Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch (11 page)

“Me, too.” He
was completely hooked now, Daniel realized. “I just hope he’s healthy.”

Toby and the dog
came through the door. “He did his business,” the boy announced proudly. “See,
he’s practically house-trained already.”

“Let’s hope so.”
Daniel set a chair across the opening into the rest of the house. “Still, I
think I’ll keep him in the kitchen until I’m sure. Are you two hungry? I found
a box of homemade cookies on my doorstep yesterday.”

The three of
them wolfed down a plate of Rosa Mercado’s lemon cookies and a glass of milk
each while the dog sniffed at every inch of the kitchen perimeter. Finally he
flopped onto the rug in front of the sink. A minute later, he started to snore.

Daniel glared at
Toby. “You brought me a dog who snores.”

Toby winced.
“Maybe he’s got a little cold. Or allergies—it’s hay fever season, isn’t it?” When
Daniel only shook his head in mock disgust, Toby said, “What will you call
him?”

“Trouble.”

“No, really.”

“Really, that’s
his name.” Daniel nodded. “The dog who scratched my truck door, got dirt all
over my leather seats and peed on my kitchen floor…what else should I call him
but Trouble?”

Toby considered.
“Well, okay, then. Hey, Trouble.” He went down on his knees beside the dog and
rubbed his ears. “That’s your name, boy. Do you like it? You’re Trouble!” Wagging
his tail, Trouble leapt to his feet and began scuffling playfully with his new
friend. A minute later, he had vaulted the chair blocking the door and gone on
to explore the rest of the house, with Toby in hot pursuit. “Trouble, come
back. Trouble!”

Daniel looked at
Susannah. “He’s never heard the saying, ‘Let sleeping dogs lie,’ has he?”

She gave him her
mother’s bright smile. “I guess not.”

With Trouble,
Toby and Susannah once again in the truck, Daniel drove down to the Mercado
barn. The kids got out just as Willa, inside the corral, took the saddle off a
big red horse, which immediately bucked and jumped its way to the other side of
the ring.

After setting
the saddle on the top board of the fence, Willa eased out of the corral gate. Hands
propped on her hips, she glanced at Daniel’s truck, then surveyed her children.
“Where have you two been?”

Daniel had
intended to get out, but he sat motionless, instead, transfixed by the sight of
Willa Mercado in a red tank top, snug jeans, boots and leather chaps. The
afternoon sun sheened the well-shaped muscles in her arms and shoulders and
chest, while the low-riding chaps emphasized the feminine curve of her hips,
the slender length of her legs. The memory of their night together surged over
him—he relived the slide of her skin under his palms, the softness of her
breast against his lips, the heat of her surrounding him. And his body reacted
appropriately.

So he stayed in
the truck while Toby ran to his mother, telling the whole tale. As she
listened, Willa’s expression ran the spectrum from irritated to impatient to
embarrassed.

Sending Toby
into the barn to start his chores, she came to Daniel’s window. “I’m sorry. If
you want to take the dog to the shelter, I’ll explain it to him. You shouldn’t
let him impose on you like that.” She glanced at Trouble, now sleeping in the
passenger seat, and her mouth softened into a smile. “He is cute, isn’t he?”

“He is. And I’m
glad they didn’t just leave him on the road to get hit. I’ve always wanted a
dog, but I could never commit to a pet in the Army. He’ll be good company.”

Willa’s gaze
came back to his face. “Thanks for bringing them home. Again.”

“No problem.”
Some devil inside him made him say, “I talked to Hobbs Sutton this morning. About
the rustlers.”

Though he
watched closely, he didn’t see a reaction that might signal romantic interest. She
lifted one bare shoulder. “I’m sure he told you pretty much what I did. He
doesn’t have enough people to cover that area on a regular basis.”

“He did say
that. And I told him I’d see what I could do about catching the creeps. Who
knows? Old Trouble might come in handy on that job.”

Willa raised her
eyebrows. Her eyes opened wide with concern. “You can’t possibly take on a band
of rustlers single-handed. Don’t even try.”

