Raleigh And The Rancher (Wranglers & Lace #3) Read online

  “What makes her so touchy?” Dan found her hot-blooded nature fascinating. He came from a controlled, unemotional family, and he liked Raleigh’s fighting spirit.

  “Just her way, I guess.”

  “Does she have a boyfriend?”

  “I don’t like to gossip. Maybe you better ask her yourself.”

  “Come on, Pete. Throw me a bone.”

  Pete shrugged. “No. She ain’t got a fella. Least not now. She don’t go out much. Spends most of her free time with her brother, Caleb, or with horses.”

  “How come? She’s cute and smart and talented. Why isn’t she married?”

  “She’s got her reasons.”

  “Some man broke her heart?”

  “Might say that,” Pete reflected, nibbling on a piece of hay.

  Raleigh in love with someone else? An unexpected lance of pure green jealousy poked through him. Who had hurt her so severely she wanted nothing more to do with men? Dan took off his cowboy hat and turned it around in his hands.

  “What else?”

  “It’s not my place, boss. Talk to Raleigh.”

  Dan sighed. Maybe it was better if he let the whole thing drop. He had a goal to achieve and chasing after Raleigh Travers would only interfere with his plans.

  “I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better,” Dan confessed. “But I’m not ready for anything long-term. This dude ranch is commitment enough for me.”

  “If that’s true, I suggest you give her a wide berth.” Pete spoke sharply. “She’s suffered a lot in her short life and she deserves better than being your fling.”

  “You’re absolutely right.” Dan slapped Pete on the back. “I’m steering clear of her.”

  “That’s good, ‘cause if you hurt her, you’ll have me to contend with.”

  Dan raised his palms. “Don’t worry, Raleigh is strictly off-limits. But maybe, one day, I will find the right girl. I am a family man at heart.”

  “One thing at a time, boss. First, let’s get this dude ranch in operation. After all, I have a stake in this investment, too.”

  Pete was right. His priorities lay in renovating the ranch. But that knowledge couldn’t dispel the tantalizing memory of Raleigh Travers’s unique smell or the destructive effects her tight little tush had had on his libido. He’d already learned one painful lesson about letting his heart rule his head. His track record wasn’t exactly stellar. Nope. The best plan of action was to forget about Miss Raleigh Travers entirely.

  * * *

  Raleigh drove aimlessly.

  Pushing her sunglasses up on her nose, she wrapped the end of her braid around one finger. She couldn’t deny the volcanic undercurrent seething between her and Daniel McClintock, no matter how badly she might wish to do just that. They both recognized it. For one dizzy moment back there in the corral she’d been totally immobilized by his scrutiny, drawn like an unsuspecting insect into the spider’s web.

  She had wanted him to kiss her.

  Groaning, she shook her head. The realization shocked her. Not since Jack had anyone made her feel so sensual, so attractive, so desirable. Shivering, she placed a hand to her forehead.

  She felt panicky. Acknowledging the sensation, she immediately shied from it. Panic was a sure sign her emotions were involved. When Jack came to mind, a heavy suffocating breathlessness descended upon her as if someone were holding a pillow over her face. No. She would not think about either the past or Daniel McClintock. She would not allow herself to care about any man again.

  The clock on the dashboard told her it was five-fifteen, but it perpetually ran ten minutes fast no matter how often she reset it. Caleb would be finished with his afternoon paper route and hungry for supper. At the thought of her younger brother, she sighed. How could she tell him she’d struck out one more time?

  Pulling up outside the rented duplex she and fourteen-year-old Caleb had called home since their father’s death, Raleigh cut the engine, swung to the ground, and sauntered up the front porch steps. She’d never grown accustomed to living in town. Raised on a farm, she missed the animals, the garden, the wide expanse of open land.

  “Hey, sis.” Caleb greeted her from the porch swing where he rocked slowly back and forth.

  “How’s it going?” she asked, reaching over to ruffle his hair. She knew the gesture drove him crazy, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

  “Not good,” he replied, solemnly smoothing down his hair and handing her a piece of paper.

  “What’s that?”

