So Not a Cowgirl

by Starla Kaye

  “You can drive her to the airport later today,” Drew stated glumly, pulling his hat low on his brow again. The statement ate at him, but, by damn, he meant it.

  “Her who? Tanya?” Greg asked in surprise. “She’s not due to leave for another couple of weeks or so. You tick her off yesterday? She decide to leave early?”

  He moved in front of Drew and scowled. “You’ve got that IRS agent breathing down your neck. You don’t know the first thing about handling that kind of situation, you told me so. Other than locating all the documentation the agent asked for.”

  “I can deal with it.”

  Ignoring his comment, Greg blustered on, “You need help. Professional help. Tanya’s kind of—“

  “She’s got to go,” Drew interrupted with a near growl. Then he clenched his jaw, which made his head throb all the more. “I know she could help with this, but …”

  “But you’re getting interested in her. Too interested, I’d say.” Greg smiled. “She pushes all your buttons. She’s night and day different from your normal women—especially those exes of yours. She scares you.”

  “Damn straight.” It annoyed the hell out of him that everything his friend had said was true. Fact was, he was more drawn to Tanya than he’d ever been to another woman.

  Their conversation was cut short when the subject of it came bustling out of the house. Both men gaped at the flippy skirt Tanya wore, one that barely reached to mid-thigh and revealed legs meant to wrap around a man in nothing but pleasure. At least that was the thought that burst into Drew’s mind. Which also served to revive the life in his just-now-deflating dick.

  “Shit,” he grumbled in disgust.

  “That’s one mighty fine looking gal.” Greg added a heavy masculine sound of appreciation.

  Drew barely kept from turning and planting his fist in his friend’s face. Greg only spoke the truth, but Drew didn’t like him saying it…or even noticing the fact. Not at all.

  Feeling even more determined, he restated firmly, “She’s got to go. Today.”

  “You’re crazy.” Greg snorted and walked off toward the barn, adding over his shoulder, “I’m not taking her to the airport.”

  Drew stood there swearing to himself that he would fire Greg the next time he saw him. As he noted a couple of other ranch hands nearby glancing from Tanya—now storming her way his direction at warp speed—to him, he swore he’d fire them too. It wouldn’t really happen, but he sure enjoyed thinking it would.

  Tanya held a piece of paper up and waved it furiously at him from the other side of the corral, where she’d stopped to wiggle a pebble out of her shoe. Stiletto sandals again. On a ranch. She might have a ton of book smarts, a fancy diploma and respectable credentials, but she didn’t have a whiff of common sense about appropriate clothing, or shoes.

  “I’ve warned you about not wearing sandals here. Especially those spiky heel things,” Drew complained as she started his way again, wobbling across the gravel. He expected her to twist her ankle at any second. He damn sure wouldn’t pay any Work Comp for her being stupid.

  She somehow managed not to trip, but came close on her determined walk over. She stopped six feet from him, anger rolling off her in waves and sparking in those engaging blue eyes of hers. “You have more to worry about than what shoes I choose to wear.”

  “I’m not worried. It’s you that—“

  She waved that piece of paper again. “You weren’t even going to tell me about this, were you?”

  Recognizing the letter from the IRS that he’d thought buried deep in one of the desk drawers, he bit out, “Where’d you find that?”

  She waved it again, stomping her slender foot at the same time. “I knew it! You weren’t going to tell me about this!”

  “You had no call to go rummaging through all the desk drawers.” He bristled, feeling half like a kid caught hiding something from his mom and half like a boss whose employee had gotten way out of line. He focused on the furious boss.

  But before he could rail into her, she rolled her eyes and blew out a breath that had to have come up clear from her pink-painted toes. He got knocked off kilter watching her breasts rising and falling. And that gave her time to snap, “You’ve had me wasting my time searching for stupid invoices and balancing accounts when I should have been working on this audit.”

