by Karen Rock
He shrugged, his back teeth clamped together. She’d called him a good boy before, something he’d labored to be all his life. But what if he didn’t want to be so good all the time? Jewel’s smug smile, her stupid scorekeeping game, and his urge to even it up tomorrow and prove he was the better range boss added an extra beat to his heart.
“So, how’s the ranch treating you these days?” Sam waved over Matthew, who added a dollop of creamy dressing to Sam’s salad before setting the silver carafe on the table.
“Good.” Heath helped himself to a dinner roll, broke it in half, and slathered it with butter.
“Can’t say I’m complaining about the weather. I haven’t had to spray-tan in weeks.” Darla shook her head at the approaching server and poured herself a generous glass of red wine.
“Mama, the doctor said no more sun after your skin cancer.” Kelsey speared a lettuce leaf and lifted it to her mouth. “Why just this morning, while I was volunteering at the free clinic, the doctor diagnosed a malignant melanoma.”
Darla waved her off and downed more wine.
Kelsey dropped her fork, grabbed her mother’s glass and placed it out of reach. Admiration swelled. Growing up, they’d bonded over their experiences with alcoholic mothers and the toll they took, a battle Kelsey continued to wage. “Besides, you don’t want to get ugly freckles, do you, Ma?”
Heath pictured Jewel’s red face earlier. With every bit of her skin colored in, she’d resembled a tomato...or maybe an apple since her face was heart-shaped with a pointed chin she sure liked jerking at him.
Kelsey stopped nibbling on her salad. “Now why are you smiling again, Heath?”
Heat blazed up his neck. It was none of her business. He’d lost his dreams, but he’d keep his own counsel. “No reason.”
“People who are getting married shouldn’t have secrets from each other.” She speared a cucumber slice with her fork and pointed it at him.
“Simmer down, Dew Drop.” Sam’s blunt features twisted wryly. “All the Lovelands keep to themselves.”
“They’re tight-lipped—” Darla lifted her napkin to her mouth “—cowboys,” she finished with a hiccup.
“Heath isn’t like them.” Kelsey signaled Matthew to grind more pepper over her salad. “He’s more refined.”
Heath made a point of flicking crumbs from his navy shirt. Kelsey mouthed “stop” at him, a line forming between her brows.
Sam’s fork chased a cherry tomato around his salad plate. “Let’s hope he’s a better businessman.”
Heath stiffened at the insult. “My family’s run Loveland Hills for over 130 years,” he fired back, his voice hard. Despite the hardship Jewel’s family had imposed, the Lovelands intended to run the ranch for 130 more years, with or without their water rights restored.
Sam lifted his white napkin and waved it like a flag. “No offense meant. But ranching is a whole lot different from running a business empire like mine.” He dropped the cloth, shoveled a tomato in his mouth and chewed before he continued. “Will you be ready to take over when I retire next year? I’ll be giving it to you once you and Kelsey are married.”
“What about Kelsey? She’s got quite a head for business.” Heath caught the brief flash of surprised pleasure in Kelsey’s eyes before they dropped to her plate. As long as he’d known her, she’d worked in her father’s offices when she wasn’t volunteering or in school. She’d started as an assistant, insistent on an entry-level position to learn the business from the ground up, and gradually worked her way to project manager.
Sam flicked his hand sideways, dismissive. “Dew Drop can keep her job, of course. But we need someone in charge who’ll be taken seriously. Command authority.”
Heath poured more dressing on his salad. “I take your daughter’s talent quite seriously.”
Kelsey’s knee bumped his beneath the table, and he caught her half smile from the corner of his eye.
Her father harrumphed. “This is a man’s business. Don’t get me wrong, Dew Drop’s got a good head on her shoulders, but I need someone with cattle ranching knowledge and know-how. A strong leader the company will follow.”
Heath chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “I’d never expect Kelsey to follow me.”
Sam goggled at him, then turned to his wife. “Did you hear that?”
