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The Ranch Solution
Julianna Morris
A change of scenery will do some good. And with the hope it will snap his teenage daughter out of her rebellious ways, widower Jacob O’Donnell has temporarily swapped his Seattle boardroom for Mariah Weston’s Montana working ranch. But big-city business is his territory, and this rugged, wild country…Well, it can only be paradise to someone like Mariah, whose can-do attitude and sizzling-hot temper throw Jacob harder than any horse ever could. Yet maybe a strong woman like Mariah can get through to his daughter. And Mariah is definitely getting through to Jacob!Even though city and country are meant to clash, the closer Mariah gets to his heart, the more Jacob wants what he knows might be impossible.


Trading his laptop for a…saddle?
Widower Jacob O’Donnell has to snap his teen daughter out of her rebellious ways. And his last resort to do so means temporarily swapping his Seattle boardroom for a Montana ranch. It should be simple, but nothing prepares him for the realities of a working ranch…or for Mariah Weston. This rugged country can only be paradise to someone like Mariah, whose can-do attitude and sizzling-hot temper throw Jacob harder than any horse ever could.
Yet maybe a strong woman like Mariah can get through to his daughter. One thing is for sure—Mariah is definitely getting through to Jacob! And the closer she gets to his heart, the more Jacob wants what he knows might be impossible.
“So why didn’t you get married?”
Jacob raised one eyebrow and continued, “Maybe I’m not the only one concerned about losing someone special. Is that why you got engaged to a man you didn’t really love? No one could blame you after the way your mother and father died.”
Mariah had never slapped a man, but she was within inches now. Jacob didn’t have any place questioning her relationship with Luke, or bringing up her parents.
“Back off,” she ordered furiously, without letting Jacob say another word.
The repair of the fence took less than five minutes and she efficiently replaced the tools in Shadow’s saddlebag.
“We’re done,” she said shortly.
“No ‘we’ about it. You wouldn’t let me help.”
“Don’t push me, Jacob,” she warned. “I may not have liked the city, but I took self-defense classes when I lived there and you wouldn’t enjoy being on the receiving end of what I learned.”
To her utter aggravation, he just laughed.
Dear Reader,
A friend used to speak longingly of the Amish lifestyle, believing it was less complicated and stressful than our fast-paced world. She would often say, “Maybe I’ll become Amish someday.” I’d smile and think of her sporty red car, passion for movies and lattes, and the ultra modern home she shared with her husband.
Still, the happiest summer of my life was spent in the mountains living in a tent cabin and cooking on a wood stove. I quickly discovered the satisfaction of chopping firewood, living close to nature and taking pleasure in simple entertainments. Yet the adjustments I went through are nothing compared to what I ask of my hero when I send him on a ranch vacation with his rebellious fourteen-year-old daughter.
Imagine a wealthy, city-loving businessman who finds himself sleeping in a tent, riding horses and dealing with a stubborn redhead who isn’t the least bit impressed with his money. Mariah is nothing like the gentle wife Jacob lost over ten years before. The only reason he stays is his troubled daughter, whose outrageous behavior has finally gotten her expelled from school. Jacob will try anything to help Kittie and he sees the ranch as a last resort.
I hope you have fun reading about Jacob and Mariah and their families—it was loads of fun writing about them. I also enjoy hearing from readers! Please contact me c/o Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, ON M3B 3K9, Canada.
Wishing you all the best,
Julianna Morris
The Ranch Solution
Julianna Morris


www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julianna Morris has an offbeat sense of humor that frequently gets her in trouble. She has also been accused of being interested in everything. Her interests range from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, painting, walking on the beach and reading (mysteries and most other fiction and nonfiction). Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes. Her family’s feline companion is named Merlin, and like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—he can transform the house into a disaster in nothing flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, it’s interesting to note that he is particularly fond of knocking books onto the floor.
To my talented sister, who is also my best friend.
And to the memory of my parents, two extraordinary people who taught their children to love books and the world around us.
Contents
Prologue (#u26fa345b-627d-52d6-b70a-3250249ab7c4)
Chapter One (#u52897d00-a244-5856-abfd-863ced802c6b)
Chapter Two (#u5e2c3602-b509-5ade-9265-8382bce3caec)
Chapter Three (#ubc8ae4cf-6545-58d4-9fa8-a75f7cd162a4)
Chapter Four (#u0aff4996-389f-5c75-8b10-db2ee4583f6b)
Chapter Five (#u7ba260f8-15ff-559f-ad13-4eb3803c5155)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Excerpt (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE
“THANK YOU FOR COM—”
The door of the conference room opened, interrupting Jacob O’Donnell’s opening remarks to his executive board. His eyes narrowed until he saw it was his assistant. The look on Gretchen’s face said it all—his daughter, Kittie, was in trouble. Again.
“No injuries,” Gretchen whispered in his ear. “Accidental fire. Girls’ locker room. But both fire and police departments had to be called.”
With effort Jacob kept his expression neutral. Fire. That was worse than anything Kittie had done before, though she’d done plenty. He looked at the men and women seated around the long table. “I apologize, but something urgent has come up that needs my attention.”
Right.
Something urgent.
A fourteen-year-old daughter who was single-handedly trying to destroy the civilized world.
Jacob cleared his throat. “So I’ll have Cara Michaels take over from here,” he continued. “Thank you, Cara.”
His vice president of Acquisitions nodded calmly. Of course she was calm—her kids were already grown. She had raised three and lived to tell about it—he didn’t have a clue how she’d managed such a feat. As much as he loved his daughter, sometimes he hated being a parent. These days it seemed like a never-ending cycle of worry and self-doubt.
“What’s the damage?” he automatically asked Gretchen as the door closed behind them.
His assistant patted his arm. “It isn’t that bad—some paper, a wood bench and cabinet, cleanup and new paint. But the principal is hopping mad—I didn’t realize his voice could get that high. Mr. Williams shrieked that setting fire to a building rates more than a suspension, no matter how liberal their rules might be. I’m afraid Kittie will be expelled this time—she seems to have exceeded even his tolerance.”
“Maybe I can pay for a new swimming pool to go with the tennis courts I donated the last time. Money talks,” Jacob said with a heavy dose of cynicism.
Gretchen shook her head. “I wouldn’t try it. You didn’t hear him. I’m lucky my eardrums didn’t burst the way he was yelling.”
“At least there are only a few weeks left in the school year.” Jacob pulled his keys from his pocket.
“Er...why don’t you take the limousine?” Gretchen suggested, probably because the last time Kittie was in danger of being expelled, he’d turned too sharply in the parking garage and creased the fender of his Mercedes.
“I’ll be fine,” he muttered. He didn’t like using a chauffeur, preferring to be the one in control.
“Okay, but my car is on the same level as yours, and I’m really fond of that Saturn.”
“It’s safe. I only hit concrete dividers, not other vehicles,” he said, teeth gritted. He didn’t want to say something he shouldn’t...which unfortunately he’d already done a few times over the past few months. Jacob hurried to the stairs, his head pounding. What a nightmare. Kittie had gone from being a normal high-school freshman at the beginning of the year to a teenager-from-hell at the end.
Was it his fault?
Was it drugs?
The possibility haunted him. Kittie’s mother had become dependent on medication by the time she died. A muscle ticked in Jacob’s jaw as he remembered how the pills had made Anna so dazed she’d barely recognized anyone. They had hoped a donor heart would become available in her rare blood type, but she hadn’t lived long enough for a transplant.
At Kittie’s school, Jacob parked in front of the administration building and went to the principal’s office; he’d gone there so often lately he could have made it blindfolded. Kittie sat in her usual chair, arms crossed over her abdomen, looking angry and defiant.
“I didn’t try to burn down anything,” she announced, her body language screaming that she didn’t care whether he believed her or not.
“That’s right, she just tried to hide the cigarette she was smoking without putting it out,” said a grim Mr. Williams. He was a liberal administrator, but everyone had their limits.
“Smoking?” Jacob asked incredulously. “We’ve talked about this. I thought you had better sense.”
“Like it matters.” Kittie sank deeper in her chair. The private school she attended didn’t have a uniform, and she’d pushed the envelope on their loose dress code in so many ways that the envelope looked more like a punching bag.
He hadn’t put an end to the nonsense because the school psychologist had advised him to let Kittie “express” herself.
Well, hell.
The experts obviously didn’t know what they were talking about. Not one of those experts had come up with a decent explanation of what was going on with his daughter, and they certainly hadn’t done anything to help make things better.
Jacob listened to twenty minutes of Mr. Williams’s ranting about out-of-control teens, silently accepted his daughter’s expulsion and endured an “interview” with the police detective who’d investigated the fire. Officer Rizzoli didn’t crack a smile the entire conversation, and Jacob’s nerves were wound to the breaking point by the time he returned to his Mercedes with Kittie in tow. She slumped into the passenger seat and scowled at her belly button.
“I’m getting my nose pierced,” she declared.
“Over my dead body.”
They argued all the way home.
When they finally arrived, Kittie disappeared upstairs into her bedroom; a few seconds later her music roared to life.
God in heaven.
Head pounding, Jacob looked wildly around the living room as if an answer could be found in the furniture. What was he going to do?
Smoking?
Fire in the girls’ locker room?
What was next?
Specters of teen pregnancy, STDs and drug overdoses raced through his mind, turning his stomach to ice. He’d tried grounding Kittie, taking away her computer, TV and various other privileges.
There didn’t appear to be anything physically wrong with her according to the doctors they’d seen. The counselor he’d consulted seemed baffled, and the only advice she’d had for him was to give it time. His own parents had told him to be patient, that all kids went through a rebellious stage, but he didn’t think this was normal rebellion.
Besides, he’d passed the expiration date on his patience; he was now operating on raw nerve.
Jacob headed for his home office. Like the living room, the office provided broad windows, overlooking a panorama of Lake Union. During the day he could sit and watch the seaplanes arrive and depart and the sailboats skim across the water, while at night the surrounding hills glistened with city lights. The stunning view usually pleased him, a reminder that he had succeeded and could afford to give Kittie the best of everything.
Yeah, the best.
At this rate he was going to need the best lawyers to defend her.
Jacob considered pouring himself a drink. Instead, he sat down in front of the computer and typed in the website address his friend Gene had given him. He stared long and hard at the travel-agency home page before clicking the U-2 Ranch link. When Gene and his wife were having trouble with their son, they’d taken him for a ranch vacation in Montana. Since then they’d raved about the U-2, claiming the experience had done wonders for Wes...sort of a boot camp for kids with problems. They’d even taken it in stride that Wes had broken his arm on the trip.
Jacob pressed his thumbs to his aching temples. Was he desperate enough to try something that could put Kittie in harm’s way? They’d always lived in the city, and the description of the ranch didn’t thrill him—five miles from the nearest town, gravel road into the ranch, guests slept in tents, everyone worked, food served communally, no designer coffee...
He grimaced He was addicted to good coffee, but if it helped Kittie, he’d live without the stuff forever.
Then he read the next part.
No smoking.
No exceptions.
Before he could change his mind, he took out his credit card and started typing.
CHAPTER ONE
“WE’RE ALMOST THERE,” Jacob said, glancing at Kittie, garbed entirely in black, including her nail polish and lipstick. He’d decided to deal with her abysmal wardrobe later; getting her out of Seattle had been a big enough struggle.
She blew a bubble with her gum and stared ahead silently.
“You’ll be able to ride horses there. You used to enjoy riding. Remember?”
“Whatever.”
He gave up and checked the GPS for how much farther they had to go. They’d flown to Billings, Montana, in an O’Donnell International company jet. Upon arrival Jacob had rented a car for the rest of the trip.
Along with losing her MP3 player, Kittie’s punishment for smoking and accidentally setting fire to the girls’ locker room was having to pay for the damages out of her allowance and composing a written apology to the school. An acceptable written apology, since Kittie could easily make an apology sound more like an insult.
Oh, yeah, and she was grounded for life, plus ten years. Jacob had told her if she shaped up during their trip, he might shave a few years from that part of the punishment.
Kittie hadn’t even blinked.
Tough love sounded clichéd, but he was desperate. He’d try anything.
Guided by the GPS, Jacob turned onto the U-2 Ranch road and after a mile came over a hill. Laid out in a shallow valley were the ranch buildings and, on the opposite slope, an array of white canvas tents. He winced—he hadn’t slept outdoors since he was a boy. A ranch vacation was a far cry from the Caribbean resort where he’d taken Kittie for Easter a year ago.
Jacob pulled to a stop in the parking area. There was plenty of space, likely because the school year hadn’t ended for kids who were still attending classes instead of being expelled.
“Hello, there,” called a voice as Jacob opened the trunk of their rental. The speaker was a white-haired man who looked older than the hills. But the weathered cowboy had steel in his face; he might be a worthy match for a surly teenager. “I’m Burt Parsons. Welcome to the U-2 Ranch. You must be the O’Donnells.”
“Duh,” Kittie said sarcastically.
Burt didn’t seem surprised. “And you have to be Kittie.”
Without a word, she spit her gum to the grass.
Before Jacob could say something about it, Burt gave her a stern look. “We don’t allow littering here,” he informed her. “Put it in the trash.”
Kittie didn’t move.
“Pick it up, young lady, unless you’d rather shovel horse manure from the barn.”
