She extended a hand to him. It took Buck a full second to react to it. “Sorry. I’m not used to shaking hands with people. We didn’t do much of it in prison.” A fact he wanted out and on the table from the start, without apology or explanation. Buck smiled, thinking of how hard it would have been for him to say that to the plant manager.
Her hand gripped his only briefly. Her skin felt as soft as a baby’s to him. He caught a whiff of perfume and knew it was probably the expensive kind.
“Please, have a seat, Mr. Haskell.” She gestured to the chairs with a graceful sweep of her arm.
He looked at the chairs, but didn’t move, his hands tucked back in the pockets of his windbreaker. “I was told to come here for a job interview.”
“That’s what this is,” she assured him, then paused, a sudden knowing gleam lighting her dark eyes. “Perhaps I should have explained—I was Ty’s first wife. For reasons of my own, I chose to keep the Calder name after we broke up.”
Buck nodded in remembrance. “My father wrote a while back that Ty had gotten a divorce. I never thought I would see the day when a Calder would get a divorce. A Calder believes when you give your word, you keep it, come heaven or hell.” This time he was the one to measure her with a look. “You two seemed friendly enough when I saw you together a month ago at headquarters.”
“Ty and I have an unusual relationship that suits us both. Do sit down, Mr. Haskell.” She took a seat in one of the chairs, moving with the fluid grace of a model. Women with her beauty and poise, Buck had only seen in films. He had never met one face to face. She glanced up at him, that knowing look in her eyes somehow mocking him. “You are interested in going to work, aren’t you?”
“I’m interested.” He lowered himself into the other chair and ran his gaze around the office. “Your daddy used to own this before he died, didn’t he?”
“Among other things.”
“I expect you’re in charge now.”
“Not really.” She sat back in the chair, openly studying him. “I went over your application. I knew sooner or later you would come here seeking employment, but quite frankly, I was surprised to learn you had applied for the custodian job.”
“At my age, fresh out of prison, jobs of any kind are hard to come by. It’s not like I can pick and choose what I want to do.”
“Then you should be pleased to learn that I have a position that should suit you perfectly.” Her manner was one of absolute confidence that he would accept it.
But Buck was too canny, and too wary. There was something here that didn’t smell right. “I get the feeling that the job you’re offering me isn’t here with Dy-Corp.”
“I was told you were intelligent. I’m glad to see that’s true.” She smiled, and there was something catlike about it, a little too smooth and a little too secretive. It reinforced the feeling that there was a lot more behind this than she had told him thus far. “As a matter of fact, you will be working directly for me.”
“Maybe I’m just naturally suspicious,” Buck said. “But I can’t help wondering what kind of job a woman like you would have in mind for an ex-convict.”
“Nothing illegal, if that’s what you are thinking.”
“It crossed my mind,” he admitted. “I’ve got my father living with me now. And if I got into any kind of trouble that would send me back to prison, Calder isn’t about to let him come back to the Triple C to live out whatever time he has left.”
“I understand your concern. Having recently lost my own father, I find it very admirable. But to be quite frank, Mr. Haskell, if you go back to prison, it will be for something you did of your own volition, not at any direction from me.”
Buck nodded, taking her statement at face value for the time being. “All right, but you still haven’t told me what kind of work you want me to do?”
“You would be a caretaker of sorts,” she replied smoothly. “I have recently acquired some property in the area. Obviously I won’t be living on it all the time, so I will need someone to look after it for me. You see, the work won’t be strenuous at all, and should provide you ample time to see to your father’s daily needs.”
“Now, that’s interesting.” He thoughtfully dipped his chin and gazed at the intricate pattern of the Oriental rug on the floor, disconnected bits of information beginning to click together in his mind. “There’s been some talk that Calder had to yank all his cattle off the Wolf Meadow range. Title to that ten thousand acres has been a problem to him. He’s been fighting with the government over it for years. Now he just lost the grazing rights to it.” Smiling, Buck cocked his head and regarded her with amusement. “That wouldn’t be because you just bought it, would it?”
“I never said that, Mr. Haskell.” But the gleam of approval and amusement in her eyes was all the confirmation Buck needed.
“You aren’t as friendly with the Calders as you lead people to believe, are you? Why else would you be wanting to hire me?” It was a rhetorical question. He had his answers about her motives; she was out for revenge. “Do you know how mad Calder is going to be when he finds out?” Buck wondered. “That land is almost sacred to him.”
Unmoved, she replied, “I’ll make them like it. You’ll see.”
“And what am I? The final tweak of the man’s nose?” He grinned crookedly.
“Does that bother you?”
“Nope.” He buried his hands deeper in his jacket pockets, and laughed under his breath. “But it sure as hell will bother Chase.”
“And that pleases you, doesn’t it?”
“I didn’t say that, ma’am.” The wide smile remained etched on his face.
“The words weren’t necessary. We both know you hold a grudge against Chase Calder for sending you to prison, not once, but twice.”
Still smiling, he gazed once again at the rug. “That was a long time ago.”
“Not so long ago that you have forgotten, though.” She pushed out of her chair and crossed to the side of the desk, turned a sheet of paper toward her, and scanned its contents. “At your first trial on robbery and assault charges, it was essentially Chase’s testimony that convicted you. With that on your record, when you were found guilty of attempted murder, the judge threw the book at you. Calder made sure of it.”
