The Cattleman's Proposal (The Men of Mulhany Crossing Book 1)

by Helen Lacey

  “Of course,” he said and drank some beer. It was time she knew the truth. He named a substantial dollar figure. The exact amount Patrick Cohen had asked him for earlier that day. The amount it took to pull Joley’s business back from the brink of ruin. “And did you know that?”

  She stared at him and swallowed hard. “No…that’s outrageous. I don’t believe it.”

  “You should,” he said. “I have no reason to lie to you.”

  She gripped her glass. “He never got around to telling me how much trouble we were in. I just never imagined it was so bad…” her voice trailed and faded for a moment. “I have to talk to Patrick.”

  “He’s on his way to his honeymoon in the Maldives. I can’t imagine he’ll be picking up his phone anytime soon.”

  Her eyes lost some of their usual spark. He felt bad for her. Nate knew only too well what it was like to be deceived by someone you cared about.

  “Well, I’m sure I can sort this out. I’ll talk with the bank tomorrow and—”

  “Already done,” Nate assured her. “To Cohen’s credit he has been talking to the creditors and trying to dig the business out of the hole it’s in. Without success.”

  “He told you that?”

  “He told me everything,” Nate replied. “Gabby insisted. My sister is furious with him for keeping the extent of the problem from you and your father.”

  She was suddenly silent and he couldn’t miss the shine in her eyes. Damn. His new brother-in-law was a reckless S.O.B.

  “I understand how difficult this must be for you, Joley.”

  She didn’t look convinced and her voice wavered when she spoke. “You do? Well, it’s not a business your father built and put his life into that’s going down the drain, so I don’t see how. If what you’re saying is true, then I have no hope of finding the money to get the business back on its feet. So at this point I don’t imagine anyone knows quite how I feel.”

  He shrugged. “Point taken. Maybe I don’t know. But I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.”

  “How could you—”

  “Because as of two o’clock this afternoon you and I are business partners.”

  Joley’s entire body stilled. He was joking, right?

  “Partners?”

  “Well, the creditors are off your back. And Patrick has accepted my offer to buy his share of the partnership.”

  Shell-shocked, Joley stared at him. Patrick would never do that. It was impossible. Only, Nate had no reason to lie to her. Patrick could be unreliable. But at that moment she wanted to know about Nate’s motives. What would a wealthy cattle station owner want with third share of a barely solvent flight school?

  “Why would you do that?” she asked quietly, belying the tension coursing across her skin. The waitress returned and she was forced to order her meal and linger an excruciatingly long time before they were alone again.

  “Why?” he said and pushed the beer aside. “Because my little sister asked for my help.”

  Gabby? Of course. And now Joley was business partners with a man she hardly knew? It was outrageous. “This is so not happening.”

  “Oh, it’s happening, Joley. Thanks to the mismanagement of my new brother-in-law.”

  “I’ll find a way to cover the debt,” she said quickly. She could take the digs towards Patrick. She couldn’t take the idea her father’s beloved business belonging to someone who didn’t have any right to it. Nate might have enough money to bankroll the flight school, but he didn’t have the right to interfere…sister or not. “I won’t let you do it.”

  “Do what?” he asked with such arrogance she was tempted to toss her drink in his face. “Help you?”

  “More like help yourself,” she shot back.

  He laughed as though he found her incredibly amusing. “Still determined to think the worst? Is that a regular thing with you, Joley?”

  Was she so transparent? That he could read her so effortlessly was annoying.

  “What do you really want?” she asked, suspicious and angry she’d allowed him to push her buttons. Joley liked it a whole lot better when she’d been ignoring him.

  “Want?” He toyed with the word for a moment. “I told you at the wedding.”

  Color drained from her face. She remembered he’d said quite a few things. And one thing in particular that had made her take notice. “Sex?” She couldn’t recall the last time she was so completely shell-shocked. “Is this some perverse way to get me into bed? Do you expect me to trade one for the other?”

