Читать книгу Lean, Mean and Lonesome - Annette Broadrick, Annette Broadrick - Страница 11

Three

Rafe knew that he was getting too old for this business if someone could take him out in a friend’s backyard in the middle of the morning. He sat in the kitchen holding a cold compress to the back of his head while Mandy apologized to him and explained to the foreman that he wasn’t an interloper and shouldn’t have been ambushed.

From what Rafe could gather as he sat nursing his goose egg and bruised ego, Tom Parker wasn’t any too pleased with Mandy’s explanations. He appeared to be upset that all of his carefully planned security measures hadn’t prevented Rafe from reaching the ranch house undetected last night.

At the moment, Rafe was having some difficulty working up much sympathy for the man.

“I’d intended to introduce Rafe to you this morning, Tom,” Mandy said in a conciliatory tone that wasn’t improving Rafe’s mood of the moment. Hell, she didn’t need to apologize for him. “I wasn’t aware he was awake or I would have invited you to the house for coffee so the two of you could get acquainted.”

“So introduce us,” the man replied in a gruff voice.

Mandy rolled her eyes. “Rafe McClain, this is Dan’s foreman, Tom Parker. He’s worked for Dan for several years.” To Tom she added, “Rafe is a family friend.”

Rafe wasn’t in the mood to be polite, damn it. Getting his head bashed in wasn’t on the top of his list of ways to start the day. Hell, Ranger had been better protection for Mandy than all the armed guards. Where was this character last night when Ranger had carried on so loudly?

Rafe leaned back in his chair and looked over the man who was propped against the cabinets with his arms folded, glaring at him from across the room. He wasn’t particularly impressed with the man or his glare, although he might have been more tolerant of the man’s attitude if this was the first time they’d had occasion to meet.

“A little quick to take a person out, aren’t you?” Rafe drawled, holding Parker’s gaze with a steady look.

“You’re a stranger on the property. As far as I’m concerned, you have no business being here. I have zero tolerance these days.”

Rafe carefully touched the knot behind his ear. “Yeah. I noticed.”

“Hope you’re not waiting for an apology,” Parker growled. “With Dan missing, I’m not willing to take any chances where Mandy’s safety is concerned.”

Mandy interrupted. “Tom, I’ve already explained that...”

Parker ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “Hell, I know what you said, Mandy. Has it occurred to you that if this guy—”

“Rafe—” Rafe reminded him softly.

“—If Rafe could get on the property without any of us seeing him, so could anyone else. Until we locate Dan, we don’t know what the hell is going on. For all we know, this guy could have something to do with Dan’s disappearance.”

Rafe chuckled, then groaned, holding his head very carefully, afraid it might tumble off his shoulders at any moment. “I’m not up to laughing at your absurd accusations just yet, so try to hold back on the humor for a little while, okay?”

He was amused to see that this Tom character was actually grinding his teeth. I bet his dentist was going to love him for that.

Parker straightened. “I’ve got to get to work. I need to—”

“—show me around the place?” Rafe inserted. “Thanks, I’d appreciate it. Now that I’m here, I can relieve you of some of the burden of figuring out what’s going on.”

A rush of emotions seemed to sweep across Parker’s face—disbelief, anger, with more than a hint of bewilderment. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?” he finally managed to get out through clenched teeth.

Rafe continued to lean back in his chair. He smiled, feeling better by the minute. “The man who’s going to find out what happened to Dan.”

“I see. You think you can do any better than I have, or Mandy, or the sheriffs department?”

Rafe shrugged. “Won’t know ’til I try.”

Mandy spoke up. “Look, Rafe, you don’t have to stay. Just because Dan contacted you doesn’t mean that you have to—”

“Dan contacted him! When?” Parker turned and looked at Rafe. “How come I’ve never heard of you, if you’re such good friends with the family?”

Rafe scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Tell you what, Parker,” he finally drawled. “The minute I finish my autobiography, I’ll make damned sure you get the first copy off the press. Until then, I don’t owe you any explanations about anything, you understand me? I’m here now. I aim to stay until I get ready to leave, and not one minute sooner.” He studied the other man thoughtfully before adding, “Unless you’re already seeing yourself as the boss around here now that Dan isn’t around.”

Parker straightened and took a step toward him before Mandy stepped in front of him. She placed her hands on Parker’s chest. “Look, Tom, I know Rafe very well. You aren’t going to win this argument. I’ll talk to him...try to get him to calm down—”

“Calm down?” Rafe repeated. “Hell, Mandy, if I was any more calm at the moment, I’d be comatose.”

