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“What did you intend to do with a fifteen stall stable?”
“There are fifteen horses?” If she didn’t faint now, she would soon.
“Relax.” Jesse smirked. “There’s not quite that many now. So what happened? The truck wasn’t expensive enough for you? Had to jump in whole hog and buy a Texas ranch to appease your shopping urges?”
Miranda’s first thought was to slap him across the face. Thank heavens her good graces held her in check and she kept her hands where they were.
“Oh, get off your high horse. No pun intended there, cowboy.” Miranda recoiled. “You know nothing about me!”
“Don’t care to, either.”
“If you are so concerned about the welfare of these animals, then why don’t you take them with you?”
“And keep them where? My back pocket? Not a whole lot of room there, sugar.”
Miranda ignored his arrogance. “Mr. Jesse, certainly there must be some room for them at your ranch.”
“You sure don’t listen very well. This was my ranch!” Lines of frustration creased his forehead. “And my name’s Jesse Langtry, not Mr. Jesse.”
“Jesse’s your first name?” Miranda tried to hide her amusement. “Like Jesse James?”
“You got a problem with that, city slicker?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“City slicker!” Miranda found it harder and harder to keep calm. “Look, it’s obvious there’s been some sort of a mix-up here. Once I call my attorney, I’m sure I can straighten this all out. Maybe the previous owners would welcome their animals back. At no cost, of course.”
Jesse whipped off his Stetson, gazed skyward and laughed as he wiped the back of his roughhewn hand across his forehead.
“How generous of you. But it would be next to impossible.” His callousness faded as he continued. “They were killed in a car accident six months ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
It seemed Jonathan had neglected to tell her a lot of things about the ranch. Not that she’d asked him many questions. One look at the photos and she’d wanted to move as soon as possible. Now Miranda was desperate to get some clarification from her friend.
“They didn’t have any children, so the house went to Fran’s sister. Since she had no use for it, it went up for sale.” Jesse pulled his hat down low, shielding his eyes. “You and I both bid on it. I lost and you won the whole shootin’ match. I was only watching the place until the estate was settled.”
Miranda supported herself against the truck. A house was one thing, but animals? She had plans of starting a small business in town once she moved to Ramblewood. Only her ideas were more along the lines of a clothing boutique. This wasn’t what she expected at all.
From what she could see of his face, he was distraught over the loss of his friends and home. Miranda felt a small pang of guilt. While she wanted a place to call home and to start a family of her own, she didn’t want to destroy someone else’s life in order to get it.
She’d soften her tone with him and try to get on friendlier terms. “So what exactly does a ranch manager do?” If she was lucky, maybe she could even convince him to stay and help her for a few days, or until she figured out what was going on here.
“I oversaw the entire spread, as well as being the head trainer.”
“Trainer?” Miranda repeated.
“I train cutting horses.”
Miranda stared blankly at Jesse.
He rolled his eyes. “Cutting horses are used to move cattle around, among other things.”
“I see.” A scene from an old Western flashed through Miranda’s head. “I didn’t realize people still did that.”
“Sure they do.” He took a deep breath. “Listen, I have another job waiting for me in Abilene, but I’ll stay around for a bit and feed the livestock. I don’t work for free, and I’m not staying long. Just long enough for you to decide what to do with all of this.”
Bingo!
“Really? You’ll stay?” Miranda saw a slight glimmer of hope. “That would be great!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, I’m only here temporarily. What’s your name?”
“Miranda. Miranda Archer,” she said, eagerly holding out her hand.
He took her hand in his and turned her palm over once again. “It’s not too bad. The sting will go away in a few minutes.”
The gentleness of his touch sent her mind in the opposite direction of pain. Maybe I can find out if cowboys really do roll in the hay. Heat rose in her cheeks at the thought.
“Well, Miranda. Come on.” Jesse motioned to her. “We’ve got plenty of work to do.”
“Work?” Miranda glanced at the pile of her belongings packed into the truck. “I just got here. I haven’t even had a chance to see inside my house.”
She didn’t wait for a response. Miranda retrieved a few bags and headed up the porch stairs. Jesse bounded ahead of her.
“Not now.” He took the bags from her and dropped them on the porch. “Until you hire a new foreman you need to learn how to take care of these animals. Like I said, I’m not staying long.”
He couldn’t leave! What would she do?
“Show me around later.” Miranda shooed him away.
