The Cowboy Meets His Match

“Sollie, you rascal,” he said as he walked toward them, his mouth pulled down in a frown. He glanced at Erin, but his gaze didn’t linger. “Sorry he caused you the trouble of bringing him home. He knows better than to roam.”

She ran her hand down the dog’s back and patted his rump. “He’s a good dog. Smart, too.”

“Too smart sometimes. I guess I’ll have to tie him up when I’m working so he doesn’t bother you.”

“Oh, don’t do that!” She bit her lower lip, wishing she’d kept quiet. It wasn’t any of her business what he did with his dog. Besides, she wasn’t crazy about the idea of having to return Sollie after every visit. “He wasn’t bothering me,” she hurried to say. “I brought him back because I thought you’d wonder where he’d gone.”

“I had a pretty good idea.”

“What kind of dog is he?”

“He’s a bearded collie. Herding dog, both sheep and cattle. He’s pretty good at it.”

She nodded, not knowing what else to say. Wishing she had insisted her brothers return the dog themselves, she took a step back and realized she’d just met up with her past. If she’d thought there’d been too many memories at home, a single memory of one night here was even bigger than all of them.

“I guess I’ll be getting home,” she said, feeling uncomfortable.

“Hang on a minute.”

She slowed, then stopped and looked back at him. “Why?”

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged his hips and muscled thighs. No smile broke the serious expression on his face, when he said, “Because we need to talk.”

Her heart stopped beating and her throat tightened. The moment she’d realized he was back, she’d been afraid he would want to talk about the past. The words fight or flight flitted through her mind, but she was frozen to the spot.

* * *

JAKE SQUINTED INTO the morning sunshine, watching Erin closely. Her curly, dark blond hair had been captured in a braid, but pieces of it had escaped around her face, and the sun behind her caused a halo effect.

This was the first chance he’d had to get a good look at her. The day before, the tree at the pond had cast shadows on her sleeping form—if she’d actually been asleep. And the tavern last night hadn’t provided the best lighting, either. But now he didn’t miss how pale she’d become when he’d mentioned they needed to talk.

He knew he’d hurt her in the past, but he’d hoped that time might have taken care of that. He’d been young, although not as young as she’d been, and he hadn’t had a choice. Sooner or later she would have gotten hurt, and he’d believed at the time that sooner would be better.

He wasn’t some kind of ogre, out to break her heart again. He really did need the help that she was more than qualified to give. And he suspected she could use the money. He could help her with that, and in turn she would be helping him. Sleep had evaded him for most of the night, as he’d thought about his long-ago dream of them working side by side at a ranch. It could come true now. Even if it was only as employer-employee, it would be something.

But he also knew he had to tread carefully. “I apologize for Sollie causing trouble. If it happens again, give me a call, and I’ll pick him up.”

She avoided looking directly at him. “It’s not a problem. I—I don’t get enough exercise as it is, so he did me a favor.”

Sollie had done them both a favor by getting her on his territory. Now he had the advantage. “Not exactly the kind of exercise you’re used to, but it’s always good to stay active.”

She nodded, shifting from one foot to the other. “The boys talked me into coming home more often, and here I am.”

He knew she meant her brothers. The Walkers had always been a close family. “How long do you plan to stay?”

“I haven’t decided.”

It was his turn to nod, and he thought hard about what he could say next that would keep her there long enough for him to repeat his job offer. She might turn it down again, but if he could calm her nerves first, she just might consider it.

Then he remembered what Luke had said about her horse. “What happened to Firewind?”

She lowered her head. “He had to be put down.”

Jake felt a heaviness in his chest. He could only imagine what that had done to her. She’d loved that horse. The two of them had won events across the country. He still remembered the day she’d gotten him for her fourteenth birthday.

“I’m sorry, Erin. I know how much he meant to you. Was he sick?”

Without looking up, she shook her head. “Just old. Tired and worn out. Putting him down was the kindest and best thing to do for him.”

Every cell in his body urged him to take the few steps needed to pull her into his arms and comfort her. But he knew it would be wrong. Instead, he simply said, “It’s a hard thing to do.”

