Under his Protection
Linda Turner

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Prologue

“You’re getting married?”

“When?”

“You can’t! We haven’t even met Rainey yet!”

“You’ll get your chance when you come for the wedding,” Buck said with a chuckle. “The wedding’s a week from Saturday.”

Dropping that little tidbit of information into the four-way transcontinental conference call to England, Buck watched the clock, counting the seconds as he waited for his sisters’ reactions. He didn’t have long to wait.

“You can’t be serious!” Elizabeth retorted.

“You’re darn right he’s not serious,” Priscilla growled. “That’s what? Ten days?”

“No one in their right mind can plan a wedding in ten days,” Katherine added. “He’s joking.”

On the extension, listening to the entire conference call, Rainey laughed softly. “No, he’s not. We’re getting married a week from Saturday. I know it’s short notice, but Buck wanted to get married on your parents’ anniversary. So if we don’t get married in ten days, we have to wait another year.”

“That isn’t even an option,” Buck growled. “We’re not waiting.”

“Don’t get testy,” Elizabeth teased. “No one’s asking you to wait.”

“Just so we understand each other,” he replied. “We want the three of you here for our wedding.”

“Then we’d better get off the phone and see about lining up airline tickets,” Priscilla said. “I don’t even know if my passport’s current.”

“In a minute,” Buck replied. “We need to discuss the honeymoon. Rainey and I are going to Alaska. Who’s available to stay at the ranch while we’re gone?”

His answer was met with dead silence. “C’mon,” he groaned. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t expect me not to go on a honeymoon. One of you has to take my place here at the ranch while I’m gone.”

“What ranch?”

“I don’t know anything about a ranch.”

“Did somebody say something about a ranch?”

Buck grinned. “Cute. Wait until the three of you want to get married. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”

“C’mon, Bucky, don’t be that way.”

His teeth ground on the hated nickname. “Don’t call me that!”

Elizabeth clicked her tongue. “Touchy, touchy.”

“You know we’re just teasing,” Priscilla said. “We’ll be there for you.”

Despite their teasing, he knew he could count on his sisters. Especially when it came to the Broken Arrow Ranch in Colorado, which the four of them had inherited from their distant American cousin, Hilda Wyatt. The inheritance had come out of the blue. They were the last of the British branch of the Wyatts and had never even met Hilda, the last of the American Wyatts. She’d wanted the ranch to go to family, but the inheritance came with strings. One of them had to always be present at the ranch for twelve months. They could be absent for one night, but not for two in a row, or the deed to the ranch would go to an unnamed heir.

Until now, that hadn’t been a problem. Buck had spent the last four months at the ranch without needing any of his sisters to substitute for him, but it hadn’t been easy. He’d been harassed and threatened, the ranch had been attacked and vandalized, and Rainey had nearly been killed. He still didn’t have a clue who was responsible—it could have been any one of his neighbors or someone in the nearby town of Willow Bend, Colorado—but their motive was painfully clear. If they could scare the Wyatts away from the ranch before the year was out, the ranch would be theirs…if they were the unnamed heir.

“So who’s available?” Buck asked. “We’re just going to be gone a month.”

“A month!” Elizabeth blurted out. “Are you serious?”

“I’m only getting married once, sis. I want us to have a honeymoon we’ll remember the rest of our lives.”

Elizabeth blinked back tears at his words. Did Rainey have any idea how lucky she was to have found Buck? He was going to make a wonderful husband, a fantastic father, and Elizabeth wasn’t surprised that he wanted to do everything in his power to make sure Rainey had a honeymoon she would never forget. He was that kind of man.

For the span of a heartbeat, Elizabeth felt the tug of envy—she hoped the man she married would be as thoughtful as her brother. Then she remembered Spencer and the roses he’d sent her every day for the past four days, a dozen for every week they’d been dating. He, too, was going to make a wonderful husband, she thought with a grin. And he was already talking marriage. Maybe by this time next year…

“So do I have a volunteer or not?” Buck asked. “Surely one of you has some time in your schedule.”

Snapping back to attention, Elizabeth didn’t hesitate. “I’ll do it. Priscilla has a show to prepare for, and Katherine’s in a wedding two weeks after yours, so neither of them can stay. That leaves me.”

“What about Spencer?” Katherine asked. “Weren’t you going to Germany with him for the football tournament?”

“Yes, but he knows about the ranch and the terms of Hilda’s will. I have to do my part. He understands that. And since you two are busy and I’m not, it looks like I’ll be staying in Colorado for a while.”

“I’ve hired a new foreman,” he assured her, “so you don’t have to worry about being there by yourself. He’s tough. He’ll take good care of you.”

“I’m sure he will, but I don’t want you to worry about me on your honeymoon. I can take care of myself. And if things get really bad, I’ll do what I have to to hang onto the ranch, Buck. You can count on me.”

He hesitated, then smiled. “I guess I’ll see the three of you next week. Don’t forget the cowboy boots you bought when you were here last. You’re going to need them.”

Chapter 1

Ten days later Elizabeth was in no mood for a wedding. She no longer believed in fairy tales, and that’s all love was…one big, fat fairy tale that was invented by writers and poets and songwriters. Only a hopeless romantic could actually believe that a man and woman could love each other for a lifetime. She knew better. It only lasted until the love of your life went to Germany for an international soccer tournament and met a blond bimbo.

“You’re thinking of Spencer again, aren’t you?” Katherine said as she stepped forward to zip her dress for her. “You’ve got that look on your face…”

Glancing over her shoulder at her, Elizabeth scowled fiercely. “What look? I’m perfectly fine.”

