Jake (22 page)

Jake chuckled. “I did the same thing. I guess I was six or seven the first time Pa let me come with him and my brothers. I stayed up half the night listening to the old wranglers talking about what it was like in Big Jim’s day, with nothing but a campfire and a horse-drawn chuck wagon.”

He pointed to the sea of black in the distance. “There’s your herd.”

Meg caught her breath at the size. “How many do you think I have?”

He shrugged. “A couple thousand, I’d guess.”

“Thousand?” She blinked. “When I left, there were a few hundred.”

“How long have you been gone?”

She laughed. “Too long, apparently.” She nudged her horse into a trot. “Come on. I want a closer look.”

“How do, ma’am.” The lanky cowboy urged his horse closer and touched the brim of his hat before looking beyond Meg to Jake. “You folks looking for Yancy?”

“Yes. Is he here?”

“Over that hill, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” Meg followed the wrangler’s direction and reined in her mount when she came up over a ridge to find the old foreman on foot, checking a stray.

Keeping hold of his horse’s reins, he looked up.

“Yancy, I’m Meg Stanford.”

“Ma’am.” He whipped his wide-brimmed hat from his head in a courtly gesture. “Thank you for your call. As I said, I’m sorry as I can be at the loss of your daddy.”

“Thank you, Yancy.” At his sweet, formal words, Meg absorbed a sudden, wrenching pain around her heart and had to swallow hard.

She indicated Jake riding up beside her. “This is—”

“Jake Conway,” the old cowboy said. “Good to see you again, Jake. I hear you’re a vet now.”

“That’s right.” Jake climbed from his horse to shake the older man’s hand.

“I’m not surprised. According to Big Jim, you were always hauling home some wounded critter or other, and always mending their injuries without regard for your own hide.”

Jake laughed. “That about sums up my childhood, Yancy.”

The old cowboy turned to Meg, his eyes squinting against the sun. “Rumor has it that you’re about to auction off the ranch and all the cattle, ma’am.”

“That was my original plan, Yancy. Now that I’m here, I’m not so sure.”

His brows shot up, the only indication that he’d been caught by surprise.

“Tell me, Yancy, are the cattle healthy?”

“Some of the healthiest herds I’ve tended. We had a warm spring, and that helped to make this calving season easier than ever.”

“If I were to stay on here through the summer, could I count on you to see the herd through to the end of the season?”

He nodded. “Yes’m. That was my promise to your daddy.”

“When do you and the wranglers get paid?”

“Your daddy paid us half up front. The rest comes after roundup.”

Meg looked toward the bunkhouse in the distance. “Do you have enough supplies to see you through the season?”

He gave her a gentle smile. “No need to worry about us. Your daddy saw to everything at the start of the spring. Matt Fender’s our cook, and he makes the hottest chili in Wyoming. Of course, if you ever feel like sending along a couple of cases of longnecks, we won’t refuse them, ma’am.”

Meg laughed. “I’ll put that on my list, Yancy.” She leaned down to offer her handshake. “I want to thank you for staying, even though my father is gone now.”

“I gave your daddy my word that I’d see the herd through the season. And that’s what I intend to do, Miss Stanford.”

“It’s Meg. And I’m grateful, Yancy.”

He hauled himself into the saddle of his spotted mustang. As Meg and Jake were turning their horses, he waved his hat, looking for all the world, Meg thought, like one of those cowboys on the cover of a magazine about the Old West.

Jake pulled his mount alongside Meg’s. “Feeling better now that you’ve seen the herd?”

She nodded. “Yancy says they’re healthy. I’m going to take him at his word.”

Jake caught her hand. “Yancy’s one of the good guys. If he says something, you can take it to the bank. Your dad made a wise choice for ranch foreman.”

She glanced at their joined hands and wondered at the way her heart stirred.

Maybe it was being back in the high country again, where she’d once felt on top of the world. Or maybe it was merely the fact that she was finally taking baby steps toward being in charge of her life again. Whatever the reason, she shot him a challenging look before firmly withdrawing her hand.

“Let’s race.”

He was grinning. “Where to?”

She shrugged. “Back to the house, of course. Last one there gets to make supper.”

