The Playboy's Own Miss Prim

by Mindy Neff

  She ran her hands over her butt, checking to see if her panty lines showed beneath the tight material of her jeans. A masculine groan sounded right behind her, and she whipped around in time to see Ethan staring…and frowning.

  Ah, progress. Delighted, she gave a small test and rubbed again.

  His frown deepened. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  She nearly stamped her foot. And she certainly wasn’t the type of woman to enact such a display. Four brothers had bedeviled that trait right out of her. But darn it all, she wasn’t used to being such a dismal failure at anything she attempted.

  “No,” she answered at last. “Just adjusting.”

  He looked away, actually took a step farther to the left instead of moving next to her.

  Dora sighed and gave up for now. “Any luck with Warrior and Sunday Best?”

  “Not yet. She’s in heat, but she’s not interested in the stud.”

  “Maybe one of them’s just playing hard to get,” she suggested. Ethan ought to understand that perfectly. And in this case, rather than siding with Sunday Best, Dora fully commiserated with Warrior.

  “Hard to tell. But I don’t like to force something like this. Those animals are too valuable to risk injury to either one of them, or to the handlers.”

  “So what’ll you do?”

  “Nothing for today. In fact, we’re due over at a neighbor’s ranch to help him out with his branding.”

  “Cattle?”

  “Yeah. This time of year all the neighbors rotate and trade services, working each other’s ranches. My brothers and I’ll take our men over to Wyatt Malone’s and give him a hand, and he’ll bring his wrestlers over here once we get our herd rounded up.”

  “Here? You’re going to herd cows over here and mix them with your horses?” She looked around at the white wood fences and green, green grass. Everything seemed so…orderly. The image of cattle crowded in pens, dust flying, wouldn’t quite gel in Dora’s mind.

  “No, we won’t bring them in this close. We’ve got most of them parked on another section of land about five miles south of here. We’ll castrate and brand out there.”

  “Cast—” She shook her head, decided not to finish that query. “I hadn’t realized you had such a big operation. When do you find time to play?”

  And when do you find time to respond to a woman and fall in love?

  “Different times of the year are less busy. And since Grant and Clay and I are equal partners here, we’ve got more freedom than the next guy.”

  She gave him what she hoped was a look of invitation. He didn’t seem to notice.

  “Uh, back to the branding, though. It’s something I’d committed to before Katie…and you.”

  So this is why he’d sought her out, when he’d been doing his level best to avoid her for the past few days.

  “What?” she said with a hint of challenge in her voice. “Need a baby-sitter?” This was just the kind of thing she’d counted on—the kind of thing to get him to realize raising a child alone wasn’t an easy feat.

  He sighed. “Yes. I could ask Hannah—Wyatt’s wife—to watch her.” He shrugged, casually leaned an elbow atop the fence. “Or you could come with me. Meet the neighbors.”

  Her heart gave a somersault, and an odd feeling came over her. He was looking at her strangely…hopefully even. Although she could be wrong about that. She wasn’t exactly at the head of her class in her attempts to read his signals.

  But somehow, asking her to meet the neighbors sounded a whole lot like asking her to meet his parents.

  And although he didn’t have parents and it probably was only her imagination getting carried away with her and was nothing of the kind, she wanted to meet Wyatt and Hannah Malone. Especially Hannah.

  She had some questions that only another woman could answer.

  “Sure. Katie and I would love to come.”

  IN ETHAN’S TRUCK, with Katie strapped in her car seat in the back seat of the extended cab, Dora drank in the beauty of the endless prairie, where grass and wildflowers waved in the breeze and cattle grazed on the abundant landscape.

  “If you’re going to brand and do unspeakable things to Wyatt’s cows, how come they’re still spread out like this?” They were traveling in a caravan with white, Callahan & Sons pickups in front and behind them.

  “Those are my cattle. We’re still on Callahan land, will be for another ten miles or so.”

  “Did your dad already own all this, or did you add to it after the inheritance?”

  “We’ve picked up another ten thousand acres since then.”

