guess.
”
 
Hawk’s bronze features twisted into a frown.
 
”
One of ‘em comes with good recommendations from the Bar M.
 
He’s a good family man who’s had a run of bad luck.
 
But the other guy, Johnson, I’m not so sure about.
 
Some of the men have complained
that
he has a loud mouth and a mean temper.
”

Luke immediately thought of another sassy individual who had invaded his life but quickly pulled his wayward thoughts from Mary and concentrated on his foreman’s report.

“
We’re short-handed so I guess we can’t be too choosy,
”
Hawk continued.
 
“
Dang it, I wish those other fellers hadn’t quit.
”
 
He slapped his sweat stained hat against his thigh, the large gray Stetson showing other marks of his frequent abuse.