The Lone Rancher

Chapter Three

After her encounter with Cahill, Adrianna inhaled several restorative breaths to regain her composure. Then she tamped down the unwelcome and unexpected sensations still undulating through her body. Good heavens, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear her physical attraction to that infuriating cowboy overshadowed her fierce dislike of his character and personality.

Why she had allowed Cahill to kiss her blind and stupid defied reasonable explanation. And despite what he’d said, he had started it…hadn’t he?

She did not go around kissing men on a reckless whim. Not ever. She didn’t trust the male gender. They were a devious, manipulative lot. Well, except for Rosa’s beloved Lucas, she amended. The two of them had stopped by the previous afternoon to see what changes she had made in the house. It was sweet, really, the way the newlywed lovebirds held hands and whispered to each other.

Adrianna was happy for her cousin, but she felt a bit left out, too. Her expectations of moving to Texas and re-creating the days of her youth when she and Rosa had been inseparable hadn’t panned out. There had been a time when Rosa was as cautious of the agenda of men as Adrianna was. But Rosa’s obvious love for Lucas changed her perspective.

Adrianna discarded her wandering thoughts and strode off. She wanted to check her remuda of horses to ensure the long train ride hadn’t distressed them. And tomorrow, she would ride into town for the second fitting for her new gown and pick up two more pairs of breeches that Mel was working on. Adrianna planned to take Elda and Bea with her to arrange the grand party. Celebrating Rosa and Lucas’s marriage was going to be a gala affair.

According to Rosa, hosting parties on Town Square worked perfectly. But in case of a spring storm, Adrianna supposed she would have to reschedule….

Her thoughts trailed off when one of her employees, Chester Purvis, nearly plowed into her as she rounded the corner of the horse barn. The stocky, shaggy-haired cowhand who was a few years older and had pale brown eyes reached out to steady her before she collapsed on the ground.

“Sorry about that. You okay, Miz McKnight?”

She flashed a nonchalant smile. “I’m fine.”

“I was afraid Cahill planned to rough you up a bit after you hired away Rocky Rhodes.” Ches leaned closer than Adrianna preferred so she shifted away. “Cahill is a man to be reckoned with, ya know. His brothers and sister shoved off the first chance they got. Plus, that Cahill Curse makes him mean-spirited.”

She frowned, bemused. “What curse?”

“Well, some folks in these parts claim the Cahills bribed the railroad agents to get the town placed on their property so they could sell lots and rent buildings to shopkeepers. Then, of course, there was the wagon accident that killed Ruby and Earl Cahill. Not to mention how rustling and fence cutting increased as a result of the curse.”

Adrianna frowned pensively. She would have to remember to question Cousin Rosa about the supposed Cahill Curse. Maybe that’s what made that brawny, gray-eyed cowboy irascible and hard-nosed. Not that Adrianna intended to excuse his behavior. Still, she was curious about the loss of his parents and the rift that sent his brothers and sister away from the ranch.

“Thank you for the information, Ches,” she said before she strode off.

Ches was a step behind her. “Cahill didn’t threaten you or anything, did he, Miz McKnight?”

She stopped short, causing Ches to bump into her. She backed up a step and tried not to wrinkle her nose when she got a whiff of the cowboy, who was overdue for a bath. She made a mental note to purchase a bathtub for the bunkhouse.

“Don’t concern yourself with me, Ches. I can take care of myself when it comes to dealing with Cahill.”

He inclined his shaggy head, then touched his hand to the rim of his grimy hat. “Yes, ma’am. Just wanted you to know that me and some of the other boys are here to back you up if Cahill tries to pressure you.”

Adrianna watched the bowlegged cowboy stroll off to tend his chores. It sounded as if Ches Purvis and the other hired hands envied Cahill’s wealth and influence in the area. She wondered how many of her employees shared his opinion that Cahill deserved all the bad luck that came his way. Then she wondered if Cahill’s hired hands resented her for hiring away Rocky Rhodes and not them.

