Wearing the Rancher's Ring. Stella Bagwell

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      “I seriously doubt it.” Even though she was trying to sound bored, she could feel a tinge of heat on her cheeks. “The years have changed both of us.”

      “Well, from what I hear only one of the Calhoun boys is married now. Rafe, the foreman. That means Clancy is still eligible.”

      Beatrice was only having a bit of fun. The other woman had no idea that Olivia had once loved Clancy very deeply. Leaving him had nearly torn her heart out. And this morning, when she’d spotted him in the busy café, the loss had whammed her so hard she’d hardly been able to think.

      “Thanks for the information, Bea. But I’m not interested in finding a husband. I’ve had one of those before. And I sure as heck don’t want another one.”

      The pretty secretary shook her head in a disapproving way. “You sound like you’ve been eating green persimmons.”

      Olivia tried to laugh, but she wasn’t quite in the mood to make it sound believable. “Wrong. I’ve been eating brain food—you know, like blueberries, salmon and nuts. That’s how I know to avoid men.”

      Beatrice laughed, while Wes suddenly appeared in the doorway behind the secretary’s shoulder. “Hey. I don’t think I like the sound of working with a man hater. In case you can’t tell, I happen to be a man.”

      Olivia waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’re different. You’re like a pestering brother.” Which was true, she thought. From the moment she’d met her coworker, the two had bonded like brother and sister, which made working together very easy for the both of them.

      He said, “Well, little sister, put that paperwork away and grab your backpack. We’ve got to do some work in the field.”

      And it couldn’t have come at a better time, she thought. She needed something—anything—to get her mind off of the only man she’d ever really loved.

      * * *

      That same evening at the Silver Horn ranch, Clancy splashed a measurable amount of brandy into his coffee cup, then carried it across the family room. Sinking down on a long couch, he noticed his brother Rafe studying him over the edge of the latest issue of the Reno Gazette.

      “What’s the matter?” Clancy asked him. “You’re looking at me like I’ve got the measles or something.”

      Rafe inclined his head toward Clancy’s coffee cup. “The brandy.”

      Leaning back against the cushions, he crossed his boots out in front of him. “I’m cold. That’s all. I’ve been cold all day.”

      His younger brother rolled his eyes. “Hell, the weather today was pleasant. What are you going to do when it really gets cold? Hang around the fire and wait for spring to come?”

      Clancy took a long bracing swig of the laced coffee. He’d always envied the fact that Rafe’s days were never confined to four walls, a phone or computer. As foreman of the Silver Horn, Rafe spent most of his time in the saddle, roaming the endless ranges of Horn land, tending the thousands of cattle that bore the C/C brand. He truly lived the cowboy life. And now there was even more reason for Clancy to wish his life could be more like his brother’s. Rafe had a wife, Lilly, and baby daughter, Colleen, to fill his days with love.

      “Spring is months away,” Clancy said. “I’ll just drag out a heavier coat.”

      Rafe lay the paper aside and turned his full attention to Clancy. “Did you and the fence contractor come to some sort of deal today?”

      “We did. He’ll be starting next week. I told him the area down by Antelope Creek needed first attention.”

      “Good. That stretch of fence is definitely in the worst shape. Are my men supposed to help with the fencing or does he have a big enough crew to handle the job?”

      “Leave it up to his crew. We’re paying him plenty enough. That will give your men a chance to rebuild some of the corrals down at the ranch yard before you get too busy with the winter feeding.”

      Rafe smirked. “They’re sure as heck not going to like doing carpentry work. But it’s got to be done.”

      “They can’t play on horseback every day,” Clancy muttered, downing more coffee as he turned his gaze to the wide wall of glass that looked over the backyard of the ranch house. During the daylight hours, the view would stretch for miles beyond the yard to where the distant mountains created a ridge between the ranch and the state of California.

      “You have something on your mind, Clancy?”

      He glanced at his brother. “Why do you ask that?”

      Rafe shrugged. “I’m not sure. You just seem different tonight.”

      Clancy released a heavy breath. There wasn’t any point in keeping it a secret, he thought. Sooner or later his family would hear about Olivia being in Carson City anyway.

      “I saw Olivia this morning.”

      Scooting to the edge of the couch, Rafe stared at him. “You mean the Olivia—as in your ex? You saw her in person?”

      Grimacing, Clancy nodded. “In the Grubstake. I went there early so I could have breakfast before I met with Reynolds about the fencing.”

      Rafe let out a low whistle. “Oh, man. Did you talk to her?”

      Talk? When she’d walked up to him, so much had been going on inside of Clancy that he could hardly remember talking. He mostly remembered feeling a great sense of loss and humiliation. No man wanted to be dumped. Especially by a woman he’d been deeply in love with.

      “Briefly. She was there with a man—a coworker. She’s living here in the Carson City area now. Working for the BLM.”

      Rafe continued to study him closely as though he feared his big brother was in danger of collapsing or having some sort of mental breakdown. The notion caused Clancy’s jaw to tighten. Olivia might have cut him up pretty bad all those years ago, but he’d survived and grown tougher for it. He needed for Rafe and the rest of his family to understand that.

      Rafe shook his head with wonder. “Amazing. Of all the places for her to wind up—right here in your backyard. Reckon that happened on purpose?”

      Clancy drained the last of his coffee before casting his brother an annoyed glance. “Not hardly. You know how those types of jobs are—you go where they send you.”

      Rafe made a palms-up gesture. “But she could have put in a request for this area. Is she married now?”

      “No. Divorced. And apparently no children. At least, she didn’t mention any.” He wasn’t sure how he would feel if he discovered she’d borne another man’s child. Cheated, he supposed. “Arlene, Olivia’s mother, died about a year before Mother passed away.”

      “How ironic.”

      His throat thick, he said, “That’s putting it mildly.”

      Rising to his feet, he carried his cup over to a bar that angled across one corner of the spacious room. If there had been anyone else in the room, Clancy would’ve never brought СКАЧАТЬ