by Jane Toombs
“Should I have?”
Sage shook her head. “Most people do. It gets boring ’cause they don’t really care. Grandfather says never ask a question unless you really want to hear the answer. But then it usually turns out that the questions you want to ask are personal, and people don’t want to answer them.”
Laura took this as a roundabout apology. “Yes, that’s a real bummer, isn’t it?”
She was rewarded with a brilliant smile. “As soon as I heard you were coming, I knew I was going to like you,” Sage said.
“I didn’t know you existed until I got here, but now that we’ve met, I hope we’ll get to know one another better.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” Sage raised her head as though listening. “Here comes Shane.” She gazed expectantly at the entrance to the living room.
Only then did Laura hear booted footsteps.
“Excuse me, I have to talk to Grandfather,” Sage said, rising and darting from the room.
Leaving me to face the ogre alone, Laura thought, setting down her empty glass.
In walked Shane, even more impressively masculine than Laura had remembered—stiffening her resolve not to let him intimidate her. Attractive, yes, but that didn’t make him any more appealing to her.
Shane eyed Laura, sitting up straight with her feet crossed ladylike at the ankles, her dressy pantsuit neat, despite the untidy rescue. A city girl. He groaned inwardly, knowing he was stuck with her for at least a month, maybe more. Yeah, she was pretty in her own quiet way, but that wouldn’t make his nursemaid task any easier.
“I was remiss in not immediately thanking you for rescuing me,” Laura said primly.
The way she said it made him feel she didn’t like him any the better for saving her life.
“We’re both lucky it worked,” he said bluntly.
Laura nodded, wishing he’d sit down. It made her nervous to be loomed over.
“Shall we discuss what kind of a schedule would best suit you?” she asked. “I’m quite flexible.”
“Let’s make sure I know what you want from me.”
“I’d like to borrow a horse to ride, if that’s possible,” she said. At his nod, she continued. “Since this is your home territory, I hope you’ll be able to locate the herds on the reservation for me so I can count the horses and get an overall impression of their health.”
“First—you do understand that mustangs make no distinction between reservation land, BLM land, or privately owned ranch land? They aren’t ‘our’ horses, they’re free-ranging.”
“I’m quite aware of that, but I understand at least two herds seem to spend most of their time on Paiute land.” Laura was congratulating herself on her businesslike approach despite her nervousness, when Sage popped into the room.
“Grandfather has asked me to invite you to stay here at the ranch with us,” Sage said to Laura. “Please say you will. We have lots of room, and it’ll be way more convenient for you. Otherwise, you’ll have to drive back and forth from Reno all the time.”
Though taken aback, Laura noticed Shane seemed even more surprised than she was at the invitation.
Before Laura could respond, Sage added plaintively, “I really wish you’d stay here, so we could get to know each other better, like you said.”
Sympathy for Sage’s need for female company shot down Laura’s instinctive refusal before the words passed her lips. She understood what it was to be lonely.
Shane frowned at Sage. “I don’t think Ms. Walker would want to—”
Laura cut him off. “Please tell your grandfather I’m grateful for his thoughtfulness,” she said to the girl. “If Mr. Bearclaw here approves, I accept the kind offer.”
Privately, she reserved her right to retreat to a Reno hotel if it proved uncomfortable to be in the same house with Shane.
“Stay, by all means,” Shane said, in such a determinedly neutral tone, that Laura knew he’d been hoping she’d refuse.
Maybe that was part of the reason she’d accepted. Certainly if he’d invited her, she never would have, though the truth was, staying at the ranch would be more convenient.
“I’ll bring my things with me when I come in the morning, then,” Laura said. Looking at Shane, she added, “What time will you be ready to ride?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Whenever you get here.”
Since Sage was so eager to play hostess, Shane let her show Laura to the door, watching her walk away despite not meaning to. She moved as gracefully as any mare, which was, coming from him, a compliment. So many women either plodded or sashayed, neither of which conveyed grace.
