"I'm going to get a stud and a few good
mares and start raising and training quarter horses."
"Damned good idea, darlin'. I'll keep my eye
out for some good stock. You might check with Tommy Tucker down at
the Rockin' D up near Amarillo, I hear him and his daddy's herd
have thrown some mighty fine foals the last few years."
"Thanks, Bud. I'll do that. But first, we
have some babies to get born and cattle to get sold," she told him
with a smile then turned back toward the house. "I have a few
things to do this morning to settle up things in Phoenix and get
daddy's therapy set up, so I'll be back out here in a couple hours.
Just tell me what you need me to do."
"Go on, darlin'. Let me know when you get
done."
CHAPTER SEVEN
Back at the house, Cassie made a list of the
calls she needed to make, and then sat down in the alcove. There
was a lot of things she could handle by phone, but she'd have to go
to Phoenix in a few weeks to tie up loose ends on some of her
outstanding real estate deals, and to get her stuff sold, or packed
up to move here.
First, she called a locksmith and got the
locks on her house changed. Then she called her friend Betsy, a
fellow Realtor about her age that she should have gone into
business with instead of James. Betsy was very professional, and
was named Arizona Realtor of the Year last year. Cassie had been
nominated, but Betsy had edged her out for the award.
She thought Betsy would probably jump on the
chance to buy her interest in the firm she co-owned with James and
had worked her ass off to make a success. Although, she wasn't
positive Betsy would be interested. Over the last couple of years
James' reputation had suffered from his lack of attention to detail
and laziness. Maybe Betsy could whip him into shape.
When Cassie called, Besty wasn't in though,
so she left her a message that she wanted her to list her home and
that she had a business proposition for her.
Next, Cassie called a mover she knew and set
up an appointment for them to pack up James' belongings and move
them. She'd arranged for the locksmith to give her assistant a key,
then she called Diane and told her what was going on with James and
she agreed to meet the movers for the appointment.
Finally, Cassie called a nursing service,
and put them on the hunt for just the right nurse with a lot of
patience
and
physical therapy experience to help her dad
recover. They assured her they'd find a good fit in the next few
days. She'd been trying to get physical therapy set up for him
since she'd gotten to Bowie with no luck, so she'd believe it when
it happened.
When she hung up the phone, Cassie felt a
sense of relief. Like a fifty pound bag of potatoes had been lifted
from her shoulders. She went to the kitchen and ate breakfast with
Imelda, and told her the good news, before she headed back out to
the barn.
Imelda had burst into tears and then hugged
the breath out of her. The people on this ranch were the ones who
truly cared about her, loved her for who and what she was. She
wasn't leaving them again. This was her home.
Cassie walked with purpose to the barn and
stepped into the dimmer light, then walked toward Bud's office. It
took her eyes a moment to adjust, but when she got to the door of
the office, she didn't need her eyes to recognize the voice she
heard inside, talking to Bud, who was bragging about her plans.
Luke was here.
The smile that had been pasted on her face
all morning fled, and she put her back against the wall, hoping
they didn't see her. No such luck.
"Cassie Bee?" Bud called out to her.
With little choice, because he had indeed
seen her, Cassie pushed away from the wall and went into the small
room. Her eyes flickered over Luke sitting in the chair by Bud's
desk leaning back casually with his hat tipped up and his elbows
propped on the arm rests, his long legs crossed at the ankles in
front of him. The sleeves of his black t-shirt accentuated the
roundness of his well-defined biceps and the color made his eyes
look almost as black, while he studied her with some strange
emotion reflected there.
Her still raw heart felt like someone poured
salt over the open wound in her chest. Time and distance from him
was what she needed for it to get better, but it didn't seem like
he was going to give her that.
She dragged her eyes away from Luke and
looked at Bud, then tried to work up some saliva in her suddenly
dry mouth. "Yeah?"
"I've been talking to Luke and he's got a
proposition for us. I think you might wanna hear him out."
