Thad strode away. Pulling Mack to the side, he looked straight into his eyes. “Cancel the trip. Take them all back to
Durango
.” He took two brisk steps toward the ranch house.
Mack matched his strides. “You can’t do that.”
Throwing him a evasive glance, Thad halted. “Like hell I can’t, I’m the boss, remember?”
Mack squinted. “Of course,” he tossed out coldly, “But—”
Thad cut him off with twist of his shoulder. He knew his last comment was out of line. He and Mack had grown up together on this ranch. Mack’s father was foreman for his father, so when they’d both passed on and the ranch became Thad’s, it seemed only natural for Mack to take his father’s place. They’d never had a boss-employee relationship and Thad wasn’t about to start one now. They were friends. And that was that.
He dropped the clipboard to his side and looked at the ground. “Look. You know I didn’t mean that. I can’t deal... I just don’t think that this woman needs to be here, Mack. She’s a disaster waiting to happen. I told you we should have advertised that experience with horses was necessary for these trips.” His gaze rose to Mack’s face.
“Why?” Mack questioned. “You know the trails and so do the horses. She’s a fast learner, she’ll be okay. Besides, none of the other ranches take only experienced riders. We’re missing out on a lot of business if we don’t cater to the beginner.”
Thad knew he was right but it wasn’t his style. Surely they didn’t have to be like every other pack business, did they? His gaze slid to the two women. Ever since he’d caught a glimpse of the blonde’s rounded derriere swinging into old Rosie’s saddle this morning, a sight had caught and held in his chest. There was just something about the woman that both intrigued and irritated him.
“I don’t know, Mack. She looks a little feisty to me. I’m afraid she’ll be nothing but trouble. You know that every guest and cowpoke alike has to act like a team and I’m just not sure she’s a team player.”
Mack shook his head in agreement. “Look. She’s had a bad day. I have a feeling she can pull her weight. Besides, she’s kind of easy on the eyes, don’t you think?” Mack elbowed Thad in the ribs then shot a glance back to the two women.
“And if she comes along so will her friend, whose pants you’ve been dying to get into all day…”
Mack chuckled. “Well, there is that, but what about the blonde? Wouldn’t you want to…”
Thad shook him off. Forget that. He didn’t want to admit to Mack what he’d already noticed himself. The woman was easy on the eyes. Too easy. That’s what bothered him the most. When he and Mack had started into this business, they’d made one hard-and-fast rule. There was to be no hanky-panky with the guests. It was his own code of ethics and one he’d drilled into Mack as well. The blonde, no matter how feisty or arrogant, no matter how competent she turned out to be on the trail, would be a mighty big temptation.
Mighty big.
He’d been struck by her the very first moment he’d laid eyes on her.
That was unusual.
And a very big problem.
He watched as the two women stepped closer to the car. They appeared to be arguing. “She’s out of her element.”
“She will adjust.”
“I won’t take her, Mack. And you’re not going to play tongue-touch with her friend.”
Mack eyed him.” Think about this for a minute. Those two women over there represent twenty-eight hundred dollars. Twenty-eight hundred dollars. You can’t pass that up.”
Thad slapped the clipboard against his thigh and stepped back toward the house. Behind him, he heard another vehicle pull next to the corral. It braked and the engine was killed. Thad turned. Two men, much younger than his forty years, hopped out of the jeep and pulled their gear out of the back.
Taking two steps back to Mack, Thad pulled his hat off his head, tucked the clipboard under his arm, and ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair in defeat. “Who in the hell is that?”
Mack reached for Thad’s clipboard; his glance raked over the reservation list. “Aaron Johnson and Tim Rumer, I assume. The rest of the pack trip. A couple of lawyers from
Indianapolis
.” He held the clipboard out to Thad. “Look at them long and hard, Thad. That’s another twenty-eight hundred dollars standing before you. All those people standing over there? You’re looking at over ten-thousand dollars for twelve days work. Ready to throw it to the wind, Mr. Businessman?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Thad snatched the clipboard out of Mack’s hand, then slowly let his gaze play over the scene before him. The two men had sauntered up to the women. One of them smilingly reached out and shook the blonde’s hand. Thad thought he held onto it a mite too long. It only took a moment for him to contemplate the situation.