  “Don’t stomp your feet. That’s childish,” he said, ridiculously grabbing at that action to comment on. His head pounded and he really didn’t want to get into this or anything else right now. But he sure would later.

  Tanya stomped one foot and then the other just to spite him. “Stomping my feet isn’t half as childish as trying to hide this letter from me.”

  Okay, they were going to do this, no matter how bad he felt. “The matter is none of your business.”

  He reached up to rub his forehead, closing his eyes for a second’s worth or relief, which he didn’t get. “I’ll take care of it. You were never going to be here long enough to deal with it, so there was no point in getting you started on it.”

  Drew opened his eyes to find her staring at him in disbelief. There was also a distinctive hurt look in her expression. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, just keep this particular bit of business to himself.

  He glanced down in discomfort, only to take in the sight of her in that little skirt now fluttering in the breeze around those amazing legs. Another mistake on his part. Heat curled through him yet again, even more so with the added sparks from their confrontation.

  “You need to leave the ranch. Today,” he managed to say as he forced his gaze higher.

  “What?” she questioned. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Because I found this note? Because I’m trying to help you? You’re firing me?”

  “No. Yes. No.” He watched the way her shoulders slumped, watched the fire leave her expression. “I’m not firing you. It’s just best that you leave.”

  “Best?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re right! I never should have come here.” Suddenly her fire was back, practically flaming off her. “I told Mandy this was a stupid idea. I told her you didn’t really want my help. I told her you didn’t even like me.”

  She drew up her shoulders and raised her chin. “I’ll go pack right now.”

  She slapped the IRS letter against his chest, making him jerk in awareness at the touch of her fingers. She froze for just a second, obviously very aware of him as well.

  That second gave him the time to blurt out without thinking, “I do like you, dammit. That’s the problem.”

  She blinked and slowly removed her hand from his shirt, taking the letter with her again. “You do?”

  He shrugged, wishing like hell he’d kept his damn mouth shut. Instead he added, “Kissed you the other day, didn’t I? Damn mistake that was, too.”

  “It didn’t feel like a mistake at the time.” Then she smiled, gently. “There are moments when I like you too.”

  Her smile struck him stupid. Okay stupider. “Only moments?” He didn’t know why he was pursuing this subject. Teasing her in any manner was dangerous.

  She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. “Truthfully, I think you’re pretty hot. Even for a cowboy. And I’m not usually into all this country stuff, including country men.”

  His headache was forgotten now. His brain was definitely stuck in the “stupid” zone. “Hot, huh. For a cowboy.” He stood straighter, giving her the full effect of his cowboyhood allure.

  “I’ve even had a fantasy or two about you.”

  The woman sure knew how to stroke a man’s ego. Without meaning to, he admitted, “I’ve fantasized about you a time or two as well.”

  Before the conversation could really get out of hand, the sound of a ranch phone ringing in the stable caught their attention. As Drew looked in that direction, he noted Greg dashing from the side of the stable into it to snag the phone.

  A couple of seconds later, Greg came striding out to say, “Ms. Montrose, there’s
some guy named Townsend calling. Said he wants to talk to you about a job or something.”

  Drew glanced in annoyance at Tanya, who looked surprised. “You’ve already got a job,” he snapped, earning a raised eyebrow from Greg. What the hell was he doing? This would be the perfect chance for him to see the backside of Ms. Tanya Montrose leaving his ranch. Still, he glowered at her and added, “At least for another couple of weeks.”

  Prancing by him, she said, “I thought you just told me to leave, today.”

  Greg interrupted, sounding all too pleased, “This Townsend guy seemed pretty anxious to talk to you.”

  Drew shot his friend a quelling glare, and then focused on Tanya, and stepped further into that “stupid” zone. “Today, next week, week after. Doesn’t matter to me. Do what you need to do.”

  She stopped in the doorway to the stable, a curious smile taunting him. “You’re a stubborn man, Drew Weatherford. Stubborn to the core.”

  “Amen to that,” Greg added, strolling away with a chuckle.