She looked back to Luke with a raised brow
and said, "Oh, yeah?"
Luke uncrossed his legs and sat up in the
chair then said, "Yeah, I want to buy the herd and lease some
acreage."
"You want to be a cattle rancher?" Cassie
said incredulously with a snort.
His eyes glittered angrily as he drawled,
"Looks that way doesn't it?"
"Five hundred head? That's a lot to chew for
a newbie, Luke." She wondered if he'd suddenly hit the lottery, or
where the hell he was getting the money it would take him to pull
off his plan.
"Cole and I are going to be partners. He's
got the inheritance from the sale of his daddy's land, and I've got
the
experience
, as well as some cash."
"But you have a full-time job. How the hell
do you think you're going to have enough time?"
"My term as Sheriff is up in a year, I can
swing it until then. Bud knows a good manager I can hire."
It looked like Luke had put a lot of thought
into the idea, but she still didn't think he realized the enormity
of what he was undertaking. "I don't know, Luke."
"I'm going up to the house to talk to your
daddy," he told her and pushed up from the chair.
Luke was evidently determined to do this, no
matter what she had to say about it. If her daddy agreed, there
wasn't a damned thing she could do about it, and he knew it. She'd
have to see him every day...the last thing she wanted for her new
lease on life.
"You'll have to build a new barn and
bunkhouse, because I have plans for this one," she said firmly. If
he did that maybe she could minimize having to see him.
"Not a problem." His firm lips quirked up at
the corner. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, I don't want you in my way over here.
I'm going to be busy."
"So, I've heard," he said and his eyes moved
over her hotly. "Good luck, darlin'. Glad you're coming back." His
fists clenching and unclenching at his sides didn't escape Cassie's
notice.
Something strange was going on with Luke,
but she didn't have a damned clue as to what. He looked determined,
but there seemed to be anger simmering right below the surface of
his determination. What the hell did
he
have to be angry
about? Well, Cassie didn't have time to worry about it. She had
plans to make now that it looked like her horse farm was going to
become a reality quicker than she anticipated.
"Thank you, but I don't need luck. I know
what I'm doing, so I'll wish
you
good luck," she said
nastily then spun on her heel and walked out.
Watching Cassie's stiff back as she stomped
out of the office, Luke dragged in a deep breath trying to calm
himself. His epiphany last night might have given him an
understanding of why she'd treated him like shit since she'd come
back to Bowie, but her attitude was beginning to wear out his
patience, because he didn't deserve her apathy.
Well maybe he deserved some of it...after
what he'd done last night at the restaurant. He'd been a total ass
and made a fool of himself to boot. And he should probably
apologize, but her attitude didn't put him in a real remorseful
mood.
But that single instance shouldn't be
compounded by imagined sins she'd laid at his doorstep ten years
ago, that he had cheated on her. Luke planned to confront her about
it, but he was going to do it on his time. He wanted to settle
things with Carl first, and get over his anger at her lack of faith
in him.
Luke turned to Bud who was now standing
behind the scarred old wood desk with his hands on his hips. "I
don't know what's gotten into that girl."
Luke knew what was wrong with her, or
thought he did, but he wasn't going into it with Bud. "Don't worry
about it. I'm going up to the house to talk to Carl. I'll let you
know what he says."
***
Honey's coat glistened after all the
brushing Cassie had given her. The beautiful mare had just stood
there munching on the treat Cassie had given her, while Cassie
brushed out all of her anger and frustration at Luke along with the
bits of mud and grass caught in her coat. She patted the mare's
neck lovingly then threw the body brush in her grooming kit to pull
out the tail and mane brush.
She should be doing other things, but this
relaxed her, and she deserved a break. Since her feet had hit
Bowie, Texas dirt two weeks ago, she'd been busting her ass and
battling problems. It was a gorgeous clear day, hell she might even
go to the lake later this afternoon and swim. At the last minute
before she'd left Phoenix, Cassie had tossed her bikini in the
suitcase right before she'd zipped it up. She was glad now that she
had and would enjoy the cold fresh water after how hot it was
today.
