Her Montana Cowboy

by Jeannie Watt

Heifers.

  The cow raised her head almost as if she’d heard his thought, giving him a baleful look. Gus pushed off the fence just as his phone rang.

  “It’s a done deal,” Thad said.

  “Lillie Jean?”

  “Is my official partner. She must have just found out herself.”

  Gus ambled toward the barn’s open bay door, studying the ground as he walked. “I haven’t seen her today, except for when we fed.” They’d talked about working on the fence, but it had started to rain. “She’s holed up in her house.”

  “Maybe you could see her. Kind of, you know, feel her out?”

  “Find out what she plans to do now that she can do something?” Gus had a pretty clear idea of her plans, but his butt was on the line as much as Thad’s, so yeah. He’d feel things out.

  “I’ll call you back when I know something. It may not be today.”

  “All right. But I want your take on things before I talk to her.”

  “Sounds good. Hey,” Gus said before his uncle could hang up. “How are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?” Thad sounded surprisingly cagey.

  “I guess I mean, how are you doing?”

  Thad snorted. “Mimi is trying to fix me up with Ginny. Fortunately, Ginny figured it out and filled me in.”

  Gus gave a mental sigh. So much for Ginny dragging Thad out of self-imposed bachelorhood.

  “Did you know about this?” Thad asked.

  “I had nothing to do with it.” He might have thought it would be nice if the two of them got together, but he hadn’t done anything to work in that direction—especially after finding out about Thad’s former wife. If Thad had wanted a woman in his life, he’d had plenty of time to find one. But he hadn’t, because Nita Hardaway’s memory still haunted him.

  “Good thing.”

  “I’ll do what I can to call Mimi off.”

  “Both Ginny and I appreciate it.”

  “And I’ll let you know what I find out from Lillie Jean.”

  “Thanks.”

  After his uncle hung up, Gus leaned back against the straw stack and studied Lillie Jean’s house through the bay door. They’d barely exchanged more than a sentence or two over the past two days. Gus figured it was because of the kiss. He also figured it wasn’t because Lillie Jean hadn’t liked it. She had. So had he.

  She was afraid that growing close would mess up their business arrangement, and she had a point, so he’d take his cue from her and pretend it never happened. If she sold her part of the ranch and left, there was a better than average possibility that he’d never see her again. If she stayed...well, a lot of random kissing would be distracting.

  Gus shook his head as he stepped out into the rain.

  Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel that a little distraction wouldn’t be all bad.

  * * *

  TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP OF the ranch from her grandfather to Lillie Jean turned out to be ridiculously simple. Lyle had left no debt; his bank accounts, tiny as they were, had transferred upon death, and, essentially, so had his interest in the ranch. Even the legal fees had been taken out of the estate, so as Lillie Jean stood on a stool, painting the upper part of the kitchen wall, she owned her half of the ranch, free and clear. She had no debt, but she also had no capital to start a business.

  She looked down at Henry, who was staring up at her, one stubby paw raised in the air. “We’re official ranchers, Henry.”

  Henry seemed unimpressed. He wanted to go back where it was warm, and Lillie Jean understood, even if the thought of leaving gave her a slight pang. Try as she might, she couldn’t get Gus Hawkins out of her head.

  How long would it take to sell a place like this? Or an interest in it? As Gus had pointed out after she first arrived, they could be partners for a long, long time.

  Or she might have a hit of amazing luck and sell instantly.

  Her amazing luck—the good variety—hadn’t made much of a showing lately, but hey...the ranch had transferred without an asteroid falling from the sky and destroying the place, so maybe the extreme-luck phase of her life, good and bad, was winding down. The best thing to do would be to contact a real estate agent who specialized in ranch properties, discover her options. Which she would do as soon as she called Thad. They needed to have a meeting. Come to an understanding. Start their business dealings off on the right foot.