  “Bad news.”

  Tentatively she unfolded the paper. An eviction notice for failure to pay rent.

  “We’ve got to get out by the end of the month.” Caleb tried to sound brave, but his quivering lip sold him out.

  Scanning the letter, Raleigh sighed, crumpled the paper, and tossed it into Caleb’s lap. “So what? We didn’t like living here, anyway.”

  “But what are we going to do?” Her bother frowned.

  “You let me worry about that.”

  “I can’t help it. I worry, too.” Caleb’s steely blue eyes reminded her so much of Pa, Raleigh experienced a sad tug of longing for their father.

  She held up her hands. “Listen, Caleb. Have I ever let you down before?”

  “No.”

  “And I’m not about to start now.”

  His face brightened. “Did you get the horseshoeing job at the ranch?”

  “Well, no.”

  Caleb gave her a hard look and sucked in a breath. “So, what are we going to do?”

  “I’ll take Fay up on her offer to work at the diner.”

  “Ah, sis, you’ll hate waiting tables.”

  “It’ll only be temporary, until a horseshoeing job opens up. You can do anything if you know it won’t last long.”

  She told the lie for Caleb’s sake. Once employed at the diner, it was unlikely she’d ever get the chance to work as a farrier. And taking the waitressing job wouldn’t solve their immediate housing problems. The best wages she could hope for would total a hundred and fifty dollars a week, and the duplex cost three hundred a month. Even if she could talk their landlord into revoking the eviction notice, they couldn’t afford to stay here.

  Caleb’s expression darkened.

  “Come on,” she said, patting his shoulder. “We’ve still got each other, don’t we?”

  Rocketing out of the porch swing, Caleb gave her a fierce hug. “You bet, sis.”

  They’d been through so much together. First, the loss of their mother, then Pa’s death. If it weren’t for Caleb, she’d have cracked up long ago. Hugging him right back, Raleigh marveled at how tall he’d sprouted over the summer. A mere three months earlier they’d been the same height, now he topped her by a good four inches.

  “I got paid from the newspaper today.” He jingled the change in the pocket of his faded jeans. “How ‘bout I treat us to a burger at the diner?”

  She started to say no and tell him they needed to save every dime, but what did a few dollars matter when they owed hundreds?

  “Come on,” he wheedled. “I know you hate to cook. Besides, there’s nothing in the house to eat and we’d have to go grocery shopping.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “My arm’s been properly twisted.”

  “Great.”

  They piled into the truck and drove the few blocks to Fay’s Diner. For Caleb’s benefit, Raleigh tried to be cheerful, but her thoughts kept vacillating between the eviction notice and Daniel McClintock. Why couldn’t she shake that man from her mind?

  Ever since Jack, she’d been able to ignore men, easily laughing off their advances. But McClintock was different. Around him, she felt giddy and out of control.

  “Hey, Raleigh, some of the guys from school are here. Do you mind if I go sit with them for a minute?” Caleb asked.

  Raleigh blinked, realizing her thoughts had strayed. “Of course not.”

  “Gee, thanks.” Scooping up his order, Caleb moved over to the table occupied by his friends.


  Raleigh chewed her fish sandwich and sipped her cherry cola without tasting it. Finishing the meal, she waited while Caleb and his buddies talked, joked, and fed quarters to the jukebox.

  Parenting a teenage boy required boundless energy and long-suffering patience, two qualities she often found herself in short supply of. Sometimes Raleigh questioned her abilities. Caleb needed a male role model, and that was one of the things she couldn’t give him.

  “Heck, I can’t even provide a roof over his head,” she mumbled under her breath, wadding up a piece of napkin and rolling it into a tight ball. Glumly, she stared at a clot of dried catsup clinging to the side of the napkin dispenser.

  How would she make ends meet?

  While a loud rock tune blared on the jukebox, Raleigh took her checkbook from her purse and assessed the reality of the situation. After subtracting the amount for their weekly food bill, they had a grand total of forty-seven dollars and fifty cents.