“Yeah, right,” Priscilla drawled as she stood before the mirror and gave her makeup a last check. “The last time you looked like that, you murdered my doll.”

Elizabeth didn’t want to laugh, but it gurgled up inside her and escaped before she could stop it. “I did not! You’re the one who wanted to see if her head would come off. I just accommodated you.”

“You put the thought in my head!”

“No, I didn’t. It was Katherine.”

“It was not!” Katherine objected. “I didn’t even know about it until you had the funeral.”

Quietly pushing open the door of the bedroom that had been set aside for the bridesmaids’ use, Rainey grinned as her soon-to-be sister-in-laws traded quips back and forth. “Buck must have had his hands full, growing up with you three,” she told them with a chuckle. “I’m surprised he wasn’t part of the beheading.”

“Of course he was part of it,” Katherine laughed. “He organized the funeral.”

“I should have known,” Rainey laughed. “That’s the man I’m going to marry.”

“And have children with,” Elizabeth pointed out with a grin. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Love softened her face and lit up her smile. “Oh, yes. I can’t wait!”

Watching her, Elizabeth blinked back tears. She hoped with all her heart that things worked out for Rainey and Buck, but she didn’t think she’d ever be able to take that risk herself. Not after the way Spencer had betrayed her. And the way she’d found out! She’d been at Heathrow with her sisters, waiting to board the plane for the States and Buck’s wedding, when she’d picked up a copy of one of London’s most notorious tabloids. And there on the cover, for all the world to see, was a picture of her boyfriend with a blond bombshell plastered all over him.

Even now she didn’t want to believe that he’d cheated on her with some tart who couldn’t count to four. But when she’d called him to question him about the picture, he hadn’t bothered to deny the fact that he’d taken the woman with him to Germany. He hadn’t even understood why she was upset—the woman was nothing but a groupie and didn’t mean a thing to him. What was the big deal?

Elizabeth still couldn’t believe he’d had the nerve to ask her such a thing. Of course she knew about groupies, how strange women threw themselves at him and his teammates all the time. After all, he was an international soccer star, and she’d seen for herself how he couldn’t go anywhere without women he didn’t even know flirting with him. She hadn’t liked it, but she’d learned to live with it.

The woman in the picture, however, wasn’t someone wanting a hug and an autograph. She’d slept with him. He hadn’t said as much in so many words, but he hadn’t had to. The truth had been right there in the picture, in his eyes, in the blonde’s, in the intimate smile they shared.

She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d known in her heart that he was the kind of man who had no use for faithfulness. She’d just convinced herself he loved her enough to change. So much for fairy tales.

“It’s going to be okay, Elizabeth,” Rainey said quietly, breaking into her thoughts. “You just need some time.”

“And another man,” Priscilla added, wrinkling her nose at the thought of Spencer. “The best way to get over one man is to get another. Get yourself a cowboy.”

“Oh, no!” she said quickly, grimacing. “I don’t want a cowboy or anyone else, thank you very much. I’m done with men.”

“That’s what I said,” Rainey told her, grinning. “And now I’m marrying your brother. C’mon. We’ve got a wedding to go to.”

Looping her arm through Elizabeth’s, she tugged her out into the hall and laughed as Priscilla and Katherine took positions behind them and gently pushed them down the hall toward the stairs. As the grandfather clock in the front entry struck 8:00 a.m., Rainey laughed. “I can’t believe I’m getting married at eight in the morning!”

“What’s with that, anyway?” Priscilla asked. “Why so early in the morning?”

“We wanted to start the first day of our marriage as soon as possible,” she said simply, grinning as they all spilled into the limo waiting for them in the drive. “So it was either 8:00 a.m. or dawn. We picked 8:00 a.m.”

“Thank God!”

Ten minutes later they arrived at the church and Elizabeth fought the need to cry. She loved her brother and Rainey, but she really didn’t want to do this. Unfortunately, she couldn’t back out without looking like a complete idiot. So she pasted on a smile, and no one knew just how much it cost her as she stepped out of the limo.

Then she walked into the old wood-frame country church that the Wyatt family had attended for over a hundred years, and stopped with a gasp of surprise. If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn she’d stepped back in time.

Although the church had been wired for electricity nearly a hundred years ago, Rainey had chosen to use candles instead. They were everywhere, casting a golden glow over the guests that filled every pew. The sound of violins floated on the hushed, fragrant air, and just that quietly, the ceremony began.

Priscilla started down the aisle, then Katherine. Waiting her turn, Elizabeth was caught off guard by the emotions that tugged at her heart at the sight of her brother waiting at the altar for his bride. Elizabeth liked Rainey, loved her, in fact, but ever since Buck had informed Elizabeth and her sisters that he was getting married, she’d been afraid that he was rushing into a mistake. After all, just last year, he’d been engaged to someone else. But as she watched him smile at Rainey and she caught the look of love that passed between the two of them, she knew that she’d never seen him so happy.

Just that easily, she realized that nothing else mattered. Locking her own heartache away, she started down the aisle, and for the first time since she’d seen the picture of Spencer in the tabloids, the smile that curled the corners of her mouth came straight from her heart.

After that, the morning couldn’t have been more magical. Rainey looked like a fairy princess as she started down the aisle toward Buck, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the church as they exchanged their I do’s. Then they rushed up the aisle, glowing with love, and laughingly led their guests back to the ranch for breakfast, then, later in the day, an old-fashioned barbecue and barn dance.

Buck and Rainey had invited not only their friends from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, but they’d also decided to include the local ranchers and most of the inhabitants of Willow Bend. It was a risky move, but they’d both felt it was better to keep their enemies close at hand than plotting in the shadows, and Elizabeth had to agree with them. If there was anyone there with ulterior motives, they kept them well hidden. Everywhere she looked, people were smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves.