She really was desperate to see the house and wasn’t about to wait a minute longer. The house had played a major part in her move to Ramblewood. From the listing information the Realtor had emailed her, it had a great deal of charm and a homey quality. Ever since, Miranda pictured herself there, with a husband and a houseful of children. The fact it was a thousand miles away from Washington, D.C., was an added bonus.
“Let’s get a few things straight, Miranda. I’m not your personal tour guide.” Jesse took her arm and steered her down the stairs. “You can see the house on your own time. The sooner I show you what to do around here, the sooner I can be on my way.”
He walked ahead to the stable entrance and waited for her. Miranda was torn. It was probably wise to pacify the cowboy for the time being. After buying the house and the truck, she only had enough money left to tide her over for a year. She not only needed help with the ranch, she needed a friend in town. Not an enemy.
“Oh, well, I’m sure this won’t take long.”
Inside, the pungent smell of hay assaulted her senses, causing her to sneeze. Jesse took a pair of leather gloves from his back pocket and gave them to her. He grabbed another pair from a shelf and put them on as he walked to the last stall.
“Do you have sneakers or work boots to put on?” he asked. “What am I asking? You wouldn’t even know what work boots look like.”
Miranda narrowed her eyes at him. “What’s wrong with these?” She stuck out one foot, proud of her new red-and-turquoise leather cowboy boots. They sure were pretty.
“They haven’t even been broken in yet. Those are meant for riding, not walking. You’ll regret wearing them in five minutes flat.”
“I’ll be fine, thank you.” She pushed a few long strands of hair behind her ears as she strutted past him.
“Suit yourself.” Jesse unlatched the stall door and stepped in to stand beside a large gray horse. “Tell me. Do all rich city girls buy property without seeing it?”
Again with the insults?
“You don’t quit do you?” Miranda tried to think of the shortest way to explain her situation. “My best friend is from San Antonio and he thought the Hill Country would be a perfect place for me to start over.”
“What was so horrible you had to run away? I know! You ran out of places to shop.”
Miranda chastised herself. This was her one shot at a new beginning. The citizens of Ramblewood didn’t need to know what her life had been like before she arrived.
When she didn’t respond, Jesse laughed as he adjusted a harness over the horse’s head. He led the horse down the long corridor and outside, double-checking to make sure Miranda followed.
“Never walk close to the back end of a horse,” Jesse said over his shoulder. “It’s a surefire way to get kicked.”
Miranda quickened her steps to put the equine’s business end behind her.
“Surely I wasn’t the only one who could have outbid you. Why take this out on me?”
Jesse ignored her and turned the horse loose in the corral with the others. Miranda rested her arms on the top rail of the fence while he returned to the stables. Fresh, clean air filled her lungs. She couldn’t believe she was here, in Texas. On her land.
He reappeared with another horse. She fumbled with the latch as she tried to open the gate for him. With the flick of his thumb, Jesse swung it open, grinning at her.
Miranda closed the gate with Jesse still in the corral. He eyed her warily, stepped up on a fence rail and hopped over it, landing less than a foot in front of her. For a moment, Miranda thought he’d end up on top of her.
“You were the only other bidder,” he said as he headed inside.
Why would that be? If he didn’t want to expand on that information, she’d drag it out of him.
“There was no guarantee no one else would bid.” Miranda was on his heels when he turned to face her.
“Everyone in Ramblewood knew I wanted this place,” he snapped. “You don’t get it, do you? They all knew this was my ranch.”
Miranda held her ground. His intimidation tactics were not going to scare her this time.
“How was I supposed to know? And it’s not your ranch. It’s mine.”
“I deserved Double Trouble!” he shouted.
“And you’re about to get it if you shout at me one more time!”
Jesse flinched at her retort. This wasn’t quite how she imagined her first day in Texas. She figured she’d see her house, walk around the property, maybe drive into town and have a bite to eat. Anything but this.
“Some welcoming committee you are,” Miranda huffed.
“Sugar, if you’re looking for a warm welcome, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“To think, I drove all the way here for this. I’m starting to regret it.”
“Oh, goody.” Jesse clasped his hands together in mock glee. “Does that mean you’ll leave?”
“Not on your life.” Miranda didn’t appreciate his sarcasm. This was her home now. She wasn’t about to let some cowboy chase her away.
As she opened her mouth to tell him where he could go, a horse neighed from inside the stables. Her mouth snapped shut.
