To Wed a Rancher (2 page)

“Will do, but if you meet any cute cowgirls give them my number. I've never been on a ranch.” It was a direct bid for an invitation, but Shane didn't fall in line. Oak Valley had never been a place where fun lived. He ended the conversation and headed down the road.

But Jim's comments about women stuck in his mind. Or at least the image of the woman in town did. The scene with her and the man had been tense, the proverbial car wreck a person couldn't look away from. Her chocolate-brown eyes had been vulnerable, but she'd also been defiant and proud. When Shane had dared to suggest that she might need help she'd given him a withering look, as if she was offended…or suspected that he might grow fangs and fur every full moon.

So he'd backed off, which was a good thing. Despite those eyes that made a man think of dark nights and pleasure, the last thing he needed was to get even remotely involved with a woman he associated with Moraine, especially one with trust issues.

Besides, right now his life was centered on work and on expanding his business into more distant markets. It was a good life. It was enough.

“So, back to business, Merritt.” The clock was ticking away, even faster now that he knew he had only three weeks. But this darn task…like it or not, he needed at least a little help. Some extra muscle, a short-term housekeeper and cook, someone who could take photos to help with the sales package.

“Hell.” The word slipped out as he glanced up ahead and saw a small figure trudging down the gravel road, a red duffle bag banging against one leg, a very expensive Hasselblad he hadn't noticed before hugged
tight against her other side. Her legs were covered in dust. She already looked beat up. And it was miles to any where.

He swore again beneath his breath, then pulled up beside her, prepared for another round of
Get away from me. I don't need any help.
He wanted to keep moving like fire wanted fuel, but several things stopped him. She was alone on a lonely road with night drawing near, and he couldn't just leave her alone in the dark. The woman didn't even have a flashlight to guide her; she wasn't wearing anything reflective. Besides, he couldn't forget those pretty, distressed eyes…or help wondering whether she could cook and just how skilled she was with that camera….

 

Rachel heard a car coming up behind her and instinctively stepped farther off the road, hugging her camera closer to her body. Out here in the middle of what had to be Big Sky country, if the ceiling of pure blue was to be trusted, she felt naked, vulnerable. There was absolutely nowhere to go if she needed to run.

Not that she would need it, but self-protection was simply an instinct for someone like her. She took one more step to the right.

The car slowed.

Her heartbeat picked up. She didn't speed up—what was the point?—but she tried to take another step farther away.

“Don't,” that deep, already familiar voice ordered as the car stopped. “Barbed wire is very unforgiving.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked to the right. Okay, there it was. Barbed wire.

“What do you want?” She tried to make her voice
brave as he got out of the car. What would she do if he moved closer?

To her relief, he didn't take another step. He stayed on the driver's side, two tons of metal between them.

“What do I want? Not what you apparently think.”

“What do you think I think?” She forced herself to stare him dead in the eyes. Those silver-blue eyes that made her want to look away…or keep staring at him. She frowned.

He scowled down at her thin-soled shoes that hadn't been made for walking long distances. “You're miles from anywhere, you know.”

“Is that a threat?” She hoped she sounded brave.

“Not a threat. A fact.” He held out his hands, open-palmed, as if to show her that he was weaponless or helpless or…something harmless…which she was sure wasn't true. He was a big man and, even if he wasn't a threat physically, he had that solid heartbreaker look about him. The kind of look that made a woman's chest grow tight and her breathing uneven. She hated that, and, given her recent circumstances and decisions, she looked at him more critically and came to the conclusion that a man like that was not to be trusted. Maybe if she'd done more critical thinking the day Dennis had given a workshop at the camera shop where she'd been working she wouldn't be in this fix now.

“Mind if I ask where you're headed?” he asked.

She did mind. She didn't want to talk to him. But the truth was that she'd been wondering for the past twenty minutes if she was walking in the right direction.

“The woman who runs the diner told me that someone named Ruby would rent me a room.”

“She's still doing that, is she?”

Rachel blinked. “Don't you know?”

“I don't live here anymore. But if you're looking for Ruby, then you missed the turn out of town maybe a mile and a half back.”

The shot of energy that had run through her earlier had worn off after she'd realized that for now she was lost and stuck, tired and hungry, and in a really bad place. Now, with this bit of bad news, Rachel felt her spirits fall even lower than they already were. “And how far past the turn is her place?”

“Two miles or so.”

She forced herself not to sit down in the dirt right then. Instead, she held herself as erect as she could and started to turn around.

“Do you have a phone?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

She didn't want to say. “Why?”

“I'm going to have you call Ruby.”

“Does she have a shuttle service?”

The briefest of smiles transformed his handsome face into something truly, outrageously gorgeous before it disappeared as if it had never existed. Rachel wished that she hadn't noticed his looks. They were completely irrelevant and acknowledging them was…not helpful. Not helpful at all.

“A shuttle service? Not that I know of. But if you call her you can ask her about me, so that I can give you a ride.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Let's just say that I don't need you on my conscience.”

Ordinarily, Rachel would have bristled at that, but right now she was too tired. “How do I know that you and Ruby aren't in cahoots?”

“You don't, but if that's the case then Angie would have to be in with us, too, right?”

He had a point. Rachel wished that her mind wasn't so fried. Getting in a car with a stranger? A handsome, dangerous stranger who was probably used to getting his way simply by offering up a few dimpled smiles? “I'm sorry. I'm from the city. I don't take rides from people I don't know well.”

The man blew out a breath. He gave her a look, and what she read in it was probably not what he was really thinking. She had been riding around the country with Dennis, and she clearly didn't know as much about him as she'd thought she had. Still…

“My phone was in the glove compartment of Dennis's car,” she admitted.

