In the Rancher's Arms

Four



Two days after his men came down with the flu, Eli found himself thinking about Tori on his way back from checking on them. When he stopped to see about his foreman, Jack, Sally Ann had asked if Eli needed her help with anything. That’s when he realized how much help Tori had been over the past few days. She had not only helped him tackle the endless chores of running a ranch the size of the Rusty Spur, she had done everything he had asked of her without question or complaint—from feeding the bucket babies to the thankless and dirty task of mucking out stalls. He knew she had to be dead on her feet every night when he finally kissed her at her bedroom door, then continued on down the hall to the master suite for his nightly cold shower.

After the men recovered, he needed to show her how much he appreciated all that she had done. Maybe he could take a day and show her some of the ranch that couldn’t be seen except on horseback. Of course, that was contingent on her ability to ride.

Eli smiled as he backed the truck into the equipment barn. He couldn’t help but wonder how she was going to bluff her way through riding a horse. And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that was exactly what she would try to do.

What he couldn’t figure out was why she didn’t just tell him that her claim to rural experience was completely fictitious and be done with it. But what puzzled him more than her clinging to the falsehood was the fact that he wasn’t all that upset by her deception. Maybe his complacency was due to their prenuptial agreement and the knowledge that he didn’t stand to lose all that much if they had the union annulled, not to mention that he was having her investigated and in a few days would know for sure if she were hiding something. Or it could be that his curiosity was getting the better of him and he wanted to see just how far she would go with trying to bluff her way through things. He had to admit that her trying to drive a standard-shift truck had turned out to be pretty amusing. He could only imagine how creative she would be with riding a horse for the first time.

“It should be interesting,” he said, laughing as he closed the big double doors and headed toward the barn where Tori was feeding the orphaned calves. Maybe it would be a good idea to take her out for a short ride first and see just how limited her riding experience was before he took her on a ride into some of the rougher areas of the ranch.

“So you’re the reason Tori hasn’t had any trouble with the bucket babies,” Eli said, when Buck stepped out of the barn just ahead of him.

His dad shrugged. “All I had to do was show her how to mix up the milk replacer and clean the buckets that first time. After that, she’s been doing it herself.”

“What were you doing today, showing her how much grain starter to give them?” Eli guessed.

“Yup.” Buck grinned. “You know you’re not gonna be able to turn those calves in with the rest of the herd when they’re old enough, don’t you?”

Eli frowned. “Why not?”

“Tori will be heartbroken if you do. She’s named ’em and she talks to ’em like they’re her babies.” A nostalgic smile curved Buck’s mouth as he shook his head. “Your momma did the same thing with the first set of bucket calves I gave her to raise.”

“So what did you do?” Eli didn’t remember his mother being overly sentimental about any of the livestock, except maybe her horse.

“I kept those three heifers in the feedlot until you were born, then turned them in with the rest of the herd,” Buck said, rocking back on his heels. “Once she had you to take care of, your momma didn’t think so much about the cattle. I figure it will be the same with Tori.”

“Is this your way of telling me you want a grandchild?” Eli asked, raising one eyebrow. Buck had never been known to beat around the bush. When he wanted something his hints usually carried all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

“Well now, that wouldn’t bother me one damned bit to have a couple of little kids running around,” Buck said, looking thoughtful. “I hadn’t thought of it until you mentioned it, though.”

Eli wasn’t buying his father’s feigned innocence for a minute. Buck knew that the primary reason Eli had advertised for a wife was to have an heir to inherit the Rusty Spur when it came time for him to retire.

“It’s a little early to start thinking about having a baby together,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve only known Tori for four days and we’ve yet to decide whether we’ll try to make things work or if we’ll go our separate ways.”

“Any idea how long that’s gonna take?” Buck asked, pressing the issue.

“That’s between me and Tori,” Eli answered, through clenched teeth. He wasn’t going to tell Buck that he had hired Sean Hartwell to investigate her. For one thing, Buck had his mind made up that she was the woman for Eli. And for another, the last thing he needed was for Buck to mention something to Tori about the investigation. “Besides, I told you about the month for us to get to know each other before we make our decision.”

“I didn’t want you to go about findin’ a woman the way you did, but you couldn’t do any better than that little gal,” Buck said, starting to walk toward the house. “It wouldn’t take me a month to decide to grab hold of her and hang on tight.”

“How the hell do you figure that?” Eli asked, losing all patience. There were times when his father’s logic aggravated him to no end. “You don’t know her any better than I do. When I first told you about the ad, you couldn’t say enough about how my decision had disaster written all over it. You even refused to come to the wedding. I’d love to hear what brilliant notion changed your mind about that.”

