Cade Coulter's Return

by Lois Faye Dyer

  “And yet you spent your own money keeping the Triple C afloat, without a guarantee you’d be repaid?”

  “We had to eat and so did the horses and cattle. And the weather was too cold to go without heat so I paid the oil bill. There didn’t seem to be a practical alternative.” Mariah couldn’t tell from Cade’s demeanor whether he was glad or angry about using her café salary for the ranch expense. Most people would be grateful, she thought, but she had no idea what Cade Coulter felt. “It’s not as if I had a choice. Not one I was aware of, anyway,” she added.

  His green eyes narrowed, considering her as if weighing her words. Then he nodded slowly, his gaze warming. “I can’t see an alternative, either. I appreciate your willingness to step up. My brothers and I owe you for what you’ve done.” He sat forward, took a check from beneath the laptop and handed it to her. “This is for the total amount you paid according to the ledger entries. If you have other receipts not recorded here, get them for me and I’ll cut you another check.”

  Mariah accepted the check without looking at the amount, feeling a heady rush at his warmer, friendlier tone. “Thank you, but I wrote everything in the ledger.” She glanced at the slim laptop. “Will you be keeping ranch records on the computer?”

  “Eventually,” he told her. “I don’t have the software program for it but the ranches where I’ve worked over the last few years all had computerized records, including calf production and pasture rotation.”

  “I’ve heard of those programs,” she said. “The Turners use one.”

  “I went to school with Jed Turner and his brothers. I’ll have to call him and get the name of the program he’s using.” He glanced at the stack of ledgers, the pile of correspondence and his laptop. “Just as soon as I have time,” he added with a grimace. “A new bookkeeping system isn’t on my list of top ten things to make happen. I’m not sure it would even make it into the top twenty.”

  “Have you heard from your brothers yet?”

  “No.” He thrust his fingers through his hair, raking back the black strands off his forehead. “I hope they check in soon. There are a lot of decisions to be made and most of them won’t be legal without my brothers signing off.”

  Mariah’s heart sank at the confirmation that hard times on the Triple C weren’t over yet. “Do you know where they are? The attorney told Pete his office hadn’t been able to locate them.”

  “I have a general idea,” Cade said. “Zach’s usually the easiest to reach because he works out of an office in San Francisco as a financial analyst, though he’s not there very often. But he’s not answering his cell phone and neither is his assistant. Brodie’s normally not that hard to find, either,” he went on. “He follows the rodeo circuit, so once you know his schedule, it might take some time, but he’s reachable. Ned said he’d have the investigator start searching.” Cade frowned, his gaze distracted. “But Eli… He’s the one who drops out of sight every now and then. He doesn’t have a permanent address and he can be a tough cat to track.”

  “How long since you’ve seen your brothers?” she asked.

  Cade shrugged. “I saw Zach a year ago, Brodie less than that and Eli…” He paused, thinking. “I guess it’s been a bit over a year since Eli and I were both in Vegas together.”

  “My goodness.” Mariah was beginning to understand that locating the Coulter men wasn’t going to prove as easy as she’d hoped. She decided to ask the question that had plagued her ever since Joseph’s death.

  “I’ve wanted to ask you,” she said, her gaze direct. “Do you plan to keep Pete, J.T. and myself on? Or will you let us all go when your brothers return?”

  Dark brows lifted in surprise. “Why would I lay you off? As far as I can tell, the three of you have managed to keep the ranch from going under for the last few months. And you did it without regular salaries or any guarantee you’d ever get paid. And even with all my brothers here, it takes more than us—plus you three—to keep the Triple C running. It’s more likely we’ll hire more hands, not let anyone go.”

  She felt her cheeks warm under his gaze. “I’m glad to hear that. All of us consider the Triple C our home. I don’t know where Pete and J.T. would go if they had to leave here.”

  His expression cooled, his eyes unreadable. “You don’t have that concern.”

  “No.” His reference to her having a home in the cabin on the Triple C was clear—and just as clear that he still wasn’t pleased by her inheritance from Joseph.