Slowly lifting her head, she met his gaze. “I’ve been training another horse. It’s slow going, though.” She breathed a tired sigh. “We haven’t connected the way Firewind and I did.”

“It can take time. Do you miss him?”

A sad smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “Every day.”

She’d relaxed some, but he wasn’t quite ready to bring up the job yet. “You always had a good eye when it came to horses.”

Looking down again, she shrugged, as if the praise embarrassed her. “Maybe. But I must’ve misjudged with Lord MacDuff.”

Jake chuckled at the name. “Do you call him Lord or Your Grace?”

She glanced at him, wrinkling her nose. “Neither. It’s MacDuff, and His Grace is questionable.”

So she’d taken a break because her horse didn’t respond the way she needed it to. That would have made sense to him, if she had been anyone else. When it came to animals, Erin had a gift that few people possessed. Sollie had obviously taken to her immediately, and he wasn’t always that way with strangers. Horses, though, had always been her specialty. Maybe she’d misjudged this new horse because she’d been mourning Firewind, and that had brought on a lack of belief in herself.

Would working with other horses help? He was willing to let her try...if she was. “Have you worked with other horses?”

She tilted her head to one side. “Since Firewind?” she asked, and he nodded. “Some.”

“How did it go?”

“Good.”

Hope sank its hooks into him, and he had to hold back a smile. “No problems? They responded to you well?”

“Yes, very well, in fact.”

“Maybe working with a few more horses would give you some distance and then working with MacDuff would go better.” He waited, watching her press her lips together.

“I suppose it could,” she finally said. “But—”

“I have plenty of horses here you could work with. In fact, the ranch needs someone like you.” He’d made sure he hadn’t said that he needed her. “With your talent...”

He knew the instant she realized what he was doing and was certain he’d blown his chance.

She tugged at her ear as if weighing the pros and cons of working for him, then looked him square in the eye. “You pay pretty well, right?”

He searched for the right words, knowing he couldn’t push. “No one’s complained.”

“Cutting horses and roping?”

His heart beat faster. This might work, after all. “Yeah.”

“You’re offering me a job. Again.”

Hoping he didn’t sound desperate, he answered, “I am.”

Seconds that seemed like hours ticked by as a range of emotions moved across her face. Indecision, apprehension and then capitulation. “All right,” she said. “I’ll take it.”

He looked down, fighting a smile of victory. When he had it under control, he looked up. “You’re sure?”

She locked her gaze with his, determination turning her blue-green eyes darker. “I’m sure.”

Nodding, he allowed a small smile. “Welcome to the team, then. When can you start?”

“Whenever you want me.”

His imagination ran wild, but he kept a straight face. “Is that so?”

She seemed to be fighting a snappy comeback and then sobered. “There’s just one thing.”

“What’s that?” he asked, shoving lusty images from his mind.

“Treat me the same as you do the other wranglers.”

This time, he didn’t try to hide his smile. “You mean we shouldn’t be intimate friends?”

She drew herself up and looked him in the eye. “Don’t start, Jake, or I’m gone.”

Ready to agree to just about anything, he dipped his head in a quick nod. “Whatever you say.”

After telling Sollie goodbye, while pointedly avoiding making eye contact with Jake, she turned for home.

“Monday morning, eight o’clock,” he called to her. “And don’t be late.”

She waved a hand without looking back and kept going.

He watched her, hardly believing she’d accepted. He’d won. But how long would his victory last? Only time would tell, and he had plenty of that.

Chapter Three

Erin’s boots felt as if they were filled with cement as she walked across the neighboring pastures to the Morris ranch. Or the Canfield ranch, she corrected, since it now belonged to Jake, Carl Morris’s nephew. By Saturday night, after she’d told Jake she would work for him, she’d come to the conclusion that she’d made a dangerous error by accepting the job he’d offered her. Sunday found her feeling fifty-fifty about it, with half her time spent reminding herself that she hadn’t found work anywhere else and this was the best she could do for the time being. The other half had been spent wondering if she’d lost her mind. By this morning, when her alarm went off, she’d come to the point of not caring. She had a job. One she might even enjoy, in spite of her employer.