  She had so many questions she didn’t know in which order to ask them. Everything about Ethan’s life and the town and neighbors he loved intrigued her.

  “So what kind of guy is Wyatt Malone that he has to advertise for a mail-order bride?”

  Ethan grinned. “He didn’t advertise. The old matchmakers did that all on their own. Wyatt was shocked as all get-out when he went into town for his regular Thursday-night dinner and ended up taking home a pregnant woman and her kid.”

  “That must have been uncomfortable for Hannah.”

  “She didn’t know. She thought Wyatt had sent for her. She answered the ad and Ozzie wrote back, pretending to be Wyatt.”

  “He ought to be ashamed.”

  Ethan laughed. “If there’s one thing those fellas have very little of, it’s shame. Anyway, Hannah’s husband was a creep and a womanizer. When he got her pregnant the second time, he opted out and took off with some bimbo to Jamaica.”

  “Creep is too mild a word.”

  “Mmm. My sentiments exactly. Anyway, Wyatt was totally blown away when Hannah presented him with a copy of the magazine advertisement he’d supposedly placed, inviting her to come out and marry him. He’s got a big heart and couldn’t just turn her away, so he took her home. Besides, he took one look at four-year-old Ian and fell instantly in love with the little guy.”

  “With her boy and not her?”

  “Oh, I think he fell for her just as quick and hard, but it took him a while longer to figure that out.” He went silent for a minute. “Wyatt had a soft spot in his heart for Ian, though, because the boy reminded him of what his own son would have looked like had he lived.”

  “Oh, he lost a child?”

  Ethan nodded. “And his wife. Died in a car accident not far from the ranch. He wasn’t interested in replacing that family, but Hannah and Ian were hard to resist.”

  “I imagine it was a bit awkward once Hannah found out Wyatt hadn’t actually sent for her.”

  “Total understatement. She wanted to leave right away, but she’d packed up her entire life in the back of a rented trailer and come out here thinking she’d be starting over in a new life.” He gave a soft chuckle. “Then Wyatt had a bright idea of trying to fix her up with another cowboy in the area so she could have her dream.”

  “But Wyatt was her dream,” Dora guessed.

  “And she, his, as it turns out.”

  “You know an awful lot about it—and him.”

  “Wyatt and I have been friends and neighbors since we were boys—since I came here. I was his son’s godfather.”

  She reached across the cab of the truck and laid her hand on his arm. “Oh, Ethan. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. It was tough. Timmy was about Katie’s age when the accident happened.”

  She saw him glance in the mirror at the baby in the car seat, felt the muscles of his arms go rigid for an instant. He was probably imagining the same fate befalling Katie, reliving the choking incident again. She gave his arm a comforting squeeze.

  “So were you on Wyatt’s list of eligible cowboys for Hannah?”

  This question clearly lightened his mood. “No way. He was pea-green jealous every time I looked at her.”

  Dora frowned. “Did you want to be on the list?”

  “Me?” He chuckled. “Consider matrimony? No way.”

  His careless comment stung her heart, even though sh
e knew he hadn’t intended it to. Ethan Callahan didn’t believe in marriage. He’d already told her as much.

  Her battle was definitely going to be an uphill one.

  “I’ll have to admit, though,” he continued. “I did abet in the scheme against my buddy. Never thought I’d do such a thing—especially to a friend—but any fool could see he was crazy about Hannah and Ian. And he was as protective of that baby in her womb as if it was his own.”

  Dora sighed. “What a wonderful man.”

  He glanced at her. “What about me? Don’t you think it was pretty wonderful of me to help out, too?”

  That ego was going to get him in trouble one of these days. And it was one of the things she loved about him. But she certainly couldn’t let on that she felt that way.

  “You’re just a regular saint,” she said dryly, then realized that was a very poor choice of words when his brows snapped together.

  She sighed and told herself not to notice the strength of his hands wrapped around the steering wheel, not to wonder what they would feel like holding her close. And she absolutely would not speculate on his thighs or his belt buckle, or the terribly inappropriate image that popped in her head of him wearing only a cowboy hat. Nothing else.

