Читать книгу The Wrangler's Woman - Ruth Jean Dale - Страница 9

TEXAS BARBECUE WAS the best barbecue in the world, hands down. Jack Burke figured everybody knew that.

Since the Sorry Bastard Saloon in Hard Knox, Texas, served the best barbecue in the state, that’s where local barbecue fans gathered. The saloon was packed with rowdy young cowboys and indulgent townfolk on this Saturday afternoon in March, Jack among them.

Until lately, the Sorry Bastard could also boast of having the best-looking barmaids in Texas, but recent marriages had thinned those ranks. Not that Jack Burke ever came in for the scenery, heck no.

“Hey!” One of the cowboys bellied up to the bar and yelled in Jack’s face. “I said please pass the hot sauce!”

“Oh, sorry.” Jack passed the dangerous red condiment, then carefully picked up the last sloppy bite of his barbecue-beef-brisket sandwich. “I was thinkin’.”

“Yeah,” the cowboy said wisely, “like we all been, I bet, about them Keenes comin’ in to take over the Bar K. It’s a real shame your daddy and grandpa won’t be able to buy that place now. Just when they’s gettin’ close, old Wil Keene up and kicks the bucket.”

This was greeted with somber nods all around. Everybody in the county had known old Wil Keene and none of them had liked him much, especially the Burkes of the XOX Ranch. Wil had been a cranky SOB, but his neighbors had coexisted uneasily with him for the sake of his wife.

Miss Elsie Knox had been revered locally as a kind lady from pioneer stock. Hell, the town of Hard Knox got its name from one of her great-great-something or others. Why an aging maiden lady had waited all those years for her prince to come and then up and married a carpetbagger like Wil Keene five years ago was anybody’s guess. But she had, and out of respect they’d tried hard to get along with the abrasive foreigner plunked down in their midst.

They managed fairly well until Miss Elsie—no one ever called her Mrs. Keene—died. Then they moved in on Wil Keene like a flock of vultures, determined to rid themselves of a constant irritation.

The fastest way was to buy him out. Three ranchers whose land touched on Bar K borders made the widower offers they hoped he couldn’t refuse, Jack’s pa and grandpa among them. But Keene, who was getting up there in years and growing more surly by the minute, just sneered at all comers.

There was nothing for locals to do but stand by shaking their heads in collective disapproval while they watched the little Bar K go to hell in a handbasket.

Now Wil’s three sons were coming in to take over the failing dude ranch, and nobody was very enthusiastic about that, either.

“Those Keene boys are due in any day now,” one of the cowboys at a table near the bar offered. “Them ol’ boys are gonna have a real job of work gettin’ that place fit for dudes.”

Joe Bob Muskowitz, the long drink of water at the end of the bar, nodded. “They’ll play hell gettin’ any help from around here,” he predicted. “Their daddy ticked off just about everybody in this town at one time or another and they’re probably just like him.”

Heads nodded solemnly, all except Jack’s. Disgusted with himself for doing it, he still felt duty bound to speak up. It was hell to be beholden to a man you disliked and then have him die before you could repay your debt of honor.

“Wil Keene wasn’t—” he swallowed hard “—all bad.”

“Wal, where’s that comin’ from?”

Joe Bob gave the speaker an incredulous glance. “Where you been? Remember when Jack’s grandpa rolled his pickup last year? It was Wil who hauled the old man out just before the gas tank exploded—am I right, Jack? Saved Austin’s life, sure as shootin’.”

“That the way it was, Jack?” the other asked.

“Just about.” Jack didn’t like having his business discussed in public, but what could you do in a small town like Hard Knox?

“I still wouldn’t want to be one of them Keene brothers,” Joe Bob said emphatically. “I heard all about ’em—triplets, somebody said. Names are Danny, Nicky and Tony. Ain’t that sweet?”

“It’s not their front names that bother me,” the other cowboy said, “it’s the last one—Keene.”

“You got that right…never trust a Keene, just like their old man.” There were knowing nods all around.

Jack figured he ought to stick up for Wil Keene, but how? If he hadn’t owed Wil, he’d likely be making the same harsh judgments. And the thing was, Grandpa didn’t drive a danged bit better today than he had when he flipped that pickup and put his grandson between this rock and a hard place.

“Now,” he said halfheartedly, “don’t be too hard on ’em before you even lay eyes on ’em. They could be real nice guys.”