“Dad.”
“Better get the shovel, Burt,” Jacob suggested, taking their new sleeping bags from the trunk. It was hard letting someone else discipline Kittie. He had a hunch that tough love might be rougher on him than on his daughter.
Glaring at them both, she picked up the wad of gum and threw it in a barrel marked for trash.
“You folks are later arriving than we expected,” Burt said, stepping forward to help with the luggage. He read the baggage tag on Kittie’s neon-pink duffel, pushed it into her arms and went ahead of them with an easy stride, carrying the sleeping bags. Jacob followed with his own suitcase.
Kittie trudged next to him with an aggrieved mutter, but as they passed the largest barn, a young man came out and she stopped dead in her tracks. “Uh, hi,” she said, without even a touch of sarcasm or disdain—like his old Kittie.
Jacob stiffened. At first sight the guy appeared to be in his early twenties, but on closer inspection he was clearly younger. Great. That was all his daughter needed—a crush on another messed-up teenager.
The boy checked Kittie up and down. “You’re that city kid we’ve been expecting.”
“I’m not a kid, but I am from Seattle. My name is Kittie O’Donnell...uh, that is, I prefer Caitlin. Who are you?” She smiled shyly.
“Reid Weston. You’ll scare the horses in that getup,” he said.
He walked away and Jacob realized Reid Weston wasn’t a troubled teen—he was a cocky, underage cowboy. Kittie’s devastated expression showed he’d flattened her ego with a single comment. And what was that bit about Kittie wanting to be called Caitlin? It was the first he’d heard of it.
“Reid and his family own the ranch,” Burt explained, as if nothing had happened. “You’ll be seeing a lot of them.” He motioned them toward the hillside studded with tents.
The tents were utilitarian at best, with mattresses laid out on each side of a canvas partition, along with lanterns, a small bedside table and sturdy army-green footlockers.
“We don’t recommend keeping food in here.” Burt tossed a sleeping bag onto the mattresses. “We have the usual critters who’ll want to share it, but if you do have any snacks, be sure to put them in your locker and fasten it tight. Better yet, store all food in your car.”
“Hear that, Kittie?” Jacob asked his daughter. Kittie had a thing for red licorice. He’d bet a thousand bucks she’d filled her duffel bag with the revolting stuff.
She just stuck out her chin.
“The lanterns are rechargeable,” Burt went on. “Bring them to the mess tent in the morning if they need a charge, otherwise you’ll be taking care of business in the dark. No candles—it isn’t safe. Flashlights are okay if you’ve got ’em. The bathrooms and laundry and other facilities are in the buildings to the left, and the mess tent is over there.” He pointed to a large tent with smoke rising behind it. “Folks are mostly gathered for supper already—we start serving in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks, we’ll be there.”
“No hurry,” Burt said. “Take your time and get comfortable. We don’t stand on formality.” With a short nod, he ambled toward the ranch house.
Jacob shot a look at Kittie. She’d assumed her defiant attitude, apparently having recovered from Reid Weston’s snubbing remark.
“I’m not shoveling any horse poop,” she announced and disappeared into her side of the tent.
* * *
MARIAH WESTON STALKED into the ranch house and slammed the door. She leaned against it and took several deep breaths.
“Problems, dear?” asked her grandmother.
“Nothing a two-by-four making contact with a certain cowboy’s privates wouldn’t fix. Hurt a guy where he lives and maybe you’ll get his attention.”
Dr. Elizabeth Grant Weston smiled resignedly. “Lincoln must have broken another heart.”
“Yes. We have yet another departing guest who hoped Lincoln had fallen in love with her and wanted to get married. For crying out loud, Linc keeps a supply of condoms in his shirt pocket! It’s pretty obvious what his intentions are. Did she really think he was going to change his ways and decide that wearing a wedding ring is better than being a carefree bachelor?”
“It’s been known to happen.”
“Cowboys don’t change—they just get older and stop having luck with the opposite sex.”
“Goodness, you’re in a mood today.”
“Can you blame me? I found Ms. Bingham smoking in one of the barns, so upset she almost set fire to the place.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Oh, dear. We don’t allow smoking. I wish we could extend the ban to chewing tobacco, but the ranch hands practically mutinied on the no-smoking rule.”
“I reminded her about the rules when I grabbed the cigarette and doused the smoldering hay. She apologized and the whole story spilled out in a hysterical swoop. Lucky me. I guess she just needed to tell someone. Linc always breaks things off at the last minute, but the women usually don’t take it this hard. Why are people so blind?”
“Patience, dear,” her grandmother urged.
Mariah rubbed her aching temples.
Patience wasn’t one of her strongest qualities. She did well with animals, not so great with people. Animals were straightforward; their emotions weren’t illogical. She felt sorry for Diane Bingham, but she honestly wondered how the woman could have imagined things working out with a cowboy. Diane was a born-and-bred city dweller with a taste for fast cars, sushi bars and nightclubs. She’d come to Montana on a whim and nearly gone crazy with the quiet before getting hot and heavy with Linc.
Linc had grown up on a horse, had never lived in a town with more than five hundred residents, probably thought sushi had something to do with sex and drove a decrepit truck from the 1970s that couldn’t reach fifty on a paved road.
The difference between ranchers and cowhands and most people was just too big. You might have a casual vacation affair, but you never expected it to become permanent. Mariah had learned that when she was fifteen and discovered that summer promises were too easily shattered...along with hearts.
Elizabeth patted her arm. “I’ll have your grandfather speak with Linc.”
“No, it’s okay, Ms. Bingham admitted Linc didn’t make any promises. But from now on he’s only working with family groups. We’ll keep him so busy that his sorry ass is too tired to do more than crawl into bed.”
“That’s usually where the trouble starts,” Elizabeth said drily.
“Don’t remind me. And they say country dwellers are naive. Is Reid in the office?”
“I think so. I just got home myself.”
Mariah headed to the back of the house, weary though it was only the beginning of the season and she ought to be brimming with energy. Ranching wasn’t easy. There were droughts, floods, lightning storms, disease, harsh winters, ornery cattle, unstable beef prices and a wealth of other problems to juggle. Yet those problems seemed minor compared to managing a bunch of greenhorn visitors and cowboy wranglers.
“Hey, Reid,” she said, stepping into the office. Their parents had converted a storage room into work space when they’d started the ranch vacation business. Originally they’d needed only a phone, a desk and a file cabinet, but the business had changed over the years, as had technology. Now the office was cramped with the newest equipment.
“Hey,” her brother said absently. He was bent over a book, reading intently.
“Studying?”
“Not exactly.” He looked up and pushed back from the old desk. “The travel agency phoned while you were out. Amy is waiting for the computer repair service to arrive, so I cross-checked the reservations that came in this week to be sure they were confirmed.”
“I appreciate your doing that, but I could have taken care of it later and let her know,” Mariah murmured. “Amy works evenings.”
Amy Lindstrom was a neighbor and ran her agency from home, largely through the internet. Initially it had stung Mariah to be charged for a job she could have kept handling herself, but Amy had significantly increased the U-2’s bookings.
“Yeah, well, you can’t do it all. By the way, I saw that new kid you said was coming,” Reid said. “She’s a real piece of work, and her dad is wearing a fancy suit and tie. I’ll bet his clothes cost more than a prize horse and wouldn’t last an hour riding fence lines.”
“I talked to Burt and he mentioned you’d met the O’Donnells. Just do your best and remember they won’t be here forever,” Mariah said, the same way she’d told him for years. The thing was, Reid was sixteen going on forty. He didn’t appreciate city people wanting a taste of Western living, except those city people were the difference between the U-2 turning a profit or going deeper into debt each year.
The U-2 was a working ranch, owned and operated by the Weston family for six generations. Paying guests worked along with everyone else—not as hard as a ranch hand, and always under the care of a wrangler, but they worked. It was all about the romance of the West and being part of it for a while.
“Sis, they’re from Seattle.” Reid knotted his fists.
Mariah’s heart ached, recalling the boy who’d stood by his parents’ graves, furious with everyone and everything for taking away his mom and dad. They went through this each summer, the first time guests arrived from Washington State. Their mother and father had died because a vacationing Seattle investment banker was driving too fast and lost control of his car. His blood alcohol level was primarily responsible for the accident, but Reid also blamed the entire state.
“Okay, they’re from Seattle,” she said, carefully avoiding any mention of their parents. “Don’t go near them if it’s easier.”
He rolled his eyes. “That kid will want to hang around. I can tell.”
That “kid” was only two years younger than him, but Mariah understood why Reid felt older. Life and death were a daily part of their world.
It made you older.
“I’ve assigned wranglers to the O’Donnells,” she assured him. “You won’t have to spend time with them. Anyhow, you have classes and finals coming up. You need the grades to get into a good school, and the ones with pre-vet programs are terribly competitive.”
“I told you, I don’t want to go to college and I don’t want to be a vet.”
“Even if that’s true right now, you might change your mind. We have to talk—”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Reid cut her off. “Don’t worry, sis, I’ll get the grades.” He went out the door with a mulish expression.
As brother and sister, they were close in many ways, yet a wall rose between them when certain subjects were raised...like the future.
Stomach tight, Mariah went to the desk and saw Reid had been reading one of her books on equine diseases—she would never be a vet now, but that didn’t prevent her from staying current on veterinary medicine. As for Reid, though he claimed he wasn’t interested in going to veterinary school, she doubted it. He was bright, talented and set to graduate high school a year early the way she had done...and he spent all of his free minutes studying animal care.
Worry and a feeling of helplessness nagged at her. Reid shouldn’t have such tough decisions to make at his age, but there didn’t seem to be anything she could do to fix it. Maybe if their father hadn’t given up after the accident, if he’d tried to survive his own injuries, things might be...
No.
Mariah shook her head guiltily.
She still struggled with the memory of her big, strong dad turning his face to the hospital wall when he learned that his wife of twenty-four years had died instantly in the collision, the light in his eyes vanishing until he was almost unrecognizable. The doctors had thought he would pull through, yet a day later he was gone, too, and she’d been so angry with him for wanting to die more than he wanted to live for the rest of his family. For her and Reid.
Nobody discussed it; after the funeral, Granddad had said that Reid didn’t need to hear loose chatter. He was suffering enough. That was fine with her—admitting how she felt was the last thing she’d wanted.
Sighing, Mariah walked down to the mess tent. It didn’t make sense to be angry with someone who was dead, and it wasn’t as if Sam Weston had committed suicide. He’d just...given up.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she called, forcing a smile.
The cooks waved. The guests, in varying degrees of fatigue from working on the range, waved, as well.
“Oh, my God,” said the new bride of one of their annual visitors. She sat, wincing as she made contact with the bench. “My fanny hasn’t ever hurt this much. Who’d have known that riding a horse would be so painful?”
Mariah nodded with perfunctory sympathy—it was a complaint she’d heard dozens of times over the summers. “You’ll get used to it. We have a dispensary if you want aspirin or liniment.”
“It isn’t that bad, but I can’t believe this is my honeymoon. Whatever happened to rose petals, silk sheets and chocolate-dipped strawberries?”
“If it helps, Chad says you’re being a real sport about the whole thing.”
The other woman grinned; she was as open and uncomplicated as her groom. “Actually, I’m having a ball. We’ll be back every year, but I won’t object to an occasional weekend in the Bahamas.”
Mariah tried not to laugh...though groaning was a distinct possibility, as well. She’d already moved the newlyweds due to the noise they were making at night. It was fortunate the U-2 didn’t have more children visiting at the moment, or some parents would be explaining things they weren’t quite prepared to explain.
“Whoa, there’s something you don’t see every day,” Susan said, staring at the rear of the tent.
Mariah turned and saw a tall, well-built man standing next to a sullen teenager. The girl’s hair looked as if it had been trimmed by a weed whacker and it was a peculiar shade of streaky black, ending in purple tips. Apparently she was going through a Goth phase because she also wore black from head to toe, including her lipstick. Her T-shirt was ablaze with silver studs in the shape of a skull and raggedly cut to display her midriff...which seemed to have a spiderweb tattooed over it.
A tattoo?
Distaste filled Mariah, but it wasn’t for the teenager—it was for the father who’d allowed his daughter to do something so permanent to her body when she was still a child. Echoes of her grandmother’s urging to be patient rang in her ears and Mariah squared her shoulders. Fine, she shouldn’t make snap judgments. She wasn’t doing a stellar job of parenting Reid, either.
Mariah approached the mismatched pair. The man was in his mid-to-late thirties and attractive in an uptight sort of way, with brown hair and eyes. He was intense, focused and had a rock-square jaw. As for the girl, she might be pretty beneath her clothes and I-don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think air. It was hard to be sure. Together they were the most unlikely twosome she’d ever seen going on a ranch vacation.
“Hi, you must be Jacob and Kittie, but Burt Parsons tells me you want to be called Caitlin,” she said to the teenager, trying to ignore her bizarre appearance. “I’m Mariah Weston. Welcome to the U-2 Ranch. I hear you’ve met my brother, Reid.”
“Yeah. He says I’ll scare the horses,” Caitlin said resentfully.
Reid could be right, only it wasn’t diplomatic to agree. Mariah sat on the edge of the table. “He helped birth a lot of those horses, so he’s very protective. A horse doesn’t understand why someone looks or smells different than they’re used to, and he worries how new people will affect them.”
