Once Upon a Cowboy (6 page)

She slapped dust from her hat. Feathers filled the air. "Yessir. I am."

"Uh-huh." He eyed her keenly. "I assume that was also your last experience sitting a horse."

"Yep." She offered a crooked grin. "But look on the bright side. At least this time I didn't break my arm when I got thrown."

"I'm so relieved."

She heaved a sigh. "Mr. Winston—"

"Make it Holt. You've earned the right to that, if nothing else."

"Thanks." She stared at him earnestly, wiping a trickle of sweat from her brow. "I know it doesn't seem likely, but I can do this job, given half a chance. I'm a fast learner. You only have to show or tell me things once for me to catch on. And I want this job. I want this job more than I've ever wanted anything."

A deep frown creased Holt's brow. Slowly he shook his head. "Sorry. There's a dozen dudes scheduled to arrive next week and I need a wrangler who can carry his weight."

"I can carry my weight," she insisted, forcing herself to meet his hard, unemotional gaze. "I can carry more than my weight if it means working on a ranch."

"Sorry, but I have to pass."

He turned to leave and Cami knew she'd better talk fast, or her job would be over before it ever started. "Is there anyone else you can get on such short notice? At least give me a chance until you've found a replacement."

"You have my answer," he said without slowing his gait. Something in his voice warned her to proceed with the utmost caution.

"If I haven't convinced you I can do the job by the end of those two weeks, I'll go. I'll even refund my wages."

"No." He kept walking.

It was all or nothing time. A few more steps and he'd be gone and so would her dreams. "Our contract provides for a two week unconditional trial period," she called after his retreating back. "I'm asking you to stand by your word and give me every minute of those two weeks."

She saw him hesitate and she played her final card, the one that in ages past would have gotten her a bullet in the gut. "Or don't you stick by your word? I thought a cowboy's honor meant everything to him."

That stopped him. Slowly he turned to face her. With a low, menacing growl, he snatched off his hat and buried it in the dust. "That tears it."

"Head for the hills, girl!" Gabby yelped. He hopped off the rail and loped toward Holt.

Deciding the foreman had offered a decent piece of advice, Cami did some rapid backpedaling. Suddenly the corral seemed a whole heck of a lot smaller. At the rate Holt advanced, she'd run out of retreating space real soon. Perhaps she shouldn't have played that last card with quite so much enthusiasm. "Um, Holt? Mr. Winston? Sir?"

He continued to stalk her. "You and me seem to have a small communication problem. I think it's time we cleared that up."

Gabby gained Holt's side and grabbed his arm. "Now take it easy, Holt."

"Yes. Let's take it easy," Cami agreed, with an urgent nod. "Very easy."

Holt shrugged off his foreman's hand. "Forget it."

"It was desperation talkin', not her," Gabby tried to convince his boss.

"Desperation," she said, tripping over her shiny new boots. "Absolutely. It was desperation."

Holt snagged a hunk of fringe and yanked her to a stop. "When I'm done with her, desperation won't do her talking ever again."

She stared in horror at his restraining hand and dug in her heels like the most ornery of mules, pushing against his pull. He let go and she stumbled, sprawling in the dust at his feet.

Petunia trotted over and shoved her muzzle into Cami's face. Cami shoved back. "Move aside, Petunia. He's gonna kill me, sure as I sit here. And I wouldn't care to have you caught in the crossfire."

Gabby danced at Holt's side. "She just wants to be a cowboy, is all. She didn't know what she was sayin'."

Cami frowned. Up until that moment, she'd been in complete accord with Gabby. Now she wasn't so certain. "Wait a minute," She scowled up at the two men. "If he's going to kill me, I intend to die for the right reason. I did mean what I said. I meant every word. True, desperation encouraged me to say it. But we signed an agreement, and I intend to make him stick to it."

"What?
You... He... I..." Gabby sputtered to a halt and folded his arms across his chest. "I give up, boss. Go ahead. Shoot her."

Good, old Texan cussedness came to the fore. "Not until I've had my say." She pushed dark curls away from her face and spoke from the heart. "For my entire life, all I ever wanted was to be a cowboy like my poppa. I was born on a ranch. If my poppa hadn't died, I'd have been the sixth generation to grow up on Greenbush land. I know I'm a mite clumsy right now, but give me a chance. That's all I'm asking. You won't be sorry."

"I'm already sorry." Holt spoke roughly, but she sensed his anger fading. He reached down and held out his hand. "Come on, Tex. As much as the thought appeals, I'm not going to shoot you. Leastwise, not today."

She took his hand and stood. "Can we come to some sort of compromise? You want a wrangler and I want a job. By the end of two weeks, I'm willing to bet we'll both be satisfied."

He mulled over her words. His gaze, hard and stern and unrelenting, met hers. "I need a wrangler who can groom horses."

"No problem."

"Ever do it?"

"Nope. But I'm strong and I'm determined and I've never been afraid of backbreaking work. You show me how, and it'll get done."

"I also need someone who can saddle a horse and stay on it while riding."

"I guarantee, Petunia and I
will
come to terms."

"I believe you, Tex. But that still leaves me short a wrangler who can handle cows and knows how to rope."

She spoke with certainty. "Give me those two weeks and you'll have all that. Otherwise, I'm gone without a word of complaint."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You expect to learn everything in two weeks?"

"Just watch me." She peered at him anxiously. "Does this mean I can stay?"