“From Montana?” Miguel Reyes, hitherto silent, raised his brows. “It’s too cold up there. Makes people all pinched and pale.” He looked at his own brown hand as if for emphasis.

“Yeah, and they talk funny, too,” another chimed in. “Why, I heard tell—”

The outside door flew open and Dylan Sawyer, a young cowboy from the XOX, stuck his head inside. “Hey, everybody, the Keene kids are in town! I just saw a dusty Jeep with Montana plates pull into the parking lot at the Y’all Come Café! Let’s go check ’em out!”

The bar of the Sorry Bastard emptied in a flash. Jack sat there for a moment longer, practically alone except for the lady bartender, who also happened to be the owner, Rosie Mitchell.

She looked at him, rolled her eyes and said, “Well, hell. There goes my Saturday business. At least you didn’t run off on me.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Rosie.” Jack slid off his stool, digging in his jeans pocket for bills, which he tossed on the bar. “I may not like the Keenes any more than anybody else around here does, but I always pay my debts.”

And the sooner, the better. All he wanted was to be done with the Keenes, the whole lot of ’em, once and for all.

THE Y’ALL COME CAFÉ WAS only a block and a half away, so Jack hoofed it. As he neared the little restaurant, he saw the last of the cowboy crowd disappear inside. It was almost enough to make him feel sorry for the Keene brothers.

All set to follow, he caught movement from the corner of his eye and turned to see a woman walk around the side of the building from the big back parking lot. She was leading just about the best looking Appaloosa gelding he’d ever laid eyes on.

She saw him, too. Their gazes met and all of a sudden he couldn’t have told you whether that horse was a palomino or a bay. In her fringed leather jacket with a light wind ruffling her hair, she was even better looking than her horse, which was going some. He realized his mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut.

She raised slender brows in silent acknowledgment and turned away, the horse following obediently. Up and down she led the animal, obviously working out travel kinks. She must have just unloaded him from a horse trailer and was looking to his needs before seeing to her own.

Jack liked that. The woman must know horses. When she turned back in his direction the next time, he gave her a tentative smile. “Howdy,” he said. “Just get into town?”

Beautiful chocolate-brown eyes widened incredulously. “Was that a lucky guess?”

“What can I say?” He shrugged modestly, playing her little game. “Are you just passing through?”

“That’s right.”

“Mind me asking where you’re headed?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She turned sharply and led the horse away from him again.

When she reached the outer limits of the small graveled area, she had no choice but to turn back again. When she did, he was waiting.

“Didn’t mean to sound nosy.”

“Well, you did.” But she seemed somewhat mollified.

“I’d be happy to help you with your horse if—”

“Touch my horse and die!” Her eyes flashed; she had an extremely expressive face.

“Sorry!” He threw up his hands and backed up the steps to the front door of the café. “Just tryin’ to be neighborly.”

“Yes, well…whatever.” The look she gave him said she wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out he was actually a horse thief or worse, if there was anything worse.

This time when she turned away, he did, too. Nothing to be gained here. He might as well go on inside and gawk at the Keene brothers along with everybody else in town.

DANI WATCHED with skepticism as the tall, good-looking cowboy entered the café. At twenty-five, she’d lived long enough to know that strange men did not attempt to engage her in idle conversation without some ulterior motive. Usually it was to get closer to her sisters, but this guy hadn’t even seen Toni and Niki yet so he must have been interested in Sundance, the Appaloosa she’d raised from a colt and trained herself.

Granny said Dani was too suspicious, but she didn’t see how that was possible. All her life men had tried to use her to get to her gorgeous sisters, and all her life she’d seen right through them and sent them packing with her tart tongue and shoot-from-the-lip attitude.

Sighing, she led Sundance back around the building and loaded him into the trailer. He obeyed her commands with reluctance.

“It’s almost over, old boy.” She patted his speckled rump before banging the door closed. “Next stop, the Bar K!”

A little shiver of anticipation shot through her at the sound of it. All her life she’d wanted a ranch of her own, a place where she and her sisters and their grandmother could settle down and live happily ever after. Of course, Toni and Niki would get married eventually, but that was a long way away.

As for herself, she doubted she’d ever marry. After what their father had done to their mother, she couldn’t imagine why any of the triplets would take a chance on a man. Toni, on the other hand, seemed unscathed by their father’s desertion, to Dani’s total amazement. As for Niki…Niki kept her own counsel in many areas.

