Dodge the Bullet by Christy Hayes

cattle?
    Damn it, why now? Moving his cows would be a
huge pain in the ass, and he had no idea where he’d move them. And
Mac knew that. He hadn’t even bothered to explain, just said it had
to be done and that was that. Damn it. He needed to make some phone
calls, figure out who had land for lease, do something, anything
but drive little miss big city back to her sister’s ranch.
Women.
    “So,” she said. “Are you going to tell me
what’s gotten you in such a foul mood, or should I just chalk it up
to small town boredom?”
    Dodge shook his head and stared straight
ahead at the pavement of the Rifle Range. Just a few more miles and
he’d drop her at the front gate so she could walk the three miles
back to the house in her ridiculous heeled sandals. Ha. It would
serve her right after jumping in his truck. She was old enough to
know not every man walked around twenty-four hours a day ruled by
his dick. A good many men, yes, but not all. No wonder she wasn’t
married.
    “You’re a man of few words.”
    He screeched to a halt by the empty
caretakers home and hit the unlock button on the door. “Here’s a
few words. Get out.”
    “Here? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    “I’m pulling away in exactly five seconds,
so if you don’t want your walk home to get any farther, I suggest
you get out now.”
    “Fine,” she said. “But pissing me off is no
way to get in my sister’s good graces.” She slammed the door and
turned quickly to avoid the spray of gravel as he peeled away from
the drive.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter 10
    Dodge was exhausted. He’d spent all day on
the phone, driving all over the valley looking for land to lease.
The best he could piece together were several plots of hundred acre
tracts from one end of the valley to the next. Not one of them was
big enough for all his cattle and he’d end up spending all his time
trying to be eight places at once. Nothing, absolutely nothing had
worked out in his favor. He paced the small kitchen of the hundred
year-old ranch house he could call home for precisely one more
week.
    In a desperate bout of frustration, he flung
his papers from the kitchen table where he’d frantically worked. As
he watched them flutter to the floor like leaves falling from an
autumn sky, the survey of the Woodward property floated down and
landed face up on the center of the table. A light bulb went off in
his head.
    Of course. She had the perfect size ranch,
currently unleased and scheduled to be fenced by the end of the
week. He could set up a feed lot for the calves using the old barns
at the front of the property near the caretaker’s house and pay her
newly hired ranch hand to help him. It was perfect, and his only
option. But even as his head cleared, he could feel the hairs on
the back of his neck sticking up and he anxiously rubbed them away.
He was attracted to Sarah. Really attracted. And he never, ever
mixed business with pleasure. He’d never had to before and he
wouldn’t do it now. He just needed to remember his vow.
    Sarah wouldn’t want to lease her land, she’d
already said she wanted to get her own cows and learn the business.
But she didn’t have a clue where to start. Luis was a competent a
ranch hand and he’d help her muddle through. As much as he hated to
ask a favor, he needed her to let him lease the land or he’d be
sunk. Shit.
    He thought about the way he’d dropped Jenny
at the front gate and the furious expression on her face as he’d
pulled away. He may need to grovel. Damn, he hated to beg.
Fortunately he’d deal with Sarah and not her spoiled brat sister.
He knew she would agree, but he didn’t want to have to ask with
Jenny around. But now that he’d made up his mind, he needed to talk
to her and Jenny wasn’t leaving until the next day. As he stacked
the papers neatly on the table and made his way to the bathroom to
shower, he decided a nice bottle of wine and maybe some more steaks
would do the groveling for him.
    ###
    Sarah heaved