“It’s quite a turnout, isn’t it? How many do you think are packing guns?”

Surprised, Elizabeth turned to John Cassidy, the Broken Arrow’s new foreman. Buck had introduced him to her and her sisters when they arrived the day before yesterday, but there’d been little time to talk to him, let alone get to know him. He’d been busy running the ranch while Buck took care of the last-minute preparations for the wedding and entertained his guests.

And even though Elizabeth had never seen a cowboy, let alone a ranch foreman, before visiting the United States, she had to admit that John Cassidy had the look of a man who could handle just about anything life threw at him. Tall and lean, with a body that was rock hard and a chin that could have been chiseled out of the granite mountains that formed the western boundary of the ranch, he had tough written all over him.

And for some reason, that set her teeth on edge. It was the hard glint in his eye, she thought. That I don’t give a damn look that a lot of women found impossible to resist. She wasn’t one of those women.

“I realize I’m not familiar with the local customs,” she retorted, “but do people usually bring guns to a wedding in Colorado?”

“That depends on who’s getting married and why,” he replied dryly. “They’ve been known to take them to funerals, too.”

Not believing that for a second, Elizabeth sniffed, “I wasn’t born yesterday, Mr. Cassidy. Just because I was born and raised in England doesn’t mean that I don’t know a line of bull when I hear it.”

“Really?” The corner of his sensuous mouth curling with mocking humor, he lifted a dark male brow at her. “Then maybe you’d care to tell me what that bulge is under your brother’s tuxedo jacket?”

“What bulge?” she demanded. “What are you talking about? Buck wouldn’t wear a gun to his own wedding!”

“Then he’s got a tumor under that jacket,” he said. “And so does just about every man here. Didn’t you notice? Or did you think we’re all nothing but a bunch of hicks in bad suits?”

“No, of course not! I’m not a snob, Mr. Cassidy. I’ve been too busy circulating to notice how anyone was dressed.”

“For your own safety, I suggest you keep your eyes and ears open whenever you’re around your neighbors, Miss Wyatt. They’re not your friends.”

“I’m well aware of that,” she said stiffly. “I know all about the attacks on the ranch. As far as I’m concerned, my brother and sisters and I can’t trust anyone.”

“Including me?”

“Including you,” she retorted honestly, then graciously added, “At least for now. I know Buck has a great deal of faith in you and that you passed a background check with flying colors. For what it’s worth, I hope you do turn out to be as trustworthy as you claim to be. It would be nice to know that there’s at least one person outside the family we can trust.”

John had to give her credit. He didn’t know another woman, short of his mother, who would have looked him right in the eye and given him such a straight answer. “Trust takes time,” he said flatly. “Luckily I’ve got plenty of that.”

He had, in fact, nowhere else to go, and he was pretty damn sure that Elizabeth Wyatt knew that. If Buck had told her everything, then she knew that his past was less than stellar. Oh, he’d been a Navy SEAL, and he’d been damn good at it. But then he’d made a mistake—just one—and a man had lost his life.

How many years had he punished himself for that? Three? Five? His commanding officer, the base psychiatrist, even the chaplain, had assured him that everyone made mistakes—it could have happened to anyone. Nothing they’d said, however, had helped. Because he’d killed his best friend, and the memory of that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He’d tried to forget. But years of drinking hadn’t dulled the images from the past—just destroyed his life. His wife had walked out on him, he’d lost his ranch, his self-respect, everything he cared about. And it was all gone forever. When he’d told Elizabeth he had nothing but time, he hadn’t lied. He had nowhere else to go, and nothing to do but lose himself in work.

“Just for the record,” he added, “I’m not interested in getting my hands on your land. I just want to do the job I was hired to do. That means taking care of the ranch…and you and your sisters when Buck’s not here.”

For a moment, he didn’t think his words registered. Then her sapphire-blue eyes flashed indignantly. “Take care of me and my sisters? You think that was the job you were hired to do?”

“I know it’s one of them,” he retorted. “If you don’t believe me, ask Buck.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” Lifting her chin, she stormed off to find her brother.

She found him almost immediately, but it quickly became obvious that she wasn’t going to get a chance to talk to him in private. The dancing started, and almost immediately a cowboy asked Elizabeth to dance, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor before she could even think to object. Luckily, she’d worn her cowboy boots, just as Buck had suggested. After that, she was on the dance floor for what seemed like hours.

Breathless, she finally escaped with the excuse that she needed something to drink, but then the photographer snagged her and the other bridesmaids and the single women in the crowd so Rainey could throw her bouquet. No one was more surprised than Elizabeth when it fell right into her hands.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped, blanching. “Rainey, you threw that at me deliberately!”

Grinning, she didn’t deny it. “You’re the oldest. Your turn’s next.”

“Oh, no, it’s not!”

“You’ll be married by next year,” Priscilla predicted with dancing green eyes.

“I will not. I’m not even dating anyone.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Katherine chuckled. “Everybody knows not to catch a bridal bouquet. Those things are deadly.”

Rainey chuckled. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Buck hasn’t thrown the garter. Today could be your lucky day.”

The words were hardly out of her mouth when Buck threw the garter and hit an eighty-year-old widower right in the chest. The older man had no choice but to catch it.

“That-a-boy, Marlin!” someone in the crowd crowed. “You’ve been pining for Ludie Morgan all these years. Now she can’t say no when you ask her to marry you!”

“Forget Ludie,” a cowboy at the back of the crowd advised over the laughter of the crowd. “Elizabeth’s prettier!”