Without a backward glance she gave her horse its head and they went racing across the high meadow, with Jake’s mount in hot pursuit.

Oh, she thought as she leaned low in the saddle, it felt so good to be back in the place that had owned her heart all those years ago. A place of such incredible beauty, it clogged her throat and brought tears to her eyes.

Maybe it wasn’t home yet. But it was as close to heaven as she’d ever been.

Chapter Eighteen

Their race ended long before the ranch house came into view. One minute Meg’s horse was far ahead of Jake’s, the next, her mount stumbled, sending Meg sailing through the air to land with a thud in the tall grass. By the time Jake reached her side she’d managed to get to her feet, where she stood rubbing her sore backside.

He slid from the saddle. “You all right?”

She managed a laugh. “I’m sure I’ll pay for this tomorrow. For now, the only thing hurt is my pride.” She walked over to catch the dangling reins of her horse, busy nibbling grass. “I guess I’m not as good a rider as I used to be.”

“You looked damned fine to me. Until that spill, you were the clear winner.”

She looked up at the saddle, then at the ranch house in the distance. “I’m not sure I’m ready to climb back on my horse and take any more punishment.”

Jake grabbed his horse’s reins and moved along beside her. “It’s not that far. Let’s walk for a while.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

They walked in silence for a bit before Jake asked, “So what happened to Meg Stanford between yesterday and today?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess it goes back to that challenge you issued, about the arbitrary deadline I’d set for myself. Last night I had time for some soul-searching. I decided that I didn’t much like the person I’d become.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Jake matched his steps to hers as they moved through the tall grass.

“When I left here as a girl, I stopped trusting the people who were in charge and decided to take control of my own life. I studied hard, played by the rules, and made myself fit into the new life I’d been thrust into. I thought I’d done a good job. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started planning my future. It didn’t hurt that my stepfather had some very influential friends that made my climb a lot easier. And I never looked back.”

“And now?”

She sighed. “Now, I’m being forced to question everything I’d been told. I don’t have the answers yet. I’ll probably need lots of time to figure things out. But I’ve decided that the old Meg, who came here with a chip on her shoulder, needs to be buried along with the father she never really knew. I don’t have a clue what the new Meg will be like, but I’m willing to give her time to figure it out and reveal herself to me. For instance, I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to ride a horse at a full gallop across a meadow filled with wildflowers. Or—” she bent to pluck a tall stem of grass and chew on it before looking at him “—to taste a blade of grass. Who knows what almost-forgotten thing from my childhood I’ll rediscover tomorrow?”

Jake grinned before nodding toward the barns looming in the distance. “I’m no fortune-teller, but I’ll be willing to bet that one of those things will be mucking out the stalls.” He pretended to test the muscle of her upper arm. “Think you’re up to it?”

She shot him a sideways look. “You think I’m some weak, prissy city girl, don’t you? Let me remind you that I was mucking stalls before I could read.” She pulled herself up into the saddle before wincing in pain.

Jake followed suit before he threw back his head and laughed. “And I’ll remind you of this tomorrow when both your arms and aching back complain as loudly as your backside.”

They were both laughing as they urged their horses toward the house.

Both Meg and Jake studied with interest the sleek car with the tinted windows that was parked beside Jake’s truck.

As they approached, the driver’s side door opened, and a beautifully dressed man wearing tailored slacks, a white shirt and tie, and mirrored sunglasses stepped out.

“Noah.” Meg reined in her mount and stared in stunned surprise.

“That’s not exactly the greeting I was expecting.” He looked from Meg to Jake.

“Sorry. I’m just caught off guard.” She waved a hand in Jake’s direction. “Noah Kettering, this is Jake Conway.”

“Conway.” The man gave Jake a dismissive look before returning his attention to Meg.

She slid from the saddle. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask you the same thing. When you left, you said you’d be back by the end of the week. Then the firm received your e-mail requesting a leave of absence. You can’t be serious.”

“I wouldn’t have sent it if I hadn’t meant it. I’ve decided that I need some time here.”

“Time
here?
” He looked at the house and outbuildings, which were nearly swallowed up by the sea of rangeland that stretched for miles in all directions. “What about the firm’s time? What about our clients?”

