Hazard Ranch

by Joan Johnston

  It was a month of exhausting days and nights before Harry could wean the lambs to a solid feed of pellet rations. But she’d made it. She still had money in the bank, and the lambs had all gotten fed. In fact, Harry was still bottle-feeding some that had been born late in the season. She’d forgotten what it was like to get more than four hours of sleep in a row. When there was work to be done, she’d repeat those three pithy sentences. They kept her awake and functioning despite what felt very much like battle fatigue. But then, wasn’t she engaged in the greatest battle of her life?

  By now even a novice like Harry had figured out that in its best days, Cyrus’s sheep ranch had been a marginal proposition. With all the neglect over the years, it took every bit of time and attention she had simply to keep her head above water. But she was still afloat. And paddling for all she was worth. She hadn’t failed. Yet. With a lot of hard work, and more than a little luck, she just might surprise everyone and make a go of Cyrus’s ranch.

  In the brief moments when Harry wasn’t taking care of livestock—she had six laying hens, a rooster, a sow with eight piglets and a milk cow, as well as the sheep to attend—she’d thought over her last meeting with Nathan Hazard.

  Perhaps if she hadn’t been quite so tired the morning he had come to see her, or if he hadn’t woken her quite so abruptly or been quite so upset, she might have been able to listen to what he had to say. If he had offered help, she might have accepted. She would never know for sure. Harry hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since.

  Nor had anyone else come to visit. She’d made a number of phone calls to John Wilkinson at the bank for advice and had managed to get a few more tidbits of information from Slim every time she made a trip to Harley’s Feed Store. But, quite frankly, Harry was beginning to feel the effects of the extreme isolation in which she’d been living for the past two months.

  Which was probably why she hadn’t argued more when her mother, father and brother had said they were coming out to Montana to visit her. Unfortunately, with the time it had taken her to finish her chores this morning, she only had about fifteen minutes left to put herself together before she had to meet them at The Grand, the bed-and-breakfast in Big Timber where they were staying.

  * * *

  The varnished wooden booths that lined one wall of the luncheon dining room at The Grand had backs high enough to conceal the occupants and give them privacy. Thus, it wasn’t until Nathan heard her exuberant greeting that he realized who was soon to occupy the next booth.

  “Mom, Dad, Charlie, it’s so good to see you!” Harry said.

  “I’m sorry I can’t say the same, darling,” an uppity-sounding woman replied in a dismayed voice. “You look simply awful. What have you done to yourself? And what on earth is that you have on your head?”

  Nathan smiled at the thought of Harry-et in her Harley’s Feed Store cap.

  A young man joined in with, “For Pete’s sake, Harriet. Are you really wearing bibbed overalls?”

  Nathan grinned. Very likely she was.

  Before Harry had a chance to respond, an older man’s bass voice contributed, “I knew I should have put my foot down. I didn’t think you could manage on your own in this godforsaken place. And from the look of you, I wasn’t wrong. When are you coming home?”

  Nathan listened for Harry-et’s answer to that last question with bated breath.

  There was a long pause before she answered, “I am home. And I have no intention of going back to Williamsburg, if that’s what you’re asking, Dad.”

  Nathan took advantage of the stunned silence that followed her pronouncement to take a quick swallow of coffee. He knew he ought not to eavesdrop on the Alistairs, but it wasn’t as though he’d come here with that thought in mind. He’d been minding his own business when they’d interrupted him. He signaled Tillie Mae for a refill of his coffee and settled back to relax for a few minutes after lunch as was his custom. He didn’t listen, exactly, but he couldn’t help but hear what was being said.

  “I’ve been to see John Wilkinson at the bank,” her father began. “And he—”

  “Dad! You had no right—”

  “I have every right,” he interrupted. “I’m your father. I—”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a child anymore,” Harry interrupted right back. “I can take of myself.”

  “Darling,” her mother said soothingly, “take a good, close look at yourself. There are dark circles under your eyes, your fingernails are chipped and broken and those awful clothes you’re wearing are filthy. All I can conclude is that you’re not taking good care of yourself. Your father and I only want the best for you. It hurts us to think of you suffering like this for nothing when in the end you’ll only fail.”

  “I’m not suffering,” Harry protested. “And I will not fail. In fact, I’m doing just fine.” That might have been an overstatement, but it was in a good cause.

  “Fine?” her father questioned. “You can’t possibly know enough about sheep ranching to succeed on your own. Why, even ranchers who know what they’re doing sometimes fail.”

  “Dad…”

  Nathan heard the fatigue and frustration in Harry-et’s voice. Her father shouldn’t be allowed to browbeat her like that. Nathan ignored the Western code that admonished him not to interfere, in favor of the one that said a woman must always be protected. A moment later he was standing beside the next booth.

  Harry was explaining, “I know what I’m doing, Dad. I’ve been reading all the brochures I can find about sheep ranching—”

  “And she’s had help from her neighbors whenever she ran into trouble,” Nathan finished. A charming smile lit his face as he tipped his hat to Mrs. Alistair and said, “Howdy, ma’am. I’m Nathan Hazard, a neighbor of your daughter’s.”

