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“McKinnely’s been a bit suspicious of things going on here.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Apparently, you refused McKinnely’s offer of help?”
“That didn’t give him the right to assign spies!”
“Hey!” Asa warned, watching the way she jerked the knot on the string. “Don’t get your feathers in an uproar. He just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“He should have respected my wishes.”
“He did. Clint came on a just-in-case scenario.”
She glared at the door. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she felt betrayed. “He just wanted the ranch.”
“Use your head, woman.” His response was curt. “The Tumbling M is a prime property of over three thousand acres. There’s no way the man would want the headache of the Rocking C on top. Hell, your land doesn’t even abut his.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“McKinnely’s a good man who was concerned, rightly enough, about a woman alone being taken advantage of.” He glared into her mutinous expression. “I respect him for it, even if you don’t have the sense to. He did what any honorable man would. He’s the only one of your neighbors who did anything remotely helpful.”
This time, she put the needle into his flesh without a quiver. He figured she’d caught his slight to Aaron. Her next sentence confirmed it. “Aaron came over often.”
“No doubt trying to prey on your emotions.”
“I am not an emotional woman.”
“You’re one of the most emotional women I’ve met, whether you show it or not.”
She stared at him in shock and horror. Hell, did she really think him that much of a fool? “I wasn’t insulting you,” he tacked on gruffly.
“I can be as hard-nosed as any man.”
“I never said you couldn’t be,” he backtracked, “but that doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings.”
“With an ounce of cooperation, I could run this ranch as well as you.”
“I’ve never doubted it.”
“Yes, you have.”
“Just because I don’t think you have to do a man’s job doesn’t mean I don’t think you could manage a fair approximation.”
She pulled the thread through another stitch. “There you go.”
“There I go where?”
She tied off the knot. “You just admitted you think I’m useless.”
“Hell, you’re determined to twist everything I say!”
“Don’t swear, and I am not.”
“You saying you can tail a full grown cow?”
“Well…”
“You saying you can wrestle down a bull for castrating and branding?” Her “no” was long coming. He pressed on. “You saying that, when you ride the range, men don’t see you as fair game?”
“Men get robbed, too.”
“But they don’t get raped and they don’t become targets just for the opportunity.” She didn’t have a ready argument for that. “And before you trot out some lame argument that you’re not afraid of being caught and violated, reconsider. You’re too damned smart not to have sweated the possibility.”
She closed her mouth. He had to suffer another stitch before she responded. “It doesn’t mean I’m useless.”
“I never said you were, but you’re not a man, and whether you see it as fair or not, that’s the bottom line.”
She didn’t have an answer to that one either.
“When Aaron came over, I bet he didn’t talk about branding or the roundup.”
“No, but he was concerned. He knew we were being rustled. He wondered how it was affecting our ability to pay the bank note.”
“He knew about the note?”
“Of course he knew. If he hadn’t spoken for me, Mr. Dunn would have never honored his agreement with my father.”
“Your father negotiated the bank note?”
“Yes, but he died before the paperwork was done. Mr. Dunn didn’t want to honor it.”
“What would have happened if he hadn’t?”
“Do you mean would the ranch have gone under?”
“Yeah.”
“No. We were solvent.”
“Then why the hell go through with the deal?”
Pain made the exclamation sharper than he wanted. He’d be damned glad when they were done with this stitching.
“I’m sorry.” She didn’t look that sorry to him. “My father wanted to expand the breeding program. A lot of ranchers have been talking about crossbreeding Herefords with Longhorns. With the railroad coming through, he saw it as a way to capture the beef market back East.”
“What does Aaron have to do with that?”
“They were partners.”
“And he didn’t talk you out of it?”
She gave him a pitying glance. “You just got done pointing out how I can’t work a ranch like a man. If my father’s and Aaron’s plan worked, in a couple of years, I’d have enough money not to have to scrape.”
The needle touched his flesh again. “How many more stitches we got left?”
“Two.” Her voice was tight. No doubt because she’d just put the damned thing through his wound again.
“So Aaron and your father worked together on this?”
“Yes.”
Wheels began to churn in his brain. “Water would be pretty important to a plan like that.”
“Yes. The drought made it tough for Aaron. The cross isn’t as hardy as longhorns.”
