The Cattleman Read online

  If only her parents were here. Both were well-known psychologists and that was the reason Juliet had suggested the arrangement. The only reason. It had nothing to do with a possible romantic involvement between Nick and Beth. But she couldn’t tell him that.

  His strong jaw twitched with each clinch. His eyes burned into her, and she wanted to tell him the truth. Did he realize how much power he had over her when he was nice?

  What if that power worked both ways? Was that what he was so worried about? If she were truthful about why his mother wanted her there...

  “I like your parents. They’re so easy to talk to. Mine dissect every word I say looking for hidden meanings. They’re both psychologists.”

  His eyes narrowed, suspicious of her words. As he should be. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Your parents want me to psycho-babble you while you teach me to ride.”

  He rubbed his old wound as he had several times when around the task force. She’d barely caught a glimpse of the scars before he’d kissed her into forgetting to look. His silence wasn’t what she’d expected. First he rubbed his shoulder, then his forehead. The man was giving considerable thought to her words instead of kicking her to the curb. Or the gravel drive in this case.

  “Secondhand therapy? My mom’s crazy if she thinks that will work.”

  “I know, right?” Her acrylic nails clicked at her side and she immediately stopped them. She’d developed the bad habit after the addition of long hours spent alone, shunned by her fellow agents. She was nervous, but wouldn’t allow herself to show it. “I...um...would say she’s more desperate to help you. At least that’s how she appears to me.”

  Nick’s forehead had deep furrows from his concentration. “Desperate? She’s desperate because of me? That’s why she issued her ultimatum.”

  Where was the man who lost his temper at the slightest inconvenience? “It’s ridiculous to think I’d be of any help. I’m not a therapist.”

  She could deal easier with the irate cowboy. This concerned son drew her in, encouraging her to help. Therapist or not, she knew how to deal with trauma. She’d lived it, worked through it, dealt with it daily. She probably could talk him through his nightmares. Perhaps even get him to see where therapy would be helpful. Everything she needed was bookmarked on the internet or stored on her hard drive.

  Nick began pacing, looking at the ceiling, twisting bric-a-brac in circles on the mantel. “How the hell am I supposed to teach you not to fear a horse?” he mumbled, but again loud enough for anyone in the room to hear.

  “Does that mean you’re going to agree?” She was bewildered. Every approach she took with Nick Burke backfired.

  He nodded agreement. “Dammit.”

  The music covering their conversation from his mother was suddenly quiet.

  “Nick, please go get your father from the men’s quarters,” Juliet called from the kitchen, breaking up the standoff.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said loud enough for his mother to hear. He marched the couple of steps across to Beth and leaned close to her ear. “Just how do you plan on explaining to the county that you’re staying here?”

  Just his breath darting across her earlobe made her quiver with anticipation. Stop! she silently cried out to her insides.

  “It was suggested...” She swallowed hard, unable to state it. He’d be madder than a cross-eyed bee. Well, then, she could say it. When he was angry, it was easy not to give him the time of day. She couldn’t possibly like him more than when she’d arrived here this morning. “I’ll be posing as your girlfriend. Fiancée would be an even better cover. You’d be part of the team.”

  “You’re kidding me. You want me to join their task force?”

  “It’s really Cord McCrea’s suggestion. He’s in charge of trying to find the smugglers who keep using your land. Staying here was his idea. You’ll serve as the official guide or tracker...something like that. But you won’t carry a gun or anything.”

  “The hell I won’t carry a gun,” he whispered emphatically. “There’s no way you really think we can pull this off. We ha—don’t even like each other.”

  He’d almost said hate. Her acting ability would be pushed to the ultimate limit. First pretending not to like him when they were alone. And then making him think she was only pretending to like him when they had an audience—that part wouldn’t be acting. All the while she’d be secretly wanting to repeat everything they’d done on that mountain. It was so very confusing and she wasn’t trying to explain it to anyone but herself.

