The Reluctant Texas Rancher (Harlequin American Romance) (9 page)

Travis suddenly understood why Liz was unhappy. The women couldn’t handle the livestock they had. To bring on more, for whatever reason, would only add to the burden.

Tillie handed Travis a bowl of fresh strawberries and blueberries. “Your folks don’t have any goats, do they?”

“No, ma’am.” Wondering if there was anything he could do to help Liz without overstepping his bounds, he helped himself to a generous serving of the succulent fruit. “They’ve got their hands full with my mom’s horses and my dad’s cattle.”

Faye Elizabeth passed the platter of scrambled eggs and breakfast sausages. “They also have half a dozen cowboys in their employ, to run their tractors.”

“If you want, I could see about borrowing equipment and a few hands from my parents, to help us get caught up,” Travis offered.

Insulted, Faye Elizabeth countered stiffly, “We’re not asking for charity.”

Liz picked up her empty plate and pushed back her chair. “I think the concern is how we’re going to get by when you leave.”

Ouch.
Travis looked at Liz.

“We have to come up with a system that works with what resources we have now, and are liable to still have when the time comes and you move on.”

Ouch again,
Travis thought, noting Liz would not meet his eyes. Although he supposed she’d made a fair point.

Once his suspension was lifted, he would not be the chief hired hand here. And he had the sense they would not have the funds to hire much of a replacement, if any.

“What’s your opinion on the subject?” he asked Liz, taking his plate to the sink, too. “Goats or no goats?”

She moved several inches to the left, to keep their bodies from touching, and continued avoiding his eyes.

So she was upset about the possibility—make that probability—of his leaving.

Oddly enough, Travis realized, he felt a little dejected about it, too. Although why…

It wasn’t as if they would never see each other.

There was no way he was allowing them to lose contact again.

Liz inhaled and moved away from the sink. “Whether or not the ranch gets goats isn’t for me to say.”

“Of course it is!” the other three Cartwright women said in unison, heartily encouraging her. “You’re part of the Four Winds Ranch, too.”

“I’m not disputing my heritage,” Liz retorted, looking a little pale and a lot exhausted.

In the sunlight streaming through the windows, Travis could see stress tightening the corners of her lips, and disillusionment in her eyes.

There was too much pressure on her.

She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I have no thoughts on the matter,” Liz stated mildly.

Sidestepping an argument was not the way to handle the women in her family. Avoiding the conflict would just make it harder for her later on.

Travis leaned back against the counter, hands braced on either side of him, and deliberately took Liz on. “I don’t believe that,” he drawled, and saw her brow arch.

He met her gaze and continued, “You have an opinion on goats. And probably everything else around here. You’re just not willing to state it, because that would mean taking yourself off the sidelines of running the ranch.”
And force you to take a stand on the family matters that are currently driving you crazy.

Liz had been looking a little pale. At his unsolicited remark, color came rushing back into her face. She gave him a withering glare that made him smile, and set her briefcase down with a thud. Giving him a glance that told him she would deal with him later, in private, she pivoted back to her family. “You-all want to know what I think?”

The three women nodded, eager to hear.

“Years ago, when all four of us were working the cattle together, we birthed a thousand calves a year and backgrounded another thousand more for other ranches. But that’s not possible anymore. Because of the physical limitations we currently operate under, we’ve let the calving operation dwindle, and let our own backgrounding operation end entirely. We sell our cattle to another outfit as soon as they’re weaned, at seven or eight months.” She took a breath. “If we want the Four Winds to prosper the way it once did, we are going to have to build it back up. Take good care of all ten thousand acres, instead of just the ones we use. Like it or not, that involves bringing men into our operation. Full-time.”

“Men are not part of Cartwright family tradition,” Faye Elizabeth interrupted. “Not any who stay, anyway.”

Triple ouch,
Travis thought.

With a world of emotion in her low voice, Liz countered, “How well I know that. I love you all.” Her lower lip trembled in a way that made him want to haul her into his arms and comfort her, audience or no audience.

Liz spread her arms wide. “I love the Four Winds. And I even love ranching—in small doses. But not enough to do it full-time. And that’s not going to change.”

Travis noted Reba’s expression was extremely unhappy.