“It’s this generation, Sam.” She poured the rest of the wine into her empty water glass and made a face at a frowning Kelsey. “Equal sex or something.”
“You won’t turn the company over to Kelsey unless she’s married?” Heath eased to the side as Matthew whisked away his salad plate.
Sam spat an olive pit into his napkin. “I need to know she’s going to be taken care of.”
“I can take care of myself, Daddy.” Kelsey reached for a bread roll, then buttered it. “Though I’m grateful Heath will be by my side.”
“How soon can you start working for me?” Sam continued, as if he hadn’t heard Kelsey. “You need to learn the ropes.”
“Not until the beef auction and after that...we’ll see...” he finished vaguely, earning a glare from Kelsey.
“Now, I’m known to be a straight talker, so don’t take offense, Heath.” Sam sawed into the thick round cut of filet mignon Matthew placed before him.
Heath braced himself, and Kelsey’s hand landed on his knee beneath the table, squeezing.
Darla shook her head at the offered steak, lifted her wineglass and murmured, “Here we go.”
After a couple of bites, Sam set his fork and knife on the edge of his plate. “My friend’s the president of Colorado Financial. He thought I should know your family’s in dire straits before I allowed Kelsey to tie herself to you.”
Heath bristled, knowing where this conversation was heading. Due south.
“We wouldn’t want anyone to think you’re after her money,” Sam concluded.
“Daddy!” Kelsey rose from her chair. “Take that back! We’ve been together so long Heath’s practically a son to you. You know him better than that. He’d only marry me for the right reasons.”
Was a sense of obligation a “right reason”?
Heath’s clamped, back teeth shot a flare of pain into his temples. Sam had no right to use his connections to get financial information about his family. “Money isn’t a consideration for me.”
At least, it wasn’t a deciding one. He had thought about using his salary to help the ranch, but it’d be money he earned, not took...
Sam choked slightly and swallowed hard, downing a long gulp of wine. “Son. Money should always be a consideration.”
“Heath loves me.” The utensils jumped when Kelsey slapped her palm on the table.
Did he? Lord, he hoped so. “Good folks care about their independence and integrity most...and privacy. You had no right to investigate my family.”
“When it comes to ensuring my daughter’s happiness, everything’s my business.” Sam tapped the side of his wineglass with a buffed fingernail. “And you’ll never convince me people don’t care about money the most.”
“Well—you’re wrong.” Kelsey subsided back in her chair and cast an apologetic look Heath’s way.
Heath opened his mouth to argue with Sam further, but finding no good possibility of convincing his audience, he inserted a bite of steak instead. The rich, beefy flavor melted on his tongue as he chewed, thinking hard. Money didn’t buy happiness. Would he be happy with Kelsey and she with him? He’d be doing what was expected of him and maybe that’d be enough. “The chance to supplement my family’s bank account with my earnings would be appreciated.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” A puff of steam escaped Sam’s baked potato as he slit open its center. “No harm in helping out your ranch since it’ll belong to my grandkids.”
Now it was Heath’s turn to swallow funny. He coughed to clear a bit of meat fro
m his throat and took a deep pull of water. “I’m sorry, sir, but you’re wrong. Loveland Hills belongs to all of my siblings. My children will get their fair share, no more, no less.”
Sam frowned, wineglass clenched so hard in one hand, Heath thought the man might shatter it. “If we’re putting up money to keep it afloat...”
“Daddy, enough with the business talk. You’re boring Mama to death.” Kelsey nodded to her mother, whose lowered eyes and tilted posture suggested drink had more to do with her condition than conversation. Like him, Kelsey avoided words like “drunk” or “passed out.” There was too much shame attached to them.
“Another time then,” Sam said firmly, his tone brooking no compromise.
Heath’s entire body clenched like a fist. No doubt they’d circle back to this conversation next time they met up, and the one after that and the one after that... They’d never leave him in peace until he and Kelsey set a date and booked a venue. Would he be at peace then, too?