Well, in some ways she supposed she was like Cahill. She didn’t give a whit about public opinion. She was following her father’s policy of surrounding herself with exceptional employees. That, according to Reuben McKnight, was the secret to financial success.

An hour later, Adrianna entered the house, anxious to devour one of Elda’s delicious meals, then sink into a relaxing bath. She ambled into the kitchen, surprised to see Bea and Butler slicing bread, cheese and some sort of meat she couldn’t identify.

“Where’s Elda? She isn’t feeling ill, is she?” Adrianna asked in concern.

“No, she’s fine,” Bea replied as she grabbed the whistling teapot off the stove. “She took a new job.”

“What?” Adrianna crowed in astonishment. “After all her years of loyalty to us? Why would she do that?”

Butler pivoted to face her. “Cahill showed up at the back door and lavished Elda with so many sticky-sweet compliments I developed an instant toothache just listening to them.”

“She joined the enemy’s camp?” Adrianna howled in dismay.

Bea calmly took the supper tray and whizzed into the dining room that now boasted a china cabinet, table and chairs that had once graced the lavish mansion in Boston. “Now, now, dear, don’t fret. There is method to Elda’s defection. Although Cahill promised to pay her exceptionally well to cook and clean for him, she intends to remain there only temporarily to see what goes on at 4C. She plans to report her findings to you.”

Adrianna scoffed. “Since when does Elda engage in clandestine espionage?”

Butler snickered as he toted cups of steaming tea into the dining room. “You’re aware the household staff at the Boston estates provide a network of information. How do you think rumors about who was cheating on whom and who was going bankrupt on an ill-advised investment began circulating? For a fee, you can find out the dirt on the highest echelon of aristocrats and politicians. Elda is using that tactic.”

“But still…” Adrianna mumbled. “Elda is family and family is supposed to stick together.”

Bea arched a brow. “You hired away Cahill’s foreman to whip this ranch into shape, but mostly you did it to annoy your neighbor, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes,” she admitted begrudgingly.

“Then there you go,” said Butler as he plunked into his chair. “Now sit down and eat. Bea and I will be better prepared for tomorrow’s meals.”

“No need,” Adrianna replied. “Tomorrow we will purchase supplies in Ca-Cross and arrange Rosa’s wedding celebration. There are several restaurants in town. We’ll try their fare.”

“I’m ready for a day away from painting, dusting and cleaning,” Bea said enthusiastically.

The threesome ate in companionable silence but Adrianna inwardly fumed over Cahill’s audacity of charming Elda out of the kitchen and escorting her to his house. Blast that dark-haired demon! First, he had kissed her senseless, then he had swiped Elda, who was an honorary aunt, same as Beatrice.

Later, while Adrianna was lounging in her fragrant bath in her private quarters—that she had painted herself and spiffied up to feel like home—she wondered if loneliness was part of the reason Cahill had lured away Elda.

According to Chester Purvis, Cahill’s siblings had left him to manage the ranch alone. Maybe he’d grown tired of rattling around in that big three-story stone-and-timber home by himself. The conflict between her and Cahill might have been the perfect excuse for him to have someone else in his house.

Adrianna was cautious not to sympathize with Cahill’s problems because she did not intend to soften toward him. He had insulted her, after all. He deserved to find himself living next door to a neighbor from hell. And just because that impossible man had kissed her—and she had liked it—didn’t mean she had the slightest respect or affection for him. He was a man cursed, if Ches Purvis was to be believed. Adrianna had enough challenges ahead of her without tripping over a big, swarthy stumbling block with mercury-colored eyes and sensuous lips that tasted—

Adrianna jerked upright in the bathtub so quickly that she accidentally slopped water on the floor. “Forget about that,” she lectured herself sternly. “Forget about him.”

She settled back into the tub and smiled wickedly. “I wonder how much it would cost to hire Elda to poison Cahill? That would put the ornery rascal out of his misery for good.”



