Wearing the Rancher's Ring. Stella Bagwell

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      Immediately rising to his feet, Clancy reached to shake the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Wes. And you didn’t steer her wrong by coming here to the Grubstake. The food is always good.”

      As if on cue, Jessi arrived with a platter filled with enough huevo rancheros and hash browns to feed a crew of men. While the young waitress refilled Clancy’s cup, the other man gestured to his food.

      “Don’t let your breakfast get cold,” Wes told him. “We’ve got to be going anyway.”

      “Yes. Work is waiting,” Olivia chimed in. “It was nice seeing you again, Clancy.”

      Feeling as if the air had suddenly been knocked out of him, he said, “Yeah. You two take care.”

      They moved on and Clancy sank into his seat. But instead of picking up his fork and digging into the scrumptious breakfast, he sat there, stupefied and wondering why this morning, of all mornings, he’d had to be here at the Grubstake.

      Normally Clancy had breakfast with the rest of his family on the Silver Horn. By now he would’ve already been snug in his office, drinking a second or third cup of coffee and listening to the morning farm and market report. But this morning, he’d agreed to meet a fence contractor here at the Grubstake to talk over a project to rebuild some of the ranch’s cross fences. Never in his wildest imaginings would he have figured on running into Olivia in this busy café. And to learn she was living and working right here in the Carson City area had thrown him for a complete loop.

      Did that mean he might see her again? Dear God, he hoped not. He couldn’t go through another five minutes like that. His insides were still trembling and his stomach was clenched into a tight fist. And yet the idea of never seeing her again made him just as sick. Either way, he was equally damned, he thought.

      “Is something wrong with the food, Clancy? If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll have Juanita do it over.”

      He looked up to see that Jessi had returned to his table and he tried to gather his senses as she tilted a glass coffee carafe over his cup and filled it almost to the brim.

      “Nothing is wrong with the food,” he assured her. “It’ll be fine.”

      “I’ve seen the big guy in here before,” Jessi commented. “I think his name is Wes. But I don’t remember seeing the woman. Mighty pretty. I noticed she came over and said hello.”

      “And I’ve noticed you noticing,” he told the waitress.

      She scowled at him. “Well, what’s wrong with that? When I see something out of the ordinary I take a second glance. And it isn’t like you to have a lady at your table.”

      “She’s just an old acquaintance, Jessi. Nothing more.”

      “Oh. Well, I almost made the mistake of thinking you were human,” she said with a shake of her head.

      He shot her a tired look.

      Laughing, she touched his shoulder. “Okay, okay. I’ll let up on you. Besides, that darned Ben Harper is motioning for me. Why can’t I have just one morning where I don’t have to see that silly grin of his?”

      “Don’t complain, Jessi. He’s clearly human.”

      With a good-natured groan, the waitress left and Clancy tried to concentrate on his meal. But instead of seeing the sauce-covered eggs on his plate, he was seeing Olivia’s pretty face.

      I’ve already tried marriage. It didn’t work.

      Her revelation shouldn’t have surprised him. After all, years had passed since she’d left him during his final year of college. A lot could happen to a person in that length of time. But hearing her say that she’d been married had been like an axe to his back. During their time together, he’d asked her to marry him and she’d accepted. He’d put a diamond on her finger and they’d started to make all sorts of plans for their future together. Then she’d learned about her mother’s illness and suddenly everything that Clancy had hoped and dreamed for was over and finished. She’d gone back to Idaho and clearly forgotten he’d ever meant anything to her.

      And that’s what he needed to do now, Clancy thought. Once and for all, he had to forget Olivia Parsons.

      * * *

      Clancy Calhoun. From the moment Olivia had learned she was being transferred to Carson City, the idea of running into him again had hung like an ominous cloud over her head. She’d tried to convince herself that the probability of it happening was slim to none. But deep down she’d known it was inevitable that someday, somewhere, she’d meet up with him.

      From the moment she’d stepped foot in this town more than two weeks ago, she’d found herself looking at faces, searching for a tawny head of hair and a pair of long, strong legs. Yet this morning, of all mornings, she’d not searched the Grubstake Café. Instead, she’d heard a voice behind her. A voice so familiar that her heart had practically stopped.

      Oh, Lord, just thinking about the way he’d looked was still making her insides shake. Ten long years had honed his lean features and long body into one rough, tough specimen of a man. Thick, tawny hair had curled around the back of his collar, while beneath the brim of his gray cowboy hat his green eyes had traveled over her with a raw sensuality that had practically taken her breath away.

      She’d not dared to ask him if he was married, but a glance at his left hand had shown no evidence of a wedding band. Did that mean he didn’t have a wife now? Had he ever had one?

      Damn it, that fact was none of her business, Olivia thought crossly. She’d given up her chance to become Clancy’s wife long ago. Her time with him had been over and done with for ten long years. There wasn’t a glimmer of a chance that a fire could be rekindled from those dead ashes. And she didn’t want to try to start one. Her job was enough to keep her happy.

      Through the open door of the office she shared with Wes, she could hear her coworker talking in the outer room with Beatrice, the secretary who kept things in order for Olivia and Wes.

      “I got to meet ranching royalty this morning, Bea. And it just so happens that Olivia already knew the man.”

      “Oh. Who was that?” Beatrice asked, her voice clearly indicating that she was preoccupied with something on her desk.

      “Clancy Calhoun. You know—the Silver Horn ranch. Seems this guy is the manager.”

      “A Calhoun! Olivia is acquainted with the Calhoun family? I don’t believe it! She’s only been in town a couple of weeks.”

      Olivia cringed as she heard Beatrice’s chair squeak and then the woman’s heels tapping across the tile until they reached the open doorway.

      “Olivia, is Wes telling me the truth? You actually know the Calhouns?”

      Stifling a groan, Olivia swiveled her chair toward the young secretary. Beatrice wasn’t exactly a gossiper, but Olivia would rather talk about anything besides Clancy.

      “Clancy and I were in a few college classes together down at UNLV. That’s all. I hadn’t seen him in years.” She wasn’t about to tell the secretary or Wes that she’d once worn Clancy’s engagement СКАЧАТЬ