The Cowboy Meets His Match by Margaret Brownley

Author:Margaret Brownley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

21

Chase clutched the reins of his horse and watched as the eighty-rod spools of barbed wire unwound from the back of the wagon. Kansas Pete drove the wagon slowly, while two men walked behind to make sure the strands of wire didn’t tangle.

The devil’s rope, as some called it, was thought to be superior to wooden fences and save time and money. That turned out to be a lot of hogwash. Between the free-range activists and cattle thieves, keeping the wire fence in good repair was a constant battle. Here it was, only April, and already Chase was over budget for the year.

This time, activists had cut a twenty-foot gap from the fence, allowing cattle to escape. Boomer had said he wouldn’t know how many beeves they’d lost until he took a census.

No doubt his men would reclaim most, if not all, of the missing steers. But tracking them down would require hours away from the ranch, taking his men from other duties.

The cut fence, however, was only partly to blame for Chase’s dark mood. Emily bore the brunt of responsibility. The memory of holding her in his arms continued to plague him. Even when she was fighting him, he was drawn to her like a moth to light. Never had he been so attracted to a woman. Or so physically aware of her presence.

Like a smitten schoolboy, he lay in bed at night hoping to hear her sigh or catch a whiff of her sweet fragrance. Not even the wall between them could block out the nearness of her.

She’d made it perfectly clear that theirs was a marriage in name only, and he had no intention of doing anything that would jeopardize the ranch. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to be married to Emily in every sense of the word.

The thought was as worrisome as it was surprising. She wasn’t even his type. She was too independent for his taste. Too unsuited to ranch life. Too much of a spitfire. So why was he wasting time thinking of her when he had work to do? When did thoughts of a woman become more demanding than the call of duty?

Whatever hold she had on him had to stop. When working with cattle, a man had better keep his mind on the job or suffer the consequences. Cattle were unpredictable and spooked easily. One moment, they could be perfectly peaceful, the next, on a rampage.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cloud of dust, signaling a visitor. Narrowing his eyes against the bright morning sun, he watched the horseman head his way. It soon became clear it was his uncle. Considering the early hour, whatever Uncle Baxter had on his mind couldn’t be good.

Hi uncle reined in his horse and greeted Chase with a nod. “Morning.”

As usual, he was dressed for business in a dark suit, complete with a bow tie and a felt derby hat. Against the backdrop of cattle, the business attire looked absurd.

His uncle tossed a nod at the gaping hole in the fence.

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