That spares not going to get you far, he warned. Its in lousy shape. Kind of like the rest of this heap. His disdain encompassed the replacement door that was a different color from the body of the truck and a side mirror that looked loose.
She met his contempt with a half smile. On the bright side, getting the flat gave me a chance to rest the engine and let the radiator cool down. Dont worry, my ranch is only a few miles away. In fact, you should come with me. Wait out the storm. Judging from those clouds, were in for a lot worse.
Although he recognized the logic in her words, the invitation irked him. Lady, I could be a serial killer. You dont invite strangers home with you.
Not normally, no. Her hazel eyes darkened, her expression somber. If it helps, I was taught self-defense by a marine and Im a lot tougher than I look.
A sizzle of lightning struck close enough to make both of them start.
You shouldnt be riding that motorcycle in this, she scolded. For a split second, she reminded him of his sister, Arden. Not all women were so at ease bossing around grown men who towered over them. He wondered if Hazel Eyes had brothers. If they worked on that ranch shed mentioned, it could explain why she wasnt worried about bringing a total stranger home with her.
Come on, she prompted, impatience creeping into her tone as more lightning flashed. I have enough problems without picking up my morning paper and seeing that you got fried to the asphalt.
He didnt realize he was going to agree until the words left his mouth. Lead the way. He hadnt been there the day a car accident had shattered his world, hadnt been able to do a damn thing to help. He found he couldnt abandon this woman until she and her rattling joke of a truck were out of the rain.
Mounting his bike, he shook his head at the unexpected turn of events. Hazel was not the first woman whod invited him back to her place. But it was the first time in two years that hed accepted.
* * *
COLIN WAS TOO occupied with the diminishing visibility and handling his bike on the dirt road to study his surroundings. He had a general impression of going through a gated entrance; farther ahead were much larger structures, likely the main house and a barn or stable. But the truck stopped at a narrow, one-story building.
The woman parked in the mud, gesturing out her window that he should go around and park beneath the covered carport, where the motorcycle would be out of the worst of the elements. She joined him under the carport a moment later, her hand tucked inside the purse she wore over her shoulder. He wondered if she had pepper spray or a Taser in there. Shed sounded serious when she mentioned the self-defense lessons.
This is the old bunkhouse, she said. Im about to start refurbing it as a guest cabin, but at the moment its mostly empty.
He supposed that any brothers or a husband lived in the main house with her. Although what caring husband would let his wife drive a disaster on wheels like that truck?
She tossed him a key ring and nodded toward the door. You can get a hot shower, dry off. Theres a microwave and a few cans of soup in the cabinet. Before you tell me Im naive and that you might be a master burglar, let me assure you theres nothing to steal. I doubt you could get thirty bucks on Craigslist for the twin bed and microwave combined.
He unlocked the door, noting how she kept a casual but unmistakable distance. Once hed flipped the light switch, he saw that she was right about the lack of luxuries. The carpet was the kind of multipurpose indoor/outdoor covering used more in screened patios than homes. There was enough space for three or four beds, but only one was pushed against the wall. At one end of the long, rectangular interior was a minifridge and microwave, at the other a bathroom. Aside from a couple of truly ugly paintings of cows, the place was barren.
He stopped in the center of the room, raising an eyebrow. The minifridge brings up my Craigslist asking price to thirty-five.
She gave a sharp laugh, abruptly stifled. Sorry the accommodations arent classier. The ranch is...in a rebuilding phase.
The note of genuine embarrassment in her voice made him uneasy. Its plenty classy. Ive slept on the ground during cattle drives and in horse stalls on more than one occasion. By slept, he meant tossing and turning, trying to avoid nightmares of everything hed lost.
Those hazel eyes locked on him, her expression inexplicably intense. You work with livestock!
Isnt that what hed just said? As often as I can. He preferred animals to people. Sometimes I do other odd jobs, too. I was headed into Bingham Pass to get more information about a local employment opportunity.
Then you havent already committed to it? A smile spread across her face, revealing two dimples. Because, as it happens, Im hiring. She stepped forward, extending her hand. The oversize jacket parted, revealing a still damp but not entirely transparent blouse. Thank God.
Im Hannah.
Hannah, Hazel. Hed been close.