  “I’m not sure if you understand the history attached to the cabin my father gave you.” The friendly warmth was gone from his voice, though he was polite. “My grandfather built it for my grandmother before they married. It’s landlocked, surrounded by Coulter-owned acres. I don’t know why my father decided to give you that particular piece of property but doing so creates a hole in the ranch. I’ll buy it from you at fair market value, and help you find a comparable house and three acres somewhere else.”

  She shouldn’t have been surprised, Mariah thought, but nonetheless, the feeling he was rejecting her stung. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I promised Joseph I would stay on the Triple C and help you and your brothers when you returned. And,” she said quickly when his frown indicated he was about to question her, “I’ve grown attached to the cabin after living there over the last few years. It’s become my home.”

  “You’ll feel the same way about a different place in a few years,” he told her.

  “No, I don’t think so.” She searched for the words to make him understand. “When Joseph let me live in the cabin, he gave me more than housing. He made me part of the family here—with him, Pete and J.T.—when I was alone and had no one. I owe him for that.”

  He leaned forward, his turbulent green eyes pinning her. “If you really feel you owe him, sell me the land. The ranch shouldn’t be split up.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t. And I’ve read the will. I know the heirs can’t challenge the terms of the will without losing their inheritance.” His eyes darkened, and his mouth tightened, but before he could argue further, Mariah glanced at her watch and straightened. “Look at the time. I have to get dinner started or we’ll be eating too late. If we’re done here,” she added belatedly.

  “Yeah, we’re finished.” He stood, grabbing up his coat. “I’ll walk out with you. I want to check with Pete, see if he needs any help with the backhoe.”

  Mariah was vividly aware of Cade walking behind her down the hall and out of the house, then beside her as they crossed the ranch yard. Despite her long legs and five foot six inches of height, he loomed over her. Not only was he tall, but he was powerfully built, the sheepskin-lined coat making his chest and shoulders appear even broader.

  Unlike the small town she’d grown up in, Indian Springs seemed full of big men, their bodies muscled by heavy ranch work. Cade Coulter, however, also had a presence and aura of danger that made her feel smaller and infinitely feminine. It was almost as if the sheer maleness of him resonated with her on some visceral level.

  She’d never before known anyone like him.

  She was instinctively wary around him at the same time she was inexorably drawn nearer.

  They said goodbye, Cade disappearing into the machine shop while she continued on to the bunkhouse.

  A woman needed to be careful around a man like him, she cautioned herself as she climbed the shallow steps to the bunkhouse porch.

  Three hours later, Mariah sat at the table, an empty plate in front of her, listening to Cade. J.T. and Pete were kicked back in their chairs but she noticed both of them were tense beneath their seemingly casual posture.

  “I spent the afternoon talking to Pete, and Mariah,” he added, his green gaze flicking to her in acknowledgment. “I want one of you to go with me tomorrow while I drive around the ranch. I need to get a feel for exactly how much work needs to be done and since you three have been here for the last few years, I’d like your input.”

  “I’d be glad to skip school and go with
you,” J.T. said promptly.

  “No.” Cade’s response was instant. “I don’t want you missing school for this. It’s going to take more than one day. You can go with me on the weekend.”

  “I’d like to go with you, boss,” Pete said with regret, rubbing his palm over his chin. “But I have to go to the doc in Wolf Point.”

  “What’s wrong?” Cade’s gaze sharpened.

  “Nothin, nothin,” Pete said hastily. “I had a little trouble with my heart last year and the doc makes me come back every six months for a checkup, that’s all.”

  Which leaves me, Mariah realized. She met Cade’s green gaze. “I can go—I’m not scheduled to work at the café tomorrow. What time do you want to leave?”

  “Not too early,” he said. “How about eight o’clock?”

  She nodded. “That’s fine.”