“Oh.” Something flickered in Caitlin’s eyes, a blend of powerful emotions that seemed to go beyond normal teen angst. “Birth them...you mean, like, clean the babies up?”
“We do whatever they need. If we’re lucky, we mostly get to just watch. It’s incredible seeing a horse being born.”
Caitlin shifted her feet.
“I can loan you some outfits if you don’t have any ranch clothes,” Mariah offered. “Things that might be better for working with animals. We keep extras on hand in case they’re needed by our guests.”
“I don’t... Whatever.” Caitlin spun and marched from the tent as if the short conversation had exhausted her supply of civility.
Mariah stood, unsure of what to expect from Jacob O’Donnell, though his corporate attire and unbending stance weren’t the best signs. Up close she saw lines around his mouth from stress or frequent smiling or both. Right now he wasn’t smiling.
“As I was saying, welcome to the ranch,” she repeated. “You may want to borrow suitable clothes yourself to use while you’re—”
“I know Kittie can be trying, but your brother could have been friendlier to her,” he interrupted. “We’re paying good money to be here.”
Mariah’s temper, frayed by dealing with a distraught guest and a randy ranch hand, threatened to flare again. “My brother feels responsible for the horses—both for their well-being and for our guests’ safety. He gave his honest opinion. I’m sorry it upset Caitlin.” Reid took on too much responsibility for a boy of sixteen, but it was one of the realities of growing up on a ranch. She wouldn’t add to it by asking him to pamper their guests as if they were staying at a fancy resort.
“Your parents should speak to him.”
“I’m Reid’s legal guardian.”
Jacob O’Donnell regarded her narrowly, but she couldn’t read anything in his remote gaze. “You’re what, twenty at the most? You can’t be old enough to take charge of a teenager.”
Mariah shrugged. “I’m twenty-seven and I’ve been his guardian for four years.”
“I see. I suppose you have a degree in child psychology to run this kind of place?”
“What kind of place?”
“A place for teenagers with...issues. Like my daughter.” The words seemed forced from Jacob O’Donnell’s chest. His pride was clearly on the line.
Through the entrance Mariah could see Kittie sitting on a small knob of ground, curled in a defensive posture. “We should talk privately, Mr. O’Donnell.”
He followed her with a frown. Mariah headed away from the mess tent and out of sight of Kittie before stopping.
“I think we have a misunderstanding,” she said. “This is a working ranch. Guests can remain in their tents if that’s what they choose to do, but we don’t have activity directors, swimming pools, tennis courts or other entertainments to keep them occupied—basically, none of the luxuries or frills that some folks are used to having. Our visitors come to the U-2 to experience ranching. Plain and simple.”
“I know it’s a working ranch.”
“You also seem to think we’re a facility for troubled children. We’re not, so if you require that, or feel we should put everything aside to wait on you the way they do at an exclusive spa, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
A muscle twitched in Jacob’s cheek. “I have friends who said it helped bringing their son here.”
Mariah hesitated.
Granddad often told her she’d inherited more than her temper and red hair from an Irish ancestress; he claimed she’d gotten Great-Great-Grandmother Eileen’s fey instincts, as well. And her instincts were telling her to get rid of Jacob O’Donnell, except she couldn’t evict every obnoxious guest—especially guests who’d paid in advance for a six-week stay at the ranch.
“I’m glad your friends had a good visit to the U-2,” she said finally. “But if you want things to change for Caitlin, you need to do something about it yourself.”
“What is that supposed to mean? I’ve been going crazy for months trying to do something...anything that might work. That’s why I’m here. Believe me, a site with such primitive accommodations would be my last choice for a vacation.”
Primitive?
Mariah’s back went rigid.
He made it sound as if they were making guests dig their own privy holes and bathe in the creek. It had cost a fortune to have commercial restroom and shower facilities built at the ranch—she knew exactly how much, because she’d signed the checks.
“It’s too bad the accommodations don’t meet with your satisfaction, Mr. O’Donnell. However, they are thoroughly outlined on our website, so they shouldn’t have been a surprise,” she said coolly. “As for what I mean, you want Caitlin’s problems to somehow get resolved at our ‘primitive’ ranch, and yet you’re dressed as if you’ve just come from a board meeting.”
“I did come from a board meeting. We left for the airport immediately after it ended.”
“I see. That tells me a lot.”
She stepped backward as she saw Reid striding toward them, probably guessing this wasn’t a normal discussion between her and a guest. Her brother tried to protect her, but she didn’t need help. She’d learned to protect herself from pushy, overbearing guys a long time ago. She liked men who didn’t think the universe revolved around them. But it was a rare trait—one that Jacob O’Donnell obviously didn’t possess.
“I had to make arrangements to cover my business interests while I was gone, but my daughter comes first,” Jacob said in a stuffy tone.
“Then act like it. She won’t join in if you aren’t doing it yourself. This ranch isn’t a corporate boardroom. That ten-thousand-dollar watch won’t impress a herd of cows, and your custom-made suit isn’t the least bit appropriate for the physical work we do here.”
“I’m aware of that.”
Mariah belatedly reminded herself that working with the U-2’s guests was her job. It didn’t matter if she disliked them or thought they were pompous jackasses. On the other hand, she had no intention of playing babysitter for a spoiled teenager or of letting one of the U-2’s wranglers play babysitter. She had enough headaches.
“Well?” he prodded.
“In that case, the sooner you start participating, the better it will be for Caitlin. As I said, we have Levi’s and work shirts that you can both borrow. That would be a big move forward.”
“We brought our own gear, and if we need more, I’ll go into town and buy it. We certainly don’t need anyone’s loaners.” He strode off—bristling with snobbish arrogance—and Mariah had a childish wish he’d slip on a pile of fresh horse manure. That would trim him down a few notches.
Reid said something as they crossed paths, but O’Donnell didn’t pay attention.
Mariah wrinkled her nose.
City people bothered Reid; men with control issues like Jacob O’Donnell bothered her. The overt wealth, the expectation that everyone should jump at their bidding, the conviction that their money was worth more than anyone else’s...she’d met too many men like that when she was waiting tables at an upscale Los Angeles restaurant to earn money for school. She’d quickly found it wasn’t wise to accept gifts or excessively large tips from her male customers because of what they thought it would buy them later.
“Why aren’t you eating supper?” she said as her brother walked up to her. “Grams isn’t cooking because she needed to work at the clinic today.”
“I’ll eat after a while. What’s up with that O’Donnell guy? He’s got an attitude you can see from a mile away. I bet he’s going to be a pain in the ass.” Reid glared in the direction Jacob O’Donnell had gone, though he was no longer in sight.
“He’s a worried father. Cut him some slack,” she said. It was good advice for her as well, but there was something unusually annoying about Jacob O’Donnell that made it hard to follow.
“I’d be worried, too, if she was my kid.”
“Well, she’s not. Caitlin is probably just a little mixed-up.”
“How mixed-up?”
“I don’t know.”
Mariah looked toward the U-2 parking area where the O’Donnells’ rented Mercedes sat in conspicuous glory, sadly out of place among the usual SUVs and trucks and economy cars. How did they rent a Mercedes in Montana? And why would they rent one to drive to a ranch over dirt and gravel roads? Especially a black Mercedes that showed every speck of dirt.
Burt Parsons had told her about the dust-covered luxury car with a laconic grin. He was the ranch’s best wrangler—shrewd, unflappable and great with kids. She’d assigned him to the O’Donnells when she’d realized that Caitlin, age fourteen according to their online registration form, ought to be attending classes. It suggested she’d been suspended or expelled.
Apparently Mariah had guessed right.
Judging from the tightly wound state of her father’s nerves, Mariah suspected that Caitlin wouldn’t be welcome at her school for a very long time.
CHAPTER TWO
DAMNED OBNOXIOUS...opinionated...
Muttering under his breath, Jacob tossed his suitcase onto the mattress in his tent and hunted for a pair of jeans. He hated admitting it, but the Weston woman was right—at the very least he ought to have changed before dinner.
Woman?
Jacob frowned as he pulled his shirt off. Mariah Weston looked younger than she claimed to be, though it was unlikely she’d distorted that fact. She didn’t seem the type of person he would have expected to encounter running a ranch—more like a Hollywood actress playing a part with her leggy appeal and long red hair. Maybe she was a figurehead, the public image of the business. On the other hand, looks could be deceiving; he still thought that somewhere beneath Kittie’s dismal clothes, black lipstick and in-your-face attitude was the great kid she’d always been.
Jacob massaged the back of his neck. Worry and the rush of making arrangements for his unplanned absence from the office had taken their toll. He’d hardly slept since Kittie’s latest escapade; he was now operating on autopilot. Even his parents didn’t understand. He had been forced to tell them why he was going to be gone for an extended period and could hear his mother saying with indulgent humor, She’s her father’s daughter, but you got into plenty of scrapes as a boy and turned out fine.
Granted, he’d soft-pedaled the incident, but starting a fire was serious, accidental or not. And it wasn’t just the smoking; it was all the trouble combined over the past few months. One unholy mess after another.
Naturally the discussion had given his mother an opening, for the hundredth time, to recommend that he find a new mother for Kittie. She couldn’t accept that he was never getting married again and certainly not having any more children. Who in their right mind would leap into the prospect of raising another teenager after they’d done it once already? And he had...well, other reasons. Reasons he didn’t like thinking about.
A chill went through Jacob. It was too hard loving someone, only to lose them. He’d buried his wife and nearly buried his daughter as a toddler due to health problems; he wasn’t taking a chance of going through it again. There might be things he couldn’t control in his life, but avoiding that particular pain was one that he could.
Yanking his tie loose, Jacob dropped it into the suitcase. The conservative blue silk was another accusation of parental failure. He should have worn the tie that Kittie had given to him for his last birthday, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it—Tweety Bird and Sylvester weren’t appropriate corporate attire. It was bad enough that he’d had to call an emergency board meeting on a Sunday morning.
Not that a suit was appropriate ranch attire, either.
The old cowboy had given him fair warning. Burt’s urging to “get comfortable” must have meant “change your clothes,” but Jacob hadn’t been thinking clearly. It wasn’t like him. Usually he was methodical, working things out, making sure he made the best decisions and kept everything carefully managed.
Jacob snorted, his irritation rising again.
Mariah Weston had implied he was spoiled when she suggested he wanted to be waited on hand and foot, but there was nothing wrong with enjoying comfort. And he didn’t expect to be pampered—he just wanted to receive a reasonable amount of service for the money he was paying.
He rotated his shoulders and leaned on the rolled sleeping bag. Damn, he was tired. That must be why Mariah Weston’s criticism had gotten to him. He loved Kittie and he’d busted his ass since Anna’s death to make sure their daughter would be safe and secure. Why shouldn’t they appreciate and enjoy the benefits?
Stop it, he ordered silently, kneading his throbbing temples.
Anna had been gone for over ten years, yet sometimes he missed her so much it was as if he had an aching, frozen hole in his chest. He knew that things would be different if she was still here. Anna wouldn’t have screwed up with Kittie, and they wouldn’t have needed to come to Montana, hoping for a miracle.
He’d jumped into the ranch vacation solution out of desperation, not really believing it would work. Yet at the same time, he’d clung to a kernel of hope that the U-2 would do some good. Now he was back to square one and unsure of what to do, though maybe getting Kittie out of her usual environment for several weeks would accomplish something.
In the distance Jacob heard the neighing of horses and other, more unfamiliar sounds. From the opposite direction came the rattle of plates, along with the chatter and laughter of people enjoying themselves. With any luck Kittie’s hunger would outweigh her antisocial mood—she was angry with him, not anyone else.
Hell, he hated feeling so out of control.
He ought to have realized the ranch’s website didn’t say they worked with at-risk children—it was his friend who’d called it a troubled kid’s boot camp.
At risk.
That was how Kittie’s principal had described her while ranting about the fire. Jacob donated to organizations with programs for at-risk kids, and now his daughter had the same label slapped on her forehead.
Jacob put his arm behind his head and gazed at the sturdy frame of the canvas tent, trying to think of anything but Kittie and how much he wished Anna was still alive. It astonished him that the ranch got so many guests. There were two or three dozen tents on the hill—if they filled to capacity very often, they must make a decent chunk of change each year. Of course, the U-2 had to make their profits during the summer season, since no one would stay out here in the winter.
Someone walked by outside and coughed, and Jacob made a face.
That was another problem with this place...no privacy. If he and Kittie got into one of their frequent shouting matches, everyone on the ranch would know their business.
* * *
KITTIE SAT ON a small hump of ground and sniffed.
She wasn’t crying—she was probably allergic to Montana. That was why her eyes were burning.
Her dad didn’t get it. Nobody did. And it didn’t matter anyway, because soon she’d be dead and buried and everybody would forget her.
The same as her mom.
Sniffing again, she picked at her black nail polish. It was stupid anyway. It wasn’t as if she had those fake nails that made your hands look cool. The school didn’t allow them any longer, not after Bethany Wilcox had stabbed herself at basketball practice last year. Everybody was mad at Bethany for a while after that, but no one stayed mad at the really, really popular girls, no matter what they do.