Adrianna had to admit it was a relief to leave behind the rat-tat-tat of hammers all the livelong day. Although she was anxious to complete the new addition that would become her spacious private parlor, bedroom and office, she was eager to get away and visit Rosa.

“There aren’t many options for purchasing supplies and personal items,” Bea remarked as they halted the wagon in front of Rosa’s shop, which faced Town Square.

“We’ll manage,” Butler insisted as he helped the housekeeper down.

Adrianna frowned curiously when she noticed Butler held on to Bea—and she to him—a moment longer than necessary. If Adrianna didn’t know better…

She studied the twosome from a different perspective. “How long has this been going on without my knowledge?”

Butler stepped protectively in front of Bea. He met Adrianna’s speculative gaze and stood his ground. “For a dozen years. We were careful in Boston, because gossip mills can grind you up, you know. If you object to our, er, friendship—”

Adrianna waved him to silence, then hopped agilely to the ground to brush dust from her breeches and shirt. “If you recall, I moved to Texas to enjoy my independence. I’m pleased you and Bea are exceptionally fond of each other. I merely meant that no one bothered to enlighten me. I’m ashamed that I’ve been so wrapped up in my own misery the past few years I failed to notice.”

Butler and Bea looked relieved that Adrianna hadn’t scorned their liaison.

She grinned impishly at them. “Now, if the day comes that you decide to make it legal I will be honored to host a party for you.” She strode ahead of them. “Come see Rosa’s shop. She has done very well for herself and, like you, she has become good at keeping secrets.” She paused to stare somberly at her employees. “Rosa doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s an heiress so mum’s the word.”

The twosome nodded agreeably before they followed Adrianna into the dress shop.



Quin trotted Cactus into town to pick up the payroll so he would have it on hand to pay his cowboys. He also wanted to ensure the rent that the banker, Willem Van Slyck, collected monthly for him had been deposited in the ranch account. Although Quin had told Bowie, Chance and Leanna that he was pouring all the profits from town rentals and cattle sales into ranch improvements and expansion, he had paid his siblings dividends—in case they needed a financial boost. Of course, they would have to contact him—which they hadn’t. Quin wasn’t worried about Bowie’s finances since he’d had a job before leaving 4C. Not the kind of job their parents had approved of but Bowie was drawing sheriff’s wages. Quin had no idea what Leanna and Chance were doing to make ends meet. Nevertheless, the money awaited them when they finally came to their senses and returned home where they belonged.

Like Boston—who never should have ventured west to disrupt his life and take the starring role in his dreams. Damn the woman. He kept playing that tantalizing kiss over and over in his mind and wondered if perhaps he had been the one who had initiated it. For certain, she fit against his body as if she had been made for him….

Now there was a thought that rattled him to the extreme.

Yet, maybe he had been going about dealing with Boston all wrong, he mused as he halted in front of Hell’s Corner Saloon. Perhaps he should have charmed Boston as he had charmed Elda Quickel into cooking and cleaning for him. She was a gourmet cook of the highest order. His taste buds nearly went into riot remembering the delicious fare she had served him. Besides, it was nice to have someone join him at the dinner table—and he had insisted on that. No need for Elda to eat alone in the kitchen, after all.

His thoughts flitted off when he saw Lucas Burnett and his black-eyed wolf dog—named Dog—moving along the respectable side of the railroad tracks. Lucas was riding his favorite horse called Drizzle and leading four Appaloosa-and-mustang crosses that he had culled from his prize herd.

“Where are you headed, Burnett?” Quin called out.

Lucas inclined his raven head toward Town Square. “I’m meeting Rosa for lunch. Then I’m taking the horses to Fort Ridge to sell. Care to join us for lunch, Cahill?”

Quin veered away from the saloon to join Lucas. “So…how is married life treating you? Haven’t seen much of you since Rosalie put a ring through your nose.”

“Torment me all you want, Cahill,” Lucas replied, unruffled. “I’m happy. Thanks to Rosa’s influence, I don’t feel quite so much like an outcast in town. Since everyone adores her, they tolerate me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that McKnight hellion is Rosalie’s cousin?” Quin accused abruptly.

