The Rancher's Housekeeper

by Rebecca Winters

  Titus was right there with him and climbed in the truck before they took off. For the rest of the night he drove around thinking. He could hear his father’s voice. Everyone makes mistakes, Colt. This man deserves a second chance.

  But in Geena’s case, she hadn’t made a mistake!

  Shocked when it got to be four-fifteen, he turned around and headed home with his mind made up about what he wanted to do. Before he parked the truck, his headlights shone on the big ponderosa further down the drive.

  Her bike was gone.

  * * *

  At ten to six, Geena rode into the full-service gas station in Sundance. She was glad the dog hadn’t heard her leave the ranch house. While Mr. Brannigan was still asleep, she’d been able to slip away unnoticed and get going. Her problem now was to wait it out until someone came to open the station so she could get a drink and use the restroom.

  There were several piles of rubber tires stacked outside the bay doors. She propped her bike against one. Since no one was there, she pulled down two tires and sat on them while she rested against the pile. Once she’d covered herself with her space blanket, she was able to relax and plan out her day.

  Her first destination would be the library. She’d scan the want ads online and find a job. If she ate only two meals a day and bought her food at the grocery store, she ought to stay afloat for a little while longer.

  Tonight she’d sleep at the YWCA. She’d passed it yesterday on her way to the bike shop. In fact, en route to the library, she’d go over there and reserve a cot before they reached their quota for the day.

  When it got to be seven-fifteen, she rolled off the tires and put them back, then walked her bike over to the restroom and rested it against the wall to wait. Pretty soon a man drove in and opened up the office. She said hello and followed him inside to get a soft drink. He went around and unlocked the restroom for her.

  Once she’d used the facility, she opened the door, only to find her bike was gone! Geena had been in there only a minute. Frantic because of her loss, she raced around to the front, thinking she’d catch the culprit before he could get away.

  “Relax, Geena.”

  At the sound of the deep, familiar voice, she swung around to face a clean-shaven Colt Brannigan standing at the side of the dark blue truck she’d seen parked outside the ranch house. His hard-boned features were shadowed beneath his black cowboy hat. This morning he was wearing a blue-and-green plaid shirt that covered his well-defined chest. Hip-hugging jeans molded to his powerful thighs.

  Her thighs, in fact the whole length of her legs, wobbled just looking at him.

  She’d never seen a sight like him and had the conviction she never would again, no matter how long she lived. When she’d left the ranch earlier, she’d determined to put all thoughts of him out of her mind. Geena had survived prison by shutting off her feelings. Surely she could do it again while she made a new life for herself, but this man was unforgettable.

  “I was afraid someone would steal your bike, so I put it in the back of my truck for safekeeping.”

  Geena’s heart was still racing too fast. She knew her upset over the stolen bike wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t seem to quell its tempo. Nervousness caused her to rub damp palms against her jeans-clad hips. “What are you doing here?”

  He took a step toward her. “When I saw your bike was missing, I figured I’d find you in town. We have unfinished business this morning.”

  “Before I left, I put a thank-you note and a twenty-dollar bill on the kitchen table.”

  “I read it.”

  “I wish it were twenty times as much money. Last night I felt like a pampered princess. You could have no idea what it did for my spirits.”

  “I’m gratified to hear it.” The way his gaze penetrated as he stared at her made her all fluttery inside. She folded her arms across her chest, not knowing how to contain her emotions.

  “Most people wouldn’t give a person like me the time of day. Last night at your hands I was treated to a taste of heaven. I won’t forget. You’re one in a million.”

  “You give me too much credit.” The truth came out in a raspy voice. “Last night I couldn’t restrain myself from looking on line to read the news articles about your imprisonment. They said you were supposed to be serving a sixty-year sentence for a capital one murder.”

  Geena eyed him calmly. “In that case I’m astounded you’d let a convicted killer stay through the night. Did you think I’d taken off with some of those authentic Sioux valuables and that’s why you’re here waiting to catch me with the goods? Or is it simply a question of morbid curiosity? You’re welcome to search my backpack.” She handed it to him.

  His eyes narrowed before taking it. “If I’d thought you were untrustworthy, I would have driven you to town last night and dropped you off at the nearest shelter.”

  She had trouble breathing. “The housekeeping position hasn’t been filled yet, has it?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t think so. Thanks for being honest about that.”

  Colt didn’t respond to her comment. Instead he opened her backpack and eventually drew out a brown envelope. She watched him reach inside and produce the certificate she’d read over and over again during her bus ride from Pierre, unable to believe she was free.

  He studied it before his head reared. “Why didn’t you show me this last night?”

  “Because you told me the job had been filled. I didn’t question it. You were incredibly kind to have brought me into the ranch house to sleep. In truth I was deathly tired last night.”

  “I noticed,” he murmured.

  “Before I fell asleep, I couldn’t decide why you’d been so good to me. Was it out of an inborn sense of guilt and duty to one of your fellow creatures less fortunate than you? Or possibly even a modicum of faith in mankind? Whatever sentiment drove you, your mother would be proud of you. Now I’m afraid I have to get going to find a job.”