“Like I said, that was a long time ago.” But his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“And you were much too greedy,” she declared. “I think you should know, Mr. Haskell, that I have run a very thorough check on you. There is very little about you that I don’t already know—your likes and dislikes, the books you checked out of the prison library, the educational courses you took, which prisoners you associated with, and which ones you didn’t. In your day, you were one of the best in the saddle, a top hand with rope, an expert on cattle, and a competent boss of the men beneath you. Currently I can itemize the contents of the house you are renting, and tell you to the penny how much money you bring in each month. I know where you applied for a job and where you didn’t. I must admit I was surprised it took you so long to make an application here.”
“You decided to hire me the day you saw me at the ranch, didn’t you?”
“That’s when it first occurred to me.” She came around to the front of the desk and casually braced herself against it. “But you will learn that I never act rashly.”
“How long did it take to get that report back on me?” He nodded toward the papers she had consulted. “One week? Two?”
“A little less than two weeks.”
“So how come it took you so long to offer me the job?”
“Really, Mr. Haskell,” she said in a chiding voice. “I could hardly come knocking on your door. Blue Moon is a very small town. Nothing happens in it that isn’t common knowledge by the end of the day. And if I had called you on the phone, you might have listened to my offer, and you might have hung up the minute you heard my name. That wasn’t a risk I wanted to take. No, it’s better this way. The mine is the only large employer in the area. Anyone would expect you to apply for work here.”
Buck read between the lines. “In other words, I’m not supposed to tell anyone that I’m working for you.”
“Not yet. Not until I’m ready to take possession. At that point, secrecy will no longer be necessary. Will you take the job? I promise you the salary will be more than adequate to meet your needs.”
“Oh, I’m taking it all right, ma’am,” Buck drawled in answer. “To be honest, I’d pay for the chance to see Calder’s face when he finds you’ve got title to that land. You just tell me when I start, and I’ll be there, all spit and polished and ready to gloat.”
“Not for a while yet. I’ll let you know. In the meantime,” she reached behind her and picked up a slim, square handbag, unfastened its flap, and removed a slender stack of crisp new bills from inside it, “here is your first month’s salary in advance.”
“You’re paying me in cash?” He took it from her and automatically counted it.
“For the time being, I don’t want anybody making a connection between us. A check you would have to cash somewhere. And as I said, this is a small town.”
“What about the people here?”
“As E.J. Dyson’s daughter, I command the loyalty here. This is my ground. Besides, Daigle is the only one who knows I’m meeting with you. And he won’t breathe a word of it for fear of losing his job.” She straightened from the desk and extended a hand again.
“It’s good to have you on board, Mr. Haskell,” she said, sending a clear signal that their meeting was concluded.
Slipping the bills into his inside jacket pocket, Buck stood up and shook her hand, sealing their bargain. “It will be interesting, ma’am. It surely will be that.”
The first stars gleamed in the evening sky. Scattered across the sprawling headquarters, towering yard lights cast pools of amber light onto the ground beneath them, simultaneously bringing light to the darkness and deepening its shadows.
But Ty noticed none of it as he leaned his shoulder against a pillar and bent his head to light a cigar. He puffed on it until the tip glowed, then shook out the match, pinched the burnt sulfur end until it felt cool, then tossed it away.
Behind him the front door opened, briefly throwing interior light onto the veranda. Then it closed and light footsteps approached. He recognized the gliding tread of them as Tara’s and didn’t turn.
“I didn’t know you were out here, Ty,” she declared as she joined him, then smiled when she saw the cigar in his mouth. “Smoking a cigar, I see. Do you remember how much I hated the smell of one? Now, I actually like it. It must come from living in a house without a man around. Smoking cigars is such a masculine thing.” She turned her face to the night air. “Isn’t it unusually warm for April?”
“Yes,” he replied through the cigar, accepting her presence and the underlying sexual tension that always accompanied it. Being with her was a habit he had picked up again over the last year.
“I thought so. Oh, Ty, look at that full moon,” she rushed. “Isn’t it spectacular? It looks like a big fat pumpkin sitting on the lip of the horizon.”
He glanced at the moonrise. “It is beautiful,” he agreed, but there was a perfunctory tone to his reply.
Catching it, Tara studied him curiously. “Is something wrong, Ty? You were so preoccupied at dinner tonight. And now?” She left the phrase unfinished, making a question of it.
He felt the probe of her gaze and avoided it by examining the buildup of ash on the glowing tip of his cigar. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”
She released the breath she had been holding. “That’s a relief. For a minute, I thought the attorneys may have brought you bad news today. And I couldn’t imagine them flying in unless they had some positive information.” Fortunately she left him no opening to respond. “It has been a long day, but it’s been a good one, too. The photographer was absolutely certain that he captured some stunning images on film, both of the ranch itself and the life on it. I know it’s been inconvenient having them underfoot for the last three days, but a picture spread will make a much greater impact than an article alone.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” The subtle fragrance of her perfume wrapped itself around him, sensuous and alluring, like its wearer.
“Good, because it’s true,” Tara declared and again perused the nightscape before them. “The photographer could hardly wait to get back and start developing all the rolls of film he shot. To give you an idea of just how excited he was, he wants to come back when the trees have leafed out and the land has greened up.”
“God, no,” Ty snapped emphatically.
Tara laughed, low in her throat. He felt the caress of it. “I knew that’s how you would react. I promise, I didn’t encourage him to return.”
“Good.”
“This auction is going to be a huge success. I can just feel it.” She hugged her arms about her middle, a self-satisfied look on her face.
“It better, with all we have invested in it, both in money and hard work.”
“It will.” There was a confident curve to her lips. “Do you know what is so ironic, Ty?” Her gaze slanted up to him, partially screened by the thick sweep of her dark lashes. It was an evocative look, full of tantalizing promise.