The aroma of frying bacon hit his nostrils the minute he pulled open the door. J.T. stepped out of the bathroom, his hair wet from the shower, a cloud of warm steamy air following him.
“Morning, boss.” Pete stood at the stove, a white chef’s apron tied around his waist. “Eggs are on, coffee’s on the table.”
“Thanks.” Cade shrugged out of his coat and hung it on a hook along with his hat. He set his insulated mug on the table and went into the kitchen, dropping slices of bread into the toaster before he set the butter dish and utensils atop three plates and carried the stack back to the table.
“I’ll bring the toast, Cade,” J.T. told him.
Cade set plates and utensils at three places before pulling out a chair. He emptied the coffee from his insulated mug in one long swallow and refilled it from the carafe as J.T. and Pete slid platters of food onto the table.
The three ate almost silently until their plates were emptied.
“What’s on the schedule today, boss?” Pete asked when they’d all refilled cups and sat back.
“I’m going to round up the longhorns and drive them in. The Turners volunteered to help—they’re bringing the mules with the boxes already packed. I want you two to stay here and keep an eye on things while I’m gone,” Cade said.
“Are you sure you couldn’t use another hand?” J.T. asked. “I’d rather chase longhorns than take a biology test today.”
“Sorry, J.T., but I can’t do it. You missed too much class time with the last roundup. I don’t see the principal giving me permission to take you out of school again so soon.” Cade couldn’t help but be amused by the teenager’s grimace of disappointment.
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Pete asked.
“I’m not sure, a few days at least.”
“J.T. and I’ll keep things ticking over here. Anything in particular you want done?” Pete leaned forward to pick up the carafe of coffee and refill his mug.
“There are several cows that were bred late and look ready to drop calves any day—in both the home pasture herd and the cattle we drove here from the outer pasture. Keep an eye on them—we need every calf we can save.”
Pete nodded. “Will do.”
“If we have any trouble, I’m sure Mariah will help,” J.T. put in. “She always took care of the babies for Joseph so she knows the mama cow’s calving history better than anyone else. And she told me last night that she’s working the afternoon shift starting tomorrow so I won’t feel guilty if I have to wake her up in the middle of the night.”
Cade wanted to ask J.T. how Mariah was doing, since the teenager had obviously seen her the evening before, but kept his mouth shut.
“Good to hear she’s working a later shift,” Pete put in. “She’s been pulling double shifts for almost a week. She works too hard but when I told her so, she just laughed at me.”
“She laughed?” J.T.’s brows lifted in surprise. “Man, I haven’t heard her laugh in days.”
“Well, it wasn’t much of a laugh,” Pete said with slow deliberation. His shrewd blue gaze pinned Cade. “I get the impression somethin’s upset her lately.”
Cade didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he carefully blanked his expression and met the old cowboy’s gaze without commenting.
“Damn.” J.T. glanced at his watch and shot out of his chair. “Look at the time—and I haven’t fed the horses yet. If I don’t hurry up, I’ll miss catching the school bus.” He loped across the room and grabbed his coat off the hook. “Hey, Pete, can I swap scrubbing the dishes this morning with you and take my turn tonight?”
“Sure, kid.”
J.T. yanked open the door and disappeared, the sound of his boots thudding on the porch boards as he hurried toward the barn.
Cade shoved back his chair and stood. “I’d better get going, too. Jed and his brothers will be here soon.”
“I’d sure like to hear Mariah laugh more often.”
Cade froze, meeting Pete’s stern gaze. “Me, too.” He walked to the door. “I’ll try and make it happen—if she’ll give me a chance.”
Mariah learned Cade and the Turners were going out to round up the dangerous longhorn cattle at almost the same time Cade was telling Pete and J.T.
This time, Dallas and Grady had lost the toss and had to stay home to run the Turner ranch. The two arrived at the café at their usual time, but without their brothers.
“Hey, you two,” Mariah greeted them as they slid into their usual booth. She carried a carafe of coffee and set it on the table in front of them before glancing out the big plate glass window. Only one big truck sat outside. “Where are your brothers?”
“They’re over at the Triple C,” Grady said glumly.
“Cade and our brothers are heading out this morning to bring in the longhorns,” Dallas told her. “Grady and me lost the coin toss so we’re stuck taking care of business at home.”
Mariah’s heart clenched. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Yeah.” Grady’s eyes lit. “They’re packing pistols and rifles.”
“Hey,” Dallas said as he laid a hand on Mariah’s forearm. “You okay, honey? You’re white as a sheet.”
“I’m fine,” she said faintly, trying to blink away the swift mental image of Cade covered in blood. “Will they have to shoot the longhorns? Are they likely to attack the riders?”
“What? No.” Dallas shot a glare at Grady. “Don’t tell her they’re packing guns without explaining why.”
“Hey, I’m sorry.” Grady looked genuinely contrite, his handsome face serious. “Nobody’s going to be attacked and it’s not likely they’ll have to shoot any cattle, either. They took the guns mostly to make noise and drive the cattle. The longhorns are pretty wild so the hope is they’ll run from loud noises—in the direction Cade wants them to go.”