  He put everything back in her pack and handed it to her. “If you’re still interested, I’m offering you the position of housekeeper. For a temporary period,” he emphasized.

  A small cry escaped her throat. Maybe she was hallucinating. “When did you make that decision?”

  “After you went to bed last night, I called Warden James. Before I could ask her any questions, she told me you’d been exonerated and hoped you’d be able to find a job soon.”

  A tremor shook her body while she absorbed the revelation. “So—”

  “So you see—” he interrupted her. “My mother wouldn’t have been proud of me. In her mind, half a loaf doesn’t cut it.”

  The blood pounded in her ears. “It cut it for me, so don’t beat yourself. If I’d been in your shoes, I would have phoned the prison, too.” She bit her lip. “Even if I’m innocent, why are you willing to take a chance on me?”

  He put his hands on his hips, the ultimate male stance. “Besides your work ethic in prison which the warden praised, anyone who went through all you did yesterday to get the job deserves a chance. I came close to offering it to you before you went to bed, but the niggling thought that I’d seen or heard of you before propelled me to look on the internet first.”

  She paced a little, then stopped. “It was a hideous crime done to a dear friend. I spent thirteen months reliving the real killer’s treachery to him. But I will always be a persona non grata in some people’s eyes. Is that why your job offer is temporary? Because you know certain parties will refuse to believe the truth and it could cause trouble? Mind you, I’m not being ungrateful—just curious.”

  Lines bracketed his mouth. “To hell with what anyone else thinks. The position would be temporary to anyone I hired—a trial period, if you prefer. Both sides have to find out if the job is a good fit. You did say you only wanted it temporarily.”

&nb
sp; “Yes. What would you say if I work for you until the end of the summer? By then I have other plans and you’ll have had time to find someone really suitable.”

  He studied her for a moment, then said, “End of summer it is. But when you’ve been with us a while, you might not want to stay that long, so your suggestion makes sense.”

  Mr. Brannigan was no one’s fool. Being up front with him was the only honest thing to do. Then it wouldn’t come as a surprise when she gave her notice to leave. By then she ought to have a lead on the whereabouts of her brother’s lover. And child. If it was his…

  “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. How long have you been without a housekeeper?”

  “A month. We’ve been hard hit by our previous housekeeper Mary White Bird’s passing. You need to know she’s been the only housekeeper on the ranch since my brothers and I were born.”

  “That long?”

  He gave her a solemn nod. “Since her death, it’s been hard even to contemplate someone else taking her place.”

  Geena’s thoughts reeled. “She’s the lovely Sioux woman in those pictures?”

  “Yes,” he said in what sounded like a reverent tone.

  “You’re right. No one could ever fill her shoes. I’m shocked that you’d let me sleep in her room among all her precious things. The tobacco bag is fabulous.”

  Emotion darkened his hazel eyes. “It belonged to her husband. I see you know your native American history.”

  Her throat swelled. “I learned a lot from Rupert.” She eyed him directly. “Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I realize Mary White Bird will never be forgotten, but for as long as I’m with you, I swear I’ll work hard and not make you regret you hired me.” Right now she felt she was the luckiest woman on the planet.

  “In return I promise not to be too terrible a taskmaster, as my brothers continually remind me I am.”

  “Are you going to tell them I was in prison?” She hated the throb in her voice. They were standing close enough she could feel the warmth from his hard body.

  “No. You’ve been exonerated for a crime you didn’t commit, but that’s up to you if you want to tell someone. As far as I’m concerned it’s not information anyone needs to know.”

  She stole an extra breath. He was like a great bulwark in a storm. “You’re a good man, Mr. Brannigan. I’m so thankful for the job I could kiss your feet. But not in front of the service-station attendant, who’s been watching us for some time.”

  The tautness in his expression relaxed. “I’ll buy a tank of gas, then we’ll drive over to Tilly’s and hash out the details of your contract while we eat breakfast. I’m in the mood for a big one. I don’t know about you, but I think better on a full stomach.”

  While he walked over to the gas pump, she climbed in the cab of his Dodge Ram and held her backpack on her lap. Through the back window she could see her bike. She still couldn’t believe he’d tracked her here in order to offer her the housekeeping job. She was definitely being watched over.

  In a few minutes they drove through the town of 1200-plus people to a spot he had to know well. Maybe she was dreaming about the fabulous man who’d just offered her a solid job on a ranch not more than seventy miles from Rapid City. That’s where she would begin her investigation to recover her past.

  The dreams just kept coming after they entered the restaurant. Geena hadn’t had waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for over a year. With some slices of ham added to the plate, she thought she’d never enjoyed a meal so much. “You don’t know how good this tastes.”

  “I can only imagine.” He’d been watching her over the rim of his coffee cup. “Are you up to some more questions? Then you can fire away at me.”

  She sat back in the booth, already knowing the most important thing about him. “Ask me anything you want, Mr. Brannigan.”

  “Call me Colt.” When she nodded he said, “Where are you from?”

