CHAPTER 5
Early February
Emma turned onto the long drive of the Kincaid ranch. Resolution Ranch would take some getting used to, but she liked it. Liked the ring of it, and the images it conjured. She’d worked hard the last month, sketching ideas, floating possibilities to some of her best clients. She’d spent more late nights on this project than all her others combined. Prairie needed this ranch to be successful as much as Travis did.
She settled a nervous flutter in her belly. Travis would be the first person in Prairie to see her work. Her brothers admired her success, but they weren’t interested in the details. They were just happy to see her when she came home.
If Travis liked her ideas, it would give her the confidence to approach some of the other businesses in town. Maybe even start a mini business incubator as part of her help with the reconstruction efforts. There were so many talented people in Prairie who just needed a little help getting their businesses noticed. She might not be good at ranching, or teaching school, or running a diner, but she was great at bringing attention to people and causes.
She came over the rise and hit the brakes, gasping at the beauty before her. It had been years since she’d been on the Kincaid property. She’d forgotten how sweet it was. The main house and barn stood nestled between two gently sloping hills dotted with trees. A new coat of red paint on the barn screamed Americana. The perfect image for a ranch committed to helping veterans, and the donors would fall in love with it. She’d have to return later in the month with a photographer and videographer to grab some good promo pictures for her print work and social media. And again, when the prairie bloomed later in the spring. She wouldn’t change a thing.
Except maybe for Sterling’s presence. The nervous flutter in her belly grew to a full-fledged two-step. He’d surprised her New Year’s Eve, and she’d replayed their conversation over and over. Had he really changed? Or was he yanking her chain the way he always did?
Does a leopard change its spots?
She would have to do her best to resist him when he turned on the charm. She’d come entirely too close to kissing him New Year’s Eve. Her lips still tingled at the thought of it. But if this ranch was like her family’s, she might not see him at all. They were most likely out checking fences and doing a myriad of other things necessary to keep the ranch running smoothly. She could be in and out with Travis and back on her way without Sterling being the wiser. And that would be for the best.
Grabbing her laptop and portfolio, she practically skipped up the porch to knock at the door. She was met by a woman who looked strangely familiar. Emma racked her brain. Normally, she never forgot a face. The woman was a few years younger than her, so they didn’t know each other from school. And she didn’t have the coloring of a Hansen or a Grace. Maybe 4-H? Perhaps they’d met at the county fair the year she was Miss Rodeo Princess. “Do I know you?”
The woman’s eyes grew wide and fearful and she shook her head vehemently.
Huh. Not the reaction she was expecting. “Are you all right? I’m looking for Travis.”
She nodded solemnly. And stepped aside, motioning for her to enter.
“I’m Emma. Travis is expecting me?”
She was an odd bird, not talking, and just staring. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
The woman nodded and pointed to her throat, giving a helpless shrug.
“Do you have laryngitis?” Emma swallowed, a sympathetic ache rising in her own throat.
Nodding, the woman scurried to the table and scrawled on a notepad. She ripped off a piece of paper, slapping it on the table, and continued to scribble furiously on the next page. Emma followed her and grabbed the first page.
They tried to reach you, but no phone… Emma glanced at her phone. Damn. There was a voicemail. The call must have come in when she’d been driving through one of the no-service areas. Lord knew, there were plenty outside of Prairie.
She handed Emma the second piece of paper.
He’s with the foreman. They’re running late. There’s a fence broken in the north pasture.
I’m Kate.
She looked up. “Nice to meet you, Kate. I feel like we’ve met before. You’re not from Prairie, are you?”
Kate shook her head.
“Well, I hope you feel better soon. Do you mind if I do some work while I wait?”
Kate gestured to the table.
Emma set her portfolio on the table and pulled out her laptop. With the resources she had at her fingertips at Royal Fountain Media, she could put something extraordinary together for Travis. Even garner the ranch national attention, which is what it needed. Veteran’s issues affected every community in the country. Prairie was a prime example. The VFW was as crowded as the Trading Post on any Thursday night. She lost herself in the magic of her ideas, fingers flying across the keyboard.