“I see.” He pulled an expensive phone from his pocket and moved just close enough to hand it to her. “I'd give you the number, but I haven't been here for a while.”

She nodded, then dialed directory assistance. “What's your name?” she whispered loudly as she dialed Ruby's Rooftop Restaurant and Rooming House. “Shane Merritt.”

“So…Ruby will tell me you're a good guy?”

“No. She'll probably tell you some personal stuff I don't want to think about and that I'm a jackass, but I'm not the kind of jackass who kidnaps women.”

Rachel stopped dialing. She stared up at him. “So…even though you've just admitted that you're not a good guy, you just want to give me a ride? That's all this is about?”

“Not exactly. I told you. I'm not stellar material. I do have ulterior motives, but nothing that should make
you worry or run in the opposite direction. I have a few simple questions and I need simple answers.”

What was this about? A sense of unease settled into her stomach. But this man apparently knew the woman who might, if she was lucky, let her stay the night for free. It wouldn't do to tick him off. “Ask.”

He stared directly into her eyes. “How much do you know about cooking and cleaning?”

That was an easy one. Almost nothing. But clearly that would be the wrong answer. That kind of a question sounded as if there was a job attached. Right now, given her dire circumstances, she was entertaining all possibilities. She could always run if she didn't like the questions that followed.

“I know enough,” she said carefully, desperately telling herself that it wasn't a lie.
Enough
was a relative answer.

He nodded, but she could tell that wasn't exactly the answer he was seeking. “How well do you know how to use that camera and…is it possible that you have a few weeks to kill?”

As if he'd said something about her child, she wrapped one palm protectively around the Hasselblad. “Okay, now you're creeping me out.” She started punching in the numbers for Ruby's place again, as if just hearing a woman's voice would save her from this crazy man. “I don't know what this is about, but I don't take kinky pictures and I can't imagine what you would want with my camera or me or—”

He scowled and held up his hand, those dangerous blue eyes looking even more dangerous. “You're mistaken if you think I'm interested in anything kinky or even close to personal.”

He looked so ticked off that Rachel knew she'd
taken a wrong turn. Her brain searched for answers and lit on one that seemed remotely plausible. If she was right, maybe there was a chance she
could
earn enough money to get her across the country. “I know. You have a wife. Maybe children. You need a housekeeper and maybe…you want a family portrait? Because yes, I can absolutely do that for you. I can take photos of your family.” And she would charge extra this time, enough to earn her way to Maine. Where she would figure out the next logical step. Hopefully.

Unfortunately, Shane was looking at her as if she'd just said something obscene. “No family of any kind. No people. Things. I'm selling a ranch and all its furnishings and machinery. Everything has to go, down to the nails in the floor. There'll be an auction, maybe some bits and pieces offered on the internet. I just need someone to help get the house in saleable condition. And someone to take a few photos to help market the place. If you can do both, that's a bonus, because I have an extremely short time to hire people, pull this all together and get this deal done.”

“I see.”

“You don't, but it doesn't matter. Do you have time? Would you consider taking on a job? I can make it worth your while. Unless…”

She waited.

“Maybe you have to get back home?”

Well, she had to get away from here, and now that she'd set her sights on Maine she needed to look for work there, but it didn't have to be this minute. In fact, a little advance planning and money wouldn't be a bad idea, and this job Shane Merritt was offering looked to be her best bet to gain some breathing room and
perspective and get her where she wanted to go. Still, Rachel knew better than to simply accept a man's word.

She dialed Ruby's number, completing it this time. Carefully, she explained that she had gotten a recommendation for Ruby from Angie at the diner, but she had gotten lost. She had a chance for a ride with someone named Shane Merritt.

“Shane Merritt?” The woman yelled Shane's name so loud that Rachel's eardrums cried out in pain. She held the phone away from her ear and punched on the speakerphone. “Shane Merritt is back in town? That wicked, heartless devil.”

Rachel blinked. Shane, amazingly enough, didn't look even remotely surprised or upset. “You think I'd be crazy to get a ride from him, then?”

“He's trouble, all right.”

That didn't sound promising. “So I should say no?”

There was a pause. “Tell me, does he still look as sin fully gorgeous as ever? Like you'd just like to lick him from top to bottom?”

Rachel's eyes locked with Shane's. She felt her face turning warm as blood rushed in. She punched off the speakerphone.

“He looks…he looks pretty good. Healthy, I'd say.” She knew she was blushing even more as she struggled to get out of this mess.

“Hmm,” Ruby said. “I guess that's one way of putting it.”

“I—do you even have a room you can rent me?” Rachel asked, stumbling on.

“I do. I surely do. So, Shane's going to drive you here. Man, I haven't seen him in years. That jerk.” Ruby's voice seemed to vacillate between excitement and anger. “He was always trouble and always
in
trouble, too. Plus,
he was hardheaded, obstinate, slippery. Bad, unreliable, especially where women were concerned. Heartless. With you and making you feel loved one day and gone the next. Bad.”

“I see,” Rachel said quietly. “So I shouldn't ride with him?”

“What? Oh. No, hon, go ahead and ride with him. I've got no way to get you here. Just don't trust him to stick. He'll hurt you bad.”

Rachel nodded, then remembered that Ruby couldn't see her. “All right. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and looked at Shane.

“She says you're bad.”

He shrugged.

“She says you're slippery and obstinate.”

“Is that a problem? This is a short-term job. I'll be your boss. Obstinate comes with the territory.” He stared at Rachel unflinchingly, and that direct gaze of his made her feel too exposed. As if he knew her thoughts and that much of her bravado was a bluff. Still, he had a point. They were talking about working together, not dating.

“Not a problem,” she agreed.

“Good.” The word was clipped. He looked impatient. For some reason impatient looked very sexy on him. Rachel reminded herself that Ruby had told her not to trust him.