Chapter Three
“Bring ’em around, boys!” Uncle Ted’s call set half a dozen men on horses into action, tightening the line that was driving the cattle to another section of the ranch. The grazing lands were dry at this time of year—okay, most times of year. It was Texas.
Justus guided his mount up behind the group, and for the first time since being let go from the Double J, he wore a smile.
Never one for brooding, he had to admit he didn’t like himself in this mood of late, but it had been damn hard to get himself out of the funk. Losing to big corporations sucked for the little guy.
But this was exactly what he needed—the drive, the camaraderie with his brothers and cousins. Having purpose in life made him see the world differently, even if he was sweating like a pig and his shirt was soaked clean through. Life, if not good, was better right now.
Hank gave him a chin lift, and Justus moved in, taking his cousin’s cues like he did this every day of his life. Growing up working so close to the family helped in times like these. They knew each other’s moves and gestures, making words unnecessary.
His brother Easton cussed, and he glanced over. “You good?” he asked him.
Easton gave a nod. “Just realized I forgot to do something for Susannah before I left home.”
“I’m sure taking out the garbage will wait till you get home.”
He shot him a look. “Ass. Wait till you have a wife. And it isn’t garbage. I’m supposed to get some names of the Daltons’ old friends. She wanted me to ask our parents for the guest list weeks ago and I keep forgetting. This morning, Susannah did that finger wagging thing and I figured I’d better get it done or else.”
“I’ve heard stories about our pa and Uncle Ted double datin’ with some girls,” Justus said, tugging back lightly on the reins to keep his horse’s nose behind the line they formed.
Easton chuckled. “Don’t think that’s what Susannah has in mind of people to invite to a fiftieth anniversary party.”
“Prob’ly right.” He sent his brother a look. “Gonna invite some people in town?”
Easton nodded. “Bunch of people. Everyone from church, the feed store, the guys who work the hardware store. Even the principal of the school’s on the list.”
At the mention of the hardware store, Justus’s ears perked up. “Are you inviting that woman Tuesday and her husband?”
Easton looked at him blankly for a minute. They rolled in their saddles with the horses’ movement. Finally, he said, “Oh. Tuesday with the baby? She’s not married.”
Justus looked out over his mount’s ears at the back ends of the cows. This information didn’t shock him as much as it should. Actually, it made complete sense, but he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it before. He’d just assumed the baby’s father was working, leaving her in the lurch for a babysitter.
Now the puzzle pieces fit together better.
It also gave him a tingle of relief in his fingertips—he’d found her to be one of the prettiest women he’d ever met and had spent some time feeling guilty for being attracted to another man’s wife.
No need for guilt now.
He gave his brother the side-eye but found him focused on the cattle drive and not on the conversation. Either that or he was thinking of how to keep from sleeping on the couch tonight once his wife discovered he hadn’t done gotten that list made.
His own thoughts turned to Tuesday. While he’d been certain the woman was insane when she’d left the baby with him, he’d quickly realized desperation had been the reason behind her action. When he’d helped her to her car, he’d been feeling a deeper need to help in some way again.
“What’s your plan now since you’re finished with the Double J?”
He started at Easton’s question, come out of the blue.
“Dunno. I love it here, but there’s enough hands to go around and you don’t need me. Figured I’d start asking around if anyone needs help.”
“Unlikely you’ll get another manager job.”
“Doesn’t matter. Gotta start at the bottom and I’m willing to work hard to get back to the top.”
Easton grunted. “Never would have thought they’d let you go.”
“They let us all go, except a few who’d been hired recently.” He felt himself getting ticked off about it all over again. “Doesn’t matter. Over and done with. I’ve gotta focus on the future.”
“You want to work your whole life to earn somebody else money?”
He let out a low whistle. “You know me better’n that.”
“Maybe it’s time you start thinkin’ about your future.”
“How is it you sound exactly like our pa?”
Easton arched a brow. “Didn’t realize I did. Sorry.”
They shared a laugh, because there were far worse things than their father’s words of wisdom. The levelheaded man had kept them out of trouble more times than they could count.