Now that she was halfway to the ranch, her nerves had stretched as tight as a size eight girdle on an elephant. She was crazy. Work for Jake? He’d always been her biggest weakness. She’d thought she’d outgrown that, but apparently she hadn’t. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t stop her from doing the best job she could, if only to prove to Jake that she was even better than he thought.

As she approached the ranch, she could see the other cowboys arriving. What would they think of working with a woman? Her apprehension grew with each step she took, until she found herself at the edge of the largest of the corrals, behind an obviously new barn. To the right of it was the sprawling two-story house with the wraparound porch, where Jake had spent his summers. Without thinking, her gaze moved beyond it to the big gambrel-roof barn that held the memory she’d put behind her. Or tried to. Everything that happened after that, except the accident that had taken her parents’ lives, had been affected by the decision she’d made that night he’d come back from college.

She took a deep breath and looked away to see several smaller, new corrals encircling the large ranch yard—strong indications that he planned to stay. If she gained nothing else from this crazy need to prove she could be strong and face down anything thrown at her—including working for Jake—at least she would earn the money she needed. He obviously had plenty.

Lost in her thoughts, she nearly jumped out of her boots when she heard him say her name. Slapping her hand over her suddenly racing heart, she spun around to find him standing only a few feet away.

“You made it,” he said, a hint of surprise in his gray eyes.

Proof, she thought, that he’d expected she wouldn’t show up. “Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

“No reason.”

He looked her over from top to bottom and back again, sending a warm flush through her, until her clenched teeth made her jaw ache. No one could affect her the way Jake did, and she wished he would stop.

“Come meet the others,” he said, turning around and leaving her to cool down and collect her wits.

She nearly had to run to keep up with his long strides. Ahead of them, she saw the other ranch hands greeting each other. “Is this all of us?” she asked. “Three men and me?”

“For now, it is. I could use one more. Maybe two,” he answered. “As the ranch grows, so will the crew.”

Impressed, she had to smile. “That business degree is paying off.”

They’d almost reached the others when he stopped and looked down at her. “There’s no degree.”

When he moved on, she stumbled as she hurried to catch up with him, her mind stuttering on what he’d said. “Why not?” she asked, curious why he hadn’t finished the college degree he’d seemed to want so badly. Badly enough to leave her behind.

“Why not what?” he asked, keeping his attention straight ahead.

“Why don’t you have that degree?”

Several steps later, he answered. “I quit school in the second semester of my sophomore year.”

This time she didn’t stumble. She came to a stop, unable to take another step. He quit school? But before she could say it aloud, he’d joined the others and stood waiting for her.

“Erin, these are your coworkers. That’s Bobby Ray,” Jake said, pointing to a tall, lean, forty-something cowboy, who tipped the brim of his hat with his finger.

“Ma’am,” he drawled.

“Hello, Bobby Ray.”

Jake barely gave her a glance, his focus on his employees. “That over there’s Gary. We’ve worked together for several years. And this here’s Kelly, our most recent employee.”

And the youngest, she thought. Mid-twenties, she guessed when Kelly smiled at her. Gary was close to Jake’s age, in his mid-thirties, with light blue eyes framed by deep crinkles at the corners.

“This is Erin Walker, boys,” Jake finished. “And before you think there isn’t a whole lot to her, I can assure you she not only knows what she’s doing, she’s a lot tougher than she looks.”

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Erin said, looking at each of them.

Before any of them spoke, Jake issued duties for the morning. The men hurried off to do their work, and he turned back to her. “Think you can handle it?”

“I don’t see why not.” None of the other hands had made her feel out of place, although she sensed they weren’t sure what to think of her. Not a new reaction. She’d lived most of her life in a man’s world, and it happened regularly. “I’m pretty sure that if you hired them, they know what they’re doing.”

“They do,” he answered.

“So what’s my job? What is it, exactly, that I’ve been hired to do?”

“We’ll talk about that later. After you’ve had a chance to see the operation, we can decide. Until then, why don’t you go observe each of them? You have a good eye, and I’d be interested to hear what you think.”