Hot color stinging her cheeks, Elizabeth had to laugh. She was saved from having to make a response when Timothy Reynolds, Buck’s best man, announced that the bride and groom would soon be leaving for their honeymoon. Friends and family pressed forward, heading for the barn, and as Elizabeth waited with them, she knew that even if she had a chance to talk to Buck for a few minutes, she wouldn’t tell him about her problems with John Cassidy. This wasn’t the time to burden him with any strife between her and his foreman. And it wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle the man. She was an owner; he was an employee. End of story.

“Are you sure you can handle everything here by yourself?”

“Maybe we should stay. I could work on my designs here, and Katherine can take some time off from work. Her boss won’t mind.”

Fighting tears as her sisters tried to talk themselves out of leaving the next morning, Elizabeth hugged them both fiercely. “Don’t be silly. You’ve got your show to work on and Katherine has to be home for Tracy Lawrence’s wedding. And you don’t need to stay. I’ll be fine. Quit worrying.”

“Easy for you to say,” Katherine retorted. “What if someone tries to kill you the way David Saenz did Rainey?”

“David’s dead—”

“So?” Priscilla said. “Somebody hired him to blow up the mine, and whoever it was is pretty damn desperate to drive all of us away so he can get his hands on the ranch. That’s the person you need to be worried about. We don’t even know who he is!”

“You know I won’t take any chances,” she replied, hugging them each as the cabby put their luggage in the boot. “And John Cassidy’s here. The man’s tough as nails. He’s not going to let anything happen to me—Buck would have his hide. So quit worrying. I’ll be fine.”

Katherine and Priscilla looked far from convinced, but the meter was running and they had a flight to catch. “I don’t like it,” Katherine said huffily. “But I don’t know what else we can do about it.”

“Watch your back,” Priscilla warned. “Don’t trust anybody!”

“I won’t,” she promised, hugging them both one more time. “I’ll see you in a month. God, I’m going to miss you!”

“Keep in touch! We expect an e-mail every other day.”

“You, too,” she said, forcing a bright smile as they slipped into the cab. “I want to know all the little details—where you’re going, what you’re doing, who you’re seeing.”

“Oh, no!” Priscilla said with dancing eyes. “I don’t kiss and tell!”

Grinning, Katherine pushed her into the cab. “We’ll call every Sunday,” she told Elizabeth.

“Good. Be careful! I love you.”

They waved all the way down the drive, until the cab disappeared around the first curve and they were lost to view.

Later, Elizabeth couldn’t say how long she stood there, staring at the empty drive. Silence enveloped her, broken only by the sigh of the wind as it whispered through the pines. Hugging herself, she was surprised when tears suddenly spilled into her eyes. She’d thought she was prepared for her stay at the ranch. But already she could feel the loneliness creeping in on her, chilling her.

It wouldn’t be so bad, she told herself. This was now home. Granted, it didn’t feel like it yet, but she was sure it would eventually. It just took time. And it wasn’t as if she was locked in a cave somewhere. She was free to leave, even be gone overnight. But just for one night at a time, she reminded herself. And that was okay. She’d take day trips, explore Colorado, e-mail her sisters and friends and keep in touch with what was going on in London. And since Spencer had betrayed her, she’d been rethinking her plan to open a dress shop with Priscilla in London after she finished her internship. Maybe Colorado would be better. She’d check out possible shop locations. So she had plenty to do. She’d be fine.

So why did she feel like crying?

“Are you all right?”

Startled, Elizabeth whirled to find John Cassidy studying her with dark-brown eyes that saw far more than she liked. Irritated, she scowled at him. “Don’t do that!”

For just a moment, she thought she saw the glint of amusement in his eyes, but he blinked and it was gone. “I beg your pardon,” he said stiffly. “Don’t do what?”

“Sneak up on me! You scared me.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” he retorted, “but you need to be scared. Being on guard is probably the only thing that’s going to save that pretty little ass of yours.”

“Excuse me?”

His lips twitched, and this time, he made no effort to hide the wicked humor that flashed in his eyes. “There’s no need for that. I’m just trying to keep you safe. If something happens to you, I’ve got to call Buck, and then there’s going to be hell to pay.”

She lifted a delicately arched brow at him. “Oh, really? So what are you saying? He’d blame you or me?”

“I’d just as soon not take a chance,” he said smoothly. “Behave yourself, watch your back, and we’ll both get along fine.”

“Behave myself!” she sputtered, indignantly. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

Not the least intimidated by her, he grinned. “Elizabeth Wyatt, oldest sister, the responsible one. I can think of other ways to describe you, but I think I’d better stop there.”

She was so irritated, steam was practically coming out of her ears. She didn’t, however, blast him as she so obviously wanted to. Instead, she said through clenched teeth, “We need to get something straight, Mr. Cassidy, before we go any further. I’m your boss. You don’t tell me to behave myself or how to get along with you. You have to worry about how to get along with me. Understood?”

He should have said, “Yes, ma’am,” and apologized for so obviously insulting her. It would have been the wise thing to do since she did, probably, have the power to fire his ass. But pushing Miss Elizabeth Wyatt’s buttons, he was discovering, was too damn easy. There were just some things a man couldn’t resist.

“You’re my boss?” he repeated, making no effort to hide his mocking grin. “Yeah, right.”

“You don’t believe me? Well, how about this, Mr. Cassidy? You’re fired!”

Far from impressed, he only laughed. “Sorry, sweetheart. I work for Buck. You don’t have the power to fire me.”