Her dad marched to their tent and Reid’s sister returned to the mess tent. Neither of them seemed very happy.
Kittie’s stomach rumbled.
The food smelled good, but she couldn’t go in there. She might see Reid and he didn’t like her, no matter what Mariah said about him protecting the horses. Besides, she wasn’t that odd to a horse, was she? Her friends thought she looked totally awesome—why wouldn’t a horse agree? They weren’t dumb.
Her dad hadn’t come back by the time everyone was done eating; he must be really pissed. Well, she was pissed, too. Nobody had asked if she wanted to come a gazillion miles from home and what was left of her life. Her dad had said they were going and that was that. So what if she’d set fire to a trash can and it got out of control? Big deal. Not that much got burned, and she didn’t mean to do it anyhow.
Someone began playing a harmonica and she heard some dorky singing—“Home on the Range” and junk. Kittie rested her chin on her knees. She didn’t want to be a dork like everybody else, even if they were having a good time.
There was a noise and she saw an old man coming toward her.
“Hello, young lady. May I sit down?”
Kittie started to say “Whatever” as usual, then stopped. “Okay.”
He sat and put a paper sack between them. She smelled chicken and other stuff. “I brought you supper in case you’re hungry,” he explained. He opened the sack and took out a foil-covered plate. “Simple outdoor cooking—that’s what we specialize in at the U-2. It’ll stick to your ribs.”
For a second Kittie considered refusing, but her stomach rumbled again. She pulled the foil back on the plate—it was barbecued chicken and beans and coleslaw and corn bread. The corn bread was buttery and drizzled with honey. She ate until she was ready to burst and washed it down with a bottle of cold root beer, which normally she’d say was for babies, but somehow tasted awfully good with the chicken and beans. It was the best food ever.
Mariah came out of the mess tent and glanced in their direction. She was kind of pretty. Dad hadn’t hit on her or anything, though he’d definitely checked her out...especially her chest.
Kittie wrinkled her nose.
Her dad acted as if she didn’t know about sex, but she was fourteen, not four. She knew all about it. Not that boys would notice her unless she had real boobs.
As if.
“I also put a plate in for your father. I hope he has a taste for medium steak,” said the old guy. He had deep creases in his skin and looked, like, ancient. “Would you do me a favor and take it to him?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Much obliged.” He took a piece of straw from his pocket and stuck it between his teeth. “My name is Benjamin Weston, by the way. And my granddaughter says you’re Caitlin.”
“Mariah is your granddaughter?”
“Yup.”
Kittie wiggled her toes. “Um, how does this ranch thing work?”
“It isn’t complicated. You’ll work with a wrangler and mostly do what he does.”
“So you can fix me,” she said resentfully.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow. “Do you need fixing?”
“My dad thinks so.”
“Fathers worry. That’s their job. But we just want you to have fun finding out about ranching and what we do round here. That’s our job.”
“Oh,” Kittie said, still vaguely suspicious.
The sun was getting low in the sky and she felt tired all at once. It was hard work pretending everything was okay when nothing was okay. Some things were so broken they could never be fixed.
“I gotta go.” Kittie picked up the sack with the extra food in it. “Dad must be in our tent phoning Japan or something. What should I do with that?” She pointed to her empty plate and pop bottle.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said. “You go ahead.”
Kittie didn’t know what to expect when she got to the tent, most likely her dad talking business on his cell phone. He worked an awful lot, but she’d bet he was still upset with her. Dreading another argument, she peeked around the partition.
He’d fallen asleep with his legs extended on the ground and his suitcase open on the bed. She tiptoed over, put the food down and tiptoed out. There wasn’t any TV and he’d taken away her MP3 player, so she curled up on her mattress and chewed her fingernails as it got dark.
Benjamin and Mariah were nice, and if they weren’t going to try to fix her, the ranch wouldn’t be so bad.
For a while.
* * *
MARIAH ROSE BEFORE DAWN the next morning. A lifetime of getting up to do chores had made it impossible to sleep longer. Her city life at college hadn’t changed her; it just made it obvious she didn’t fit in there.
“Hi, Grams,” she said, walking into the kitchen.
“Hi, dear. Are you in a better mood today?” Elizabeth asked as she mixed a pot on the stove.
“Working on it.” Mariah pulled the newspaper away from her grandfather’s face and kissed his forehead. “What’s new, Granddad?”
He grinned his irrepressible grin and waved the paper. “What do you think of this? It came in yesterday’s Pony Express delivery—last year’s ball scores!”
“Imagine that.”
The family had been getting the New York Times as long as the newspaper had been mailing out editions. It wasn’t necessary with the internet available, but Granddad said there was no substitute for the smell of newsprint.
He folded the paper and put it on the sideboard. “By the way, Luke phoned. If you have time, he’ll come by later so you can go for a ride together.”
Mariah smiled. “I didn’t think I’d see him before the barn dance next Saturday. I’ll call him. He can come with me when I go out to check on the greenhorns.”
Luke Branson was the U-2’s closest neighbor, but she’d hardly seen him for weeks, spring being one of the busiest seasons on their respective ranches. It would be better once they were able to get married. Not that they were formally engaged; it was more a mutual understanding for the future.
“When are you two going to set a date?” Grams asked. “I’d like to have great-grandchildren while I’m young enough to chase after them.”
“One of these days. Luke understands why I want to wait.”
Reid stumbled into the kitchen as Mariah was sipping tea and eating oatmeal. He served himself a bowl and stared at it bleakly. He showed an equal lack of interest in the eggs and whole-grain toast that Grams put on the table. Mariah knew from the light under his door last night that he’d been up late studying. He needed to get more sleep, but it was hypocritical to urge him to get good grades and then interfere with his studies.
“I saw you take food to Caitlin O’Donnell,” she said to her grandfather.
“The purple streaks in her hair are a nice touch, but she’s death on a stick gussied up in so much black. I’ll have to teach her to have fun.” Granddad rubbed his palms together and Mariah figured he was the one who would enjoy himself the most. Benjamin Weston was a kid at heart.
“You won’t have a chance—you aren’t the O’Donnells’ wrangler,” she said edgily. But it wasn’t her grandfather who aggravated her; it was the thought of Jacob O’Donnell believing he could dump his daughter’s problems on someone else. No one at the U-2 had time to babysit an unruly, privileged teen. “I don’t want any of us to get involved. Her father didn’t go into details, but apparently she has issues to resolve. We need to let him deal with them.”
“Teaching her to have fun won’t do any harm.”
“For heaven’s sake, Reid and Mariah have enough to handle without your interfering, Benjamin,” Grams scolded, sitting down with the rest of them.
“Guess you’ll have to keep me busy.”
Mariah knew they’d clasped hands underneath the table. Above all, Granddad was a romantic. However hectic things might be, late every afternoon he and her grandmother strolled up the shallow valley, arm in arm, as if they were still a courting couple. That was how Mariah wanted things to be with Luke, a closeness that just kept growing.
Elizabeth poured milk into her tea. “What about Caitlin’s mom? She should be here if her child is in trouble.”
“She wasn’t mentioned, but I feel sorry for anyone married to that guy,” Mariah said. “I bet they’re divorced.”
“Mmm, not necessarily. He’s quite attractive.”
“And rich. Shame on you, Grams,” Mariah teased. “What will Granddad think?”
“That I’m a normal, red-blooded woman who can appreciate a hunk from a purely aesthetic point of view.”
Granddad chuckled. “And fortunately I’m so handsome I don’t have to worry.”
Mariah ate her last bite of oatmeal and dropped the spoon in the bowl. It was time to start the day, one she hoped would turn out better than the previous...especially when it came to Jacob O’Donnell. She’d made a resolution to treat him the same as any other guest, no matter how much he annoyed her. The trick would be keeping that resolution.
Reid headed to the barn while Mariah and her grandfather went down to the mess tent where the wranglers were gathered for coffee. She loved seeing Granddad transform from cheerful jokester to tough-but-fair ranch boss. He didn’t know a ledger sheet from a gum wrapper, but he understood the practical end of ranching like nobody else. Ben Weston was close to a legend in Montana. She was trying to learn as much as possible from him before he retired.
“Hey, Mariah,” whispered a voice as she entered the tent. It was Caitlin O’Donnell.
“Go on,” she told her grandfather, who smiled at the teen.
Mariah looked back at Caitlin. “You’re up early. Is something wrong?” The first slivers of sunlight were barely visible on the eastern horizon.
“Um, yeah.” The agitated girl shifted from one foot to the other. “There’s an animal in my dad’s side of the tent. A really big animal. I think it’s a wolf and he’s snoring. He must have come in for the steak Mr. Weston gave me. I put the plate by the bed ’cause Dad was already asleep. Omigod, he’s dead and it’s my fault because I didn’t wake him up.”
Mariah hesitated.
She fully intended to make Jacob O’Donnell deal with his own daughter, only some things were ranch business, not personal. “I bet it’s just Pip.”
“Pip?” Caitlin trailed after her.
“Our dog—part Alaskan malamute and part mystery mutt. He’s a mooch and a thief, with a snore that raises the rafters, but harmless aside from that.”
They crept up to the tent.
“Pip, get out here,” Mariah whispered.
Pip’s distinctive snore continued unabated.
She gave Caitlin a sideways glance. “Go get some sausages from the cook in the black cowboy hat. Tell him they’re for Pip.”
The teen took off for the cooking area at a run. Mariah thought her reaction showed how much she loved her dad, though she’d probably deny it. In less than three minutes, Caitlin was back with a bowl of grilled sausages.
“Want a sausage, Pip?” Mariah asked softly.
Pip made a slurping sound. Within two seconds, he appeared through the tent flap, a happy, overgrown goof of a dog.
Caitlin released a tiny shriek and then clapped her palms to her mouth.
“Here you are, you old bandit,” Mariah said, setting the bowl in front of the animal. Pip inhaled every scrap. She scratched behind his ears and his tail wagged, merrily unrepentant at being caught where he wasn’t allowed. They’d tried to get him to understand that some people were nervous around dogs, but he couldn’t be convinced.
Everybody was Pip’s friend.
“He woke up because you asked if he wanted sausage?” Caitlin breathed, extending a cautious hand. Pip darted over, delighted to get attention from anyone willing to offer it—men, women, young, old, city dweller or country lover. He was a very democratic canine. “Why didn’t you just say so?”
Mariah straightened. “If I tried getting him out any other way, it would wake everyone up.”
“Is he the reason we shouldn’t keep food in the tents?”
“One of them. We also get mice and ants and squirrels, among other beasties. Go on,” she said, motioning toward the mess tent. “You can meet whoever’s awake and let your dad get more sleep.”
* * *
JACOB STARED at the dark roof of the tent as Kittie’s and Mariah’s voices faded. It was almost like hearing his daughter the way she used to be—normal and well-adjusted.
He stretched. After midnight he’d woken up and checked on Kittie, eaten the corn bread he’d found on a plate of food by the bed and crawled into his sleeping bag. Later the dog woke him up again, but he’d been too exhausted to care. The animal was wearing a collar—what harm could it do?
Reaching over, he switched on the battery lamp. The remains of a steak, beans and coleslaw were scattered across his silk shirt. It seemed symbolic of his relationship with Kittie—an utter disaster.
“Argh.” He rubbed his face and got up. Perhaps a shower would clear his mind.
The heated restrooms were clean, serviceable and very basic. There were two buildings, one for men and the second for women. It was so early the place was empty. He felt more human after his shower, though until Kittie showed improvement, he wouldn’t feel completely right. It was strange how he could love his child to death and still be driven insane by her.
An idle, guilty thought occurred to him.... Did they have military school for girls? Was that even an option?
Everyone was up and moving by the time he was dressed and back in the tent. The air was chilly and there were good-natured complaints about the cold, teasing accusations that somebody had forgotten to pay the power bill and mad dashes for the restrooms to avoid a wait in line.
“Kittie?” he called, pushing aside the tent flap.
She wasn’t there.
Jacob spread his towel on the mattress to dry and headed to the mess tent. Inside there were cowboys drinking coffee, but no sign of Kittie.
“Anything I can do for you, Mr. O’Donnell?” asked Burt Parsons.
“Yes, I’m looking for my daughter.”
“She’s around. I’ll be your wrangler during your stay at the ranch. And that young fellow—” he gestured at a man who was nearly as deeply wrinkled and weathered as Burt himself “—will be coming along today, as well. His name is Ray Cassidy. Nice boy, Ray. You’ll like him.” Burt sounded quite serious calling Ray a boy. Maybe when a person reached a certain age, everybody else was young by comparison.
“In that case, I want to be sure that my daughter’s safety is your top priority,” Jacob said.
“Not to worry. We haven’t lost anyone yet.” Burt ambled off to the serving table, cup in hand.
Resisting the urge to pound the importance of Kittie’s safety into everyone, Jacob got his coffee and turned in time to see Mariah Weston arrive. He blew on the black brew as she spoke with the cowboys and cooks. Some of the men focused overly long on her curves, but they were discreet. Their interest was understandable. Her worn jeans were molded faithfully to her bottom and she wore a soft flannel shirt that did nothing to conceal the swell of her breasts.
A stab of awareness hit Jacob. No. Mariah was impossible, the complete opposite of the kind of woman who had always appealed to him.