She noticed he’d said “we can decide” instead of “I will decide” and was surprised. Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t be. When they were growing up, he’d always shown interest in her riding and had constantly asked her and her brothers questions about horses, livestock and ranching in general.

“I can do that,” she answered, only a little nervous that she would be observing, not working, at least for now. “In the meantime, I look forward to getting to know my fellow employees.”

That brought a smile from him. “Just treating you like the others.”

“Thanks.”

He moved away, and then stopped. “If you have any questions, let me know. I have some other things to take care of, but I’ll be around.”

When he headed in the direction of the big barn where she’d seen Kelly disappear, she blew out a breath. So far, so good.

For the next few hours, she watched the other wranglers, making mental notes of how they handled the animals and of their strengths and weaknesses. What that had to do with the job she would be assigned, she didn’t know. But she guessed Jake would tell her before the day ended.

Leaning against the corral fence, she felt someone walk up behind her and she turned to see the object of her thoughts.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Good. Not that I know why I’m doing it, but you’re the boss.”

“You always were a fast learner.”

No way would she answer that. She couldn’t be sure what he was referring to, but it was better that she didn’t try to guess.

He must have picked up on what she was thinking, because she caught a ghost of a smile on his lips before he spoke. “What do you think of them?”

“As a whole?”

“Yeah.”

“They seem to get along with each other,” she said. “There aren’t any slackers, so nobody is forced to do anyone else’s job. They each do their own thing, but they seem friendly toward each other. It’s a good group, at least from what I’ve seen.”

“And individually?”

She didn’t know how to answer. “Do you want an honest assessment?”

“Nothing but.”

Nodding, she glanced around the big ranch yard, where the men continued working with the livestock and focused on what they were doing, not on Jake. “Bobby Ray is good. It’s easy to see that he has a lot of experience. But I also see a little weakness in his roping.”

“All right. Go on.”

“Gary seems to know what he’s doing and is doing it right. At least that’s my observation.”

“I expect that.”

He wasn’t giving her much to go on, but she continued. “I didn’t see much of Kelly.”

“Kelly’s helping me with some updates in the barn.”

“Have you given any thought to hiring a few high school boys to help with those kinds of things?”

“No, I haven’t. Should I?”

He was being far too reasonable and it made her nervous. “Glory hired a few last year to help with work on the house.”

“I’ll think about it.”

She waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, she looked up at him. It was the wrong thing to do. He was watching her closely, his eyes smoky and half-lidded. She knew that look all too well. It had always made her feel as if her bones were turning to liquid. It still did.

She needed to get away, have a little time to herself. Thirty minutes. An hour, at the most. But how?

He blinked, clearing his eyes, and stepped back. “Lunch is at noon.”

Her knees weakened at the reprieve. “I’ll go home for that,” she answered, with effort. “What time do I need to be back?”

“We all go to the café. Together.”

So much for getting a little time to herself to put some space between them. But she’d insisted on being treated as one of them, so she couldn’t complain now.

* * *

JAKE STUDIED THE ice in his glass of tea, wondering if he’d done the right thing by hiring Erin.

The five of them were nearly finished with their lunch at the Chick-a-Lick Café. He’d noticed immediately when Erin chose the seat farthest away from him. She’d even insisted on sitting in the backseat of his crew cab pickup on the way into town. He reminded himself that this was only the first day. There would be plenty of time to fix things between them.

He heard her laugh and moved his chair a little more to the left, hoping to get a better view of her. As he did, Darla, their waitress and the café manager, placed the bill next to him. He looked up with a smile. “Great meal, as always, Darla,” he told her.

“Thanks, Jake,” she replied, and then turned to look down the table. “It’s good to see you again, Erin,” she said with a friendly smile. “You probably don’t remember me. I was finishing eighth grade when you graduated from high school.”

“Of course I remember you,” Erin answered. “You have three brothers. Patrick was in my class.”

Darla’s smile widened. “Yes, he was.”

“What’s he doing?”

