Christmas Cowboy: Will of Steel / Winter Roses. Diana Palmer

sighed.

      “And since you’re with me, you’d be right in the thick of it.” He pursed his lips. “You wouldn’t like to be featured in a riot, would you?”

      “Not in Billings, no,” she agreed.

      “Then you could wear a skirt, couldn’t you?”

      “I guess it wouldn’t kill me,” she said, but reluctantly.

      He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. There was some reason she didn’t like dressing like a woman. He wished he could ask her about it, but she was obviously uncomfortable discussing personal issues with him. Maybe it was too soon. He did wonder if she still had scars from her encounter with the auditor.

      He smiled gently. “Something demure,” he added. “I won’t expect you to look like a pole dancer, okay?”

      She laughed. “Okay.”

      He loved the way she looked when she smiled. Her whole face took on a radiance that made her pretty. She didn’t smile often. Well, neither did he. His job was a somber one, most of the time.

      “I’ll see you about six, then.”

      She nodded. She was wondering how she was going to afford something new to wear to a fancy nightclub, but she would never have admitted it to him.

      She ran into Sassy Callister in town while she was trying to find something presentable on the bargain table at the single women’s clothing store.

      “You’re looking for a dress?” Sassy exclaimed. She’d known Jillian all her life, and she’d never seen her in anything except jeans and shirts. She even wore a pantsuit to church when she went.

      Jillian glared at her. “I do have legs.”

      “That wasn’t what I meant.” She chuckled. “I gather Ted’s taking you out on a real date, huh?”

      Jillian went scarlet. “I never said …!”

      “Oh, we all know about the will,” Sassy replied easily. “It’s sensible, for the two of you to get married and keep the ranch in the family. Nobody wants to see some fancy resort being set up here,” she added, “with outsiders meddling in our local politics and throwing money around to get things the way they think they should be.”

      Jillian’s eyes twinkled. “Imagine you complaining about the rich, when you just married one of the richest men in Montana.”

      “You know what I mean,” Sassy laughed. “And I’ll remind you that I didn’t know he was rich when I accepted his proposal.”

      “A multimillionaire pretending to be a ranch foreman.”

      Jillian shook her head. “It came as a shock to a lot of us when we found out who he really was.”

      “I assure you that it was more of a shock to me,” came the amused reply. “I tried to back out of it, but he wouldn’t let me. He said that money was an accessory, not a character trait. You should meet his brother and sister-in-law,” she added with a grin. “Her parents were missionaries and her aunt is a nun. Oh, and her godfather is one of the most notorious ex-mercenaries who ever used a gun.”

      “My goodness!”

      “But they’re all very down-to-earth. They don’t strut, is what I mean.”

      Jillian giggled. “I get it.”

      Sassy gave her a wise look. “You want something nice for that date, but you’re strained to the gills trying to manage on what your uncle left you.”

      Jillian started to deny it, but she gave up. Sassy was too sweet to lie to. “Yes,” she confessed. “I was working for old Mrs. Rogers at the florist shop. Then she died and the shop closed.” She sighed. “Not many jobs going in a town this small. You’d know all about that,” she added, because Sassy had worked for a feed store and was assaulted by her boss. Fortunately she was rescued by her soon-to-be husband and the perpetrator had been sent to jail. But it was the only job Sassy could get. Hollister was very small.

      Sassy nodded. “I wouldn’t want to live anyplace else, though. Even if I had to commute back and forth to Billings to get a job.” She laughed. “I considered that, but I didn’t think my old truck would get me that far.” Her eyes twinkled. “Chief Graves said that if he owned a piece of junk like I was driving, he’d be the first to agree to marry a man who could afford to replace it for me.”

      Jillian burst out laughing. “I can imagine what you said to that.”

      She laughed, too. “I just expressed the thought that he wouldn’t marry John Callister for a truck.” She cocked her head. “He really is a catch, you know. Theodore Graves is the stuff of legends around here. He’s honest and kindhearted and a very mean man to make an enemy of. He’d take care of you.”

      “Well, he needs more taking care of than I do,” came the droll reply. “At least I can cook.”

      “Didn’t you apply for the cook’s job at the restaurant?”

      “I did. I got it, too, but you can’t tell Theodore.”

      “I won’t. But why can’t I?”

      Jillian sighed. “In case things don’t work out, I want to have a means of supporting myself. He’ll take it personally if he thinks I got a job before he even proposed.”

      “He’s old-fashioned.”

      “Nothing wrong with that,” Jillian replied with a smile.

      “Of course not. It’s just that some men have to be hit over the head so they’ll accept that modern women can have outside interests without giving up family. Come over here.”

      She took Jillian’s arm and pulled her to one side. “Everything in here is a three-hundred-percent markup,” she said under her breath. “I love Jessie, but she’s overpriced. You’re coming home with me. We’re the same size and I’ve got a closet full of stuff you can wear. You can borrow anything you like. Heck, you can have what you like. I’ll never wear all of it anyway.”

      Jillian flushed red and stammered, “No, I couldn’t …!”

      “You could and you’re going to. Now come on!”

      Jillian was transported to the Callister ranch in a Jaguar. She was so fascinated with it that she didn’t hear half of what her friend was saying.

      “Look at all these gadgets!” she exclaimed. “And this is real wood on the dash!”

      “Yes,” Sassy laughed. “I acted the same as you, the first time I rode in it. My old battered truck seemed so pitiful afterward.”

      “I like my old car. But this is amazing,” she replied, touching the silky wood.

      “I know.”

      “It’s so nice of you to do this,” Jillian replied. “Theodore wanted me to wear a skirt. I don’t even own one.”

      Sassy looked at her briefly. “You should tell him, Jilly.”

      She flushed and averted her eyes. “Nobody knows but you and your mother. And I know you won’t say anything.”

      “Not unless you said I could,” Sassy replied. “But it could cause you some problems later on. Especially after you’re married.”

      Jillian clenched her teeth. “I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it. I may not marry Theodore. We may be able to find a way to break the will.”

      “One, maybe. Two, never.”

      That was true. Both old men had left ironclad wills with clauses about the disposition of the property if Theodore and Jillian refused to get married.

      “The old buzzards!” Jillian burst out. “Why did they have to complicate things like that? Theodore and I could have found