  “Hi there, kitten. Watcha up to?” Fay Walton settled herself into the seat across from Raleigh. Fay was closing in on fifty, but appeared ten years younger. She maintained a youthful figure, wore perfectly applied makeup, and carefully dyed any stray gray hairs.

  “Hey, Fay.”

  Raleigh stashed her checkbook back in her purse and smiled wanly at the woman who used to date her father. At one time she and Caleb thought Fay might even become their stepmother, but it had never happened.

  “Why the sad face?”

  Raleigh shrugged.

  “Got turned down for another job, huh?”

  “You can read me like a book.”

  Fay reached across the table and patted her hand. “It’ll be okay.”

  “We’re being evicted from the duplex.”

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll find somewhere else to live.”

  “Come and live with me. I don’t have much room, but you can stay until you can find another place.”

  “Nah. I appreciate the offer, but we couldn’t impose upon you like that.”

  “Well, then, if you won’t stay with me, at least come work for me. I know you have your heart set on continuing your pa’s farrier business, but you’re welcome to work here anytime. Not to mention the fact I could use the help,” Fay said.

  “When can I start?” Raleigh asked.

  Fay looked surprised. “Tomorrow, if you want.”

  “That’ll be great, Fay. Thanks.”

  “You’re more than welcome. Be here at six for the breakfast crowd.” Fay squeezed Raleigh’s shoulder. “I better get back to the grind. See you tomorrow morning.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Fay.”

  “What you always do. Survive.”

  Watching her friend disappear through the swinging doors into the kitchen, Raleigh resolutely squared her shoulders. She might have to wait tables for a while, but she vowed that somehow she would find a way to pursue her farrier career—and get Daniel McClintock out of her thoughts.

  Chapter Three

  Raleigh was taking an order from table number three when she glanced up and saw him.

  Daniel McClintock parked his shiny, blue, three-quarter-ton pickup in the parking lot of the First National Bank of Clyde, and ambled across the street, heading straight for Fay’s Diner.

  She froze.

  “Miss? Did you hear me? I said, we’re ready to order now.”

  Panic, swift and hard, launched through her like a ballistic missile. She stared at the elderly couple seated at the pink vinyl booth in front of her. They gazed at her curiously.

  “Excuse me...” She choked out the words. Zooming across the room, Raleigh snagged the other waitress’s elbow as the bell over the door tinkled merrily and Dan strutted inside.

  “Annie. Annie,” she said in a rushed whisper. “You’ve got to do me a favor.” Dan spied Raleigh and slanted her a sideways glance. He winked and she felt her knees turn to syrup. Simply looking at the man caused droplets of perspiration to collect between her breasts.

  “What is it?” Annie frowned, clutching a pot of coffee in the hand Raleigh clung to.

  The elderly couple shifted in their seats, nosily craning their necks to see what was going on. The old man raised a hand. “Waitress.”

  “Oh, shoot,” Raleigh muttered.

  Dan settled into the booth next to table number three. Her area.

  “Switch sections with me,” she pleaded with Annie.

  “What? Why? That old geezer’s signaling for you.”

  “You’ve got to switch with me, Annie.” She spoke in a desperate whisper. Raleigh couldn’t tolerate the idea of facing Dan again. “See that guy over there? The one in the black cowboy hat?” As she spoke, Dan removed his hat and set it on the seat beside him.

  “Yeah.” Annie grinned. “He’s real cute.”

  “Well, I don’t want to wait on him. Please switch sections and I’ll give you the tips from both areas. Come on, say yes.” Raleigh peeked over her shoulder. Her eyes met Dan’s and for one brief second she felt as if she were tumbling backward into a bottomless well.

  “Are you crazy, girl?” Annie perused Dan and her light brown eyes widened in surprise. “Why on earth wouldn’t you want to wait on a hunk like that? He can eat crackers in my bed anytime. Sure, I’ll switch sections with you. Take this pot of coffee to table ten and you leave that cowpoke to Annie.” The older woman thrust out her ample chest, her breasts straining at the buttons of her bubble-gum pink uniform.

  “Thanks, Annie. I appreciate this.”