A couple hours later, Heath and Kelsey lingered on her front steps. Overhead, the moon had crested, splashing silvery light on the perfectly manicured lawn. Automatic sprinklers arced streams of water over grass so thick it’d feed twenty, maybe thirty head. He ached at the waste of it, his mind turning to tomorrow’s cattle drive destination. Would the natural spring they sought still be flowing given the unrelenting heat? The herd couldn’t handle another setback like today.
“Are you sure you have to leave so early?” Kelsey threw her arms around his waist and snuggled her head against his chest.
He breathed in the scent of her hair spray and gently disentangled himself. “I’ve got an early start. In fact, I’ll be sleeping on the range some nights, and won’t see you much for the next few weeks.”
Which was exactly what he needed to figure out his mixed-up feelings...
Kelsey sighed. “Won’t you be glad when those days are behind you?”
When he remained silent, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “That’s why I adore you. You’re so loyal. You never speak bad about anyone, especially your family.”
It was too dry of a summer for mosquitoes, but a warm wind rustled the leaves on nearby trees. “Are you going to set your parents straight about us?”
Emotions shifted like sea currents beneath her made-up face. “About what?”
His eyebrows met over the bridge of his nose. He might be a people pleaser, but that didn’t mean leading someone on. Kelsey knew where they stood, no matter how she kept insisting to the contrary. “That we haven’t set a date and that we aren’t necessarily getting married at Christmas.”
“You’re right.” She blew out a breath. “And I appreciate what you said to Daddy...about me being able to run the company.”
“I meant it. You don’t need me.”
Kelsey seemed to be looking somewhere far beyond him; it took a visible effort for her to drag her gaze back from that distant place. “Daddy thinks I do.”
There was a moment of silence that lengthened into awkwardness as they faced each other warily, unsure how to proceed. “I had a chance to go to Nashville for a tryout,” he blurted.
Her long lashes beat the air, and her mouth formed an O before she recovered herself. “Had? As in you turned it down?”
He nodded.
“And you said no for me?”
A deep breath lifted his chest. “I said no because Cole broke his arm and Pa left on his honeymoon. I couldn’t leave the ranch shorthanded.”
Kelsey’s shoulders rose. “Is that all you care about?”
“Right now, it’s all hands on deck.”
Her lips pressed into a seam. “You know how I feel about your music. You can’t keep gigging forever. It’s time to grow up. Settle down. I want you to become a respectable business-and family man.”
“Music’s respectable,” he insisted, the words hot on his tongue. Music was his life. Or had been.
“It’s a pipe dream. Like chasing after the end of the rainbow.”
“You don’t think I can make it?”
“You’re talented, Heath. But it’s no guarantee of success, and this life is.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand to encompass her expansive home. “You’ll never have to struggle or worry about your family, because we’ll help take care of them.”
When he remained silent, she slid her hands into his. “You are going to set a date with me, aren’t you? It’d be so romantic to arrive at the church in a sleigh...”
He squeezed her petal-soft fingertips, then withdrew. “I’ve got a lot going on. I can’t focus on us when I need to keep the herd intact through a drought.”
Her features sharpened. “I’ve given you ten years, Heath. Don’t keep stringing me along.”
“I won’t.”
She sighed. “Problem is I only want you.”
He donned his hat and adjusted it on his head, thinking what to say. Then again, maybe he should just run. “Are you sure I’m all you want? Neither one of us has ever been with anyone else or considered another kind of future. What if we’re just together because it’s comfortable? Expected?”
Her eyes fled his and she seemed not to breathe for a moment. The sprinkler system trickled in the quiet. Then she gave herself a shake and her lips wobbled into a smile. “Of course I want you. What a crazy thing to say.”
He cocked his head, sure he hadn’t imagined her pleasure when he’d suggested she could run the company alone. “I’d better get going. Daryl, Jewel and I are starting at five a.m.”
Kelsey’s nose scrunched. “Jewel? Jewel Cade?”