Gabby grabbed Holt's arm and muttered, "No sense in turning away help, incompetent though it may be. Get some work out of her for all your time and trouble. Tomorrow you can phone around for a replacement."

Holt still didn't seem convinced. "Give me one good reason why I should let you stay," he said to Cami.

"I'll give you three. I like people and I like animals." She threw her arms around Petunia's neck. "And they like me."

Petunia snorted and swung her head, knocking Cami back on her keister. "See?" Her dimples flashed. "The exception that proves the rule."

Gabby rolled his eyes heavenward. "Lord Almighty, have mercy. Cuz we're gonna need a heapin' helpin'."

"Amen," Holt concurred.

Chapter 3

The bedroom light switched on, practically blinding Holt. He sat up cursing. "What the
hell
is going on?" he demanded.

"You awake?" Gabby whispered.

"I am now." Holt threw back his covers. It had to be serious for his foreman to rouse him from a sound sleep. "What's wrong?"

"I'll show you, if'n you give me a minute," Gabby muttered. "I'm gonna turn the light off, okay? See if you can get over to the window without breakin' something."

"Worry about yourself, old timer. I can make it just fine." The room went dark once more. Holt kicked his boots to one side and gained the window without barking his shin more than twice. Quite an achievement, considering his eyes were blurry slits and his brain hadn't sputtered to life.

"Now, real easy like, twitch that curtain apart," Gabby instructed, "and tell me what you see."

Holt looked and swore again. "Damnation, I don't believe it." He turned and glared at Gabby. "What time is it?"

"Four-thirty."

"Four-thirty?
What the devil is she doing up at this hour?"

"Don't holler at me! You were the one who told her she better not be late on her first day of work." Gabby yanked at his mustache. "You also said, if'n she was, you'd fire her and t'hell with the contract. Those were your exact words. I'll fire you and t'hell with the contract.'"

"I remember, you old coot. You don't have to repeat it a hundred times." He glanced out at her again and winced. Moonlight spilled over Tex, encasing her in a cold silver glow. Did she have to look so lonely? So vulnerable? So
female
? And, damn it to hell, even from this distance she drew him on some level, making him wish he were close enough to watch the twitch and tremble of all those curls. To watch the way her blue, blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. To wonder if those dimples were going to take to winking at him. To lose himself counting all those bitty— Aw, shit.

He pulled back from the window as though escaping the gates of hell. "Late for work does not mean four-thirty and she damn well ought to know that. It's ridiculous. She's got Petunia saddled and everything."

"Petunia don't 'pear none too happy about it, neither. Not that I blame the poor horse." It was clear from Gabby's tone whom he did blame.

"I can't help it if the woman has a burr under her saddle about being a cowboy."

"Yes, you can." Gabby folded his arms across his chest. "She ain't gonna be happy and outta here till she shakes that burr loose. And you're just the man to help her do it."

The muscles tightened in Holt's jaw. "Fine. When I get up in another hour and a half, it'll be my pleasure to check her saddle blanket for burrs." Maybe other parts of her, too. "In the meantime, I'm going back to bed."

"And leave her shivering out there? Look at her. Even her hat's got goose bumps."

"Those aren't goose bumps," Holt said in disgust. "She's plucked some poor chicken bald and filled her hat up with more of those danged feathers."

Unable to resist, he peered through the window again and frowned. He hated it when Gabby was right. And this time he was very right. Tex shook so hard she could probably register as a minor earthquake. Didn't she have more sense than to stand there in that cold spring wind? He ought to open the window and blister her ears with a few home truths. That would warm her up. And then some.

"Look on the positive side," Gabby said, peeping around Holt's shoulder. "At least she'll leave a trail if she ever gets lost."

Holt returned to his bed and sat down. "So long as that trail heads east, I don't give a damn. Now get out of here and let me sleep."

"Now, now. Here's your boots."

"I don't wear boots to bed." His voice held a warning.

"You ain't goin' back to bed. You're goin' down to that little girl and teach her how to be a cowboy."

Holt glowered. "In case you hadn't noticed, she isn't a little girl. If your eyesight wasn't so bad, you'd be able to see that."

Gabby grinned. "I see jes' fine. You'd be amazed at how well I can see and just what it is I'm seeing."

"You're getting on my nerves, old man. You best fetch clothes for yourself, because I won't be going alone. You're coming with me." He shook out his boot and shoved his foot into it.

"At this hour? What are you, loco?"

"Not yet. But it won't take much more to get me that way. Two weeks with her and they'll have to put a rope around me and put me out to pasture because that's all I'll be good for."

"Well, until that fine day comes, you've got a job to do. And since you agreed to it of your own free will, you're stuck doing it all by your lonesome. You take care of Tex, and I'll take care of things around here."

"I might have agreed to it," Holt grumbled. "But I'm not so sure about the free will part. Ever since that female showed up, I've been doing things I swore I'd never do and saying things I swore I'd never say. She's trouble, I tell you."

"Dang tootin'!" A slight flush streaked across Gabby's weathered features. "You take one look at that long black hair and the silly dimples twitching in her cheeks and pow!" His fist connected with Holt's gut. "Gets you right there, don't it? Then she stares at you with those big blue eyes and you start to grinnin' and countin' those itty-bitty freckles perched on her nose and—"

Holt shot to his feet and glared at his foreman. "Never you mind those freckles."