Page 7 of The Cowboy's Justice

“The deal’s off!” Devlin said calmly. “It was nice to meet you, Portia. I suspect next time we meet it will be in a courtroom.”

“No! Wait!” she shouted, grabbing the paper from William and striding across to the antique, roll top desk against the wall. “There you are, Devlin,” she exclaimed, scribbling her name on the signature line. “When would you like me to start?”

“Be here tomorrow at nine, and wear old clothes. They’ll get dirty.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Climbing into the Corvette and settling into the passenger seat, Portia watched William stride around the front of the car. He was tall and lanky, and sometimes reminded her of a giraffe. Though he could be annoying at times, he was a sharp attorney and she’d be lost without him. But she sensed he wanted more than just a professional relationship. As he climbed behind the wheel, she glanced back at the ranch house and saw Devlin standing on the porch talking to the sheriff.

When she’d first arrived at the ranch she’d been furious.

All she’d wanted to do was write the cowboy a check and leave.

Then she’d laid eyes on his handsome face and muscled arms.

Standing in his study she’d been impressed by his success.

When he’d said he wanted her to work at the ranch, her heart had skipped a beat, and she’d been overcome by a very strange feeling.

The very next second she’d heard herself agreeing.

“You shouldn’t have signed that piece of paper!”

William’s comment snapped her from her thoughts, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from Devlin. He was unlike any man she’d ever met.

“Didn’t you hear me?” William demanded.

“Yeah, you said I shouldn’t have signed that piece of paper.”

“Exactly! You shouldn’t have.”

“William, stop trying to boss me around all the time. You work for me, remember? It’s not the other way around.”

She could see him bristle, but she didn’t care.

“Actually, Portia, you pay me to keep you out of trouble, and signing a document like that—”

“Oh, for goodness sake. It’s no big deal, and besides, I had no choice, and you almost screwed everything up. I could have ended up in jail. Can you imagine it? Me! Behind bars? Are you crazy?”

“It would never have happened.”

“You don’t know that. Anyway, it’s done now, and it’s only a month.”

“How do you plan on getting there? The sheriff took your license away and I have to get back to Dallas in the morning.”

“Then talk to him before you go. I’m sure you can make him see sense. The ranch is literally five minutes away. He can’t object to me driving such a short distance when working for Devlin is a requirement.”

“I will, in fact, I’ll race back to the ranch right now. He might still be there,” William declared as he pressed a remote control and the gates to Portia’s impressive home swung open.

“Good idea. I’ll probably be in the pool,” Portia replied, climbing from the car. “Too bad you didn’t think of that while we were there.”

The snide remark had slipped from her lips before she could stop it, but she held back an apology. She was tired of the way he talked down to her, and before he could respond she slammed the car door closed and hurried up to her front door.

* * *

As William reversed the powerful sports car onto the country road he was tempted to floor the accelerator, but he couldn’t push his luck. The local deputies often parked under the shade of trees to catch people speeding. It wasn’t far to Rainbow Ranch, and as he turned down the gravel driveway he was relieved to see the sheriff’s car still parked in front of the house. But as he rolledto a stop and climbed out, he was surprised to see the sheriff marching out of the barn.

“Hello, again, Mr. Buckley,” he said briskly. “What are you doin’ back here?”

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