Page 19 of Seized by the Lawman

Chapter 6

NIX FELT A kick to his gut. Melly was a vision of beauty with her long hair floating in the wind, the sun catching the red highlights. He could only watch, mesmerized by her beauty. He shifted against the leather, wishing his body would relax some. Before she got too far ahead, he sent his gelding at a pace to catch up to her. She’d already rounded the trees and had reached the other pasture, then slowed her horse to a trot. He came up beside her. Her breasts lifted with each heavy breath she took. “Feel better?” He certainly didn’t.

“Much. Sometimes a girl just needs to feel the wind in her hair and the saddle between her thighs.”

Her words were said in complete innocence, but the vision his mind conjured was everything but guilt-free. If he didn’t stop allowing his mind to take control and wander down paths it didn’t belong, he was going to be a walking blue-ball before the month was up. “Don’t wear yourself out. We still have a lot of distance to cover. Wouldn’t want you to get a sore bottom before the days done.”

She flipped him an irritated expression. “Don’t worry about me, cowboy. You forget that I grew up on a ranch to?” Her eyes dazzled in the sunlight.

“Whatever you say, darlin’.” He tipped his hat and took the lead. She was probably right. He shouldn’t worry, but he did and that concerned him.

She rode slightly ahead as if she couldn’t allow him to lead. Her chin was set in a challenging tilt. “I think you’re just worried that I’ll outride you,” she muttered, but he heard her clearly.

He laughed. “I didn’t know this was a competition, sweetheart. Must be in your blood.”

“I do have my daddy’s blood. I don’t appreciate being treated like the little woman who might get faint if she overexerts herself.” Her shoulders tightened.

“Melly…”

“I get it from my father enough and now you’re here giving me the same lectures that he would. Please understand where he doesn’t. I’m a strong, capable woman.”

“I hear you. I can see your strength and no way in hell would I try and contain it, but in my defense, I’d tell anyone, even my brothers who haven’t been in a saddle for a while, the same thing.” Maybe he was stretching that a bit too far, but he didn’t want her to feel as if he were trying to stifle her. If he’d learned anything from his Ma, it was a man should never attempt to strip a woman’s independence or power. Truth was, Melly’s determination and strength were some of the reasons he found her exciting…a challenge. Desirable.

Giving him a cocky smile, she sped up, leading her horse further ahead and he didn’t mind one bit. He’d let her think she’d won the battle. Watching her fluid motions in the saddle, how she communicated easily with the mare, he could see she was proving a point. She had spunk. Fortitude. Melly made a gesture with her hand and turned Jewels who pranced as if she understood something wasn’t right. He rode up and saw the break in the fence. What he didn’t say aloud was that it looked like the break had been done by something other than livestock. He’d seen enough breaks that he felt certain someone had broken the top rail by climbing over it. The splinters of wood were laying on this side of the fence. He scanned the fields as far as he could see but saw nothing except unoccupied space.

“You don’t happen to have a hammer, a few nails, and wood in that pack do you?” She lifted a brow. Now that her hat was missing, her hair lay in wild, tangled waves around her flushed cheeks. He was overcome with the desire to kiss her, to make her plump lips plumper with his own.

“No. We use the radio to call Randy and his crew will come and fix the break. It takes a team, sunshine. You’ve made a good point though. Never too soon for you to learn how to mend a break in the fence. I’ll make the radio call and while we’re in this pasture, we’ll check the cows and look for any disease or issues.”

Before he finished speaking with the foreman, Melly had made her way across the pasture to the cattle and was sliding from her saddle. He noticed how she walked a little stiffer. He smiled. Yeah, she had saddle soreness already.

Pushing the radio back into the loop on his belt, he trotted the gelding to where Melly had hitched the mare on the fence, slid out of the saddle and secured the reins. “You know what we’re looking for?” he yelled to her.

“Not entirely, but I’m hoping it’ll be obvious,” she said. “I’m thinking, we have a lot of head of cattle, many are pregnant, and without the equivalent amount of hands we need. Instead of hiring more ranchers, maybe it’d be best to sell some of the cows. We could always invest the money we get from the sale into a better irrigation system. Randy told me it was top on the list of priorities.” When he didn’t respond right away, she stopped, turned and caught him in her curious expression. “Well?”

“I haven’t had a chance to look at the ranch’s financial situation, but I don’t think you’re hurting any. The worst thing a rancher can do is plunk all their money in modern equipment and forget the most important thing to running a place. That, sunshine, is help. You want to keep your focus on the future. A lot of ranchers tend to expand and not relinquish their numbers. Another hand would certainly take up some of the slack and since Randy is retiring—”

She spun so fast it made him dizzy. Her eyes glazed. “Randy is retiring?”

Nix shrugged. Fuckity-fuck. “You didn’t know?”

“How would I unless I’m informed?”

“Maybe Randy has decided to stay on longer because you’re here.”

“Right.” She shook her head. “Or this is just another way that you and my father are keeping me out of the loop.”

Although Nix was completely innocent of her accusation, he still felt a stab of guilt. Melly was smart enough to realize Randy was her biggest asset when it came to running Shy Brooke. She also had to know it’d be hard to replace him. The man was a walking knowledge bank of the ins and outs. “I have nothing to gain by keeping you out of the loop. Anyway, come on, you should have guessed Randy would eventually want to hang up his spurs and enjoy the sunset from somewhere that’s not here.”

There was a long hesitation. “I-I guess, but he’s been like an uncle to me. Imagining this place without him…I-I just can’t.”

Nix nodded, completely understanding. “You’re facing what many owners face. It’s never easy, but you’ll get through this.”

“I have a lot riding on this,” she admitted.

“I know you do.” And so do I.

“Dad’s expecting me to fail.”

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