  He laughed. “That’s a little coarse.”

  It was ridiculous really. Hadn’t he already said he’d stepped in to help his sister? That made sense. It’s not about me. Only the way he watched her made Joley suddenly nervous. But if Nate only wanted a casual roll between the sheets he would have taken up her offer at the wedding, right? Instead, he’d shown restraint and respect. Damn him. He had the upper hand. And he knew it.

  She fiddled with her glass. “I’m suspicious by nature.”

  One brow came up. “Some undeserving jerk did you wrong and now you brand all men the same—does that about cover it?”

  Smart. But she wouldn’t be outsmarted. “It’s not important.”

  Their breadbasket arrived and when the chirpy waitress disappeared Nate eased backwards in his seat. “I’d like to know why you allowed Patrick to put your business in such a position.”

  Joley wished she had a reasonable answer. “I trusted him,” she said simply.

  “So you’re suspicious of all men expect Patrick?” he asked.

  Joley picked up a piece of herb bread. “Not all men.” She ate some food and kept her head. “So, this arrangement you made with Patrick…what does it look like?”

  “Money to pay the creditors in exchange for his share of the business.”

  “Which my father and I could put a stop to, since our combined shares would outweigh yours?” she said, feeling a tiny surge of triumph. Ian McBride would never agree to such an arrangement.

  “Of course, you could do that,” Nate replied and took some bread. After a lengthy silence, he looked at her again. “Only, without help, your business won’t survive.”

  The triumph disappeared. Brutal honesty was her only ally. “And you’re being so generous because of your sister and because you want to get me into bed?”

  “If I was only interested in having sex with you we’d already be lovers.”

  Because she’d thrown herself at him so obviously and he’d turned her down. He made a good point. “Then I guess I should thank you for not taking advantage of my vulnerable condition that night.”

  “I don’t want your thanks, Joley,” he said, quieter, suddenly serious. “What I would like, is your time. For the next few days at least I’d like you to spend some time with me.”

  “As what?”

  “Friends,” he said and picked up a fork. “Isn’t that the usual place to start?”

  But the situation seemed highly unusual. He believed he had her business. He wasn’t about to get her too. “I can’t…”

  He drew in a sharp breath. “I’m not a threat to you.”

  No? He sure as heck felt like one. Everything about Nate attacked her sense of control, of reason. She was attracted to him. Every other attraction she’d felt over the years felt lukewarm compared to this.

  Even Dale.

  She’d met and fallen in love with Dale Parker as a naïve seventeen year old. The much older, much married flight instructor had swept her off her feet. Of course, she hadn’t known he was married at the time. But Dale had taught her to distrust men with good looks and money. And charm in bucket loads. Even when she’d found the courage to date again a few years later, her heart was never really in it. As one year rolled into another, no man who entered her life made her pulse race, except for now. As far as racing pulses went—one look from Nate and hers suddenly rocketed upwards a la space shuttle.

  “I’m never going to sleep with you.”

 
His mouth creased, like he wanted to smile. “Never is a long time.”

  “Don’t even think about trying to coerce me into it.”

  He laughed out loud. “You really do have a flair for the dramatic.”

  It did sound a little ridiculous. She frowned. Maybe she had misjudged him. “So…this really isn’t about me? You did it because Gabby asked for help?”

  “Of course it’s about you,” he said quietly. “But probably not in the way you are imagining.”

  Joley’s whole body was on red-alert. “I don’t understand.”

  “Maybe you’re over thinking it,” he said. Before she could reply, their meals arrived.

  Joley waited for the waitress to leave before she replied. “Maybe I feel I have to.” Her curiosity about him soared and she asked a blunt question. “Why aren’t you married?”

  “I’m divorced.”

  When he didn’t elaborate she raised both her brows. “And?”

  Nate picked up a fork and speared a shrimp. “She left me four years ago. Anything else?”

