“Is that Linda?”
Matt looked over his shoulder and laughed. “Naw, that’s Stephanie Lakins. Linda was her great grandma. It’s kind of a family business.”
“I guess so.” She returned Matt’s smile. “What made you pick accounting?” She settled back in her chair, confident that lunch would be tasty and the company enjoyable enough to pass the time.
As the door opened with a chime of bells, however, her feeling of contentment fell away in an instant. She recognized that brassy blonde hair, stiletto heels, and much too short skirt. Lacey Taylor, Ethan’s ex-fiancee. Was it too late to hide?
Lacey spotted her, narrowed her eyes, and dragged Carl with her over to stand before Autumn.
Yes, it was.
“Well, good morning – look what we have here!” she trilled, looking from Autumn to Matt and back again. “Are you negotiating your pre-nup with Ethan’s accountant, or moving on to greener pastures?”
Carl looked distinctly uncomfortable and Autumn wondered why he didn’t say anything. Probably out of fear Lacey would leave him like she left Ethan. Men seemed infinitely able to overlook a woman’s bitchiness if her breasts were perky and her feet stuffed into a pair of high heels.
“None of your business, Lacey,” Matt said. “You just run along and play.”
Autumn bit her lip to keep from laughing at Lacey’s expression. Clearly, she wasn’t used to being brushed aside so easily. She bent down, dangling her ample breasts directly in Matt’s line of sight. The accountant raised an eyebrow. “I’m just looking out for Ethan, honey. Who is this woman, anyway? She appears out of nowhere, suddenly she’s engaged to him and now she’s having lunch with his accountant? You better believe I’m going to tell him I saw the two of you together. If you think you can mess with my man, you’re highly mistaken.” She finished by narrowing her eyes at Autumn.
“Your man?” Carl and Matt chimed together. Autumn was too busy letting her jaw drop to the ground to say anything.
“Oh…you know what I mean,” Lacey said, her color heightening. “I may not want to marry Ethan Cruz, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have his best interests at heart. I don’t want to see him taken to the cleaners by some New York City call girl.”
“Seriously?” Autumn squeaked. “Did you just call me a hooker?” She stood up, but so did Matt. He put a hand on her arm and stepped between her and Lacey.
“Carl, if I were you I’d get Lacey out of here before she makes a complete ass out of herself. People are watching.”
Carl put an arm around Lacey and tugged her toward the door. “Come on, Sugar, let’s try the Soup n’ Salad today; I’m not in the mood for diner food.”
“I’m not done here!” Lacey shrugged him off and turned on Autumn. “You know Ethan’s broke, don’t you? You know he has to sell the ranch?” She took Autumn’s speechlessness as a negative. “See, Carl – he’s doing it again! Honey, he’s lying to you just like he did to me. Let me guess – first he wined and dined you, made you feel all quivery with those baby blue eyes, put his diamond ring on your finger…and didn’t even bother to let you know he’s up to his eyeballs in debt. Am I right or am I right?” She leaned closer. “That’s exactly what he did to me. I had to learn about his money problems from Claire – his sister. Have you met his sister?”
Autumn nodded.
“Good. I hope she told you the ranch is for sale.”
Carl tugged on Lacey’s arm. “Sugar, that’s enough. Let’s go.”
“We’re going to buy it, you know. Me and Carl. Isn’t that right, Carl?”
Carl closed his eyes and for a split second Autumn almost felt sorry for the man. Almost. “Honey, I thought we decided to keep that a secret.”
“You decided that. I want Ethan and his new fiancée to know exactly who’s buying their property. Ethan’s land is next to Carl’s, you know. When we merge them we’ll have the biggest spread in four counties. If Ethan’s looking for work, maybe we’ll hire him. Maybe.”
“Lacey, that’s enough. Out the door – now.”
Autumn blinked when Carl nearly picked Lacey up and shoved her bodily out the front door. Her mind spun with the information she’d just learned. “Is she for real?” She’d better let Ethan know Lacey’s plans as soon as possible, although she didn’t relish the idea. Ethan was going to blow his top.
