Dream's End by Diana Palmer

Author:Diana Palmer
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 1979-07-01T16:00:00+00:00

He was at the breakfast table when she went down only hours later, her eyes still bloodshot from lack of sleep, and she wondered idly why he hadn’t gone out with the hands.

His pale eyes shivered over her as she sat down across from him, and a hint of a smile curved his mouth.

“It’s about time you crawled out of bed,” he told her, sipping his coffee as he eyed her. “I want you to come out with me today.”

She stared at him uncertainly. “Where?” she asked.

“Roundup starts this morning.”

“Oh!” She couldn’t hide the surge of excitement that statement created. Every year she’d begged to be taken along when the first of the cattle were brought in from winter pasture to be moved to summer quarters. New calves were branded, and the vet was around to check for disease. It was the most exciting time of the year on a cattle ranch.

“You love it, don’t you?” he asked with narrowed eyes. “Every bit of it, from the branding to the culling, even tossing hay to the horses. Yes, Miss Priss—” he nodded at her start of surprise “—I hear what goes on around here. You conned Johnny into letting you feed the horses in the stalls. Or didn’t you think he’d tell me?”

“I thought ranch managers were supposed to keep their mouths shut,” she grumbled.

“They are—but you’re forgetting, I don’t keep a ranch manager, I keep an assistant manager. Nobody manages this spread except me,” he added.

“As if I didn’t know.” She sighed. “You manage everybody on it, too, when they’ll let you.”

“You used to let me,” he said.

“I grew up,” she said smugly.

“Not quite,” he said with a meaningful lift of his eyebrow.

She glared at him across the table. “Maybe it depends on the man, did you ever think of that?”

The smile got deeper. “Or maybe the man just didn’t try hard enough. Next time, I won’t be so impatient.”

Her eyes widened and she dropped them to her plate with volcanic eruptions taking place in her blood. “There won’t be a next time,” she said firmly, although her voice wasn’t quite steady.

“Are you coming with me? You’ll have to change. That pretty pantsuit will be ruined if you wear it.”

She glanced down at the white slacks and matching top. “More likely it’d turn red,” she mused. “Jeans and a cotton shirt okay, boss?”

He smiled at her. “And boots. Got yours?”

“Of course. I do ride, you know,” she reminded him.

“I haven’t seen you on a horse in two months.”

“You haven’t looked in six months to see what I was on,” she teased.

He didn’t smile at that. His pale eyes caught hers and held them for a long time with a searching look that made her forget the blistering heat of the cup in her hand.

Bessie came in noisily with the coffeepot and broke the spell. Eleanor held her cup out with a smile while she fought to calm her stampeding pulse.

“Haven’t touched your breakfast,” the housekeeper scolded. “He ruining your appetite?” she nodded toward Curry.

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