Rancher Wants a Wife Read Online Free PDF

wife. He stretched out his legs in the buggy, repositioned his silver-tipped cowboy boots and grasped the reins in his callused hand. Warm winds enveloped him and Cassandra as they drew closer to his ranch.
    She’d changed from her traveling clothes into something plainer—long brown skirts, an ivory blouse and patched shawl. She’d let her blond hair fly free, and he enjoyed seeing it spill over her shoulders. However, she was still wearing that damn hat with the dangling scarf she was obviously using to shield her scarred cheek.
    He wished she’d chuck the blasted thing. She didn’t need it. But saying so might only embarrass her.
    How many nights in the past month had he thought of what it might be like to bring Cassandra home?
    He felt more awkward than he had imagined he would. When their knees brushed, when he pointed out his neighbors’ ranches on surrounding hills, indicated the train tracks that ran through the valley to reach the lumber mills, even when they simply sat and said nothing, a mountain of tension rippled between them.
    It was as if they each didn’t trust the other. But why would she mistrust him? She was the one who’d turned him away in Chicago, more than once!
    He was relieved when they finally approached the house. Red-colored dogwood lined the perimeter of the quarter-mile laneway. The buggy whisked into the shade of the big oaks as they neared the wide, two-story house. Sunlight danced off the clay roof, bounced on the walls of white-painted timber, and sparkled against blue shutters. A stone chimney dominated the north wall.
    To the other side, one of his gardeners was painting the fence, his ranch hands were busy working at the two stables, and splendid horses galloped across the fields.
    Cassandra turned her head to view the pretty sight. “How many horses do you keep?”
    “Twenty-six at the moment. It’s gone as high as thirty-six. I rent them to neighbors, whenever they’re needed in the vineyards, or at harvest season, or sometimes for traveling. It works out well. My neighbors get the use of fine horses, and my animals get exercised.”
    “And you get to buy and trade livestock. Impressive. What you’ve always wanted.”
    He grinned at her perceptiveness.
    The two sheepdogs came dashing out from the stables and circled around them, tails wagging.
    Jack parked the buggy, signaled to one of the hands to come get it, and went to help Cassandra down from her seat. She didn’t need assistance this time. She managed to slide out before he got to her, skirts billowing in the wind, scarf flapping against her face.
    She didn’t look well. Rather pale and shaken. “Are you feeling all right?”
    She nodded. “It’s been a long journey.”
    “I hope you’ll like it here.”
    “It’s breathtaking, Jack.”
    Her comment filled him with pride.
    She smiled nervously, and when some of the men working in the vicinity cast their curious eyes her way, she stepped closer to Jack. The dogs swished their orange tails and panted at her. With a laugh, Cassandra bent down to say hello.
    “Meet Caesar and Queenie,” he told her.
    She gave them a pat and a rub behind the ears. “By your names, it sounds as though you rule this place.”
    “Jack!” called his hefty foreman. “Sorry to bother you, sir. Got a scheduling problem with two of the mares.”
    “Excuse me.” Jack left Cassandra’s side for a moment, conversed with his foreman, ironed out the dilemma and returned to her side.
    His housekeeper and butler greeted Cassandra warmly when she entered the oak double doors. They were a married couple from England, Mr. and Mrs. Dunleigh. Although conservative in their ways, underneath their formal exterior, and once folks got to know them, they were very friendly. Jack had already explained to them the nature of Cassandra’s scar, that she’d been trapped in her burning home and that a timber had fallen across her face. She had dashed in after her father, to locate her sister upstairs.