“You know that if there’s one thing I’ve always been good at, it’s sizin’ up a person within a few minutes of meetin’ ’em,” Buck said, turning back. “Tori’s a good little gal. She’s just been through some tough times and it hasn’t been that long ago.”

“How do you know?” Eli had always had a lot of respect for Buck’s opinion of people. He’d never known his father to be wrong when it came to judging a person’s character. But there was always a first time for everything. “Did she say something?” he demanded.

Buck shook his head. “No, and it’s not my place to go questionin’ her about it. So don’t ask me to.”

“I had no intention of asking you to do that,” Eli said, trying his best not to lose his temper.

Buck glared at him. “Good, ’cause I won’t.”

“You were about to tell me your reasons for thinking she’s a good person,” Eli prompted. There were times when trying to get something out of Buck was like trying to pull hen’s teeth.

“I don’t think she’s a good person—I know she is,” Buck said flatly. “But you can see it in her eyes. She’s been hurt by something or someone. It’s my guess she’s still tryin’ to find her way and get her feet back under her. So you shoot her some slack and give her a chance, you hear? Or you’ll have to answer to me.”

As his father continued on toward the house, Eli wouldn’t have been surprised if steam was escaping from his ears. Buck had a way of saying things that never failed to set Eli’s teeth on edge. At times, his father seemed to conveniently forget that Eli was a grown man and capable of forming his own opinions, as well as making his own decisions.

But as Eli began to calm down, he thought about what Buck had said. The first day he’d met her, he had picked up on the fact that Tori seemed vulnerable and a little unsure, and he had figured she was running from something. Why else would a woman as beautiful as Tori enter into an unconventional marriage with a complete stranger?

But for the life of him, Eli couldn’t figure out what it would be. Nothing had turned up in the background check he had run before deciding she was the woman he wanted to join him on the Rusty Spur. When he had interviewed her two character references, they had both verified that she had never been married before, had never been in trouble with the law and was a good, honest, upstanding citizen. Had they lied? Had Tori been in a relationship that ended badly and they were covering for her?

Just the thought of some man causing her any kind of emotional pain or, worse yet, being physically abusive with her made Eli want to find the bastard and treat him to some pain of his own. But that didn’t make sense. There was no reason for her to withhold something like that. And it didn’t explain the lengths she had gone to, claiming knowledge about the way a ranch was run, in order to get him to choose her.

But if it wasn’t a man that sent her running from Charlotte, then what was it?

He sighed heavily. Normally patience was one of his strong suits, but he suddenly found himself wanting Sean to hurry up and call with the details of his in-depth investigation of her.

“Eli, is something wrong?”

Looking up, he watched Tori close the barn door and walk over to him. “No, I was just waiting on you to finish with the bucket babies.” He put his arms around her and decided it was past time they spent an evening together doing something other than working. Maybe talking about something besides ranch work and what chore he wanted her to do next would give him some answers to his questions. “How would you like to catch a movie tonight?”

“That would be great, but do we really have time to drive all the way down to Eagle Fork, watch a movie and then drive back before we have to get up in the morning?” she asked, looking doubtful.

Laughing, he shook his head as he released her and they started toward the house. “No, but I was thinking that a movie on Pay Per View and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn would be the next best thing.”

“That does sound nice,” she said, smiling. “I haven’t seen a good movie in so long, I don’t even remember when or what I saw.”

“Then it’s a date,” he said, draping his arm over her shoulders.

Glancing down at her, he liked that he had made her smile. Why hadn’t he thought to do something nice for her before now?

He would have been more than happy to blame his oversight on having to take up the slack while his men recovered from the flu, but he couldn’t. The sad fact was that he was so out of practice at dating, he hadn’t even considered that getting to know each other might be better accomplished with a little courting.

Thinking back, he tried to remember the last time he had been on an actual date. Had it been a year or more like eighteen months?

Frowning, he shook his head. He couldn’t count the night last summer when he and Blake stopped for a beer at the watering hole in Eagle Fork after the rodeo in Cheyenne. Hell, he hated to admit it, but all he could remember about the woman he had spent time with was her unnaturally red hair. He wasn’t proud of it, but he hadn’t even been able to recall her name when he’d left her place the next morning.

Of course, it wasn’t as if he had a lot of opportunity to take a woman out. Working long days on the ranch and living an hour and a half—two hours if he drove the speed limit—from the nearest town wasn’t exactly conducive to cultivating an active social life.