She ignored him. “Why don’t you give us a few minutes,” she said to Parker. “Rafe and I will be out later. I want to show him the airfield and other things that weren’t here the last time he was here. I’d like you to go with us.”

Rafe idly noted that Parker contented himself by giving Rafe a hard look. Rafe assumed it was supposed to make him tremble in his boots. Parker nodded to Mandy and left the kitchen, allowing the door to slam behind him.

“His mother must not have taught him much manners, slamming the door that way,” Rafe commented. He got up and went over to the coffeepot and carefully poured himself another cup. His head hurt something fierce, but he’d be hanged before he’d admit his pain to Mandy.

Part of the macho creed, he supposed, amused at himself.

“Oh, you’re a great one to be spouting off about manners. You practically accused him of doing away with Dan so he could run the ranch!” Mandy turned away and quickly scrambled some eggs and placed them on a plate along with what was left of the bacon and biscuits. She set the plate hard enough down at the table where he’d been sitting that Rafe feared for the safety of the china plate.

“Eat,” she said tersely.

“What about you?”

“I’ve managed to look after myself just fine for all these years without your help, McClain. I don’t need you or any other man looking after me, have you got that straight?”

“Look, Mandy, I’m not sure why you’re upset, but I—” But he what? Was he sorry for anything he’d said or done? Not only no, but hell no. So what did he say to her? “I don’t want to see you upset,” he finally muttered.

“Then sit down and eat your breakfast,” was her only reply.

He sat down and ate his breakfast, which he found a little tough to do since he’d already helped himself to a large portion earlier. But he figured it wouldn’t hurt to pacify her at the moment. She seemed to be just a mite touchy. Maybe he should have taken into consideration all she’d been through these past few days before he let loose at the foreman.

“You had no reason to accuse Tom of trying to take over the ranch,” she finally said from across the room, where she busied herself loading the dishwasher. He tried not to wince when breakables collided.

“Didn’t I? Well, that’s good to hear.”

“He and Dan are very close.”

“So?”

“If you think that he might have had anything to do with Dan’s disappearance—”

“Whoa! Now wait a minute, Mandy. That’s quite a leap you’ve made between the two subjects.”

“Is it? I don’t think so. You’re implying that Tom has something to gain if we can’t find Dan.”

“Am I? Funny, but I don’t see it that way. In the first place, I don’t know enough about what has happened to start coming up with conclusions about anything.”

“Then what were you implying by your out-of-line comment?”

He grinned. “I figure he was making damned sure that I understood he’d already staked his claim where you’re concerned and he didn’t like the idea I might be trespassing on that claim.”

“Me?!”

“Aw, come on, Mandy. You’re not that naive. The man is obviously playing the protector role where you’re concerned. Not that I blame him. In his place I’d be doing the same thing. After all, if Dan hadn’t been worried abou something several weeks ago, he never would have sent me that letter. The fact that he has now disappeared and no one seems to know why or where, or even—God forbid!—it he’s even alive tells me we’ve got something serious on our hands. If something has happened to Dan, that leaves you in a very vulnerable position.”

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him. “In what way?”

“You’re a very attractive woman, Mandy, as well as being the only family member left to inherit the ranch if something has happened to Dan. Don’t pretend not to see wha a sweet setup that would be for some unscrupulous male.’

“Ah. I see. You think Tom hopes to acquire me and this ranch in one neat package. How gracious of you to believe that a man would want more than just me in a relationship Not only that, you’ve already managed to figure out tha Tom is just unscrupulous enough to make a play for me based on those terms.” She crossed her arms and glared a him from across the room. “What sort of stuff are you smoking these days, Rafe? I swear, you must be downrigh delusional!”

He certainly wasn’t making any points at the moment Rafe decided. So maybe he’d better get started on his plans for the day.

He got up and carried his dishes to where she stood Nudging her aside, he rinsed his plate, utensils, cup and saucer and quietly placed them in the dishwasher. He looked down at her, suddenly amused at the fiery glints shooting from her eyes. He’d forgotten how much fun he’d had as a kid teasing her in order to provoke just that expression.

He had a sudden urge to kiss her, just to provoke another reaction. He leaned toward her, wondering if she would taste as sweet as he remembered. She’d been staring past him, looking out the window. When he leaned toward her, she glanced back, focusing on him once again.

Their eyes met and he realized how much trouble he’d be in if he actually followed through on the idea. Man, what was he thinking!

He immediately straightened and turned away. He had already learned one thing since he’d returned to Texas. Mandy Crenshaw affected the grown man just as strongly as she had the young boy. This time, he was supposed to have enough self-discipline not to succumb to the temptation she presented.