Without willing himself to, he wandered to the window where he’d be able to see her get into her car.
“Laura will be good company for Sage while she’s here,” Grandfather said from in back of him, having arrived soundlessly, as usual. “That’s why I told Sage to ask her to stay with us.”
Shane turned to face him. “I wondered why you hadn’t bothered to consult me.”
“Partners in running the ranch we may be, but I am still Grandfather.”
“Yes, Respected Elder.” Shane said the words with affectionate mockery.
Grandfather grinned at him. “And don’t you forget it.”
Shane had to agree that female company would be good for Sage, but he’d be willing to bet old Bearclaw had something else up his sleeve. Grandfather had the most devious mind on the res. And more than likely in the entire state of Nevada.
Still, what could be his scheme? He’d never interfered in Shane’s private life, so the fact Laura was a woman shouldn’t have anything to do with it, other than her being company for Sage, like he’d said. What then? The mustangs? The fact that she might have some sort of in with the Feds?
Shane shook his head to both possibilities. Maybe he was just imagining Grandfather planning something. What would be the point?
Chapter Two
As Laura drove back from the reservation to Reno, she told herself she shouldn’t have been swayed, by her empathy with Sage, into accepting the invitation to stay at the Bearclaw ranch. She was bound to be uncomfortable in Shane’s house. It would be difficult enough when they rode together in search of the wild horses—why had she let herself in for more awkwardness in the evenings?
Though she didn’t trust any man except her brother Nathan, Shane was typical of the kind of man who unnerved her the most. He was big and rugged and so very much there. If he was present, he couldn’t be ignored.
Yet, how could she have resisted the appeal in Sage’s eyes? The girl so obviously wanted her to agree to stay. What had happened to the girl’s mother? she wondered. Laura had gotten the distinct feeling there was no woman in the Bearclaw home.
She really hadn’t minded the girl’s personal questions because she felt they were innocent, that Sage merely wanted to know more about her. In any case, the girl hadn’t been the first one to ask Laura if she was married. Sometimes people went on to ask why not, which was far more offensive. The first question was easy to answer. The second was not, and she didn’t even try, but merely shrugged and either walked away or changed the subject.
The truth was, despite the therapy Laura had been through over the years, she’d never been able to convince herself that kind words and smiles from men weren’t a cover for deception of some kind. The best protection was to stay single. Permanently.
At the hotel, she was reluctant to go to her room after she ate because there was nothing to do there except watch TV. So she wandered through the casino, eyeing the devotees at the slot machines, but not venturing even a nickel of her own money.
There is such a thing as being over-cautious. Her therapist’s words. Laura shrugged. Maybe she was, but caution kept her safe, didn’t it?
As usual, she ignored the occasional male stares and comments aimed at any, even minimally attractive, unaccompanied young woman. She’d gotten so effective at this, very few men ever persisted in coming on to her. Pausing to listen to the trio in the
lounge for a time, she admired the female singer’s performance, as the woman swayed and gestured in time to the music. True, it was no more than a performance, but a tinge of envy made Laura sigh. The singer seemed so naturally uninhibited that she was a pleasure to watch.
If only I could act even half that free and easy, Laura thought. If only I didn’t have to keep monitoring my behavior so I don’t attract attention from men.
Finally feeling the effects of jet lag, she went to her room and got ready for bed. Though she fell asleep right away, she kept rousing throughout the night, probably because she was so apprehensive about working with Shane. Near dawn she finally got up, dressed in riding jeans, boots, and Western shirt and went down to eat breakfast. One great advantage of Nevada casino-hotels was being able to eat at any hour of the day or night. Twenty-four-hour service. Breakfast over, she decided to head for the ranch, even though she’d be arriving really early. It’d serve macho Shane right if she got there before he was up. Quickly packing her belongings, she checked out.
When she got to the ranch house, Sage answered her knock and insisted on helping to carry in her things.