But he’d been okay with that. At least he had been until he’d marked his thirty-fourth birthday and came to the conclusion that if the Rusty Spur was going to be passed on to a sixth generation of Laughlins, he needed to get busy and find a woman. He’d found one, all right, and while he waited on Sean’s report he was going to spend time with Tori on a more personal level and see how much he could learn about her on his own.

* * *

“What movie did you decide on?” Tori asked as they ate supper. While she helped Buck finish preparing their meal and set the table, Eli had gone into the family room to check the listings of available movies.

“I didn’t figure you would care much for the latest action-adventure film,” Eli said, smiling.

She shook her head. “No, I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of those or the ones that after you watch them you end up hiding under the covers all night, hoping that daylight hurries up.”

“You don’t like thrillers. That’s good to know.” He grinned. “But you don’t have to worry. There’s a romantic comedy that I figured you might like.”

“Are you going to watch the movie with us, Buck?” she asked, turning to the older man.

He gave her an odd smile as he shook his head. “Nope. I’m pretty tired and as soon as I get the dishwasher started, I think I’m gonna mosey on down the hall and go to bed.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, not wanting him to think they were trying to exclude him.

She watched Buck stare at Eli a moment, then nod. “I’m sure.” He grinned. “And don’t count on me bein’ around on Saturday night, either. That’s my night to head over to the bunkhouse for poker and beer with the boys. I won’t be back till sometime Sunday mornin’.”

“Is that what you usually do on Saturday night?” she asked Eli, wondering if she would be spending the evening alone.

“No, that’s about the only Buck-free night I get,” Eli said. “I’m not giving that up.”

“One of these Saturday nights, I’m gonna stay home just to irritate you,” Buck shot back. His tone was just as adamant as Eli’s.

Tori sensed that something had happened between father and son that had them both on edge. She only hoped that she wasn’t the cause of their tension.

As the conversation turned to things that had happened around the ranch and projects Eli had planned for the spring, they both seemed to be a little more at ease. By the time they finished eating, she had an idea that she hoped would be met with a favorable reception.

“I know that I might not be here in the spring,” she said cautiously. “But if I am, would you have any objections to my planting a few flowers and maybe a little vegetable garden?”

Both men fell silent as they turned to stare at her as if they couldn’t quite believe what she had asked.

Suddenly feeling awkward and as if she had spoken out of turn, she added, “I probably shouldn’t have asked. I mean...I might not...” She stopped babbling and, sighing heavily, shook her head as she stared down at her plate. “Never mind. It was just a thought.”

When Eli’s hand covered hers, she raised her gaze to meet his. “If that’s what you want to do, it’s fine with me.”

“That’s only if we...”

His gaze held hers when she let her voice trail off. “Right.”

“I think that would be right nice,” Buck said, leaving the table to rinse his plate and put it in the dishwasher. “I’ll even help you take care of it.”

“Thank you, Buck.” She took her and Eli’s plates to the sink. “But maybe we should talk more about it a bit later.”

As she helped load the dishwasher, Tori wondered if Eli thought she might have been a bit presumptuous. After all, they might have shared a few kisses that could have easily ignited the hay in one of his barns, but it was still too early to predict the outcome of their arrangement.

“The movie will be starting in a few minutes,” Eli said, taking her by the hand.

“Buck is tired and I really should help him clean up the kitchen,” she said, glancing at the few things left to put into the dishwasher. At first, she had wondered why with their wealth, Buck had taken over the housekeeping chores when he’d retired, instead of hiring someone. But one evening while she was helping him clean up the kitchen, he had admitted that he liked, as he put it, “putterin’ around the kitchen” instead of sitting around with nothing to do.

“You go on ahead and watch your show.” Buck waved his hand at the counter. “All I have left to do is wipe things off and start the dishes to washin’.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t want to leave the impression that she wasn’t willing to do her part in helping out.

“I’m positive.” Buck patted her shoulder. “You’ve been workin’ hard ever since you got here. Now, go enjoy your movie with Eli.”

As he led the way into the family room just off the kitchen, she wondered if Eli would want to discuss her premature suggestion that she would like to plant a garden. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had every right to assume she would still be living on the Rusty Spur in the spring. She had married Eli in good faith and with every intention of trying to make the union work. By making plans for the future, she was actually reaffirming her commitment.

“What are we going to watch?” she asked, feeling more confident. If he couldn’t understand that she was willing to give their marriage every chance, well, that was his problem, not hers.

“I forget the title, but it has Julia Roberts in it,” Eli said, leading her over to the big leather couch.

“I haven’t kept up with movies, but I’m sure it will be good,” she said, starting to sit in the matching chair flanking the couch.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, catching her hand in his.