“Oh, I see.” Mariah managed a smile. “I hope it turns out the cattle are better behaved than anyone expects.”
Grady and Dallas exchanged a swift glance before turning equally charming smiles on her. “That’s probably what will happen,” Dallas assured her.
“In the meantime, what can I get you two for breakfast?” Mariah asked in an effort to return to normalcy.
She served their order and made the round of her other customers, chatting and forcing herself to smile until her face hurt. Julie watched her with an occasional worried frown but didn’t comment.
When the morning rush ended, however, and the two had time to catch their breath, Julie shoved a coffee cup and a plate holding one of Ed’s cinnamon rolls into Mariah’s hand.
“Go sit down,” she ordered. “Sally, Mariah and I are taking our coffee break,” she called into the kitchen.
She barely waited to hear their boss agree before grabbing coffee and a roll of her own and herding Mariah toward the farthest booth, located in the back corner of the café. It was as close to private as they could get.
“All right,” Julie said as she slid onto the bench seat across the booth’s table from Mariah. “Give, girl. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing,” Mariah said automatically.
Julie shook her head. “Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been telling me that ever since the night of the branding party. You’re just not yourself. Did Cade do something awful? Because if he did,” she said, stabbing the air with her fork for emphasis, “I know at least a dozen guys who will take him out in the alley and beat him up.”
The fierce declaration startled a laugh from Mariah.
“There,” Julie said with satisfaction. “I haven’t heard a real laugh from you in days. Does that mean you want me to find someone to beat up Cade?”
“No!” Mariah shook her head. “I’m a big girl. I can handle my own problems. Besides, Cade didn’t do anything that deserves being assaulted.”
“Are you sure?” Julie was clearly unconvinced. “Because you seemed so happy with him that night and ever since, you’re clearly not happy. So of course, I assumed he’d done something to
upset you.”
“It’s not Cade’s fault.” Mariah toyed with her fork, debating whether to tell Julie. Maybe another woman’s opinion would provide a fresh perspective, she decided. She returned the fork to the plate and folded her arms on the tabletop, leaning closer. “I’m upset because Cade thinks I did something underhanded to convince Joseph to give me the cabin at the Triple C. And he doesn’t understand that I can’t be with a man who believes I’d be so…manipulative,” she finished.
Julie’s eyes narrowed. “Of course you can’t. How can he not understand that?”
Mariah felt a rush of relief at her instant grasp of the situation. “He says he doesn’t blame me for wanting a home. And he says it’s not personal—every human looks out for number one, even if they don’t know they’re doing it.”
“Boy, is this guy cynical or what?” Julie scoffed. “I’m guessing you told him to get lost until he figures out just how badly he’s insulted you? And apologizes?”
“I told him I can’t see a future with someone who thinks I’m dishonorable, no matter how great the sex is,” she added to herself.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” Julie’s eyes rounded. “You slept with him?”
“Did I forget to mention that?” Mariah took a big drink of her coffee, wishing she’d not divulged that information.
“And it was amazing, right?”
“Yes,” Mariah admitted. “It was more than amazing.” She lowered her voice. “I’m in love with him, Julie. And I miss him so much I can hardly stand it. How can I possibly miss him this much after he basically told me he thinks I scammed a very sick man into giving me a valuable piece of property? What does that make me?” She pushed her fingers through her hair and groaned.
“I suspect that makes you a woman in love with a man who’s clearly clueless.” Julie reached across the table and waggled her hands. “See these?”
Mariah looked but saw nothing out of the ordinary in Julie’s slim fingers, neat manicure and rings.
“You have a new manicure?”
“No, no,” Julie said impatiently. “The rings.”
“I’ve seen them before—they’re nice, really nice. I especially like the blue sapphire.”
“The point is, Bob gave me each of them after we had an argument. Both times, he did something so outrageously dumb that he bought me jewelry to apologize.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m trying to tell you,” Julie said patiently, “that men’s brains function differently, on occasion, from women’s. What is so obvious to us sometimes is clear as mud to a man. You have to hang in there—if he’s a man worthy of you loving him, he’ll figure this out and apologize.”
“But he truly doesn’t seem to get why I was so upset,” Mariah told her.
“The important thing here,” Julie insisted, “is that he doesn’t have to understand why you’re upset, he just has to accept that this is important to you. That should be enough for him.”
“I like the concept but I’m not sure it will work with Cade. Unlike your husband who had great parents, Cade had a terrible childhood. I’m not sure he’s capable of getting past the cynicism.”
“I watched him with you at the dance,” Julie told her with conviction. “I think he’s capable of doing whatever it takes to keep you in his life.”
“I hope you’re right, Julie.” Mariah wished her friend was right, but she wasn’t convinced.
Her shift ended at 1:00 p.m. and when she arrived home that afternoon, Cade’s pickup wasn’t parked outside the house or barn and the horse trailer was missing. Jiggs was gone, too, the corral empty.
Without Cade, the energy seemed gone, she thought as she walked back down the lane a half hour later after showering and changing into boots and jeans. The ranch felt as if it were waiting for him to return, just as it had before he’d arrived weeks ago.
And she missed him.
