The Reluctant Texas Rancher (Harlequin American Romance) (11 page)

“They’re going to be upset?”

“
I’m
upset!” Liz vaulted from the bed and scrambled to find her clothes. “I haven’t had to do a walk of shame since…well, since never. I like keeping my private life private, and that goes double for my mother and grandmothers.”

Travis got up and began to dress hurriedly, too. He grimaced, all chivalrous male. “This is my fault.”

She put her shirt on. Realized it was inside out and tried again. “You didn’t cause me to fall asleep.” She looked down as she buttoned.

He sauntered closer, pulling his own shirt on. “I made love with you until we were both exhausted,” he pointed out with a hint of a smile.

Liz slapped at the hand he ran down her hip. “Stop distracting me.”

He grinned, not all that repentant. “Sorry.”

Liz sat on the bed and thrust her feet into her boots. “I don’t know what I’m going to say.”

“Say nothing.”

Liz’s head snapped up. “What?”

“You stay put,” he ordered firmly, already striding for the exit. “I’ll go.”

“What?” Liz did a double take. “Why would you want to do that?”

Guilt flashed in his eyes. “Because if there are consequences from our tryst, they should be mine.”

Giving her no chance to protest, he took off to handle it the way he thought it should be handled.

I
T
WAS
AS
BAD
AS
L
IZ
had feared it would be. As he approached the ranch house, voices floated out of the open window over the kitchen sink. “Maybe we should look for her at the homestead…”

“Her car is still here.”

“And her bed hasn’t been slept in.”

So they knew that, too.

Bracing himself, Travis walked in. All three women turned to look at him. Too late, he realized it might have been better if he had shaved or combed his hair. Tucked in his shirttail. But since he hadn’t…

He lifted a hand. “There is no cause to worry, ladies. Liz is fine. She’s at the homestead. We were working late last night. She fell asleep and I didn’t bother to wake her.”

“Don’t go parsing any words or playing those lawyer tricks on me, young man,” Faye Elizabeth said. “You’ve been romancing my granddaughter!”

No use denying it. They were all intuitive enough to sense how he felt. “Yes, ma’am. I have,” he said, and left it at that.

At his admission, Tillie flashed an encouraging smile. She walked over to slap him on the shoulder. “Atta boy. You go after my great-granddaughter with all you’ve got.”

Travis dipped his head respectfully. “Yes, ma’am.”

Reba studied him a long silent moment. “Given the fact I’d do anything to have a grandbaby, I hope you weren’t too careful!”

“Mom, please!” Liz exclaimed as she walked in the screen door, looking only slightly less disheveled than Travis. All eyes turned to her. She blushed to the roots of her hair, and Travis decided she looked prettier than he had ever seen her.

“You don’t have to suffer through this. I’ll take it from here,” she told him.

“We’re in this together,” he said.

“I like the sound of that even more!” Reba declared.

“Well, I don’t.” Faye Elizabeth waved a finger at Liz. “There is no reason this gentleman’s excess of testosterone should be your problem. Let him sow his wild seeds elsewhere!”

Liz tossed her hair. “I’ve got testosterone, too, you know. All women do.”

Were they really talking about male hormones?

Travis didn’t find out, because just then the phone rang. It was for Liz. J.T. was about to be arrested again. She looked around for her purse and keys. “I’ve got to go,” she said. “None of you discuss any of this in my absence!”

An order, Travis found out, that was easier said than done.

L
IZ
HAD
NO
TROUBLE
finding her client. He was standing in the street holding a big sign attached to a wooden stake. She rushed toward him. “J.T., you cannot picket city hall.”

A deputy watched from a distance.

J.T. scowled. “Why not?”

She took his arm and guided him into the shade next to the limestone building. “You need a permit. You do not have one.”

His shoulders sagged, and he looked at her in misery. “I want that pool. I don’t see why it’s taking so long for the zoning commission to come up with a plan. It’s all I can think about.”