  She hated to cause Thad grief, but as she’d told Gus more than once, this was not a situation of her making. While she’d love to simply walk away and leave the old man—and his nephew—to their ranching, she couldn’t afford to. She had a future to build, a business to develop.

  Lillie Jean climbed down off the stool and stood back to admire her work. The yellow transformed the dingy kitchen, and the apricot trim she planned to add around the windows and doors would only add to the sunny appeal. She’d just started hammering the lid back onto the paint can when a knock sounded.

  Gus.

  A bubble of anticipation began to rise, and she brutally popped it. The man was off-limits.

  She stepped out of the kitchen and waved him into the house. He immediately took off his hat, shaking water droplets onto the rug. This carpet would have to come up. She could only imagine what it had encountered over years of ranching life.

  “You heard?” She guessed from the solemn look on his face.

  “Yeah,” he said without asking what she was talking about. “I did. So I came to talk.”

  He took a moment then to survey the living room with its soothing aqua walls, then crossed to the kitchen and blinked at the muted lemon yellow. “Colorful.”

  “Better than beige.”

  So much better than beige. The appliances looked downright happy in their new environment.

  “I’m making curtains out of that fabric.” She pointed to the swatch of lemon fabric she’d purchased from Annie Get Your Gun. “I’m waiting for my order to come in. My sewing machine should be here any day now.”

  “Does that mean you’re staying awhile?”

  “It means that I plan to stay busy while I’m here.”

  He gave a silent nod and transferred his gaze back to the kitchen. “Looks better.”

  “High praise.”

  That teased a half smile out of him, which Lillie Jean found gratifying, even though she told herself to knock it off.

  “You want to talk?” she asked, gesturing to the recliner and the hard-back chair in the living room.

  “Maybe we could go to the main house.”

  Now Lillie Jean smiled a little. “And have some coffee?”

  Gus shrugged a shoulder under his heavy canvas coat. “Well...you know.”

  “Right. I’ll grab my laundry and meet you over there.”

  Where they would have a business discussion. Business. Nothing but.

  Gus was making a new pot of coffee when she arrived with her laundry basket under one arm, her small bottle of detergent and dryer sheets balanced on top. Her grandmother would have had a fit if she’d seen Lillie Jean stuffing everything into one load, but it reduced her time in the main house, so that was how she was doing her laundry. She’d put her underwear in the mesh bag she stored them in when she traveled, but other than that, it was every garment for itself.

  She stopped inside the door and studied the kitchen walls, which were a utilitarian wedding veil white.

  “You’re not painting the kitchen yellow,” Gus murmured, and she gave a small laugh, surprised that he’d so easily read her thoughts.

  “It’d perk you up in the morning.”

  “No doubt, but I like my white.” His tone was wry, but he held his body tensely. And as he waited for the coffee to finish dripping he shifted uncomfortably, focusing on the machine until it gave its gasping gurgle.

  After filling two mugs and put
ting one in front of Lillie Jean, he took his seat on the opposite side of the table. “I’ve been looking at some options,” he said abruptly.

  Lillie Jean cupped her hands around the steaming mug and waited for him to continue. They’d had more than one serious conversation at this table and they were about to have another. “What kind of options?”

  “Ways to buy you out. If you want to sell,” he added.

  “I do.” She wanted to sell and then decide what she wanted to do next. Texas or someplace on the West Coast? It all depended on how much she got and how long it took to sell. And she wanted to help out Kate—the only problem was how. Kate could be one stubborn woman.

  “I’ve started looking into Ag loans. Between Thad and I, we should qualify, but I have to find a buyer for my half of the pub. Then the farm appraisal takes some time.” One corner of his mouth tightened ruefully. “A lot of time. Like six months sometimes.”

  “I see,” Lillie Jean said slowly. Six months? It seemed like a long time considering everything that had happened to her recently. Six months ago, she had a business, an engagement ring, a grandfather who, as far as she knew, owned no property other than a few personal belongings and an old Cadillac. Her life had been so different six months ago.