  Nathan bypassed Harry’s stunned expression and turned an assessing gaze to her father and brother. “I couldn’t help overhearing you, sir,” he said to Harry’s father. “And I just want to say that we’ve all been keeping an eye on Harry-et to make sure—”

  “You’ve been what?”

  Nathan turned to Harry, who’d risen from her seat and was staring at him with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in horror.

  “I was just saying that we’ve been keeping a neighborly eye on you.” Before Harry could respond he’d turned back to her father and continued, “You see, sir, we have a great deal of respect for women out here, and there isn’t a soul in the valley who would stand by if he thought Harry-et was in any real trouble.

  “Of course, you’re right that she probably won’t be able to make a go of Cyrus Alistair’s place. But then it’s doubtful whether anyone could. That’s why I’ve offered to buy the place from her. And I have every hope that once she’s gotten over the silly notion that—”

  “Don’t say another word!” Harry was so hot she could have melted icicles in January. She hung on to her temper long enough to say, “Mom, Dad, Charles, I hope you’ll excuse us. I have a few words to say to Mr. Hazard. Alone.”

  Harry turned and stalked out to the front lobby of The Grand without waiting to see whether Nathan followed her. After tipping his hat once more to Mrs. Alistair, he did.

  Just as Harry turned and opened her mouth to speak, Nathan took her by the elbow and started upstairs with her.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Harry snapped, tugging frantically against his hold.

  “Upstairs.”

  “There are bedrooms upstairs!”

  “Yep. Sarah keeps all the doors open to show off her fancy antiques. We can use one of the rooms for a little privacy.” He pulled her into the first open bedroom and shut the door behind them. “Now what’s on your mind?”

  “What’s on my—?” Harry was so furious she was gasping for air. “How dare you drag me up here—”

  “We can go back downstairs and argue. That way everyone in the valley will know your business,” he said, reaching for the doorknob.

  “Wait!” Harry made the mis
take of touching his hand and felt an arc of heat run up her arm. She jerked her hand away and took two steps back from him, only to come up against the edge of the ornate brass bed. She stepped forward, only to find herself toe-to-toe with Nathan.

  “Hold on a minute,” she said, trying desperately to regain the upper hand. “How dare you insinuate to my family that I haven’t been making it on my own! I most certainly have!”

  Nathan shook his head.

  “Don’t try to deny it,” she retorted. “I haven’t seen a soul except Slim Harley for the past two months. Just who, may I ask, has been helping me?”

  “Me.”

  Harry was so stunned that she took a step back. When the backs of her legs hit the bed, she sat down. Her eyes never left Nathan’s face, so she saw the flash of guilt in his blue eyes and the tinge of red growing on his cheeks. “You helped me? How?”

  Nathan lifted his hat and shoved his fingers through his hair in agitation, then pulled his hat down over his brow again. “Little ways.”

  “How?”

  He cleared his throat and admitted, “Dropped off a brochure once. Broke the ice on your ponds.”

  That explained some things she’d wondered about. She’d needed the knowledge the farm brochure had provided, but it wasn’t as though he’d come over and helped with the docking and castration of the lambs. And while she’d appreciated having the ice broken on her ponds, she could have done that herself. His interference didn’t amount to as much as she’d feared.

  “And I talked Slim into putting his milk replacer on sale,” he finished.

  That was another matter entirely. Without the sale on milk replacer she’d have run out of money for sure. “You’re responsible for that?”

  “Wasn’t a big deal. He really did order too much.”

  “Did anybody else get their milk replacer on sale?” she asked in a strained voice.

  “No.”

  Harry’s chest hurt. She couldn’t breathe. “Why did you bother if you were so certain I’d fail in the end?”

  “Thought you’d come to your senses sooner than this,” he said gruffly. “Figured there was no sense letting all those lambs starve.”

  Harry turned to stare out a window draped with antique lace curtains. Her hand gripped the brass bedstead so hard her knuckles were white. “Did it ever occur to you that I’d rather not have your help? Did it ever occur to you that whether I was going to fail or succeed I would rather do it all by myself?”

  Nathan didn’t know how to answer her. He willed her to look up at him, but he could tell how she felt even without seeing her face. Her pulse pounded in her throat and her jaw worked as she ground her teeth.

  To tell the honest truth, he didn’t know why he’d interfered in her life. If he’d just left well enough alone, she would probably have quit and gone home a long time ago. Maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe he didn’t want her to go away. He still felt the same attraction every time he got anywhere near her. And it was impossible to control his protective instincts whenever she was around. Just look what had happened today.

  He reached out to touch her on the shoulder, and she jumped like a scalded cat. Only, when she came up off the bed, she ran right flat into him. Instinctively his arms surrounded her.

  The only sound in the room was the two of them breathing. Panting, actually, as though they’d just run a footrace. Nathan didn’t dare move, for fear she’d bolt. It felt good holding her. He wanted more. Slowly, ever so slowly, he raised a hand and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. It was so smooth!

  She looked up at him then, and he saw her pupils were wide, her eyes dark. Her mouth was slightly open, her lips full. Her eyelids closed as he lowered his mouth to touch hers. He felt the tremor run through her as their lips made contact. Soft. So incredibly soft, and moist.