Liz soothed, “These things take time. They’re working on it as we speak, I promise.”

J.T. looked skeptical.

“In the meantime,” Liz said, as her next idea hit, “what do you know about donkeys?”

Her client peered at her suspiciously. “Is this a roundabout way of calling me a jackass? Because if it is…”

She shook her head. “It’s a roundabout way of asking if you would be amenable to helping my mother go pick out a couple of donkeys to guard the angora goats we just bought.”

J.T. took a moment to digest the request. “Isn’t that Travis’s job, since he’s your hired hand?”

Liz made a face. “If you want to know the truth, Travis is not all that keen on goats or donkeys. He’s more of a cattleman. Besides, I have some other things I need him to do. So what do you say?” She stepped closer, appealing to the retired gentleman’s softer side. “Can the ladies and I count on you?”

J.T. rubbed the back of his bald head. “I guess I do owe you-all for that nice dinner the other night,” he said finally.

Liz smiled. “Then how about coming back to the ranch with me right now?”

To her relief, he agreed, and half an hour later they were both at the Four Winds. Liz situated J.T. in the kitchen with the ladies, so a search for two donkeys could be made via phone and internet. Then she went looking for Travis.

She found him in the south pasture, in a brand-new utility tractor with a bulldozer bucket on the front and a grader on the back. She parked the ranch pickup and got out.

He cut the engine, climbed down and came toward her. Stubble lined his handsome jaw. His shirt clung to the muscles of his chest and sweat dripped from his brow, under the brim of his hat.

“That doesn’t look like our tractor.” It had the Double Deal Ranch logo on the side, which meant he’d borrowed it from his folks.

Travis shrugged. “The Four Winds tractor can’t handle a job like this one.”

No kidding. Liz surveyed what he’d done with an admiring glance. “You’ve already cleared half the pasture.” She’d had no idea they made tractors this efficient. Or from the looks of it, so easy to use. But then, she hadn’t done much investigating about what kind of equipment they could get to help the ranch run more efficiently.

“What are you thinking?”

“One, that I have to figure out what kind of rental fee we’re going to give your parents for the use of this utility tractor. And two, that I haven’t exactly done my part in trying to figure out how to help keep the Four Winds in our family for the next generation of women, and the one after that.”

He tipped back his hat and flashed her a flirtatious grin. “You say that as if you think there won’t be any men here.”

Awareness sizzled through her. “It is tradition.”

“A tradition that needs to be broken.”

Liz pretended to misunderstand. “You really think J.T. and my mother might be a good match?”

Travis caught her by the waist and hauled her close, sweat and all. “I think
you
and I
are a good match.”

He spread hot, openmouthed kisses along her throat, then her jaw, testing the sweet spot beneath her ear before finally ending up at her lips. Liz leaned into him, savoring the salty taste of him, the dampness of his shirt, the hard male feel of his body and the minty taste of his tongue.

“You are,” she breathed, amazed at his ability to get her off track, even with the hot sun bearing down on them, “so bad for me....”

Travis grinned. “Actually, we’re good for each other.” He delivered another deep, soul-searching kiss. “Really good.”

Much more, and they’d be taking it to the max, right here in this field. Liz splayed her hands across his chest. “Travis…”

He lifted his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll get these pastures cleared.” Gently, he caressed her face.

Another spiral of desire wound through her. Liz cleared her throat. “I don’t question that. In just two hours you did…” She paused, looked around admiringly.

“What it would take those goats a month to do,” he finished.

Liz scoffed. “You make fun, but goats do clear the land if you don’t have the budget for a big, new tractor like that.” Which would, she knew, cost thousands and thousands of dollars.

For the moment, anyway, they were just going to have to make do, and Travis would have to accept that. Not that he would be here for long, anyway.

“Speaking of guard donkeys…”

He quirked his lips. “Were we?”

Liz looked at him archly. “I’ve got some good news about that. My mother and J.T. are going to purchase them and bring them back in the livestock hauler. Unlike with the goats, all you’ll have to do is help unload.”

