LITMIR.BIZ

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she made for the curved stairway leading to the front door. If she was very lucky she could get rid of the dead mouse before the tenderfoot arrived.

      Luck was not on her side. The front door opened and Jack Chance ushered a broad-shouldered man through it. From this angle he didn’t look like a tenderfoot. His jeans were slightly worn and his blue chambray shirt was faded. His leather suitcase was scuffed up some, and even his hat seemed broken in. If she didn’t know better, she’d think this was a seasoned cowboy, and a nicely built one, at that.

      Jack closed the door behind them. “I’ll take you straight upstairs so you can get settled in before dinner.”

      As Keri froze in position, unsure whether to go up or down, Jack spotted her. “Ah, Keri! Perfect! You can show Michael to his room. Michael Hartford, this is Keri Fitzpatrick, our housekeeper. I’m sure she has your room all ready.”

      Michael Hartford glanced up. “Nice to meet you, Keri.”

      “Nice to meet you, too.” Whoa. Cute guy. Square jaw, strong nose and dreamy eyes that were an unusual blue-gray color. He looked vaguely familiar, too, although she was sure she didn’t know anybody named Michael Hartford.

      She’d love to show him to his room, but not while she was holding an extremely dead mouse. “Um, Jack, before I show Mr. Hartford to his room, I need to—”

      “What’s that godawful smell?” Jack wrinkled his nose.

      “I found a dead mouse under one of the bunks.”

      “It’s in that box?”

      “Yes, and I—”

      “Let me have it.” Jack started up the stairs. “I’ll throw it in the trash.”

      Although it might not be wise to disagree with the man who signed her paycheck, Keri couldn’t let him take the mouse. “That’s okay. I’m going to bury it out back. I won’t be a minute. The guest room is all ready.” She started down the stairs.

      “You’re going to do what?” Blocking her passage, Jack shoved his hat back with his thumb as he stared up at her.

      She paused on the step above him. “Bury it.” Jack could be intimidating, but she’d also seen him melt whenever he was with Archie, his little son. Jack had marshmallow insides. “The boys fixed it up with tissues and everything, like it was in a little coffin.”

      Jack’s mouth twitched and amusement flickered in his dark eyes. “Keri, those boys are gone. They’ll never know what happened to the mouse. Besides, they obviously forgot all about this burial they’d planned.”

      “I realize that, but it was a sweet impulse, a sign they cared for this little creature. I think it proves that they made progress while they were here, and I’d like to carry out their wishes.”

      “Or else it was meant as a joke.”

      “I prefer to believe it was sincere.”

      “All righty, then.” Jack moved aside to let her pass. “Bury it deep. Put a few stones on top. That thing stinks to high heaven and I don’t want the dogs digging it up.”

      “I’ll dig a deep hole.” She gave their visitor a quick smile as she walked past him. “Welcome to the Last Chance Ranch, Mr. Hartford. Sorry about the dead mouse.”

      He smiled back. “May it rest in peace.”

      “That’s the idea.” She held his gaze for a little longer than was polite, but he had such beautiful eyes, especially when they were lit up with that warm smile of his. She hoped he wouldn’t always associate meeting her with the smell of dead animals.

       2

      AFTER HIS INTRODUCTION to Keri Fitzpatrick, Michael decided he was going to like it here. Most women he knew would refuse to deal with a dead rodent, and if forced to do so, would grab the first opportunity to get rid of it. Instead, Keri had held on to the stinky mouse because she respected the impulse that had caused someone to tuck it into a matchbox.

      He would have admired her spunky behavior whether she’d been pretty or not, but she was pretty, which made the encounter even better. He’d thoroughly enjoyed those few seconds of gazing into her vivid green eyes. The fact that she was flushed and sweaty made her eyes even brighter and her dark hair more tempting as it escaped from her ponytail and curled damply at her neck.

      Her disheveled state probably wasn’t her favorite way to greet visitors, but she hadn’t bothered to apologize for how she looked. She’d only been concerned about the foul smell of a decaying animal. Good thing he didn’t have a weak stomach.

      “Sorry about that,” Jack said. “Ready to go up?”

      “You bet.” Michael wanted to ask about Keri. The scene with the dead mouse had charmed him, and when she’d spoken he’d heard a familiar accent. She was from back east somewhere. Not New York, but close.

      He’d felt an instant attraction, and her steady gaze had told him she’d been drawn to him, too. But he didn’t ask Jack about her, because that would imply he was intrigued. Maybe he was, but he was here to learn riding and roping skills, not romance the housekeeper.

      Pursuing her would be a rotten way to repay the Last Chance’s generous hospitality. Besides, it would be totally out of character for him. He wasn’t a sexual opportunist, ready to make a move on any good-looking woman he ran across.

      “The smell should fade in a bit,” Jack said. “At least you’ll be at the other end of the hall. The boys stayed down there.” He gestured to his right as he topped the stairs. “It’ll be a lot more peaceful up here now that they’re gone.”

      “Will you miss them?”

      Jack glanced at him. “Interesting that you should ask. I will miss those varmints. When they’re here, I’m ready to tear my hair out, but when they leave, the place seems too quiet.”

      “I can imagine. All that energy must grow on you.” Michael was impressed by what he’d heard of the program, which Jack had casually described during the ride from the airport.

      Judging from the offhand way Jack had talked about it, he’d only intended to give Michael some background in case the subject came up while he was at the ranch. But Michael had made a mental note to donate to the cause. Jack had refused to charge anything for this week because he claimed it was an honor to tutor his favorite living author. So Michael would reimburse Jack in a different way, one the cowboy couldn’t refuse.

      “We had to shovel them out of here, though,” Jack said, “to make room for wedding guests arriving at the end of the week.”

      “Right. The wedding.” Bethany had told Michael that Sarah, the ranch’s matriarch, was marrying Peter Beckett. Sarah had been widowed several years ago, and everyone seemed thrilled that she’d fallen in love again. “I’m still worried that I’m here at a bad time.”

      “No, you’re here at a good time.” Jack grinned as they headed down the hall. “Much as I love my mother and respect Pete, I hate all the fuss and bother that goes into the planning stages of a wedding. You’re the perfect excuse to get me out of that. Come Saturday I’ll dress up and play my role, but until then I’m busy with an important pupil.”

      Michael had an uneasy moment. “Why am I so important? I thought nobody knows who I am.”

      “Don’t worry. They don’t. But you’re Bethany’s friend. Nash is like family, and Bethany married Nash, so now Bethany’s like family, too. So any friend of Bethany’s is a friend of ours.”

      “I see.” Apparently the right connections mattered in the West just as they mattered back east.

      “Here’s your room. Used to be mine before I got married, but the furniture’s all different.” Jack walked through a door on the left side of the hallway.

      Michael followed

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