Despite working double shifts and coming home to clean the house from top to bottom or ride Zelda until she was exhausted, she still dreamed about him when she fell asleep.
And she missed him so much that the ache in her chest felt permanent. It was harder than she’d thought it would be to keep from picking up the phone when he called or answering the door when he knocked.
She really hoped Julie was right about Cade caring for her.
“Hey, Mariah.”
She looked up, scanning the ranch yard, and found J.T. in the open doorway to the barn. He raised his hand and beckoned when she saw him.
“What’s up?” she called as she neared the barn.
“One of the Herefords dropped a late calf,” he told her, grinning when her steps quickened and she hurried past him. He followed her. “I thought you might be interested.”
She flashed him a smile over her shoulder. “You were right,” she said and kept walking, her strides brisk as she moved quickly down the center aisle of the big barn, out the door at the other end and across the lot to the cattle shed.
One end of the shed was penned off into box stalls and it was here she found the new calf, staggering around the straw bedding on gangly legs.
“He seems fine,” she murmured, searching the newborn. The little red and white Hereford bleated, butting at his mother’s side as he searched for milk.
“I told Cade at breakfast this morning that I was sure you wouldn’t mind helping with new calves.” Beside her, J.T. leaned his forearms on the top rail of the pen, watching the calf.
“Was he okay with that?” Mariah asked, her voice carefully noncommittal.
“Didn’t say he wasn’t.” J.T. glanced sideways at her. “What’s going on with you two?” he asked bluntly. “Why’d you quit the Triple C?”
“Let’s just say Cade and I have a difference of opinion about a few things.” Mariah was determined not to cause trouble between Cade and her two friends. Her problems with Cade were extremely personal and not connected to their boss-employee relationship.
J.T. looked unconvinced but fortunately for Mariah, he didn’t question her further.
She only wished she was still seeing Cade at breakfast. She missed him and the stalemate between them was breaking her heart.
Chapter Eleven
Mariah wasn’t home when the dusty riders drove the first of the longhorns into the holding pens at the Triple C the following day. Over the next week, they drove a series of smaller herds of bulls with cows, the number of cattle swelling until the corrals and pens were full.
Although they knew there were more cattle to collect, the Turners packed their gear and headed home, agreeing with Cade to repeat the roundup when the pens were emptied.
Cade showered and shaved off the beard stubble gained over a week but before he fell into bed, he telephoned a local rodeo stock contractor.
The following day when the stock contractor arrived to look at the Brahma/longhorn mixed-breed cattle, Cade was in no better mood than he’d been in for the last week or two. In fact, he’d been cranky as a grizzly bear ever since arguing with Mariah after they’d made love.
He’d barely caught a glimpse of her car’s taillights as she’d driven away early that morning.
Something has to give between us, he thought grimly as he strode across the ranch yard to the holding pens with Jim Ahern.
“I was surprised when you called, Cade,” Jim said. “I didn’t know the Triple C had any Brahma or longhorn stock.”
Ahern’s comment drew Cade’s attention and he forced himself to focus. The thorny problem of Mariah would have to wait.
“It doesn’t look like anybody knew,” he said. “I thought Dad sold all of them years ago but apparently he left some bulls and cows in the north and east pastures. They’ve been out there for years, with nobody bothering them because Dad only used the pastures closest to home.”
“So they’re essentially wild?”
“Pretty much.”
The two men reached the holding pens and climbed one of the high fences to look inside. A heavy bl
ack bull with sweeping horns and the distinctive shoulder hump of a Brahma snorted when he saw them, lowering his head and swinging it from side to side.
Jim whistled, long and low. “Damn, Cade, that’s one mean-looking animal.”
“Yeah,” Cade agreed with a solemn nod. “He is that.” He pointed across the pens, the bulls and cattle inside them visible from their vantage point. “And there are a lot more just like him.”
Ahern’s eyes lit with anticipation. “I can use them,” he said with enthusiasm. “And I know a few other contractors who have been looking for new rodeo stock.” He looked sideways at Cade. “But you’re going to have to shorten those horns. Nobody’s going to buy them without you cutting them first.”
“We can do that,” Cade told him. “How short do you want them?”
Jim measured with his hands. “No longer than this, maybe.”
Cade nodded. “All right. You want to walk around and take a closer look at the rest of them—pick out the ones you want?”
“Absolutely.”
The two spent the next hour inspecting the bulls and marking the specific animals the contractor chose. When they shook hands and Ahern drove away, Cade called Jed and they agreed to start sawing off and shortening the dangerous horns the next day.
Mariah made it a point to stay away from the Triple C, working at the café, going shopping and to movies with Julie, sharing dinners with Sally and Ed. Nevertheless, the cabin on the ranch was the only home she had, and she knew she couldn’t avoid bumping into Cade forever.
She didn’t expect their first encounter to be quite so dramatic, however.
Several days after the last group of longhorns arrived at the ranch, Mariah finished her shift at the café and drove home midafternoon. It was too early for J.T. to be out of school and Pete had told her at the café early that morning that he was on his way to Billings. Pete hadn’t mentioned what Cade’s plans were for the day but even if he were at home, Mariah didn’t plan to talk to him.
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