All of which meant that Dani must be chary for all their sakes…but that cowboy had been tempting.

More than six feet tall, she judged, with wide shoulders and a lithe way of moving. Strong jawed for sure, but that was about all she could tell about his face, shadowed as it was by a brown Stetson hat. A working cowboy, obviously, in off the range for a little weekend fun and frolic.

She shocked herself by wondering if he needed a job, then gave a contemptuousness snort at the slightest inference that she cared.

Brushing off her hands, she entered the café through the rear door. Emerging into the back of the dining room, she hesitated for a few moments, surveying the situation with her usual caution.

The Y’all Come looked as if it had started life as a Swiss Chalet. The steeply slanted roof was visible through windows framed by lacy wooden trim, and photos of snow scenes papered the walls. It was all so incongruous that Dani had to smile.

Then she stopped looking at the décor and honed in on her family.

Not too surprisingly, Niki and Toni were the object of considerable attention. They sat in a booth with Granny, chatting so animatedly that if you didn’t know them, you wouldn’t think they were even aware of the scrutiny of a whole roomful of mostly men.

Dani, very aware, was not pleased, especially when she spotted the nosy cowboy seated on a stool at the counter. He was watching her with an amused tilt to his lips. Lifting her chin, she stalked between the tables and slid into the only seat left in the family booth.

Everyone smiled, and Toni said, “How’s old Sundance?”

“Old Sundance is fine.” Dani picked up the mug of coffee they’d ordered for her. “Have you called the lawyer?”

Her sisters shifted a bit guiltily and Toni said, “We were just about to get around to that.”

“Okay. Have you got directions to the ranch?”

“Well…” Toni and Niki looked at each other, and Toni said, “Not exactly. The waitress is new around here and doesn’t know, but I’m sure one of these nice cowboys can help us out.”

Which was just what Dani didn’t want to hear. Why did some women check their good sense at the door when men came on the scene?

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT,” Dylan Sawyer declared. “The Keene brothers turn out to be the Keene sisters! Does that take the cake or what?”

“It damn sure does,” Jack agreed, watching the prickly woman he’d encountered outside march up to the booth in front of the window and sit down. “Dani, Niki and Toni—with an i. Got any idea which one is which?”

“Well…” Dylan licked his chops. “The pretty one—”

“Hell, they’re all pretty.” And they were, Jack realized, although none more so than the woman who’d been walking the horse. There was more to her than good looks, too. Intelligence just glowed from those dark eyes. Grandpa would call her smart as a whip.

“No, I mean the real pretty one, the one with that long black hair. She’s Niki.”

Jack looked at Niki more carefully, and somewhat belatedly realized what a knockout she was. Funny how he hadn’t noticed anything special about her at first glance. “And the others?”

“The one in the red jacket is Toni, so the one who just came in must be Dani—process of elimination,” Dylan concluded with a guffaw. “They called the old lady who looks like Mrs. Santa Claus ‘Grandma.”’

“Did you get identification on the horse?”

Dylan blinked. “What horse?”

“Let it go.” A formal introduction, Jack was thinking. That’s what he needed, seeing as Dani had seemed so leery of him. Hell, he was going to be neighbors with her—with all of them, he hastened to add. Might as well be friendly.

Joe Bob slid onto the stool on the other side of Jack’s. “Man, did you get a load of that?” He jerked his head toward the women.

Dylan nodded, but then his look of eager anticipation faded. “They’re still Keenes and that means they’re off-limits,” he said in a warning tone. “Damn shame, since they’re so blasted cute.”

“Yeah, a shame,” Joe Bob agreed. “But lookin’ won’t hurt us any.” And he banged Jack on the shoulder with a friendly fist, nearly knocking him off the stool.

A COWBOY WITH HANDS so big they dwarfed the coffeepot offered refills and bashful smiles all around.

Dani cocked her head and watched him slosh coffee over the rim of her chipped mug. “Don’t quit your day job,” she advised.

“Huh?” He seemed to be having trouble pulling his gaze away from Niki.

“Do you work here?”

“Naw.” He chortled at the very thought. “I just wanted to get a closer look at y’all.” Still laughing, he backed away.

“Wait a minute.”

“Ma’am?”

Dani wanted to groan. She knew she must sound like a drill sergeant, but he didn’t have to “ma’am” her. “Do you know where the office of an attorney named John Salazar is?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do.”

“Well, would you mind telling me where it is?” she asked, exasperated.