“Grandfather and Shane are in the barn,” Sage said, when Laura was settled into a sparsely furnished but comfortable-looking bedroom. “There’s coffee if you want some.”
After refusing any food, Laura sat in the kitchen with Sage, drinking a mug of coffee.
“Whoa,” the girl said. “For somebody who doesn’t put anything in tea, you sure use a lot of sugar in your coffee. And cream, too.”
Laura grinned at her. “It goes to show no one’s perfect, not even me.”
“I guess.” Sage fidgeted in her chair, finally adding, “I’m not supposed to ask any personal stuff, but I might forget. You won’t get mad, will you?”
After shaking her head, Laura said, “I think maybe it’s my turn to ask questions.”
“Cool. I don’t care if they’re personal ones.” Sage looked at her expectantly.
After discovering who the girl’s favorite actors and singers were, Laura asked about her friends.
“Maria and Donna are my two best friends,” Sage told her. “They live on the res, too, but not very nearby. Sometimes I mind we can’t get together oftener, but mostly I don’t. I’m sort of used to hanging out with Grandfather.” She hesitated, and then said vehemently, “I don’t ever want to move away from here. Never ever. If they try to make me move to smoggy L.A., I won’t go.”
“Are Shane and your grandfather planning to move there?”
Sage shook her head. “It’s my father. He got married again, and now he wants me to come and live with him and her. I don’t even know her.”
Laura blinked. Up until now, she’d assumed Sage was Shane’s daughter.
Looking down at the table where she traced spirals with her finger, Sage said, “Me and my mom left him when I was four ’cause he was mean to her. We came here to live with my brother Shane and Grandfather. Then she got sick and died two years ago. Shane told me I could stay at the ranch forever if I wanted. Now my father is trying to make the judge say I have to leave and go live with him.” She blinked back tears.
Laura scooted her chair over and put an arm around the girl’s shoulders.
“I’m scared,” Sage confessed. “I don’t remember my father too good. What if he’s still mean? I don’t want to leave Shane and Grandfather, but what if the judge makes me? Why don’t I get to say what I want?”
Her heart touched, Laura hugged the girl closer. It sickened her to think that Sage might ever become the victim of an abusive father. She wished she could promise the girl that she’d be able to choose where she wanted to live. Impossible, when she knew nothing about the circumstances.
The kitchen door opened, and Sage pulled away. Laura stood up and faced Shane, feeling a shock at the reality of him. When he wasn’t present, it was easier to categorize him and pretend to herself she’d be able to deal with him. Up close, she found him overwhelming.
“Good,” he told her, his gaze flicking over her, no doubt assessing how appropriate her clothes were for riding. “We can get an early start. Hope you brought a broad-brimmed hat—at this altitude, you’ll need one to prevent sunburn.”
Despite telling herself she intended to limit her reply to a curt nod, she found herself saying, “I’ve been in this part of Nevada before. Naturally I brought a hat. And sunscreen.”
He was the one who gave the curt nod. “Let’s get going then.”
Sage trailed them to the corral and shook her head over the mare Shane had chosen for Laura. “Rabbit’s for scaredy-cat beginners,” she told her brother. “I bet you never even asked Laura what kind of a rider she was.”
Laura smiled to herself. Of course he hadn’t, being one of those men who knew best. She waited, determined not to say anything until he spoke.
“The question isn’t how good you are,” he said to Laura, “but how long a ride you’re accustomed to.”
“I qualify somewhere above a scaredy-cat beginner,” she said coolly, making herself stare into those dark, fathomless eyes.
He shrugged and turned to his sister. “I suppose you want to do the picking.”
“I sure can do better than Rabbit,” Sage told him. “How about Columbine?” She pointed to what looked to Laura like an Arabian mare, a chestnut. “That’s her name but we call her Colly.”
Shane raised his eyebrows at Laura.
“Colly’s beautiful,” she said. “I’d like to ride her. Arabian, isn’t she?”