Lucas shrugged his broad shoulders, then cut Quin an amused glance. “First off, I haven’t seen you lately because we have been on our honeymoon. Secondly, you didn’t ask.”

“Well, I’m asking now. How can your sweet wife be related to that snippy heiress who thinks she can manage a sprawling Texas ranch without going broke like her Eastern-and London-based predecessors?”

“Addie K., as Rosa calls her, inherited a staggering fortune from both sides of her family,” Lucas explained without bothering to elaborate on Rosa’s financial connection—or lack thereof. “Addie K. could likely buy and sell you a few times over if she had a mind to, Cahill.”

The teasing comment and the mischievous grin with which it was delivered made Quin squirm in the saddle. “No doubt that’s what set off that firebrand when I offered to buy her ranch the first day she arrived.”

Lucas barked a laugh and his shoulders shook with amusement. “You tangled with the wrong female, friend. According to Rosa, Addie K. doesn’t have much use for men. Too many adventurers and gold diggers were after her fortune. I think that’s one of the reasons she came west.”

Quin recalled Boston making a similar comment about her lack of faith in the motives of men in general. Lucas, of course, received a free pass because Boston apparently approved of her cousin’s marriage. As for Quin, he hadn’t been welcoming or friendly. He’d wanted something from her, just like every other man of her acquaintance, he suspected.

Until the previous evening, Quin hadn’t added getting his hands on Boston’s curvaceous body to his list of wants. He wasn’t proud of it, but the truth was he desired the chestnut-haired hellcat whose sassy mouth amused him, annoyed him and aroused him all at once.

“So what do you say, Cahill?”

Quin snapped to attention, then scrambled to find his place in the conversation. Damn it, fantasizing about Boston had thoroughly distracted him. Finally, he gave up and glanced guiltily at Burnett. “Sorry, what did you say? I was woolgathering.”

Lucas grinned knowingly. “I can see why. Addie K. is exceptionally attractive.”

“Who said I was thinking about that mouthy shrew?”

Lucas’s thick black brows arched a notch higher and he grinned broadly. “I’m not as stupid as I look, Cahill.”

“Don’t put money on it,” Quin muttered as he followed Lucas, who tethered his string of horses outside Rosa’s shop. “After all, you married into the family so that makes you Boston’s cousin-in-law. You have my sympathy.”

Several women filed from the shop, carrying packages and smiling in satisfaction. Lucas, Dog and Quin waited until the women had vacated the boardwalk before they ambled inside. Quin stopped dead in his tracks when he heard bright ringing laughter and witnessed the sparkling smile that lit up Boston’s face. He hadn’t expected her to be here. He certainly wasn’t prepared to see her laughing. Usually she only glared poison arrows at him.

Obviously, Quin brought out the worst in her, for as soon as she spotted him her smile disappeared. Then she focused on Lucas and walked over to hug the stuffing out of him.

“I’m so glad you’re here to join us,” she enthused, ignoring Quin as if he was one of the many bolts of fabric crammed on a shelf. “We can discuss my plans for your wedding celebration over lunch.”

“Now hold on a minute—” Lucas tried to object as he stared pleadingly at Rosa.

Boston waved him off as if he were a pesky mosquito. “I wasn’t here to attend my cousin’s wedding but you won’t deprive me of hosting a grand party so the whole town can congratulate you on your marriage and I can meet my new neighbors.”

Lucas stared helplessly at his lovely, lavender-eyed wife and Quin almost felt sorry for the ex–Texas Ranger. Especially when Boston snapped her fingers in front of his nose, demanding his undivided attention.

“Rosa broke her solemn promise to me,” she told Lucas. “We were going to become spinsters together and denounce all men everywhere. Then you came along to steal her heart. My only consolation is this party to celebrate her happiness.” She gave him the evil eye. “Do not fight me on this, Lucas, or I will make your life miserable.”