  At the end of the day, she would do what was needed in order to get away from here as fast as possible.

  The stubble he’d neglected to shave beckoned to her so she’d use it against him. She reached out and let her nail scrape his cheek down to the corner of his lips. He took it, staying perfectly still, his jaw twitching even more visibly.

  “Why, Nick,” she said half closing her eyes and looking only at his lips. “We don’t have to like each other to have fun while stuck in this situation.”

  His hand raised and she was prepared for him to push her away. Instead, he wrapped it softly around hers and drew the tip of her finger between his lips. His thumb drew circles on her palm and his breathing changed—or was it hers that hitched in her chest? She tugged her hand back, yet his mouth held on to its prey. She wanted to haul those lips against hers faster than a speeding bullet.

  The feeling frightened her more than potentially making a fool of herself did.

  Keeping cool and not reacting further was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. She could be proud of herself for not succumbing to his sexiness.

  “That’s the only logical thing you’ve said since I met you.” He dropped her hand and strutted away.

  The door didn’t exactly slam behind him, but he didn’t bother to hide the cursing as he stomped down the porch steps. Nick’s feet hit the gravel on the drive and he let out a growl loud enough to be heard through the window.

  “That’s exactly what I said,” she whispered to his retreating image.

  “Did he ask about your cover story?” Juliet popped in from the kitchen and Beth had to pull her gaze away from Nick kicking a rock into the barnyard.

  She nodded and faced her hostess, her body feeling the rebuff as much as her mind. “This is never going to work.”

  “Oh, yes, it will,” Juliet answered before letting the door swing shut as she retreated into the kitchen. “I’ve left him no choice.”

  There was an extra gleam in Juliet’s eyes. And for some strange reason, Beth had the feeling that she’d just been taken to the cleaners by a professional con artist.

  “Staying here might well be worse than banishment.”

  Chapter Three

  Back in Chicago, Beth began every day in the gym. No exceptions. Her trainer worked her hard and kept her body humming. But mucking stalls and moving hay bales attacked muscles she’d never known existed.

  “How do you do this every day?” she asked Juliet and Alan as she creaked to a halt, leaning on the back of a kitchen chair.

  “I cook, dear. The only outside muck I come into contact with is the manure for my garden.”

  “Speaking of which, don’t you need some around your corn, honey?” Alan asked.

  “Don’t you even suggest this poor thing bring any to my garden. You know we don’t work on it during the winter. Now, out with you, Ronald Alan Burke. Go. Shoo.”

  “This will tide me over until lunch.” Alan patted Juliet on the bottom and scooped up a leftover breakfast biscuit with his other hand. “You’ve done a good job, Beth. Thanks for helping out since Nick took off to the mountains yesterday.”

  “Not a problem. Like you said, everybody needs to chip in.”

  Alan left and Beth should have followed, but she was so tired from yesterday and the couple of hours she’d worked that morning, she didn’t think her feet would actually move.

  “You should get cleaned up, Beth. Kate phone
d and she wants you to meet her at the café. She’s going to Alpine and thought you might need some things.”

  “Shopping? I’m not sure I can stand up long enough.”

  “Come on, dear. Nick can’t teach you to ride in designer heels, and you can’t continue to borrow his two sizes too big boots.”

  “You want me to buy cowboy boots? What will I ever do with them when I get home?”

  “And jeans and a good sturdy coat.” Juliet looked down at the extra-large overalls hanging on Beth’s thin frame. “You never know when the weather’s going to change.”

  “I have five coats back home.” Beth sighed at trying to fit another overcoat into her already overstuffed tiny front hall closet.

  “We’re expecting the first cold front soon. Do you want to chance it?”

  “No, ma’am. I’ll get cleaned up.”

  The shower had made her feel human again, along with some serious stretching. She felt even more herself slipping into her Jimmy Choo shoes, then jumping behind the wheel. She loved driving the ranch’s Jeep. The top was off, the seats faded and mud all over the body, but it was the neatest car. The cool air from outside mixed with the blasting heater at her feet. She just felt...free.

