Fate's Intervention (17 page)

“
I thought you were in charge today.
Your
father
didn
’
t approve your hiring me either, so are you
telling me now that I may actually be out of a job before I
’
ve even had it a day.
”

Marcelle started at that. He was right. She had made a major decision without her
father
’
s input or approval, so why couldn
’
t she make another?
A
fter
all, she only had one skin to flay, so if she was going to lose it, she might as well make the loss worth it.

“
Very well, Mr. Daragh,
”
Marcelle said, continuing her trek toward the stables.
“
I
’
ll hear your proposal.
”

Matthew tugged at the reins of the three mares and followed,
“
I
’
ll fill you in after we reach the quartering stables and rid ourselves of these horses. It
’
s too much effort to yell at you.
”

“
Remember
you said that if you ever get mad at me,
”
Marcelle teased.

“
If I ever get mad at you, young lady, yelling will be the last thing I
’
d do to you,
”
Matthew teased in a menacing voice.

“
Oh, really!
”
Marcelle asked.
“
Exactly what
do
you do with women that you get mad with? You haven
’
t left a trail of dead bodies across the country, have you?
”

Matthew laughed,
“
Hardly.
”
Boy, she
’
s got a quick wit,
he thought, making him wonder if he ever really could get mad at her. He glanced over at her and his gaze fell on her lips. If he ever did find himself in an argument with her, it would be an extremely pleasant task quieting any outbursts she might have.

That thought brought a frown to his face. Those kinds of thoughts are the last ones he needed to have about his new boss
’
s daughter. What was wrong with him? Usually he tried to avoid women overall, yet now he was entertaining thoughts about kissing one of them.

“
Well, judging from the frown on your face, I
’
d
rather
not know what you
would
do to them,
”
Marcelle said.

“
What?
”
Matthew asked, snapping his attention away from her lips.

“
The
expression on your face,
”
Marcelle expounded,
“
looks like you just ate six lemons at once, which tells me that the thoughts you had about how to handle an argument with a woman could not possibly bode well for the woman.
”

“
A
ctually, I was thinking about kissing you,
”
Matthew said impulsively. He really was treading on thin ice.

“
What?
”
Marcelle halted in mid-stride. She stared at Matthew wide-eyed, like a doe caught in the sights of a hunter
’
s rifle.

“
If we were having an argument, I
’
d simply kiss you. Now, do you think we can drop the subject?
”
Matthew snapped, the brooding frown deepening on his face.
“
It
’
s inappropriate, at best.
”
T
hat
’
s a valid argument
, he thought. Especially when they
’
d already had a blunt conversation about his sexual prowess, kissing is nothing. Tantalizing, nonetheless.

“
I
’
m not the one who started it, if you recall
,
and
if the thought of kissing me makes your face pucker up like that, it probably wouldn
’
t be
that
great an experience for me either.
”

“
Don
’
t make me prove that statement wrong, Marcelle,
”
Matthew said, deliberately forgetting formality,
and
then turned and stormed away.

Marcelle couldn
’
t think of anything to say to that bold statement, or his use of her given name, which sounded too good coming from his lips, so she was all for dropping the subject. Her mind, on the other hand, had a field day trying to decide what it would be like if he should kiss her, and that had her rethinking her impulsive hiring of Mr. Daragh.

Of course, if she hadn
’
t hired him, then the dreams she
’
d entertained about
Weatherman
Stables would
remain unrealized; however,
if she was going to make the venture a success, then she was going to have to stop entertaining thoughts about the new employee.

“
How much for one night?
”
Matthew asked the stable-master, his
gaze
scanning the facilities for anything that might harm the newly purchased animals.

“
Well, if
’
n you want the one night, it
’
ll be four bits,
”
the old man said,
“
but if
’
n you want them fed in the mornin
’
, then it
’
ll be two bits extra.
”

“
That
seems
reason
able,
”
Matthew said, digging into his pocket for the required coins.

