Spitfire Sweetheart: A Four Weddings and A Kiss Novella (6 page)

“Your black cattle are a big change from the longhorns my pa runs.”

“The longhorns are a tougher breed, but Angus do all right, especially around here with the good water and grass. They are bigger all around and they gain faster. And they’re a nicer animal. Longhorns are rattlesnake mean.”

“Unless they decide they need to protect one of their calves from a grizzly.”

Nodding, Rylan said, “Maizy, I know you’ve always had a lot of freedom growing up with no ma and working beside your pa, but it’s not safe out alone for a woman.”

Even now he remembered the day he’d been riding herd and come across Maizy, on foot, her horse tied to a shrub at the edge of the herd. Just as he’d come up, she’d walked right past a bull. The old boy had pawed the earth and lowered its head. Maizy had backed away quickly—she was savvy about cattle. She gave them all plenty of room. But Rylan knew she easily could’ve been crushed under that old bull’s hooves. Thinking of her hurt made him furious. He’d followed her home, fussing at her and complaining like an old hen.

“I’m as tough as any man in these parts, Rylan. I can shoot and ride. I know the land and have a good sense of how to avoid trouble.”

Rylan arched a brow at her, and he could see from her sheepish shrug that she got his message about bulls and bears and being ready for the unexpected.

The truth was he’d overreacted that day because he didn’t like running into her. Sure, there was danger from wild bulls and grizzlies in the area—though Rylan hadn’t foreseen the two tangling. But the real reason it upset him to find her was she wasn’t exactly safe from
him
. Oh, he’d never physically harm her, but he might end up spending time with her and talking and learning all about her.

Sort of like they’d done this last month, alone, together, in this small house.

“Tell that to the grizzly who almost had you for supper.”

Maizy gave him a side smile. “And that’s how you ended up hurt. And here you are, laid up, unable to get ready for your sale.”

“Yes. I had wanted to drive them all to the best grass. Make sure they kept their bellies full and gained weight. That takes moving them constantly from one pasture to the next and feeding them hay when I need to. Then I’ve saved the best meadows close to the house to drive them in right before the auction. I’ve told Rawhide exactly what I want, but he’s an old longhorn man, and he thinks the whole idea of fattening the cattle for a sale is stupid.”

“You’ve got a month until the sale,” Maizy said. “You’ve
got two more weeks to heal, then the last two weeks to get things ready.”

“If the doc agrees to cut this cast off the first possible day. But he said I have to promise to be careful. How’m I supposed to be careful while pitching hay and riding a horse?”

“You’ll have Rawhide to do the heavy work.”

“He’s worn clean out, and his attitude gets worse by the hour.” If Rylan had a red cent to spare, he’d’ve fired the old codger and hired someone who didn’t complain over every chore.

“Can you push back the date of the sale?”

“It’s too late. I’ve sent posters out all over the state. I’ve got no way to stop the folks coming on that date, or if I could stop them, then what if a few still showed up? Wouldn’t I have to hold the sale? If the sale isn’t on the advertised date, no matter how hard I tried to get the word out, I might get the reputation of a man who broke his word. Then I’d be finished all across the West. No, the sale date is set. No changing it.”

Maizy’s eyes sharpened and she opened her mouth, then snapped it closed.

“What are you thinking?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Nothing. So the doctor said you need to spend more time sitting up. Do you want—”

“Maizy,” Rylan interrupted, “what were you going to say?”

Her mouth curled down to a rebellious frown, but Rylan glared at her, and she finally gave a little huff of annoyance. “I was going to offer to help.”

Silence stretched between the two of them.

Finally he said, “You mean help Rawhide? Help get ready for the sale?”

“I can’t do it and keep my promise to behave in a ladylike way.”

Rylan’s gaze locked on hers.

“I really am good at ranching, Rylan. I’ve had to work beside Pa all these years. And I think—” Her voice broke. Suddenly her eyes looked all watery like they were going to overflow.

Rylan couldn’t stand to see her cry, so he did the only thing he knew to make it stop: he said something to make her mad. “Well, crying is mighty ladylike. I reckon you’ve turned right into a soft little filly at last.”