“Is that concern
for my safety? Or doubt of my abilities?” Her hesitation made the point.

Daniel set his
jaw. “My knee may be messed up, but I promise you, Willa, I can handle myself
in a fight.”

“Daniel—”

“Gotta go get
dog food. Take care.” Putting the window up between them, he shoved the gear
stick into Reverse. As soon as Willa stepped back, Daniel swung the truck
around and, with a spray of dust, left the woman who doubted him behind.

T
HANKS TO INFORMATION
from Toby, Willa managed to be
outside her barn when the trucks containing Daniel’s cattle rumbled up the
road. She knew the rancher who’d sold him the cows and would have bought some
of the herd herself if she’d had the cash to spare. Daniel had gotten a fair
deal on some very good animals, with help from Nate Hernandez.

She still
couldn’t believe Nate had left retirement to work for a ranch in competition
with the Blue Moon. One of Jamie’s biggest mistakes had been firing Nate, and
she’d told him so at the time. But even after they’d discovered the missing
tack—saddles and bridles worth several thousand dollars—in the possession of
another ranch hand, Jamie had refused to apologize. Nate had a way of speaking
his mind, and Jamie didn’t handle criticism well.

Selfishly, she
wondered whether Nate would come back to the Blue Moon when—if—Daniel left.

Those cattle
trucks looked awfully permanent, though. Five of them passed through, each
carrying twenty head of the longhorns Texas was famous for. Would Daniel, with
Nate and three cowboys—more information from Toby—be able to get this many cows
safely to pasture? Should she send some of her crew to help? Should she go
herself?

Once the last
truck disappeared, Willa knew she couldn’t resist the urge to at least observe
the arrival of Daniel’s herd. With Monty already saddled for the day’s work,
all she had to do was enjoy a fast gallop across the fields, which brought her
to a ridge overlooking Daniel’s barn and the pens where he would unload the
herd. She figured she’d stay unnoticed during the crazy work of unloading
cattle and could slip away without anyone knowing she was there.

For all Daniel
lacked experience in ranching, his setup looked good, probably thanks to Nate’s
advice. The chute fences appeared solid, and the hands stood where she would
have placed them herself, as the first truck backed up to the gate. Daniel, she
was glad to see, stood off to the side, out of the way of panicked cattle and
the men who knew how to handle them. Of course, Nate would see to it that the
boss stayed safe.

With the clang
of the truck gate opening, controlled chaos began. Lowing and calling, the
longhorns rushed toward freedom, down the long wooden chute toward the open
ground of a holding pen beyond. At this time of year there were no babies with
the bunch, but many of the cows were pregnant. Daniel would have his hands full
come late winter and early spring.

Except he
wouldn’t be here for the calving, would he?

By lunchtime,
all the cattle, including two prime-looking bulls, had been unloaded into the
pens. Willa saw Daniel personally thank each driver before the empty trucks
rattled back down the road. Standing at the top of the chute—now closed to
prevent any cows from coming back up—he gave a sharp whistle.

“Lunch is served
under the tent by the barn,” he announced to his hands. “Come help yourselves.”
As the men started moving, Willa realized Daniel’s gaze had focused on her
across all the cattle between them. “That includes you, Willa,” he shouted.
“Please join us.”

She couldn’t
very well refuse, not in front of his crew. Setting Monty into a jog, she rode
around the pens and the milling cattle within until she reached the yard
outside the barn, where Daniel himself waited for her.

“Your horse can
join Calypso and the rest in the corral.” He gave her the dignity of being able
to dismount without help. “What did you think? Did we pass inspection?”

As she walked
Monty to the corral, she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She hadn’t
really come here to judge him…had she? “Everything went great, I thought. Looks
like you’ve got some seasoned men on your crew. And Nate knows what he’s doing,
of course.”

“Sure.” Daniel
moved with her toward the tent. He seemed to depend on the cane less than she
remembered. “This afternoon the fun will start—getting them to the fields. I
hope Calypso is ready for the ride.”