  His cryptic response made her want to know more. “Is the subject off limits?”

  “Not at all,” he replied a little too evenly. “My marriage lasted three months.”

  Her mouth opened in a round ‘O’. “That’s not very long.”

  “Hardly worth mentioning.”

  “Why did she leave?”

  He shrugged. “We wanted different things. She wanted money and freedom. In the end she got both.”

  “And you?” she asked as an odd sensation uncurled down low.

  “What do I want? The usual.”

  “What’s that?”

  Nate met her gaze. “Family. A wife. Fifty years together.”

  Her insides rattled. The way he said the words made it sound like the most natural, logical thing in the world. In any other circumstances, like if they were on a date and she thought it might actually lead somewhere, she might have allowed herself to think about how she wanted those things too. But this was not a date. And Nate was not her…anything.

  But he looked at her in such a way that every part of her body thrummed to a kind of heavy seductive beat. Attraction, she thought, and tried again to dismiss it. But it had a will of its own and continued to play around with her good sense.

  He shrugged his magnificent shoulders. “And you?”

  Joley took a breath. “I want my business back.”

  “You said you wanted more.”

  She stilled. “I did?” Suspicion crept across her skin. “I don’t know what—”

  “The other night you said work wasn’t enough.”

  She did? “It was the champagne talking.”

  “And that’s all?” he asked.

  Joley had no idea what she’d said. But she could hazard a fairly accurate guess. After a few glasses of champagne and a heavy heart because her best friend was married and looked unbelievably happy, she was pretty sure she’d told Nate everything about her lonely, single life and sudden need for more. Especially considering her libido had been aroused with a loud thud.

  She tried to shrug and ended up doing a kind of stiff shoulder thing she knew looked forced and uncomfortable. “I want to be happy…like everyone else.”

  “And what would make you happy?”

  “Getting my business back,” she replied hotly.

  “I have no intention of taking anything from you, Joley. And there’s more to life than work.” Nate said and pushed back in his seat. “After my parents divorced I watched my father pour his life into Gwendonna Downs and it sent him to an early grave. I spent a lot of years at boarding school and even though I’d come home for semester break and Christmas, I saw how he became an empty shell because all he had was the land, cattle and the money that came with it.”

  She was surprised by his candid words. “Your father didn’t remarry?”

  “No. He was a proud man. Too proud maybe. He never did get over my mother. They had a volatile relationship…passionate…but with very little in common. My mother wasn’t cut out for life at Gwendonna and my father could never have lived anywhere else. Divorce was inevitable. But he never stopped loving her.”

  Nate’s comments made her think of her own parents. They’d been married for thirty-five years and their relationship seemed mediocre at best. Joley knew she wanted more from a marriage. More from love. “My parents barely talk to one another,” she admitted. “I’m not sure if they’ve ever had passion between them. Makes me wonder who’s had the better relationship.”

  “Maybe there’s a middle ground, passion and compatibility.”

  Wasn’t that what she craved? A man who wanted her no-holds-barred? Who also made her laugh, who understood her need to fly and her love of horses? She looked at Nate and wondered, for a crazy second, if he was that kind of man. His broad shoulders and strong arms were certainly tempting. But he had the kind of raw masculinity she usually shied away from. Perhaps because on some level Nate reminded her of Dale?

  “Maybe,” she said. “I’m not exactly an expert in the area.”

  “Something we have in common.”

  Joley dropped her gaze and tried to concentrate on her meal. Finding commonality struck a chord within her. It was easy to forget he held the future of her business in his hands. She managed some small talk during the following hour and decided not to talk about the business or Patrick. She asked him about his home and he told her how Gwendonna Downs was a fifth generation homestead. He told her about his horses and cattle and she answered a few vague questions about her own childhood. Once the plates from the main course had been whisked away, Nate insisted she check out the dessert menu. She ordered a Brulee and didn’t bother hiding her enjoyment while she ate. By the time they’d lingered over coffee and Nate paid the check, Joley couldn’t believe how relaxed she felt in his company. She didn’t want to be relaxed. She didn’t want to know him. Or like him.