“Oh, Lacey’s always been like that, but I didn’t think Carl would be such an idiot,” Matt said. “He’s already an outsider in this town, coming here and building his McMansion on the old Frommer ranch. If he takes the Cruz ranch…” He shook his head. “He’ll be mighty unpopular.”
“I’m not sure he cares about being popular.” She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “He just cares about Lacey. I think Lacey still cares about Ethan, though. At least she doesn’t want him to move on.”
“She’s out for vengeance, I’d say.” She appreciated the calm confidence of this man. He was going to make someone a good husband someday, if he wasn’t already married. “And she’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Your sudden appearance in town has raised questions, you know. You and Ethan might want to tell your story to a few of the local gossips before someone else starts a story for you, if you know what I mean.”
“Thanks for the advice,” she said slowly. What did Matt think of her relationship with Ethan? What would everyone think if they knew the truth of why she’d come here? She needed to cut her ties with the magazine, get her ducks in order and put her relationship with Ethan on solid ground – fast – before someone discovered the truth and broadcast it. All of this was so crazy – so backwards! First she’d agreed to marriage – well, she’d fake-agreed to it; then she’d gotten pregnant – maybe; and now she was falling in love with her intended.
Wait.
What?
Did she love Ethan?
Yes, she did.
How could she – she’d barely known him a week.
Yet his every touch took her breath away, the life he led called to her like nothing else ever had. She wanted what this marriage would bring her – a husband, a family, a career, even a community. She would have a place in all of it that was just for her.
She thought about Ethan’s concern for her wellbeing since she’d arrived, the work ethic that had him racing out to the fields before dawn to meet his crew and get to his chores, the loyalty to ranch, family and hired help that made him want to turn things around for the benefit of all of them. And the way he made love to her…
Yes, she loved Ethan Cruz.
But did he love her back?
She thought so. She’d just have to stick around long enough to find out. And that meant presenting her plan to save the ranch to Ethan before Claire got too caught up in the idea of selling it to Lacey. Now that she had all the information she needed, she’d get her shopping done fast and head right home. Would Ethan agree her idea was a good one?
Would it work?
* * * * *
When Ethan said good-bye to Jamie and headed home to the bunkhouse, he found pizza cooking in the oven – homemade, by the looks of things – but Autumn nowhere to be found. Ten minutes remained on the timer, and he hoped he could get a shower in before they sat down to eat.
“Autumn?”
As he moved down the hall, he heard the clack of fingernails on a keyboard. Was she still working on that proposal?
“Autumn? You in there?”
“Yep! Just finishing up.” He heard a rustle of paper and the rattling sound of an office chair being pushed away from a desk.
“Do I have time for a shower?” He poked his head around the door and was unexpectedly met by a kiss.
“Sure, if you’re fast. Don’t be too long, though – we really need to talk about my plan.” She returned to the small corner desk and began to type again.
“I can be fast.” He waited a beat for her to laugh, but she was already engrossed in the spreadsheet on her laptop again. She really must be into this idea of hers, whatever it was. He hoped she wasn’t getting her hopes up too high that they could keep the ranch. Oh, who was he kidding – his hopes were high and he didn’t have the slightest idea how to manage it. Sighing, he headed for their bedroom and began to strip down.
The hot water sluiced away all the dust and aches of eleven hours spent out of doors doing physical work. It had been the kind of day he liked best. Work to do and typical ranch problems to solve, but nothing insurmountable – and no new bills. Jamie was always a good companion. He knew when to talk and when to keep quiet, and he always pulled his own weight.
He wished he could offer him the guarantee of a stable income. It weighed on him that if he didn’t figure out something quick, Jamie would be one of the first to suffer. Of course a horseman like him could find work on just about any ranch. Still, he treated Jamie like family – always had – and he knew that counted a lot with a man.
