The Texas Rancher

by Jane Corrie

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  Josie did get the message and her blue eyes flashed as she answered bitinglv, 'You've made

  �"our point, Mr Boston, now if you don't mind I ought to be getting back. I can't lose the only job I've been fortunate enough to get, can I?' and withher head held high, she swung away from him towards the store. Her feelings were mixed, she was furious, yet she could have wept with frustration. The wretched man had made her feel cheap and

  useless, and she didn't know which was worse. The only consolation was that he would not be likely to approach her grandfather now, and how she was going to pay him back for that fencing was beyond her comprehension, but one thing she did know was that she was not going to be beholden to him. She stopped in her tracks; she ought to have told him to let her have the bill and asked for time to

  pay. Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked back, expecting to see him striding towards his car, but to her consternation he was still standing where she had left him. She flushed as she met his eves, knowing that he must have seen her abrupt stop and now waited�for what? for her to change her mind? Well, he was going to be unlucky, she thought scathingly. 'Would you please let me have the bill for the fencing?' she requested quietly. 'It might take a while, but I'll do my best to clear it as soon as possible. If you've no objection to m paying by instalments, then that's how I'd have to do it' Her eyes met his defiantly. He could insist on full payment then and there, she knew, but at least she had tried.

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  Josie was not sure whether his pause was deliberate or not, or whether he was genuinely considering her proposal, but when he spoke, it appeared he had given the matter some thought. 'If you really mean to pay your share, there is another way of doing it,' he said slowly.

  A startled Josie stared at him. What other wa> could there be? Was he attempting to blackmail her into letting him get Carella? Then another thought struck her that made her cheeks flame a deep pink. There was no need for her to utter them, for they were mirrored in her eyes, and her colour deepened as she caught a look in Kade Boston's eyes that told her he knew what she was

  thinking. 'No, Miss West,' he said softly. 'It's neither of those possibilities. However, the idea is only just forming in my mind, and I'll have to work on it. I'll put it to you later, if I may?' A stunned Josie could only nod her reply, and with a curt nod back at her, he left her to her musings and walked to his car. Josie had still not recovered when she got back to the store, but on meeting Lucy's curious eyes, she made an attempt to pull herself out of her stupefied state by saying, 'Sorry about that, Lucv but I just wanted a word with Mr Boston.' Her hopes that Lucy would accept this bald statement without any comebacks were immediately dispelled as she saw Lucy give her a knowing grin. 'That's how he affects all the girls,' she said teasingly, then put her head on one side in.- a quizzing manner. 'Although somehow I eouldn't see you chasing him!'

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  The remark was calculated to force Josie to tell her just what she had wanted to see Kade Boston about, and Josie, well aware of this, gave an exasperated sigh as she reluctantly rose to the bait. 'I was not chasing him,' she said dryly, and had to smile at Lucy's triumphant expression at the way her ruse had worked. 'I suppose you won't sleep tonight if I don't tell you what I wanted to see him about, will you?' she accused the now indignant Lucy; at least she tried to look indignant, but she didn't quite make it, for she was too anxious to hear what Josie had to tell her.

  Josie replaced her apron before she continued, then wiped the counter down and noticing Lucy's worried look towards the door knew she was terrified someone would come in before she could hear the story, so she put her out of her misery. 'I was afraid he would ask Gramps to pay for the fencing,' she said quietly, and went on to tell her what had happened, and how Kade Boston had taken matters into his own hands and fenced the whole boundary.

  When Josie had finished, Lucy's brow wrinkled in puzzlement. 'I don't see what youre worried about. If Kade Boston put that fence up, then he couldn't very well ask your grandfather to pav for it, could he?' she asked.

  'Well, no,' conceded Josie hesitantly. 'I suppose he didn't think my efforts were good enough,' she finished lamely.

  Lucy did not get the connection, and said so. 'But it doesn't matter now, surely? I mean, the fence is up, and as it was to protect his cattle� well, he foots the bill,' she argued reasonably.