  “Can you guarantee a purchase?”

  “No. But I’ll do whatever I can to buy this place.”

  Points for honesty. Gus didn’t hedge, so neither would she, even though it was uncomfortable to say, “I don’t know if I want to wait that long before putting the ranch on the market if it’s not a sure thing.” That’s what she got for giving in and kissing the man. “It might take forever to sell this place—”

  “Or it may happen tomorrow.”

  “Yes.” She laced her fingers together, so she could hold her hands still. This was not an easy conversation, and it was made more difficult by the fact that she liked Gus, and she felt for his circumstances—which was why she’d wanted to keep her distance from the get-go. That hadn’t worked out as planned, but she had to do what she had to do. She mentally steeled herself as she said, “I have to do what’s best for my future plans. I’ll try to accommodate you and Thad, but you have to understand that I can’t wait forever.” Especially when she didn’t have a job.

  Gus’s expression went stony—or rather stonier. This conversation was as hard on him as it was on her. “I essentially grew up here, Lillie Jean. I love this place. I’d like a chance to make it my own without having to take on a partner.”

  “I understand that.” She hated being the bad guy, especially when she couldn’t help but recall how much she’d enjoyed kissing the guy. And acknowledged how much she didn’t want to hurt him. “I’m not going to make any hard-and-fast decisions right now. What I am going to do is to see a real estate agent, discover my options.”

  “Could you do whatever it is you do here? Run your business from the ranch?”

  “Makes it a little difficult to have a storefront,” she murmured. And she wanted that. The contact with her customers energized her. And she wanted the possibility of hiring Kate to work with her again. They could build a decent business together if she had the capital to begin.

  “Could you work on preliminary stuff here, while Thad and I discover what we can and cannot swing? After all, it’s rent free.”

  He had a point. Other than the cold, the ranch wasn’t a bad place to be. She was enjoying working on the house, transforming it from drab to fab, as Kate’s mother would say. She wouldn’t have to worry about finding a stopgap job and a stopgap apartment so that Kate wouldn’t insist upon housing her. And her grandfather’s small savings account would see her through a few months, so she wouldn’t have to touch the insulting amount of money she’d received from Andrew and Taia.

  “You might find out that you enjoy being part of the H/H.”

  Lillie Jean’s gaze came up. Now he was grasping for straws. “Oh yeah. The next time I have a near miss with a mama cow, that’s exactly what I’ll be thinking.”

  Gus was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and let her work things through. “I will visit real estate offices, but I won’t make any decisions until I have more information,” she said again. “And maybe I will stay for a while as things play out.”

  “You’ll give me some time?”

  He wanted a commitment, which she refused to make until she had more information, but Lillie Jean found herself saying, “I can’t guarantee how much time.”

  He reached across the table to lightly cover her hand with his; the contact was brief and warm and she felt it to her toes. “Thank you.”

  She had to admit that his cautious smile almost made the promise she hadn’t wanted to make worthwhile.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Lillie Jean made her escape a few minutes later, taking a deep gulp of crisp Montana air as soon as the mudroom door closed behind her. She’d come back for her laundry later, hopefully when Gus was out working. She felt unsettled, edgy. Disappointed in herself for feeling that way. This should have been nothing but business, but it felt like more. It felt as if she was setting herself up for a fall.

  All you did was promise a little time. Nothing more.

  Yeah—but you did it because you want to stay on the ranch awhile longer. And that, my girl, could spell trouble.

  * * *

  “SHE’LL GIVE US TIME?” Thad asked before letting out a hacking cough.

  “No guarantees, but she’s willing to listen.”

  Thad cleared his throat, then gave another small cough. “Good.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m coming down with some kind of a bug.”

  “Can you get someone to cover for you at the bar?”

  “I caught it from Mimi. That leaves Ginny all alone. Callie is out of town.”

