The Rancher's Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

woman home, he’d found it nearly impossible to stop thinking about her and he couldn’t figure why. True, she had a quiet, natural beauty. But he’d seen plenty of good-looking women since Karen had died and none of them had stirred him in any way. Yet there was something about Rose Murdock that made him itch in all the wrong places.
    Nudging the mare’s sides, he decided to ride down the slope to meet her and the spotted blue dog trotting at her heels.
    “Good morning,” she said as he stopped abreast of her.
    “Good morning,” he drawled.
    She shifted in the saddle as his dark brown eyes scanned her face. She didn’t know why the man had to look at her like he enjoyed it. She was too thin to have much of a figure and her features were sharp and angular. The only nice things about her were full lips and gray luminous eyes. But in Rose’s opinion nothing about her warranted a second glance.
    “I’ve talked with my family about letting you use some of the ranch,” she said to him.
    “And?”
    And? Did he honestly think they were in a position to refuse him? Rose wondered. She said, “Of course they’re in agreement. They’re leaving it up to me and you to decide which parts of the land would work best for all of us.”
    “I’m glad they understand my problem.”
    Rose came close to groaning out loud. His problem? All he needed was a little water. She and her sisters needed a miracle.
    “My sisters and I would like to know how much money you’re willing to allow us for our water,” she told him.
    He studied her for a moment, then named an amount that Rose considered surprisingly generous.
    “I think that’s more than fair,” she said awkwardly as her eyes skittered away from his tough face.
    Looks to die for. That’s the way Chloe had described him. Rose didn’t know about that, but she knew whenever she looked at him she couldn’t think or breathe or do anything but gawk like a naive teenager. Her reaction to him was downright silly. But she didn’t know how to stop it.
    Harlan motioned toward the section of land they were presently on. “I have a hundred head to graze and water. Can this spot do that? It’s the closest one to me and the most feasible one to use. Or do you have cattle in here now?”
    She nodded. “Fifty head. But I can move them.”
    “That’s a lot of trouble.”
    It was. But she was getting pretty used to dealing with trouble. First they found babies abandoned on the doorstep, then they discovered their father had been blackmailed by the mother into making exorbitant payments, and now this loan to Harlan Hamilton. Rose couldn’t imagine what else might turn up as a result of their father’s reckless behavior.
    “There’s no other choice,” Rose told him.
    “Where is your open pasture?” he asked.
    Her eyes flickered back to Harlan. The gold of the morning sun was rising behind him, outlining his thick shoulders, the rolled brim of his black hat and the dark curls lying against his neck. He looked like a moonlighter, something the old men of the west called a cattle thief. Could she trust him with her cattle? Her land? Herself?
    “Several miles from here.”
    Rubbing his unshaved jaws, he thoughtfully studied the land spread to the west of them. The river was dry in spots, but in other places the water was deep and cool. If heaven had a name, the Bar M had to be it, he thought.
    “I see you didn’t bring a wrangler with you,” he said to Rose.
    Her eyes on Pie’s tangled mane, she said, “I don’t have a wrangler. I’m it.”
    Harlan couldn’t have been more stunned if Queen, his mare, had suddenly started bucking sky-high. This woman was taking care of several thousand acres of land and cattle on her own? No. He couldn’t believe it.
    “I’m not saying this because I think you’re incompetent, but I just don’t believe…” He broke off with a shake of his head. “Surely you have help of some kind.”
    She combed her fingers through Pie’s long mane,