Made For The Rancher. Rebecca Winters

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СКАЧАТЬ in the north to the Bitterroot Sapphire area.

      He’d been excited about the idea of bringing grizzlies back since his youth when he’d spent time in the mountains with his father and they’d talked about their demise. His dad had lamented their loss, and his concerns had served to ignite a fire in Wymon who vowed that when he got old enough, he’d try to make a difference.

      If time had permitted before leaving the steps of the capitol, Wymon would have liked to relate another of Muir’s many journal entries that had always stood out in his mind.

      The night before I left Yellowstone, I found myself in a small crowd squinting at a distant hillside. A grizzly was eating an elk carcass, while a wolf lay in wait just a few meters away. When the bear was sated, she simply rambled off, leaving the carcass behind. The coast now clear, the wolf jaunted over to dig in.

      The crowd there urged the bear to react: “Fight!” at least two people cried, craving some carnal satisfaction in sharp teeth and bloody jaws. The bear, thank goodness, paid us no mind, leaving the wolf free to keep tugging at the meat.

      According to a park ranger, the wolf would bring some back to feed his pups. And the grizzly, with the wolf gone, would return. And so it would continue, two apex predators accepting the other’s presence, engaged in an ongoing dance of wary respect.

      That was the kind of respect Wymon hoped those dissenters of the plan—like Representative Farnsworth’s constituency—would develop in time. What it would take was more information at their disposal and the money to pay helpers for their ground game of dissemination of pamphlets and video clips produced for the public.

      As he drove under the antler arch of the Clayton cattle ranch entrance, he looked up at the majestic Sapphire Mountains behind it, mountains filled with sapphires created at the dawn of time, sapphires his family had mined for years.

      His eyes burned with hot tears. Wymon missed his father like hell. Maybe it was better he wasn’t alive to hear that today’s bill had been postponed. But Wymon had no intention of giving up.

      * * *

      AFTER GETTING OFF the phone with Rob, Jasmine Telford sank down on the side of her bed, wishing she hadn’t told him she’d go with him. But he said he’d be there at 8:30 a.m., so she couldn’t back out now.

      Her gaze strayed to the small suitcase she’d just packed. She’d never gone away with him overnight, but he’d been hinting that this was something important for his career. He’d sounded so serious that she’d agreed to take the day off from her job at the university. But she’d told him they would have to have separate bedrooms. She’d never been to bed with a man and didn’t have those feelings for him.

      Rob Farnsworth, an energy engineer from Helena, was running for a second term as a state representative. She’d met him three months ago in her father’s office, and he’d instantly won over her parents with his charm and intelligence. As for her, she wasn’t so sure, but from that time on he’d pursued her with a vengeance. At first she was flattered, but after a while little things about him started to bother her. He’d been indulged by his wealthy family—and she discovered that his ambition, like theirs, went beyond Montana politics, which made her nervous.

      She’d come from a ranching family. Though her dad had been involved in local politics, he planned to get back to the family feed business once he was out of office. Her hardworking father was serving his last term as a state public service commissioner.

      Jasmine’s mother was always right at his side supporting him and often stayed with him in Helena when he had business there, only coming home to Philipsburg on the odd weekend. That left Jasmine, who still lived at home, on her own.

      Heaving a sigh, she phoned her mother and got her voice mail. Jasmine left a message saying that she was going out of town with Rob and would be back the next day, but that she’d stay in touch.

      Before Rob arrived, she went in the bathroom to refresh her coral lipstick and run a brush through her wavy dark blond hair that was naturally streaked by the sun. She kept it medium-short so it didn’t need a lot of work.

      He’d said to dress casually, so she’d put on designer jeans and a short-sleeved khaki blouse. After slipping on her leather sandals, she put on some lemon-scented lotion and decided she was ready.

      Within seconds she heard him honk and left the house with her suitcase. Rob got out to hug her and take her bag. “I hope you’re up for an airplane ride.”

      No-o. Her head lifted. “You’re kidding.”

      “Why would I do that? I’ve been asking you to fly with me for a long time, and you’ve always turned me down. But I’m not going to let you get away with it today. By the way, you look beautiful.” He planted a firm kiss on her mouth, but his plans had caught her off guard.

      “Hey—” His brown eyes swept over her. “What’s wrong? I thought you told me you’re not afraid of flying.”

      “I’m not.”

      “So, it’s just me you don’t trust. Honey, I logged two thousand flying hours in the military.”

      “Trust has nothing to do with it. I’ve said no because you fly for your job. I haven’t wanted to interfere with that.”

      He frowned. “Interfere? I want you with me whenever possible. Remember that huge rally scheduled in Helena in three weeks? You promised you’d come with me and my parents.”

      “I know.” She had promised him. But since then she’d become less sure about their relationship. “I’ll fly with you this one time, Rob, but that’s it.” While they were on this trip, she’d tell him she would rather not be at his political rally.

      Rob stowed her case in the rental car, and they took off for Riddick Field Airport in Philipsburg where he’d flown in from Helena. She saw a plane she didn’t recognize sitting out on the runway.

      “That’s yours?”

      “It’s a Cessna 177B single-engine plane.”

      “You got a new one?”

      “That’s my surprise!” He grinned at her, reminding her of a kid on Christmas. “Nothing but the best when you buy a Cessna Cardinal. She’s a four-seater and a real honey of a serious cross-country machine. She’s got 180 horse power. You’re going to love it.”

      Before long they reached the parking area. He walked her to the shiny blue-and-white plane and introduced her to his mechanic. They shook hands. “You’re going up on a beautiful day, Ms. Telford.”

      “It is gorgeous out.”

      Rob helped her onboard. “As you can see, there’s a lot of room in a Cardinal. Take out the back seat and you can fit camping gear for three weeks. It’s really amazing. We can get two folding bikes, kid seats and a cooler behind the back seat for a full-family day trip, or fit a family of four in here with all the ski gear, no problem.”

      Whoa. His mind was taking their relationship to a whole new level. When he’d said this outing was important for his career, she hadn’t realized she was a part of it. Whatever he was leading up to, she wasn’t ready for anything that serious. Jasmine still didn’t know him well enough yet, not after three months. And what she did know raised certain concerns in her mind.

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