In another few minutes Mariah flipped him a cool look. She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but striking with those high cheekbones and vibrant hair. Was she a natural redhead? Her blue eyes and creamy, lightly tanned skin suggested she wasn’t, but he was no expert. He preferred blondes anyway.
Anna had been blonde.
Blonde. Beautiful. Fragile.
Sighing, Jacob swirled the contents of his enameled metal cup. It wasn’t fair. Anna had wanted a baby so much, but she’d died less than three years after having Kittie, and a lot of that time she had been too weak to enjoy her daughter and be a mother.
He pressed his thumbs to his throbbing temples. He’d tried to do right by Kittie and by Anna’s memory, and yet he’d failed. Kittie was in trouble and he didn’t know what to do for her. If he could only put his finger on what was wrong.
“Good morning, Mr. O’Donnell,” Mariah said, yanking him from his thoughts.
“Hello, Miss Weston.”
Jacob noticed her gaze flick between his shirt and jeans—probably evaluating how suitable they were for the ranch—and almost asked if he passed muster. His irritation from the previous night returned, but he squashed it down. This was not a moment to be bothered with personality conflicts. By the same token, he wasn’t going to apologize for coming from the city and not knowing how to chase cows.
He cleared his throat. “I need to discuss safety issues with you. I’m a businessman, so I know why you require a signed waiver in case of an accident. As a father, though, I can’t help being concerned.”
A range of emotions flitted across Mariah’s face. “A ranch isn’t the same as a city park, but I’ve assigned our most experienced wrangler to you and your daughter for the duration of your visit, and a second one while you’re learning the ropes. Caitlin should be fine if she behaves herself. Now, your registration form says you’ve ridden before...?”
Jacob nodded. “We used to go horseback riding every week,” he said absently, still chewing on Mariah’s comment if she behaves herself. It gave him a nasty sensation in his gut—Kittie never behaved herself these days.
“I’m guessing you rode at a private stable with a riding track.”
“It wasn’t a ranch. We live in Seattle. But we haven’t gone out for several years.”
“That won’t be a problem. The horses I’ve chosen for you are older, savvy and unflappable. You ought to be all right on them—they’re practically catatonic,” Mariah said, a bit too smoothly.
Jacob leaned forward. “I want my daughter to be safe, Miss Weston, not bored. What good will the ranch do her if she’s bored?”
Mariah didn’t blink. “The U-2 isn’t boring, but we do insist that our guests don’t stretch their limits too far.”
Limits?
That was like waving a red flag at a bull, yet before he could react, she went on, “Vacations here are meant to be fun, not dangerous. My grandmother is a doctor and lives on the ranch. My aunt is also a doctor, and she lives in town behind her clinic. They’ve mostly treated our guests for aching bums, upset tummies, cuts, scrapes and sprained ankles. Since you haven’t ridden recently, I suspect you’ll be added to the aching-bum list.”
Nonplussed, Jacob opened his mouth...and then closed it. He wasn’t sure if he’d been insulted or patronized or if Mariah was simply doing her job by informing him of the ranch’s medical support. Taking into account the few amenities the U-2 offered, having two doctors available was a surprise. He just prayed they wouldn’t be needed. Kittie had her mother’s rare blood type, so he always ensured adequate emergency services were present wherever they traveled. In preparation for this trip, his staff had learned there was a well-equipped clinic in the local town, but they hadn’t said a doctor lived on the ranch.
“I’m not sure about that,” he said. “Remember those friends I told you about? Their son came home with a cast on his arm. He broke it at the end of his visit here.”
Mariah’s expression chilled, no doubt from the censure in his tone. Fine, she should know he wasn’t accepting her word without question.
“It happens occasionally—usually when people aren’t practicing reasonable caution or when parents don’t keep tabs on their children, assuming someone else will do it for them. That can happen anywhere, even in the city. Anyway,” she murmured, swinging her legs over the bench to stand up, “your wranglers will catch up with you after breakfast. We work hard on the U-2, so you might want to make sure Caitlin has a healthy meal before starting out. Have a pleasant day, Mr. O’Donnell.”
Jacob glared.
He wanted to call to Mariah’s departing back that he worked hard in Seattle as well and of course he’d ensure that Kittie had a decent breakfast...except it was pointless. Especially about Kittie. He knew perfectly well he couldn’t force his daughter to swallow a bite of food if she didn’t want to. And considering the precarious state of their relationship, she’d probably refuse to eat if he said anything about it.
CHAPTER THREE
LATER THAT AFTERNOON Mariah and Luke Branson rode in the direction the wranglers had taken the O’Donnells. She routinely checked on visitors to be sure the greenhorns were doing okay, and today the newest greenhorns were Jacob and Caitlin...not that Jacob O’Donnell would enjoy being described that way.
Her horse tossed his head, playfully testing her control of the bit. Shadow loved to run, the wind racing by, his hooves thundering across the land.
“You’re a live wire, aren’t you, boy?”
He whinnied and leaped a step. His black coat gleamed warm in the sunlight and his ears were pricked forward, alert to every sound.
“I swear that animal is your best friend. I come in a poor second,” Luke complained good-naturedly.
“He’s my best horse friend,” she agreed. She’d raised Shadow from the day he was born, right after her mom and dad’s accident. It had helped get her through those bleak, grief-filled days. “But you’re my best people friend.”
“So is Reid still saying he doesn’t want to go to college?” Luke asked with a pleased grin.
“More or less.”
“Maybe he’s worried how you’ll pay for it.”
“Could be. It’s tight, but we’re doing better. The debts are paid and I’m putting money aside. We should be able to swing the expense.”
“That’s great.” His mount sidestepped skittishly. “Stop it, Ghost, or I’ll turn you into dog food,” he warned the gray-and-white piebald.
Ghost snorted in disbelief.
“I could talk to Reid,” Luke offered. “He might open up for me—man-to-man, that sort of thing. Or at least as his future brother-in-law.”
“Thanks, but I’ve pushed enough. He’s got finals soon and they have to come first.”
“It’s your call. Are those the greenhorns you’re checking on?” Luke gestured to the south, down a sloping hill.
“Looks like them.”
Mariah bent over Shadow’s neck and watched the group in the distance. Though she’d still dressed in black that morning, Caitlin had forgone the silver-studded shirt and purple accents in her hair. Other than those small changes, she’d remained pure defiance. The anxious daughter from the predawn morning was nowhere to be found a few hours later. She’d mouthed off to the cowhands, told the cooks they were serving heart attacks on a plate and shown up an hour late to the corral. She wouldn’t say where she’d been, but Burt had calmly informed her that if it happened again she’d either sit her rear end in the tent for the day or spend it shoveling out the horse stalls.
Burt was always calm. It made him a terrific wrangler for kids. Things that might give anyone else a stroke made him yawn. She wished she could say the same thing about herself. Having Jacob imply she was lying about the injuries on the ranch had infuriated her. There had been a boy who’d broken his arm the prior year...but he’d fallen in Buckeye when his parents stopped to buy postcards on their way to the airport.
Luke controlled another sideways jump from his horse. “This O’Donnell fellow sounds like a real piece of work. I’ve never heard you gripe so much about a guest.”
“He rubs me wrong.”
“That’s interesting.”
She gave Luke a sharp glance. “There’s nothing interesting about it. He’s difficult, that’s all. He actually advised me that my parents should speak to Reid about being friendlier to guests. What nerve. He thinks the world revolves around him and his money. It isn’t that I don’t care what his daughter is going through, but he has to deal with it, not just throw his checkbook at the problem. On top of that, he said our facilities are primitive. Since when are hot showers and commercial-grade restrooms primitive? If he wanted a resort on the Riviera, he should have gone to the Riviera.”
“Okay, okay,” Luke placated. “I’m not the enemy. I’m on your side. Let’s go meet this difficult guest.”
Mariah brushed Shadow’s flanks with her heels and they cantered toward the others. As they got closer she could see that Jacob O’Donnell and the wranglers were working with a cow—its calf bawling in loud, unhappy tones—while a white-faced Caitlin remained in the saddle, some distance away. Mariah swung to the ground, her focus narrowing. The mother cow had a nasty cut running down her rear haunch. She was in pain, and that would make her more unpredictable than usual.
“It’s not too bad, Baby Girl.” Burt cursed amiably as he received a kick in the stomach. “But that gentle touch of yours will come in handy, Mariah.”
Her mouth curved. At rare moments he still called her Baby Girl, the way he’d done when she was four years old and would sneak into the barn to be with a favorite horse.
“Hey, Burt,” Luke greeted the cowhand.
“Howdy. Sorry to mess up your old-fashioned courtin’ with old-fashioned work.”
Luke chuckled, the cowhands sniggered, and Mariah could have belted all three of them. Luke wasn’t courting her. They had an understanding; you didn’t have to court somebody you were already going to marry.
The noise from the frightened calf was increasing the mother’s agitation, so Mariah nudged it into her sight. “Don’t fuss, silly, nobody is hurting your baby.”
Both animals quieted.
“I have the first-aid kit,” Jacob said when she looked up. He lifted the canvas pack that was a standard piece of equipment on the U-2.
Mariah took the kit. “Thank you. Stay with Caitlin, and we’ll take it from here.” They couldn’t let guests be involved in this kind of situation. It was funny, though. Jacob didn’t seem bothered that he might get injured himself at the ranch, just that his daughter be kept safe.
He stuck out his chin. “What about that guy?” he asked as Luke rolled up his sleeves.
“That ‘guy’ is our neighbor and an old hand at doctoring livestock. Luke Branson, meet Jacob O’Donnell.”
The two men gave each other measuring looks, testosterone zinging through the air, and she sighed in disgust. Men were men, regardless of where they’d grown up. She’d have to intervene before they started chest bumping or doing something equally stupid to prove their masculinity.
She cleared her throat. “Mr. O’Donnell, your job here is to reassure your daughter.”
“It’s Jacob, and I’m going to help. Kittie is fine. I told her to stay well back on her horse.”
“She’s the color of old paste and needs her father more than we need you getting in our way. You’re just delaying treatment for this cow by arguing with me.”
“That’s right,” Luke added, and Mariah dug her elbow into his rib cage. Did he think she couldn’t cope with Jacob O’Donnell on her own? She did not need his assistance; he would simply make it worse. He ought to have figured out by now that the Westons took care of their own troubles.
“Please...Jacob,” she said. “We have it under control.”
He glared darkly and stomped away.
Caring for the cow’s cut was messy and unpleasant, but Mariah finished as quickly as she could in order to make it easier on the animal and her calf. Burt untied the cow’s legs and she lunged to her feet, restrained from further movement by the lasso around her neck. Range cattle were tough; they could be down to their last ounce of strength and still be dangerous. She wouldn’t like being corralled, but the wound was septic and severe enough to warrant a few days back at the ranch.
Mariah dropped another rope over the calf’s head. “Caitlin?” she said, motioning to her.
The teenager swallowed. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes, you found her before it got too bad. I want you to take the lead. The mother will follow her baby, so go nice and slow.”
“I don’t...um...don’t know the way.”
“You don’t have to. You’re riding Blue—he knows the ranch better than the rest of us. Say ‘Home, Blue,’ and he’ll get us there.” She gave Caitlin the end of the rope and focused on Luke. He’d hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his denims and was giving her a quizzical look. “You aren’t coming with us,” she informed him.
“You’re mad at me.”
“What gives you that idea?”
He laughed and kissed her lightly. “It was easy. I’ve known you since birth and recognize that expression in your eyes—it’s the same one you had when you were seven and hit me with a horseshoe. Am I still invited to the dance on Saturday?”
“You’re always invited. You know that.”
As he rode off, Mariah climbed onto Shadow. She was annoyed, but it wouldn’t last long. Luke was a handsome man, with the powerful build of someone who worked hard every day of his life, but she was surrounded by good-looking cowboys and sexy visitors like Jacob O’Donnell. It wasn’t Luke’s appearance that set him apart—it was the friendship that had survived childish squabbling, years away at school, and her need to concentrate on Reid and repay her school expenses before making a commitment. It didn’t matter how much you loved someone. You had to believe in the same things to have a lasting relationship.
When they were ready to leave, Caitlin said “Home, Blue” in a high, squeaky voice. She held the rope in a white-knuckled grip as Blue ambled toward the ranch. He had more common sense than most people, which was why she’d chosen him for Caitlin.
The cow limped forward, attention fixed on her calf. The baby was young, born late in the spring drop, but it wouldn’t be orphaned like the other calves they fostered annually.
Jacob jockeyed his horse next to Mariah. “She’s scared,” he muttered.
“Responsibility is scary, but that isn’t a reason not to take any.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“But?”
His jaw set stubbornly. “She’s just a kid and this must feel like life and death to her. It’s too much.”
“She’s leading a calf to the barn, not doing brain surgery,” Mariah said drily. “I think she can handle it, but if you’re so worried, you could ride with her instead of complaining to me about it.”
Jacob scowled. “I’m planning to. It’s just that you don’t know anything about my daughter, so you don’t know what she can or can’t handle.”
“You’re right, we don’t know her. Which begs the question...why did you think we could do something to help her if you couldn’t do it yourself?” Mariah winced as soon as the retort left her mouth. So much for her resolution to treat Jacob like any other guest.