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  Josie's blue eyes met Lucy's earnest brown ones. 'Oh, dear,' she sighed, 'I admit it does seem as if it ought to be simple, but it isn't. If you knew ...' She frowned; how could she make Lucy understand? 'Do you remember saying that Kade Boston reminded you of my grandfather?' she asked her abruptly, and at Lucy's slow nod, she continued with, 'Well, can you see Gramps accepting charity?' she demanded.

  Lucy's eyes opened a shade wider, and she nodded again. 'I'm beginning to get your point,' she said slowly.

  Josie gave an impatient shake of the head. 'No,' she said wearily. 'That's not strictly true,' and she gave a deep sigh. 'To be honest, he did accept it.' She gave Lucy a wry look. 'Saw things the way you saw them, that as he'd taken matters into his own hands, then he pays.'

  'Well then,' Lucy broke in calmly, 'why are you worried? I don't get it�unless,' her eyes twinkled teasingly, 'you wanted a chance to tangle with our good-looking bachelor!

  'For goodness' sake! exploded Josie. 'I'm not a bit interested in the man. and I certainly did not enjoy "tangling" with him, as you put it. I just had to make certain that he wouldn't send Gramps a bill. It wouldn't have mattered, you see, if I hadn't tried to cover that gap myself. I went to endless trouble to make sure that Grandfather knew nothing about it. Can't vou see, she asked the now sober Lucy, 'how he'd take the news that Kade Boston threw my efforts away as so much rubbish? Which he did�even though it was rubbish compared to the kind of barrier he put up. But that

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  wouldn't matter to Gramps,' she said sadly. 'He'd be absolutely furious about it, and the fat would

  be in the fire.'

  She was silent for a moment or so, then she added quietly, 'Gramps is an old man now� although he'd hate to hear me say so, and he's not as well as he ought to be. To be honest, I'm a bit worried about him ...' She faltered for a second, then said slowly, 'I had to prevent a clash between them. As you said earlier, Kade Boston doesn't mince his words, and I shudder when I think of what he might have said about my puny efforts at fencing that gap.'

  Lucy hurried over to her side and squeezed her arm. 'Oh, Josie 1 I'm sorry I teased you, pet. I see now why you had to see him. Will it be all right now?' she asked anxiously.

  Josie's gaze left the well-scrubbed wooden floor that she had been studying with a troubled look. and she met Lucy's kind eyes. 'I think so,' she said, but there was doubt in her voice. What, after all had she really accomplished? Apart from telling him that it was she who was responsible for that apology for a fence, and not her grandfather. A frown creased her forehead; he was an intelligent man, and must have known why she had made a point of telling him this. As for the job he had hinted she might do�and it must be a job, she told herself�she hadn't a clue.

  Lucy gave her arm another squeeze as if to remind her that she was still with her, for she had wandered off into a kind of reverie, and Josie came back to the present. Lucy had asked a question and she hadn't really answered it. 'As far as I can see,'

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  she added a little belatedly. 'But I was right in thinking he did expect us to defray the cost of the fencing.'

  'Oh, dear,' replied Lucy, drawing in her breath as if surprised. 'It doesn't sound a bit like Kade Boston to quibble over money. I suppose it's because he'd asked your grandfather to do it�and he hadn't�well,' she grimaced at Josie, 'not properly anyway, but he won't dun you, Josie. He's not like that�you'll see,' she said comfortably.

  There
were, Josie thought caustically, various ways of 'dunning', as Lucy had put it, but she did not say so, and for the rest of that morning both girls were kept busy and had no opportunity for further conversation, for which Josie was grateful. She had a lot on her mind and needed time to think about Kade Boston's extraordinary offer. She knew she ought to have told Lucy about it, but was afraid she might put a different interpretation on

  the whole thing�as indeed she herself had done� so she couldn't very well blame Lucy for thinking

  the same, and was able to stifle her conscience with

  the thought that nothing might come of whatever

  he had in mind.

