Lone Star Daddy. Cathy Gillen Thacker

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СКАЧАТЬ a produce catcher sticking six feet out to one side. A large vacuum hose fed into a belt-run crop sorting and processing system that ran the length of the entire machine, and there was a ledge for a produce box directly beneath the end of the produce catcher. Behind the tractor was a detachable flat-bed trailer with room for stacked produce boxes.

      Cheerfully Rose explained, “You drive the berry harvester between the rows. The nylon bars enclosed in the top of the machine move through the bushes and gently shake the ripe fruit loose. The captured blackberries are drawn up through the hose at the bottom and move through the machine via conveyor belts, where any loose leaves, sticks and thorns are removed, and gently drop into the box below.” She took a breath, then continued. “When the box is full, a sensor will sound. You stop the tractor, remove the full container and replace it with another.”

      It sounded pretty easy. And a lot less expensive and labor-intensive than picking them by hand. “Except there are no rows to drive through in that mess of blackberries on my property,” Clint pointed out. The canes had grown together into a dense thicket years before.

      Rose shrugged. “So we’ll use a tractor to make some.” She lifted a hand to cut off any objection. “Yes, you’ll be mowing down some perfectly good bushes and blackberries in the process, but you’ll still be left with a ton of plants and plenty of fruit in a much more manageable situation. And with a new set of berries ripening every two days for the next three to five weeks, depending on weather, that is a lot of berries, McCulloch.”

      And a whole lot of money, Clint acknowledged. Still, he hated being pushed into anything. “Let me guess.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re just the person to take the blackberries off my hands?”

      Oblivious to the amused way Jeff was watching her, she dipped her head in a playful bow. “I do run a wholesale Buy Local fruit and vegetable business and co-op at Rose Hill Farm.”

      Clint thought about what it was going to cost to get his cutting-horse breeding and training business off the ground. He was still running the fifty black Angus on a neighboring ranch and spending a lot more time than he liked giving cutting-horse riding lessons and hiring himself out as a cowboy just to bring in needed operating cash. It had been over a year since he’d repurchased the property he grew up on, and although he had no trouble meeting his mortgage payments, he was still a long way from making the ranch what he knew it could be.

      He shook his head in frustration. He was tempted, but too smart to follow her down a trail that would most likely only set him even farther back in the end. “Look, even if I wanted to do this, there’s no way I could afford this machine.” The price label on the side stated it retailed for two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

      Or about the same as the new tractor he needed but could not yet purchase.

      “Actually, you can,” Rose insisted smugly.

      Clint scoffed. “What are you going to do? Loan me the money to lease it?”

      Her grin widened. “Better than that. I’ve worked out an arrangement with both Jeff and Farmtech, the manufacturer.”

      Clint couldn’t say he was surprised Rose had the owner of the dealership at her command. Or any red-blooded man with an appreciation for a smart, beautiful, sexy woman, for that matter.

      “What kind of arrangement?” he couldn’t help but ask. Jeff quietly excused himself and headed back in the direction of the office.

      Now that they were alone beneath the shimmering blue Texas sky, Rose focused all her energy on Clint. “One that won’t cost you a cent!” She stepped closer, persuading cheerfully, “All you have to do is use the berry picker on your property to bring in the crop. And then offer the required testimonial, which I will support and bolster in any way that’s needed.”

      He studied her. “Okay, I see what’s in it for you.” She would get access to the blackberry crop she so desperately wanted for her wholesale produce business. He lowered his face until they were almost nose to nose. “But why would the dealership and the manufacturer agree to let me do this free of charge?”

      Instead of stepping back as he expected, she came nearer, enticing him to inhale her sunny, citrus perfume. “Because this particular machine is a brand-new design, with very few willing to buy it thus far. Farmtech is hoping to change that via positive experience—especially here, because in Texas, most berries are still picked by hand.”

      It sounded simple enough, but his gut told him there was more to it. He stepped back and studied her, glad they were no longer within kissing distance. “What aren’t you telling me?”

      She shifted her glance to the left, suddenly looking a little nervous. “That’s pretty much it...”

      “But not all,” Clint surmised.

      She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to him. “They also want to come out to the Double Creek Ranch and film you using the product. Of course, you’ll get paid for your time and trouble at a rate commensurate with others working in the spokesperson industry.”

      No question, the additional money would help. But the thought of riding around on a berry picker in front of a camera bordered on the ridiculous. “You’re kidding.” Dread filtered through him. “You’re not kidding.”

      “Well—” Rose wrinkled her nose. “You are a former rodeo star. And, well, if not all that handsome, at least not all that ugly...”

      “Cute.”

      “And it wouldn’t be your first endorsement.”

       Aha. Here comes the sales pitch...

      Luckily this wasn’t the first time a beautiful woman had used her charm to try and wheedle him into agreeing to something he had no business doing.

      He rocked forward on the toes of his boots. She did the same on hers.

      Letting her know with a glance she wasn’t going to railroad him into anything, he said, “What few ad campaigns I’ve done have been for saddle soap and leather gloves. Nothing to write home about.”

      She aimed another sweet, tempting smile his way that had his lower half tightening, despite his vow to remain unaffected.

      “Well, maybe this will be,” she offered hopefully.

      Silence fell.

      Before the two of them could say anything more, Jeff strode toward them. He held a clipboard piled with papers in one hand, a pen in the other. “The film crew and publicity team will be here at some point during the next couple of weeks, provided we can get the papers signed and faxed back to Farmtech today.”

      Clint thought about the potential hassle and humiliation. He also thought about the income such a deal could bring in. And what that, in turn, could do for his plans for his ranch. Which was more important? His pride—or the future of the Double Creek?

      Clenching his jaw, he asked, “What about the berry picker?”

      Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rose was so excited she was practically bouncing up and down.

      “We can have it delivered to the McCulloch ranch by Wednesday,” Jeff promised.

      Two days from now. “And in the meantime...?”

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