“Hell. Are you rude to everyone, or am I special?”
He was special all right...especially irritating.
She couldn’t deny that Jacob’s lean, masculine intensity pulled at her senses. Physically he was a compelling man; it was his other parts she wasn’t so crazy about.
“I’m not trying to be rude,” she said evenly. “But it’s important for Caitlin’s welfare that you don’t expect a service we aren’t able to deliver. And if I have to push to get the message across, that’s what I’ll do.”
“At least we agree about her safety, but you can’t act as if she was raised on a ranch, with the skills and experience you and your brother have acquired from everyday life.”
“Kids grow up fast here. There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone has to take chances to learn and really live. We just risk a few more than parents allow their children to in the city.”
“That’s so reassuring,” Jacob said sarcastically. “But I’ll decide how fast my daughter grows up, if you don’t mind.”
Mariah bit her lip to keep from saying something else she’d regret. For example, if he was so concerned for Caitlin, why did he spend so many hours working? She’d heard that he had already asked where he could charge the batteries for his smartphone and laptop computer, whether the ranch provided wireless internet and if they had a fax machine for guest use. What did he plan to do, set up an office in the mess tent and run his business while everyone else dealt with Caitlin? Surely she needed her father’s time more than she needed to ride in a Mercedes or have other expensive frills.
Mariah’s dad used to say it took all kinds to get by, but she wasn’t as certain. While she appreciated the income Jacob O’Donnell’s “kind” brought the ranch, it came at a stiff price. Money was a means to an end for Mariah; it wasn’t a priority the way it appeared to be for Jacob.
“By the way,” she said finally, “we never put our guests in the middle of a situation as serious as treating a wounded cow, so I know my wranglers didn’t ask for your help.”
“It seemed the right thing to do, and I wish you hadn’t interfered.” Jacob’s eyes were hard and impassive.
“I interfered, as you put it, because it’s my job.” She wasn’t sure what to make of his statement. Chauvinism? Or was it ego? She’d encountered an excess of male ego over the years—typically from weekend warriors taking risks to prove something to themselves or someone else. Except Jacob didn’t seem the weekend-warrior type. “Did you get kicked or hurt before I arrived?”
“Not to speak of.” He slapped some dirt and grass from his clothes. “You aren’t going to be sued. I signed your waiver-of-responsibility forms, remember?”
“Does everything boil down to money for you?” she asked, her nerves on edge...maybe because she knew that the waiver forms might or might not protect the U-2 in court. And the threat would go up if somebody with Jacob O’Donnell’s resources decided to sue them. He could likely purchase a hundred ranches without noticing the change in his bank account.
“There’s nothing wrong with money, and it safeguards my daughter.”
Mariah watched Caitlin. Despite what he thought, being rich didn’t offer guarantees. And while it was natural for parents to worry about their children, Jacob seemed to worry more than most. He must have been frantic about Caitlin’s behavior to bring her to Montana. Riding horses and working with range cattle was worlds away from going to a safe, air-conditioned movie theater.
“For what it’s worth, I think Caitlin is a good kid at heart,” Mariah said awkwardly. “I realize she has problems you’re trying to—”
“Problems?” The word burst out of him. “You could say that. Kittie set fire to her school gymnasium last Wednesday.”
The impulsive revelation was a shock, yet Mariah couldn’t believe the girl who’d panicked thinking a wolf might have eaten her father would deliberately set a fire. Besides, Jacob O’Donnell might be able to buy his way out of most of Caitlin’s mistakes, but arson would surely have landed her in juvenile court.
“How did it happen?”
“It wasn’t on purpose. She tried to hide the cigarette she was sneaking without putting it out. Kids are kids—they get in trouble,” he said, an aggressive thrust to his chin. “I only told you in case she mentions it and you get the wrong idea.”
“I see.” Mariah released the breath she’d been holding. Smoking was less worrisome than arson, and she could make inquiries to be sure Jacob was telling her the full story and not the sanitized version. “Does she have any cigarettes with her now?”
“Of course not.”
There wasn’t any “of course” about it, but Mariah didn’t want to antagonize him further by pointing that out.
“I’m going to check on my daughter.” Without another word, Jacob urged his horse into a trot. The tension in Caitlin’s body increased visibly as he rode up by her.
Mariah gazed at the O’Donnells and the calf and beyond at the tree-studded hills. Thank goodness she didn’t have the same problems with her brother as Jacob had with Caitlin.
Setting fire to the school?
Lord.
She began mentally reviewing the locations of the U-2’s fire hoses and extinguishers.
* * *
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER, Jacob stepped under a spray of water and rubbed soap on his chest. He was grateful they’d gotten back to the ranch center early—between cows, horses, sweat and dirt, he’d never needed a shower more.
The high window in the concrete shower stall was open and he saw Mariah Weston and her brother standing by the foremost barn. The afternoon sun turned her auburn hair into a dark flame, painting her curves with light and shadow, and he felt another unwelcome flash of attraction. She was so different from Anna it seemed almost disloyal to find her sexually appealing.
Not that he was a monk.
He dated and enjoyed an occasional discreet liaison as long as it was understood he didn’t want anything permanent. Lately, though, he’d hardly looked at women, what with Kittie acting out every parent’s nightmare. So it didn’t make sense that someone as impossible as Mariah was getting to him, even in passing. Hell, if nothing else, the jagged white scar he’d spotted on her left forearm and the half-healed gash on her right palm should be enough to warn him off.
How had she acquired those injuries?
A hundred disturbing possibilities came to mind, each attached to the knowledge that the same things could happen to Kittie. And it would be his fault for bringing her to Montana. Parenting had land mines he couldn’t have imagined fifteen years ago when he was debating with Anna whether it was too soon to start a family. He’d wanted to wait until he graduated and was established in his career, but she’d talked him into fatherhood without too much effort...the same way she’d talked him into everything.
Before long Reid went into the barn and Mariah stood there alone. For somebody operating a vacation business that ran on goodwill, she had a strange way of communicating with paying guests. Yet Jacob shifted uneasily. Strange wasn’t quite the best description; it was more a brutal honesty with a dash of temper. Still, the honesty was from her point of view, and it didn’t make her right.
Kids might grow up faster on a ranch than in the city, but he saw no reason for Kittie to grow up faster than she already had—particularly if it meant taking unnecessary gambles with her safety. Adulthood would come soon enough.
He did respect the way Mariah had treated the cow. Getting close to a wild, thrashing animal took guts; it had convinced him she was a genuine rancher, not just a figurehead. What Mariah didn’t understand was that Kittie had wanted him to help, and failing the request had put a new black mark on his parental report card.
He ducked under the showerhead and scrubbed his hair, aware that working with an outraged cow had also seemed easier than dealing with his own child. What kind of father did that make him?
He groaned.
It was so frustrating. One minute Kittie seemed almost like her old self; the next she was at her worst. Nobody else was bothered by her lightning mood swings, and why should they be? She wasn’t their daughter.
He hadn’t been this scared since Anna died.
When Jacob peered through the window again, Mariah was gone. Instead he saw Kittie. She walked to the barn, peeked around carefully and then went inside.
Crap.
He got out and grabbed a towel. Kittie had a crush on Reid Weston, and she’d already disappeared a couple of times—disappearances she hadn’t explained. Reid might have snubbed Kittie when they first met, but he was a teenage boy, and Jacob didn’t trust teenage boys.
After all, he used to be one himself.
* * *
I WISH MOM AND DAD were here.
Reid Weston spread fresh straw in the horse stalls, the familiar refrain going through his mind. If his parents were alive, they’d be managing the ranch and Mariah would be a veterinarian. But they weren’t and she wasn’t. She’d quit school after the accident and returned home.
And nothing had ever been the same again.
He blinked furiously and forked a load of straw into the last stall. Mostly he missed his mom and dad, but it would be nice not to feel guilty that Mariah had left school to take care of him and the ranch. She’d given up her lifelong dream of becoming a vet.
Another twist of guilt hit Reid’s midriff. He wanted to be a veterinarian, too. Yet how could he go away to college and leave Mariah in Montana to deal with everything on her own? On top of all the other stuff she took care of, she ran the business end of the ranch by herself, doing what their parents used to do together. And Reid knew that they couldn’t afford extra payroll costs, much less school expenses, no matter what Mariah claimed.
He wasn’t blind. No one talked about it, but he knew that if it wasn’t for the ranch finances and being responsible for him, Mariah and Luke would have already gotten married. Instead, his sister was working herself silly running the vacation business and taking on more and more of the things Granddad handled so he could retire. Never mind that Granddad didn’t want to retire.
“Why don’t you like me?” asked a voice suddenly from the barn door.
Damn.
It was that city brat. Kittie. He’d avoided her for a day, but his luck had run out.
Reid spread the straw more thoroughly than necessary. “I don’t dislike you.”
“Yeah, right.”
“It isn’t you I don’t like. It’s where you...” Reid stopped, realizing how dumb it sounded to say that he didn’t like her because a drunk driver from Seattle had killed his folks and that was where she came from. Maybe it was dumb. He’d have to give it some thought.
“If it isn’t me, then what is it?” Kittie insisted.
“Just take my word, it isn’t personal.” He hung the pitchfork on the wall and dusted his hands. The kid might not be so odd if her hair wasn’t so weird. And he should be polite—it was what his mom and dad would have expected. “I’m going to see that cow you brought in. You can come if you want.”
Kittie bobbed her head eagerly. “Mariah says she’ll be all right.”
“She ought to be. My sister has a knack with hurt animals.”
“My dad thinks she’s hot,” Kittie said matter-of-factly as she tagged along. “I can tell from the way he checked her out yesterday. He thinks I don’t notice that stuff, but I do.”
Reid didn’t break step. O’Donnell wouldn’t get anywhere with Mariah—the night before he’d overheard his sister telling Grams that he was an obnoxious jerk who thought his money was better than anyone else’s. At any rate, Mariah didn’t go for men wanting a vacation fling. Short-timers were a regular feature at the ranch; they could try hitting on her, but they never got out of the gate.
“Are breasts really that important to guys?” Kittie asked.
That stopped Reid in his tracks. He stared at her, nonplussed. “What?”
“I mean, nobody will date me unless I have bigger boobs. Isn’t that right?”
She looked so miserable that he was doubly at a loss for words. “Uh...well...uh...different guys like different stuff. We’re not all the same.”
It was a lame thing to say and Kittie obviously agreed. “Oh, sure. Some guys prefer brains and personality.”
Reid could have told her she wasn’t doing any better in the brains and personality department, but she’d probably try to scratch his eyes out. He could take her down easily, except Granddad would kick his butt for fighting with a girl and her dad would only make things harder for Mariah.
“You’ve just got to grow...er...up more,” he mumbled, wishing he was on another planet. “You could be like your mom. Do you know when she got...bigger?”
“Not really. She was awful pretty, though, and Dad says I’m like her.” Yet Kittie’s face became glummer. “I don’t know much about my mom ’cept she first got sick in high school. Real sick. They tried to make her better, only it didn’t work or stay that way or something.” All at once Kittie seemed alarmed. “Please don’t tell my dad.”
“About what?” Reid couldn’t think of anything he’d want to tell Kittie’s father, especially about her questions. Honestly, asking how he felt about breasts? The brat didn’t have a lick of sense.
“Nothing. N-nothing I said.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
He headed again for the corral where they’d put the mother and calf. It was in the rear of the far barn where she wouldn’t be upset by too much activity. Range cattle had little contact with humans and didn’t take kindly to being penned at the best of times. True to form, the mother cow grunted and moved in front of her baby, stamping the ground in warning.
Reid ran a practiced gaze over her and the feed box. Her muzzle was wet, so she’d obviously drunk some water. And a portion of the feed had been eaten. Not bad after getting roped, stitched, dosed and confined.
“How is she?” Kittie rested her arms on the top fence rail, the same as him, but she had to stretch to do it.
“Not bad, considering.”
“What would have happened if we never found her?”
Reid thought of the animals they lost each year. Life was hard on the range; he couldn’t sugarcoat it. “Could have died. The baby is too young to survive on its own, and the mother’s wound was infected. But even if you hadn’t located them, someone else would probably have come along.”
Footsteps came from behind them and Reid grimaced at the sight of Kittie’s father. “Mr. O’Donnell.”
“Hello, Reid. I haven’t seen much of you since we got here.” There was a faint emphasis on the I and a hidden query whether another O’Donnell had seen him before now.
Reid tipped his hat back. As if he’d be interested in a city runt with an attitude. “Stands to reason—I’ve been busy and I’m not your wrangler.”
“That sounds like something your sister would say.”
“Yup. Some things run in families.”
O’Donnell flicked a look at Kittie, whose attention was no longer on the mother cow and her calf. “I guess.”
“Dad, am I really, truly like Mom?” Kittie asked intently.
A smile softened O’Donnell’s expression. “Really and truly, sweetheart. She was beautiful, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
“I... Whatever.” Kittie pressed her lips together and turned back to the corral.
“I’ve got work to do,” Reid said, deciding it was time to escape. “Don’t stay long, and don’t get near the mama or her baby. It’ll make them nervous.” With a curt nod to Jacob O’Donnell, he strode away.