“I was hoping you and the other partners could handle them in my absence.”

He whipped off his sunglasses, revealing pale blue eyes as cold as chips of ice. “Just like that? You’re expecting our valued clients to start over with a new lawyer who isn’t familiar with their cases? And what about those of us in the firm who are already overburdened with our own clients?” His words were as frosty as his eyes.

Jake took the reins of Meg’s horse from her hand. “While you two talk, I’ll see to the horses.”

“Thanks, Jake.” Meg nodded absently, her attention riveted on the man beside her.

Jake led both horses toward a corral, where he unsaddled them and turned them loose before filling a trough with feed and water.

While he worked he studied the man with fair, razor-cut hair and a face like a male model. Though Noah Kettering had shed his suit jacket, the shirt was custom-made, as were the pants and shoes. The watch at his wrist cost more than the rental car he’d driven here. And the fact that he’d flown thousands of miles across the country as soon as he’d heard from Meg told Jake that she must mean a great deal to Noah Kettering of the firm Howe-Kettering.

Why was he surprised? Meg was smart and ambitious and beautiful. She would be an asset to any man’s firm. Or to his personal life. And judging by the chill in Noah Kettering’s eyes, he wanted her firmly back in place. This didn’t appear to be strictly business with Kettering. This was personal.

Though Jake couldn’t hear everything that was said, he could hear bits and pieces.

Noah’s voice, low with drama. “My father…terribly disappointed.”

“I’m sorry. Your father…my champion at the firm.”

“What about…I feel?”

Jake watched as Meg lay a hand on Noah’s sleeve. “Please don’t think this is about you, Noah. I’m doing this for me. I need time here.”

“Is there no way to change your mind?”

Her chin came up. “You know me well enough to know that I’d have never sent that e-mail if I hadn’t thought this through.”

Noah clenched his hands at his sides before looking around. “Is there some place we can go for dinner and a quiet place to talk? I really need a drink.”

“The nearest town is a hundred miles from here.”

“Unbelievable. That’s where I left the firm’s plane. I had it stocked with your favorite wine and that seafood salad from Nino’s that you love, in the hope that I could persuade you to return with me.”

“Thank you, Noah. That was very kind of you.”

“I wasn’t being kind. I was being practical. Something you’ve apparently forgotten. What you’re doing here is—” he looked with contempt at the dusty yard, the shabby ranch house, before his gaze swung back to her, noting her wind-blown hair, her grass-stained denims “—completely insane.”

“I’m sure it seems that way to you. In fact, a day or so ago, I’d have agreed with you.” Her voice lowered. Softened. “Why don’t you come inside and I’ll make some coffee?”

“Do you have anything stronger?”

She smiled. “There may be a few longneck beers left over from my father’s stash. As I recall, he used to enjoy a cold beer on a hot day.”

“Sorry. Not my style. And this isn’t yours. At least it wasn’t the style of the Meghan Stanford I knew.” Noah sighed and replaced his sunglasses, hiding his eyes from view. “I really can’t spare any more time. I left the office in such a hurry, I carried at least a hundred documents that will require my attention on the flight home. A flight I fully expected you to be taking with me.”

“I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you, Noah.”

“I’m not the only one who’s disappointed. Think about my father.” He gave a sigh of disgust. “You’ll let me know when you’ve made a decision to return to civilization?”

“You’ll be the first one I contact.”

He managed a thin smile. “I guess I’ll have to take some small satisfaction in that. Good luck, Meg. I hope…” He glanced toward Jake before finishing. “…I hope you come to your senses sooner rather than later. The firm needs you. And I…” He leaned close and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips before turning away to settle himself behind the wheel of the car. “…I need you, too. But I like to think I’m a patient man.”

“You are. And I’m grateful.” Meg leaned in the open window. “Thanks for coming all this way, Noah.”

“It was Dad’s idea. In fact, he insisted.”

“Thank your father for me. Safe flight.”

She stood watching as he drove along the curving driveway, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. When the car was out of sight she turned to see Jake leaning against the corral, his arms crossed over his chest.