He smiled. “Some of her ancestry must have been, but she’s of mustang stock. We picked her up as a filly who’d been injured. By the time she was healthy and whole, she was too domesticated to turn loose, so we kept her. On the trail, Colly can outlast any horse we own.” His dubious glance told her he didn’t think she’d come anywhere close to Colly’s ability.
After Cloud and Colly were saddled, Shane and Laura set off, with Sage waving from the corral.
“I hope we’ll be able to spot the black stallion’s herd again,” Laura said after they’d ridden some time in silence. “One of his mares—a pregnant pinto—was lame. I need to get a better look at her.”
“He’s got two pinto mares. Which one?” Shane’s words made her certain he must know every mustang in that herd.
“If she were a cat I’d call her a calico.”
He nodded. “I know the one. Must be a recent injury. She wasn’t lame the last time I got a good look at the herd.”
“It was obvious yesterday.” As soon as the words were out she realized he probably hadn’t noticed the mare, being too busy coming to her rescue. The sooner she came to terms with that the better.
“Yesterday wasn’t the greatest introduction in the world for us,” she said, facing her mistake squarely. “It was poor judgment for me not to pay closer attention to the stallion.”
Shane had been wondering if she’d ever admit her mistake. Now that she had, he was forced to revise his estimate of her. She also sat on Colly like a pro and rode well. The question that remained was how long she could last.
She was quiet for some time before saying, “This morning Sage told me something that keeps troubling me. Is it true her father is trying to gain custody? She seems terrified that he will.”
The last thing Shane wanted to do was discuss his problems with a stranger, but since his sister had already hung out the family laundry, the least he could do would be to give Laura the straight facts.
“My mother had me when she was very young. My father died when I was eighteen, and two years later, she remarried off the reservation and went to live with her husband in southern California. Sage was born there. My mother brought her back to the ranch when she was four, and the two of them never left.”
“Sage said her father was mean,” Laura said.
“Our mother told us that,” Shane said shortly, a muscle tightening in his jaw. From the moment his mother had come home, he’d hated Bill Jennings, the man who’d b
ecome his stepfather.
Just as quickly, he’d come to love his little sister. The thought of Sage going to live with that man set his teeth on edge.
“Surely no judge would force a child to live with a man known to be abusive,” Laura said, her indignation clear in her voice.
“There’s no evidence of any abuse. When she lived with him, my mother never called the authorities, so there’s no record. And now she’s dead. The judge feels since Sage’s father has remarried, she’d benefit by having a woman to mother her.”
Laura didn’t speak for a while. “Forgive me if I’m getting too personal,” she said at last. “I can’t help but be concerned about Sage’s future. If the judge seems to think Sage needs a woman’s influence, isn’t there someone you know that you could marry? Surely the judge wouldn’t favor moving Sage then.”
He scowled. “Marriage is out. It’s not for me.”
To his surprise, she nodded. “I understand because I never intend to marry myself. Still, you might come to some kind of accommodation—I suppose it might be called a marriage in name only—to satisfy the judge. Once he rules in your favor, after a time the marriage could be dissolved.”
He started to brush off the suggestion with a terse remark, then held, staring at her. What was it Grandfather had said last night? Something about what a nice young lady Laura was, just the person Sage needed to have around.
At the time he’d thought Grandfather meant for temporary company. Ha. What that clever old trickster was trying to do was set him up. That was the reason behind his inviting Laura to stay at the ranch.
Shane snorted in disgust at being taken in. Realizing he’d startled Laura, he turned away. She’d had no part in this, he felt almost sure. Not once had she indicated she so much as liked him. He wondered why.
Most women found him attractive. He’d be a fool if he hadn’t noticed that. But it was clear to him that Laura didn’t. He glanced at her and caught her looking at him apprehensively. Was she afraid of him? Why should she be?
“Is something bothering you?” she said, flinging her words at him like bullets.