Justus was silent a moment. Then he said, “I’ve thought about farmin’.”
Easton looked at him hard from beneath his hat brim. “Farmin’? What do you know about it? We’re ranchers not farmers.”
“Not much. Have a couple friends who went north and are making a go of it. You don’t need as much land to start a decent enterprise. Not like ranchin’.”
“True. What will you grow?”
“Organic,” he said at once.
Easton nodded. “Seems stupid that everyone wants all natural when food’s been growing in soil since the dawn of time. And they’ll pay more money for it growin’ on nothing but nutrients and sunshine.”
“It’s true, and why can’t I get in on it?”
“You can. Just need the land.”
“Yes.” Justus rode on, deep in thought. He had a small nest egg saved up from working at the Double J. Not being in need of lodging or food, he’d managed to stash enough to buy a few acres. Without collateral, he couldn’t mortgage more than that, though.
“Rider!”
He looked up at one of his cousin’s shout to see a man on horseback angling across the field toward them.
“Hank, you got this.” Uncle Ted peeled off from the group and rode out to meet the rider.
“What’s that about, you think?” Justus asked.
“Dunno.” Easton peered at him closer. “I think that’s a Guthrie.”
For years the Guthries and the Daltons had a mild feud going, arguing over boundary lines between their ranches. But over the years, things had smoothed out quite a bit and they kept it civil when they crossed paths.
“Think there’s trouble?” he asked.
“Hard to say.”
Cash rode up alongside him and Easton. “Guthrie’s been ailing for quite some time. He might have finally up and died.”
“Poor bastard,” Easton said.
“Yeah, but better than lingering,” Justus added.
The next few minutes were spent dealing with a couple cows that broke from the herd and took off across another field for greener pastures. They all had to focus on either chasing the runaways or holding the herd, and talk ended.
By the time Justus rode into the yard of the big house, he was hotter and sweatier. He dismounted and his jeans hung low around his hips, damp with sweat. He eyed the stock tank the kids sometimes swam in, just as they all had when they were little.
He led the horse to it and it immediately dipped its head.
Justus pulled off his hat and bent over, dunking his head. The water wasn’t exactly cold but it was refreshing. It seeped through his hair and into his scalp, teasing at his nape. When he came up for air, the water ran down the collar of his shirt and back.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a flash of blue and turned that way.
His stomach tightened. Tuesday. He hadn’t known she was coming today. Of course, who would think to tell him?
He grabbed the reins and hurried the horse along to the pasture, setting it free for a bit to cool down and crop grass. Then he rounded the house looking for Tuesday.
She was nowhere to be seen, but he did glimpse Uncle Ted leading the Guthrie man up the front steps and inside the house.
“What’s that about?” He nudged Witt.
“About to find out. C’mon.” Together they strode into the house, where the men were gathering around the table and Aunt Maggie was busy setting out pitchers of sweet tea and a plate of cookies. Snickerdoodles—Justus’s favorite.
He reached across and snatched a cookie off the plate. Aunt Maggie gave him a playful narrowed gaze and then went to sit next to her husband. No matter that the table was surrounded by men—she’d raised five of them and given more guidance to the rest than they could have ever expected from extended family.
Everyone’s gaze settled on Uncle Ted seated across from the guest. Guthrie was perhaps in his mid-forties and looked to be chiseled from oak. Hard, angular and browned by the sun.
He spread his hands on the table and looked their uncle in the eyes. “We haven’t always had the best of relations, Dalton.”
Uncle Ted dipped his head. “That’s been behind us for some time now, Mark.”
“Well, I’d still like to apologize for it.”
“Gate swings both ways, my friend.”
Mark nodded. “You might have heard my father hasn’t been well.”
“We did hear. Sorry for it. If there’s anything we can do, we’d like to help out.”
“There is something you can do. The hospital bills are racking up, insurance not covering enough. And I’m spending more and more time driving my pa back and forth to the hospital in the city. The ranch is in need of too many repairs for me. The cattle need more looking after. And I could use some help.”