“And she can, too,” Quin interjected before he could bite back the taunt. “Take my word for it, Burnett.”

When she turned her glittering green-eyed glare on him, silence descended on the boutique. Quin hated to admit that, glare or not, he’d wanted Boston’s notice. It beat the hell out of being ignored as if he were invisible. He suddenly remembered that he had considered changing tact. Maybe he could treat the shrew with kindness rather than taunts and see how that worked. It probably wouldn’t matter, given her cynical opinion of men and her dislike of him in particular.

Quin removed his hat, then bowed slightly from the waist. “I apologize, Miz McKnight. That was uncalled for. You are here with family and I am intruding.” He nodded a polite greeting to Rosa, Bea and Butler. “If you will excuse me, I have an errand to run.”

He noticed Boston was watching him intently with those lustrous eyes that could mesmerize a man if he stared into them for a prolonged period of time. That must have been what had happened the previous day, he decided. He had gotten lost in those beguiling eyes and found his lips feasting on her as if he were starving for the taste of her.

Quin turned to leave and Boston said from behind him, “How is Elda? I miss her, you know.”

“And I enjoy having her and her amazing meals,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder at her. “My family went their separate ways to find themselves—whatever that means—and my house has been empty until Elda arrived.” He lifted a questioning brow. “How is Rock settling in? My men miss him. I miss him. He is a valuable employee.”

“He fits in perfectly,” she assured him, not smiling, which was too bad because Quin wished he could be the reason for the joyous expression he’d witnessed earlier. But he was an unwanted outsider and Boston wanted him gone. To hell, he suspected.

“Addie K.,” Rosa scolded her cousin. “Where are your manners?”

Quin pivoted to see Boston struggle to paste on a polite smile but it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “By all means, Cahill, join us at the Porter Hotel across the square after you conduct your business. We would love to have you join us for lunch.”

That was the most insincere invitation he’d ever received. “Thanks, but no. I don’t wish to intrude.”

“Well, maybe some other time, then,” she said dismissively. “I’m sure you’re anxious to be on your way.”

“Addie K.!” Rosa sent her a withering glance. “What has gotten into you?”

Boston flashed her blond-haired cousin an exasperated frown, then strode directly up to Quin. “My apologies, Cahill. Of course, we’d be delighted if you joined us for lunch.”

He decided to accept, if only to annoy her. Indeed, she had aggravated him—so they were even. Since misery loved company, they could make each other miserable over lunch.

“I’ll be there,” Quin said before he turned on his heel and walked out.

The jingling bell over the door announced Quin’s departure. Adrianna inhaled a relieved breath. Then she pivoted to face her meddling cousin—God love her because Adrianna didn’t at the moment. Rosa had forced Cahill on her.

“I would appreciate it dearly, Cuz, if you wouldn’t shove Cahill at me. We bring out the absolute worse in each other.”

“Really?” Lucas said, and snorted. “We hadn’t noticed.”

Adrianna glanced at her new cousin-in-law. His coal-black eyes twinkled with devilry. She could see why Rosa had become enamored with Lucas. He was big and rugged and he looked nothing like the prissy aristocrats who sauntered down the streets and ballrooms of Boston. Sort of like Cahill’s unpretentious, straightforward manner—

She chopped off the thought. She was not giving Cahill credit for anything. However, there had been a moment earlier when his sincere apology had almost got to her. She wondered what it would be like to call him friend rather than exasperating antagonist.

“I have a few errands to run myself before lunch.” Adrianna strode toward the door. “I’ll meet you at Porter’s in thirty minutes.”

The instant she stepped outside her gaze landed on Cahill and she watched him stride across the square to the bank. He walked with a hypnotic economy of movement. He was graceful in an utterly masculine sort of way. Too bad she disliked him so much, she mused as she headed in the opposite direction to contact the owners of another restaurant on the northwest corner of Town Square.

Rosa suggested including all of the shopkeepers in providing food, drinks, tables and chairs for the grand affair. According to Rosa, she practiced the same policy when she held her annual Christmas celebration. All the businesses in town chipped in for food, entertainment and fireworks for a Fourth of July festival, she was told, so she wouldn’t have problems gaining cooperation.