All in all, he felt kind of sorry for Kittie. Her dad was rich, so she had plenty of money, but apparently her mom was dead, and he knew exactly how that felt.
Lousy.
CHAPTER FOUR
LATE IN THE EVENING Mariah reviewed and accepted four reservations for July and added them to the chart where she tracked which wrangler was assigned to each group of visitors.
She leaned back in the office chair and rotated her shoulders to loosen her tight muscles. The gray tiger-striped cat on her lap protested the movement before settling down again. Squash was a fine old fellow, preferring long naps these days to terrorizing mice the way he used to when he was younger.
The U-2 was now fully booked for June, mostly booked for July and had more than half their openings taken for August—recent good news on the economic front had bumped their bookings considerably. Regular, middle-class people hesitated to go on vacations when the economy was bad. The ranch didn’t get many guests with Jacob O’Donnell’s wealth—the whole sleeping-in-a-tent thing generally turned them off.
Hmm.
What should she do about the O’Donnell family?
Jacob was different from their other guests in more ways than just the generous size of his bank account. He wasn’t curious about ranching or the stuff that brought most people to Montana, yet he and his daughter were staying for several weeks. The only thing recommending him was the way he sat a horse. It might have been years since he’d ridden, but he seemed at ease in the saddle.
Years...
A wicked grin crossed Mariah’s face. She didn’t care how great Jacob O’Donnell was on a horse—he was going to wake up in the morning with the biggest case of sore butt ever. It was inevitable. You didn’t ride for the first time in ages and get away unscathed. The interesting part would be whether he pretended it was all right or asked Grams for liniment and aspirin to relieve the aches and pains.
She was betting his pride would win.
“It wasn’t nice to tell Mr. O’Donnell that he’d have an aching bum tomorrow,” she whispered to the fur ball curled up on her thighs. “Not nice at all.”
Squash gazed at Mariah drowsily. He was accustomed to having conversations with her in the middle of the night. She’d adopted him from one of the barn cat’s litters when she was thirteen—he’d listened to the highs and lows of her high-school years, sulked when she was away at school and was the confidant she had needed when her parents died. She’d told Squash the things she couldn’t tell anybody, even Luke. Squash didn’t judge; he just purred and blinked at her.
“I’m usually much nicer to our guests. And I bet now he’ll feel that he has to prove something by being an iron man.”
Or maybe not.
It probably didn’t matter to rich men what “the help” thought of them, and that was what she and her wranglers were to Jacob O’Donnell...the hired hands who were supposed to shut up and obey his commands.
Ha.
A lot of visitors came to the U-2 again and again because they loved the ranch. Some of them had to save awhile for their vacations, but they arrived excited to be there once more. It was why Mariah had begun offering a 10 percent discount for return visits, and she wouldn’t let a spoiled entrepreneur with a chip on his shoulder ruin anyone else’s trip.
The computer pinged, alerting her that she had an email waiting. She toggled to the message program and saw it was from Luke.

Still mad at me? Up late with a mare dropping a foal. Thinking of you and wondering if you are awake. Love, L.

Mariah smiled and typed a reply.

Not mad. Trying to decide what to do with Jacob O’Donnell and his daughter. He’s impossible. At least he didn’t go out of his way at dinner to annoy me. M.

Yet she wavered as the cursor hovered over the send button on the computer monitor.... Maybe she shouldn’t say anything about Jacob O’Donnell. She deleted the note and started again.

No, not mad anymore. Was it Little Foot having her foal? I’m juggling reservations and the schedule. Got a few days’ work for two of your cowhands in the second week of June, if you can spare them. M.

She reread the text and sent it. That was much better. When the U-2 was heavily booked, they hired additional wranglers from neighboring ranches, sometimes the ranchers themselves when things were slow. Ranching had its lean years and the extra income could come in handy. She didn’t go to Luke very often, since he was primarily a cow and horse breeder and didn’t have the same financial ups and downs as some of the other ranches—he shipped prize-bull semen all over the world and got paid extremely well for it.
Another message came right back.

Yeah, it was Little Foot. You can have Pedro and Tommy in June. They’re best with people. Call me if you’re not too tired. Love, L.

Mariah lifted the phone and dialed.
“I hope this is an obscene caller,” Luke said when he answered.
“I don’t have the energy to be obscene.”
“Me, either. Little Foot had me worried at the end.”
“You should have let me know. I would have come over.”
“By the time it seemed there might be a problem, it was too late to get you here.” Dull thuds sounded through the line and she figured Luke had pulled off his boots and thrown them across the room. “She’s a small mare and it was her first, but Dr. Crandall thought I could handle it. He wasn’t able to come when Little Foot went into labor—he was working on a German shepherd that someone brought into the clinic. She was found on the highway. I’ll bet some damned fool didn’t tie her properly in their truck and she either jumped or was thrown out when they were screaming down the road.”
“That’s awful.” It infuriated Mariah when she saw kids or dogs in an open pickup. Luke felt the same—they’d seen it turn out badly too often.
“I guess she was pretty busted up, but Doc thinks she has a chance. Anyhow, it was a really big colt. I don’t know where Little Foot was hiding so much baby.”
Having assisted at births where the foal seemed impossibly large, Mariah chuckled in sympathy. Most of her experience with animals came from years of ranch life and tagging after the local veterinarian. In college it was often a question of associating technical terms with something she already knew, which enabled her to carry a heavier course load than her fellow students. Back then she’d been in a hurry to get through school so she could take over for Dr. Crandall; now he had to find another vet to buy the practice. Mariah minded Dr. Crandall being unable to retire almost as much as she missed being a veterinarian herself—Doc couldn’t keep working forever.
She shifted and Squash dug the tips of his claws into her skin as a warning to stay put. “Tell me about the new arrival. I remember you bred Little Foot later than usual last year.”
“He’s exactly what I was hoping for—a chestnut, same as Little Foot, with her sleek, clean lines. Look, I gotta grab a shower and hit the sack. I just wanted to hear your voice before going to bed.”
The comment surprised her. It wasn’t like Luke to be sentimental.
“Oh, okay. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
Mariah hung up and put her cat on the floor so she could do a walk-through in the guest area. She’d intended to get down there earlier—someone else had mentioned the noise from Susan and Chad’s tent, saying the newlyweds were “enthusiastic about their honeymooning.” It was said with a grin, but Mariah didn’t want the situation to escalate again.
Outside, the stars blazed across the sky and she walked in their faint glimmer to the slope opposite the house, Pip at her heels. Things seemed fairly peaceful. Susan and Chad were in a tent set apart from the main group—they were whispering and smothering a laugh as she passed, but it wasn’t too loud.
It would be noisier when more kids were visiting the ranch after school got out for summer vacation. Nobody could chatter like two girls making friends.
A guest, Judy Hartner, mumbled “Hi” to Mariah as she stumbled toward the restroom wearing flip-flops and a jacket over her pajamas.
Pip’s eyes pricked forward when he saw a light shining from one side of the O’Donnells’ tent. She could see the wheels turning in his mind...the hope of another midnight snack. He let out a yip and whined.
“No,” she breathed.
She slapped her thigh to get Pip’s attention and he followed her to the barn. The cowhands made rounds to check on the animals, but it didn’t hurt to check on them herself. Most of the horses were asleep and didn’t stir as she switched on the lights and looked into each stall; they were used to familiar people coming in at night. But Shadow peered out the moment he caught her scent.
“Hello, boy.”
He nudged her shoulder and she rubbed his velvety black nose. Extending his neck over the stable door, he sniffed her pocket with unerring accuracy.
Mariah laughed. “Okay, okay.” She took out the carrot she’d brought from the house and he crunched it down. “You are one pampered pony.”
“Pony?” said a voice.
Startled, Mariah spun, her heart pounding. His tail wagging furiously, Pip dashed to greet Jacob. This was the human being who’d provided him, however unwittingly, with a steak dinner. Without much effort, Jacob could be a friend for life, yet he didn’t pet Pip or even greet him.
Pip cocked his head, puzzled. “Rrrrffff.”
“Just a minute, boy,” he murmured. “I’m a little stiff.” He bent and gave Pip a slow stroke on his shoulders. The canine wriggled with delight.
Mariah raised her eyebrows. So Jacob was acknowledging he hadn’t escaped the day unscathed. Of course, he might be sorry he’d said anything in the morning...but he was going to be sorry, period. She knew what happened when you went riding after a long absence.
“I don’t suppose your grandmother has a hot tub filled with that liniment you referred to this morning,” Jacob said, straightening. “I’d like to spend the rest of the night in it. And maybe tomorrow.”
The corner of her mouth twitched—she hadn’t expected him to have a sense of humor. “No, but an economy tube is available. I’ll unlock the dispensary for you. It doesn’t require an M.D. to hand out, though Grams prefers to manage first-aid services herself.”
“Don’t bother for tonight. I’ll survive...barely,” he added in a droll tone. “By the way, was your grandmother responsible for laundering my shirt after Pip used it as a doggy bowl? I threw it away, but found it in my tent this evening. My dry cleaner would claim it was impossible to get those grease stains out, and it looks perfect.”
“Possibly. Grams has many talents.” Mariah motioned at Pip to come to her. Some people didn’t like dogs—especially large ones—and there was definitely a lot of Pip to go around. “I was doing a quick patrol and saw your lantern was on. Are you having trouble dropping off after drinking all that coffee, or did Pip wake you up?”
“I drank the coffee for a reason. I’m reading contracts coming up for renewal in November and December.”
Contracts?
Naturally. What else?
He’d acted aloof and bored at the informal after-dinner social hour. Activity in the fresh air sent most of their visitors to bed by nine or ten, but first they mingled—singing or chatting or playing games in the mess tent. Jacob hadn’t participated; instead, he’d sat in the back, radiating tension, drinking regular coffee instead of decaf.
On the flip side, while Caitlin hadn’t been the soul of the party, she had played a game of checkers with Burt and gobbled down two servings of peach cobbler, topped by chocolate cake with ice cream and a glass of milk. Whatever was bothering her, it wasn’t her appetite. Since getting to the U-2, she’d eaten the same as any other teenager with a bottomless pit in place of a stomach.
“I see.”
She’d tried not to sound critical, but Jacob looked defensive. “I waited until Kittie was asleep before starting. And you’re working, too. How long a day does that make for you?”
“Summer is hectic. It’s a family business. We all work.”
“You have employees. Ever consider delegating?”
Delegating? Mariah pressed her lips together. She didn’t need management advice from a city-dwelling, money-obsessed workaholic. Delegation was fine, but everyone on the ranch had duties that kept them busy. As the business manager, she took care of odd tasks such as walking through the U-2’s tent town to see if the newlyweds were engaging in noisy sex and disturbing anyone.
“We get by,” she said finally.
Shadow nickered softly and nuzzled her neck, a reminder that the U-2 was about more than ledger sheets and keeping score with dollars and cents.
Mariah smiled, and this time Shadow got the apple she’d put in her left pocket. “And it isn’t just about the bottom line at the ranch. For example, when Shadow was born, I spent the entire night out here. Drowsed on a pile of hay with his head on my knee. And I’ll take that over curling up with a contract any day.”
“Don’t horses sleep standing up?”
“Nope. That’s kind of a myth. They go half-asleep on their feet, a part of their brain remaining alert for approaching danger. It’s a survival instinct—that way they can go from a drowsing state to running in nothing flat. But for deep sleep, they have to lie down. It’s complicated because lying down too long can also be a problem.”
She stroked the stallion’s mane. His coat gleamed from the thorough currying she’d given him. Unless she was occupied with an emergency, Mariah groomed Shadow herself, making sure he was clean and comfortable. She did it because she loved him, not because he contributed to the U-2’s profits. When you were responsible for animals that depended on you for food and health and comfort, you’d best care about them, or find something else to do.
Mariah glanced at Jacob. He was dressed in the jeans and shirt he’d worn to dinner. Surprisingly, he looked so relaxed and gorgeous in them, no one would ever guess he had arrived at the ranch in a business suit. He’d probably end up sleeping in his clothes if he planned to study paperwork the whole night. Didn’t he realize getting rest was important for dealing with Caitlin and her issues?
“Do you enjoy reading contracts, Mr. O’Donnell?”
He looked taken aback. “I told you, it’s Jacob, and I’ve never thought about it. Contracts are part of the process. You have your lawyers evaluate them carefully and do it yourself as well if you’re the cautious type. Their lawyers do the same, and the agreement goes back and forth.”
It didn’t appeal to Mariah in the slightest. He must spend more on legal fees than the U-2 made in a year, visitors and cattle sales combined.
“These agreements shouldn’t be as bad. All parties want to renew, and we’ve done business with them for a while.” Jacob continued, “The paperwork simply needs updating.”
Yet he was up at one in the morning, ostensibly on vacation, reading legalese. One thing she could say for Jacob O’Donnell was that she doubted he was underhanded in his business—a man like him couldn’t afford to be dishonest.
“By the way, how is the cut on your palm doing?” he asked. “It couldn’t have been easy treating a wild cow with an injury.”
Mariah frowned, confused. “My palm... Oh.”
She flexed her right hand—she’d practically forgotten getting hurt. Aunt Lettie had taken the stitches out yesterday—she’d said it was healing well, just warned her not to do much lifting for another week to avoid reopening the wound.