He told himself that it was because the cattle weren’t bringing in the money they used to, that there was a leak in the roof on the west bunkhouse that needed fixing, and that Sarah kept hollering she needed new appliances in the kitchen—that was the reason he was going to do it. But he knew he was lying to himself. He looked to Mack, then strode toward the crowd, the clipboard slapping against his thigh.
He was curious about this women. In more ways than one.
He stopped long enough to turn back to Mack for brief instructions. “Get the women some gear,” he barked. “Put them in the east bunkhouse, the men in the west. Tell Sarah we’ve got six for supper tonight. And make sure we’ve got a goddamn gentle mare ready for the blonde by morning. Hell, it better be almost dead.”
****
Kim lifted a worn pair of jeans out of the pile on her bunk. Turning them from side to side, she pitched them into another pile to her right, adding them to the other articles she’d already dismissed: two large, ugly, western cut shirts, a T-shirt, thread-bare socks, a belt, a much too large sweatshirt and sweat pants combination, and a rain slicker. A dusty, worn pair of cowboy boots sat at the foot of the bunk.
The duffel bag, which moments before had held her handouts was also packed with soap, deodorant, shampoo, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
She tossed her gaze to Jillie, who was trying on the items in her pile, turning around to inspect her backside in the cracked mirror behind the bathroom door.
“He’s got to be kidding. Surely they don’t intend us to wear these rags.”
Jillie eyed her through the mirror. After a long pause, she turned to Kim. “You’re still mad, aren’t you?”
Plopping down on the bunk, she crossed her arms and glared at her friend. Placing the tip of her right index finger under her chin, she looked to the ceiling. “I wonder whatever gave you that idea? Is it the fact that I haven’t spoken a word for the last three hours?”
Tucking her fingers in her back jeans pockets, Jillie stepped closer to the bed. “Okay, so what do you want to do?”
“I want to go back to the hotel. You can stay here if you want, all you have to do is tell me the way. I was asleep, remember? I haven’t a clue how to get to
Durango
from here.”
Sliding her hands out of the pockets, Jillie sat beside Kim and placed them in her lap. “Kim, I apologize. I was wrong to trick you like that...”
She rose, feeling her face redden. “Oh! So now it all comes out. It was a trick, huh? When did you decide all this, Jillie? And why? Usually I get some warning about these hair-brained schemes of yours.”
But Kim knew the answer to that question.
Mack.
Her room-mate broke the gaze and looked away. “I can’t explain it, Kim. He’s just so...” She looked back at her and sighed. “I have something to confess. Do you remember the first night we arrived in
Colorado
? The night you were so exhausted you crashed at eight-thirty? Well, I couldn’t sleep, mountain sickness, I guess. At any rate, I left the room about an hour after you’d dropped off, just to get some fresh air and take a walk, thinking it would make me sleepy... But I ended up at a little saloon not far down the road from the hotel. It was real western and all, you know, kind of like what you’d see in the movies, and the place was hopping. Country music was pouring out the open doors and cowboys were literally dripping out of the place.” She paused.
“So I went in.”
Kim groaned and shook her head. “I don’t think I want to hear the rest of this.”
Jillie grabbed her hands and held onto them. “Yes, you do. I met Mack that night. We danced. Took a walk. Talked a lot. Kissed once or twice. That’s all. But we didn’t want to let each other go. I don’t know whether you’d call it chemistry or love at first sight, but Kim...” Jillie sighed and Kim almost envied her, “there’s just something special about that man. I don’t want to ever be away from him.”
“But you’ve only known him a couple of days.”
She nodded. The rest of her story tumbled out. “I know, crazy isn’t it? But I saw him again the night before last, and then I finagled you into the trail ride thing. And then, when Mack and I were in the barn putting the horses up, he told me about this pack trip. I guess we were thinking of two whole weeks together. I made up the story about Thelma and Dottie. Mack just confirmed it. At any rate, I guess I wasn’t thinking about you and your feelings. I’m sorry. So if you want to be mad at me for the rest of your life, that’s okay. I’ll tell you how to get back to
Durango
, it’s not hard, but it’s over an hour away. I really wish you’d stay. Wouldn’t it really be a great thing to go back to school this fall and tell our students what we did? It’ll be fun, Kim, please think about staying.”
