LITMIR.BIZ

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year-round we have to be careful to manage the pastures to keep from overgrazing, as well as make sure we have enough graze to mow for hay in the summer to put up for the winter months. That’s why we keep a constant check on grazing conditions and move the herds frequently. Having the extra land would give us some breathing room with that, as well as expanding the herd.”

      His knowledge about the needs of the cattle he raised impressed her and Fee made a mental note of the information. Since he supplied beef for the Lassiter Grill Group, it was definitely something she could envision using if she was assigned future promotions for the restaurant chain.

      When Chance stopped the truck on top of a ridge, Fee’s breath caught at the sight of the valley below. It looked like a scene out of a Western movie. “This is where you live?”

      Smiling proudly, he nodded. “This is the Lassiter homestead. The house wasn’t always this big, though. When I did the renovations before I moved in, I added several rooms and the wraparound porch on to the original log cabin.”

      “It’s really beautiful,” Fee said, meaning it. She pointed to two small houses on the far side of the valley. “Are those the cottages you mentioned for the married hired hands?”

      “Slim and Lena Garrison live in one and Hal and June Wilson live in the other,” Chance answered. “Slim is the ranch foreman and Hal is the head wrangler.” He pointed toward a good-size log structure not far from the three barns behind the house. “That’s the bunkhouse, where the single guys stay.”

      “This would be the perfect place to film some of the videos I’m planning,” Fee said, thinking aloud. She noticed that Chance didn’t comment as he restarted the truck and drove down into the valley. “You do realize that I’m not going to give up until you agree to be the Lassiter spokesman, don’t you?”

      “It never crossed my mind that you would,” he said, grinning as he parked the truck in front of the house. He got out to come around and open her door. “You’re here to try to talk me into taking on the job and I’m going to try to convince you that you’d be better off finding someone else.”

      Anything she was about to say lodged in her throat when he lifted her from the truck and set her on her feet. She placed her hands on his biceps to steady herself and the latent strength she felt beneath his chambray shirt caused her pulse to race and an interesting little flutter in a part of her that had no business fluttering.

      “Why do you keep...doing that?” she asked.

      “What?”

      “You keep lifting me in and out of the truck,” she said, even though she enjoyed the feel of his solid strength beneath her palms. “I’m perfectly capable of doing that for myself.”

      “Two reasons, sweetheart.” He leaned close to whisper, “I’m trying to be helpful. But more than that, I like touching you.”

      Her breath caught and when her gaze locked with his, she wasn’t sure if she would ever breathe again. He was going to kiss her. And heaven help her, she was going to let him.

      But instead of lowering his head to capture her lips with his, Chance took a deep breath a moment before he stepped back and turned to get her luggage from the backseat. She did her best to cover her disappointment by looking beyond the house toward the fenced-in areas around the barn.

      “What are all these pens used for?” she asked.

      “We use the bigger ones for sorting the herds during roundup,” he answered as he closed the truck door. “The smaller ones are for sick or injured animals that need to be treated or quarantined. The round one we use for training the working stock or breaking them to ride.”

      “You have all that going on at one time?” she asked, starting toward the porch steps.

      “Sometimes it can be pretty busy around here,” he said, laughing as he opened the front door for her.

      When Fee entered and looked around the foyer, she immediately fell in love with Chance’s home. The log walls had aged over the years to a beautiful warm honey color and were adorned with pieces of colorful Native American artwork along with cowboy-related items like a pair of well-worn spurs hanging next to a branding iron. Although the Big Blue’s main ranch house, where she had attended the wedding, was quite beautiful, it had a more modern feel about it. Chance’s home, on the other hand, had that warm, rustic appeal that could only be achieved with the passage of time.

      “This is really beautiful,” she said, gazing up at the chandelier made of deer antlers. “Did you decorate it?”

      “Yeah, I just look like the type of guy who knows all about that stuff, don’t I?” Laughing, he shook his head. “After I finished adding on to the cabin and modernizing things like the kitchen and bathrooms, I turned the house over to my mom for the decorating. She has a real knack for that kind of thing.”

      “Marlene did a wonderful job,” Fee said, smiling. “She should have been a professional interior decorator.”

      “She was too busy chasing a houseful of kids.” Before she could ask what he meant, he nodded toward the stairs. “Would you like to see your room?”

      “Absolutely,” she said as they started upstairs. She couldn’t believe how eager she sounded about the bedroom, considering the moment they had just shared out by the truck. To cover the awkwardness, she added, “I can’t wait to see what your mother did with the bedrooms.”

      When they reached the second floor, Chance directed her toward a room at the far end of the hall and opened the door. “If you don’t like this one, there are four more you can choose from.”

      “I love it,” Fee said, walking into the cheery room.

      The log walls were the same honey color as the ones downstairs, but the room had a more feminine feel to it with the yellow calico curtains and bright patchwork quilt on the log bed. An antique mirror hung on the wall above a cedar-log dresser with a white milk glass pitcher and bowl on top. But her favorite feature of the room had to be the padded window seat beneath the double windows. She could imagine spending rainy afternoons curled up with a good book and a cup of hot peach tea on that bench.

      “Your private bathroom is just through there,” he said, pointing toward a closed door as he set her luggage on the hardwood plank floor.

      “Thank you, Chance.” She continued to look around. “This is just fine.”

      “I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen if you need anything. When you get your things unpacked, come on down and we’ll see what there is for supper.” He stepped closer and lightly touched her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “And just so you know, I am going to do what both of us want.”

      “W-what’s that?” she asked, wondering why the sound of his voice made her feel warm all over.

      Her heart skipped a beat when his gaze locked with hers. But when he lightly traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb, a shiver of anticipation slid up her spine and goose bumps shimmered over her skin.

      “I’m going to kiss you, Fee,” he said, his tone low and intimate. “And soon.” Without another word, he turned and walked out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

      Staring after him, she would have liked to deny that he was right about what she wanted. But she couldn’t. She had thought he was going to kiss her when he came to get her at the rental house this afternoon and then again when they arrived at the ranch. Both times she’d been disappointed when he hadn’t.

      With her knees wobbling, she crossed the room to sit on the side of the bed. What on earth had gotten into her? She had a job to do and a promotion to earn. She didn’t need the added distraction of a man in her life—even if it was only briefly.

      But as she sat there wondering why he was more tempting than any other man she’d ever met, Fee knew without a shadow of doubt that the chemistry between herself and Chance was going to be extremely hard to resist. Every time he got within ten feet of her,

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