The Rancher's Secret Love (The Montana McGregor Brothers Book 2)

by Paula Altenburg

  Weldon Scott and Liam McGregor, Luke’s father, had never been friends, but they’d always been friendly enough neighbors. The Wagging Tongue controlled most of the water in the Badlands behind the two ranches thanks to a McGregor forefather who’d had the foresight to install the irrigation system that currently supplied the beef cattle wandering the range. Liam had never had any problems with the Running River Ranch making use of it, although the agreement was clear that his permission did not give the Running River any rights.

  Weldon wanted the right. He’d happily go deep into debt to buy the Wagging Tongue outright. If he couldn’t do that, then he’d go after the rights to the water. And he’d strike at Jake’s weakest moment, because overall, Jake was as tough as their dad had been, so this was his chance.

  “It has, indeed,” Luke replied.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Weldon said. “Your parents were good people and Liz was always such a nice girl.”

  Luke said something—thanks, maybe—and forced himself to exhale so his lungs wouldn’t pop like overinflated balloons. He’d never get used to this. Never. And he prayed the McGregors never had to go through this kind of loss again. Family was everything. He’d never appreciated that more than he did right now.

  They discussed the weather, the economy, Luke’s job in Seattle, and in general, got the pleasantries out of the way.

  “What do you boys plan to do with the ranch?” Weldon finally asked. He was studying Luke the way a professional poker player would, searching for tells. Weldon wasn’t a particularly likeable man, but he was direct and he was honest, which was why he and Luke’s dad had never had any real trouble between them.

  “The Wagging Tongue belongs to Jake,” Luke replied. “He’ll carry on business as usual.”

  “My understanding is that you’re all shareholders. He and your daddy acquired some significant debt over the last couple of years, though.” Weldon looked suitably sympathetic. “That’s a lot of business responsibility for three boys to undertake without any experience.”

  Luke didn’t know where Weldon got his information, except he was tight with the manager of Grand’s largest bank, so that might be his source. There was also the fact that people in Grand had no qualms about discussing other people’s business in public where anyone could overhear. This right here was an excellent example. It wouldn’t be long before the topic of this particular conversation spread throughout town.

  Not that it mattered. The ranch was Jake’s.

  “You seem to have more understanding of the situation than me.”

  Weldon clapped him on the shoulder and left his hand there. Luke had to fight not to shrug it off. Only one man owned that particular fatherly privilege and that man was dead.

  “I have a lot more experience behind me, is all. Plus, I knew your daddy when he was in diapers. He’d never cut any of his sons out of the ranch.” Weldon withdrew his hand. “If you boys decide you want to sell the place and cut your losses, let me know first. And if you decide you’d like to part with your shares to help pay down the debt before you head back to Seattle, I’d be happy to help you out.”

  Exactly how deep in debt was the ranch?

  The Wagging Tongue ran a combined beef and a dairy operation. The brand-spanking-new anaerobic digestion biomass power plant his dad and Jake had installed wouldn’t have been cheap. Neither would the equally new robotic milking system—that Luke was 100 percent behind—have been.

  He was about to go collect the boys and call it a day—people had finally begun to leave, so he didn’t mind using Finn as an excuse to do so, himself—when a flash of long dark hair snagged his eye. His heart jumped a little, suddenly lighter.

  What was Mara doing here?

  He shifted course, intent on finding out, but the crowd was thinning and it only took a few steps for him to realize it wasn’t her. He should be relieved, and yet, that wasn’t the direction his thoughts chose to take. The small bubble of anticipation in his gut developed a slow leak before collapsing entirely.

  It had been almost a week since he’d met her and she’d crossed his mind often enough to make him suspect he wasn’t the kind of man who could resist temptation, after all.

  He had to ask himself why he was trying so hard to resist. He was a free man. Today had clinched that. If the past few weeks had taught him anything, it was that life was short and plans could go sideways in the blink of an eye—something Mara, who’d had to modify her career goals too, could understand. They had that much in common.

  He was attracted. She was, too. And best of all, she’d never stick around a dull place like Grand for longer than it took to get her life back in order, so there’d be no strings attached.

  She looked like fun.

  What was the harm in giving her a call? To find out what else they might have in common?

  *

  Mara hadn’t expected to see Dr. Pretty again. At least, not up close. Not after two weeks of silence.

  And she definitely hadn’t expected him to make good on his promise to call—or to ask her out, either.

  It was a Tuesday night, which worked well for her because she taught classes on weekends and weekday afternoons, plus Wednesday and Thursday nights. The sun had just waved goodbye and twilight was settling in. He’d pulled up to the door of the warehouse rather than park on the street or in the parking lot, which was both sweet and annoying. She could walk.

  “How’s the door working?” he asked when she opened it.

  Light from the building thrust the evening shadows behind him. She’d thought her memory might have exaggerated how attractive he was, and how green his eyes were, but no, it turned out her memory was fine. He was tall, his chest broad, and he looked more like a cowboy than he had the other day, but not enough like one yet to fit in.

