“Sandy?" She remembered Sandy's condition and forced her voice to a lower level. “Where's Marc?”
“He's over on the old MacKinsey place helping them with the branding.”
“All right, thanks.”
“Is anything wrong?”
“A couple of Jade's calves are loose and wandering around town,” she said in what she knew to be the understatement of the year. “Maybe I can get Harry and a few of the men in town to help me get them back behind the fence.”
“I can page Marc…”
“Do that. Although by the time he gets here we'll probably have everything under control.” A bellow came from across the street. She hung up the phone and went to stand at her open door to see what was happening. Harry, roaring, exploded out of his establishment to stand on his doorstep and swear at the top of his lungs at the hapless cattle, as if he could make them disappear by the very force of his shouting. At the same time, from the opposite end of town, Jade's pickup raced up the street. The commotion startled the steer who was making a meal of Raine's tree. His head came up. Panicked, he headed toward what his cow brain thought was shelter, the print shop. He put his head down and came straight at the open door…and Raine. Thinking only of saving herself, she jumped aside. With the path cleared, the calf barreled right into the shop.
She ran for the safety of the desk and stood behind it, her eyes glued on the animal. That darn calf stood eye to eye with her, switching his tail, he on one side of the desk, she on the other. Even with her staring at him, that stupid animal didn’t have the wit to be afraid. “What have you been doing, taking lessons from Jade?” she groused.
She stayed where she was, thinking the last thing she wanted to do was spook him. The amount of damage that eight-hundred-pound steer could do in this room of printing equipment was unthinkable. “Now you just turn right around and get out the same way you came in,” she told the wide-eyed animal.
“And of course, he’s going to do just as you say.” Jade came through the door, his smile half-mocking.
“Great. Just what I need. A critic. If you’re so darn smart, get your animal out of here.” Jade began to walk slowly around the calf, but the calf swung startled eyes at Jade and galloped in the wrong direction, heading past the Linotype machine and squeezing through the doorway to the back room.
“Well, that’s just dandy. Did they teach you that in Cattle Herding 101?”
“I missed the lecture that day.”
“Very funny.” Raine was not in the mood to be placated. “Do you know what a mess he can make back there?” As if on cue, there was an ominous crash. Raine’s fury escalating, she ran past Jade into the back room. The steer was investigating the spilled sugar canister, lapping the white grains.
Infuriated, Raine waved her arms and charged the intruder head on. “You get out of here.”
A hard hand clamped over her shoulder like a vise. “Stop scaring him to death unless you want him to do more damage to the place than he's already done.”
For the first time, she looked at him, really looked at him. He wore a soft suede suit in camel brown and a creamy lawn shirt. His facial skin was smooth and faintly scented with a woodsy male cologne. Jade hadn't been so close to her in months and he hadn't touched her in what seemed like an eternity. “Let go of me,” she said huskily, “and concentrate on getting your livestock out of here.” Desperate to be away from Jade before she betrayed her clamoring reaction to his closeness, she tugged free of his grip, startling the steer.
The animal's head came up. His hooves clumped on the floor and he was off again, running in a frenzied circle. He staggered into the small table that held the stove and sent it crashing to the floor. He did a clumsy bovine dance to regain his balance and lurched against the cot. One of the legs on the frame collapsed and the bed tilted crazily.
Raine cried, “No!” Her voice sent the steer into another agitated gyration.
“Get away from the door. Let him through.”
Raine jumped away. The steer bounded through the doorway and ran headlong into the press. The crank snapped off and clattered to the floor and the electric cord whipped from the wall, crackling with sparks. The blank pieces of paper awaiting the running of the press flew loose from the tray and scattered into the air.
Raine’s only thought to get the animal out before he burned the place down, she ran at him. He turned and dodged around the Linotype machine, tripping over its heavy ropelike cord, which then popped loose from the socket with a crackle and hiss. The ends wrapped around the animal's hock and sent him sprawling, wedging him behind the Linotype, his legs bowed outward like the warped legs of a table.
Raine erupted with fury. Reason gone, vengeance uppermost in her mind, she picked up the push broom and brought it down on the calf's back. The calf could only dodge his head from her clumsy brandishing.
“Get out of here, you stupid animal. Get out!”
The calf gathered his legs under him and scrambled desperately to be away from this apparition with an instrument of death in her hands. The wood floor was slippery with the mud from his hooves, but he got to his feet and raced to safety on the other side of the Linotype machine away from Raine. She threw the broom down and ran after him. Behind her, Jade gave chase.
They circled the machine once, then again. “Raine,” Jade roared. “Raine, stop!”
He grabbed her shoulders and brought her hard up against him. “Stop acting like a crazy woman and use your head. Get over behind the Linotype and keep him from circling again. I'll head him toward the door.” His hands on her shoulders brought a shuddering reaction that stilled her. He didn't seem to notice.
The calf came round again and halted wide-eyed in front of Raine. Jade thrust her to one side, stepped directly in front of the excited steer and caught the animal's ear. “You crazy fool. Get the hell out of here.”