  By ten, he drove her home and walked her to the front door.

  Suddenly nervous, and feeling somewhat like if she didn’t get inside quickly he’d pounce and disprove her suspicions that he was actually a gentleman, Joley fumbled with her keys and dropped them at her feet.

  “Something wrong?” he asked once he’d retrieved them.

  “No,” she lied. “Just tired.” So take the hint and don’t expect me to invite you inside.

  Nate grabbed her hand and placed the keys in her palm. “You look like you need to go to bed.”

  Bed? Right. Here it comes. So pounce away. But he didn’t. And it took about a micro-second for her to realize he meant she must look haggard and sleep deprived.

  Joley pulled her hand free and gripped the keys. “Well, goodnight.”

  Would he kiss her? And more to the point, did she want him to? Haggard or not, he hadn’t denied his interest.

  He smiled, almost lazily and it crinkled the corners of his eyes. And made him look sexier if that were possible. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

  “I’m spending the morning at the stables with Red. Then I have to get to work. And at some point I have to figure out a way to tell my father about Patrick…and you.”

  He grinned. “Good. I’ll meet you at the stables first. I’d like to see your horse.”

  He obviously wanted to check out his investment. It didn’t give her much of a window to figure out how to extricate herself from the mess Patrick had landed her in. What was that old saying—keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Not that Nate was the enemy exactly. But he wasn’t her friend either. He wasn’t anything to her.

  She said goodnight, then watched his tail lights disappear as she shut the door, Joley wondered who she was trying to fool.

  Chapter Four

  Nate had three days to get Joley where he wanted her. With Patrick Cohen out of the picture for a couple of weeks, he had some time to get her attention. But the fact he’d bailed out her business hadn’t gone down well. She resented his interference and he couldn’t really blame he
r.

  He suspected Joley was an emotional woman, but there was an air of practicality about her too. Nate hoped logic would win out. Because he lived by logic. Romantic notions were for fools. He’d married for love once and it had blown up in his face. Never again. The next time he made a commitment it would be based on more than some fanciful idea of romantic love or sentimental happy-ever-after. He wanted companionship, honesty, integrity and sex. A woman who could work beside him at Gwendonna Downs and deal with the isolation and lifestyle of an outback cattle station. It wasn’t for everyone. But he believed that Joley McBride was that kind of woman and exactly what he was looking for.

  The address she’d given him was not a run of the mill stables but a large equestrian complex. Nate parked the car and got out. He spotted Joley’s small SUV, with the name of her flying school on the side and then headed towards the indoor arena. There were a few riders in the huge enclosure but he noticed Joley immediately. Dressed in pale breeches, blue-collared shirt and helmet, she sat perfectly upright on her huge chestnut gelding, riding English style she worked at an extended trot and then a slow canter across the sand on the diagonal. Perfect indeed. She certainly knew how to ride.

  Nate rested his elbows on the fence and watched as she smoothly manoeuvred the big horse through several transitions, then came to a halt in the centre of the arena. She looked across to where he stood and tilted her head, acknowledging him for a moment before she urged the horse towards the gate and along the barricade. Nate met her halfway and she dismounted fluidly, landing squarely on her booted heels. The breeches enhanced her lovely curves and he took immediate notice.

  “You came,” she said, just a little breathless as she collected the reins over the horses head.

  “I said I would,” Nate replied.

  She flicked off the chinstrap on the helmet. “I thought you might have changed your mind and gone straight to the flight school.” She smiled but with little humor. “To check out the books.”

  “Still determined to think I’m the bad guy?”

  She shrugged and looked him over. “I’d prefer not to think of anyone being all bad. But I might make an exception.”