  Maybe she should get something like this when she got back to Chicago. Carroll and Elizabeth would kill her. It would be impractical and get horrible gas mileage in the city. But she didn’t care.

  Then again, sitting in traffic she’d be choking from the other cars’ exhaust. No, she’d just enjoy the fresh air while she could here in Texas.

  Parking at the café/gas station, she saw Kate McCrea wave from just inside the window. Her new friend gestured for her to come inside, but didn’t sit at the empty tables near the entrance. Instead, Beth followed her to the back corner booth. Cord McCrea pulled up a chair with one hand and balanced his son with the other. The remaining seat left her with her back to the door.

  Exposed.

  Knowing she could trust the Texas Ranger to warn her of impending danger, she sat and didn’t ask to move. She couldn’t complain to him or make a suggestion that he not sit with his wife. He was the boss and he’d placed himself against the wall.

  In more ways than one. He was depending on her when no one else would.

  Beth had only admiration for the man who’d pulled some strings to get her assigned to his three-man task force. In his shoes, she would have acted much differently. He and Kate had plenty of reasons not to want to be in the open, either. They had a long history with the cartel that included tragedy and victory over a vicious murderer just a year before. They’d divorced, remarried and now had a child. She understood exactly why he didn’t expose his back to the room.

  “Thanks for the invite, Kate. Juliet assured me you’d know everything I needed to get for an extended stay.” She tapped her nails on the tabletop and quickly covered them with her other hand to keep them still.

  “Oh, it’s entirely my pleasure. Do you want some tea or something?” Kate didn’t wait. She waved at Brandie and raised her own glass. “Add another iced tea to our bill, please.”

  “You aren’t ready to leave?” Beth asked, eager to escape the peering eyes of Marfa citizens breaking for lunch.

  “Believe me, I’m so ready. But we’re waiting for Pete and Andrea. They’re staying at the house and babysitting Danver. Cord and I have been called to Lubbock for a couple of days. We’re flying there when we get back.” She leaned across the table and brushed her son’s full head of soft hair.

  “Keep your voice down, Kate. You don’t know who’s going to overhear,” Cord said, giving the entire room another look and landing on the mechanic leaning in the archway to the gas station.

  Beth cringed at the thought of facing Andrea. The sheriff’s girlfriend had no reason to trust her abilities. Her inadequacy with horses had put Andrea in danger and was yet another reason Beth needed to learn how to ride.

  “I’m glad you thought about me for a shopping trip.” Beth searched the occupants, too, giving the mechanic a closer look. He seemed too alert, watching his surroundings constantly. Almost like she paid attention to details and her surroundings. A well-toned body was hidden under his coveralls. He wiped his hands as if he was used to grease under his nails. Cord watched him for a couple of minutes, raised an eyebrow and the man left.

  “You’re the perfect excuse to take off for the afternoon,” Kate continued, smiling at her husband. “Just girls. Baby and husband free for the first time in months. Cord only trusts me to be out with someone licensed to carry.”

  “I’ve got a good reason for keeping you close,” the Ranger mumbled before turning to Beth. “You do have your weapon, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Kate ignored Beth’s response and her husband’s question, for that matter. “Shopping over the internet and in downtown Marfa’s just not the same as trying on clothes. And especially picking out things for someone else.”

  “Where can you buy clothes here?” Beth lowered her voice so the rest of the café wouldn’t think she was complaining. If her cover was going to work, she had to make them think she actually liked their small town. “The commercial part of Marfa is about the same size of one block in downtown Chicago. Comparing the two just depresses me. Sorry, I know this is your home.”

  “Not a problem. We know it’s a culture shock for most. I attended school in Austin. Cord’s originally from Dallas. Believe me, sometimes I really miss the convenience of a department store just a few minutes away.”

  The bell above the door rang and Andrea entered, the sheriff at her side. Kate waved and called the couple over. Beth wanted to tap “Jingle Bells” with her nails, she was so nervous.