Faye Elizabeth was more accepting of the outburst, perhaps because she was by nature more of a pessimist. She shook her head. “I always knew it would come to this.”

Travis thought having Liz finally speak her mind and stand up for herself was the best thing he’d heard in weeks.

Tillie rose and walked over to put her arm around Liz’s shoulders. “Running a ranch has lost its allure in this day and age,” she sympathized. “That I know.”

“That may be true,” Reba said. She turned to her only daughter. “And one day we may very well have to let our cattle raising operation go entirely.”

Liz’s expression gentled. “You wouldn’t necessarily have to sell. There are other ways to make money from these ten thousand acres. We could give out hunting leases, for example.”

Deciding to play devil’s advocate, Travis added, “Or see if there is any oil to be had.”

All four women stared at him.

Or maybe not…

Liz’s great-grandmother stepped in, as only the matriarch of the family could. “There’s no doubt we could change our whole way of life and still keep this property. But you would miss the Four Winds you grew up on,” Tillie told Liz, with her usual romanticism.

A hint of melancholy tinged Liz’s expression, even as she replied firmly, “The Four Winds will still be home to us, cattle or no cattle.”

Her mother nodded. “Liz is right. Livestock isn’t the issue here.” Reba sent a speculative glance Travis’s way. “What’s really important is finding a way for her to have a baby to carry on the Cartwright name.”

Chapter Nine

“You okay?”

Liz looked up to see Travis in the doorway of her private office. As usual whenever she caught sight of him, her heart gave a little leap. Not that he needed to know that. Especially after the way he had goaded her into speaking her mind to her family that very morning, when she already had her hands so full.

She tipped up her chin, trying not to notice how attractive Travis was at any time of day or night, with his dark brown hair and intent gray eyes. She reached for her bottle of mineral water and took a long sip. Pulse thudding, she regarded him over the rim, wondering how he knew just how to get to her. No matter what the situation…

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, wishing that her paralegal hadn’t just left to pick up his son at day care, and that Travis hadn’t arrived just in time to find her with her feet propped up on the desk, kicking back after a very busy and productive day.

“Oh, I don’t know.” He strolled on in, eyes falling to her polished toenails. “Maybe because your mom is nonstop in her efforts to get you to extend the Cartwright bloodlines?”

As graciously as possible, Liz swung her feet to the floor. She tugged her skirt down and slipped on her heels. On warm days, when she didn’t have to be in court, she didn’t bother wearing panty hose. “You don’t seem to mind.”

He shook his head. “I get the same thing at home.” He sat down on the corner of her desk, his twill work shirt taut across his shoulders, looser over his flat abs. His jeans gloved everything else perfectly.

“Although I have to admit…” Travis waggled his brows “…not quite as directly.”

Liz pushed her chair backward, wheeling across the carpeted office floor to the built-in cabinet. Opening it, she pulled out another bottle of mineral water and handed it over.

After murmuring “thanks,” he twisted off the cap and continued, “I suppose it’s no surprise, since we’re both unattached and of baby-making age.”

She wheeled her chair back to her desk, and after taking another drink, he asked, “Do you want children?”

Another question she didn’t expect. And normally would be inclined not to answer.

Something about the way he was looking at her prompted Liz to let down her guard. “Don’t you dare tell my mom I said this, but yes, I do. When the time and man are right.” Liz picked at a loose strip of label on her bottle. “What about you?” She reached beneath the desk and dropped the piece of paper into the trash.

Travis gazed at her candidly. “I want kids, too.” A slow, sexy smile followed. “But like you…only when the time and the woman are right,” he confided. “I’m not going to get hitched just because someone else thinks my biological clock should be ticking.”

“Amen to that,” Liz muttered, lifting her mineral water in salute.

Another contemplative silence fell. She pushed away the fantasy of one day making a baby with him. It wasn’t going to happen. Not with Travis, anyway…

He’d be leaving soon.

Her expertise as a lawyer would ensure that.

“But that aside…surely that’s not why you stopped by.” Liz forged on, in an effort to get the conversation back on track.

Travis grimaced. “A vote was taken in your absence. I’ve been directed to purchase a dozen goats.”

As if they didn’t have enough livestock to care for already… Liz resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands and wail. “Angora or South African Boer?” she queried mildly.