  “I’ll try to answer all your questions at once. I was born in Rapid City. My parents died young. My brother Todd and I were raised by our grandmother who lived on a fixed income and rented her home. I always did waitressing. After our grandmother died, I left for college in Laramie. Todd stayed at the house and worked laying pipeline.”

  “How did you manage financially when it was out-of-state tuition?”

  “Through student loans and waiting on tables. I still owe $22,000. After graduation I went to work for a company in Rapid City called FossilMania.”

  “I’ve heard of it. What did you do there exactly?”

  “We went out in teams in vans to find fossils. When we’d get to an area the owner felt contained dinosaur remains, we’d scour a certain section of land to begin a dig with our tools. I’m afraid that doesn’t sound like a résumé for a housekeeper.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Have you ever ridden a horse?”

  “No.”

  “Then I’ll teach you. Emergencies crop up from time to time. You’ll be more useful in that kind of a situation if you can ride.”

  Geena wondered what circumstances he had in mind, but realized he was anxious to learn about her background. The questions she had for him could come later.

  “In Rapid City I found an inexpensive basement apartment to rent from Rupert Brown.”

  She would have moved back to her grandmother’s small house with Todd, but by then he had a girlfriend and she was living with him. Janice had disliked Geena on sight. She was so furtive, Geena knew the other woman had something to hide.

  Her brother didn’t have the best luck with women. Geena feared Janice was the wrong fit for him, but she’d never said anything to Todd because she loved her brother too much and didn’t want to hurt him.

  “Rupert and I shared an interest in artifacts and Native American memorabilia. Over the year I lived there we became good friends.”

  The next part sent a shudder through her. “One day when I came home from doing my field work, the police were there and arrested me for Rupert’s murder. It had happened early in the morning and my fingerprints were all over the trowel I often used.”

  “You were framed!”

  “Yes. A lot of his treasures had been stolen. Several of his irreplaceable books were found in my apartment along with my own small collection of fossils, all with my fingerprints.”

  “Someone had to know about your relationship with the victim.”

  “Definitely. It turned out to be a collector who’d come by his place when I’d been there with him. Various dealers interested in Western Americana often dropped in for a look at his things, hoping to get him to part with some of them, but his prices were too high. I think he did it purposely because he couldn’t bear to part with anything. This angered the killer.”

  “If you were gone on long digs, the criminal had plenty of time to plant evidence in your apartment.”

  She nodded. “It gave me chills to think someone had been in there doing whatever. When I was put on trial, I couldn’t afford an attorney, so a public defender was provided. I told him everything I could about the people who’d been to Rupert’s apartment. I came up with a few names—any clues I could remember. But nothing came of it and the jury found me guilty.”

  “I don’t know how you dealt with it,” his voice grated.

  “I think I was in shock the whole time. To be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t die on the spot. I wanted to. The thought of sixty years in that place, helpless to get out and do anything—”

  A strange almost primitive sound came out of her new employer.

  “Todd promised to find me a good attorney who could prove my innocence, but he didn’t have any extra money. A month after I’d been put in prison, I got a message he’d been killed.” Hot tears stung her eyelids.

  “He was your only living relative?”
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br />   “Yes. I was notified through the warden’s office by one of the executives at the pipeline company. He said there’d been an accident during an earth-removal incident, suffocating Todd and one of his co-workers. I was listed as the next of kin on his application. I swear the tragedy was more devastating to me than learning I’d be spending the rest of my life in prison.”

  Geena never knew what had happened to Janice. It was as if she’d vanished. More unconscionable, she’d never tried to get word to Geena about Todd. How anyone could be that heartless had almost destroyed her.

  What made it so much worse was that the last time she’d ever spoken to Todd, he’d told her Janice was pregnant. He had hopes that a baby would settle Janice down and they could become a real family. Now that Todd was gone, Geena’s only living relative might be the baby Janice would have delivered by now. But what if it wasn’t Todd’s?

  While she was deep in her own tortured thoughts, lines had marred Colt’s features until she almost didn’t recognize him. “Who was the man from the pipeline?”

  “A Mr. Phelps. He was decent enough to find out from me where my parents and grandparents were buried. I heard he made arrangements for Todd to be buried next to them at the cemetery.”

  Geena couldn’t stop her voice from trembling and was unable to talk for a minute. One of the first things she wanted to do was go to the cemetery. After that she’d pay Mr. Phelps a visit and personally thank him for his kindness. She finally lifted her head. “But no more looking back. A miracle has happened.”

  She laid her napkin on the table. “Day before yesterday I was taken to the warden’s office. She put me on the phone with the detective who’d been working on the investigation. He told me that some of Rupert’s stolen artifacts had turned up. He found the real killer through new DNA evidence and arrested him. I almost did die right then. For joy.”

  She’d also talked to the public defender who’d represented her in court. He’d told her that within the month, the state would be reimbursing her some money for the time she’d been wrongfully incarcerated. The sum would be enough to help her carry out certain long-range plans. He gave her his number and told her to call him as soon as she had an address so he’d know where to send her the check.