LITMIR.BIZ

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it was the next ranch, just a little ways down the road. She kept looking for a house, or at least a driveway. After twenty minutes, she wondered if she’d gone in the wrong direction. Then she saw a house. The mailbox on the side of the road said Walker, so she guessed she’d finally found the infamous Ryan Walker. She pulled up to the porch and got out of her car.

      She dusted off her black suit and climbed the steps to the porch. She couldn’t see any lights on in the house, but maybe the kitchen and den were in the back of the house and couldn’t be seen from the road. She knocked, but there was no response. She knocked again, louder this time. The third time she pounded.

      She wasn’t going away without talking to the man. She climbed down the steps and walked around to the back of the house. There were no lights visible back there either. She returned to the front porch and sat down on the top step, wondering what she should do.

      Then she saw lights coming down the road. Maybe he’d run into town for a few minutes and was now returning. She hoped so.

      She stood, tucking a strand of hair into place as a black truck pulled in, passing her car and continuing on past the house. She walked to the side of the house to see if it stopped in the back. When it did, she drew a deep sigh of relief.

      RYAN WALKER was tired. He’d spent a long day in the saddle. Then he’d gone into town to pick up Beth, his three-year-old daughter from his cousin Millie. He didn’t want company, especially company dressed like a city woman. In fact, when he’d first seen the woman on his porch, he’d been afraid it was Tiffany, his ex-wife. He sure didn’t want to see her ever again.

      He had things to do that night. Especially after what Millie had told him. The first thing he needed to do was to talk to Mabel and Florence and make it clear he wasn’t interested in getting married. Millie told him they had visited her, telling her she’d be doing him a favor if she stopped taking care of Beth. Then he’d marry the new lady in town. Fool women!

      “Daddy? What’s the matter?” Beth asked, staring at him.

      “I’m too tired for company, sugar. There’s a lady at our front door.”

      “Why?”

      He thought of several answers, but Beth was only three. He didn’t want to upset his beloved daughter.

      “I don’t know. I’ll find out while you wash your hands for dinner.”

      “Are we going to eat those hamburgers?”

      “We sure are.” He’d driven through a fast-food place after he’d picked up Beth. He was too tired to cook tonight.

      He parked the truck and took his daughter into the house. “Go wash up. I’ll be right back.”

      Then he walked through the house to the front door, seldom opened because his friends always came to the back door. He clicked on the porch light as he spoke. “Hello.”

      “Oh! Mr. Walker. You are Mr. Walker, aren’t you?”

      Damn it! The woman was the one he’d almost run down this morning. Her vibrant red hair was all tied up tonight, but he’d noticed it this morning. She was dressed in city clothes.

      “Yeah. What do you want?” He knew his voice was gruff, not inviting, but he didn’t believe in spending much time around beautiful city women. They didn’t fit into his world.

      “I understand you’re the authority on ranching in the county.” Her voice was cool, skepticism in it, which he resented.

      “Yeah, probably.”

      “I’m your neighbor to the east. My name is Suzanne McCoy. I’m guardian to Mary Lee and Rodger Howe’s children.” She waited, as if she expected him to say something, but he only nodded. “I have a problem.”

      “What?”

      “I don’t have any employees except for old Al.”

      “What happened to them?”

      “I fired them because they were stealing from the children.” She held her chin up as if she expected him to tell her she’d made a mistake.

      “Good. I wasn’t sure you knew.”

      She looked down. “I didn’t until last night when I heard them bragging. And I fired them before I called the sheriff. They quickly left the ranch, and now no one knows where they are.”

      “And?”

      “I need some cowboys, Mr. Walker. And I know nothing about what they do or how I can tell if they’re good, honest men. Everyone I talked to in town told me to speak to you. Please, will you help me?”

      “Did you talk to Florence and Mabel?”

      “Well, yes, I did.”

      “Well, Miss McCoy, I’ll loan you a couple of hands for a week. That’s the most I can spare. But no matter what Mabel and Florence said, I’m not going to marry you, no matter what you say!”

      Chapter Two

      Suzanne took a step back, her mouth gaping open. Was the man crazy? “What?”

      “You heard me. Those women are always trying to match people up, but I’m not that desperate!”

      Her cheeks flamed and her temper boiled. “Neither am I!” she snapped.

      “Why do you look so surprised? Didn’t they suggest it?”

      She started to say that no one in their right mind would suggest such a thing, but then she remembered Mabel’s comment. “Mabel mentioned something about marriage, but I assumed she was joking.”

      “Well, now you know she wasn’t. And I’m not interested. Okay? Doug and Hinney will be over in the morning.” He started to close the door and Suzanne stopped him.

      “What Mabel and Florence suggested was that we barter.”

      “Barter? I don’t think you have anything I want.”

      His words were insulting, and she almost gave up. But she needed help. Clenching her teeth, she muttered one word. “Baby-sitting.”

      “Daddy?” Beth asked as she pushed past his legs to stand in front of him, looking at the woman.

      “Beth, go back to the kitchen. You can go ahead and start eating, okay?”

      Suzanne noted that his voice gentled when he spoke to his child. She squatted down. “Hello, Beth. My name is Suzanne. How are you?”

      “Fine,” Beth said with a big smile.

      “Beth, go to the kitchen at once!” This time his voice wasn’t gentle. It was harsh and threatening. His daughter looked at him in surprise and then scurried back down the long hall.

      “I wasn’t going to hurt her,” she protested.

      “You don’t know anything about her, and I’d like to keep it that way. Even for baby-sitting, I’m not going to take over your ranch. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

      She drew herself up straight, throwing back her shoulders. “They also mentioned water rights.” She waited for his reaction.

      “Yeah. You’ve got good water and I don’t. Congratulations. My two men will be there in the morning. Figure out something before the week is up.” Then he closed the door in her face.

      Suzanne was furious at his rudeness. But she didn’t dare bang on the door again. He might cancel the two men coming over tomorrow for a week. They were better than nothing. Maybe with Al to help them, they could take care of things for a week. Surely by then she’d find some cowboys who were looking for work. She had to. One way or another she would preserve Josh and Mandy’s heritage.

      SUZANNE WAS UP before daylight the next morning, wanting to greet the two cowboys Ryan Walker had said he would send over. She’d told Al the night before

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