Had Autumn found a way to buy out his sister? It would be a miracle, and he could use one of those right about now.
Five minutes later he was sitting at the kitchen table, biting off the triangular end of a slice of the most delicious pizza he’d ever had. Autumn sat across from him, her hands held stiffly in her lap. Was she nervous? Maybe he shouldn’t have started eating yet. He dropped the slice back on his plate, wiped his hands and took a drink of milk.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself – the pizza smells great. Tastes great, too.”
She smiled a little. “I have some bad news and some good news. I’m going to tell you the bad news first. Please don’t get upset.”
Crud. That didn’t sound good. “Okay – shoot.”
She took a deep breath. “Lacey and Carl want to buy the ranch. They’ve already talked to Claire about it. Ethan, you promised!”
He surged out of his chair so fast it tipped over. “They what? Uh-uh, no way. They’ll have to pry the deed out of my dead, stiff fingers first.”
“Ethan. Sit down – listen. I told you I have an idea.”
It was all he could do to bite back the torrent of curses that wanted to spill from his lips. Damn Lacey and Carl to hell. He’d spend the rest of his days in a federal penitentiary rather than allow them to take over his ranch. He pulled the chair upright and carefully sat back down.
“I know you’re upset. I was, too, but I talked to Matt about my idea and he thinks it’s a good one. Are you calm enough to hear me out?”
He wanted to kick himself for losing his temper when all Autumn was trying to do was help. What kind of husband would he be if the first sign of trouble sent him throwing chairs and swearing up a blue streak? He had to do better than that.
“I’ll behave,” he said and let the corner of his lips quirk up. Her expression softened and she met his gaze with shining eyes.
“A guest ranch.” She waited for his reaction.
“Hmm?”
“A guest ranch! We turn the Big House into guest accommodations and make money off of tourists!”
He sat back, a frown thinning his lips.
“Hear me out,” Autumn said. “It doesn’t have to interfere with the normal running of the ranch at all. You barely have to be involved if you don’t want to be – we can hire people to do most of the work with the guests. You and Jamie and the rest of the hands just need to be around looking…I don’t know – cowboy-ish, you know?”
“You want me and Jamie to be tourist attractions?”
“For heaven’s sake, there are guest ranches all over Montana. Surely you know someone who has one.” She looked exasperated.
Ethan forced himself to think over her words. Yes, he did know people who owned guest ranches. He’d just never considered the idea for himself before. He’d always expected to have his father’s help running cattle, and that his income would always come from that line of work. “I wouldn’t have to lead trail rides?” he said warily.
“Not if you’re dead set against it. Of course, the more work we keep in the family, the more money we make.”
“Won’t there be a passel of start up costs?”
“Not as much as you might think.” She tossed him a pile of paper. “I’ve outlined all the numbers in there. I made a budget for the next three years with some income projections and so on. The Big House is already gorgeous – and with all its bedrooms and bathrooms it’s basically set up for accommodating guests already. The kitchen is professional grade and the dining room seats plenty of people. With us living in the bunkhouse there’s plenty of space for paying customers. That is, if you’re comfortable with people being in the Big House…” She trailed off, seeming nervous again. After a second, Ethan realized why.
“I’m all right with that,” he assured her. “After my parents died I didn’t want to live there alone, but I don’t mind if other people use it.”
“You might have to eat some dinners there,” she warned. “Entertain the guests with cowboy stories.”
“I can probably do that once in a while.”
“We will need some money,” Autumn warned him, “and we’ll need to buy Claire out. Matt has an idea for that. He said he has a buyer – not Lacey and Carl – who is interested in purchasing one hundred acres in the southeast corner. If we sell, we’ll have enough money to secure a second mortgage so we can pay off Claire. Things will be tight for a long time, but eventually we’ll get back in the black.”
“Who’s the buyer?”
“I don’t know. He said it might take a week or two for the buyer to get his money together, but it sounds like he’s definitely interested. We’ll have to figure out a way to hold off Claire until then.”