The Rancher's Bride. Stella Bagwell

and none of them had stirred him in any way. Yet there was something about Rose Murdock that made him itch in all the wrong places.

      Nudging the mare’s sides, he decided to ride down the slope to meet her and the spotted blue dog trotting at her heels.

      “Good morning,” she said as he stopped abreast of her.

      “Good morning,” he drawled.

      She shifted in the saddle as his dark brown eyes scanned her face. She didn’t know why the man had to look at her like he enjoyed it. She was too thin to have much of a figure and her features were sharp and angular. The only nice things about her were full lips and gray luminous eyes. But in Rose’s opinion nothing about her warranted a second glance.

      “I’ve talked with my family about letting you use some of the ranch,” she said to him.

      “And?”

      And? Did he honestly think they were in a position to refuse him? Rose wondered. She said, “Of course they’re in agreement. They’re leaving it up to me and you to decide which parts of the land would work best for all of us.”

      “I’m glad they understand my problem.”

      Rose came close to groaning out loud. His problem? All he needed was a little water. She and her sisters needed a miracle.

      “My sisters and I would like to know how much money you’re willing to allow us for our water,” she told him.

      He studied her for a moment, then named an amount that Rose considered surprisingly generous.

      “I think that’s more than fair,” she said awkwardly as her eyes skittered away from his tough face.

      Looks to die for. That’s the way Chloe had described him. Rose didn’t know about that, but she knew whenever she looked at him she couldn’t think or breathe or do anything but gawk like a naive teenager. Her reaction to him was downright silly. But she didn’t know how to stop it.

      Harlan motioned toward the section of land they were presently on. “I have a hundred head to graze and water. Can this spot do that? It’s the closest one to me and the most feasible one to use. Or do you have cattle in here now?”

      She nodded. “Fifty head. But I can move them.”

      “That’s a lot of trouble.”

      It was. But she was getting pretty used to dealing with trouble. First they found babies abandoned on the doorstep, then they discovered their father had been blackmailed by the mother into making exorbitant payments, and now this loan to Harlan Hamilton. Rose couldn’t imagine what else might turn up as a result of their father’s reckless behavior.

      “There’s no other choice,” Rose told him.

      “Where is your open pasture?” he asked.

      Her eyes flickered back to Harlan. The gold of the morning sun was rising behind him, outlining his thick shoulders, the rolled brim of his black hat and the dark curls lying against his neck. He looked like a moonlighter, something the old men of the west called a cattle thief. Could she trust him with her cattle? Her land? Herself?

      “Several miles from here.”

      Rubbing his unshaved jaws, he thoughtfully studied the land spread to the west of them. The river was dry in spots, but in other places the water was deep and cool. If heaven had a name, the Bar M had to be it, he thought.

      “I see you didn’t bring a wrangler with you,” he said to Rose.

      Her eyes on Pie’s tangled mane, she said, “I don’t have a wrangler. I’m it.”

      Harlan couldn’t have been more stunned if Queen, his mare, had suddenly started bucking sky-high. This woman was taking care of several thousand acres of land and cattle on her own? No. He couldn’t believe it.

      “I’m not saying this because I think you’re incompetent, but I just don’t believe…” He broke off with a shake of his head. “Surely you have help of some kind.”

      She combed her fingers through Pie’s long mane, then patted his neck. The horse was her help, her companion, her very best buddy. These days she spent more time with him than she did anyone.

      “Pie here is my help. And Amos my heeler,” she motioned toward the dog, waiting quietly at her horse’s hocks. “Believe me, he’s a lot better than a handful of lazy wranglers.”

      He looked skeptically at her, the sorrel and the scroungy dog. “I’m sure he’s a good horse and the dog is no doubt trained to work cattle, but—”

      “You don’t have a hired hand, do you?” she interrupted.

      “Well, no, but my ranch is half the size of yours.”

      She lifted her chin proudly. Not for anything would she let him know how exhausted she was by the end of the day, how weary she was when she rose before dawn to start all over again. Some days she didn’t know if she could take another step. But the idea of losing her home drove her on.

      “It takes a little more effort. We have someone to cut and bale our alfalfa for us and of course we have to have a farrier over pretty often to shoe Chloe’s horses, but other than that we pretty much do things for ourselves.”

      What would Tomas think if he knew how hard his daughters were working? Harlan wondered. And what had happened to get the place in such shape? Tomas himself? Or had his daughters high-rolled all their money away?

      “I know last night you implied things were tight. I didn’t realize you meant—well, I hadn’t heard you’d let all your hired help go.”

      If that was the case, then he probably hadn’t heard about the twins, or her father’s sordid affair that had produced them. Rose couldn’t help but wonder what Harlan would think of his old friend when he did finally hear the story.

      Rose glanced pointedly at the watch strapped to her wrist. “Well, if you’re ready, I think we’d better see if we can find my cattle and get them out of here. This might take awhile.”

      “Not yet.”

      Rose cut him a glance. “Why? What are you waiting for?”

      “Emily is coming to help. In fact, she should be here any time now.” He reined Queen up the slope. “I’ll go see if I can spot her.”

      Rose followed close behind him. “Emily knows about riding and herding cattle?”

      He shot her a dry look over his shoulder. “Emily was born on a ranch back in east Texas and she’s lived on the Flying H for seven years. Like you, she knows what it’s all about.”

      “You taught her?”

      “It’s just me and her. I may come up short at being a stand-in mother, but as her daddy, I’ve taught her all the things I could. That may not seem like much to you, Rose, but…” he paused and shrugged, “someday it might help her.”

      The two of them rode on to the top of the slope, then pulled their mounts to a stop. As they waited for Emily to appear, Rose considered what Harlan had just told her.

      Teaching Emily about ranching was as much or more than what Tomas had taught her. She’d hate to imagine what sort of shape she and her sisters would be in now if they’d been raised as helpless females. Still, she couldn’t imagine not having a mother’s soft hand to wipe away a tear, brush her hair, help her pick out a dress for the junior high prom.

      Rose had been devastated when she’d lost her own mother a little over a year ago. But at least she’d had her love and guidance while she’d been growing up. Emily had been robbed at a very vulnerable time in her life. Did Harlan realize that?

      Only a minute or two passed before Emily came riding up on a big Appaloosa. Like Rose, she was dressed for riding in the sun and the brush. A smile on her face, she appeared to be much perkier this morning than she’d been last night.

      “Good