They all leaned in, listening intently. But Justus was struck numb. Not with excitement exactly—it seemed wrong to be joyous about somebody else’s struggle. But this could be what he was looking for.
A reason to stay on here in Paradise Valley and keep doing what he loved.
“I can’t offer money,” Mark Guthrie said, looking more worn around the edges after the confession. “But I can offer a little something. You help me keep the ranch operating until this is over—one way or another—and I’ll give you a portion of the profits.”
“That sounds like a solid offer. We can discuss the cut at a later time. For now, know that me ’n my boys are backing ya.” He reached across the table, hand out. Mark shook it hard, and the way he dropped his head made Justus think he was getting emotional.
“I’m between jobs,” he spoke up. “I can handle the most work load.”
Both men looked to him and nodded. “That’s a right good idea, Justus. Why don’t you head up to the Guthries’ after lunch and Mark can give you a rundown on what needs done.”
He nodded to the man, who returned it. The cowboy code.
“Now that’s settled, how about a small splash of somethin’ in your sweet tea?” Uncle Ted asked Mark.
“Wouldn’t turn that down.”
Justus and some of the other guys got up and went outside rather than share a drink. Easton stood on the porch, legs braced wide, looking over the yard and in the distance, the grazing land dotted with cattle.
“That was mighty nice of you to offer to help the Guthries,” he said.
“Purely selfish. I need to keep busy.” The challenge of a new ranch had his pistons firing, and he couldn’t wait to get started.
He looked up as a car drove up the dusty road leading to the big house. “Looks like Shelby’s kickin’ up some dust.”
Easton grunted.
They both watched as she parked and got out of the car, then moved around to the back. She reached into the back seat and when she straightened, she held a baby in her arms.
He stepped off the porch before he realized his intention. He met Shelby in the yard and stared down at the child in her arms. Sure enough, he recognized that peach fuzz skimming the round head and those brilliant blue eyes.
“You have Joshua James today?”
She stared at him. Then promptly handed him and the diaper bag over. “No, you have him. I had something come up at the store last minute—a new girl had the soda fountain flood and it’s a wreck. I was gonna ask Maggie to watch him for me, but you know him well. Tuesday’ll be back in a few hours. She’s only got a four-hour shift today.”
With that, she turned and headed back to her car.
Leaving him standing there holding the baby for the second time, his mouth hanging open on words he’d never get to say.
Cash passed him on the way to the barn. “Roped into babysittin’ again?”
“Beats shovelin’ shit,” he responded.
Joshua James gave a little squawk, and he held the baby out to look him over. Today he was dressed in another of one of those little suits that went up between his chubby legs, this time with a blue puppy on the front.
“Damn.” He was supposed to go to the Guthries. Well, maybe Aunt Maggie wouldn’t mind keeping the baby for a bit while he went to the ranch. Then he’d come back and take over again.
He almost laughed at himself. If someone had told him a week ago that he’d be willing—or capable—of taking care of an infant, he would have laughed his butt off.
Joshua James stuck his round fist in his mouth and sucked noisily.
“Looks like he’s hungry,” Cash said on the way back, a sack of chicken feed hefted over his shoulder.
He narrowed his eye at his cousin’s retreating back. “Yeah, I know,” he grumbled.
Jeez. Why did he sound so defensive? As if he was the new authority on babies.
* * * * *
Tuesday couldn’t drive the miles fast enough to get back to her boy. She’d been planning to spend some quality time lying on the carpet in her apartment and staring at the ceiling fan with him. Then Kenna had called off and she’d had to take her clients.
Which consisted of a fussy older woman who wanted her hair cut—in Tuesday’s opinion—in an unflattering acorn shape. Of course, when she’d tried to recommend another style, the woman had gotten angry and in the end hadn’t even tipped her.
Following that, she had two good ole boys who wanted their few hairs they had left on top trimmed. At least she’d managed to satisfy them and hold a conversation.
The last three clients had been three hellion brothers, aged two to ten and not a one of them had sat still. In the end, she’d snipped her own finger in the process of trying to cut their hair before they wiggled out of her chair. Something she hadn’t done since her beauty school days.