  “Take the damn phone call. Then put that notice back on my desk and leave it be.” He moved toward her instead of heading the other direction, which he should have done. “Oh, hell, just give it to me.”

  Her smile disappeared. “No.”

  He blinked. “No?”

  Obviously frustrated, she gave in and thrust the letter at him. “You’re being ridiculous.”

  His nostrils flared. “I’m still your boss. Still in charge. Don’t push me, unless you want to suffer the consequences.” Both knew what consequences he meant.

  They stood toe to toe, silently challenging one another. She didn’t like backing down. He was determined she do just that.

  “I mean it. Tend to the bookkeeping, like I hired you to do. I’ll handle the IRS.”

  With a huff, she wobbled on the ridiculous heels into the barn. “You and your stupid consequences!”

  Drew’s hand ached to reach out and swat her sweetly swaying bottom. Except, at the same time, another part of him wanted to touch her in a much more intimate manner. Which was dangerous. Which was what kept him from striding after her and giving her the spanking she’d been earning.

  As he dealt with his crazed emotions, he thought he heard her mutter, “Needs my help, stupid man.”

  He tensed. She really was pushing his buttons. Unfortunately, he was also afraid he really did need her help. Even more unfortunately, he wanted more than just accounting help from her.

  Tanya stormed into the stable and toward the phone next to the door. She’d been in here once before, only because she’d absolutely had to speak to Drew about a business-related phone call. It had taken all the courage she could muster at the time to do it because of her unease with animals…big animals, like horses and cows, ranch animals. Her stomach tensed at the smells that even a recent cleaning couldn’t get rid of. A glance around reassured her that all of the livestock were blessedly missing for the time being.

  She needed to forget the animals. She needed to forget that Drew was probably still standing only a dozen feet away, still angry with her about the IRS notice…and, she suspected, jealous of her getting a phone call from another man. That thought sent heat curling through her, and caused a smile to creep onto her face.

  Smiling, she grabbed the phone, turned to the open doorway, and spotted Drew watching her. No, he didn’t look happy at all. Well, she was unhappy with him, too. Tend to the bookkeeping. Grrrr. She was certainly capable of doing much more than that! This matter wasn’t settled, not by a long shot.

  “Consequences be damned,” she grumbled, even as her buttocks clenched at just the vague idea of feeling his hard hand once again.

  “Tanya?” she heard Peter’s slightly nasal voice question as she held the receiver inches away from her ear. “Tanya, are you there?”

  “Yes,” she said briskly, and then regretted her tone. “Sorry. I was in the middle of something.” Thinking of a certain gruff cowboy’s touch. Spanking. Whatever.

  “So how’s life out in the middle of nowhere?” A lifelong Californian who shared Tanya’s preference for big cities and all the wonders they offered, he clearly thought he was being cute with the question.

  She remembered speaking much the same words to Mandy about the ranch and now regretted them. Oddly enough the ranch and the people who worked here had grown on her. “What do you want?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re starting to like it there.” He sounded appalled.

  “Peter, why are you calling?” she pressed, annoyed with him, and annoyed with Drew continuing to stand where she’d left him, watching her, scowling for all he was worth. She couldn’t believe he’d admitted to liking her, even to fantasizing about her.

  “You got a bum deal here. Everyone here knows it, including the partners. They can’t afford to let you cause grief for the firm, though.”

  She really didn’t want to talk about what had happened. She didn’t particularly even want to talk to Peter right now. What she wanted was to concentrate on her blossoming feelings about the big cowboy now in her life. Well, and, of course, start working on the audit thing that the cowboy didn’t want her to get involved in.

  “I’m putting all of that behind me,” she said firmly.

  “I can help with that. I’m ready to leave this firm, too. And I want you to go into a partnership with me. Here. Back in Sacramento, where you belong.”

