Lone Star Bride. Carolyn Davidson

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СКАЧАТЬ ma’am. But I’ve done the job for eight years.”

      “Your boss seems to think you qualify for a chance at running this ranch,” Hank said, his cool eyes doing a once-over on Jamie, making him feel like a prize pig at the county fair.

      “That’s what he told me. It was a mighty appealing offer or I wouldn’t have left a sure thing in Benning to ride clear across the state to come here.”

      “Well, welcome,” Hank said expansively. “You’ve just freed me up to handle my own concerns, instead of minding the store here.”

      “Where do I put my gear?” Jamie asked, feeling a need for coffee and a chair that would receive his tired body. Riding as he had, he’d come to appreciate the comfort of a soft bed and cup of fresh-brewed coffee, neither of which he’d been offered for several days. Sleeping under a tree and drinking the dregs of last night’s coffee for his breakfast was a vivid memory as he scented the freshness of the cup delivered to the table before him.

      “Just drop your saddlebag on the floor and we’ll fix you up with a place to put it once you’ve had some food,” Alexis told him, watching as he pulled the sugar bowl toward him and spooned a heaping teaspoon of sugar into his black coffee.

      “No cream?” she asked.

      He shook his head as he picked up his cup. “No, this is fine.” And fine it was, dark, thick and sweet, tasting of fragrant coffee beans, freshly ground.

      Alexis filled a plate from the skillets on the stove, lifting pancakes from one, sausage from another, then positioned it squarely before Jamie. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said, placing a fork beside his plate.

      He looked up at her, noting the cool flash of silver in her green eyes, contrasting with the warmth of full lips that revealed even white teeth as she spoke. Her hair was golden, drawn up at the back of her head, small wispy curls escaping to frame her face. It was no wonder the men were ga-ga over her, he decided. Pretty as a picture, and no doubt more than aware of it. Her features were just short of being considered beautiful, with a small cleft in her chin and a birthmark on her right cheek, just beneath her temple.

      Not that either of those defects would put off a determined man, set on seduction. He was no exception to the rule, given his lack of female companionship over the past little while. Longer than that. He’d not been out courting or even walking a young lady home from church or one of the dances held in Benning in months. As he’d promised the sheriff there, he’d kept his hands to himself and not been a hand with the ladies even when the opportunity arose.

      For some reason, his energy had gone into his work, women taking a backseat to his job in the sheriff’s office. Now he had a whole new set of circumstances staring him in the face, number one being his new job. There wasn’t time to be looking at a woman, even one as pretty and appealing as Alexis Powers. But he might just consider the matter. Sometimes a man needed the warmth of a woman and unless he missed his guess, this one was a prime specimen.

      He tucked into his plate of food, relishing the light pancakes especially. “Tastes like the pancakes my mama used to make me for breakfast.” His approval was apparent, and Alexis offered him two more, balanced on her pancake turner. Jamie nodded his thanks at the offer, and buttered them lavishly, then poured on a generous helping of syrup.

      Across the table from him, Hank finished up his own share of the food and leaned back in his chair, as if assessing the young man who’d come to take over the running of the ranch. “What are your plans, Webster?” His query was nicely worded, but his eyes told a different story, flashing fire in Jamie’s direction.

      “Haven’t got any yet,” James answered. “I just got here, Hank. Give me a week to settle in and I’ll answer your questions.”

      “Is Brace Caulfield unhappy with my work here? He hasn’t given me any grief up until now,” Hank said. “I’ve kept him up to date on everything that goes on.”

      “He’s pleased the ranch is thriving, but he seems to want someone in charge who’ll have a vested interest in the ranch. And that’s me. I answer directly to Brace, with an eye to presenting a first-class operation to the boy when the time comes for him to take over.”

      “He’s a Clark,” Hank said quietly, and yet Jamie caught a hint of bitterness in the words.

      “Yeah, he is. And just what do you mean by that?” Jamie asked, on the alert for the man’s negative attitude toward Stephen. The boy might have been born a Clark, but Brace and Sarah had given him more than just a new name.

      Hank shrugged, a slow movement of his wide shoulders. “Just that old man Clark was pretty much a rascal, and so were the sons. I suspect blood runs true in the family, at least from what I’ve seen for myself, and I don’t look for much in the boy.”

      “The boy, as you call him, is named Stephen and is being brought up by Brace Caulfield and his wife, Sarah, Stephen’s aunt. Even though he came from a father who abused him, he has a good home and will have a top-notch upbringing. I don’t think he’ll be a disgrace to his folks, and one day he’s going to take over this ranch and run it well, contrary to what his heritage suggests might be the case. Sarah’s twin was his mother and he’s gonna do her proud.”

      “You ever consider bein’ a lawyer?” Hank asked with a grin. “You do a dandy job of defending the boy.”

      “I suspect he’s too honest to be a lawyer,” Alexis said quietly, the coffeepot in her hand as she approached the table and the two men sitting there. “More coffee, Mr. Webster?” she asked.

      “Thanks, I believe I will,” Jamie said, careful not to pay any particular attention to the girl. Woman is more like it, he thought glancing down to where her booted feet stood beside his chair. It was understandable that the men on this ranch were squabbling for the chance to court her. Causing discord among the men was forbidden, though, and he would not stand for it.

      “And what do you do with your time, Miss Alexis?” he asked, picking up his cup.

      “I cook a bit, ride a lot and in general do whatever needs to be done. I’m more interested in the young foals, but that job is pretty well already taken by men probably more capable than I am. My father won’t let me work on the roundup or in the branding pens, but I lend a hand with the orphaned calves when necessary. I’m real handy with a bottle when the mama has lost the battle and a calf is left alone.”

      “A lot of those for you to tend?” Jamie asked, looking up at her with bland interest. At least he hoped his look didn’t hold a shred of the attraction he felt for the girl.

      “Usually several in the spring, only two this year. We were lucky.” She turned and set the coffeepot back on the stove and hesitated.

      “What do you plan on doing with your time, Mr. Webster?”

      “Can we make it Jamie, or James?” he asked with a bland smile. “Whichever you like will do.”

      She turned then, gave him a long look as if she read his thoughts, and her answer was what he had expected. “If you’ll be informal enough to call me Alex or Alexis, whichever you like.”

      “I can do that,” Jamie answered quickly. “If it’s all right with your pa.”

      “She’s her own woman,” Hank said, leaning back in his chair and smiling at his daughter. “I quit tellin’ her СКАЧАТЬ