  At this thought Josie found herself shaking her

  head. She didn't know much about Kade Boston,

  and what she did know had come from either Nat

  or Lucy�but of one thing she was sure, and that

  was that he was not a man to make idle sug

  gestions, and far from letting the matter drop, she

  was certain she would soon find herself wondering

  how she could cope with two jobs!

  However hard Josie tried to stop herself dwel

  ling on the subject, she constantly failed, and had

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  now got to the stage of wondering how her grandfather would take to the idea of her being forced to work to pay off the debt they owed Kade Boston, and her heart quailed at the thought of his re action�in all probability he would order her to have nothing to do with the man, and Josie would be back to square one with a vengeance! The clash she had hoped to avoid would then be a certainty

  Oh, why hadn't she let things be? Why hadn't the man accepted the fact that they couldn't pay and left it at that? He didn't need the money, did he? Josie then miserably reminded herself that he would probably have done just that if she hadn't been foolish enough to offer to pay�even though it be by instalments. Her pride of course had forced her to make the offer, which, she told herself crossly, she wouldn't have done it he hadn't brought the matter up.

  By the time Josie got home that evening,'she felt as it she had been put through a wringer. Somehow she had to warn her grandfather of what might be in store, but she was too-weary to work out the right approach to the subject, for it had to be right. She had made an absolute mess of things so far and couldn't risk making things worse. All she could do now was to play a waiting hand, and deal with the matter as and when necessary. There was still a slim chance that she was meeting her fences before she came to them, she reminded her self hopefully.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  HAPPILY for Josie, Dan Muntrose was calling on her grandfather later that evening to give him a game of chess, a pastime they used to indulge in before Joseph cut himself off from society, and this meant that he would rest directly after their evening meal, in order to be fresh for the coming skirmish on the chessboard. For Josie, it meant an evening's freedom in which to follow her own

  devices. Although she had plenty to do to keep herself occupied, it wasn't long before she was thinking out ways and means of extricating herself from her earlier-agreement with Kade Boston.�not, she reminded herself sharply, that she had actually said anything, just nodded a little bewilderedly at him and he had assumed the rest! Her lips straightened as she stacked away the dishes she had just washed up. Now that she had had time to think things over, she didn't know what she was worrying about! She couldn't possibly do two jobs, and that was an end to the matter. He would just have to accept her first offer to pay by instalments�it was that or nothing, she thought darkly. She would write to him and make it quite clear that anything else was out of the question, for she already had a job�as she had reminded him after that snide remark of his on the slim chances of her obtaining a teaching post.

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  Her small chin jutted out as she recalled his

  attitude; he couldn't make her take another job.

  and she was certainly not going to let Nat and

  Lucy down. There was Billy too to be considered,

  and she had promised to help him.

  Josie felt infinitely better now that her mind

  was made up, and not wanting to put off writing

  the letter for a moment longer, she went through

  to the sitting-rooom in search of writing materials.

  The sound of voices coming from the back porch

  arrested her movement for a moment, then she

  remembered Dan, and relaxed. He was earlv. she

  thought, and she hoped her grandfather had had

  enough rest. However, a second later she froze in

  her tracks. That was definitely not Dan Muntrose's

  voice 1 And as her sensitive ears caught the slow

  lazy drawl of Kade Boston, her eyes widened. Oh

  he wouldn't mention that fence, would he? If he so

  much as hinted ... Josie made for the back porch

  with the light of battle in her eyes.

  The sight that met her eyes of the two men, bv all accounts having an amiable discussion, nearb took her breath away, and although she breathed an inward sigh of relief, her eyes still remained stormy as she took in the way Kade Boston-sat in the cane chair next to her grandfather's chair with his long legs splayed out in front of him in a completely relaxed manner, and the stormy look was replaced by a surprised but wary look, as she saw him get to his feet on her appearance.