  He’d told her to dress casual. He wore a navy tee under a checkered shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and canvas shoes. She’d chosen a white, button-down shirt over skinny jeans with rips at the knees. Since high heels were out of the question, at least for the foreseeable future, and she wanted to go a bit girly, she’d grabbed a pair of flat sandals decked out with silver sequins, instead. She’d pulled her hair into a loose, twisted bun at the nape of her neck and secured the heavy mass with about a thousand hairpins.

  She swung the door to and fro and peered at the hinges. “Seems to be fine.”

  “And the lock?”

  You don’t date much do you, Dr. Pretty?

  “It works fine, too. See?” She closed the door and locked it, leaving him on the outside. “Go on. Try to break in. See for yourself.”

  When he figured out that she wasn’t going to open the door for him again—granted, it took him a minute—he actually laughed.

  Then, he knocked. “May I come in?”

  “That depends. Who is it?” she asked.

  “As if I’m going to admit to being a crazed ax murderer.”

  Thank God she hadn’t imagined his sense of humor, either. His IQ might be high, but there had been a growing possibility his emotional intelligence barely bordered on average.

  “It’s lucky for you I happen to be a very trusting soul.” She opened the door.

  The night was dry and warm, the shadows still. The town lights blinked on, section by section, behind him. He was smiling, his eyes amused, and… wow. That took away all of the pretty and left nothing but gorgeous. He should smile twenty-four seven.

  “Let’s start the evening over. You look beautiful,” he said. “I probably should have led with that.”

  “‘Hello’ would have been an equally acceptable greeting, but thank you. Would you like to come in?”

  “Yes, but I made a reservation for nine and we’re going to be late if we don’t hurry. Maybe later?”

  If the reservation was for nine and they were going to be late, then it wasn’t in Grand. She wished he’d told her they were going for dinner. She’d assumed a movie or drinks, maybe darts or pool at the local pub, and had already e
aten. She would have worn a different outfit, too.

  She hadn’t quite made up her mind about asking him in at the end of the evening, however. Luke had a lot going on in his life, and that waved a red flag, but he also intrigued her. He’d made it clear the other day he wasn’t interested in a relationship—which was a plus as far as she was concerned, because she wasn’t, either—yet, here he was. His past weeks in Grand could hardly have been fun and he was probably due for a little.

  So was she. The year she’d spent rebuilding her life had been stressful. A year from now, she had no idea where she might be.

  Now to find out if they were both on the same page.

  She picked up her purse, which she’d brought downstairs with her when the doorbell rang, and tucked it under her arm. She smiled at him, making her interest as plain as she could without being too bold. “That depends on how the rest of the evening goes.”

  Read into that what you will, Dr. Pretty.

  Chapter Four

  Luke insisted on opening the car door for her.

  Mara wouldn’t have thought twice about opening it for herself, but the gesture definitely earned him some points. It was a small courtesy that Little Zee—she couldn’t think of him as Jim because she didn’t know who Jim was—had never bothered to extend.

  They turned left at the traffic lights in Grand, then took the ramp to the I-94 toward Billings, following the twists and turns of the Yellowstone River.

  Luke wasn’t much of a talker, but it was an easy silence, not strained, and Mara didn’t mind a man of few words as long as the words, when he spoke them, were honest.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Before I tell you, promise me you’ll try it once before you make up your mind.”

  She might have some physical limitations at the moment, but she was game for anything Dr. Pretty could dream up. Maybe he’d booked a hotel room and had an entire seduction planned. That would explain why they were leaving Grand—to keep people from talking.

  But Luke didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d make such a presumption on a first date. He had too much gentleman in him.

  That didn’t mean gentlemen were necessarily dull—not that she had a whole lot of experience with any. She’d wasted far too much of her life on men who weren’t worth the expense.

  “I should have warned you,” she said. “There are two things I won’t try. No mechanical bulls and I’m not into cults. Oh. There’s one more,” she added. “I’m against human sacrifice—although that one depends on the human, so it’s not a deal breaker.”

  Luke kept his hands at ten and two, and his eyes on the road, but the corner of his mouth levitated. “Good to know you have standards. I’m not going to say human sacrifice is completely off the table, but it’s not in my top ten.”

  “What would make the top ten list of a computer scientist’s fun things to do?” Mara mused. She stretched her legs to get comfortable and wiggled her toes under the dash. “Dungeons and Dragons? A Magic tournament? Are we going to a comic book store?”

  He cut her a glance and tried to sound stern. “I’m disappointed by your profiling attempts, Ms. Ramos. Shame on you.”

  “You asked me a lot of questions about my family. Why don’t you tell me a bit about yours?” She realized what she’d just said, and how he must feel, and tried to backpedal without making a big deal out of it. “Or, we can talk about something else.”

  “I still have family,” Luke said. “Two brothers—one older, one younger—two nephews, five and ten, and a niece who’ll be two in the fall, plus a bunch of aunts and uncles, and a grandmother who lives in a nursing home in Nevada.”

  He sounded fine, but had a stranglehold on the steering wheel in a way that had her heart going out. Since he really wasn’t okay with talking about his family, she’d keep things light.

  “You’re the brains in the family. So which brother got the looks?” she asked.

