The Reluctant Rancher (8 page)

With a determination borne of years of experience, he clam
ped down hard on such thoughts. “
What has my grandfather been up to now?
”

“
His blood pressure is up.
 
Dr. McAllister is concerned.
”

“
What?
”
Luke growled.
 
“
Why didn’t he tell me?
”

Mary finished and rose to her f
eet.
“
He didn’t want you to worry.
”

Luke strode across the room, away from the temptation of Mary.
 
Retrieving a clean shirt from a chest of drawers, he fumbled to button it.

“
Here, let me help.
”
 
Her smaller hands moved his larger, clumsy ones aside.

“
Is it serious?
”
He breathed in the clean, d
e
wy scent of her skin.

“
What?
”
She started as if she had been lost deep in thought.
 
But he knew that couldn’t be the case.
 
Mary certainly wasn’t standing in his room mooning over the likes of him.
 
He was no woman’s gift from God.
 
Outside of his looks, which would never win him a beauty contest, he’d grown too rough, too set in his ways to cause a woman’s heart to pound with desire.
 
He knew his value to women and it came through his wallet, not his flesh.

“
Grandpa.
 
Is his blood pressure a problem?
”

Mary shook her head. “
Not right now.
 
But it could be.
 
I think he needs to see the doctor before his next scheduled checkup.
”

“
Set up a time, and I’ll take you.
”
 
Against his will, he lifted his hand, following the flow of her hair across the crown of her head, the nape of her neck and down the curve of her spine.
“
You should wear it down more often.
 
It suits you.
”

“
Thank you.
”
 
This time she smiled at his compliment and he allowed himself his own small grin.
 
Apparently he’d gotten throu
gh her stubborn skin after all.

His finger traced the line of her jaw.
 
“
You’re welcome.
 
I’m fine now, Mary.
 
Thanks for the help.
”

He pulled away and fastened
his shirt.
A man could only stand so much torment.
 
And being next to Mary was the sweetest kind of torment known to man.

CHAPTER FOUR

“She a mighty fine figure of a woman, boss.
”
Hawk
pointed
to Mary as she walk
ed out of the bunkhouse kitchen almost a week later.
Luke lifted his head from
un
saddling Lucifer and gave the other man a quelling look.
Hadn’t he said pretty much the same words
to Mary the day she’d bandaged his arm and received a taunted
barb in return for his trouble?
 
He wondered how she would react to his crusty foreman saying them now.
 
Probably smile and give the old coot a kiss.

Of course his withering look didn’t phase Hawk.
 
The other man just smiled and continued to talk.
 
“
And it appears I’m not the only one around who thinks so.
”

Mary ha
d stopped at the corral talking
to the new man, Luther Johnson.

“
What’s Johnson doing here?
”
Luke demanded, his tone hard and flat.
 
He tightened the cinch, uncomfo
rtable with the stab of jealous
y he felt.

Hawk’s knowing gaze missed little as he answered.
 
“
All the hands are in the house pasture.
 
We got a late start this morning, remember?
”

“F
rom now on keep the men away from the house.
 
I don’t pay them to socialize.
 
I pay them to work.
”
 
He walked out of the barn and headed for the corral.
By the time he reached the couple, that stab of jealousy became a raw, open wound. “G
et going, Johnson.
 
The other men are ready to leave.
”

“
So they are boss.
”
 
The man straightened
,
insolence
palpable
in each movement of his body as he pushed back the brim of his hat.
 
It took every ounce of Luke’s iron control not to
flatten the man where he stood. He stared
at Mary like a thirsty man looking at a long, cool drink of water.

“
See you later, honey.
”
 
The cowboy smiled, revealing slightly crooked teeth as his gaze raked over Mary one last time.

Luke saw the
shudder that shook Mary’s frame as the man walked away
and
curse
d
.
 
“
What did he say to you?
”

“
Nothing much, just welcoming me to the ranch.
”

Luke couldn’t let it go, a surge of fierce protectiveness rushing through him.
 
He’d seen men like Johnson all his life, men who flirted with everything on two legs.
 
He knew a pretty face and a few sweet words could turn any woman’s head.
 
Even Mary’s.
 
And he didn’t like that thought.
 
Not one bit.

“
Are you sure?
 
