Trusting The Cowboy. Carolyne Aarsen

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СКАЧАТЬ been going through Dad’s stuff,” Jodie said, catching the direction of his gaze. “I meant to do it when I first came but thought I would wait till Lauren was here. She’s the organized one.”

      He suppressed the question that nagged at him. He had time yet. Lauren might have a buyer all lined up, but she still had to stay at the ranch for two months before she could make a decision.

      He followed Jodie to the end of the house. Vaulted ceilings soaring two stories high arched over the living and dining room. Light from the upper windows slanted down into the space. A fireplace made of river rock bisected the far wall, framed by large bay windows overlooking the pasture and the mountains.

      To his left a set of stairs led to the loft and a couple of bedrooms above, and the basement with its bedrooms downstairs. He knew the layout of the house because he had spent time here before.

      Though all those stairs might not be best for Dean at the moment, his leg would get better. Vic had to believe that. And when he did, it would be a perfect place for his brother to live. A real home.

      “Sit down. Ignore the mess,” Jodie said as she padded barefoot to the kitchen. She wore blue jeans, frayed at the cuffs, and a gauzy purple and pink shirt that had tiny bells sewn to the hem. The bells created a happy tinkling sound as she took a mug out of the cupboard and poured him some coffee.

      Lauren, in her stark dress and hair still pulled back in a bun, was a complete contrast to her sister. She glanced up from papers strewn over the table. Her dark-framed glasses gave her an austere air. She held his eyes for a moment, then looked away.

      Dismissed once again, he thought, remembering their earlier encounter too well.

      “Finn told me you’re working the rodeo coming up?” Jodie said, setting the mug of coffee on the table.

      “Yeah. Walden was short a pickup man, so I thought I’d help out.” Vic settled in the chair across from Lauren, taking the cup with a smile of thanks.

      “You always were a pickup artist,” Jodie joked as she sat as well and shuffled through the papers in front of her.

      “Oldest joke in the book,” Vic groaned.

      “I feel like I should know what a pickup man is,” Lauren said, slipping her glasses off her face and setting them on the table.

      “See that, Vic?” Jodie said, her voice holding a note of admiration. “That’s why I should wear glasses. People think you’re all smart and important. And when you take them off, it looks like you’re getting ready to do business. People take glasses-wearing people seriously.”

      Vic chuckled as Lauren shot her sister a wry look. “You should take that show on the road,” Lauren said.

      “It’s my only joke,” Jodie said with a grin. “Wouldn’t take me far.”

      “Oh, I’m sure you have more you could add to your repertoire,” Lauren said, smiling back at her sister.

      “You’d have to come with me as my straight man, though. A role you play to perfection.”

      Lauren laughed again and Vic couldn’t look away. She was a beautiful woman in her own right. But now, relaxed, smiling, a glint of humor in her eyes as she teased her sister, the light from the window behind her lighting her hair, she was luminous.

      He groaned inwardly as he took a sip of his coffee, frustrated with his response to this woman. He was here to talk business and he was coming up with mental compliments?

      “Getting back to my original question, what is a pickup man?” Lauren asked.

      Vic waited for Jodie to answer, but she was frowning at a piece of paper, seemingly unaware of her sister’s question. So Vic replied.

      “We ride along the outskirts of the arena during the rough stock events—bareback, saddle bronc, bull and steer riding. We help the guys off the horses if we can, make sure the bulls and horses get out of the arena safely. That kind of thing.”

      “I see,” said Lauren, the vague tone of her voice conveying her lack of interest.

      “I know Walden is glad you’ll be there,” Jodie said. “He told me you guys work well together.”

      “Who’s Walden?” Lauren asked.

      “The other pickup man,” Vic said. “We always work in pairs.”

      “You’ll have to come to the rodeo, Lauren. See Vic in action,” Jodie said. “And that horse that Finn trained. Adelaide, one of his clients, will be riding it in the barrel riding competition.”

      “We’ll see how that works out.” Lauren’s polite smile seemed to dismiss that line of conversation. She slipped her glasses on her face and it was back to business. “We’ve been looking through our father’s papers and so far haven’t found anything referring to your deal.”

      Vic glanced down at the folders lying on the table between them, resisting the impulse to riffle through them himself. “Your father and I agreed on a lease-to-buy agreement,” Vic said, struggling to keep his tone even. Pragmatic. “Are you sure he didn’t say anything about that to you or make a note of it anywhere?”

      Lauren shook her head, picking up another file and opening it. “We haven’t seen everything yet, mind you, but it doesn’t look good.”

      “Are there any files left? Did he have anything on the computer?”

      Lauren frowned as she held his gaze. “Dad didn’t do much on the computer,” she said, dismissing that possibility. “Besides, we couldn’t figure out the password on it. I don’t suppose you would know?”

      “Not a clue. Did you try the horses’ names?”

      “Yeah. And his birth date, our birth dates—though I doubt he remembered them anyway—and in a pinch his and Mom’s anniversary. The name of the ranch. Nothing.”

      “I can’t help you there.” He didn’t know Keith that well.

      “Even if we could log on, I doubt there’s anything there, and even there was documentation, if it wasn’t signed...” Her voice trailed off.

      Annoyance snaked through him. It was so easy for her to dismiss his claim. She didn’t know what was at stake.

      “Would you mind if I looked through the papers myself?”

      Her lips tightened and he wondered if she was afraid he might find something that would help his case. He held her eyes, as if challenging her, then she looked at Jodie.

      “What do you think?” she asked her sister.

      “I don’t care,” Jodie said with a shrug. “If Vic has a claim, maybe we need to see if we can find evidence for it. He might know better what he’s looking for.”

      Lauren nodded and turned back to Vic, taking her glasses off again, ignoring Jodie’s chuckle at her action. “I doubt you’d find what you want. But if we don’t discover anything, I’m willing to sell the ranch to you, provided you can match the buyer’s price.”

      “What СКАЧАТЬ