The calf reacted to Jade's voice and touch on the tender part of his anatomy by lowering his head and shaking it hard. When that didn't loosen Jade's grip, he braced his feet and charged, butting Jade into the wall. Jade lay pinned and helpless and a grunt escaped him.
Raine cried out in horror, “Let him go, Jade.”
Raine's cry startled the calf, and he raised his head. She flung herself at the animal's rear, grabbed his tail and jerked furiously. The calf turned his head to peer at this new menace.
“Raine, get away.” Jade's attention was divided and the calf gave one violent twist of his head, shook himself free of Jade’s iron hold, scrambled around, and in a burst of speed, ran straight out the door.
“We’re a hell of a team, aren’t we?” Jade said, smiling. When she gave him a shaky answering smile, he came toward her. “Are you all right?'”
His quiet concern increased the trembling relief she felt at seeing him upright and apparently unharmed. “I wasn't the one he butted into the wall. Are you all right?” In the aftermath, her knees trembled. He could have been seriously injured.
“I’m used to dealing with stupid cows.” He moved closer, eyeing her. “Are you telling me the truth? Do you hurt anywhere?”
She laughed nervously and gestured around the room. “Only when I think of how much work it will take to clean this up.”
“Don't worry about the shop. I'll make it right.”
She couldn't bear to let him see how shaken she was because of his tussle with the calf. “If you don't get out there and round up the rest of your herd,” she told him, the mud stain down the front of his expensive jacket triggering her sense of how ludicrous it all was, “you won't have anything left to make it right with. Your cattle are ruining John's park and if you don't get them out of there, he might decide to have a steakburger barbecue on the next Fourth of July, compliments of you.”
A smile tugged at his beautiful mouth. “He might at that.”
“Come on,” she said, tugging at the sleeve of his jacket. “Get that fancy coat off. We've got work to do, cowboy.”
”We?” Jade's tone was dry
ly amused.
“You said we were a hell of a team.” She walked through the open door and into the sunshine. Jade followed. Gesturing at the portion of his herd that stood grazing in the park, she said, “See what I mean?”
Jade looked, said ‘holy shit,’ and strode into the street, forgetting about his good clothes.
Harry had already made some progress, turning most of the herd back from the east part of town. He stood in the middle of the road and bellowed at the cattle, which, Raine thought, should be enough to scare anyone, man or beast. She and Jade set out on foot, shouting and yelling in a pattern, working back and forth at the rear of the herd, gathering the young Herefords into an unwieldy bunch and getting them moving in the direction of the range.
Moments later, on the outskirts of town, the last calf went through the gate and Jade swung it shut. He ran his hands over the post and examined the wire loop. “I'd sure like to know how in hell that gate came open.” He slipped the loop over the post, fastening it securely. “Nothing's been broken. From the looks of things, somebody came along and deliberately opened it.”
A tingle of alarm went through her. “This is a cow town. People understand that cattle are a man’s life work. Who would do a thing like that?”
“Somebody with a grudge against me, obviously.”
Raine said, “The only one I can think might who might have a grudge against you is…”
“Todd Anderson.” They said his name together.
“You’ll never be able to prove it,” Raine said.
“You’re right. The only thing I can do is rig up a strong padlock on the gate so he can’t get it open again.” Looking unperturbed, Jade relaxed back against the post, his lean body moving easily under the supple material of his clothes. The late afternoon sun gave his hair the patina of antique gold and his eyes a dark, devilish twinkle. Against a blue sky just tinged with a touch of purple, his tanned face stood out in stark, clean lines, the planes of his cheeks taut and masculine. The fresh smell of earth and grass and Jade mingled to tantalize her nose. For a man whose stock had just run rampant through the town, he looked very much at ease, almost…happy. He said, “I'll have an electrician out to the shop to fix those cords tomorrow.”
“That's a start,” she said, unable to tear her eyes away. She hadn't seen him in such an amiable mood in years. Whatever, or whomever, he had seen in Canton had done wonders for him.
He met her gaze with the unselfconscious ease that was totally his, his lips lifted in a dark, attractive smile. “What's the matter? Do I have dirt on my nose?”
“On your suit,” she said, lifting her hand to brush it away and snatching it back before her fingers made contact with his body.
He caught her hand in midair. “Don't be afraid to touch me.”
“I'm not.” She pulled at her hand, but he didn't release it.
“Have dinner with me.” His smile deepened and showered her with Kincaid charm. In this mood, he was irresistible.
That magnetic smile and his hand holding her fingers made it difficult to think. He was dressed to the teeth and he'd been to Canton. A man didn't dress like that just to go see his lawyer.
"No, I'd better get home and see about Tate.”
“He's all right with Julia. I've already spoken to her.”
She raised silvery eyes to him. “When?”
“I went to the house first and asked her to keep Tate while we go out.”
“You were very sure I'd go.”
He said impatiently, “Of course I was sure. Raine, we have to talk.”
About what? About the wonderful woman you've found? About how much you appreciate what I've done for Tate but now you've found someone else to act as his surrogate mother? She shook her head. “Send me a postcard.”