“I wasn’t sure....” Looking up at him, she sighed as she shook her head. “Eli, I...I’m not very good at all of this.”

His frown indicated that he didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. “What do you mean by that?”

“Everything about our situation is so unorthodox that I’m not sure what to do or what to say about anything,” she explained, trying to gather her thoughts. “I’m your wife, but I don’t know you that well. I might be married to you now, but I’m not sure if we’ll be married by the time the snow melts.” She shook her head. “I don’t know whether to make plans or just live in a state of uncertainty until... To tell you the truth, I don’t know when I’ll start feeling more secure about this.” Stopping, it was her turn to frown. “I don’t even know where to sit.”

He stared at her a moment with his piercing brown eyes, then, giving her an understanding smile, pulled her into his arms. “I’m just as unsure of the outcome as you are, honey. But I can tell you this much—I don’t want you feeling like you have to walk on eggshells all of the time. Don’t hold back. Tell me what you’re thinking about our situation and how you feel about it, instead of holding it in and being unsure. It’s the only way we’ll be able to decide what to do when the time comes.”

Feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she nodded. “That goes both ways. This effects both of us, and I need to know just as much about what you think and feel as you do about me.”

He pulled her more firmly against him and lowered his mouth to hers. “You’ve got yourself a deal, honey.”

As his lips settled over hers, Tori stopped thinking and started feeling. She had heard some of her former friends describe their boyfriends’ kisses as intoxicating and, for the first time, she began to understand what that meant. Eli’s lips moving over hers was like a drug and one that she could easily become addicted to.

Deepening the caress, he teased her into doing a little exploring of her own and when she tentatively stroked his tongue with hers, the groan that rumbled up from his chest filled her with a feminine power she hadn’t known she possessed. Just the thought that she could bring Eli the same kind of pleasure that he did her when they kissed caused a tiny thrill to course through her.

Caught up in the heady feeling, it took a moment for her to realize he had picked her up. Then he lowered himself to the couch and set her on his lap. But the feel of his large hand slowly sliding from her waist to her knee, then back up the length of her to cup her breast caused an awareness that rocked her with its intensity. As he teased her tightening nipple through her clothing, she became aware of his hard arousal pressed to the side of her leg. It seemed they might not know much about each other, but their bodies didn’t seem to have any problem communicating what they were feeling and what they needed from each other.

“I think we had better turn on the television and start watching the movie,” Eli whispered against her skin as he kissed his way to her ear. “Otherwise, it’s going to be a real marriage quicker than either of us anticipated.”

The thought sent a shiver of longing through her like nothing she had ever experienced before. “Y-yes, that would be best,” she stammered, moving off his lap.

Tucking her to his side, he draped his arm over her shoulders and used the remote to turn on the movie. As the show played, Tori found her gaze slipping from the elaborate home-theater system to the man seated beside her. He wasn’t anything like the wealthy men she had known in Charlotte. For one thing, none of them worked even a fraction as hard as Eli. Over the past several days, she had watched him do hard manual labor from before sunup until sundown, without a hint of a complaint. And for another, none of the men she had been acquainted with, including her father, would have been content to stay at home to watch a movie. If they couldn’t go to see the first showing in a theater, they simply wouldn’t see the film at all.

Lost in thought, it surprised her when the movie ended and the credits began rolling up the screen. “That was good,” she said, not knowing if it was or not.

Eli nodded. “It had its moments.”

Feigning a yawn, Tori rose to her feet. “I suppose it’s time I got to bed. The girls will be waiting on me tomorrow morning.”

“Have you given any more thought to what you’d like to name the foal?” he asked, turning off the big-screen television.

She hadn’t really had time to think of anything but what chores needed doing and how tired she was when she went to bed at night. “No, but considering her coloring, I think the name Copper would be appropriate.”

He seemed to consider her suggestion as they walked toward the stairs. “That sounds like a pretty good name for a sorrel filly.”

Unfamiliar with the term, she made a mental note to look it up on the internet the first chance she got. She assumed he was talking about the foal’s reddish-orange color, but she needed to be sure.

When they stopped at her bedroom door, he used his index finger to brush a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail from her cheek. “Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll saddle a couple of horses and we’ll ride out to the pasture to chop the ice at the edge of the pond.”

For the past few days, whenever they went to take hay to the cattle, they had stopped at the edge of a huge pond to chop holes in the ice for the cattle to get a drink. “Won’t the cattle need hay?”

She hoped that riding a horse wasn’t difficult. She had ridden once, as a child. But that had been in an indoor arena at a friend’s birthday party and an adult had led the horse around with a rope tied to its halter.

