Bachelor Cowboy. Patricia Knoll

they had met.

      

      Strangely, he didn’t seem to welcome her gratitude. Maybe he, too, was recalling his rudeness. “I’ll be going then,” he said. “Goodbye, Miss Kelleher.”

      Shannon hugged her niece and swayed as she watched him turn swiftly and stroll away. She was grateful to see that Gus Blackhawk was nowhere in sight. Luke reached a brown pickup, set the box in the back and climbed in, then reversed out of the spot and drove down the street.

      Shannon saw that his truck still had its Arizona license plate. His vehicle told her a little bit more about him. He might have the money to buy the Crescent Ranch and to take his time about getting it into shape to raise cattle, but he didn’t waste his funds on a new truck when a ten-year old one would get him where he needed to go.

      This was becoming like a game, she thought, as she bent to place Christina in her stroller and strap her in carefully. The more she wanted to learn about Luke Farraday, the more he seemed to hide. That was why he fascinated her. She was convinced that once she got to know him, he wouldn’t seem so intriguing.

      Shannon had always liked puzzles and ciphers, and Luke certainly qualified. The way to solve a puzzle was to find its secret key.

      

      Shannon gave Luke a week after seeing him in Tarrant. He hadn’t contacted her office—not that she thought he would. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want help from her or any other person or agency. Ordinarily, she would respect that, but she was sure that, given a little more time and persuasion, she could get him to change his mind.

      Her motives weren’t purely unselfish, she admitted, as she packed a lunch to take on Friday’s rounds. While it was true that thinking about the methods she could use to get the Crescent back into shape was enough to make her excited about the project, she also wanted to prove to Wiley Frost that she could do her job.

      She leaned against the kitchen counter to sip her morning coffee. Absently, her gaze scanned her apartment. Though it was tiny and furnished with castoffs from the homes of her mother and sisters, it was cheerful and full of the shades of blue and green she loved. Plants flourished before the big window that looked on the small apartment building’s lawn. She moved from the kitchen area and examined the plants, plucking a few dry leaves off the philodendron.

      Her problems with Wiley were only part of the reason she needed to talk to Luke again. There was something about Luke that intrigued her, drew her to him. Maybe it was because he seemed like such a loner, though she was sure he would deny being lonely. Maybe it was because he didn’t seem to like her.

      While she didn’t feel any particular need to be liked by everyone she met, she thrived on challenge. Her mother said she’d always done things the hard way, and Shannon knew she probably wasn’t going to change. And dealing with Luke was definitely a challenge.

      With a determined step, she returned to the kitchen, set her cup down and finished making her salad. As she was reaching for some cookies to add to her lunch, she paused and tilted her head. She and her nephew, Jimmy, had made the chocolate chip cookies last night when he’d come to spend the evening with her. Even though his help had consisted of scooping out and eating chunks of dough when he thought she wasn’t looking, the cookies had turned out to be delicious.

      Shannon examined the container with narrowed eyes, then smiled ruefully. Luke Farraday definitely didn’t seem like the type of man who would be influenced by baked goods. She was sure that the way to his heart was not through his stomach, but still, cookies might soften him up.

      Unbelievable that she was thinking in these terms. She’d spent her life trying to be accepted for her brains rather than her looks or her abilities in the kitchen. The idea of being seen as a helpless female was abhorrent to her though she was also practical enough to know that she’d damaged her image when she’d fainted at Luke’s feet.

      Smiling, she gathered a handful of cookies and tossed them into a self-sealing bag. The truth was, she was a fabulous cook, and there was the barest outside chance that taking him a few cookies might make him pause long enough to get him to listen to her. She had two other ranches to visit first. Then she would spend the rest of the day with Luke.

      If he would let her.

      

      “This better be a neighborly visit and not an official one,” Luke said as he strode toward where she’d parked the agency truck.

      When she had driven into the yard, she’d seen him coming out of the barn with a roll of barbed wire, which he’d tossed into the back of his truck. She was relieved that she’d caught him. If she’d been a few minutes later, he would have been gone.

      Seeing him striding toward her in his work clothes of denim shirt, jeans and dusty boots, his accustomed scowl fixed in its usual place just under the brim of his battered straw cowboy hat, she felt a surge of excitement and anticipation. Since meeting him, she’d somehow become enthralled with the idea of living dangerously.

      Shannon grabbed the bag of cookies and let it dangle from her fingers as she stepped to the ground. When she answered him, her tone was as direct as his. “Oh? You’re accepting neighborly visits, then?”

      Luke stopped in front of her and rested his hands on his waist as his gaze shifted from her to the bag and back again. “That depends. Are you the local welcoming committee today?”

      “No, just one neighbor calling on another.”

      Luke stripped his gloves off and stuck them in his back pocket, then took the bag and extracted a couple of cookies. As he did so, he gave her an assessing glance. “What else do neighbors do to help each other out around here?”

      She knew intuitively that he was testing her. She lifted her chin. “Whatever needs to be done. Last year, Joe McAdam helped my mom load and sell some cattle after she fell and hurt her back.” Shannon smiled ruefully. “My mom’s a little bit accident prone.” She didn’t know why she’d added the last part, except it wouldn’t hurt for him to begin seeing his neighbors as real people.

      He bit into a cookie and chewed it thoughtfully, then held it away and gave it an appreciative look. “You make these?”

      “Yes. With my nephew’s help.”

      He took another bite, chewed and swallowed. “Had any experience in mending fences?”

      Shannon blinked. “Are you kidding? I’m one of three girls. We had no brothers, so our dad depended on us to help out.” She offered him a tentative smile. “You got some fence that needs mending?”

      His gaze went from her to cookies and back again. “Can you mend fence as well as you bake cookies?”

      “Better.”

      As she had on her last visit, she glimpsed a flicker of humor in his eyes. She felt her heart begin a slow, heavy beat of excitement. She wanted to encourage that spark of humor.

      “Does your boss know you’re here?” he asked.

      “Of course.” That wasn’t strictly true. She’d left a list of the places she was going that day, but Wiley probably wouldn’t bother to read it. However, she wasn’t responsible for his negligence.

      “And he doesn’t mind that you’re wasting your time?”

      She shrugged. “It’s my time to waste.”

      “Honey, it’s really the government’s time.”

      “Visiting the ranchers and offering my assistance is part of my job,” she answered in a careless tone. “I’m only doing my job.”

      Luke munched another cookie while he considered. “Since you’re determined to help me out even though I don’t need your help, and you keep showing up here, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and work with me today?”

      His tone told her he thought she couldn’t do it—just as he thought she couldn’t catch and saddle