The Rancher Next Door. Cathy Gillen Thacker

her new home. It was hard to believe fifty acres of prime Texas acreage, never mind the pretty white stone ranch house with the rose-colored shutters and dark gray roof, was all hers now.

      Miss Mim had inherited the seventy-five-year-old homestead from her parents and had taken loving care of it during the forty-two years she had resided there. Handsome dark pine floors shone beneath the delicate antique furniture. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms and a large old-fashioned bath with a claw-foot tub and pedestal sink. In the master bedroom there was an old-fashioned four-poster, matching wardrobe, chest of drawers and vanity. The second bedroom was a sewing room and the third, a study.

      Downstairs, a formal parlor and dining room, suitable for entertaining, encompassed the front of the house. In the rear was a big kitchen, complete with trestle table and six Windsor chairs, fireplace and white stone hearth. Black marble countertops gleamed next to state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and antique white cabinets. The combination laundry room and spacious food pantry were tucked behind panel doors.

      Across the front of the house was a wide front porch. Instead of a patio or deck out back, there were steps down to the grass, and a flagstone path that led to a white stone gazebo, surrounded by primroses.

      Beyond that was a big red barn and a good distance away from that, a white stone detached garage. Rebecca intended to park in the lane in front of the house and convert the garage into the official farm office, where ranch business would be done.

      Figuring she should go down and take another look at the interior of the barn to see what if anything needed to be done before she brought animals onto the ranch, Rebecca headed out the back door.

      She had just passed the gazebo when she saw three men on horseback cantering across Trevor McCabe’s land, and onto hers.

      Wondering whom he’d gotten to help him move cattle on such short notice, Rebecca picked up the binoculars from around her neck and stepped back into the gazebo.

      It took a little focusing—and a minute for her to get a vantage point that avoided the stands of cedar and live oak trees between her and them—to get a good view of what was going on out on her land.

      Rebecca smiled, identifying Trevor and his two oldest brothers.

      When Trevor, Tyler and Teddy were younger, everyone had trouble telling the McCabe triplets apart. These days, it was no problem, despite the fact they all dressed in typical cowboy garb of hat, jeans, boots and cotton shirts. Although they all had broad shoulders, slim hips and fit, muscular physiques, their appearances differed. Trevor’s thick reddish-brown hair was clipped so short it was barely visible beneath the brim of his hat. Tyler’s hair was on the long side and brushed his collar. Teddy’s hair was midway between the two and tended to kink up on the ends. Their differing personalities set them apart, as well. Trevor had a commanding air about him Rebecca found hard to ignore. Tyler was more aloof and had a gentle, assessing manner. Teddy exuded friendliness and a willingness to go the extra mile to help out a friend.

      Hearing the phone ring, Rebecca went back inside. It turned out there was a problem with one of her alpacas. But at least she knew where help could be found. Assuming, of course, Rebecca thought as she picked up the binoculars and headed back to the gazebo, that Trevor and his two brothers hadn’t left yet.

      To Rebecca’s relief she could easily make out Tyler and Teddy on horseback, moving the herd. Trevor McCabe, however, was nowhere in sight. Unless, Rebecca thought, getting down on one knee, he and his horse had disappeared behind that distant grove of trees….

      Frustrated because she still couldn’t locate Trevor, Rebecca adjusted the lens to the highest magnification.

      A chuckle to her immediate right had her turning swiftly in alarm. Binoculars still resting on the bridge of her nose, she found herself close up and personal to a denim-clad zipper. Rebecca gasped and dropped the lens.

      Smug amusement in his eyes, Trevor McCabe sauntered forward. “Find anything you like?” he drawled.

      “YOU HAD NO RIGHT to sneak up on me that way!” Rebecca scrambled to her feet, glad the two of them weren’t as close as her initial view had seemed to indicate.

      Trevor tipped the brim of his hat back. “Isn’t that a little like the Peeping Tom calling the spy nosy?”

      She told herself it was the heat of the spring day making her sweat. “I am not a Peeping Tom!”

      “Well, you’re not a spy, either.” He abruptly changed from flirting cowboy to more sober rancher. “Which leads us to the question of why you’re using binoculars on me and my brothers.”

      Rebecca ignored the heat of awareness rising up between them and forced herself to return his level gaze. “I need to talk to you about borrowing your livestock trailer tomorrow morning. I just got a call from the breeder. I have to pick up one of my alpacas tomorrow morning.”

      He lifted a brow. “Just one?”

      “Blue Mist is pregnant. The vet in San Angelo doesn’t want her traveling past tomorrow. He thinks moving her too close to her due date could jeopardize the cria—the baby.”

      “Why not pick up the rest of the herd while you’re there, then?”

      Rebecca inhaled the scent of man and sun and horse. “I’m not ready for them yet. But I can go ahead and pick up Blue Mist.”

      “Sure you want to do that?” he asked. “Alpacas are pack animals.”

      Now he was sounding just like the saleswoman she had just gotten off the phone with. Fortunately, Rebecca knew a hard sell when she heard one.

      “That can wait until early next week.” Rebecca knew she would have her hands full just managing one alpaca on her own. That went double for a pregnant alpaca. Besides, she wanted to make sure Blue Mist was completely comfortable and settled in before she brought in the other nine animals she’d bought. And then there was the matter of the balance due when she took possession of the animals. The temporary operating loan she had negotiated for start-up of the ranch was barely adequate. And she’d used most of her own savings on the down payment and mortgage fees for the ranch. She still had her credit card, but she didn’t want to max out on that unless she absolutely had to. The remaining balance was her only safety net. And she still had so much to do before the Open House in less than two weeks.

      “So can I borrow your livestock trailer?” Rebecca continued.

      Trevor frowned. “I’d have to charge you for it.”

      Despite her tricky finances, Rebecca wouldn’t have it any other way, since she absolutely did not want to be beholden to him. “I’d expect to pay a reasonable rent,” she said hoping it wouldn’t be too much.

      “My price is one home-cooked meal.”

      Rebecca had been prepared to dicker over dollars. She opened her eyes wide, sure she couldn’t possibly have heard right. “What?”

      Trevor lifted his hands. “That’s the arrangement I had with Miss Mim. Whenever I did a favor for her, helped her prune trees, or clean the shutters or whatever, she repaid me with a home-cooked meal and that is what I want from you, too.”

      Rebecca bit her lip as she tried to figure a clever way out of this that would not shut down all the help she was bound to need from him—in the short haul anyway. “Miss Mim is a fabulous cook.” So was she. Trevor McCabe did not need to know that, however, lest he make a regular practice of demanding her culinary skills. She’d much rather exchange money or any other less personal commodity— like mucking out the pasture—with him.

      “How well I know that,” Trevor recollected. He ran the flat of his palm across his jaw. “That’s what made working for her such a treat.”

      Rebecca could see he’d made up his mind about what he wanted from her. “I would prefer to pay cash.”

      “I don’t take money from women. Or in other words—” he paused long enough to give his words an aggravating connotation “—my favors