Patricia Johns – The Cowboy's Christmas Bride (страница 2)

“That’s an understatement,” she retorted. “But thanks to you selling off that land to developers, our ranch is now bone dry.”

“What?” Andy frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The streams that ran through your pasture watered ours,” she said. “The developers blocked the main ones to make some sort of reservoir. We’re down to a trickle.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know.” Those words didn’t encompass half of what he felt. That sale had been a mistake, and while he’d been able to buy a car dealership in the city, which had turned into a rather lucrative investment, he’d never been able to shake the certainty he’d made a monumental error when he sold his half of the inheritance and the family pasture.

“But glad to know you made some money off it.” Her tone dripped sarcasm.

“It was my land to sell, Dakota.”

It wasn’t like he’d stolen something from his brother. What was he supposed to do—dutifully step back and forget about his inheritance altogether because his brother was using it?

“Yeah, but to Lordship Land Developers?” she snapped. He’d seen the sign beside the road, too—a bit of a jolt when he’d first driven back into town.

Dakota wasn’t so far away from his position. Sure, her parents were still alive, but every ranch faced the same problem. When the owner had more than one child, and the bulk of his financial worth was wrapped up in that land, how did you divide it in a will and still keep the business intact? Who got the ranch and who got cut out?

“What if your brother inherited your dad’s ranch?” he pressed. “Let’s say your dad leaves the whole thing to Brody. What if you were left with some scrub grass and some memories, and that was it? What if you were pushed out and had to find a way to deal? Are you telling me you wouldn’t have done the same thing? It’s not much of an inheritance when no one expects you to lay a finger on it.”

“Then you sell to your brother,” she said with a shake of her head. “But you didn’t. You turned this grudge between you and Chet into something that put a black mark on this whole community. Who says anybody is okay with having some resort built here? We’re a ranch community, not a vacation spot.”

“Take it up with the mayor.” He was tired of defending himself. Everyone had the same complaint—he’d sold to an outsider. That was the kind of misstep the town of Hope couldn’t forgive.

“Trust me, we tried,” she retorted. “Especially when our land dried up and we had to try and graze an entire herd on dust.”

Andy’s stomach sank. Was it that bad? It wasn’t like he could’ve anticipated that, but people around here didn’t seem to care about what was fair to blame on him and what wasn’t. Things had gone wrong, and he was the target for an entire community’s animosity.

“Look, I’m sorry. I had no way of knowing that would happen.”

She didn’t look terribly mollified, and he didn’t really expect her to be. The truth was he could have sold to his brother, but he’d erred on the side of money. The developers had offered more than he could turn down—enough to buy the dealership in the city free and clear.

And, yes, he’d harbored a few grudges against his perfect brother, Chet. This cattle drive was a favor to his brother, nothing more, and the last thing he needed was a distraction. He’d messed up and he didn’t need a four-day-long reminder of that in the form of Dakota Mason, but Chet had asked her to lend a hand before Mackenzie’s pregnancy troubles, and Andy was just filling Chet’s shoes until he got back. This was all very temporary.

“Changed your mind about helping out?” Andy asked. “My brother isn’t going to be back for a while, so you’d have to deal with me, whether you like it or not.”

“Thanks to you, we need the extra money,” she retorted. “So, no, I’m in.”

Working with a woman who couldn’t stand him was a bad idea. He knew that plain enough, but he couldn’t shake the feeling he owed her. Just like the rest of this blasted town. He had a debt hanging over his head that he’d never be able to repay. Andy glanced at his watch. Two drovers had quit on Chet, and they needed two replacements to get the job done. After Dakota, there was only one other applicant to the job posting he’d placed. He wasn’t exactly in a position to turn down help.

“Have you done a cattle drive before?”

She shot him a sidelong look. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

It wasn’t a completely inappropriate question. Andy hadn’t gone on more than two cattle drives in his life. His brother had always been the one who cared about ranching operations—and was the consummate favorite—so their father had taken him along most years. Andy needed drovers who knew what they were doing, because while he was the face of the family for this drive, he didn’t have the experience, and he knew it. Getting the job done was going to rely on the expertise of his team. Which brought up an important question.