Travis smiled at her, as if knowing exactly how beleaguered she felt. “Angora. Tillie likes mohair. Reba thinks they are easier to deal with than the meat-producing Boers.”

Liz squared her shoulders. “Well…good luck. Glad I’m not involved.” She stood to show him to the door.

Travis clamped a hand on her arm and turned her gently to face him. “Not so fast,” he said, pushing a strand of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. “They want you to help me pick out the herd.”

With her skin tingling where his warm palm grasped her elbow, Liz looked up at him. Whenever they were close like this, it was all she could do not to kiss him again.

She gulped, noticing how parched her throat felt. “No one else could do it?” she mused.

Travis frowned, not all that happy about the situation, either. “Apparently not. The good news is that the breeder is located about forty-five minutes north of town. So it won’t take us long to get there.”

Liz swept a hand to indicate her business suit and heels. “I’m not dressed for ranch activity.”

Not about to let her off that easily, Travis smiled. “Exactly why your mom sent this.” He went back into the reception area and returned with a small wheeled suitcase and a picnic basket.

So, Liz thought, the matchmaking was in full swing.

“Dinner, too?”

He gestured aimlessly. “Although Faye Elizabeth didn’t want us spending time alone together, she didn’t want us going hungry, either.”

Liz propped her hands on her hips, sensing something else at play here. “You could have talked them out of this, you know.”

Travis let out a belly laugh that warmed the room. “Excuse me,” he teased. “Have you
met
your family?”

Liz bowed her head. “Point made.” Putting herself back on track, she asked, “What time is the goat ranch expecting us?”

“Seven.”

“Which means we’ve got time.” She picked up the items he’d brought and led him toward the break room, where a small table and chairs nestled next to the sink, fridge and cabinets. She handed him the wicker basket. “Set up here.” Taking the suitcase with her, she said, “I’ll be right back.”

T
RAVIS
DID
AS
ORDERED
, and Liz walked in five minutes later, looking very sexy in a pair of faded jeans, boots and a marine-blue tank that appeared as if it had spent a few minutes too long in the clothes dryer.

“Don’t say a word,” she warned, lifting a hand.

His eyes sifted over the corset-style top and the lovely breasts spilling out of it. “I wasn’t going to.” Although damned if he wasn’t getting aroused, just looking at her.

“My mother and Tillie got together and bought this for me for my birthday.” Liz rummaged in the coat closet in the corner of the room.

Eventually, she emerged with a black cashmere cardigan, too warm for the spring day, and tugged it on.

“They were hoping it would spark something if I wore it to town on Saturday night.”

I’ll bet.
Travis pushed away the surge of jealousy. “And have you?”

She returned his heated glance. “What do you think?”

“Not yet.”

“Not at all,” she confided, coming closer in a drift of jasmine perfume. “Although—as always—they both mean well.”

Travis’s body relaxed slightly as she buttoned the sweater. He nodded at the formfitting garment she was covering. “Bet Faye Elizabeth doesn’t approve.”

Liz snorted with laughter. “You bet right. But on to business…” She sat down opposite him, to the picnic dinner her grandmother had prepared for them. “Since we have a moment to talk…I got word about your case. And it’s not good.” Carefully, she removed the Saran Wrap covering her sandwich, admitting in a low, even tone, “Opposing counsel went ahead and filed the amendment to their petition against you, early this afternoon. So, as we agreed, I immediately filed an answer to the court, denying all charges. Plus a countersuit accusing HB&R of unlawful firing, and another defamation suit against Olympia Herndon.”

Travis savored the delicious chicken and roasted green-chile wraps. “What next?”

Liz dipped a tortilla chip in freshly made salsa. “They want to depose you in Houston on Saturday morning. We asked to depose Olympia the same day.”

Travis drank his iced tea. “That doesn’t give us a lot of time to prepare. Just a few days.” His cell phone buzzed. He lifted it out of his pocket, checked the caller and kept talking. “Especially for what is essentially going to be a ‘he said, she said’ case.”

“We can do it. We’ll start tonight.” Liz finished the first half of her sandwich and dabbed her mouth with her napkin before leaning toward him. “If we get there and we’re not ready, we’ll request a delay.”