She reached the end of the driveway leading to the Dalton Ranch. With her window down and the breeze drifting in her car, she detected the scent of cattle and growing things. The farther she drove up the driveway, the more her shoulders slumped with the fatigue she’d been holding at bay.
The ranch was beautiful, lush and green and dotted with cattle. Before coming here, she’d never considered herself a city girl or a country girl. Now she was leaning toward the country. And this ranch was proof that her surroundings could offer her peace.
She dragged in a deep breath of the fresh air and drew to a stop before Shelby and Witt’s home. It was white with red shutters and a front porch that extended the length of the front. Small pots of flowers bracketed the steps and a porch swing called to Tuesday to come sit a spell.
Wishing she had more free time to relax, she got out of her car.
She owed Shelby big-time for this. How she’d ever repay her friend’s kindness for taking Joshua James on such short notice—again—she had no idea. But she had to think of something.
She mounted the stairs and knocked on the front door. No sound came from within. She glanced to the garage but the doors were shut, giving no indication if cars were parked inside.
After knocking for another two minutes, she turned from the door. Shelby must have taken the baby to the main house.
She got back in her car and drove across the ranch. The driveway had some trucks parked there, but she didn’t see Shelby’s car. She might have walked.
But lugging Joshua James all that way would have given her a workout. He was a big boy.
When she got out, she looked to the front of the house and went still inside.
The Dalton cousin was seated on the shady porch—Justus. And he was holding her son.
Her heart kicked up a beat and she felt a quiver in her lower belly as she approached the porch. He stood at the top of the steps, hat tugged low and the baby over his shoulder. A bottle sat on the railing while he burped him.
“Everything okay with Shelby?” she asked, annoyed by the breathy quality of her voice. What was it about this man that affected her so much?
Maybe it was seeing her son in his capable hands.
Or his blue, blue eyes.
No, it must be the dangerous set of his shoulders or angle of his jaw.
His gaze landed on her, pinning her to the step tread. She looked up at him, tall and strong but his long fingers stretching over Joshua James’s small back.
“Shelby’s fine. She got called away to a work emergency.”
“Oh no.” Remorse set in deeper. “I hope everything’s okay.”
“Her new girl flooded the soda fountain or something like that.” He took up burping again, his hand thumping against the baby with a distinct noise that made her worried Joshua James would be crushed.
She opened her mouth to say as much, when the baby let out a loud belch.
Oh. Maybe he wasn’t so fragile, if he could take a burping like that.
Justus turned the baby around and settled him in the crook of his arm again, plugging his mouth with the nipple a split second before he could screw up his face to cry.
The baby sucked, eyes wide as he stared up at the cowboy.
At this moment, Tuesday wouldn’t mind being in her son’s position, held in that muscular arm while gazing up at his rugged features.
“I’m sorry you ended up watching him again. Here, I’ll take him.” She reached out, but he just flicked his head toward the rocking chairs on one end of the porch. He walked off to sit down.
Was she to take that head flick as an invitation? Or a demand? It felt like the latter.
Slowly, with annoyance rising inside her like a swollen river about to breach it’s banks during a rain, she followed him.
He might be an annoying man, but damn, she appreciated the carved lines of his spine. She didn’t dare drop her gaze to his backside, though it took some willpower.
He sank to a rocker and she took the baby from him. He was her son, after all. He gave over Joshua James without a fight and folded his arms across his broad chest, rocking as he looked at her.
She cuddled the baby to her and smiled down into his eyes as she resumed feeding him. When she glanced up, Justus was staring at her hard.
“Thank you for watching him.”
He said nothing.
She was beginning to think the man couldn’t speak unless it was to tell her off, and then she remembered how her body reacted to his low, rumbling voice when she said her name.
Her nipples puckered beneath her black blouse.
She lowered her stare to Joshua James’s hand, stretched out like a starfish as he found her fingers on the bottle and wrapped his own around them. Deep tenderness and love flooded her.
“I don’t normally get called into work like that,” she felt the need to say.
“You work a lot of hours, though.”
