by Francis Ray
Raven squirmed, recalling that wasn’t all they had shared. “Yes, it was.”
“Can I do anything to help on this end?”
“You’ve already done enough,” Raven said, meaning it. “If you hadn’t found a sponsor, I wouldn’t have been able to come.” And she wouldn’t have met Duncan, a man who made her body burn.
“Blade was glad to do it,” Mrs. Grayson told her. “He feels just as strongly as I do about the preservation of our culture.”
“It helped that you’re his mother-in-law,” Raven teased.
“Blade makes his own decisions,” Ruth said mildly.
And Blade was crazy in love with Ruth’s youngest child and only daughter, Sierra. Sierra, like her four older brothers, adored their mother, and whatever she wanted they made certain she got.
“I’m glad he made this one.” Raven stood. “I’m going back this afternoon to deliver supplies so I can start immediately when I get there in the morning.”
“I won’t keep you then. Thanks for letting me know how things are going. I’m sorry I missed your call last night,” Ruth said. “Catherine had all of us over for dinner at their house.”
Raven knew “us” meant Ruth’s four other children and their spouses. Ruth had been instrumental in marrying off each of them. She’d even enlisted Raven’s help to give her youngest son, Pierce, a shove toward the woman he eventually married. “That must have been fun.”
“It was. Having your children happy with a life partner is a blessing,” Ruth said. “Perhaps one day—never mind. Please thank Duncan again.”
“I will.” But I won’t like it, Raven thought. “Talk to you soon.”
“Bye, Raven, and I’m proud of you. “
“Thank you,” Raven said, hanging up the phone, the euphoria of earlier returning. In the grand scheme of things, Duncan didn’t matter. The most important thing at the present was cataloging and authenticating the cave drawings. First, she needed to see how deep the cave was, how far the drawings went.
She wrinkled her nose. If she hadn’t grabbed Duncan—if he hadn’t kissed her silly—she might know. Annoyed with herself, she stood and began to pack the supplies she hadn’t wanted to leave in the Jeep.
Her Jeep was usually reliable, but rain in Arizona had let her know that there was a small hole in the canvas top. Luckily, it had been only a light shower and no serious damage had been done, but she hadn’t wanted to take that chance with the paper she’d need to trace the drawings, paper to use in her laser printer, her notebooks.
Crossing the room, she picked up the canvas bag she’d stored her tools in and headed for the Jeep. She didn’t need Duncan’s help.
On the second trip from the Jeep into the house, she met Rooster on the front porch. He didn’t look happy. “The boss wants to know what you’re doing,” he said.
Her first thought was to tell him to tell the boss it was none of his business, but since it was his business, she left the words unsaid. Then another thought struck.
She looked at the corral. It was at least fifty yards away and a beehive of activity. She couldn’t see Duncan, but she knew he was there. He wasn’t a man to remain idle while others worked. If he were, the Double D wouldn’t be as prosperous as it obviously was.
From the sudden bellow of a calf, they were still branding. She couldn’t imagine Duncan had the time or the inclination to pay attention to the house or her. “He’s busy. How does he know I’m doing anything?”
The look Rooster gave her was so condescending she was tempted to take back her thoughts of sharing her supper with him. Instead, she briefly closed her eyes.
Usually, she was even tempered, easygoing—unless crossed. She didn’t have to think long of the reason for her crankiness. She was in a snit because the kiss apparently hadn’t meant anything to Duncan and it had tilted her sensible, well-ordered world. Her problem, and one that she didn’t intend to let interfere with the job she was there to do.
She’d had the legs knocked out from beneath her before by a man and survived. She would survive this time as well.
“You can tell the boss I’m getting the Jeep ready for a little excursion,” she said sweetly, then walked past Rooster into the house.
In her room, she grabbed her heavy jacket in case it got as cold in the evening as it had the night before. Mapping out her plans for when she arrived back at the cave, she hurried back down the stairs and headed for the front door and ran straight into Duncan. He didn’t look happy.