“Oh. Sure.” He pointed toward the front door. “Out there, turn right one block and left one block. It’s in the Snake-oil Building—sorry, I mean the Snaesull Building, but we all call it the Snake-oil Building.”

“Oh, lord.” She rolled her eyes, then added a belated, “Thank you very much.” To her family she said, “I’m going to walk on over so I can get the keys. Wait here and let the locals look you over. In fact, you probably should go ahead and eat.”

Toni frowned. “Don’t you want one of us to go with you?”

Dani shook her head. “If I need you, I’ll come get you.” She slid out of the booth. “I won’t be long.” She didn’t wait for their response, knowing they’d acquiesce. She was, after all, the oldest of the triplets; she’d been born seven minutes ahead of Toni, who was born thirteen minutes before Niki, the baby of the family. Besides, business was Dani’s forte, as being nice was Toni’s and being beautiful was Niki’s.

Dani just wished she was as good at her thing as they were at theirs.

DANI WALKED OUT the front door and Jack hopped off that stool and was after her like a shot. Wherever she was going, he’d just tag along in case she needed…anything, anything at all.

All in the interest of repaying a debt, of course. Nothing more.

By the time he got out the front door, she was standing at the curb, looking around with great interest. He trotted up to her with a smile.

“Looking for something?” he asked in his most winsome tone.

“Is that just another good guess?”

“Yep. Maybe I can help you.”

“I don’t need any help, thank you.” She made a sharp right turn and walked quickly away from him.

He took that “thank you” as a good sign and followed. In a few long strides, he was beside her. She gave him an annoyed glance.

“Are you following me?” she demanded.

“No, ma’am, I’m being hospitable is all.”

“Ohh!” She clenched slender hands into tight fists. “If one more person calls me ma’am—!”

“It’s not your age,” he explained. “It’s your attitude. You are a tiny bit…intimidating.”

She didn’t miss a step. After about half a block, she said, “You don’t know me well enough to make that judgment. In fact, you don’t even know my—”

“Dani Keene,” he interrupted.

Then she did miss a step. “How did you know that?”

“Everybody does. We’ve been waitin’ for the Keene brothers of Montana to roll into town and here you are. I’m Jack—”

“I don’t care who you are.” She crossed the street and he kept pace. “I don’t take up with strangers on the street. If this is the way Texas men treat women—”

“Now hold it right there! Texas men don’t take a back seat to any men in their treatment of women. I’m tryin’ to be nice and helpful here, is all.”

“What part of ‘leave me alone’ don’t you understand?” She stopped so suddenly that he took a couple of steps past her. She was obviously checking out the two-story buildings in front of them.

“That one.” Jack pointed.

She blinked. “That one, what?”

“You’re lookin’ for the Snake-oil Building—excuse me, the Snaesull Building, right?”

“Yes, but how did you know that?” She faced him with fists on her hips and suspicion in her eye.

“Because John Salazar is your attorney.”

She looked on the verge of an explosion. “How do you know John Salazar is my attorney?”

“Because he was your father’s attorney.”

She almost flinched at the mention of her father, and some of the fight went out of her. “What else do you know about m-my…” she swallowed hard, looking suddenly vulnerable “…my father?”

“Quite a lot, now that you bring it up.” He wondered why she’d had so much trouble with the word father. “I grew up here and I’ve watched the Bar K…go through a lot of changes. If there’s anything I can do to help you while you’re here—”

“You make it sound like I’m on a vacation,” she said. “I’m here to stay.”

He nodded, pleased to hear it. “That’s fine by me, but…things may not be exactly what you expect. All I’m saying is that if I can help, I’ll be glad to do it. Any questions?”

She looked almost panicky for a moment, but a shaky breath seemed to steady her. “This isn’t a good time. Look, Jack, I don’t mean to seem unfriendly but I don’t have the faintest idea who you are and I’m in no mood for company, anyway.”

She remembered his name. That was a good omen. “Jack Burke, of the XOX Ranch, at your service.” He put out his hand, hoping for a shake so he could touch her.

She ignored his outstretched hand. Her blank look said that the next time they met she probably wouldn’t even remember him. “Thanks for your interest, but I have business to attend to. If you’ll excuse me…”

What if he wouldn’t? She didn’t wait to find out, just wheeled and walked into the Snake-oil Building. For a long moment, Jack stood on the sidewalk looking after her, thinking she might be as prickly as her old man.