Her gaze flashed to his. “Are you judging me?”
“Didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to. I hear it in your tone.”
“You don’t know me well enough to make that call.”
“I’m a hairstylist. I know people.”
“You’re a mother too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her back was up, and she had a surge of anger at the cowboy. Words jumped to her lips.
Till he gave a sexy shrug of his bulky shoulders. Then she couldn’t remember what she’d been about to say.
“Look, you’ve got spunk for days, I see that well enough. You also need more help.”
She looked away. He wasn’t wrong, and that ticked her off. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who knew people.
“I’m going to hire somebody to watch Joshua James. There’s a woman in town who keeps kids in her home and she told me one of her clients might be moving, so she could take the baby.”
He shifted his jaw to the side, making the crease bulge. Her stare locked onto it, an ache taking up residence in her core. What would that hard jaw feel like beneath her fingers as she kissed him?
She swiped her tongue over her lower lip, and he tracked the movement bit by bit. His eyes lidded, and he tugged his hat lower as if to cover that look.
Oh yeah, she knew people. And she could easily guess his thoughts. She wasn’t one to gloat over her looks, but she was passably pretty and men enjoyed looking at her. She’d had plenty chasing her—until she’d thrown buckets of ice water over them by adopting a child. Then suddenly she became a desperate single mom looking for a baby daddy, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
She’d managed to fill her heart with love and bury her chances for romance by signing her name on the adoption papers.
Still, she’d never regret her choice. She loved this baby as much as if she’d carried him in her own womb.
Justus tilted his head, eyeing her.
“What?” she demanded.
“I just watched half a dozen emotions cross your face. I’m wondering how you’d be at poker.”
An unexpected laugh rose up. “I suck, as you can imagine. After I finish feeding Joshua James, I’ll be out of your hair. Thanks again for keeping him for me—and helping Shelby as well.”
He gave a nod but didn’t move a muscle to get up and get on with his life now that he wasn’t hindered by thirteen pounds of infant. He rocked slightly, causing the boards to creak pleasantly.
“You’re not from the area,” he said.
“Is there some sort of radar you country boys have?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I came from Tulsa.”
“I recognize the accent. Knew some cowpokes from thereabouts.”
She eyed him back. “Do you work on this ranch with your family?”
He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “Worked different places. Here some.”
“You’re definitely not a conversationalist, are you?” she shot out before she realized how rude it sounded.
He stopped rocking. Then tipped his head back and barked out a laugh. “You’re a sassy one,” he returned with a chuckle.
Her stomach dipped and a flush climbed her cheeks. Actually, her whole body felt warm.
Too warm.
Joshua James gave a couple more pulls on the empty bottle and his mouth popped off the nipple. She tugged her gaze away from Justus to stare down at his sleeping face, lips open and still wet with milk.
When she moved the bottle away from his mouth, Justus sat forward in his chair. “You’re bleeding.”
“Am I? Damn.” She looked at her finger. The small cut had quit bleeding back at the shop so she hadn’t bothered with a bandage. But now it seemed to have broken open enough for a bit of blood to well there.
“Seems to have stopped now,” she said, gaining her feet. She stuffed the bottle into her back pocket, something that was almost habit when she was running from place to place all the time. “Where’s the diaper bag? I’ll go now.”
He stood too, unfolding his long legs until he towered over her. Without a word, he went into the house. She stared after him and then shook herself. This attraction couldn’t go any further than that. She couldn’t start fantasizing about the way the man looked at her—or thinking on the fact that he was good with Joshua James.
She didn’t need help. Well, other than a sitter.
When he came out with the bag in hand, she reached for it. But he didn’t hand it over right away. Looking down into her eyes, he said, “There’s a poop bomb inside for ya.”
She opened her mouth in surprise.
“Yeah, he had a blowout. Went all over that swimsuit thing he was wearin’.”
It took her a second to understand what he meant. Then she chuckled. “It’s called a onesie. And here I thought you were good with babies.”
“Lady, I know a hell of a lot about cattle and ranchin’. But babies? Not my line of work.” He handed her the bag and took a step off the porch.