He stopped at the base of the stairs and a stream of water smacked against his boots. “Yes.”
“I didn’t know you were working with her.”
He stared up at Kelsey’s uncertain face. “She’s filling in this month. Is that a problem?”
“Will she be sleeping on the range with you?”
That brought him up short. A strange emotion pitched his stomach, like the moment a bull-riding chute gate sprang open. “I suppose. Daryl’s got some family issues going on, so it’ll probably be mostly me and Jewel.”
“You can’t. It’s inappropriate.”
Heath stared her dead in the eye. “It’s not negotiable.”
“You shouldn’t be spending nights alone with another woman when you’re engaged,” Kelsey exclaimed. “Think how that’ll look to other people!”
“I don’t care what anybody thinks. She’s good at what she does.” Heath curled his fingers into his sweating palms and shoved them deep inside his trousers. “And she’s my sister now.”
“Stepsister,” Kelsey insisted.
“Same difference.” Heath studied his boot tops, uneasy. He never lied...yet somehow it felt like he’d just told a whopper.
“Is that how you see her?”
Heath shrugged. “She’s just a temporary ranch hand...and an annoying one at that. I’m only interested in how fast she can rope and ride.”
Jewel was no threat to Kelsey.
What a crazy thought...yet it stuck with him. He couldn’t deny his eagerness to even up the score tomorrow and prove who was the best range boss. Guilt swamped him. It’d been a long time since he’d felt as excited to see his loyal and patient fiancée.
“She can’t give you this.” Kelsey leaned down, placed her hands on his shoulders, and smashed her mouth to his. Their teeth banged together.
He recoiled, rubbing his throbbing canine to see if she’d cracked it. “You don’t have to worry about Jewel Cade.”
“You’ve known her for ten seconds and we’ve been together for over ten years. Who’s worried?” Then, without a word, Kelsey dashed back in the house and slammed the door.
Heath jogged down the brick path, yanked open his pickup’s door and started up the engine, reversing out of the driveway at breakneck speed.
Was his haste to escape Kelsey’s accusations or to hurry back to his sparring match with Jewel?
He couldn’t deny he looked forward to working with his annoying new ranch hand much more than he should.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SHRILL RINGING of the Lovelands’ old rotary phone assaulted Jewel’s eardrum and snapped up her drooping eyelids. Since she was the only one awake to answer it, she set her coffee on the kitchen table and snatched up the handset. “Loveland residence.”
“Honey, I was hoping I’d catch you before you set off.”
Jewel’s heart swelled at the familiar sound of her mother’s voice. She dragged the receiver and its long cord to the table, dropped into a chair and cradled it between her ear and shoulder. “What time is it over there?”
“Midday, which means noon in London. So many funny words here. Did you know chips means French fries and crisps means chips?”
“Sounds confusing.” Jewel focused blearily on the wall-mounted clock. Five a.m. Any minute now, Heath would appear to start the second day of their cattle drive. Her heart thumped in her ears and her palms grew clammy. She’d gotten up extra early to beat him here, to set the tone...to prove she was the best range boss, not him.
“And the trunk of a car is called the boot,” Ma continued. “When the taxi driver asked Boyd if we’d like him to put our luggage in his boot, Boyd said, ‘Mine might fit, but the wife’s brought more than a toothbrush.’” Joy’s giggle drew a chuckle from Jewel despite her jumping stomach.
She spooned sugar into her coffee and chased it with a long pour of milk. The brew’s scent stung her nose and expanded her lungs. “Sounds like you two are having fun already.”
“We had a lovely meal after we settled into our hotel last night and today we’re going to see Buckingham Palace.”
Jewel stirred her coffee, dropped the spoon onto a napkin and lifted her steaming mug. “Make sure to match your hat to your outfit so everyone thinks you’re the queen.”
Ma tutted. “Now why didn’t I think of that?”
Hot coffee scalded Jewel’s tongue as she took a cautious sip. “Bigger question is why did I?”