  When he ran his tongue along the edge of her mouth, she groaned. And her mouth opened wider to let him in.

  He took his time kissing her, letting his lips learn the touch and taste of her. He felt the tension in her body, felt her resistance even as she succumbed to the desire that flared between them.

  Nathan felt the same war within himself that he knew she was fighting. Lord, how he wanted her! He knew he shouldn’t be kissing her. But there was something about her, something about the touch and taste of her, that drew him despite his resolve not to become involved.

  When he broke the kiss at last, she leaned her forehead against his chest, and all the starch seemed to come out of her. “Why did you do that?” she asked in a whisper.

  “I can’t explain it myself. I don’t want…I don’t think we’re very well suited to each other.” He felt her tense in his arms. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m only telling you the truth as I see it.”

  Harry dropped her hands, which she discovered were clutching either side of Nathan’s waist, and stepped away from him. She raised her eyes to meet his steady gaze. “I can’t disagree with you. I don’t think we’re well suited, either. I can’t explain…” A rueful smile tilted her mouth up on one side. “You’re quite good at kissing. You must have had a lot of practice.”

  Harry didn’t realize she was fishing for information until the words were out of her mouth. She wanted to know if she was only one of many.

  “I…uh…don’t have much time for this sort of thing,” he admitted. “Kissing women. A relationship with a woman, I mean.”

  “Oh?”

  “Haven’t had time for years,” he blurted.

  Harry was fascinated by the red patches that began at Nathan’s throat and worked their way up. But his admission, however much it embarrassed him, gave Harry a reason for their tremendous attraction to each other. “I think I know why this…thing…is so strong between us,” Harry said, as though speaking about it could diffuse its power.

  This time Nathan said, “Oh?”

  “Yes, you see, I haven’t had much time for a relationship with a man. That has to be it, don’t you think? We have these normal, primitive urges, and we just naturally—”

  “Naturally kiss each other every time we meet?” Nathan said with disbelief.

  “Have you got a better explanation?” Harry said. Her fists found her hips in a stance that Nathan recognized all too well.

  He shrugged. “I can’t explain it at all. All I can say is I don’t plan to let this happen again.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear,” Harry said. “Now that we have that settled, I’m going back downstairs to inform my family that I’m managing fine on my own. And you will not contradict me. Is that clear?”

  “Perfectly.”

  “Let’s go, Mr. Hazard.” She opened the door, waited for him to leave, then followed him toward the stairs.

  “Wait!” He turned and she collided with his chest. His arms folded around her. The desire flared between them faster than they could stop it. Nathan swore under his breath as he steadied Harry and took a step back from her.

  “I only wanted to say,” he said harshly, “that if you plan to stay in the valley, you’d better get your fallow fields planted with some kind of winter forage.”

  Harry wrapped her arms around herself as though that would protect her from the feelings roiling inside. “Fine. Is that all?”

  He opened his mouth to say something about the stack of dead lambs beside her barn and shut it again. She’d already asked Slim Harley what to do about them. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t buried them yet, but the closed expression on her face didn’t encourage any more advice, let alone the offer of help he’d been about to make. “That’s all,” he said.

  Nathan made his way back downstairs to the bar without once looking at Harry again. As he passed her family, he merely tipped his hat, grim-faced, and resumed his seat in the high-backed booth next to theirs.

  Harry made quick work of reassuring her family that she was fine and that she wouldn’t be leaving Montana. There was no sound from the next booth. But Harry knew Nathan was there. And that he
was listening.

  “We’d like to see where you’re living,” her brother said. “What’s it like?”

  “Rustic,” Harry said, her smile reappearing for the first time since she’d entered The Grand.

  “It sounds charming,” her mother said.

  “That it is,” Harry said, her sense of humor making her smile broaden. “I’m afraid I can’t invite you out to visit. It’s a little small. And it doesn’t have much in the way of amenities.”

  She heard Nathan snort in the next booth.

  “Well, I feel better knowing your neighbors are keeping an eye on you,” her father said. “That Hazard fellow seems a nice enough man.”

  Harry didn’t think that deserved further comment, so she remained silent.

  “Are you sure you can handle the financial end of things?” her father asked. “Mr. Wilkinson said you’ve got a big bill due next month for—”

  “I can handle things, Dad,” Harry said. “Don’t worry.”

  She watched her father gnaw on his lower lip, then pull at the bushy white mustache that covered his upper lip. “All right, Harriet. If you insist on playing this game out to the bitter end, I suppose we have no choice except to go along—for now. But I think I should warn you that if you aren’t showing some kind of profit by the fall, I’ll have to insist that you forget this foolishness and come home before winter sets in.”

  Harry was mortified to think that Nathan was hearing her father’s ultimatum. She was tempted to let his words go without contesting them. That was the sort of passive resistance she’d resorted to in the past. But the Harry who’d come to Montana had turned over a new leaf. She felt compelled to say, “You’re welcome to come and visit in the fall, Dad. I expect you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well I’m doing by then. But don’t expect me to leave if I’m not.”