  Tanya’s heart fluttered. She could go back to a city with Starbucks, with malls, with nightlife. She could do the work she’d been trained to do, more than just bookkeeping. Such a waste of her knowledge base. But did she want to go back there? Really?

  “We need to talk about this later.” Her stomach was knotting. Pressure. She felt pressured about making a quick choice, from what she sensed in Peter’s excited tone. She didn’t want pressure. “I’ve got work to get to right now.”

  “I’m serious, Tanya,” Peter stated.

  “I know. But this is so sudden. I need to think about your offer.”

  “We need to start making plans. Soon.” He sounded slightly huffy, but agreeable.

  She understood. She really did, but she didn’t want to be pushed into something so quickly. “I really do appreciate your thinking of me.”

  “We’d make a great partnership,” he stated as if that would be the final selling point on the idea.

  She wasn’t so sure about that, but the offer was tempting. Very tempting.

  “Just give me a day or two to think about it.” With that she hung up, noting that Drew had finally walked away. Had he heard any of the conversation? Did she care if he had?

  By the time Tanya returned to the main house and the office, planning on talking to Drew about both the audit and Peter’s offer, she discovered Drew had left the ranch. He’d left her a note on the keyboard. A note that plainly said to finish the month’s bookkeeping ONLY. It also informed her that he’d be gone the rest of the day to a meeting on some foundation business. She was annoyed with herself for taking time after the phone call to go back to her little house and sit down to mull over the partnership idea for a few minutes.

  Pursing her lips, she wadded up the note and tossed it into the trash can beside the desk. Fine. She’d talk to him later about Peter.

  She sank down into the big leather chair and spun slowly around a few times. Finish the month’s bookkeeping. She was already up to date with that. She’d already straightened every darn file, too. Thanks to her disastrous project of searching for a certain invoice the other day. She had time on her hands. Time Mr. Stubborn Cowboy was paying highly for.

  On a final spin of the chair, the IRS notice that she’d dropped on the desk snared her attention. She couldn’t resist such a chance to prove her worth. She couldn’t allow him to fumble his way through finding the necessary information and communicating reasonably with the agent in charge of the case. Still, as she reached for the notice, she realized her actions would be seen as rebellion, as going against his orders. He’d no do
ubt come up with consequences, just as he’d mentioned, for her disobedience.

  Tough! This job and proving herself was worth whatever he’d deal out later.

  She scooted the chair back and determined where to start looking for the information.

  The light in his office was still on as Drew drove into the driveway near midnight. He frowned as he drug himself wearily out of the truck. His headache had stayed with him all day. As had thoughts of Tanya. And memories of overhearing her conversation with that Townsend character. A partnership. In Sacramento. Halfway across the country.

  He slammed the truck door. He’d spent way too much time fretting over her leaving the ranch, especially since he wanted her gone. At least that’s what he’d told Greg, told her, too. But as he’d sat through one frustrating meeting today after another with his lawyer and some foundation contacts, he’d realized that he wasn’t so sure he really wanted her gone.

  Bone dead tired, he headed up the porch and into the house. He needed to fall face down on his bed and sleep about ten hours straight through. Wouldn’t happen. He’d need to get up in about six hours in order to get ranch chores done before another busy day ahead. His lawyer had another meeting set up for this afternoon. And his banker wanted a piece of him as well.

  Closing the front door, he remembered the lights on in the office. Tanya. What the hell was she doing still working at this hour?

  Drew strode down the hall, struck halfway by the smell of her special scent again. Struck, too, by immediate awareness of how close he was to her. Struck by a powerful need to touch her, to kiss her, to…

  To spank her good.

  Stopping in the doorway, Drew gaped at the piles of files and papers on the middle of the carpeted floor. He didn’t need to look closer to know which files they were. She’d gone against his wishes and dived right into the audit project. A part of him realized he should be glad for her help and what she’d found. The other part of him was royally pissed off.

  She hadn’t heard him enter the house, or even come into the room. She was bent over, sorting through some files spread out on the sofa. In a perfect position.