  The action completely threw Josie off her high horse, for she had come prepared to do battle with him for daring to worry her grandfather when she had particularly requested him not to do so.

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  Joseph West looked back at her still standing there, and her heart lifted when she saw him grin at her. 'Seems you're in demand,' he said gruffly with a hint of pride in his voice. 'Kade heard you were a teacher, and he's got a job for you. Said it wouldn't take long, didn't I? Thought you wouldn't be wasting your time in that shop for long,' he went on happily.

  Mercifully for Josie the sound of a car coming up the front drive announced the arrival of Dan, and her grandfather got up. 'Well, I guess I'll leave you to work out the details,' he said cheerfully. 'My sparring partner's arrived,' and giving Kade an approving nod, and Josie a conspiratorial look, he went to greet his visitor.

  Josie's astounded blue eyes met the enigmatical grey ones of Kade Boston. She didn't know how he had done it, but it looked as if it was all over bar

  the shouting, and she was about to do the shout

  ing! 'I was going to write to you and tell you I

  couldn't possibly take on another job,' she said

  crisply, and watched his eyes narrow at the sudden

  attack. He did not reply to this, but pointed a long imperious finger at the chair her grandfather had just vacated. 'Shall we talk it over?' he suggested mildly, yet Josie had a feeling that he was not going to take no for an answer, despite his casual

  manner.

  Drawing a deep breath and with a nonchalance she was far from feeling, she sat down opposite him. 'How did you know I was a teacher anyway?' she demanded curiously, determined not to be

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  brow-beaten by this man who seemed to expect people to jump to his bidding.

  The question brought a smile to his lips and relaxed the cold, haughty look of his, and Josie felt a queer jerk somewhere in the region of her heart. 'Miss Plumstead,' he replied casually. 'She's the local teacher,' he explained. 'You're coaching young Billy Muntrose, aren't you? Well, it seems he's come on well since you took him in hand, so she made a few enquiries.'

  Josie's stiff aggressive manner visibly relaxed at this. He needn't have said that, need he? she thought, and a feeling of accomplishment washed over her at the thought that she had helped Billy

  and would go on helping him, she told herself firmly, in spite of this man who seemed so determined to get his
own way. She couldn't go on helping Billy if she had another job, could she?

  Before she could say what was on her mind, Kade drawled, 'I've a bit of a problem, you see. My brother and his wife are in the wilds of Borneo at *he present time, and likely to be there for another three months or so. They're botanists, by the way, and as such, their work takes them all over the world at any given time.' He drew in a deep breath, as if impatient to explain the situation and be done with it. 'As Borneo is not an ideal place to take a child, I agreed to keep their daughter Maryanne with me until their return.' He took another deep breath and gently flexed his strong fingers as thev lay along the side of the chair. 'I'm afraid she's been a little spoilt in the past,' he told Josie quietly. 'Usually she travels with her parents, and has private tuition wherever they happen to be,

  �. THE TEXAN RANCHER but this was one trip they couldn't take her orL

  Tosie met his grey eyes warily. If he wanted her to coach this child as she was coaching Billy, then perhaps she could manage ... 'I tried sending her to the local school,' he went on slowly, but it didn't work out, and there was nothing for it but to remove her, for the good of the school, not to mention Miss Plumstead's peace of mind I he

  added dryly, then shot Josie an interrogating look. 'I want you to take over the child's education

  while she's at Blue Mount.'

  Tosie drew in a tiny sigh of relief; if that was all

  it entailed, she could do it. The hours, of course. would have to be worked out. Nat wasn't so bus.in the mornings, and if she gave the child an hour each morning, say from nine to ten, she could then

  go on to work ... She looked back at Kade to find him studying her with as much curiosity as she had previously studied him. 'Very well, she said brightly. 'Might I suggest that I give her an hour each morning? From nine to ten would suit me

  perfectly.' ,

  He frowned at this. -I was thinking more on the lines of ten to four,' he answered slowly yet firmb