  “Good.” Cade poured more coffee into his mug and settled back, tilting the chair onto its rear legs to lean against the wall. He pinned each of them in turn with a sober stare. “I don’t need to tell you three that the Triple C has a lot of problems. I’ll have a better handle on exactly where we are after tomorrow but I can’t afford to wait until my brothers are here before coming up with a plan.” He swept the three of them with a grim glance. “The inheritance taxes on this place are astronomical. I’m not sure how we’re going to pay them without selling off acres—which I can’t do unless all my brothers agree. Besides, I don’t want to use that option unless we have to. Dad left me the cattle and all the other stock, separate from my brothers. I’ve decided to sell off the steers. We’ll comb the pastures for as many cattle as we can find and drive them home. If we’re lucky, I’ll net enough profit to make the first payment on the taxes.”

  Mariah’s heart lifted with hope. She glanced at Pete and saw him exchanging an equally hopeful look with J.T.

  “Even if I didn’t plan to sell the steers,” Cade continued, “we need to round up stock and count the cattle. From what Pete tells me, Dad hasn’t done more than count the cows in the home pastures since Pete’s worked here.”

  “I’ve been here for seven years,” Pete commented. “Joseph and me never rode farther than the south pasture. He said he didn’t want to bother with a few strays. I figured he’d brought the main herd home from the outer pastures before I hired on.”

  “He probably did. But there are a couple of places in the breaks that are impossible to fence because the country’s so rough. Granted, it takes a determined cow to climb up and out but it’s possible. When we were kids, we’d take gear and pack in, spend a week camping out, long hours hunting and driving two or three dozen head of cattle home.”

  “I’ve never been on a roundup,” J.T. put in, his gaze intent on Cade. “Sounds like it might be fun.”

  Mariah suppressed a smile at the anticipation in J.T.’s voice. Normally, the teenager acted far more mature than his seventeen years, rarely exhibiting youthful enthusiasm. It was nice to see the animation in his expression.

  Cade snorted. “Fun isn’t the word I’d use,” he said. “Chasing cattle that have been running wild for years is hard, dirty work. By the time we get the herd home, you’ll feel like you’ve been in the saddle for a month and every bone in your body will hurt.” A smile curled his mouth at J.T.’s expression. “And that’s if it’s the middle of the summer and the weather is nice. This is March and it gets damn cold at night. So you’ll get little or no sleep and then spend twelve to fifteen hours in the saddle.”

  “And this time of year,” Pete warned, his eyes glinting with humor, “you’re likely to get rained or snowed on, hard to tell which. So you’ll be cold and wet.”

  “Couldn’t we take a truck?” J.T. asked. “With a good heater to use when we get wet and half-frozen?”

  Cade chuckled. “A truck wouldn’t get far in that rough country. Sometimes even horses have trouble. The best mount is a mule, young and strong, sure-footed and stubborn.”

  “Are you riding Jiggs?” J.T. asked.

  “I always ride Jiggs. He’s tireless and nothing fazes him.” Cade looked at Pete. “What about you and J.T.? Do you have cow ponies?”

  Mariah realized he hadn’t included her in the question but before she could comment, Pete replied.

  “I have a ten-year-old quarterhorse that’s good with cattle. J.T. can ride Joseph’s horse, Sarge. The gelding has some age on him but he’s solid.”

  “And I have my own horse, too,” Mariah said.

  Cade’s green gaze sharpened over her. “You’re not going,” he said flatly.

  “Why not?” she bristled.

  “Because it’s no place for a woman.”

  “I want to go,” she said firmly. “I’m a good rider—just ask Pete.”

  Cade’s gaze flicked to the older man.

  “It’s true,” Pete confirmed. “The girl can ride.”

  “It’s still not a job for a woman,” Cade said, his jaw set.

  “You said earlier this afternoon that you and your brothers owe me. If you meant that, then treat me the same way you would Pete and J.T. I don’t want to stay at home while the rest of the crew is out doing what needs to be done. I want to contribute. I want to hold up my end just like everyone else who works on the Triple C.”

  Cade’s jaw was set so tightly, Mariah was surprised she couldn’t hear his teeth grind.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said.