Travis nodded. His phone buzzed again. He looked at the screen, frowned and put it back in his pocket without responding.

“You can get that if you want.”

He shook his head in aggravation. “It’s a nuisance call.” A big nuisance.

Liz nodded, moving on. “Anyway,” she said with a purposeful smile, “after we collect the goats, take them back to the ranch and get them situated, I’d like to meet up again—at the homestead—and start our prep.”

Travis mentally ran through all they had to do regarding the goat herd. “It’ll be late.”

One corner of her mouth turned up in an ironic smile that reached her pretty green eyes. “I won’t turn into a pumpkin before midnight, I promise.”

His phone buzzed yet again. Trying not to cuss, Travis pulled the device out of his shirt pocket. To his relief, he saw a different caller this time.

He looked at Liz. “It’s your great-grandmother. I’ve got to take it.”

Liz moaned and got up to clear the remains of their picnic.

“Hey, Tillie. Yes, I talked Liz into going with me.”

Liz mouthed playfully,
“With one arm twisted behind my back.”

Travis grinned as he listened to the older woman’s complicated reminders, regarding what they wanted and needed for optimum land management.

What she had to say next, however, was not welcome news.

L
IZ
DIDN
’
T
KNOW
what was going on at the other end of the connection, but Travis’s mood turned from jovial to somber in an instant.

“Okay, thanks for telling me,” he said eventually. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be. I’d appreciate that....” He paused again. “Not to worry. You did the right thing.”

Right thing about what? Liz wondered. And why did he suddenly look so piqued? “Trouble?”

He shook his head, without quite looking her in the eye. “Another nuisance.”

Hmm. “You sure have a lot of those today,” Liz commented.

He shrugged and started to help clean up after their picnic. “Comes with the territory,” he muttered, suddenly in a hurry to be on their way. “What do you say we go buy the goats and load ’em up in the livestock hauler, and then I’ll drop you back here at the office, so you can pick up your car.”

Liz knew there was no reason to take two vehicles all the way out to the goat ranch, when they could easily save on gas and leave one in town. “Sounds good to me.”

Fortunately, the animals up for sale were all in prime condition. Liz and Travis picked out a dozen, and minutes later, the bill of sale was completed. The goats were herded into the livestock trailer attached to Travis’s truck, and they headed back to town again.

“Everything okay?” Liz asked him. Something was obviously going on.

He stared out the windshield. “Why do you ask?”

Why had she? Usually, she wasn’t this nosy. Finally, Liz made a noncommittal sound, then stated, “You seem tense.” Really tense.

And that wasn’t like him.

Usually he was very confident, laid-back.

It was his turn to be noncommittal.

Travis shrugged as the cell phone in his pocket went off once again. This time he didn’t even look at it.

So, Liz thought, something
was
going on. Something he preferred she not know about.

She wondered if it had anything to do with his defense, or the legal answer and lawsuits they had just filed.

Because if so…

Liz took in his rugged profile as his cell phone went off once more. “Hey. If you want to pull over and get that…”

His jaw set. “Nope.”

O-kay.

They reached the parking lot of her office. Travis swore when he saw the black SUV with tinted windows pulled up in front, motor running.

As he parked, a uniformed chauffeur stepped out from behind the wheel. He opened the back passenger door. A white-haired gentleman known throughout the Texas energy community stepped out.

Liz recognized him from his pictures, which were often in the business section of Texas newspapers. Hargett Anderson.

He held out a hand, gripped hers firmly. “You must be Liz Cartwright,” he said.

Liz smiled, returning the firm handshake. She looked into his intelligent eyes, so much like Travis’s. “And you must be Travis’s grandfather.”

“That I am,” he said proudly. “Although—” he turned to frown at his grandson “—you would never know it by the way he refuses to return my emails and phone calls.”

Travis scowled, a muscle working in his jaw. “Liz doesn’t need to be in the middle of this, Grandpa Hargett.”

Hargett harrumphed. “She wouldn’t be, if you’d been at the Four Winds, where you were supposed to be this evening.”

Travis opened up the hauler to let air in and check on the goats, in their large, steel travel crates. Seeing Travis, they let out a chorus of indignant baas.