She gaped at him. “Did you just call me lady?”
He cocked a brow. “You gonna get twisted up over a word? You didn’t seem the type.”
“What type is that? The kind that puts a man like you in his place?”
He grinned.
Slaying her wide open.
Her insides heated—no, scorched.
“A strong woman who can handle being called lady.” He skipped some steps to reach the ground, and without looking back, strode across the yard to a gray pickup.
Leaving her wondering what to do with this burning attraction.
* * * * *
Justus stepped into the barn. “Sorry I’m a bit late,” he said to Mark Guthrie.
The man extended a hand, and Justus clasped it hard, looking the man in the eye. “Glad to have you here.”
“My name’s Justus, in case you didn’t know.”
“I knew your father from way back. He’s a good man.”
“Thank you. He is.”
With formalities out of the way, Mark waved a hand at the barn. “Simple setup.”
“The best kind.”
He nodded. “Got a hundred plus head of Longhorn. We move them biweekly. Lately it’s been a bit less, as I’ve been unable to take the time needed.”
“I can handle it.”
“Your uncle says you were on the Double J for the past few years.”
He nodded. “That’s right. I managed a group of guys.”
“I’ve only got one who comes up from town, a young ’un just out of high school. He’s a hard worker but needs instruction.”
“I’ll see to it.”
The rest of the ranch tour didn’t offer Justus any surprises, and he was confident he could run this outfit without trouble. As Mark discussed the workings of the ranch, his mind returned to Tuesday. It seemed he’d thought about her every ten minutes since they parted.
The way she wet her lips, how she laughed. The sass she threw his way when she believed he was challenging her.
Which he was. He couldn’t help it. He loved seeing how she’d react.
“Always ran about double this herd size, then pa got ill, and I sold some off. Cattle prices surging now, though, and I’m damn tempted to buy into more cattle. That’s just ingrained in me that you make hay while the sun’s shinin’.”
Justus’s attention returned to the rancher. “Ranch’ll support it. Could mean doubling your money in six months.”
He nodded. “I’m aware. Just doesn’t set well with me when I can’t commit to back it with my own work.”
Justus rubbed at his jaw, creating a rasping noise against his five o’clock shadow all the Daltons were as known for as their blue eyes. “That’s your call, but with your cowpoke even being part-time, I could handle the workload. Could mean more cash in hand for you.”
“Which would go a long way right now with medical bills. I’ll think on it, Dalton.”
He nodded.
They moved around an outbuilding. Mark waved a hand. “This here’s the bunkhouse. You’re welcome to make it your home. Easier to stay nearby in case of sick cows or what have you. You’re welcome to one day off a week, and I’m open to negotiations on that, since Pa’s treatments and doctor appointments fall on different days.”
Justus’s first thought was that he could help out Tuesday easier that way.
“That sounds like a good fit for me,” he said to Mark.
The man eyed him. “I appreciate you helpin’ out. I can’t pay you cash right now.”
“I’ve got some saved to live on.”
“But my wife’ll give you three squares a day and all the cornbread you can eat. It’s her blue-ribbon recipe.” He smiled for the first time, and Justus returned it.
“Then when I get to auction, I’ll give you a thirty percent cut.”
Justus stared at him. “That seems awfully generous.”
“It’s my offer.” He stuck out a hand.
Justus shook it and the deal was struck. On the way back to his truck, they talked of other odds and ends. Again, Justus’s mind was wandering, this time over having a bit more working capital to purchase some land of his own with.
Justus said his farewell with the promise of gathering his things and returning in time for evening chores. As he got behind the wheel of his truck, he thought on what a long day he’d had. Up at sunrise to work the ranch with his family, then taking over for Shelby with Joshua James. His moments with Tuesday, which he couldn’t quite get out of his head.
Then being assigned his new duties—and finally, the promise of a fat paycheck for his hard work.
Unexpected but welcomed. It set his mind on yet another course, planning for his own future and his dream of owning a beautiful bit of Texas.
Maybe down the road, with a sweet woman to come home to… and even a l’il one of his own.