  “That would be Zack. He’s the youngest.” The grip on the wheel loosened a little.

  “Leaving Jake as the oldest, and the one with the personality.” She nodded her head as if she had it all figured out, even though she hadn’t met either one of his brothers. If Zack was better looking than Luke, however, then the ladies in Grand should watch out. “Don’t worry. Lots of women find intelligence attractive in a man.”

  “What a relief.” He glanced her way again. “Do you?”

  The flare of heat in his eyes, carefully banked, and the way those thick black lashes lowered, had her nerves jittering in anticipation.

  Nope. This gentleman wasn’t going to be dull.

  “Yes,” she said. “I find it very attractive.”

  They left the I-94 at the city of Forsyth, situated in a river valley that hugged the banks of the Yellowstone. Luke drove into the city center as if he knew the place well, which of course he likely did, because he’d grown up in the area. It was hard for her to remember, sometimes.

  They parked in a small lot between two tall, square brick buildings. Neither one was a hotel. On the street, they turned toward the building to the right. The sign above the door read, Reality Bytes. Luke held the door open for her to enter first.

  “What is this place?” Mara asked.

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  There were no mechanical bulls, only a reception counter with a teenager reading a comic book sitting behind it, a few scattered sofas and potted plants, and flashing screens on the black-painted walls. The teen looked up from his comic.

  “You must be our nine o’clock,” he said, hopping off his stool and coming around the end of the counter with two headsets and a pair of controllers in one hand. “McGregor? Welcome to Reality Bytes. I’m Mike. Follow me and I’ll get you started.”

  “I thought I told you no cults?” Mara said to Luke.

  He placed a warm palm between her shoulders and nudged her along. “You’re the one who agreed to give it a chance. I, however, didn’t make any promises.”

  They followed the teenager down a dimly-lit, cave-like hall lined with black curtains. Mike pulled one of the curtains aside. “This is your room.”

  The room had one sofa and a chair. But it was the giant screen on the wall that finally gave it away.

  “We’re going to play virtual reality games?” Mara asked, angling her head so she could look at Luke, who was standing behind her.

  “You okay with it?” he asked.

  Was she okay with it?

  “I’ve been dying to try this forever,” she exclaimed, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Is there a roller coaster?”

  Luke grinned, seeming pleased by her reaction.

  “Yes,” Mike said, answering for him. “We’ve also got some role-playing games for two people. There’s a main menu on the game controller, or we’ve got a catalog you can look through.” He pointed to a magazine on the chair. “I’ll give you a demonstration, then once you know what to expect, I’ll leave you alone. Press this button here”—he showed them a red LED dot on the wall—“and I’ll come help if you need me.” He looked at Luke. “You’ve played before?”

  Luke nodded.

  Mike gave them a quick rundown of the buttons on the controllers, then passed them the headsets and showed Mara how to put hers on. He tightened the strap for her and adjusted the visor. Mara could hear him, but with the headset and visor, she could no longer see anything but a control panel in the center of the room.

  “Follow my instructions,” Mike said. “Push the top button on the control panel.” The panel vanished and she found herself in a familiar lobby, complete with the art deco gold ceiling, gleaming floors, facing a mural depicting the building. “Good. Now step into the elevator on your right. You’re going to the top of the Empire State Building.”

  She took a few faltering steps forward. God, this felt real. She hoped her leg wouldn’t give out. Falling flat on her face in a virtual game would be far worse than taking a dive in a parking lot.

&n
bsp; She made it into the elevator. The door slid closed, then the elevator was in motion. It zoomed upward and she swayed. A hand touched her elbow.

  “Steady,” Luke murmured. “I’m right here beside you. I can see the same things you’re seeing on the wall screen. The trick is to remember where your feet are.”

  She focused on the feel of his hand. On the strength of his fingers. Their warmth made her shiver inside. Then, she felt the floor under her feet and reality returned. So did her confidence. Her bad leg threw her balance off, but a dancer knew her own body.

  “I’m good,” she assured him.

  The touch was withdrawn. The elevator slowed and she stepped through the open doors to the eighty-sixth floor, and more confident now, entered the one to the top. When the doors slid open again, instead of the observation deck on the one hundred and second floor, she found herself staring at a narrow walkway and wide, open sky.

  “Step out of the elevator,” Mike said.

  “You’ve lost your mind,” Mara replied. “I’m not going out there.”

  Mike, the sadist, had clearly dealt with reluctance before. “Just take one step.”

  Mara, conscious that Luke, with his PhD in computer science and unhampered grip on reality, was watching her, summoned her courage. She eased one foot onto the walkway, then dragged the other on board.

  “You’re doing great. Now, walk to the end of the plank.”

  This isn’t real.

  When she made it to the end, she couldn’t help voicing her pride. “I did it.”

  “Yes, you did. But you still have to come back down and the elevators aren’t working. You have to jump,” Mike said.

  She’d take his word for it. It wasn’t as if she was turning around to try the elevator again, anyway. But she’d naively assumed once she reached the top, that was it. Game over. She stared at the rooftops below her, and at the sky above and around, and considered her options. She could remove her headset and give up. She could close her eyes and hope for the best. She could pass out.