  The last time she’d seen Pete Morrison, he’d been fanatically expressing his opposition to her being kept on the task force—agreeing with everything Nick said. Of course, she hadn’t been an asset rescuing Andrea from the gunrunners. She’d lost control of her horse, which had forced Nick to leave the group to rescue her.

  The two couples shared pleasantries and Andrea sat next to her. While Kate invited Andrea to join them in Alpine, Beth could just nod and smile.

  “Would you two want anything?” Brandie asked, handing Beth the iced tea.

  “You should take the afternoon off and come with us, Brandie,” she said. Then the conversation couldn’t be about all her screwups.

  “Sorry, I’d love to get some Christmas shopping done, but I’ve already sent the extra help home.”

  Rotten luck. Now it was inevitable that the afternoon girl talk would include men. The two women might even be bold enough to ask about her night in the mountains with Nick. She wouldn’t trade their night together, but the circumstances leading to it were consistently embarrassing.

  Evade, tell the truth or lie? Three options she wasn’t looking forward to. Before she could dwell on a decision, the ladies stood, handed off baby stuff—including the baby Andrea now held—and were ready to leave.

  Both women knew she worked undercover and both knew she was locating herself at the ranch as bait. But she still couldn’t let down her guard. She needed the shopping trip, but she needed to prove her abilities at the same time. From downtown Marfa, it was a thirty-five minute ride, straight highway with no traffic. She could keep things casual that long.

  “Cord wants you to be on your toes. Both of you, of course,” Kate stated once they were on the road. “Having a conversation with both law enforcement entities should clue whoever’s watching exactly which side you’re on, Beth. Bait the hook, so to speak.”

  “I figured.”

  “A day off from hiding while you’re here in Marfa should be nice,” Kate said.

  “Or hiding that I prefer city life in Chicago.” She couldn’t forget that she didn’t belong here. “My muscles are shouting with joy that they’re going shopping.”

  “I’m done with cities. I love the stars too much,” Andrea said.

  Beth was having an honest conversation she couldn’t affo
rd to have at the ranch, even when she thought Juliet was the only person within earshot. The task force didn’t know who supplied information to the cartel. All the workers on the Rocking B had to be treated like suspects. As did almost all the residents of the county.

  “You know,” she said, leaning back against the seat and stretching, “this is terrific. I’m in such a good mood. Nothing is going to stop me from feeling great. Not even Nick’s running away.”

  Kate and Andrea looked at her from the front seat.

  Oops. She hadn’t meant to be that relaxed this afternoon. Should she have told the task-force team while they were sitting in the café? Yes. Instead she’d shared it with their significant others just a few moments later.

  “Nick ran away?” Andrea asked, laughing. “That’s hilarious. Are you sure his horse wasn’t frightened?”

  “Andrea, don’t make me referee. I haven’t been out in almost a year.” Kate was calm and firm.

  “Okay, I’ll take the one hit that I don’t deserve. I told everyone up-front that I don’t ride a horse, but I do apologize for missing out on all the fun that happened while I was in the mountains.”

  “If you’re talking about all the fun of being abducted, you didn’t miss much.” Andrea was still understandably upset. “I don’t know Nick very well, but I can’t blame him for not wanting to get involved further. Not after being shot last year and then almost shot a second time. I don’t want Pete to face any of those murderers again, but there’s no way around it. He’s the sheriff.”

  “I know Nick very well.” Kate caught Beth’s curious gaze in the rearview mirror. “He’ll be back.”

  If she pretended not to have an opinion, maybe the subject would change without her admitting anything. She’d seen Nick’s bravery up close. She was the reason he’d been caught and held at gunpoint. He was probably out there right now looking for signs of the cartel traveling across his land.

  “Nick’s okay. He’s just stubborn,” she finally said.

  Kate lifted her wheat-blond hair off her neck. “Cord forced this on him and he’s rebelling.”