  “I’ll cover.” The fact that Thad didn’t fight him, meant he was feeling low. “Maybe I can meet with Jess and Ty about those bulls—if wedding plans permit, of course.” They’d had to cancel the Thursday meeting due to some kind of emergency perpetrated by Jess’s future mother-in-law.

  Thad laughed, ending with another small cough. “Well, you know Selena.”

  Jess’s future mother-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. “Oh yeah. I’ll be there in a few hours. I can cover tomorrow, too.”

  “Callie will be back tomorrow. And, just so you know, Madison came in yesterday. She seemed disappointed that you weren’t there.”

  “Well, if she knows I quit, then maybe she won’t be back.” Not that he was afraid to see her. It was just that Madison loved a crowd, and one never knew what she might do in front of that crowd.

  “One can hope.”

  “Yeah.” Gus said goodbye and hung up. He had more important issues to deal with than Madison. If she showed up tonight, he’d deal. He called Jess Hayward, arranged an evening meeting, then grabbed his hat and shrugged into his canvas jacket. He wanted to check the new mothers one more time before heading to town. He’d planned to tag and vaccinate the new calves tomorrow, with Thad’s help, but that was out the window now that his uncle was under the weather.

  The rain had let up, and when he left the house, Henry was outside in his sweater pacing back and forth in front of the gap in the porch skirting where Clancy’s food dish sat. The cat was probably there, taunting the little dog, who was too smart to go under the porch, but too manly to let a taunt go unchallenged.

  Kind of reminded him of Carson Craig. Except for the smart part.

  After checking the mother cows and babies, who were doing well and could be released into the main herd as soon as the last three calves were tagged and vaccinated, Gus once again headed to Lillie Jean’s place. Henry met him at the gate, and Gus smiled down at the muddy little dog.

  “You ruined your sweater,” he said. Henry gave him a wide canine grin, and then his head jerked around as Cla
ncy sauntered out from under the porch. The dog charged and Clancy shot across the yard, gracefully bounding up and over the picket fence.

  “Maybe next time.” Henry seemed to agree. With the cat vanquished, he trotted beside Gus to the porch, where Lillie Jean opened the door before Gus had a chance to knock.

  “I was just heading over to get my laundry.” Her eyes rounded in horror when she saw the mess Henry had made of the reindeer sweater. “Guess I’ll be washing that in the sink.”

  “I just wanted to let you know that you’ll be on your own here tonight. Thad’s not feeling well, so I’m covering his shift at the bar.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “I could come home after my shift.”

  She tilted her head, her expression perplexed. “Why would you do that?”

  “I didn’t know how you felt about being alone on the ranch all night.”

  “As long as I have a door between me and the wilderness, I’m fine.”

  “You’re sure.”

  She gave him a curious look. “I’ll be fine. I appreciate you checking.”

  “Not a problem, Lillie Jean. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  * * *

  LILLIE JEAN WAITED until Gus drove away in his good pickup, not to be confused with the bad pickup—the one with the rock-hard dashboard and the badly sprung seats that she rode in when they did fence work—before heading over to his house to put her laundry in the dryer. She tossed in a dryer sheet and started the machine, then wandered into Gus’s kitchen to see if there was any leftover coffee. She’d yet to buy a machine of her own, and was essentially caffeine-free because of it, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate the occasional hit.

  The pot was still warm, so she poured a cup and leaned back against the counter as she drank, enjoying the sound of her clothing tumbling in the dryer.

  Life wasn’t bad on the ranch—she was getting used to the cold and, even though she was wary of cattle now that she knew they could jump fences, she got a certain satisfaction from feeding every morning. Henry enjoyed his life running in the yard and chasing the gray cat who lived under the porch. And the house...she was falling in love with her house project. Color everywhere! Staying another month or two didn’t seem like a bad alternative to heading home immediately. As Gus had said, it was hard to beat free housing. All she would pay was her part of the utilities and food.