The Wrangler's Woman by Ruth Jean Dale

Author:Ruth Jean Dale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

7

IT TOOK PETEY about ten minutes to conquer the Keene women and their grandma. With amused astonishment, Jack watched the kid take over the entire Bar K, guests and cowboys alike, by the end of the first day.

“Are all women that nuts about kids?” he asked Dani on the second day.

She edged away from him; she’d been doing that a lot since their encounter on the banks of Handbasket Creek. “Most of us,” she admitted. “But you wait, we’ll have our influence over him, too. This isn’t as one-sided as it may appear.”

“Few things are,” he agreed, thinking of how she’d felt in his arms all hot and bothered—which hadn’t been at all one-sided. He pulled his mind back to the subject at hand although it took considerable effort. “Don’t drop your guard, though. Petey can be a pretty shifty character when he takes a notion.”

“Come on, Jack!” She gave him an incredulous look. “How can you call a four-year-old shifty?”

“He’s smart for his age?” He shrugged. “I’m not puttin’ the kid down, I’m just warning you to stay alert.”

“Not to worry,” she said airily. “If four adult women and one adult man can’t keep a rein on one adorable little kid, there’s something wrong with the lot of us.”

Jack knew when to let it drop so he changed the subject. “What have you decided about picking up a few more head of horses? If you don’t, we’ll have trouble mounting the rest of the folks who’ll start pouring in here next week.”

She made a wry face. “I think ‘pouring in’ may be laying it on a trifle thick. But you’re right—we do need more stock. It’s just that…” She chewed on her lower lip.

He figured he knew where she was headed. “Cash flow problems?”

She lifted her chin a notch. “Nothing I can’t handle, but I may not be able to get as many horses as I’d like. The prices I’ve seen in the paper have been awfully high.”

“Yeah, well…” Shut up, Jack, he told himself. Don’t get any more involved than you already are. “I might…” And then again, I might not. Pa and Grandpa are already madder than hell at me, so why do I want to make matters any worse?

Travis and Austin had been particularly livid about his plan to bring Petey over here for the summer. They’d only given in when he’d pointed out that it would be a nice vacation for the boy with his uncle and four women at his beck and call. Petey could go home any time they wanted, for as long as they wanted.

They’d given in, although none too gracefully. If Jack hit them up so soon about selling horses to the Bar K, below market value…

Dani was looking at him with a puzzled expression. Lord, she was good-looking: so feminine and womanly, but at the same time so strong and determined. He admired her gumption more every day, not to mention her—

“You might what?” she finally demanded. “Do you know of any good deals out there? Because I sure could use one about now.

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