Travis shook his head. “Then let’s hope they’re friendly jackasses.”

Indeed. Liz promised, “I’ll find out what we need to do to keep from getting kicked.”

He looked as if he wanted to kiss her again, so she stepped back. “Meanwhile, I need you to construct a time line and put together any supporting evidence regarding your relationship with Olympia Herndon.”

Travis’s smile faded. “I’ll see what I can do to come up with a paper trail,” he said gruffly. “But I won’t be able to get to it until later this evening.”

“That’s okay.” Liz paused, knowing they had one more item to discuss. “About this morning and the brouhaha with the ladies. Thanks for trying to save me, but it really wasn’t necessary.”

“You’re my woman.” He hauled her into his arms, all signs of teasing gone. “You’ve earned my defense, and a whole lot more.”

Chapter Eleven

“You haven’t heard a word we said,” Reba said that evening.

Liz looked up from her plate. Everyone else was nearly finished with dinner. She had barely made a dent in hers.

“What are you thinking about, dear?” Tillie asked gently.

“Work,” Liz fibbed. And the man sitting opposite her, in the ranch house dining room.
Was
she Travis’s woman? Was he her man? She knew he wanted to be, at least for now. But what did she want…?

Peace of mind, for starters. Assurance that he would stay in her life this time, if—and it was a big if—she ever gave him her heart.

Right now, they should be focused on building his defense and on working the ranch, and instead they were having sex.

Along that path lay disaster. She knew it. He knew it. Even her family knew it. The only person at the table who was unaware of the jeopardy Liz and Travis were in was J.T.

After a day spent chasing down leads on guard donkeys, the widower looked happier than he had for ages. Even though no decision had been made.

“Speaking of work,” Travis said, “I’ve got a lot to get done tonight, too. And frankly, Liz, I could use your help organizing the papers you asked me to produce.”

The idea of spending time alone with him caused a riot of sensations inside her. Not a good idea, she knew, when she was still trying to sort out her feelings.

On the other hand, the deposition was on Friday.

She toyed with her last bite of barbecued chicken. Travis cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her response. “What about the goats?” she said finally.

“If you’ll lend us the dogs to help round them up,” Reba said with a coy wink. “J.T. and I will bring them in from the pasture.”

Travis’s head dipped in easy acquiescence. “Sure thing.”

“Anyone want dessert?” Tillie asked, eager to get the show on the road.

“If it’s okay, I’ll take mine to go,” Travis said.

Of course you will,
Liz thought, eyeing the luscious desserts her great-grandmother brought to the table.

Tillie picked up the server. “Pecan pie or apple dumpling?”

“How about a little of both?” he suggested.

“You got it. Liz?”

“No, thanks. I’m on a diet.”
A no-more-sex-until-I-straighten-out-the-rest-of-my-life diet.

Travis looked at her, then pushed back his chair and rose. “I’ll bring the dogs over. Ladies? The meal was delicious as always.” He flashed Liz another grin, then left.

She released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, then got up to help clear the table, not at all surprised to find her knees were wobbly.

“How is his situation coming along?” Tillie asked sympathetically.

Not as good as it would be if I was less emotionally involved.
Careful not to violate client confidentiality, Liz said, “Okay. But he’s right…we have a lot of work to do.”

Liz looked at her other client. “Which isn’t to say I haven’t done a lot for you, too, today, J.T. If all goes as promised, we should have a proposal to show you by tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” J.T. said agreeably.

Rising, he pulled out her mother’s chair and held the back door open for her. The two walked out after Travis, their movements perfectly in sync despite Reba’s lingering sciatica.

Liz did her best not to visibly react. His gallantry probably meant nothing, since J.T. was of a different generation. He’d been lamenting his wife’s passing just the day before, and couldn’t possibly be feeling anything for her mother. Nothing that wasn’t strictly in rebound territory, anyway.

Liz wondered if her mom knew about rebound romances.

