To Wear His Ring: Circle of Gold / Trophy Wives / Dakota Bride. Wendy Warren

must have spent a lot of time around children.”

      She lowered her eyes to her empty plate. “I did. I’m not formally taught or anything, but I do know a few things.”

      “It shows. I’ve never seen Bess respond to any of her various governesses. She liked you on sight.”

      “How many governesses has she had?” she asked curiously.

      “Four. This year,” he amended.

      Her eyebrows arched. “Why so many?”

      “Are you afraid of spiders, garter snakes, or frogs?” he asked.

      She shook her head. “Why?”

      “Well, the others were. They got downright twitchy about opening drawers or pulling down bedcovers,” he recalled with a chuckle. “Bess likes garter snakes. She shared them with the governesses.”

      “Oh, dear,” Kasie said.

      “You see the point. That’s why Miss Parsons was hired. She’s the next best thing to a Marine DI, as you may have noticed.”

      Her face lightened. “So that’s why he hired her. I did wonder.”

      John sighed. “I wish he’d hired her to do the tax work on the payroll instead. She’s a natural, and since she’s a retired accountant that experience would make her an asset. We have a firm of C.P.A.’s to do yearly stuff, but our bookkeeper who did payroll got married and moved to L.A. just before we hired you.”

      “And Miss Parsons got hired to look after the girls. She really dislikes children,” she added.

      “I know. But Gil refuses to believe it. He’s been lax about work at the ranch for a while. He stayed on the road more and more, avoiding the memories after Darlene died. I felt bad for him, but things were going to pot here. I have to travel to show the bulls,” he added, “because the more competitions we win, the higher the prices we can charge for stud fees or young bulls. The ranch can’t run without anybody overseeing it.” He pursed his lips as he studied her. “I gather that you said something to him about neglecting the girls. I thought so,” he mused when she shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve told him, too, but he didn’t listen to me. Apparently he listens to you.”

      “He’s already tried to fire me once,” she pointed out.

      “You’re still here,” he replied.

      “Yes. But I can’t help but wonder for how much longer,” she murmured, voicing her one real fear. “I could go back and live with my aunt, but it isn’t fair to her. I have to work and support myself. This was the only full-time job that I was qualified for. Jobs are thin on the ground, regardless of the reports coming out about how great the economy is.”

      “How did you end up in Medicine Ridge in the first place?” he wondered.

      “I was living with my aunt in Billings when I saw the ad for this job in the local paper. I’d already been all over Billings hoping for a full-time job and couldn’t find one. This one seemed tailor-made for me.”

      “I’m glad you applied for it,” he said. “There were a lot of candidates, but we ruled out most of them in less than five minutes each. You were the only woman out there who could even type.”

      “You’re kidding.”

      “No. They thought I wanted beauty instead of brains. I didn’t.” He smiled. “Not that you’re bad on the eyes, Kasie. But I wasn’t running a pageant.”

      “I was surprised that your brother hired me,” she confessed. “He seemed to dislike me on sight. But when he found out how fast I could type, he was a lot less antagonistic.”

      He wasn’t going to mention what Gil had said to him after he hired Kasie. It had been against Gil’s better judgment, and he’d picked her appearance and her pert manner to pieces. It was interesting that Gil was antagonistic toward her. Very interesting.

      “You’re a whiz at the computer,” John said. “A real asset. I didn’t realize what you could do with a spreadsheet program until you modified ours. You’re gifted.”

      “I love computers,” she said with a smile. “Pauline is going to enjoy them, too, when she learns just a little more. Once she discovers the Internet, she’ll be even more efficient. There are all sorts of Web sites dedicated to the cattle industry. It would be great for comparisons—even for buying and selling bulls. You could have your own Web site.”

      John let out a low whistle. “Funny, I hadn’t even considered that. Kasie, it might revolutionize the way we do business, not to mention cutting down on the amount of travel we have to do every year.”

      “That’s what I thought, too,” she said, smiling at him.

      “Mention it to Gil when you go to the movies,” he coaxed. “Let’s see what he thinks.”

      “He might like the idea better if it came from you,” she said.

      “I think he’ll like it, period. I already do. Can you make a Web site?”

      She grimaced. “No, I can’t. But I know a woman who can,” she added. “She works out of Billings. I met her when we were going to secretarial school. She’s really good, and she doesn’t charge an arm and a leg. I can get in touch with her, if you like.”

      “Go ahead. We do a lot of communication by e-mail, but neither of us even thought about putting cattle on our own site. It’s a terrific idea!”

      “You sound like Bess,” Gil said from the doorway. “What’s terrific?”

      “We’re going on the Internet,” John said.

      His big brother frowned. “The Internet?”

      “Kasie can tell you what she’s proposed. It could open new doors for us in marketing. It’s international.”

      Gil was quick. He caught on almost at once. “You mean, get a Web site and use it to buy and sell cattle,” he said.

      “It will save you as much time as sending e-mail back and forth between potential buyers and sellers already does,” she added.

      “Good idea.” Gil studied her with a curious smile. “Full of surprises aren’t you, Miss Mayfield?”

      “She’s gifted,” John said, grinning at his brother. “I told you so. Now maybe you can stop talking about firing her, hmm?”

      Gil pressed his lips together and refused to rise to the bait. “It’s almost one o’clock. If we’re going to the movies, let’s go. Kasie, fetch the girls.”

      She almost saluted, but he looked vaguely irritated. It looked as though nothing she suggested was ever going to please him. She wondered why she didn’t just walk out and leave him to it. The thought was painful. She went up to get the little girls, more confused than ever.

      Chapter Four

      The girls chattered like birds all the way to town in Gil’s black Jaguar. Kasie sat in front and listened patiently, smiling, while they told her all about the movie they were going to see. They’d seen the previews on television when they watched their Saturday morning cartoons.

      It was a warm, pretty day, and trees and shrubs were blooming profusely. It should have been perfect, but Kasie was uneasy. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned anything about Web sites, but it seemed an efficient way for Gil and John to move into Webbased commerce.

      “You’re brooding,” Gil remarked. “Why?”

      “I was wondering if I should have suggested anything about Internet business,” she said.

      “Why not? It’s a good idea,” he said, surprising her. “John told me about the Web site designer. Tomorrow, I want you to get in touch with her and get the process started.”

      “She’ll