Twenty minutes later Adrianna scurried across the square to the meat market and came face-to-face with Cahill when he exited the bank. She blew out her breath and blurted out, “I’m sorry for sounding so rude earlier. It was most impolite.”

“I won’t be joining your family and friends for lunch,” Quin said stiffly. “You can make up an excuse for me.”

She clutched his arm when he started off. “You are coming to lunch,” she said in no uncertain terms. “But first I want to know what this supposed Cahill Curse is all about.”

Quin scoffed. “It’s pure nonsense, manufactured by locals who believe my family deserved bad fortune because we have enjoyed wealth and success. It doesn’t seem to count that we worked long and hard for what we have accumulated.”

She nodded in understanding. “I’ve overheard similar comments in Boston because of my family’s influential position and fortune. The devil is out to get us, or at least he should be because our family cannot possibly have amassed so much wealth without swindling someone.”

“Precisely,” Quin said, then smiled faintly. “It’s easier to cut someone else down to your size instead of blaming your misfortune and shortcomings on yourself.” He stepped back a pace, then doubled at the waist. “So let’s start over, Boston, er, Adrianna,” he suggested. “I made several remarks at our first meeting that I regret.”

She eyed him consideringly, trying to decide if he was giving lip service or if he was sincere. This time, however, she was careful not to stare overly long into those silver-gray eyes. She had made that crucial mistake yesterday and she had blacked out, only to regain her senses and realize she was kissing Quin as if there were no tomorrow. It had been the most unsettling moment in recent memory. Correction. Ever.

“Apology accepted, Cahill, er, Quin. I probably over-reacted. I’m intent on making something of myself in Texas. It is important that I become as successful and business-minded as my father because I could never become the docile, soft-spoken lady he expected me to be when I entered Boston society.”

“What happened to your mother?” he asked gently, showing another side of himself that she rarely glimpsed.

“She died when I was sixteen. It was a devastating loss and it changed my father drastically. He became obsessed with transforming me into the genteel, gracious sophisticate my mother was. But I couldn’t be the extension of all that she was.”

She expelled a heavyhearted sigh, amazed that she was sharing a long-kept confidence with her antagonist. What the devil had come over her? They were standing right smack-dab in the middle of Town Square. Of all the places for a confidential conversation, this was not it.

“And who are you really, Adrianna?” he asked, studying her intently.

“The independent woman you see before you who doesn’t want to conform to the standards men in society have established for women. I want to confront challenges, to test myself and achieve my own goals.”

He smiled wryly. “Then let me say you are well on your way, Adrianna.”

A compliment? She glanced at him cautiously. Her knee-jerk reaction was to question a man’s compliment and determine his hidden agenda. “Are you trying to charm me, Quin?”

His sensuous lips twitched in amusement. “Is it even possible?”

She grinned back. “Considering your lack of charm? No.”

“Touché. I’m not known for my devastating charm.”

She bubbled in laughter—and realized that she had been so intent in conversation with Quin that she hadn’t realized the other four dinner companions had ambled up behind her.

She glanced back to see them staring curiously at her, making her self-conscious. “About time you showed up,” she said as she turned on her heel. “Cahill and I were just saying that we’d likely starve to death before you got here.”

Adrianna sashayed up between Bea and Butler to hook each one by the elbow, leaving Cahill to fall into step with Lucas and Rosa. The unexpected intimacy of her conversation with Cahill disturbed her. It seemed they had passed a milestone of some sort. It was more dangerous somehow. Indeed, it was safer to be at odds with him. If she lost that edge, she would be fighting a battle with herself, because he presented the kind of alluring temptation that was unfamiliar to her.

Desiring a man was unchartered territory for Adrianna. Didn’t she have enough going on in her new life without stumbling into perilous pitfalls like that? She didn’t need further complications.

Quin Cahill was about as complicated as it got!