“I’m fine. I have to wear gloves for work like shoveling out the stables and mending fences until it toughens up, but I usually wear them anyhow. We don’t stop for little stuff.”
“It doesn’t look little.” Jacob stepped closer. “How did you get cut if you use gloves for heavy-duty work?”
Realization dawned on Mariah; he was worried the same thing could happen to Caitlin. He didn’t have to be concerned. Unless his daughter was a klutz in the kitchen, there wasn’t any danger of a repeat incident. Besides, while the guests took turns helping with meals, they had a rule that no one under the age of eighteen handled the knives.
“I cut it in the outdoor kitchen—our version of the cattle trail chuck wagon. I’m not much at cooking and got distracted slicing potatoes. Reggie, our cook, has now banned me from doing anything except washing dirty dishes, fetching coffeepots and saying hello. He didn’t appreciate having to wash up and start over with the spuds.”
Surprisingly, Jacob smiled. He was even more attractive when he did that, and Mariah felt guilty for noticing. Yet it really wasn’t a big deal—Luke was a terrific guy, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t take pleasure in the view. She didn’t expect him to wear blinders if a well-rounded woman crossed his path. It wouldn’t be reasonable.
“That’s a rough way of getting out of doing something you don’t like,” Jacob said.
“I don’t dislike cooking. I’m just no good at it. My mom gave up...and now Grams has given up on me, too.” She bumped Pip with her foot. “Let’s go, boy.”
* * *
JACOB HOOKED HIS THUMBS in his jeans pocket and watched Mariah slip out of the barn, the dog at her side.
He wasn’t sure why he’d followed Mariah after hearing her walk past his tent on the hill—maybe for someone to talk to or simple curiosity about why she was awake, the same as him. She was an interesting woman, and her affinity with animals was striking. The black horse, goofy-eyed when she was teasing him, was suspicious and stamping the ground now that she’d gone. He’d bet that Pip or Shadow would go into fire for her. And she’d even managed to soothe the range cow crazed with fear and anger and pain. Maybe ranchers developed those skills since animals were their bread and butter, yet he suspected Mariah’s abilities went beyond average.
Jacob stretched cautiously, trying to relax his muscles. He missed the scents of the city and the faint hum of traffic that penetrated their loft. Seven years ago he’d bought an old commercial building in North Seattle and converted the second floor and parts of the third into a spacious home overlooking Lake Union. There were interesting features left from the original industrial use, but it had the advantages of modern conveniences. He hadn’t decided what to do with the remaining space, though he’d created a five-car garage on the ground level.
The ranch, on the other hand, was too quiet to sleep unless he was dead tired the way he had been the previous night.
Jacob stepped out of the barn and closed the door. At the tent he peeked into Kittie’s side. He could barely make out his daughter’s outline in the dark. She stirred restlessly, muttering, and Jacob’s heart ached more than his sore body.
He went into his own side and turned on the battery-powered lamp by the mattress. Gingerly lowering himself, he thumbed through the next contract. He’d arranged to have a courier pick all of them up in a couple of days so his lawyers could go over his notes. They ordinarily communicated via email, but the U-2 didn’t see a need to provide wireless internet, so he’d been forced to make other arrangements.
Yet even as Jacob thought about it, a twinge of guilt hit him. The U-2 hadn’t claimed to provide internet, any more than they’d claimed to provide designer coffee or hotel rooms with hot baths and daily maid service.
He’d contacted Gretchen that morning to let her know he wasn’t available online. She’d checked and discovered his cell phone could be used as a modem on the computer; he just required the accessories and would be back on the Net as soon as they were delivered. It went to show that a top executive assistant was more valuable to him than a dozen vice presidents. Gretchen would be getting a sizable bonus.
Do you enjoy reading contracts...
Crossly, Jacob tried to push Mariah’s question from his mind. He had read hundreds of contracts over the years, and while some were more tedious than others, the idea of enjoying or not enjoying the task had never occurred to him. It was merely something to be done. Yet, as he stared at the words on the page, he knew it was the most boring aspect of his work. He didn’t even sign the majority of the contracts within the company, only the major ones. Of course, executive meetings also weren’t his favorite thing, any more than reviewing the reorganization plans some managers regularly submitted instead of really addressing problems they had likely created themselves.
All at once he threw the papers aside and snapped off the light. With the caffeine coursing through his bloodstream, he might not get much rest, but he could try.
* * *
REID TOSSED HIS BOOKS into the bed of the pickup. Thursday and Friday were short days at school to let the staff get ready for final exams. What he didn’t understand was why they’d bothered having classes in the first place. Everybody goofed off on short days, even the teachers. He had better things to do than listen to Art Blanco cut up or Joey Newton brag about his new dirt bike. And when Mr. Matano began telling stories of his stint in marine boot camp, everybody’s eyes glazed over.
“Hey, Reid,” said a voice behind him.
It was Laura Shelton and he smiled; Laura was real easy on the eyes. “Hey, Laura.”
“The first barn dance is this Saturday, isn’t it?”
He almost snorted. A bunch of the girls had asked the same thing, and they all knew darned well when the dances started for the season. The U-2 held weekly barn dances throughout the summer for both their visitors and the local folks. For twenty-four years they’d begun the third Saturday in May and ended the second Saturday in September, unless it snowed.
“Yup, the third Saturday in May, same as usual.”
“Does Mariah need help? I could get there early.”
“Naw, she’s got it covered.”
It wasn’t the first offer that Reid had gotten, but Mariah had nixed his classmates from coming early. She said the girls flirted with the younger wranglers and they got less done.
“It’d be great if you could bring your chocolate chip-cookies, though,” he said when Laura’s smile disappeared. “The ones you won a prize for at the county fair.”
She brightened. “I’ll bake several batches.”
He was about to say one batch would be enough seeing as there were always plenty of sweets, but had a hunch she’d be pissed. Girls got a knot in their rope about the strangest things. “Uh...sure. Only don’t work too hard. Want a ride home?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
Reid opened the passenger door the way his dad had taught him and offered a hand. Laura climbed in, a pleasant-smelling mix of curves and long legs. He liked girls. They were bewildering and giggled too much, but as Granddad said, they had compensations.
Before he got into the truck himself, he sent a text on his cell to Mariah and his grandparents. He knew it had been a struggle for them to let him start driving to school, so he tried to let them know any time he expected a delay.
It wasn’t far to Laura’s house. The Sheltons had a small spread that was closer to town than the U-2 and right off the main road. Her dad ran some cattle, but he also did the farrier work in the area. He called himself a blacksmith, but he didn’t do any true blacksmithing. Horseshoes were mostly mass-produced—not like in the Old West—though you still wanted an expert to put shoes on a horse.
Once they arrived, he got out of the truck and waved to Mrs. Shelton as he opened the door again for Laura. She was hanging sheets and towels on the clothesline and waved back.
“How are you, Reid?”
“Fine, ma’am. And you?”
“Couldn’t be better. Tell Mariah we’re looking forward to the dance on Saturday.”
“I’ll do that, ma’am. And let Mr. Shelton know the shoeing job he did on Buttons was just fine.” He turned to Laura. “See you at school.”
“Bye. Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem.” He tipped his hat to them both and drove home.
When he got there, he could hear Mariah in the office talking. On the way to find out if she wanted him for anything, he stopped by the fridge and found a bowl of fried chicken. It was crisp and spicy, just the way he liked it. He headed to the rear of the house, munching happily on a piece.
“Yes, I know it’s confidential,” Mariah was assuring someone on the phone. “I simply—”
She stopped, apparently interrupted by the person on the other end of the line.
“I don’t need the child’s name, I already know her name. Uh...can you wait a moment?” Mariah covered the speaker and looked at Reid. “Hi. I see you’re eating lunch. Be sure to have potato chips or a hot-fudge sundae to go with it—you know, something healthy.”
He swallowed a bite and grinned. “You sound like Grams. If she doesn’t want me to eat fried chicken, she shouldn’t make it.”
“Once a week she indulges us so she can pretend to be an old-fashioned granny. Now go away. Take Buttons for a ride or put your feet up in the hammock and sleep.”
“I have time for chores. We have a short day again tomorrow and our finals don’t start until next week. Anything special you need me to do?”
Mariah sighed. “You’ve stayed up late studying for a week. Let the chores go and relax this afternoon. Shoo.”
That was nice of Mariah. But he wasn’t going to listen to her, not when she was working her ass off. He collected another piece of chicken and went to change out of his school clothes. No doubt there was a stable with straw and horse manure in need of shoveling.
* * *
MARIAH PUT THE RECEIVER to her ear. “I’m sorry for the interruption, Officer Giles. As I was going to explain, I simply want to speak with the police officer who investigated the fire at the Garrison Academy. I’m aware that a minor’s record is confidential—I want to discuss the fire itself. That part of the report should be public record, correct?”
“Very well, it was Officer Rizolli who handled that case,” the public-affairs liaison told her reluctantly. “I’ll transfer you to his desk.”
Mariah waited, her patience stretched to the limit. She’d spent an hour trying to reach someone who could talk to her about the incident at Caitlin O’Donnell’s school. Honestly, how many times could she be transferred with nothing productive coming of it? And how many times could she explain she wasn’t asking for confidential information? Heck, she knew who’d started the fire.
“This is Officer Don Rizolli,” said a deep voice. “How can I help you?”
“Officer Rizolli...” Mariah rocked forward and wrote down the name. “Hello. Did you investigate a fire that occurred at the Garrison Academy in the past two weeks? It’s a private, rather exclusive high school in North Seattle, near Ballard, I think.”
“I’m familiar with the facility. I was called in by the school authorities after the blaze.”
She practically fell off her chair. Could she actually have reached the right person? “I’m relieved to get through to you finally. The young lady who was responsible for the incident is visiting our ranch and I need to know the...the circumstances. Rest assured I’m not asking for information about Caitlin. Her father tells me it was an accident, but I want to get that from an unbiased source. We’ve had a dry year in Montana, though fire is always a concern for us.”
“I see. What is the name of your ranch?”
“The U-2. If you want to check us out on the internet, our website is U2RanchVacations.com. I can hold while you’re looking.”
She waited, hearing the click of a keyboard in the background. She’d done her share of web surfing before making her calls to Seattle. Caitlin had mentioned to Ray Cassidy that she attended school at Garrison Academy, which turned out to be an outrageously expensive educational institution. Mariah had contacted the academy first, but the principal had not been forthcoming; she hadn’t expected him to be—advertising a fire wouldn’t encourage student enrollment, no matter what the cause.
“And to whom am I speaking?” queried Officer Rizolli after a few minutes.
“I should have introduced myself. I’m Mariah Weston, the U-2’s business manager.”
“The owner, too, I presume. According to your online description, the Weston family has owned the ranch for several generations.”
“Yes, the U-2 is family owned.” Mariah tapped her pencil on a pad of paper. Phone numbers and other notes were scribbled over it, along with the doodles she’d done during her numerous waits on hold.
“Tell me what you need to know, Ms. Weston.”
“Mostly what I said...whether or not it was deliberate. Caitlin appears to be a good kid, but I can’t allow a budding arsonist to stay at the ranch. Parents can be reluctant to admit problems with their children, and I don’t believe her father had planned on telling me about the fire. It just slipped out in a conversation.”
“I can give you a general account of the incident,” Officer Rizolli said slowly. “The student was sneaking a cigarette in the girls’ locker room. She hid it in a trash can when a teacher entered the gymnasium unexpectedly. The paper caught fire, then a wood bench and a cabinet where the towels were stored. Fortunately, there were limited combustibles in the area since the floors are stone-and-glass tile and the lockers are metal.”
“You don’t have any reservations about the situation?”
“I’m confident it was an accident, Ms. Weston, and so is the fire chief. I also spoke with the school counselor. The student tried to put the flames out with an extinguisher and pulled the fire alarm when she was unsuccessful. Nobody was injured, including the young lady at fault.”
The knot in Mariah’s stomach began to loosen. She’d never forgotten a frightening drought-stricken summer when she was a child. Dry lightning had set dozens of fires on the ranch and her parents had canceled all the guest reservations to protect both their visitors and the U-2. For two months they’d lived with a silent, uneasy anticipation of something that might happen.
“That’s a relief to hear.”
“I understand, Ms. Weston. I’ve dealt with juvenile arson and it isn’t pretty. You’re wise to be cautious, but I wouldn’t worry on this particular count. I...” He hesitated. “I couldn’t let the parent or student know how I felt, but I was rather sorry for her. She was truly terrified, though by the time her father arrived, she’d masked it well with belligerence.”
Mariah laughed. “Having met Caitlin, I can imagine. She has attitude to spare. I appreciate your speaking with me, Officer.”
“We’re here to help, Ms. Weston. I’m sorry you had trouble getting through.”
Mariah disconnected. In a way it would be easier to have an excuse to evict the O’Donnells, yet it was good to know she hadn’t read Caitlin wrong.
As for Jacob...the jury was still out. He wasn’t just a closed book she couldn’t fathom; he was an entire library of closed books.
CHAPTER FIVE
ON FRIDAY MORNING Jacob dragged himself from bed and took a walk around the perimeter of the ranch complex to loosen his muscles. It helped, though there was a distinct ache when he sat down with a cup of coffee in the mess tent.

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