If any of the hands give you trouble, tell me or Hawk and they’ll be dealt with.
”

“
Okay,
”
Mary smiled.
 
“
But I can handle the Johnsons of the world.
 
By the way, I made an appointment for your grandfather with the doctor in the morning.
”

Luke nodded.
“
Fine, I’ll take you to town myself.
 
What time?
”

“
Ten o’clock
.
”

“
Good, I don’t like the looks of this weather.
”
 
Dark storm clouds gathered in the east, a sure sign of rain.
 
“
The forecasters are calling for the temperature to drop and, if we get any precipitation, I’m afraid it’ll turn to freezing rain or even snow.
 
That should give us time to see what’s going to happen.
”

“
Surely it doesn’t snow in May?
”

“
Hell honey, I’ve seen it flurry in July.
 
Believe me, I’m ready for spring too.
”
 
The long, harsh days of winter were filled with the tedious task of feeding cattle which left a man’s mind free to think of ways to pass the equally long, lonely nights.
 
And since Mary had come to live at the Circle T, Luke’s mind had gone into overdrive, thinking of ways the two of them coul
d spend the hours from dusk til
l
dawn in the sweet, warm comfort of his bed.

“
Well, I guess I’d better going.
”

He heard the hesitation in her words
and it knocked at the fortress surrounding his own lonely heart.
 
This was the first conversation they’d had in days.
 
He’d avoided her ever since the day in his bedroom when she’d fixed his cuts
, grunting his way through supper and earning himself silent reprimands from his grandfather.

Luke settled his hat further down on his head, but didn’t move away either.
 
All at once he felt a deep, driving need to ease a little of both their pain.
 
What would it hurt to spend some time wi
th Mary?

“
What were you doing at the bunkhouse?
 
Giving away more of my chocolate chip cookies?
”
 
Since discovering his sweet tooth, Mary made sure
something was always around
.
 
He didn’t want to think about how she could satisfy his other carvings.

She threw him a look that reminded him of his grandmother when she’d caught him raiding
the cookie jar as a youngster. “
Yes I did, but there’s a batch cooling in the kitchen just for you, Mr. Tanner.
”

“
Just wanted to make sure you knew who signed your paycheck.
”
 
When her expression lost some of its shining luster, he cursed the slip of his tongue.
 
The last thing he wanted was to remind her of their arrangemen
t and why she was really here
.
 
“
The boys appreciate your efforts, Mary.
 
And so do I.
 
Did your mother teach you how to cook?
”

“No.
”
Mary turned to face him.
“
My mother wouldn’t know a chocolate chip from a peanut.
”

“
So where did you learn?
”

“H
ere and there.
 
Every time dad got a new assignment, we got a new cook and housekeeper.
 
One of the privileges of the rank and file.
Most weren’t adverse to teaching a pesky girl how to cook.
”

“
So your dad’s in the military?
”

“
Not anymore.
 
He retired a couple of years ago and moved Mom to
Florida
.
”

“
I bet you miss them.
”
 
Luke studied her from beneath the brim of his hat.

“
I do miss them.
 
But not the moving.
”

“
I guess you’re not the traveling kind.
”

“
No, I’m not.” She
watch
ed
as
two cowboys
led
the horses out of the barn and into the corral.
 
“
All I’ve ever wanted was a small piece of land and a big view.
 
It’s hard not having a room of your own or even a swing set in the backyard.
 
The way Daddy went from station to station, we didn’t know from one year to the next where we would be or what kind of house we would have.
 
I’m glad I didn’t say no when Jennifer asked me to visit after she moved here.
 
I love this place.
 
She’s an army brat too, you know.
 
That’s how we met.
”

“
Yeah, Mark mentioned that a time or two. If I recall, it took some convincing on his part before she agreed to move to Fiddler Creek.
”
 
Luke refused to let the wistfulness of her tone get to him.
 
Refused to think how it would be if he offered her a piece of his land, a piece of his soul
,
and all of his heart.

Just then Hawk came out, leading two pregnant mares.
 
“
Oh, would you look at them.
 
They’re so beautiful,
”
Mary exclaimed as she stepped on the first rung of the fence.
 
The m
ove pushed her breasts high
, giving him a perfect view of her body and making his hands itch to grasp the firm flesh hidden behind a long western style shirt.