What was she thinking? She couldn’t send him away. He was the only one who could help her now. At least until Jonathan cleared up this mess.
From where she stood, the ranch seemed endless. It was a magnificent piece of land—the photographs hadn’t done it justice. There was a small cottage behind the house, nestled amongst dogwoods. From beyond the white pasture fencing, fields of wildflowers faded into a copse of trees. A couple of bungalows stood alongside a dirt road that ran through the pastures, toward the hills. The ranch seemed to roll with the landscape. She understood why Jesse was so protective of someone turning it into a housing development. The Hill Country was all she dreamed of and more.
Jesse stood beside her as he took in the same view. When Miranda turned to face him she noticed his features darkened by sadness. She found herself stumbling for words to comfort him in some small way.
“It really is beautiful here,” she said.
The wall between them needed to come down so they could work together. Miranda thought their mutual admiration for the land was a good start.
“Yes, it is. As long as you don’t ruin it.”
So much for that idea.
“Once again, I’m not going to ruin it. Give me a break, will you? I came here for some peace of mind.”
“Peace of mind? What’s been stressing you out, sugar?” Jesse eyed her top to bottom. “Your shopping sprees? Bet you’re still using Daddy’s credit cards to buy everything. You wouldn’t know the meaning of an honest day’s work if it bit you on the—”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t beg, sugar. It doesn’t become you. Now come on, we have work to do.”
Miranda went with him, willingly this time, toward the stables. He removed a wheelbarrow and shovel from a storage room and pushed it toward her.
“Start with the first stall and work your way around. Shovel it completely out, down to the floor. Old bedding goes in the large green container out back for composting. We use the last stall on the left to store fresh bedding. Open five bags in the stall and spread it around till you have about a two-inch depth. I’ll check in on you later and show you how to wet the bedding to fluff it up. Good luck. You’ll need it.”
* * *
JESSE KEPT HIS LAUGHTER in check until he’d turned the last horse out in the corral. He’d never seen a woman so rip-roaring mad in all his life. After her hissy fit, she’d settled down and got to work mucking the stalls. She had to learn the ropes somehow.
He had to admit, even with all the aggravation she caused him, he sure did enjoy the sway of her hips when she walked and the way her hair fell free, to the middle of her back. She was a looker. There was no doubt about it.
Jesse knew the instant Miranda climbed from her truck, the name Double Trouble finally rung true. She was shapelier than a Coke bottle and had green eyes the color of spring leaves. A woman like her could only make a man’s life difficult. And she’d proven to be no exception so far.
Not only had he lost everything, he’d lost it to a beautiful blonde. But there was something different about her. She possessed such a deep self-confidence yet her face reflected a loneliness that reminded him of a child on the first day of a new school.
When Fran Carter’s sister put the ranch up for sale, Jesse was livid. He’d offered Caroline more than a fair price for the place. Nevertheless, she had been determined to get all she could for it.
It didn’t matter one iota that Fran and Ed Carter had spoken at great length about their intentions to sell Double Trouble to Jesse. They treated him like a son and Jesse considered himself blessed to have a second family. While the Carters enjoyed the ranch, the house had needed more and more repairs. They were tired and wanted a stress-free retirement in a smaller house near town. Then tragedy had struck.
Though Caroline had been devastated by her sister’s and brother-in-law’s deaths, when it came to the ranch all Caroline could see were dollar signs. From her Seattle home, she’d arranged the sale of the antiques and most of the furniture only two days after Fran’s funeral. Assuming the ranch would run itself she didn’t realize half of what Jesse brought in training horses was his to keep. Combined with the vet and feed bills, Double Trouble cut into her bottom line. Thanks to Jesse spreading the word around town not to buy the horses and cattle, she gave up and left them to the new owner.
After Jesse had forgone his father’s offer to work on his family’s ranch when he graduated high school, the Carters had hired him. Despite the fact he loved his family and respected his brothers’ decisions to work there, he didn’t want anything handed to him.
Bridle Dance was his great-grandfather’s legacy. And while he was proud of his family, Jesse wanted a legacy of his own. Now fifteen years later, he had to walk away from what he believed would have been his.
Just when he thought his time on Double Trouble was over, he had to contend with Miranda. The sight of her stepping out of that new truck made his blood boil. The woman didn’t know one end of a bull from the other. Now she owned his ranch. The last thing he wanted was to witness the destruction of the place he loved.