Hannah Shaw, she elaborated when he said nothing. Owner of the Silver Linings Ranch.
Foreboding cramped low in his belly. Paralyzed, he neglected to shake her hand. Not the Widow Shaw? The one who baked cakes and harbored delusions of being a rancher?
She frowned. People still call me that?
Crap. It was her. Hed imagined Mrs. Shaw would be a temporary solution to his problems, but now, meeting her earnest gaze, his instincts murmured that she posed far more threat to his safety than any rifle-wielding jealous husband.
Chapter Two
You know Im rooting for you, but
No buts, Annette. Hannah secured the phone between her ear and shoulder, needing both hands to separate the yolk from the egg white. This is the answer to my prayers! Think about itIve been scouring the county for a halfway-competent ranch hand, and one rides to my rescue on a rainy Wednesday evening? Its destiny.
Or, at least, proof that her positive thinking was finallyfinally!paying off. She executed a happy twirl, narrowly missing the antique buffet that served as a kitchen island. Though shed been too excited to eat dinner after shed showered off the road grime and changed into dry clothes, she was busy mixing a thank-you batch of devils food cupcakes for Annette.
Over the past three months, Annette Reed had become like a big sister. Annette and her husband were trying to have kids; meanwhile they doted on Evan, helping create the extended family hed never had. Annette was a blessing in their lives, even if she was slow to embrace Hannahs bright side philosophy. The other woman didnt fully understand that the determined optimism was the only thing that had kept Hannah going during the bleakest period of her life, that Hannah owed it to her son to prove good things could happen if you worked hard enough.
Sweetie, please be careful, Annette entreated. You wouldnt be the first woman in the world to get in trouble because she confused a hot guy on a motorcycle with destiny.
Hot guy? Hannah froze, glancing out the window into the dark, as if making sure Colin Cade couldnt overhear them. Which was insane since he was a quarter of a mile away, and she was locked into her house with a watchdog for company. I never said he was hot.
Hot guy? Hannah froze, glancing out the window into the dark, as if making sure Colin Cade couldnt overhear them. Which was insane since he was a quarter of a mile away, and she was locked into her house with a watchdog for company. I never said he was hot.
Not in so many words, but it was in your tone. Whats he look like?
Dark, with that shaggy, rich brown hair and unshaven jaw. Chiseled. And she didnt just mean the muscles outlined beneath his T-shirt. His features, though striking, looked as if theyd been carved from stone. Had the man ever smiled in his life? Not that it matters. Being charming wasnt a job requirement. She needed someone efficient and unflinching in the face of setbacks.
He has blue eyes, she said noncommittally. Light blue with a hint of green. And hes tall.
Her friend guffawed. Next to you, sweetie, everyones tall.
She ignored the crack about her height. Annette, this isnt me getting my hopes up for no reason. The guy came here specifically looking for me, looking for this ranch. Granted, Colin had seemed more shell-shocked than enthusiastic when hed realized he found her. An old friend of Colins told him I was hiring and he wanted more information. Shed kept her answers in the bunkhouse brief and cheerful, barely mentioning Henry White, the well-intentioned, semiretired ranch hand who came by at least twice a week.
Did you tell him the truth?
More or less, she said, hearing the defensive note in her tone. I mean, I didnt volunteer that today was my fifth bank meeting and that I got turned down again. I said that Id inherited a family ranch, have plans to turn it into a cross between a small dude ranch and bed-and-breakfast but have yet to put together a staff. Unless one counted seventy-year-old Henry and his wife, Kitty. I invited him to the main house for breakfast so we can discuss details. Im making my homemade coffee cake.
Ah. Pulling out the big guns, then.
Hell, yes.
As far back as Hannah could remember, shed always had a plan. Her first one had been Get Adopted. That one had never worked out, but years later, for one shining moment in time, her marriage had made her part of a family. Eyes stinging, she batted away the memories and focused on the present. Current plan: rehabilitate the ranch that had been in her late husbands family, build it into a legacy for her son. And to do that, she needed Colin Cade.
She was a persistent woman looking to hire help, and he was a man with ranch experience who needed a job. A match made in heaven! How hard could it possibly be to convince him to stay?
* * *
GOOD MORNING!