  She shifted in her seat, adjusted the air-conditioning vent and focused on their surroundings. Off to the right there were two long lines of cattle moving down a knoll and across the prairie grass like ants heading for the holiday pies. A half dozen horsemen were scattered around the herd. She wondered if the young bulls would have been behaving so nicely if they knew what was in store for them.

  “This is it,” Ethan said as they turned off the main road and passed under the arched Double M sign.

  “Oh, my. You cowboys are partial to large spreads.”

  “You’re impressed?” he asked, a hint of petulance in his tone—obviously because it was his neighbor’s spread she was commenting on and not his.

  Dora hid a smile. “Absolutely.” The ranch house was a huge, two-story structure. Where Ethan’s property was all flowing lines of pristine white against a backdrop of verdant green, the Double M was predominantly red. Trees had been planted for shade and a windbreak. Not far from the main outbuildings, cows pushed together in corrals, bawling and kicking up plenty of dust.

  “That’s Wyatt.”

  Mercy, Dora thought. Cowboys sure were bred right, out here in Shotgun Ridge. Wyatt Malone was as gorgeous as the Callahan brothers. He had his arm around his very pregnant wife and held a little boy perched on his shoulder.

  Ethan parked the truck, and Dora got Katie out of the back.

  “Uncle Ethan!” The little boy, wearing miniature boots and a cowboy hat wiggled down from Wyatt and ran to Ethan.

  “Ian,” Hannah admonished. “At least let him get out of the truck.”

  Ethan caught the boy on the fly and lifted him into his arms. “Hey there, sport. You been behaving?”

  “Yep. My dad gived me my very own horse, and I have to take good care of her.”

  Dora noticed that Ethan listened attentively to the child, yet his gaze met Wyatt’s when the boy called Wyatt his dad. There was something very special going on here, and the Malones, as well as Ethan, all responded with soft looks that clearly spoke of a closeness born of the heart rather than blood.

  “Your dad’s a smart man,” Ethan said, setting Ian back on the ground. “He knows every cowboy should own a horse by the time he’s four.”

  “Yep. And I’m four.”

  Ethan ruffled Ian’s hair and stepped toward Hannah. “Hey there, California. Wanna ditch this cattleman and run off with me?”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes, and Hannah laughed as she easily moved into Ethan’s arms and kissed him. Dora felt a jolt of envy as he put his hand over Hannah’s pregnant tummy.

  At that moment he looked up, and his gaze locked with Dora’s. It was a look rife with unspoken emotions, which Dora had no experience reading.

  “Hannah and Wyatt, this is Dora Watkins…and my daughter, Katie.”

  The Malones didn’t even blink. Chances were the grapevine had already reached them, and they knew all about the auction and the baby.

  Wyatt confirmed this with a sexy grin that had his wife staring for a split instant. The responsiveness, the deep love evident between the two was touching.

  “Heard you paid a pretty steep price for this old cowboy,” Wyatt said.

  “Watch who you’re calling old,” Ethan complained, and moved to Dora’s side, rescuing his hat when Katie tried to snatch it off.

  Dora laughed. “Actually, I was only acting as agent for Katie, here.”

  Hannah stepped forward. “You men go on and take care of those poor cattle so they don’t have to wait around in anticipation any longer than necessary.” She gave a delicate shudder, obviously knowing what the men intended. “Dora and I will go have coffee and talk about the two of you.”

  “Hey, I think I like the kitchen agenda better than what’s out here,” Ethan said.

  Dora gave him a sassy look. “Too bad. No boys invited.”

  He hooked a finger under her chin, tipped her face up to his. “Who said anything about boys?” His voice was deep and soft and rich with suggestion.

  Dora’s heart nearly stopped. Right there in front of the neighbors, he might as well have shouted that he was a man and knew exactly what to do with his masculinity.

  The problem was, Dora didn’t know what to do with his masculinity.

  Which was her prime objective for accompanying him today.

  She cleared her throat, stepped back. Now she was the one who felt like running, but it couldn’t be helped. They had an audience. And she truly needed a better grasp on the rules and intricacies of her situation.