Tillie tsked and swatted Liz’s hand when she tried to clear more than her own dishes. “You go on and help Travis, honey. Don’t want to keep a good man waiting.”

Faye Elizabeth tightened her lips, concerned as always. “A little waiting might be good for that fellow.”

Liz winced as telltale heat spread across her face. Deciding to take this particular bull by the horns, she looked into her grandmother’s worried eyes. “You don’t have to be concerned, Gran. I can handle whatever comes my way.”

“You be sure of that.” Faye Elizabeth patted her arm. “Because like I said this morning, his hormones aren’t your problem, and vice versa.”

Yes, but the way I want him, and no longer want to be without him,
is
my problem.

“
T
HAT
WAS
FAST
.” Travis let her into the homestead.

In the distance, Liz could see her mother and J.T. headed in the direction of the pasture where the goats had spent the day, the two dogs trotting at their sides.

Shrugging, she walked through the door. The cabin that had been hers until recently now was thoroughly a man’s domain, with a Texas Rangers baseball game playing on the TV. Clothing tossed everywhere. The smell of soap and aftershave lingering in the air.

“I got kicked out of the kitchen and hurried on over here.”

He turned to her, his eyes eating her up, before he shut the door. “Over your protests, I’m guessing.”

“Because of my indiscreet behavior this morning, we’re under the microscope now.”

He stepped closer. “First of all, it wasn’t just your behavior. It was ours. Second,” he murmured, his breath brushing her temple as he gently gathered her in his arms, “they seem to be accepting the notion of us as a couple again.”

I’m the only one who isn’t.

Liz drew a deep breath. “Which is not as it should be,” she said, splaying her hands across his chest to wedge a distance between them.

His eyes became shuttered. “It isn’t?”

He looked as if he wanted to kiss her. She knew if that happened, they would end up near his bed. And if they were near it, they would soon be in it. Naked. Liz prayed for strength. She looked Travis straight in the eye and in her firmest, most professional tone said, “Your legal situation has to take precedence over all else right now. At least until after the depositions on Saturday.”

Travis recoiled as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him. “You’re right. Of course.”

Feeling bereft that he hadn’t said to hell with the consequences and kissed her anyway—at least once—she lifted the laptop she’d brought over with her and set it on the table. “So let’s get down to it.”

Two hours later, they sat staring at all the emails and restaurant receipts they had compiled.

Travis picked up the closest thing they had to a smoking gun and swore. He read the email in his hand, dated two days before Olympia had signed on as his client at Haverty, Brockman & Roberts. He had written,
I still think full disclosure is the way to go.

Liz picked up another, from Olympia and read,
“It’s really not necessary at this point and may never be.”

Travis sat back in disgust and muttered, “And we both know that can be interpreted any number of ways.”

Liz couldn’t argue with that. “You never prepared a sample document that would have disclosed your relationship with her? Just for her to look at?”
Please tell me you did.

He shook his head grimly. “There was no point.”

Liz stayed strong and focused on the positive. “At least we have, through the restaurant receipts, text messages and various emails, confirmation of your social engagements with her and the exact dates of your relationship. That’s a start. And we have the wildcatter’s testimony that you did everything you could to persuade him, to the point you were a major nuisance to him.”

Travis raked his hands through his hair, then he stood and began to pace. “That could be used against me, too. Olympia could assert that it was my overzealousness that caused her to lose the deal.”

“Overzealousness prompted by her emails,” Liz corrected, trying not to notice how handsome and sexy Travis looked in the muted light of the cabin. “We have proof of how hard she was pushing you to close a deal with Dobbs.”

“True,” Travis allowed brusquely. “But we’re going to need more,” he continued, a brooding looking on his face.

“And we’ll find it,” Liz promised firmly.

“How?”

The sound of the dogs’ fierce barking had him abruptly leaving his seat. Liz was right after him. By the time they reached the porch, the two mutts were racing toward the barn, where quite a ruckus of bleating and baaing was going on.