Chapter 4
She had thought she wanted him to show emotions, but looking at his face she wasn’t so sure anymore. The man was angry and he was staring straight at her.
“Mrs. Grayson said you were sensible. I’m beginning to wonder.”
“I know exactly how you feel. She said the same thing about you.” Raven braced her hands on her hips. “First you question my credentials, now my judgment. She and Faith couldn’t say enough wonderful things about you.”
“You’re going to explore the cave alone, aren’t you?”
Raven blushed on remembering the heated kiss, the reason they hadn’t finished. “It has to be done.”
A thumb kicked the brim of his black Stetson back on his head. “You know nothing about this area. You’ll be twenty miles from the ranch in a secluded location without reliable communication. Snakes and wild animals don’t care about your noble intention.” He cut a glance at her feet. “You could slip and fall in there and no one would be the wiser. You can’t tell me that in the digs you were on you worked entirely by yourself. That others weren’t around.”
He was right. Rule number one: you never went off on your own.
He must have taken her silence as confirmation. “We’re setting some ground rules here. Follow them or I’m calling Mrs. Grayson to let her know that I can’t be responsible for your safety if you won’t follow my orders and ask her to send someone else who will listen.”
The ball was firmly in Raven’s court. Duncan didn’t appear to be the type of man to bluff or talk just to hear the sound of his own voice. He’d make the call and it would make her appear immature and uncooperative at the very least.
“What ground rules?”
“You don’t go any farther in the cave than where we went until I can check it out tomorrow.”
“I—,” she started, saw his eyes narrow, and nodded abruptly in agreement. “Go on,” she said, knowing that wouldn’t be his only request, make that demand.
“You always tell Rooster when you’re leaving. You make sure your cell phone is fully charged, take a radio for backup, and you check in with him at least every two hours. You’re back each day by five o’clock,” Duncan said. “The days are getting longer with more sunshine, but night comes quickly.”
Sensible suggestions and each of them for her safety. “I often become involved while I’m working. I can’t guarantee that I’ll remember to call.”
“I can understand that,” Duncan said. “Mrs. Owens left her alarm clock. You can use it.”
“Can I have it now?” she asked, still determined to start today. The quicker she finished, the quicker she could leave the ranch. “I’d like to return.”
“Ask Rooster. He’ll find it for you.” Duncan peered down at her from his superior height as if trying to make certain she would follow his dictates. “With your credentials and intelligence, I hope we don’t have to revisit this conversation.”
The man sure knew how to drive a point home and make a person feel a bit foolish. “We won’t.”
“Check the gas gauge before you go. If necessary, feel free to fill up,” he told her. “We have fuel pumps for the equipment and trucks. Rooster can show you where they’re located.”
“I’d be happy to pay.”
“No need. It’s easier this way than having to come rescue you when you run out of gas. This is a busy time of year for us.”
Raven had to grit her teeth to hold back a snide complaint. “I assure you that won’t be necessary.”
; “We’ll see.” He turned and started toward the barn.
Silently seething, Raven walked out on the porch to watch Duncan head back to the corral. How could one man annoy you one moment, infuriate you the next, make you feel childish seconds later, cherished in the blink of an eye, and ticked off before you drew another breath?
Duncan McBride had the knack and was certainly like no other man she had ever met. She’d been so horribly wrong to compare him to Paul Dunbar, who had tried to use her for his own selfish gain. Paul, on the one hand, was easily forgotten; Duncan, on the other hand, was proving to be a problem.
Duncan was used to dividing his attention among multiple tasks. With a ranch the size of the Double D he had to if he wanted to be successful. In the past he’d never had any difficulty in evaluating a problem, coming up with a plan, and seeing it through. That was before Raven.
Straightening from branding another calf, Duncan took off his hat to brush the sweat from his forehead, his gaze going to the front yard of the ranch house as it had every free moment since Raven left two hours ago.
Behind him he heard another calf run into the chute specially made for branding. The area was just wide enough for the calf to pass, and once it was inside, the back gate shut behind the calf, effectively trapping the animal.