  Still, she couldn’t just let him get the last word. Her brothers would be ashamed of her. “You want to talk about sex, cowboy?” she asked softly.

  He reacted as typically as she’d expected and jolted as though someone had goosed him with the branding iron.

  “One of these days I’m going to call that bluff, legs.” He tugged his hat low on his forehead. “Let’s don’t stand around all day, Malone. We’ve got cattle to see to.”

  “Well, that was very interesting,” Hannah said when the men walked away. “May I?” She held out her hands toward Katie.

  Dora passed the baby girl to Hannah. “I apologize for that bold conversation. We’ve just met, and you probably think I’m a hussy or something.” Actually, Dora was horrified that she’d let her quick tongue get away from her in front of virtual strangers.

  “No. I think you’re probably just perfect.”

  The look that passed between them told Dora that Hannah was someone she could trust, and she immediately , happily dropped her guard again. “Ethan’s apparently allergic to me.”

  “I doubt that. Billy! Don’t you even think of touching my garden!”

  Dora looked around for another child and saw a goat, instead. It trotted right over and nuzzled against Hannah’s dress as though seeking forgiveness.

  “Ian, honey, would you put Billy back on his leash for momma?”

  The little boy happily wrapped his arms around the goat’s neck and urged it away from the house. Dora wished she had her camera or her sketch pad. Boy and goat were precious together.

  She glanced back at Hannah. “Family pet?” Although Hannah bossed the animal around, she seemed just a bit apprehensive.

  “The silly thing adopted me the minute I set foot on this ranch. We’ve come to somewhat of an understanding since then.” She laughed. “You’ll have heard that I came here to be Wyatt’s mail-order bride.”

  Dora bit her bottom lip. “Mmm. Unbeknownst to him.”

  Hannah held open the back door and let Dora precede her into the kitchen. “Poor guy. I practically landed on his doorstep, determined to be a ranch wife…and scared to death of all the animals.”

  “Looks like you’re doing a good job of overcoming your fears.”

 
; “Yes. It’s a matter of attitude. Sometimes mine wavers.”

  “And the goat takes advantage.”

  “Pitiful, isn’t it? Have a seat. I’ll get the coffee.” She waved Dora to the kitchen table and set Katie on the floor, giving the baby a plastic bowl and wooden spoon to play with. “I’m short on toys, but what kid doesn’t like to beat on the dishes?”

  Dora smiled, admiring Hannah’s ease and improvisation. “So, you’re from California?” Dora asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Would you mind if I asked you a really strange question?”

  “Of course not.” She measured fragrant, finely ground beans into the percolator.

  “How familiar are you with herbs and alternative health stuff, like which foods are aphrodisiacs.”

  “Aphrodisiacs?” Hannah sputtered, laughing happily.

  Dora nodded.

  “For what?”

  “I want to feed them to Ethan.”

  Clearly astonished, she paused and turned fully to face Dora. “To Ethan?”

  Dora nodded again.

  “Are we talking about the same cowboy here? Six-three or better? Consummate flirt? Too handsome for his own good?”

  “One and the same.”

  “Well, I’ll be.”

  “So, do you have any suggestions?”

  “I’m sorry to say I never really studied herbs or their…uh, effects on the libido.”

  “Then in that case, I’m in dire need of tips on how to seduce the man.”

  Forgetting all about the coffee, Hannah sat. “I see.”

  “I’m in love with Ethan,” she said in a rush, lest Hannah think she was some sort of free-and-easy type woman, after all.

  “I came here to fulfill a promise to Katie’s mother, and to convince Ethan to give me custody of the baby because she’s like a daughter to me. But all that’s changed and it’s the biggest mess. I certainly didn’t plan on falling in love with him, but there it is.”

  “And this is a problem,” Hannah said, her tone suggesting she did indeed understand and commiserate.

  “Yes. Ethan’s got some crazy hang-up about me being a preacher’s daughter and all. So if I wait for him to make the first move, I’ll likely be old and gray. The problem is, I seem to be doing something wrong.”