Marriage At Any Price. Lauren Canan

      “Yeah. How long would it have taken to straighten that out had I not caught it?”

      When Ally turned away from Seth Masters, she could still feel his golden eyes watching her. Ben Rucker was probably right. She shouldn’t be spouting off in front of strangers, although she found it hard to consider Seth Masters a stranger. He could almost be Wade Masters’s brother, so alike were their looks. He had thick brown hair with a slight wave and gold highlights and a five o’clock shadow that covered a sharp jaw and prominent chin, complete with a sexy little cleft. High cheekbones complimented brown eyes with flecks of gold. His lips, too kissable to put into words, delivered a sexy grin showing perfect white teeth. In his white dress shirt and tie, he was the epitome of handsome.

      “What about you, Ally? What do you do?” he asked.

      “Rancher. Or I used to be before...” She grimaced and pressed her lips together. “Now I work at the Triple Bar Ranch east of town. I train horses.”

      “That must take a lot of skill and agility.”

      She’d never really thought about it. It was something she’d done most of her life. She shrugged. “Maybe.”

      The man nodded. “I would venture to say our jobs are equally challenging.”

      “Oh, you would, huh? Tell me, Mr. Masters, how many stalls have you mucked out? How many horses have you trained?” She couldn’t help but laugh. The idea that she was anything like this rich hunk from California was absurd.

      Ben Rucker snorted at her comment and fought not to choke on his coffee.

      “It just so happens,” Seth said, “that in my younger days, I mucked out plenty of stalls. Never trained a new horse, but logged plenty of hours exercising them. I spent most summers here in Calico Springs at the family ranch growing up. So I guess I have a good idea of what you do. Clearly you’re accomplished. And that’s worth saying.”

      “Thank you,” she replied, feeling a blush coming on. “Still...my accomplishments probably don’t measure up compared to yours.”

      “You don’t accept compliments very well, do you?”

      “Compliments I can handle. It’s bullshit I’m not so good with.”

      “Then allow me to backtrack and just say you’re a very skilled horsewoman.”

      “Damn good thing for you.” She sat back as the waitress set her plate down in front of her. “It took me most of the ride back to the ranch to calm Monkey down.”

      “What happened to Monkey?” Ben asked.

      “He had a fright this morning,” she said, picking up half of her sandwich. “Some idiot nearly ran him down with his car.”

      “Good grief!”

      “No grief. Just bad driving.” She took a bite and picked up a napkin.

      “Not that bad or I would have hit you. And it occurs to me that I wasn’t the only one speeding.”

      “I take it you two have met each other before, then?” asked Ben.

      “We almost had a collision on the country road leading to town this morning,” Seth explained.

      Ally dropped the sandwich back onto her plate, wiped her hands with the paper napkin and glared at him. “There’s no speed limit posted on the bridle path. Most people with any common sense would appreciate the fact that it’s the cars going down the road that are the hazard. Especially if they are trying to break the sound barrier.”

      “I say again, I was not going all that fast.”

      “That would depend on your definition of fast.”

      They held each other’s gaze. After a few long seconds, she turned back to her plate. “You were in the wrong, and I really don’t care to discuss it further.”

      She couldn’t miss his pursed lips as he tried to hide a grin.

      Hateful man. She didn’t know what he was doing in Calico Springs. She hadn’t missed how he’d sidestepped her question when she asked. And she hadn’t appreciated that “enjoying the view” remark, even though it had been a long time since a man flirted with her. She didn’t want any of the Masters men to say one word to her after what their father had done. She could only hope their paths would not cross again.

      * * *

      “I ordered fifty sacks of sweet feed and one hundred and twenty-five sacks of Nature’s Best. What out of that says crimped oats? Does Colby have a hearing disorder now?”

      She’d stopped by the feed store on her way home to pick up the order for the horses she was training. Instead of what she ordered, they had readied seventy-five sacks of oats. This day just seemed to keep going downhill.

      “I’m sorry, Ally. If you can give me a few minutes, I’ll fix your order. Are you in the farm truck?”

      “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll wait outside.”

      Despite the obstacles she’d overcome so far today, mostly set in her path by that Seth Masters, it was still a beautiful day with just enough fluffy white clouds overhead to keep the sun from turning up the heat. She wandered out to the gardening section and idly looked at the petunias and other bedding plants. Any other year, she would be picking up trays of assorted flowers to be planted in the beds around the large wraparound porch at her house. This year she had purchased one hanging basket that she placed at the edge of the small front porch of the cabin where she stayed, and that was all she would allow herself to have. No use spending money on stuff that would just die from neglect.

      And they would be neglected. Her heart just wasn’t in it. The cabin, provided by the ranch where she worked, sufficed, but it wasn’t home. It would never be home. Why surround herself with tarnished memories of the things she used to love? She didn’t need to be reminded of her home and the joy she’d known there. It was gone, and the sooner she accepted that fact, the better off she would be.

      She would keep the appointment with Wade Masters once it was arranged, but down deep she knew she had little hope of convincing him to give back her ranch. Even if he agreed to sell it back to her, she didn’t make enough money for monthly payments on a ranch that size. It would take time, at least another year, before she could start earning the kind of money she needed.

      “It seems we keep bumping into each other.” A deep voice came from behind her. Before she fully turned toward him, she knew it was Seth Masters.

      “Are you following me, Masters?”

      “On the contrary, I’ve been around back looking at the tractors. I didn’t see you when I got here, so I would have to ask you the same question.”

      He smiled. She gritted her teeth and glared.

      “So what are you going to do with a tractor?”

      “Someday I might buy some land. And I’ve always been fascinated with tractors. The bedding plants look rich and healthy,” he added, filling the intervals when she didn’t respond. “Are you doing your flower beds in these?”

      “I have no land. I have no house. Consequently, I have no flower beds. So no, I’m not buying any plants.”

      “I saw this store and had to stop. You don’t often see old businesses like this still open and running. Most have been replaced by the newer franchises.” He looked around at the large assortment of plants, hanging baskets and trees. “It’s things like the old wood-burning stove inside and the sign on the back door. Have you seen it? ‘This store is guarded by a double-barrel shotgun two nights a week. Pick your night.’ You just don’t find that kind of thing in the city. I think it’s charming.”

      Charming? “You’re kidding.”

      “No, not at all.”

      “How long are you in town?” She couldn’t keep herself from