“Most of the men have recovered from the flu and will be taking over their chores again tomorrow,” he said, his brown eyes darkening as he lowered his head to give her a kiss that sent her temperature soaring. When he finally raised his head, he smiled. “Sleep well, Tori.”

As she watched him walk down the hall to his room, she barely resisted the urge to fan herself. If his kisses were any indication, his lovemaking would surely cause her to burst into flames.

A shiver coursed through her and she wasn’t entirely sure if it was from the desire he created within her or the fear of what he would discover about her in the weeks ahead. Either way, she had a feeling it wasn’t going to take long for a definitive answer about whether they were going to try to stay together. She only hoped that he understood when she explained about her father and her reasons for running from the only life she had ever known.

* * *

From the corner of his eye, Eli watched Tori size up the little mare he had saddled for her to ride. Smaller than most of the working stock and with a gentle temperament his men referred to as “lady broke,” she would be easy for a novice to handle. And he had no doubt Tori had never ridden before. One look at the panic on her beautiful face last night when he’d mentioned going for a ride had convinced him of that.

“Go ahead and mount up,” he said, pulling the cinch tight around his gelding. “It won’t take but a minute and I’ll have my horse saddled.”

“I can’t,” she answered.

He stepped around the gelding to see what the problem was. “Why not?”

“The horse is too tall. I can’t get my foot high enough to put it in the stirrup,” she said, shrugging. She didn’t look all that upset. In fact, she looked downright relieved.

“How did you mount your horse back in North Carolina?” he asked, barely able to keep from grinning.

Eli didn’t have any idea why he found her trying to bluff her way through everything so darned cute when she was clearly trying to deceive him. But he did and he couldn’t wait to see how she handled this situation.

“Someone always helped me,” she answered.

Walking over to where she stood at the mare’s side, he placed his hands at her waist and lifted her, finding himself staring at the designer label on her cute little blue-jeans-clad backside. Calvin Klein had never looked so good, or so tempting.

“Throw your leg over the mare’s back,” he said, wondering how much longer he was going to be able to tolerate his nightly cold showers. Even those didn’t seem to be as effective as they had been when he’d first brought her home.

When she sat in the saddle, her smile looked strained. “I’m ready when you are.”

Oh, he was ready all right, but not for horseback riding. Forcing himself to move, Eli walked back over to the gelding and finished securing the cinch, then swung up into the saddle.

“Lead the way,” he said, shifting in the saddle to relieve the pressure of his arousal in his suddenly too-tight jeans. If he didn’t get his mind off his wife and her enticing body, he was going to end up doing permanent damage to himself.

“I’d rather you lead the way,” she said, sitting ramrod straight in the saddle.

Reining the gelding over beside the mare, he asked, “Honey, when are you going to admit that you’ve never been on a horse before?”

“But I have,” she insisted. “Just not recently.”

“How long are we talking here?” he asked doubtfully.

“A few years.” She sighed. “But I’m sure it will come back to me.”

Laughing, he shook his head as he urged the gelding into a slow walk. Once he got her to admit that she didn’t know the first thing about riding a horse, he’d teach her to ride. But he had to give her credit for one thing. Tori might be short on experience, but she sure didn’t suffer the lack of courage to try.

The mare followed the gelding just as he knew she would and in no time they were making their way out of the ranch yard toward the first pasture gate. Slowing his horse, he rode alongside Tori.

“Is it coming back to you?” he asked.

“It’s just like riding a bicycle,” she said, nodding.

“Yup. Once you learn you never forget.” He didn’t want to add to Tori’s apprehension by reminding her that the “bicycle” she was riding now had a mind of its own, and although she was the most gentle horse on his ranch, the mare—like any animal—still had the potential to be unpredictable.

By the time they reached the pond, he could tell that Tori had relaxed a little and even loosened the death grip she’d had on the saddle horn from the moment he’d lifted her into the saddle.

“You don’t have to dismount,” he said, swinging down from his horse to untie the ax he had secured to the back of the saddle. “I just thought you might like to go for a little ride and enjoy yourself for a change instead of having to work all day.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “We’ve been so busy since I arrived, I can hardly believe it’s almost been a week already.”

He nodded as he swung the ax down to break the ice at the edge of the pond. “Now that most of the men are back to work, it should slow down quite a bit.”

“Eli? I...uh, I think...I need your help.”

He looked up, hearing the panic in Tori’s voice. When he spotted her and the mare, his heart felt as if it came up in his throat. Tori had apparently let the mare have her head while she waited on him to finish with the ice. With no guidance, the mare had wandered onto the ice and they were a good ten feet out onto the pond’s frozen surface.