“That man hates me, you know. He’s going to make my life a living hell.”
“No, Kim. He doesn’t hate you. You two got off on the wrong foot. Please don’t let that stop you.”
Kim slowly closed her eyes. She inhaled a shallow breath, then quickly huffed it out. She knew if she opened her eyes she’d see Jillie’s pleading face looking back. It wasn’t like Jillie’s acting on impulse was something new. Kim was used to it. But this thing she had with Mack must be real, or at least needs to be given the chance to be real—and if the tables were turned, she knew what Jillie would do for her. She’d do whatever Kim wanted.
Damn it.
She opened her eyes, but tried to keep her face devoid of any emotion. “This is the worst thing you’ve done to me since you filed my picture and resume with that sleazy computer dating service.”
Jillie stepped closer and Kim glimpsed a hint of a smile of her lips. “I know. Sometimes I can’t help acting out what comes to me. Forgive me? Come on. This might be a whole lot of fun.”
Kim huffed out a breath that lifted her bangs. “Okay. All right. I’ll do it. But I won’t let you forget it for the rest of your life and if you two get married you have to name your first-born kid after me. I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. Got it?” She couldn’t help it then, her face broke into a nervous grin. “And if I die in that godforsaken land out there, you better haul my butt out yourself and give me a decent burial, you understand?”
Jillie smothered her with a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Kim pulled back. “But what about all our stuff at the hotel? What about the airline tickets? And I need to call my parents and tell them...”
Jillie smiled and patted Kim on the shoulders. “Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of—”
“What do you mean?”
Quickly, Jillie broke for the door. “I called your Mom and told them we’d decided to stay another week.” She placed her hand on the metal door latch. “And I called the hotel and checked us out. The airline tickets can be cashed in easily enough.” She turned, opened the door, and placed one foot on the threshold.
“But our things?”
“The hotel is going to pack them up and taxi them to the ranch for us. Should be here sometime tomorrow. Oh, and I gave them your credit card number.”
“But—”
“I’ll be back in a little while...”
Then she was gone, the old wooden door to the bunk house slapping her farewell against the frame.
Kim fell back flat against the bed in a frustrated heap. “Jillie Abernathy, one of these days...”
She closed her eyes and all she could see was Jillie’s bright eyes and animated face. She was happy. Happier than Kim had seen her in a long time. Had she really fallen for this Mack character? That would be a twist, she thought, Jillie in love. Well, if that were true, then she had to do this for her, didn’t she? She had to play along. It was just that she wasn’t looking forward to roughing it the next two weeks. Not at all.
“You’re a softy, Martin,” she muttered to herself.” And you’re crazy. A fool for people in love. Unfortunately, it never happens to you.” She snorted and curled onto her side. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. She didn’t want to think about all that now. It was rare that she ever admitted to herself how much she really wanted a man who would love her unconditionally. In her experience, that man didn’t exist. She just hoped Jillie wasn’t setting herself up for major heartache.
But it was expected that someday she, Kim, would marry. It was all her mother talked about. “Find a good husband, Kim,” she’d say. “Settle into a nice house in the suburbs on the east side of town. Find someone who can provide for you, make your life easier, give you a sense of respect in the community. Stability. You know how important appearances are, my dear.”
Yeah, Kim knew. Her father was a successful local businessman. Bloodline insurance broker. The bucks just rolled in. Her mother, bless her heart, had never lifted a finger in her life. She was all for Kim’s going to college. Thought it was a wonderful place to find a lawyer or a doctor for a husband. But she’d been appalled when Kim majored in education—and actually planned to teach. The thing was, Kim loved her job. She enjoyed working with teenagers. Before she’d earned her guidance counselor degree, she’d taught high school Home Economics. And even if she did say so herself, she was a darned good teacher. It was easy for her to gain the respect of the students, which to her, was half the battle for building a rapport that was essential for a successful school year.