“Are you all right, boss?”
“Yeah,” Duncan answered, replacing the branding iron he’d just used in the small fire and picking up another one. The cell phone in his pocket went off just as the hot iron touched the calf hip. One ring, then silence. Rooster’s signal that Raven had checked in. She was all right.
But after the kiss, Duncan had to wonder if he was.
It shouldn’t have happened, but he was honest enough to admit that the idea of kissing her had taken root in his mind almost from the instant he’d first seen her, beautiful, elegant, alluring. He might have ignored the need clamoring though him when she’d grabbed him in her excitement at the cave—if she hadn’t said his name.
He could still recall the husky whisper filled with desire, the warmth of her body softening against his. He hadn’t been able to resist the siren’s call or the elegant body. The chute opened in front to let the calf out. Seconds later the back chute opened. Billy had settled into a nice rhythm. They were getting the calves done in good time.
Things on the ranch were going well. Now, if he could just forget Raven—beautiful and tempting—he’d be fine.
Duncan spit out an oath on seeing the white Cadillac Escalade pull up in front of his house. Just what he didn’t need, another problem.
“Looks like Crane doesn’t understand ‘no,’ ” Ramon said, coming to stand beside Duncan.
“He will.” Duncan jabbed the branding iron back into the fire. After he easily scaled the corral fence, his booted feet hit the hard-packed ground with a resounding thump.
Never breaking his stride, he snatched off his gloves, stuck them in the back of his pocket, his gaze never leaving the man who had continued to irritate the hell out of him for the past three months.
Lester Crane had made the foolish mistake of purchasing landlocked acreage that could only be accessed easily by crossing Duncan’s land. Without Duncan granting Crane the right-of-way, which would happen as soon as cows flew, the hunting resort would remain just a dream of the consortium he represented . . . unless Isaac Marshall agreed to lease Crane a section of his ranch.
Isaac’s ranch was next to Duncan’s. Older and a close friend, Isaac loved the land as much as Duncan did, but Isaac had his own ideas and responsibilities. As a member of Elks Ridge’s city council, he wanted the revenue and jobs the hunting lodge would bring. Both men knew many of their young people were leaving because they couldn’t find employment.
“McBride—”
“I thought I made it clear, Crane, that my land wasn’t for lease,” Duncan said, his voice as sharp as a blade.
The broad smile on Lester Crane’s too-perfect face never wavered. He was too calculating to show the anger he surely felt. He desperately needed access to the Double D for the real estate developing firm he worked for. Using Isaac’s land was an option, but it would be extremely expensive to circle around Duncan’s ranch and add months to Crane’s completion date. If Duncan didn’t miss his guess, Crane’s job might depend on his quick success. He’d made an inexcusable mistake, and they both knew it.
“The consortium I represent is prepared to make a very generous offer to buy the land needed.”
“If I wouldn’t lease it, I sure as hell won’t sell it,” Duncan said.
“The offer would be generous,” Crane told him, glancing around the front yard. ”Ranching can be an exhausting and an expensive existence. You never know when unforeseen problems might occur that could make a man change his mind.”
“I’m not changing mine. Now leave and don’t come back.”
The smile slipped for an instant. “Twenty thousand dollars an acre.”
“Not even for triple that price.”
Crane’s blue eyes widened at Duncan’s announcement. His mouth tight, the man turned toward the SUV. Just then the sound of another engine mixed with the bawling of the calves.
Already knowing he’d see Raven, Duncan turned. Her hair blowing in the wind, she pulled up behind the SUV. Smiling, she cut the engine and got out of her Jeep. “Hello.”
Crane’s blue eyes lit and his shoulders straightened in his gray tailored suit. Duncan had a strong urge to toss him into his SUV. ”Hello, I’m Lester Crane with Anderson Real Estate Development,” he greeted her warmly, extending his manicured hand. “Since I know everyone in the area, you must be new.”