“He moved to the city. He’s a doctor. My mother is thrilled.”

Erin laughed, and Jake wished she would laugh at something he said. She’d spent the morning staying out of his range, and he’d played it smart by keeping his distance, as much as possible.

“Eat up, boys,” he said, purposely not mentioning Erin’s name. After all, she wanted to be treated like them. “We need to be getting back soon.”

“Well, I’ll be danged!”

Jake looked down the table at Bobby Ray, sitting across the table from Erin and staring at her.

“I knew there was something about you,” Bobby Ray continued, “but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It just came to me like a lightning bolt. You’re Erin Walker.”

Putting her glass aside, she leaned back and crossed her arms, her face calm and straight. “That’s my name.”

Bobby Ray glanced at Jake, who smiled. He had an idea where this was going and knew it would be interesting.

Shaking his head, Bobby Ray leaned forward. “No. I mean yes, you are, but I mean the Erin Walker, the barrel racer. I’ve seen you compete.”

She didn’t say anything at first, then spoke directly to him. “Did you rodeo, Bobby Ray?”

His nod was short and quick. “I did, back in the day. Team roping. By the time I really got the hang of it, the younger cowboys were catching up. I decided it must not be for me.”

“He’s not being honest,” Jake said, from his end of the table. “He and his partner won several competitions.”

Bobby Ray shook his head. “Not enough to keep me in it. It’s a tough life. And an expensive one, if you aren’t on the winning side more than the losing.”

Erin didn’t respond at first, leaving Jake to wonder what was going through her head.

“It takes more than talent,” she finally said, giving Bobby Ray a smile Jake wished she’d bestowed on him.

“Well, you’ve got that, for sure,” the wrangler answered.

“What’s it like, Erin?” Kelly asked. “Traveling around the country.”

She gave a little one-shouldered shrug. “It’s like living life as a gypsy. Sometimes exciting. Sometimes just a lot of driving. This is such a beautiful country, and I’ve been lucky to see so much of it. But the rodeo circuit, like everything else, has its ups and downs, pros and cons.”

Jake had never thought her life had been easy, but this was the first time, except for when she’d talked about Firewind, that he’d caught a note of loneliness in her voice. Most of the time it was spit and fire. The years had changed her, at least a little.

Standing, he announced, “We’d better be getting back.”

The others started moving, and while he walked on to the cash register, they left the café. When he finished paying the bill, he found them waiting on the sidewalk in front of his truck and joined them.

“Maybe Erin should sit in front, this time,” Gary said, opening the front passenger door.

“I’m fine in the back,” she answered quickly. “You and Jake need the extra leg room.”

“Less crowded with you in the front,” Jake pointed out.

“Maybe another time,” she said, without looking at him.

His gaze lingered on her for a moment, and then he walked around the front of the truck and climbed in. “Let’s get a move on, boys.”

They’d reached the outskirts of town when Bobby Ray leaned forward. “Were you going to look into that cattle sale down in Wichita Falls?”

“I plan to,” Jake answered.

“I hear they’ll have some nice horses, too.”

“It’s two weeks away, so I’ll check into that more closely before I go. Can’t have too many horses,” Jake said, and glanced in the rearview mirror. Erin didn’t seem to hear him as she stared out the window. If only he knew what she was thinking. Or maybe it was best that he didn’t.

The rest of the ride back to the ranch remained quiet. As he turned the truck into the ranch yard, he tried to think of something he could have Erin do that would keep her nearby.

He’d just gotten out of the truck and closed the door, when he saw her catching up with Bobby Ray, heading for the large corral. The nearly windless day helped carry her voice, so he watched and listened.

“I noticed you were having a little trouble this morning, Bobby Ray,” she said, matching his stride.

“Slow reaction speed,” he answered.

“I think we can fix that.”

He turned his head to look at her. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. Would you mind if I gave you a few tips? I learned a lot doing ranch work during breaks.”

He stopped, still looking at her, and Jake waited. Bobby Ray was a good ol’ boy, and Jake wasn’t sure how the cowboy might take her offer.

“You’d do that?” Bobby Ray asked.