Chapter 2

Outraged, Elizabeth couldn’t believe his audacity. So she didn’t have the power to fire him, did she? Well, they’d see about that! He worked for the Wyatts—all four Wyatts—and if he had trouble accepting that, then she’d call Buck and he would make him understand who was in charge of the Broken Arrow for the next month. And if he still refused to accept who his bosses were, then Mr. Cassidy could find himself somewhere else to work. It was that simple.

But even as she considered going into the house to call Buck, she realized what she was doing and stiffened. No, she thought, irritated. She didn’t need Buck to back her up—this was her ranch, too, and she was in charge! If John didn’t like it, then too damn bad!

“Don’t push me, Mr. Cassidy.” she warned. “If you don’t realize that you’ll be the one who loses, then you’re not as smart as I think you are.”

For a moment she thought he was going to ignore her advice completely, but something in her tone must have told him she was serious. With a mocking curl of his mouth, he nodded his head slightly and lifted a finger to the brim of his black Stetson. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say, ma’am. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

He strode past her and headed for the barn. He didn’t once look back, and that was probably a good thing. Because she couldn’t take her eyes off his lean backside. The man had no right to look so good in a denim work shirt and worn jeans. Were his jeans as soft as they looked? His body as hard? With no trouble whatsoever, she could see him working in the sun, his shirt hung on a fence post, his sweat-damp muscles rippling as he worked—

Elizabeth Marie Wyatt! What has gotten into you?

Shocked by her own thoughts, she stiffened. What was she doing? She didn’t fantasize about men she didn’t know. Especially a man like John Cassidy. All right, so he was an incredibly handsome man in a hard, macho way. He was also far too sure of himself, not to mention opinionated and argumentative and an employee. Any woman who made the mistake of getting involved with him would find herself with her hands full.

She wasn’t that foolish, Elizabeth assured herself. She liked a man who was more sophisticated, less rugged, softer. She doubted John Cassidy had ever been soft a day in his life, including the day he was born.

Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about that rock-hard body of his. What would it feel like to be held against that body? To have him move over her, in her—

Suddenly realizing the turn her thoughts had made, she pulled herself up short, horrified. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t the type of woman who mooned over a man she didn’t know, let alone fantasized about having sex with him! Did John know? If he even suspected what was going on in her head, she’d be completely mortified.

This was all Spencer’s fault, she decided. She was still hurt, still reeling from his betrayal and obviously looking for a distraction. It wasn’t going to be John Cassidy!

Work, she thought desperately, turning to stride into the house. She needed to focus on what was really important—deciding what she was going to do with her future, where she was going to live, work. Nothing else mattered but that. Certainly not a man, not romance, not love.

Clinging to that thought, she stepped into Buck’s office and settled at the computer. Within minutes she was on the Internet, checking out Colorado towns and cities, searching for just the right location for an eclectic dress shop. And whenever she found her thoughts drifting to the ranch and the man she was sharing it with, she determinedly brought her attention back to the matter at hand.

The afternoon flew by, and without quite knowing how it happened, she heard the grandfather clock in the hall strike five. Pleased, she hurriedly printed out the info she’d spent the day collecting so that she could study it later, then headed for the kitchen. She hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, and she was starving.

The refrigerator was overflowing with the barbecue leftover from the reception, and she would have sworn the only thought in her head was eating. Then she heard John’s truck in the back drive. In the time it took to draw in a quick breath, she realized that she’d been listening for him all afternoon. Before she could stop herself, she stepped over to the window that sat above the kitchen’s deep, old-fashioned cast-iron sinks and looked out.

Although she didn’t move, didn’t wave, didn’t do anything to draw attention to herself as he pulled up next to the barn and parked, somehow he must have sensed he was being watched. He glanced toward the house suddenly, and in the gathering twilight, their eyes locked.

Time jarred to a sudden stop. How long they stood there, staring at each other across the homestead compound, she couldn’t have said. Then he nodded mockingly and strode over to the small cabin where he lived at the edge of the compound. It wasn’t until he disappeared inside that Elizabeth realized he’d stolen the air right out of her lungs.

How, she wondered shakily, was she supposed to ignore a man who could do that to her without coming anywhere near her?

That was a question that plagued her the rest of the evening. Regardless of how hard she tried to dismiss him from her thoughts, knowing that he was now just across the compound, within calling distance, changed everything. She decided to have just a salad for dinner and found herself wondering what he was having. Did he watch television in the evenings? Or work? When did he take a shower—

Frustrated and thoroughly disgusted with herself, she ate only half her salad, then spent the next two hours going over the info she’d collected on the Internet. When she finally went to bed at ten, she was exhausted. She still hadn’t adjusted to the time change and could hardly keep her eyes open.

Her night, however, was far from restful. She dreamed of Buck and Rainey and the love everyone at the wedding could feel…John and the challenge in his eyes when he told her she wasn’t his boss…a faceless enemy hiding in the shadows, waiting to reach out and grab her, hurt her—

Coming awake abruptly, her heart slamming against her ribs, she glanced at the clock on the night-stand and groaned in the darkness. Four o’clock. She had to turn her brain off! But when she punched her pillow into a more comfortable position and drifted back to sleep, the images that filled her dreams tugged her back to wakefulness again and again. By the time the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, she was exhausted. With a groan, she gave up and rolled out of bed.

Two hours later, after a shower and a pot of tea, her eyes were finally open. After all the research she’d done last night, she’d planned to check out locations for her shop, but she hesitated at the thought of driving. She could use the ranch pickup, but she hadn’t even tried driving in America yet, and today wasn’t a good day to start. She was tired and far from alert, and just the thought of getting behind the wheel and driving on the wrong side of the road set her heart pounding. She’d go another day, she assured herself. Today, she’d stick around the house and take it easy.