Maybe tonight, she'd call up an old
girlfriend or two and see if she could find someone who wanted to
go out for a beer. It would take her a while, but Cassie was
determined to reclaim her life in Bowie.
Cassie was hot and sweaty after she finished
cleaning the horse stalls again. It was nearly three o'clock when
she made it back to the house and went upstairs to change. A swim
in the lake was going to feel fantastic, she thought as she
stripped then donned her bikini. She put on a pair of old cut off
shorts and slid her feet into rubber flip flops wiggling her toes
to let the air cool off her hot feet. Boots were good for working,
but they sure didn't allow any airflow.
She grabbed an old romance novel off the
bookshelf in her room and then got a towel from the bath and shoved
both into a canvas tote she'd found in the closet. Smiling, she
pulled down a big floppy straw hat with a huge hot pink flower on
the front from the top shelf of the closet and plopped it down on
her head. The flower matched her bikini. Imelda had packed her a
lunch and snacks with some bottled water, and she put that bag
inside the tote as well. Once she was well-equipped for her
excursion, she headed downstairs and across the yard to her
truck.
Glancing over at the barn, then the
bunkhouse, Cassie saw the door open and Luke come striding out
smiling. When she saw him notice her, she looked away and hurried
her steps to the truck then opened the door and threw her bag
across the seat before she hopped in. The last thing she wanted to
do was talk to him.
Cassie grabbed her sunglasses from the dash
and shoved them on her nose, then cranked the truck and threw it in
reverse then forward and hit the gas. The trail of dust behind her
was so thick when she glanced in the rearview she couldn't even see
him.
Good, she didn't want to see him. Let him go
find that tramp he was with last night--or Becca Harvey, for all
she cared--if he wanted female company, she was sure either of them
would accommodate him.
A strange, but familiar, pain darted through
her chest and then went away. You've been through this before
Cassie, it'll get better, she reassured herself. Today, she was one
day closer to getting over him...again.
At the lake, Cassie parked her truck by the
road along the trees and grabbed her bag then headed down the
well-worn path she'd traveled many times before. She inhaled the
rich-earthy smell of the woods once she stepped inside the dim
canopy of trees. A cool breeze ruffled the hair at her shoulders.
Carefully, she picked her way along the trail and slowed when she
reached the steep decline that led to the spot she sought. A spot
that held too many memories for her, but one she couldn't resist
revisiting to prove that she truly was moving on.
The first clue she was almost there was the
sound of waves lapping against the shore, then the air got thicker
with moisture right before she walked out onto the wide rocky ledge
into the bright sunshine.
Even with her sunglasses on, the brightness
blinded her for a moment and she shaded her eyes staring at the
wide blue expanse of water. She saw a sailboat or two in the
distance, then a motor boat pulling a skier. The traffic on the
lake wasn't busy today, since it was a weekday. This weekend would
be a different story. She dropped her bag to the ground and slid to
her knees pulling out her towel and sunscreen.
Laying the towel in a flat spot, she sat
down and then smoothed sunscreen over her body and face, then she
pulled out her book and laid back. Later, she'd take a hike down to
the dock and go for a dip, but she wanted to relax a little first.
She opened the book and quickly forgot everything around her as she
became engrossed in the love story. After a while, she became
sleepy and laid the book beside her and closed her eyes.
A whiff of warm air fanned over her skin and
she opened her eyes lazily then stretched and yawned. Cassie
glanced to her left and saw a towel was spread down beside hers,
and standing on it she saw a pair very large male feet. Her eyes
traveled up long muscular legs covered in soft dark hair, over navy
swim trunks that led to a slim waist, then followed a tantalizing
happy trail upward over a ripped abdomen and firm chest to a square
jaw bristled with a five o'clock shadow framing a blinding white
smile and sexy brown eyes filled with desire.