Liz and Travis gave chase, too. “I hope a predator hasn’t found its way in with the goats!” she panted.

As it turned out, that wasn’t the case.

The twelve goats were gathered in the barn, with two in the center butting, shoving and biting. The others were watching, sometimes pushing forward, sometimes stumbling to get out of the way. The dogs were still barking, adding to the commotion, though the two battling angoras paid no attention to them.

Travis stared. “What the…?” He whistled at his dogs and they swung toward him immediately. He pointed authoritatively toward the door. “Sit.”

They both complied.

Meanwhile, the drama with the goats continued, as Buck, the lone male in the group, fought off Queenie, the biggest female in the bunch.

The bleating and baaing escalated, until the buck went end over end.

The female stood triumphant.

All commotion stopped. The buck got up and, seemingly unhurt, wandered off as if nothing had happened. The rest of the herd dispersed, many of them going over to get a drink of water. Others went to lie down.

Liz scanned the flock, then headed for one goat in the corner and knelt down next to it. “I think this one might be sick.”

“
T
RANSPORT
STRESS
,” veterinarian Kurt McCabe said half an hour later, after he had finished examining the lethargic gray goat.

He put his stethescope and thermometer away.

“Fortunately, there’s no sign of pneumonia or shipping fever yet. But she is dehydrated, so I recommend giving her water spiked with molasses, goat Nutri-Drench and some probiotics, just to be on the safe side.”

“Should we separate her from the herd?” Travis asked.

Liz knelt down to pet the ailing animal. Although they hadn’t had goats since she was in elementary school, she remembered a lot about caring for them. As well as how docile they usually were. “That would only increase her anxiety,” she said.

Kurt snapped the latch on his bag and nodded in agreement. He looked at the other eleven goats, which were alternately roaming the barn and huddling in the aisle. “Best to keep them all together while they adjust to their new surroundings.”

“What about the fighting?” Travis asked in concern, keeping an eye out for the largest female, who still seemed ready to rumble. Luckily, Liz noted, none of the other goats wanted to get rowdy with Queenie.

“It should settle down in a couple days, once they establish the hierarchy of the herd,” Kurt said.

“That happens whenever you get a new group of goats together, or diminish an existing herd,” Liz explained.

“Right again,” Kurt said warmly. He turned to Travis and slapped a companionable hand on his old school chum’s shoulder. “Got to say, Anderson. Never expected you to be herding goats.”

Nor had Travis, Liz thought, catching his grimace.

Of course, if Travis hadn’t made a mistake with a client, he wouldn’t be back in Laramie County, never mind here bartering ranch work for legal services.

Liz fell into step beside the two men as they left the barn. “Given a choice, I am sure he wouldn’t be,” she felt obliged to say in defense.

Another mistake. Travis didn’t seem to appreciate her aid.

Kurt narrowed his eyes. “Are you two…an item again?”

Liz flushed. So much for privacy. “What makes you think that?” she asked, damning herself for having given her feelings away.

He shrugged. “Body language. The way you’re looking at each other.” He reached his truck. “An air of intimacy or solidarity between the two of you. Take your pick.”

Suddenly all possessive male, Travis smiled, clamped a hand on Liz’s shoulder and pulled her to his side. Proudly, he told their old friend, “We’re back on again.” He paused to playfully ruffle her hair and kiss her brow. “My only regret is that it ever ended.”

“
D
ID
YOU
HAVE
TO
TELL
Kurt that?” Liz demanded irritably when the vet had left, and she and Travis headed for the kitchen to get some molasses. “Now it will be all over town.”

He watched her mix up a bucket of water and several tablespoons of concentrated sugar. “I’m not going to pretend I’m not interested in you.”

Liz went to rinse some sticky dark brown sugar off her finger. “The case—”

“Is about me not being one hundred percent truthful about my relationship with a woman.” Travis joined her at the sink. He stood with his back to the faucet, hips against the counter, brawny arms crossed in front of him.