But doing nothing all day just wasn’t in her DNA. By ten o’clock in the morning, the silence of the house was closing in on her and she was going crazy. In desperation, she stepped outside and found herself wishing for the garden she had back home.

So plant one, a voice in her head retorted. There’s a perfect spot for a rose garden right outside the breakfast room. You can enjoy it every morning while you’re having breakfast.

Delighted with the idea, she inspected the area and decided that it would work nicely. She would ask John to clear away the grass, then drive her into town for the rosebushes she would need. With the right tools, she could plant them herself.

Pleased that she’d come up with a way to leave her mark on the ranch, she went looking for John and found him in the barn, cleaning out the hayloft. In the dusty, late-morning light, the man looked as if he belonged on a calendar. She took one look at him and wanted to touch.

Heat climbing into her cheeks, she felt at a distinct disadvantage as she frowned up at him. “Can you stop for a moment? I need to talk to you.”

Stepping over to the edge of the loft, he lifted a dark brow at her. “So talk.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “If you’re going to work here, Mr. Cassidy, I would appreciate some measure of respect.”

Not the least impressed with the threat, he only grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Anything you say, ma’am. Is there anything else, ma’am?”

“Yes,” she snapped, her blue eyes shooting daggers at him. “I need the small plot of land by the breakfast room cleared so I can plant a rose garden. Then you can drive me into town so I can buy the roses.”

“No problem. How does Friday morning sound?”

“Friday!”

“I’m busy,” he retorted. “I’ve got some time Friday morning.”

If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead right there on the spot. “There seems to be a misunderstanding. I’m not waiting until Friday. I want to get this done today.”

Even as the words were coming out of her mouth, she realized that she sounded like a spoiled brat. Mortified, she wanted to kick herself, but there was something about John, about the way he looked at her, challenged her, that rubbed her the wrong way. And he knew it. She could see the glint in his eye. He knew how to push her buttons with nothing more than a quirk of his brow, and he loved it!

Not the least impressed with the fact that she was pulling rank, he just looked at her. “Sorry, sweetheart, but if you want a rose garden put in today, then you’re doing it yourself. I’m not a gardener, I’m a foreman in charge of a one-man operation while your brother’s gone, and I’ve got work to do.”

“Yes, you do,” she retorted, cringing at her inability to shut her mouth. “You have some ground to clear for my garden.”

“Fat chance,” he replied, sobering. “And before you remind me that you’re my boss, let me tell you a thing or two, Miss High and Mighty. When you know something about ranching and what it takes to run a ranch, we’ll talk about whether you’re my boss or not. You don’t know how to ride a horse, rope, repair a fence. Hell, I bet you can’t even collect eggs from the chicken coop, let alone make homemade biscuits. If you’re going to be a woman rancher, you need to at least know how to feed your ranch hands.”

Indignant, she snapped, “I’ll have you know, I can make biscuits! And as for collecting eggs, any six-year-old can do that.”

“Really? Then why haven’t you? The chicken coop’s on the south side of the barn…or hadn’t you noticed?”

Not missing the challenging glint in his eyes, she should have told him to go kiss a duck, she didn’t have to prove herself to him. But she was afraid he would accuse her of being afraid, and he would have been right. Ever since she was a little girl, she’d been afraid of chickens and horses, and she didn’t even know why. She just knew she wanted no part of either.

Her pride, however, wouldn’t let her admit that. Chiding herself for being so easily manipulated, she turned on her heel and headed for the chicken coop. And with every step she took, the fear that was lodged deep in her throat grew thicker and thicker.

Behind her, she never saw John scramble down the hayloft ladder…or the grin of admiration that tugged at his mouth as he followed her. Two steps behind her, his gaze trained on her slim back, he had to admit that the lady had a way about her.

He’d never seen a woman less eager to deal with a chicken. The second she reached the door to the chicken coop, she stopped dead in her tracks. Fighting a grin, he said innocently, “Problem?”

“No!”

“Then let me get the door for you.”

He stepped around her and pulled open the small door to the chicken coop. Grinning, he motioned for her to precede him. “Ladies first.”

Another woman would have told him to go to hell. Instead she said, “Stuff it,” and stepped through the door.

That was as far as she got. Her gaze settled on the ten hens sitting on their nests, staring at her with wary eyes, and she couldn’t go any farther. John found himself sympathizing. The first time he’d had to gather eggs, he’d been more than a little terrified, himself. Of course, he’d hadn’t even been in school yet. Elizabeth was a long way from that.

“Don’t let them scare you,” he said quietly. “Give me your hand.”

She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Do I look like a fool?”

“Far from it,” he chuckled. “Give me your hand, Elizabeth.” When she hesitated, he rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to let anything hurt you. C’mon, just give me your hand.”

Even as he said the words, he realized that she really had no reason to trust him. She barely knew him, and the fact that he was the Broken Arrow’s ranch foreman meant nothing. The last foreman not only blew up the ranch’s old Spanish mine, which had been lost for two hundred years before Buck and Rainey found it again, but he’d also tried to kill Rainey. John couldn’t blame Elizabeth for not trusting anyone in Colorado except her family. He’d have felt the same way if he’d been in her shoes.

“I’m just going to show you how to handle the chickens,” he said quietly. “We may butt heads, and I may tease the hell out of you, but I don’t get my kicks hurting women. So if that’s what you’re afraid of—”

“No!” she said too quickly, color stinging her cheeks. “I know that…. I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Then give me your hand. If you’re going to be the boss…”

He had her there and they both knew it. She glared at him, and he just barely suppressed a smile when she stepped forward and slapped her hand into his. Then his fingers closed around hers.

Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t the heat that jumped from her hand to his. Frowning, he stared down at their joined hands. Why hadn’t he noticed how small and delicate her hands were? And her skin…could he ever in a million years have guessed how soft it was?

“I realize you’ve probably never held a woman’s hand before,” she said dryly, “but you can’t keep mine. I’m sort of attached to it.”

Suddenly jerked back to his surrounding, he glanced up abruptly and found her watching him with a wry glint in her blue eyes. Caught red-handed, he was shocked to feel himself blush. “I can see why you would be,” he quipped, releasing her. “It’s a nice hand. Soft. Not used to a lot of work.”

“There you go again,” she sighed. “Just when I thought I could like you—”

“I opened my mouth and ruined it,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’re about to toughen you up. First, we’ll start with the chickens and then move on to riding and roping and riding fence. So go ahead…get an egg.”

Elizabeth couldn’t believe he was serious. “And how would you suggest I do that?”

“By putting your hand under the hen,” he said patiently. “Just reach under her and grab an egg.”

He made it sound so simple. If she hadn’t dreaded the thought of acting like even more of a coward in front of him, she would have put her hand behind her back like a scared little girl. Instead she lifted her chin and stepped forward with the confidence of a woman who’d been collecting eggs all her life. The hen took one look at her and decided she meant business. She didn’t so much as ruffle a feather as Elizabeth stole an egg from her.

It wasn’t until she saw the egg in her hand that Elizabeth realized what she’d done. Shocked, she laughed, “Oh, my God! I did it!”

Delighted with herself, she was practically glowing, and John couldn’t take his eyes off her. He tried to convince himself that she was a snotty, snippy Englishwoman who was far too bossy for his taste, but he had to admit that she had guts. She clearly had a fear of chickens, but not only had she not admitted that, but she’d accepted his dare in spite of it. How could he dislike a woman like that? Especially when she was so damn beautiful? When she laughed, her whole face lit up. And he’d never been able to resist a woman who liked to laugh.

You’d better start resisting her, the voice of reason drawled in his head. She’s the boss’s sister. How do you think Buck would feel if he knew you had the hots for his sister?

He didn’t have an answer for that, didn’t even want to go there. He needed his job and he wasn’t risking it for Elizabeth Wyatt or any other woman. All he wanted to do was work and get on with his life. That wasn’t a hell of a lot to ask.

Then why, he wondered, did he have such a difficult time remembering the woman was off-limits? Okay, so she was beautiful. Her skin was like cream, and when she smiled, he felt the punch of it right in his gut. But he wasn’t looking for a woman, and even if he had been, she was the last woman on earth he would have chosen. Not only did she have the power to sign his paycheck, she also had no intention of living in Colorado, or the United States, for that matter. As soon as Buck returned from his honeymoon, she’d return to England. That’s where her life was…and, no doubt, the man she was currently involved with.

And there was a man, he thought grimly. There had to be—a woman with her looks and class didn’t go through life alone. Not unless the men in England were idiots, and he didn’t think that was the case.

So why are you standing here, staring at her like she just stepped out of some crazy fantasy? Get the hell out of here and get back to work!

Blinking as if he’d just stepped out of a fog, he took a quick step back. “That’s all there is to it,” he said coolly. “Grab one of the buckets by the door and just start collecting eggs.”

“Then what?”

“Take them to the house and rinse them off, then dry them and store them in the refrigerator. If you have any problems, I’ll be in the shop working on the tractor. I’ve got to start planting by the end of the week—”

“Planting? You farm?”

He nodded. “We plant alfalfa in the lower pastures below the tree line. And if I don’t get it in soon, the crop will come in late and we’ll be lucky if we cut the fields before the first snowfall. I’d better get back to the tractor. Call if you need help.”

He strode out with nothing more than a wave, leaving Elizabeth with the chickens. Given her druthers, she would have turned and followed John out, but she knew he was right. This was as much her ranch as it was her brother and sisters’ and she needed to know how every phase of the place operated. Her heart thumping, her jaw set at a determined angle, she approached the next chicken with a glint in her eye that warned her she was going to be Sunday dinner if she so much as squawked. She didn’t.

When she didn’t see John for the rest of the afternoon, Elizabeth told herself it was probably for the best. He was an employee, and he was the type of man who wouldn’t ever let her forget that. Not that she wanted to, she reminded herself grimly. Spencer’s betrayal was still fresh in her mind and heart and probably would be for a long time.

The quickest way to get over one man is to find another.

She winced at the old adage. No. No. No! She wasn’t going there, wasn’t even going to consider it. If she knew nothing else about John Cassidy, she knew he wasn’t the kind of man a woman walked away from easily. Buck and Rainey would be back from their honeymoon in a month, and she didn’t know where she would be after that. Colorado? London? Maybe even California or New York. It all depended on where she decided to open her shop. Wherever it was, she wasn’t leaving her heart behind.

The matter settled, she spent the rest of the day in Buck’s office, acquainting herself with what it took to run the business end of the ranch, and she didn’t once look out the window for John. She thought she heard the tractor several times, but she determinedly pulled her attention back to the ranch’s financial statements.

By the time she shut the computer down, it was going on nine in the evening. After sitting at a desk for so many hours, she was stiff and sore and in desperate need of a long soak in the tub. When she stepped into her bedroom to collect her nightgown and robe, however, the thought of a bath flew right out of her head when she spied the note lying on her pillow.

A frown etched her brow. What the dickens was John up to? It had to be from him, of course—they were the only two people on the ranch. But why would he leave a note on her pillow? Or, for that matter, come into her bedroom? If he had something to say to her, all he had to do was knock on the office door—she’d been working at Buck’s desk all day.

