She laughed. “No. Really.”
“It’s when we sell off some of our herd sires, producing purebred cows, calves and yearlings. We offer them in cattle magazines, online, in trade papers, that sort of thing. Then people come in droves to the ranch and we serve barbecue and beans and entice buyers into the barn.” He chuckled. “We do a big business. But I think the food may have something to do with it. Tubbs is a master chef. He cooks for the sale.”
“Tubbs?” she exclaimed. “The Shakespeare cowboy?”
He roared. “I guess we’ll have to tell him about his new nickname,” he teased, smiling when she flushed. “Yes, him. He acts in community plays when he has free time. There isn’t a lot of it.”
“I’ve noticed that. It’s very hard work.”
“It is. But I love it.” He stopped his horse and looked around at acres and acres of land, leading into the horizon where the sharp peaks of the Tetons were just visible. There were round corrals all around the barn and into the many pastures. They were fenced and painted and well kept.
“It’s an elegant ranch.”
“Thanks. But what I love about it is the animals. I like tending to them.”
She smiled. “I love animals, too. We weren’t allowed to have them when we were growing up.” She laughed. “Sari says she’s getting a big dog and it’s going to live in the house. Paul said he had a friend who knew dog recipes.”
He chuckled. “He wouldn’t really, would he?”
“No. He loves Sari. If she wanted the moon, he’d be looking for ways to build spaceships. It’s that sort of relationship. A true love match. I’ve only ever read about them, but Sari actually found one.”
“Your sister sounds nice.”
“She is. She’s smart, too,” she added.
“You’re smart about drawing,” he replied, because there had been a note of envy in her soft voice. “You have a great talent.”
She flushed. “Thanks.”
“Going to paint the wolf?” he teased.
“Oh, yes. I’m going to start sketching as soon as we get home.”
He liked the way she said the word home. It made him think of a fire in the fireplace and food on the table. That was new.
They rode up to the porch. She dismounted and grimaced.
“I’m going to walk bowlegged for days,” she said with a laugh.
“No doubt. Legs sore?”
“Very!”
“Soak in the bathtub for a while,” he suggested, taking her horse’s reins. “I’ll walk the boys back to the stable and put them up.”
“Thanks.”
He shrugged. He gave her a long, steady look that made her heart race like crazy, made her breath catch in her throat. His black eyes held hers without blinking until she thought she’d pass out at the intensity of the look they exchanged.
Ren finally ended it. He averted his eyes. “I’ll get back to work.”
“Thanks for the ride. And the wolf introduction. I’ll never forget it.”
“Neither will I.” His voice was gruff. He turned and walked away.
She watched him, curious. He seemed to like her company, but then he’d turn away as if he hated himself for it. She wondered why as she went into the house.
*
REN HATED WHAT he was feeling for one of his brother’s women. She had a soft heart. He couldn’t tell her that he knew his brother never dated a woman who didn’t give out. Meredith seemed so innocent, but she belonged to Randall, who wouldn’t turn his eyes toward a virgin. It was a puzzle. He led the horses back to the barn and forcibly put the woman out of his mind.
*
MERRIE LOST HERSELF while doing the sketch of the wolf. She remembered every detail of him, from the way his fur grew between his ears to the slant of his yellow eyes, to the way his fur grew down his back and his long fluffy tail.
She didn’t realize how long she’d been at it until there was a knock at the door and Delsey peeked around it.
“Time for supper,” she said. “Ren’s downstairs.” She nodded toward the staircase, and gave Merrie a meaningful stare.
“Oh! Sorry, I got so lost in...!”
She stopped suddenly when Ren peered in the door over Delsey’s head.
“Well?” he asked.
“I’m coming,” she protested. “I was just...”
“The wolf. Let’s see,” he interrupted.
She laughed, relieved. She pulled her sketch pad from the bed coverlet, where she’d been sprawled, and displayed her work.
“Amazing,” Ren said, captivated.
“It looks like a photograph,” Delsey said, shaking her head. “Honey, you have an amazing talent. You really should be displaying in art shows.”
“Thanks,” Merrie said softly. “I love what I do. I’m going to do a painting. This is just the preliminary sketch. I penciled in the colors, so I wouldn’t forget them.”
“Willis is going to be on top of the world when he sees it.” He chuckled. “He loves that wolf.”
“It shows. He’s a sweet animal.”
“Sweet? That wolf? He snapped at me and almost took my hand off when I brought a meal to Willis the last time he got sick!” Delsey exclaimed.