“All the other drovers are men,” he said. “Can you handle that?”

“If I can handle cattle, I can handle men.” She narrowed her eyes. “Can you handle a woman on your team?”

Andy shot her a grin. He’d never been one to shy away from women. He’d managed to garner a bit of a reputation for himself over the years. In fact, he’d even dated his brother’s wife back when they were in high school—and when he’d been dumb enough to cheat on her with another girl. Not his proudest moment. But while Hope might remember him as the flirt no one could nail down, the last few years had changed him in ways he’d mostly kept to himself. Seeing Chet and Mack fall in love, get married and now start a family made him realize what he wanted—the real thing.

“I have no problem working with a woman,” he replied. “But if we’re going to be working together for the next four days, maybe we could drop the personal vendetta. Like a truce.”

She met his gaze without even a hint of a smile. “I can be professional.”

Professional. Yeah, he’d had his fill of professional at the dealership. And if he had to spend the better part of a week with a group of people, he’d rather not feel their icy disapproval the entire time.

“I was actually aiming for friendly,” he said and caught a flicker of humor in her direct gaze. “I’m not your favorite person, I get that. I hadn’t realized how bad it was—” He swallowed, weighing his words. “You aren’t the only one with a grudge around here. Do you know what it’s like to order breakfast at the truck stop and have everyone there, including your waitress, glare at you? I think my eggs tasted funny, to boot. Goodness knows what they did to them. So I get it. I’m the bad guy. I’m the jerk who sold you all out, but I do have a job to do, and this isn’t for me, it’s for Chet.”

Some of the tension in her shoulders loosened at the mention of his brother. That’s the way it always was around here. People liked Chet. They respected him. They sided with him, too.

Her direct, cool expression didn’t flicker. “I’ll meet you halfway at civil.”

“I’ll take what I can get. If you want this job, we have to be able to work together. You know what it’s like out there, and if we can’t count on each other, we’re wasting everyone’s time.”

“I’m not going to be your problem,” she said, and he knew what she was talking about—the rest of the team.

“Leave the other guys to me.” He wasn’t exactly confident in his ability to lead this team of drovers, but if he could bridge the gap with Dakota, it would be a step in the right direction.

“So, what are the plans?” she asked.

“It’s four days in total. I haven’t done this particular ride before. It’s to the far side of what used to be the Vaughn ranch. We’re driving back four hundred head, so it’s no small job.”

Dakota nodded. “When do we start?”

“Monday morning.”

“Okay, I’ll be here bright and early.” She rose to her feet and turned toward the door. Her jeans fit her nicely and he found himself having to pull his eyes away from admiring her shape.

“Dakota—”

“Yeah?” She turned back, brown eyes drilling into him, and he felt the urge to squirm.

This was the hard part—this was where he had to reveal that he needed help—and his stomach tightened. He didn’t like admitting weakness, but needed an outside opinion, and she was the most qualified person in the room.

“You sold Chet some horses last spring,” he said.

“What of it?” She raked a hand through her hair.

“I need to choose my horse for this drive, and I thought you might have some advice.” More than advice. Dakota was something of a horse whisperer, able to calm even the most spirited animal, and while he knew she didn’t much like him at the moment, he did trust her instincts. There was a horse he’d warmed up to over the last couple of days—Romeo. Chet thought Romeo wasn’t ready for a cattle drive, but there was just something about that horse that Andy couldn’t dismiss. Maybe he and Romeo were alike—not exactly ready but still perfectly capable. He wanted Dakota’s take on it. Maybe she’d see something Chet hadn’t.

When Dakota didn’t answer right away, he added, “I know I’m not in the best position to ask you any personal favors, but it’s been a long time since I worked a ranch, and Chet is counting on me to take care of things. Once I’m done this job, I’ll go away and never bother you again. That’s a promise.”