That put a determined frown on her face. “We live a long way out. Riding a horse wearing a dress is flat-out dangerous. And sitting in the house being all proper when we had cattle to tend was a stupid waste of a strong back and a good mind. You can see I know how to tend a house. But I’m a top hand on horseback. I could help you.” She crossed her arms in front of herself.

Rylan reached out and touched her hand. She quit talking. He studied her close and finally smiled. “I’ve seen you rope and ride. I know why your pa lets you help. He said himself he’d never’ve kept the ranch without you.”

Maizy closed her fingers over his.

“You’re tempting me, you know,” he went on. “I could really use the help.”

Maizy shrugged one shoulder.

Rylan laughed. “You’re tempting me in more ways than one.”

Maybe it was his restless need to do something. Maybe it was just Maizy’s own hardworking, cowgirl self. Rylan didn’t know what prompted him to tug on her hand and pull her toward him. He fixed his gaze on her pretty blue eyes, and she let herself be reeled in.

When their lips touched, Rylan forgot every ache and pain in his body.

The kiss caught fire.

CHAPTER NINE

M
AIZY WAS AWASH IN THE PLEASURE OF KISSING A MAN
. She’d never done such a thing before, and she’d never dreamed it would be so nice.

Rylan gently eased her away from him. His hand slid out of her hair and rested on her cheek. Her blonde curls drooped past her face. It had been in a tidy bun just a few moments ago.

“I like having you around.” Rylan gave her another quick kiss. “You’re so pretty and sweet.”

Maizy’s head, fogged by the kiss, cleared with his words. So he liked her, did he? She remembered very clearly that before she’d put on her dress, he hadn’t liked her at all.

“You like having me around?”

“Very much.” His good hand slipped from her face and slid over her shoulder and down her arm.

“You think I’m pretty and sweet?” The hurt in her heart cleared her head further.

Rylan nodded, studying her face, but some of his contented pleasure seemed to fade at her tone. “You’re a beautiful woman, Maizy.”

“As I am now?” Her voice was flat.

“Yes, you’re wonderful.” There was uncertainty in his voice. He seemed to be waking from the spell of the kiss. Well, good, because she was waking up too.

“Now I’m wonderful.”

“What’s the matter?” His hand slid up her arm, and his touch sent her heart to thumping hard.

“You’ve decided you like me, but you were awful to me before.”

“But you’ve changed. I can see the real you since you started dressing and acting as a lady ought.”

But you’ve changed.
Those words hurt all the worse because she knew he didn’t mean them to hurt her.

“If you think that’s a compliment, you’re wrong.” She had no business kissing a man who didn’t like the real her.

Rylan’s expression was wary now. “But I thought we agreed you needed to be more ladylike, and you’ve proven you can be.”

“So, as long as I behave to suit you, you like me. Of all the miserable tricks . . . When I think back on it
.
. .” The bite in her voice could have left tooth marks on his hide. “You were hostile to me from the beginning.”

“I only wanted you to behave. I didn’t like seeing you in danger.”

Behave. That sounded like something an adult wanted a child to do. He’d always treated her like a nuisance child.
“Remember the first time you rode over, right soon after you’d moved into the area? I was saddling a horse in the corral while you talked to Pa. You didn’t notice me until I swung up on the horse and rode over to where you stood leaning on the fence. I thought I’d welcome you to the neighborhood. You looked up at me and saw that I was a woman and frowned.”

“I remember like it was yesterday. You took me by surprise.” Regret flashed in Rylan’s eyes.

“The first words out of your mouth were, ‘You let your daughter wear britches?’ You said that to Pa and you looked at me as if I smelled bad. As if I disgusted you.”

“No, I was never disgusted,” Rylan said.

“Then you said, ‘Women don’t flaunt themselves like this back where I come from.’ You said that right to me. If it wasn’t disgust, then you pick a word, but you meant it as an insult and don’t try to pretend you didn’t.”

“I was just surprised was all.”

“Surprised into speaking your true thoughts.” Maizy couldn’t stop the angry words boiling to get out. “I was working. I wasn’t hurting your Angus cattle, nor had I said a single unladylike word. I hadn’t done one speck of harm to you. You like to blame all the trouble between us on me, but you started it. Now, when I’m being a false version of myself, you kiss me and flatter me. The real me, the cowhand Maizy, you disliked on sight.”