“
Each.
”

Matthew eyed the old man critically,
“
That
, on the other hand, is thievery, old man.
”

“
Yeah, well, I ain
’
t denying that, Mister,
”
the old man said with a toothless grin,
“
but this here is the only time I make enough to eat, so unless you want to be stabling your horse in the next town over, then that
’
ll be. . . .
”

“
Yes, I know
–
s
ix bits per horse.
”

“
That
’
s
a fact.
”

“
You had better
provide some mighty fine security for that price,
”
Matthew grumbled, pulling the money from his pocket.

“
Well, now, if you want to add a guard, then the price . . . ,
”
the old stable-master started,
“
will be at no extra charge,
”
he quickly amended when he saw the look in Matthew
’
s eyes.
“
In fact, I
’
ll be happy to watch over them myself
–
all night. I
’
ll be looking after them mighty fine, yes sirree.
”

Matthew slapped the man on the shoulder, which nearly sent him sprawling face down in the dirt,
“
Glad to hear it, old man. We
’
ll be over at sunrise to retrieve them, so they
’
ll need to eat before then.
”

“
Yes, sir. No problem, sir.
”

Matthew tipped his hat and headed outside. Marcelle was gently cooing to White Star while trying to keep his head from turning to catch a glimpse of his new harem. Matthew smiled at the sight as he approached.
He took White Star
’
s reins and his smiled widened at the relief that showed on Marcelle
’
s face.

“
You weren
’
t giving the beautiful lady any trouble were you, boy?
”
Matthew asked, and Marcelle blushed. The horse snorted and Matthew laughed.
“
Well, you shouldn
’
t have been. You
’
ll get your hooves on those mares soon enough. Now is certainly not the time.
”

“
I hope it didn
’
t cost you too much to stable them,
”
Marcelle said, after they saw the horses settled in their stalls. She wanted nothing more than to forget their earlier conversation, and talking about the horses seemed a good way to do just that. She still had a hard time looking directly at him, however, so she kept her gaze pinned on the buildings directly ahead instead.

“
More than I cared to pay, but they need to stay somewhere, and this is the only place available.
”

“
I wish you
had
let me cover the cost, or at least half of it.
”

“
The
money
’
s not a problem, Marcelle,
”
Matthew assured her.
“
I have a vested interest in those horses also, remember? Without them, my future with
Weatherman
Stables would be short-lived.
”

“
Well, if you
’
re certain.
”

“
I am,
”
he said, then took her elbow and guided her down the boardwalk toward the local restaurant.
“
You hungry?
”

“
Yes, but I probably should head over to the hotel first and check on
Father
. He might wish to join us and we really need to fill him in on the details of our day, don
’
t you think?
”

“
So
unds good to me,
”
Matthew said, and veered across the street to the only hotel in Lander. He wasn
’
t the least bit in a hurry to meet Mr.
Weatherman
. Especially since Marcelle hired him against her
father
’
s knowledge. Still, he couldn
’
t put it off forever. She
’
d assured him that she was acting on her
father
’
s behalf today and he really had no
reason
to doubt her.
A
fter
all, her
father
had sent her to buy the horses today, so that said something about her credibility. Of course, from the way it sounded to him, the ideas for their stables were her ideas alone. Impressive, but he had to wonder what her
father
would say once he discovered she
’
d not only purchased horses on her own today, but hired a new trainer/stable master and started a new enterprise as well.

“
You can outline your plan to us both while we
’
re there,
”
Marcelle offered,
“
That
is, after
I let
Father
know that you
’
re now working for us.
”
Marcelle said softly
–
too
tentatively
.
Something in her tone brought Matthew to a stop. His grip on her elbow tightened slightly, forcing her to stop as well. Then he turned her to face him, uncaring that they were right in the middle of the thoroughfare. His action forced Marcelle to refocus her attention on his face. The thunderclouds had reappeared in his normally clear,
blue
eyes. She didn
’
t have to guess at what had caused them this time. She knew.

“
A
re
you saying that it really is possible that your
father
will disagree with your decisions today?
”