Colin hesitated on the bottom step of the wraparound porch, momentarily stunned by Hannahs brilliant smile. And bright yellow peasant blouse. She would be murder on a man with a hangover.
As hed mulled over the circumstances last night, hed tried to keep thinking of her as the Widow Shaw, but he couldnt reconcile that moniker with the woman whod stepped outside of the two-story house to meet him. She looked as fresh as a spring morning with her feet bare, revealing hot-pink toenails, and her inky hair pulled high in a ponytail. If it hadnt been for the jeans she wore and the pair of muddy boots sitting on the porch, he would seriously question whether she actually owned this place.
Behind her, on the other side of the screen door, an unseen dog scrabbled against the metal lower half and barked. Hannah shushed the canine over her shoulder, then flashed another sun-bright beam in Colins direction. Dont worry, Scarlett doesnt bite. Come on inbreakfast is ready and waiting.
Even from outside the house, the food smelled too enticing, making his stomach growl in anticipation. He was reminded of the fairy tale he used to read his younger sister. Hansel and Gretel. Hannahs house might not be made out of candy, but temptation was present just the same.
Then again, she had a job to offer him. It was imperative that Colin stay busy. He needed physically draining, sunup-to-sundown work.
Resigned, he followed her through the front door. Holy sh He broke off, manners belatedly overcoming his shock. Thats...some dog.
Hannah knelt down, patting the dogs head. Meet Scarlett.
Yesterday, Colin had thought Hannahs truck an eyesore. Next to the dog, it was a luxury sedan. Hed seen patchwork mutts before with traits from different breeds that looked a little mismatched. Scarlett went beyond mixed-breed. She was FrankenDog. It was as if someone had placed a disproportionately large German shepherd head on a squat bodynot an attractive head, either. The dog had a comically pronounced underbite and her ears werent parallel. One black ear stood up atop her head, as was common with shepherds, and the other seemed to stick straight out of the side of her skull. What were the legs, basset hound? Her red-and-white coat couldnt decide whether it was supposed to be curly or straight, and her tail was a brindle-colored whip that didnt match anything else on her. He assumed her neck bolts were hidden beneath the bright blue collar.
Scarlett, he echoed. He wouldve gone with Hellhound, although that did imply a creature weighing more than forty pounds.
Hearing her name, the dog whined and smacked him with her wagging tail.
She likes you. Thats a good sign, Hannah declared as she stood, leading him through a spacious living room with a stone fireplace. He got a glimpse of a back hallway and a set of stairs, but she led him past that and into the kitchen. Im not a superstitious person, but everything about our meeting has been so lucky.
He kept his response to a vague grunt she could take either way. It was probably best not to argue with a potential employer, but mountainside storms and mutant dogs didnt strike him as auspicious omens.
Hope youre hungry. I love to cook. Before I came here, I was a pastry chef.
Big change.
True, but Id been studying ranches for years. Running this place was always the plan. Besides, I couldnt have stayed at my last job much longer. She scowled. My bossnever mind. We should be eating, she chirped.
He was reluctantly fascinated by her total about-face. It was as though shed flipped a switch. One moment, shed clearly been remembering something unpleasant, anger seeping into her tone, then, boom, she was back to beaming like a lottery winner.
Maybe she was schizophrenic.
Aware that he was on the verge of staring, he looked away. In appearance, Hannahs kitchen wasnt much fancier than the bunkhouse. Chairs at the oblong table were mismatched, and the countertops bore stains and scratches. Faded wallpaper covered the spaces between appliances but had been scraped off the main wall, which was bare. However, the bounty on the island more than compensated for the modest surroundings. Crisp bacon; eggs scrambled with cheese, peppers and sausage; a bowl of fruit salad; piping-hot coffee; and a cake so moist it looked like the cover photo of some food magazine. His mind darted back to the Hansel and Gretel story and the witch who fattened up her prey.
He slanted Hannah an assessing look. You got any ulterior motives I should know about?
Wh-what? You mean, like the old saw about the way to a mans heart being through his stomach? Because I am not interested in you! Not like that.
She sounded so vehement that he experienced a jolt of surprise. Maybe he was a few weeksmonths?overdue for a haircut, but he wasnt repulsive.