But a whole helluva lot easier on the eyes.

BACK IN THE CAFÉ AGAIN, Dani sat down hard on the booth seat and looked at her startled siblings and grandmother. “He wasn’t in,” she said.

“The lawyer?”

Dani nodded. “His secretary gave me a set of keys and wished me luck. I got the feeling she thought I’d need it.”

Toni picked up a french fry. “At least you didn’t waste the walk.”

“I needed the fresh air to clear my head.” Not that it had succeeded. “I…” She saw the tall cowboy—Jack something or other, he’d said—at the counter again and she quickly turned her gaze away. The café had only emptied out a little. “I’m getting a funny feeling about this.”

Toni and Niki exchanged glances. “Funny how?” Toni asked.

“Funny…like the ranch isn’t all we’re expecting it to be.”

Granny leaned forward and patted her granddaughter’s hand. “Don’t be negative, dear. I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

“That’s right.” Niki nodded firmly. “We saw the brochures and brochures don’t lie.”

Dani had thought at the time that the brochures looked at least thirty years old, but swept up in the excitement, hadn’t mentioned that little qualm. “I’m sure you’re right.” She sighed. “It’s just that this has been a long hard trip and I’m tired. You all must be, too.”

Toni laughed. “Why should we be tired when you did ninety percent of the driving? Once we get to the ranch, you deserve a nice long rest, Dani.”

“We all do.” Somehow Dani didn’t think any of them would get much rest, but she wouldn’t rain on their parade. “Why don’t I pay the check and we can get out of here? Until we see the place, we won’t know what we’re talking about.”

“Uhh…”

“Uhh…what?”

Again those surreptitious glances, and Granny said, “It’s a little complicated—the directions, I mean. There are two ways, the long way and the short way. The long way is complicated, but the short way is practically a secret, from what the lady who runs this place told us.”

“Are you saying we need better directions?”

“Or a guide,” Toni said, grinning. “Come on, Dani, cheer up! We’re almost there—Gone To Texas! The promised land. Remember?”

“I remember.” Dani told herself she was being ridiculous, but ever since that brief conversation with the cowboy, she’d had the oddest feeling that something wasn’t quite right at the Bar K. “I’m just being silly,” she added. “Stay here while I pay the bill and get decent directions.”

Rising, she picked up the check and took the few steps to the cash register. She handed it to the pleasant-faced woman behind the counter, along with a twenty dollar bill.

The woman smiled and shook her head. “It’s already taken care of,” she said.

Dani frowned and glanced at the table. All three women shrugged; none of them had paid the check. “I don’t understand,” she said. “None of us—”

“Jack took care of it,” the woman announced. “Y’all come back, hear?”

Jack. The cowboy. This couldn’t go on. Dani marched up to where he sat at the counter, grinning.

She was steaming. “Look,” she said shortly, “I can’t let you do that. Tell me how much our bill was and I’ll…” She fumbled her wallet out of the pocket of her jacket, hoping she’d have the exact change.

He shook his head. “My pleasure,” he said.

“Dammit, Jack, you can’t—”

“It’s done. Short of making a scene, there’s not much you can do about it.” His calm, almost patronizing expression didn’t waver.

Dani gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. He was right, but how dare he put her in this corner? “Okay,” she muttered, “you win this one. Thank you very much, but don’t you ever do this again.”

“No, ma’am, I sure won’t.” Clear hazel eyes crinkled at the corners. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“There certainly—is.”

His grin widened. “Just name it.”

“Can you give me directions to the Bar K? My family seems to think it’s at the end of a labyrinth or something.”

“Umm, not too many labyrinths in Texas that I know of. It is a little tricky to find if you don’t know your way around, though.”

“You can draw me a map.”

“I can do better than that.” He rose from the stool.

“There is nothing better than that,” she flared. “Wait. Grandma always has paper and pencil in her purse.”

“Don’t bother.”

“But—”

“I’ll lead you there.”

“I don’t want you to show me the way,” she objected in alarm. She really hated how he was pushing in, mostly because she found him so damned attractive.

“Yes, you do.”

“Don’t tell me what I want!”

“Dani,” he said in that lazy drawl, “you do, you just don’t know it yet. Trust me on this—when you get your first look at the Bar K, you’ll be damned glad to have me around.”

Dani’s stomach dropped to her knees and she could only stand in dumb alarm while he waltzed around her to introduce himself to her family. That lump of dread had just turned into a boulder.