“That wasn’t the real you. This is the real you.”

“So if I dress as you want and act as you want, you’ll approve of me.” Her voice got louder, rising in anger. “All I
have to do is just be exactly who you want me to be, and I’ll be lucky enough to share a kiss with you.
Isn’t that right?
” She was shouting by the time she was done.

“Maizy, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought—”

The door banged open.

Maizy jumped, startled.

Rawhide stomped in. His eyes shifted between the two of them, and he seemed to realize he was interrupting something. A sneer twisted the scowl on his face. “I got a message from my sister in Santa Fe. Her husband was arrested. That good-for-nothing robbed a stage. She needs my help, and I’m sick of workin’ like a slave on foolishness like black cattle. I’m done.” Rawhide tugged on the brim of his hat and wheeled around.

“No, wait!” Rylan shouted, but the door slammed shut.

Maizy knew the man had just drawn his wages two days ago. He didn’t even mention that he had two days of money coming.

“Engler,” Rylan roared, “you get back here!”

Pounding hooves drew her attention to the window. The old codger galloped down the lane toward the road with more energy than he’d ever given his chores.

Maizy’s eyes went to Rylan’s. He looked shocked. Worse yet, he looked frantic. She knew he was about ten seconds from trying to get out of bed.

“You stay right there.” She nearly jabbed her finger into his nose. There was none of the ladylike murmuring she’d made for weeks. None of the agreeable, submissive servant
and nurse. She found every inch of her inner cowboy and aimed it right at Rylan.

“I’ll do Rawhide’s job.” Despite their argument she didn’t easily forget that kiss. It’d suit her better to stay farther away from this mangy coyote. Yet she’d vowed to make up for the injury she’d caused. Here was a way. “Two weeks from now you’ll get that cast off. I’ll stay and help through the sale so you won’t overdo it. Then I’m leaving.”

“No, Maizy. I won’t ask that of you.”

“You ain’t asking. And I ain’t interested in gettin’ your go-ahead.” She felt her western drawl return, and she liked it. “As long as you’re flat on your back in that bed, there ain’t much you can do to stop me.”

The rattle of a buckboard sounded and Pa pulled up.

“Pa’s here. The two of you can yell and scold all you want. But I’ll save this ranch, and that’s as it should be. But I won’t have you kissing me and saying I’m wonderful . . . only not the way I really am. Once you’re on your feet, I’m leaving and you won’t have to suffer my mannish ways ever again.”

“Maizy, wait!”

“I’m not waiting for you or any other man to tell me anything ever again.” She took one second to enjoy watching his mouth gape open, then she stormed out of the house to meet her pa, slamming the door before she could hear another hurtful word.

CHAPTER TEN

I
T FELT GOOD TO WEAR BRITCHES AGAIN
.

Maizy rode her own horse to Rylan’s the next morning. She’d told Pa that Rylan was up to dressing himself now, though his ribs more than anything still made him move mighty slow.

It gave Maizy far too much pleasure to poke her head in the cabin door. “Get yourself dressed. I’ll be in to make breakfast in a half hour or so.”

She headed for the barn to see what chores she’d tackle first.

One step inside and her stomach twisted. Rawhide hadn’t hung up a piece of leather or forked old straw out of the horse stalls in what looked like weeks. He probably hadn’t done it since Rylan had been hurt. She’d have her work cut out for her tending all this while also herding and sorting cattle and choosing the best pasture, but it wouldn’t do for ranchers to ride in for a sale and see a poorly run outfit. They’d wonder if
the black cattle had been tended well. And Maizy was beginning to doubt they had been, at least not on Rawhide’s watch.

Rylan had talked about his ranch a lot, so Maizy had a fair idea of what needed doing, though she couldn’t be sure of much until she rode out and saw how the grass was holding up.

As she forked dirty straw out of the milk cow’s stall, the familiar mindless work settled her. She finally prayed for the first time since she’d been kissed. If she did this for Rylan, she could forgive herself and leave his ranch.