Her heart in her throat, she stepped over to the bed and without touching it, studied the single piece of paper that had been folded in half. On the outside, her name was sloppily written in a script she didn’t recognize. She hadn’t seen John’s handwriting, but she would have thought that his would be neater.

Don’t touch it, a voice in her head warned. Go find him and see if he wrote the note.

Hesitating, she considered that option, but what if it really was from him? Then she’d feel like an idiot. Making a snap decision, she picked up the piece of paper and pulled it open.

LEAVE WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

Her blood suddenly pounding in her ears, she dropped the note lightning quick. John was responsible for this, she told herself, and desperately tried to believe it. He had access to the house and motive—he didn’t like answering to her. He probably thought that if he could convince her to leave, Buck would come back early from his honeymoon and he wouldn’t have to deal with her anymore.

As far as theories went, Elizabeth knew it was half-baked. But she wouldn’t allow herself to consider anything else when she was completely alone in the house and so scared she could taste it. Picking up the note by the corner with fingers that were far from steady, she hurried downstairs and outside to John’s cabin.

“I want to know what the meaning of this is right now!” she bellowed the second he opened the door to her. “If you think you can scare me into leaving, then you’ve wasted your time.”

Surprised, he scowled. “What the devil are you talking about?”

“This!” she snapped, and waved a piece of paper in his face.

Without a word, he snatched it out of her hand and read it, only to glance up at her sharply. “Where’d you get this?”

“On my pillow,” she replied. “And don’t pretend you don’t know anything about it. You had to do it. You’re the only one here.”

If she thought he would deny it, she was doomed to disappointment. Instead, he walked straight to the phone on the table next to the couch and dialed 911. “I need the sheriff,” he told the dispatcher curtly. “There’s been a break-in at the Broken Arrow Ranch.”

“Is the intruder still in the house?”

“Not that I know of,” he retorted, “but I can’t be sure of that. I don’t even know how he got in.”

“Is anyone hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”

“No…just the sheriff and a couple of his men to search the place. I could do it, but—”

“No!” the dispatcher said quickly. “Please don’t take that chance. There’s a deputy on the way—he should be there shortly. In the meantime, do you have any weapons?”

“I’ve got a shotgun and I’m not afraid to use it,” he retorted. “Right now, Ms. Wyatt and I are in the foreman’s cabin behind the barn. If anyone touches my front door, I’m shooting first and asking questions later, so make sure the deputy knows to come in with sirens blazing.”

“I’ll pass that message along,” she assured him. “Someone should be there any second.”

The words were hardly out of her mouth when the sound of sirens cut sharply through the night air. Glancing out the window near the front door, John watched as a county patrol car skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust before his cabin. He didn’t unlock the door, however, until he saw who stepped out of the car.

“Looks like we got the top dog,” John told Elizabeth. “The sheriff himself. Not,” he added, “that that means a hell of a lot. From what Buck told me, law enforcement around here’s nothing but a joke. I guess we’re about to find out.”

He opened the door at the sheriff’s sharp knock and held out his hand to him in greeting. “Glad you could get here so quickly, Sheriff. I’m John Cassidy. And this is Elizabeth Wyatt.”

“Glad to meet you,” the other man said amiably, shaking his hand, then stepping over to Elizabeth to do the same. “I’m Sherm Clark, Ms. Wyatt. What’s this about an intruder?”

“I found a note in my bedroom warning me to leave while I still could,” she said grimly, nodding to the single piece of paper John had laid on the lamp table by the front window. “Since John and I are the only ones on the ranch, someone else was obviously here.”

“Did you see anyone else?” he asked as he stepped over to the table and carefully picked up the paper with a pair of tweezers. “Hear anything?”

“Nothing,” she retorted. “I’ve been working in the ranch office all day. I saw the note when I went up to my room to collect some things for a bath. The note was on my pillow.”

“And where were you?” he asked John.

“Here in my cabin. I worked on the tractor all day and had just finished taking a shower myself when Elizabeth showed up at my door with the note.”

“So neither one of you saw anyone.” Frowning, he slipped the note into an evidence bag, then glanced up sharply at John. “Did you touch the note?”

He nodded. “But just on the right hand corner. Both of our prints are on there.”

“Then I’ll need you both to come down to the office tomorrow and have your fingerprints taken. Then we’ll send the note to the state lab and see who else has been handling this.”

Studying him shrewdly, John said, “You don’t really expect any other prints to be on there, do you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t have any expectations one way or the other. I’m just doing my job and following up on the evidence. Speaking of which, I need to dust the doors and Ms. Wyatt’s bedroom for prints. The exterior doors to the house were locked, weren’t they?”

When both men looked at her, Elizabeth wanted to sink right through the floor. “Not yet,” she admitted huskily. “I usually lock them right before I go upstairs at night, but I was distracted and completely forgot about it.”

“Elizabeth! You know what’s been going on around here—”

“I know. I wasn’t thinking. It was stupid—”

“You were lucky this time,” the sheriff told her. “This is a big house. If someone wanted to harm you, they could slip in through an unlocked door, hide out until nightfall, then slit your throat while you’re sleeping. Keep your doors locked at all times.”

Blanching, she pressed a hand to her throat. “I will,” she said huskily.

“You don’t have to scare her to death,” John said, scowling.

“She needs to know what can happen,” the older man said flatly. “Don’t underestimate people, especially someone who wants what you have.”

“Trust me, I won’t,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going to keep everything locked. I’ll carry my keys with me everywhere I go in the house and on the property, even if it’s just outside to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. I’m not going through this again.”

“Good,” Sherm Clark retorted. “Now show me your bedroom.”

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