“Raven La Blanc,” Raven greeted him. Holding up her dirt-smeared hands, she smiled in apology. “Sorry.”
Crane stared at her hands, his smile faltering, his eyes widening. “You can’t be one of the hands.”
“You would be right,” Raven said, still smiling.
“If you ever need anyone to show you around, I’d be happy to oblige,” he told her.
“Thank you for the offer, but it isn’t necessary. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get cleaned up. My apology for interrupting you and Duncan.” Moving past him, Raven went up the front porch steps.
Crane’s hot gaze followed. His tongue ran over his bottom lip. “Now, that’s some woman.”
Duncan jerked the Escalade’s door open. “Leave and don’t come back.”
Crane’s gaze came back to Duncan. “Afraid of a little competition?”
Duncan let his gaze slowly sweep the man, from the top of Crane’s head to his Italian loafers lightly dusted with dirt. “ ‘Little’ is right.”
This time Crane let his anger show. Hate filled his eyes. Duncan met the man’s hard stare head-on. After a couple of seconds, Crane got inside the Cadillac, slammed the door, and started the engine.
Before the car had turned in the driveway, Duncan had gone up the steps and into the house. When he didn’t find Raven in the kitchen, he hit the stairs. He didn’t stop until he stood outside of her door. He rapped sharply.
“Who is it?”
“Duncan,” he bit out. Who the hell did she expect?
“I’m about to take a bath; you’ll have to wait to chew on me.”
He frowned. He didn’t like her knowing she got to him. “Why would you think that—unless you know you deserve it?”
“Because, Duncan McBride, I seem to irritate you just by breathing.” The door opened. Her irritated face appeared in the narrow opening. “Go chew on someone else for a change.” The door closed.
Duncan simply stood there, fists clenched, trying to control the fierce desire clamoring though him. Air rushed in and out of his lungs. His skin felt too tight for his body.
He knew with certainty that Raven hadn’t taken into consideration that the mirror over the dresser afforded the person in the doorway an unimpeded view of the door—and the person peeking around it.
She’d answered the door wearing only low-cut white panties. He
r long black hair had been pulled over her left shoulder, leaving her elegant back bare. Her legs had been long, shapely, endless. They’d hold a man in her satin heat, urge him on to his pleasure, and give in return.
Lust rode Duncan hard. If he could have laughed at the double entendre, he might have. He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman this fiercely. And he couldn’t have her.
Spinning, he started back down the stairs. Perhaps hard work would obliterate her from his mind. He took the stairs two at a time.
Trouble had come to the Double D. And it wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
Darkness had fallen when Raven hurried from her room. She had every intention of staying out of Duncan’s way the rest of the day, but she’d become engrossed in inputing data into her laptop and making phone calls. If she were lucky, he would have already eaten and left.
A few feet from the kitchen’s door, she heard Rooster’s gravelly voice followed by Duncan’s low-pitched one. Her steps slowed. Well aware of how she’d lost track of time, she’d adjusted the timer on the slow cooker after she’d taken her bath. She could go back to her room and wait, but there was nothing worse than overcooked chicken.
Throwing her shoulders back, ready to give as good as she got, she entered the kitchen and stopped short. Duncan and Rooster were standing over her slow cooker.
“Smells good,” Rooster said. “She told me after she got back this evening that she’d cooked enough to share.”
Duncan leaned closer. Sniffed. “What is it?”
“Some kind of chicken,” Rooster said.
“I prefer beef.” Duncan turned to take his seat and stopped on seeing her.
Not the way Rooster cooks beef, Raven thought. Deliver me from stubborn men. “Hello, Duncan, Rooster,” she greeted them, and prepared the water for the spaghetti.
“I was beginning to think you might have called it a night,” Rooster commented. “I was wondering what to do about that pot thing of yours.”
“Sorry. I was caught up in working.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Duncan take a seat. Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out a package of mozzarella cheese. She removed the top of the slow cooker. A mouthwatering aroma filled the air as she layered the cheese, then sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top, and replaced the lid under Rooster’s watchful observation.