She looked up at
him in shock. “You’re going to help move the cattle?”

He grinned. “I
wouldn’t be a rancher otherwise, would I?” He gestured to the stack of plates
at the end of a long trestle table filled with food. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” As she
moved down the line, Willa realized the food itself looked familiar. “Did you
cook all of this?”

“Um…Miss Lili
and Miss Rosa offered to help me out with some food for the guys while we were
getting settled.”

“I see.” So if
he wouldn’t eat at the house, Lili and Rosa were going to bring him food. “They
didn’t mention it.”

“They’ve been
feeding me, too,” he said, as if needing to get everything off his chest. “And
sometimes I find boxes of cookies or cake on my front steps.”

“And don’t
forget to mention that you had my older son working for you,” Willa told him,
as they faced each other across the barn aisle, sitting on bales of hay. “And
my younger son and my daughter brought you a dog.”

“And cats.”
Daniel jerked his head toward the loft above them. “Somewhere they found a nest
of kittens and their mother, all of which are now cozily installed in a box up
there.”

Willa allowed
her jaw to drop. “Why did you let them do that?”

He shrugged. “A
barn does need cats. As long as Trouble gets along with them, we’ll be fine.”

Shaking her
head, she dug her fork into Lili’s chicken casserole. “Somebody is crazy here.
I’m just not sure who.”

R
OSA KEPT AN EYE OUT
as the New Moon hands came through
the food line she and Lili had set up. Nate Hernandez shooed the rest of the
men, as well as Daniel and Willa, ahead of him before picking up a paper plate
for his own food. He took a long time choosing between chicken casserole and
sliced ham, ending up with a good helping of both, then carefully selected his
roll, a brownie and two chocolate chip cookies. As a result, everyone else had
found a place to sit and eat by the time Nate reached Lili, waiting to pour him
a drink.

“Good afternoon,
Miss Lili.” Somehow, he managed to hold his plate, his hat and a fork all in
one hand.

“Good afternoon,
Nate.” She was blushing, of course, which made her cheeks rosy and her eyes
bright. “What would you like to drink? We have sweet tea, lemonade, water and
coffee.”

“Is that your
homemade lemonade? I don’t think I’ve had anything quite as thirst-quenching in
my life as your lemonade.”

“We made it just
this morning.” Lili gave him a shy smile, and then it was Nate’s turn to turn
red in the face. “Here’s a nice full glass.” She held out the plastic cup.

Nate stared at
the drink, as if he wasn’t sure how to take hold of it. “Thank you.” He closed
his fingers around the drink and they both jumped.

Rosa smiled to
herself. It was about time those two actually touched each other, even if it
was only a couple of fingers.

The foreman
cleared his throat. “Have you eaten, Miss Lili?”

“I—”

Rosa could see
that her sister meant to divert what was obviously an invitation. “No, she
hasn’t.” She handed Lili a plate. “Get yourself some food and sit down to eat. That’s
what I’m going to do. All the men are served and they can manage their own
seconds.” With a full plate of her own, she went to sit beside Luis Vargas, the
youngest and most handsome of Daniel’s cowboys. What was the point of being an
old woman if she couldn’t flirt with any young man who took her fancy?

Nate and Lili,
she was pleased to see, sat hip to hip on one of the hay bales set under the
tent, facing in opposite directions so they could see each other as they ate. Lili
still seemed shy, and Nate didn’t say much, but at least they’d made contact. Surely
they could manage their own romance from this point without so much
stage-managing from a concerned older sister.

Or not. Rosa
watched, frustrated, as Nate stood, gave Lili a small bow, then dropped his
trash into the bin and walked toward the back of the barn. Lili gazed after him
with a wistful smile.

“Men,” Rosa
muttered, casting an angry glance at Luis.

The young man
gave a puzzled shrug. “What’d I do?”

“You were born,
to start with.” Getting to her feet, she marched back to the food table to
begin cleaning up. “It’s all downhill from there.”