  “Don’t mention it, honey. Just get a move on. You think it’s busy now, wait until the cattle auction lets out at two.”

  Keeping her head down to avoid any additional chance of catching Dan’s eye, she scurried away, trying hard to concentrate on her duties despite the noisy clamor of clinking dishes, high-spirited laughter and the steady roaring of her pulse whooshing in her ears.

  She poured coffee for table ten, then hurried to retrieve an order as the cook rang the bell for pickup.

  It was her third day on the job and although she’d been performing well, she could tell she wasn’t cut out for this kind of work. Her temper flared easily when someone criticized the food. She resented casual flirtations from male customers. She disliked the greasy smell clinging to her clothes and she positively hated the pink uniforms. And now, to make matters worse, Daniel McClintock had appeared to plague her very existence.

  Raleigh took another order and turned to deliver it to the kitchen, but found Annie blocking her way.

  “He specifically asked for you,” Annie said.

  “Tell him I’m unavailable,” Raleigh groused.

  “I don’t know what you’ve got, honey, but it’s you he’s after. Might as well get over there and talk to him before he raises a stink.”

  Raleigh groaned. Okay. Fine. She could handle this. He was only a man, after all. No big deal. Right?

  “I’ll take care of him,” she told Annie through clenched teeth.

  “Wish it was me he was interested in. You should have your head examined. He’s gorgeous.” Annie raised her hand. “I took care of the elderly couple, so go ahead and scope out the cowboy.”

  “Thanks,” Raleigh mumbled, feeling guilty for getting angry with Annie. It wasn’t her fault Daniel McClintock was sitting there with a good-for-nothing grin on his smug face.

  She forced herself to go over to his booth. Gripping her pencil and notepad tightly, she coerced a smile. “What’ll you have?”

  “I could say something that would make your back get even stiffer, but I’ll refrain. I want to prove I can control myself.” A smirk curled the corners of Dan’s full lips. Without meaning to, Raleigh found herself wondering what it would feel like to have his mouth on hers, hungry, searching, demanding.

  Unnerved, she peered out the plate-glass window at the empty street before her. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him; she feared being ensnared by his magnetic stare. If she was
n’t careful, she could care for this man, and that thought scared her like a tightrope walker crossing the Grand Canyon without a net.

  “Raleigh.”

  Focusing on her notepad, she repeated the question. “What’ll you have?”

  “Some common courtesy might be nice.”

  “Sorry,” she said abruptly. “You came to the wrong place for that.”

  “Testy, aren’t we?”

  “Listen, I’m pretty busy, could you order, please?”

  “Okay.” He closed his menu. “Cheeseburger and a cup of coffee.”

  She scribbled on the pad and spun away. But before she could escape, Dan grabbed the tail of her apron and tugged her into the curve of his strong, muscular arm. His hand molded around her hip. The feel of his skin against her polyester uniform sparked an inexplicable blaze inside her groin.

  “Let me go,” she stormed, stamping her feet for emphasis. Color burned her cheeks. Not one to sidestep a challenge, Raleigh sucked in a breath, fortifying herself for a fight. She hated how vulnerable McClintock made her feel.

  As if sensing her growing agitation, Dan slowly released her, a pensive expression crossing his angular face.

  Relieved to be free from his embrace, she raced away, only to be waylaid from behind the counter by Annie. “So, what’s the scoop?” the waitress asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Ha! You’re holding out on me. I saw the way he grabbed you.”

  “Waitress,” someone called, and Raleigh was saved from replying as she bustled to their table.

  Yet even as she took another order, her mind was on Daniel McClintock. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? The man made her feel restless and unsure of herself. She’d decided a long time ago to forget about men, and it was a good, rational choice. A decision based on common sense and one designed to protect her heart. Falling in love was too painful, especially when love disappeared. Besides, she had Caleb to think about. She couldn’t expect any man to take on a ready-made family. It was asking too much.

  She was happy with things the way they were. Well, sort of. If she could get her farrier business off the ground, then she would be happy. But she didn’t need some arrogant man to make her life complete. She could manage just fine on her own, thank you very much.