  “But I…” she began.

  “I said I’ll think about it,” he said with finality. “I’ll see you at eight tomorrow morning. We’ll take my truck.”

  Mariah nodded, unwilling to tell him that she usually indulged herself and slept in until eight o’clock on her days off from the café. The prospect of spending several hours in the close confines of a truck cab with Cade Coulter made her shiver. Whether the reaction was caused by female interest or apprehension, she wasn’t quite sure.

  Mariah’s alarm rang at seven o’clock the following morning. She staggered out of bed and fumbled her way into the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker. She leaned against the counter, waiting for it to brew so she could carry a steaming mug into the bathroom with her.

  At ten minutes to eight, when she left the cabin and headed up the lane toward the ranch house, she was fully awake. She carried a travel mug in one hand and a backpack slung over one shoulder. Since she had no idea how long Cade planned to be gone, she’d packed a substantial lunch that was big enough for two. The food was stored in her backpack, together with a thermos filled with more coffee.

  Mariah was a woman who liked being prepared for any eventuality. In the past, life had handed her too many surprises. She’d learned a valuable lesson at the tender age of eight when her mother was diagnosed with kidney disease. Twice a week during summer and other school vacations, she’d packed a bag with bottled water, snacks and books to accompany her mother on hospital visits for dialysis treatments. Ever after, she’d automatically carried a backpack with roughly the same essentials whenever she knew she’d be away from home for several hours.

  The Girl Scouts would be proud of me, she thought, leaning against the tailgate of Cade’s pickup. She sipped her coffee, her gaze sweeping the quiet yard. Jiggs stood at the corral fence, his ears pricked forward, his intelligent gaze fixed on her.

  Mariah grinned and waggled her fingers at him. His ears flicked in response and he bobbed his head.

  I’m waving hello to a horse, she thought wryly. I need to get a life. The only males interested in me are horses.

  A door slammed behind her and she glanced over her shoulder, straightening when she saw Cade loping down the porch steps toward her.

  But I’m definitely interested in this male, she thought with an inward sigh. Too bad nothing could ever come of it since she was convinced Cade still suspected she’d somehow taken advantage of Joseph’s illness to gain the cabin.

  “Good morning,” she called as he drew near.

  “Morning.”

  His eyes narrowed, thick black la
shes lowering briefly as his gaze swept her with an all encompassing glance.

  Mariah steeled herself against the shiver of purely sexual reaction she felt each time he gave her one of those long, heated looks. And he did it every time he saw her, she thought, helpless to stop the flush of arousal that she knew was probably turning her cheeks pink.

  Maybe he won’t notice, she thought, or if he does, he’ll think I’m just cold.

  “Ready to go?” he asked as he walked past her to the passenger door and pulled it open.

  “Yes, absolutely.” She walked toward him, swinging the backpack off her shoulder as she went.

  Cade snagged the pack from her hand and set it in the backseat of the extended cab before letting her move past him. Mariah was thankful for the vehicle’s chrome step because the four-wheel-drive truck sat much higher off the ground than her car. Climbing into the cab, however, put her far too close to Cade as he held the door open for her. She drew a deep breath and pulled in the subtle clean scent of his aftershave mingled with the faint aroma of coffee and crisp morning air. She had a sudden urge to turn, bury her face against the warm column of his throat, slide her arms around his waist and press her body against the long, hard length of him from chest to thigh. She controlled the impulse and resolutely kept her back to him as she slid onto the soft leather seat.

  Cade waited until she was settled before he closed the door and rounded the hood of the truck to join her inside the cab.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, fastening her seat belt, grateful that he didn’t appear to have noticed that moment of hesitation.

  “I want to take a look at the home pasture.” Cade shifted the big truck into gear and drove out of the yard, down the lane that led away from the cluster of ranch buildings, past her cabin and on to the rolling pastures beyond. “We’ll drop off a salt block and check the water pump at the windmill. Pete told me that you were the last one to ride the fence lines, is that right?”