Cowboy Seeks Perfect Wife. Linda Lewis

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      “Late last night. What message?”

      “I called the hotel to tell you not to go home. You have a tenant, remember? Where did you stay last night? With Maggie and the doc?”

      “No. I haven’t seen Maggie yet. Tenant. That’s what I want to talk to you about. Judge.” She paused for dramatic effect. “There’s a man in my house.”

      “I know that. Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about? Your tenant, Rafe McMasters. He leased the place a few months back.”

      “I only lease the land.”

      “You didn’t read the last lease before you signed it, did you?” He shook his head. “Sidonie, girl, how many times have I told you—”

      “Always read before you sign. I know. But the leases have always been the same, up until this one. Why did you lease the house?”

      “Didn’t you see the rent he’s paying? Your trust account is pretty healthy, even after taking out that chunk for your medical bills, but you can’t touch the principal until you’re thirty. Not for everyday living expenses, only for emergencies. You won’t be thirty for two more years. You’re going to need that extra .money for food and rent and other necessities, while you figure out a new way to earn a living.”

      “I’ll earn a living the same way I always have— dancing.”

      The judge frowned. “Not according to what the doctors told me. They said—”

      “Never mind what they said. I know more about what my body can do than any doctor. I’m going to be fine. All I need is a place to relax and time to get back in shape.”

      Tyler looked like he wanted to argue with her, but instead he asked, “Where did you stay last night? You never said.”

      “I stayed at home, but I had to fight that man tooth and nail to do it. He’s the most—”

      The judge’s mouth dropped open. “You stayed the night with Rafe McMasters? You got into a fight with him?”

      “I never laid a hand on him.” A knee but not a hand. Judge Longstreet didn’t need to know about that. “What’s wrong? You look shocked.”

      “I’m not shocked. Surprised, maybe. You…and Rafe McMasters. Oh, my.”

      He still looked shocked to Sidonie. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Judge. Believe me, we didn’t make mad, passionate love on the kitchen table.”

      “I didn’t think you did. I know you and Rafe wouldn’t…”

      He looked embarrassed. Sidonie grinned. The judge had always been more naive than a man his age, in his profession, should be. “You’re right about that. We definitely wouldn’t. He’s not my type.” She wasn’t sure what her type was, but arrogant, self-righteous fuddy-duddies didn’t even make it to the bottom of her list. Not even if they had bodies to die for.

      Judge Longstreet’s bushy white eyebrows came together in a puzzled frown. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Harrumph. I’d have thought a wealthy, handsome man was almost any woman’s type.” His brow smoothed. “But you’re smarter than most women, aren’t you? What have you learned about McMasters?”

      “That he’s living in my house and he looks down his nose at dancers. What else should I know about him?”

      The judge shot her a disappointed look. “That’s all?”

      Rafe had put every nerve ending she had on red alert every time he’d touched her, but she wasn’t going to tell that to Judge Longstreet. She shook her head.

      “Nothing else? Too bad. Rafe McMasters’s homecoming has been the main topic of conversation around here for weeks. Of course, now that you’ve shown up, there will be something new to talk about. But the two of you together—oh, my. Him, the prodigal son come home, and you, looking just like your mother. All big, blue eyes and long, long legs…” Tyler’s eyes glazed over momentarily, then he caught himself. “Harrumph. That is to say, you two will be a major topic of conversation around these parts.”

      “That’s what he said. But why?”

      “He left town under something of a cloud fifteen years ago. No one’s heard from him since. Then he turns up out of the blue three months ago, holding title to half the county. Turns out he’d been buying up land here in Proffit County for years, through a nominee. But we still don’t know where he was all those years, or what he’s been up to.”

      “Okay, I can see how people might find that a little bit interesting, but why would they talk about me?”

      “You know how the town’s always been fascinated by your mother and you. You two are the only show business folks ever to come from Cache.”

      “We’re not exactly famous, either one of us. Mom never made it out of the chorus line until she gave up dancing and became a choreographer. Neither have I.”

      “You’re the closest thing to famous around these parts. Especially after that video you were in with that rock star—what’s his name?”

      “Duke Devlin. I do well enough for my purposes, but I’m a long way from being a star.” Sidonie shrugged. “But if people find me and the stuffed shirt fascinating, they can talk about us all they want.”

      “Stuffed shirt? That’s how you see him?”

      She nodded warily. “Don’t you?”

      “Not hardly. Rafe McMasters was the roughest, toughest cowboy in Proffit County when he was a young man. Doing real well on the rodeo circuit, he was. But he was always in trouble, right up to and including the day he left town. Now he’s back, throwing money around like it was water. How did he make his fortune? Answer me that, if you can.”

      Ignoring the question, which was obviously rhetorical, Sidonie concentrated on the image the judge’s words conjured up—Rafe McMasters in tight jeans and cowboy boots, a Western shirt straining to cover his muscled chest…Sidonie blinked and the image was gone.

      “Cowboy? Rough and tough? You can’t mean Mr. Prude and Prejudice. Judge, the man wears a three-piece suit to bed. Did you say he left town under a cloud? What on earth did he do?”

      “Never you mind. You get out of here and find a place to stay. I’d let you stay with me, but a pretty young thing like you living with an old bachelor like me would cause tongues to wag, too. Why don’t you go see the widow Harris? She runs a real respectable boardinghouse.”

      “I’m beginning to remember why Mom left here. She always told me people in Cache were much too concerned with everyone else’s business.” Sidonie walked around the desk and placed a kiss on the judge’s receding hairline. “I’m staying at my place.”

      “You can’t stay there. Not as long as Rafe is in residence.”

      “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. How do we get him out of my house?”

      “He’ll be out in three months. That’s when the lease is up.”

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