The door swung open on a gust of wind and Travis blew in, a blast of cold air swirling into the room. Another man was with him. Tall, bearded, and broad. “Sterling?” Her voice squeaked at the end. She couldn’t help it. She barely recognized the ruggedly handsome man in front of her. He looked… hot.
He grinned, teeth glowing white against the dark scruff of his beard. “Nice to see you too, Goldilocks.”
She couldn’t get over it. There was something different about him. And it was more than the beard. She didn’t normally go for facial hair, but she had to admit, he wore a beard like a champ.
Travis removed his jacket and came to the fireplace, stretching out his hands. “We hired Sterling to be our foreman. With my Navy connections and his Army connections, we should have a pipeline of folks we can bring on in the coming months.”
“Fantastic,” she murmured, rapidly rearranging both her campaign and her schedule. She’d planned to spend significant time at the ranch getting to know the staff and finalizing her promotional plans. She should rethink that. Maybe she needed to have another colleague take over the fundraiser. That might be the best thing for the ranch.
Sterling joined Travis in front of the fireplace. Emma dug into her portfolio, avoiding his sharp gaze. She’d have to sneak another peek at him when he wasn’t staring at her.
“I see you’ve met Kate.” Travis motioned to the young woman shrugging into her coat. “Elaine hired her while we were on the pack trip. She’ll be helping with the horses. Cash is our only other ranch hand at the moment. He’s putting up the horses, but we hope to have a full crew by the end of the summer.”
“That sounds great. I know this is going to be a huge success.” Emma swiveled her laptop around. “Would you like to see what I’ve worked up so far?”
Travis looked to Sterling, then back at her. “Actually, I’m going to stay pretty hands off this project. We’re obviously looking to raise as much capital as possible by summer. And we’re rolling out in phases, so even if we don’t raise much our first year, we’ve got contingency plans in place to stay operational.” He rubbed his hands together vigorously. “But as you know, Sterling’s pretty gifted with numbers and logistics. Since we won’t have much of a crew for him to manage until the outbuildings are constructed and the cow-calf pairs are purchased, I figured he could be your point man on this project. That would free me up to be the spokesperson for the ranch and not get mired down in the details.”
Her stomach pitched. At the same time she fumed. This had Sterling’s fingerprints all over it. He must have been trying to butter her up New Year’s Eve, knowing Travis had asked for her help.
So. Typical.
She shot a glance his direction, pushing down the wave of hurt that swept through her. Sure enough. He looked as smug as a cat in front of an empty bowl of cream. He raised his eyebrows, gray eyes twinkling. He had no business looking so damned rakish when he was pulling the rug out from under her. “To be clear.” She directed her question to Travis. “You want me to run all the details by Sterling?”
Travis nodded. “Everything.”
“That okay, Goldilocks?” he had the audacity to wink at her. “I assured Travis we’ll get along just fine.”
The nerve of him. She should walk away right now. Hand the project to a colleague. She’d had enough of Sterling’s shenanigans to last a lifetime. But something in his eyes prodded at her. He expected her to fold. She straightened her spine, keeping her eyes lasered on his. She wouldn’t let him beat her again. Or show her up. She’d promised herself that years ago. He might be Prairie’s Golden Boy, but she was at the top of her game. On the fast-track to becoming the youngest VP in the history of Royal Fountain Media. No way was Sterling going to jeopardize that.
She shot him a saccharine sweet smile. “So long as you stop calling me Goldilocks.”
“We already discussed that, sweetheart. No can do.”
Just ignore him. Don’t take the bait.
She turned to Travis and forced her face to relax. “I’m happy to work with Sterling. I want this fundraiser to be everything you’ve dreamed of and then some.”
Travis shrugged into his shearling and jammed on his Stetson. “Great. I really appreciate you jumping in to help us, Em. Cash and I are going to see to repairing one of the water pumps, so I’ll leave you two to it.”
Emma stood, glaring at Sterling as the door snicked shut. “Is this your idea of a joke? Because if so, you’ve gone too far.”