Rancher Under Cover. Carla Cassidy

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СКАЧАТЬ woman, knowing that if for any reason Caitlin didn’t show up at the ranch, the housekeeper might be his only path to finding Mickey O’Donahue’s whereabouts.

      He took a big bite of the cinnamon bun and rolled his eyes heavenward in pleasure. “Esmeralda, these are fit for the gods.”

      The plump housekeeper giggled and preened like a woman half her age. He finished the roll in two more bites.

      “Good morning.”

      Esmeralda jumped out of her chair and Rhett turned to see Caitlin standing in the doorway. She was clad in a pair of tight jeans and a navy T-shirt that clung to her full breasts and emphasized her tiny waist, and her beauty momentarily stole his breath away.

      Her glorious hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck, fully exposing the delicate bone structure of her face and emphasizing her gray eyes. He got up from his chair as she entered the kitchen.

      “Caitlin, this is the man I told you about, the one I hired to take over for Garrett as foreman,” Esmeralda said. “He’s here to discuss some things with you.”

      “Randall Kane.” He walked toward her and held out his hand with a smile.

      She hesitated a beat and then gave his hand a quick, perfunctory shake. “Please, sit.”

      She smelled of something clean and lightly floral, a scent that instantly went to his head and kicked off a slight spark of warmth in the pit of his stomach. He returned to his chair and she slid into the one across from him that Esmeralda had vacated.

      “I knew you’d be down as soon as you smelled these rolls,” Esmeralda exclaimed as she poured Caitlin a cup of coffee and served her one of the hot treats. “My girl loves my cinnamon rolls.”

      Up close Rhett noticed that Caitlin’s eyes weren’t just an ordinary gray, but had indigo rings around the gray. They were beautiful eyes, but at the moment they gazed at him warily. “Where are you from, Mr. Kane?”

      “I grew up in Wyoming,” he replied. “And please, make it Randall. In recent years I’m from no place in particular. I go wherever I can find ranching work.” He consciously willed away thoughts of the woman who had once been his home. The last thing he needed at the moment was to think about the wife he’d lost.

      “Esme mentioned that you have references?”

      He nodded. “I’ve got a résumé in my room. I’ll bring it to you when I get a chance.” He leaned forward and gave her his best charming grin, the one that he knew made the dimples dance in his whiskered cheeks. “Used to be all you needed to do for a ranching job was show up sober two days in a row. Nowadays everyone wants an official computer résumé.”

      “As far as I’m concerned computers are the devil’s work,” Esmeralda exclaimed. “And it’s the same with cell phones and all the other electronic geegaws that suck the brains out of our youth.”

      Rhett laughed and then looked at Caitlin, surprised to see that she had paled to the point that the light smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose appeared darker than they had moments before. “Are you okay?” he asked curiously.

      “I’m fine.” She wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug, as if seeking the warmth. “You needed to discuss something specifically with me?”

      It was obvious she wanted him to state his business and then get out of her kitchen. “I don’t know what your previous foreman did with his time, but it’s obvious he wasn’t paying attention to the health and welfare of your horses.”

      Her lovely eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

      “The horses are too lean, and yesterday afternoon I found one down in a bramble patch on the west side of the property. I don’t know how long she’d been there, but she’d gotten tangled up in some old rusty barbed wire and she has a couple of festering wounds.”

      Caitlin’s cheeks flared with color. “That good-for-nothing Garrett. I knew Dad should have fired him a long time ago. Where’s the mare now?”

      “I managed to get her up and into the small corral, but I haven’t been able to tend to her wounds. She’s scared and so thin I’m afraid the stress might kill her.” A touch of anger lit up inside Rhett. Garrett Simms had obviously been a piss-poor foreman who hadn’t regularly checked on the welfare of the livestock.

      “Why don’t I meet you at the stables in fifteen minutes,” Caitlin said. “We’ll ride the pasture and then I want to see that mare.” She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, her gaze going to the nearby window.

      Rhett knew it was a dismissal and he got out of his chair and headed for the back door. “I’ll see you out there,” he said and then left the house.

      As he walked back toward the small corral his thoughts raced with his impressions of Caitlin. Beautiful and sexy, there was no question about that, but she wasn’t some bubble-headed woman riding on her outer appearance. There had been a keen intelligence shining from her amazing eyes.

      What had shocked him more than anything was the swift kick of lust that had momentarily flared inside him when he’d been near her.

      She’d certainly seemed unaffected by his attempt to charm her with his smile. In fact, she’d appeared reluctant even to touch his hand for a quick shake.

      Her presence here could either be a gift from fate or a complication. He’d been intent on charming Esmeralda to get the information he needed in case Caitlin didn’t show, but he knew the best way to find out about Mickey O’Donahue’s whereabouts was through his daughter.

      He’d use whatever means necessary to achieve his goal. He could be an accomplished liar and a pleasing lover if his role called for it.

      Despite the fact that he’d felt a kick of desire for her, he didn’t worry about getting his heart involved. He didn’t have a heart to worry about. It had been trampled years ago and had never recovered from the wounds.

      As far as he was concerned this was just another job and Caitlin was simply a hot, sexy mark to be used to get what he needed.

       Chapter 2

      Caitlin wasn’t sure why she was reluctant to meet Randall outside. Although she was worried about the horses, the tall man with the shaggy blond hair and the five-o’clock shadow that darkened his firm jaw was too sexy, far too male for her comfort.

      His brief laughter moments before had sounded nothing like the laughter of the men in the jungle, but for a moment sick memories had slammed into her and she’d felt an internal tremble.

      She lingered over her coffee as Esme left the kitchen to attend to some household chores in another room. Caitlin felt fragile and weariness weighed heavily on her shoulders.

      Terrible nightmares had plagued what little sleep she’d gotten and she’d awakened feeling no more rested than she’d felt before going to bed the night before.

      Glancing at the clock on the stove, she reluctantly got to her feet and carried her cup to the dishwasher. There was a part of her that didn’t want to do anything but go back upstairs to her room and hide. Anxiety simmered inside her, threatening to explode into a full-blown panic attack.

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