He stared at her for a moment as if he couldn't believe she'd said those curt, cutting words. “Raine, listen to me. I…”
“Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.” For almost a year, she had fought with her longing for him. He had teased her and tried to seduce her more times than she could count. Now, he’d found someone else and he wanted to share his good news with her. She couldn't bear it. “I'm not…not interested in anything you have to say.”
With a suddenness that startled her, his amiability fell away. His face as dark as a Dakota storm sky, he grasped her hand and pulled her close. “Listen to me, you little fool. I've got something to explain to you and I don’t intend to say it out here with the smell of cow dung in our noses.”
The brush of his hard body on her own sent her over the edge. “Stop manhandling me as if I were one of your cows.”
“If I thought it would help to grab you by the ear, I'd do it,” he muttered hoarsely.
She struggled and pushed and writhed in his arms. His hard grip was unyielding and in her own desperation to get away, she twisted her arm too vigorously. She cried out in pain, and instantly, he let her go.
She rubbed her injured wrist. “I'm sorry,” he said coolly.
“It wasn't your fault,” she admitted honestly, more anxious than ever to be away from him. The glittering green of his eyes kept her rooted to the ground. “You’d better get that padlock installed before you go away the next time.”
“Thank you for the advice, Miss Taylor.” He dipped his head and then raised his eyes to her, a burning anger in them. His voice was cool, a testament to his control. “I presume you'll send me a bill for damages.”
“You bet I will.” She turned to go, aware that his eyes burned into her back as she walked away.
“Isn't Daddy coming to get me soon?” Tate asked at the supper table, his eyes turned first to Raine's face and then to Julia's.
“No, honey. You're staying all night with me,” Julia soothed him. “Your daddy had some work to do and he thought he'd get it done more quickly without you.”
“I'm a good helper.”
“I know you are.” Julia smiled at him. “Maybe your dad thought you needed a little vacation after a hard day at school.” Julia nodded to the lead slug that Tate held in his hand and said in an undertone to Raine, “He hasn't let go of it since he came in the door.”
Her mouth twisted. “I’m glad something good came out of this day.”
“Is the shop really bad?”
“If Jade has the electrician come, that will take care of the worst of it, I guess. The back part really suffered more damage than the front…well, maybe not. The whole place…”
“…looks like it's been bombed,” Julia said, quoting Raine's words of a moment ago.
“I don’t know how you can take it so lightly.”
Julia raised eyes that were clear and untroubled to Raine. “I’m sure it can't be too bad.”
Raine stared at her. “I know you're not going to publish the paper any longer, but that equipment does represent an investment.”
Julia set the fine china cup she was holding carefully into its saucer. “Raine, I have something to tell you. I should have told you weeks ago, but I was afraid that you would take it badly.”
“Take what badly?”
“I've sold the print shop.”
“Sold it?”
“The building, the equipment, everything. We made the transaction two weeks ago. I've been renting the place from the new owner since then.”
Her stomach felt as if she had just taken a ride on a roller coaster. She heard herself asking in a comparatively normal voice, “And I had no say in this?”
“We thought it best.”
“Who’s we? Who bought the shop?”
Julia picked up her cup. “Why, Jade, of course.”
“Jade? Jade bought it?” A heat rose in her cheeks.
“Yes, I sold it to him. Is there any reason I shouldn’t have?”
“What’s he going to do with it?”
“He plans to sell the press and the Linotype to a printer in Wessington Springs and use the building as a distribution center for another feed company he's bought to turn into a co-op
. I’m sure it will be a success. Jade is a very astute businessman.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't think it made any difference to you. You knew the paper was closing down. You'd already mentioned you were planning on driving to Canton to look for work. I thought it would be one less thing for you to worry about.”
She stared at Julia. “I was going to offer to try and keep the shop open. I thought if I got job printing I could make it pay.”
Julia shook her head. “I thought you might try something like that. I mentioned it to Jade, and he agreed with me that it wasn't a good idea, that it would only send you in debt.”
Raine clenched her teeth together and fought to absorb the impact of Julia's words. The truth came in a flash of pain. “He couldn't wait, could he?”
“What are you talking about?”
Tangled emotions roiled through her. “Now that he’s found somebody else, he couldn't wait to get rid of me.”
Julia looked totally taken aback. “My dear! Wherever did you get such an idea? I'm certain that wasn't his intent at all. Jade was only thinking of me and you too, I’m sure.”
“How convenient. But when he helped you, he helped himself, didn't he? He solved all his problems at once.”
“What did Daddy do?”
Raine looked down at Tate. She’d forgotten he was there. Julia shot her a warning look. “We'd better discuss this some other time. Tate, let's go up and have a bath now, shall we?” To Raine, she said, "We can talk more after I’ve tucked Tate in."
Raine shook her head. “You’re not the one I need to talk to.”
A strange look flickered over Julia's face. Then she said calmly, “You’re quite right, my dear, and the sooner the better. Perhaps you'd better drive out and talk to Jade now, while Tate is here with me. You can clear up any misunderstanding without worrying about little ears listening.”
“I think I will," Raine said, her anger flowing through her like a warm stream. “I think I will just do that.”
Chapter 9
Her fury escalating to new heights, Raine roared out of town, driving way too fast on loose, wet gravel, her anger making her reckless.
This Love Will Go On Page 15