Page 25 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“I suppose it’s different for everyone.”

“Yeah?” Cade snarled.

Ty huffed out a hard breath. “Let me know when you come to a conclusion. I could use the insight. Just...”

“Just what?”

“Open your eyes before you go throwing opinions or punches. Makes for a much better, far fairer fight if you know what you’re really fighting about...or for.” The phone clicked to signal the end of the call. Then the SAT phone beeped three times fast before the screen went blank.

Cade looked around at the place where he and his horse had finally come to a stop. One of the prettier places on the ranch, and he hadn’t even noticed. His eyes had been open, but he hadn’t seen. Was that what Ty had meant?

“I see a bunch of land and not enough cattle to make a living. The need to bring strangers in to fund our way of life. A PR and marketing firm we hired with borrowed money, a firm whose services may, or maynot, pay enough in dividends to repay the loan. That’s what I see.”

He could recognize the problems fine. The real issue with the ranch and with Emma was that he had no way to control the outcome.

8

EMMASTAREDOUTthe front window of the main house as she contemplated the multitude of options at her disposal when it came to killing Cade. First, she really had to talk to him about some contractor issues and definitely resolve the delay in the furniture delivery. But after that? All bets were off.

It had been made clear at the morning meeting that Cade considered frugality a religion, and the expenses incurred for her firm’s services went against his belief system. She’d already discerned as much from her conversations with him.

She was no stranger to living lean. When receivables had begun their decline over the past eighteen months, Emma had been forced to learn to live frugally in order to keep from losing her two-bedroom apartment on Seventy-second Street. By cutting back hard in her personal life and eating a lot of packaged noodle dinners, she’d been able to keep all her staff on. No one had lost his or her job because of the company’s struggles. Now more than ever, she appreciated the true value of a dollar earned and a dollar saved.

But she also appreciated the effort she put into earning and saving that money. If Cade couldn’t show her that he respected the value of her work, she was going to have a real issue with finishing this job.

And this contract had to go off without a hitch. The guest list for the cattle drive event was full of names that would help rebuild the firm’s client roster into the robust thing it used to be. By having these people witness her in action, see the results of her efforts, she should be able to generate a win-win for both the ranch and her company. All she had to do was ensure that every guest left here with the surety that she was qualified to run an efficient PR and marketing campaign. Then she could figure out what the hell was going on with Michael. Prove once and for all whether he was undermining her and, if necessary, fire his ass.

However, if Cade was belligerent and made people think he didn’t want them there, if he was anything other than welcoming, she was going to have a real fight on her hands. So she had to make sure he was on board for the grand opening, or she was going to pay someone to truss him up and gag him while the ranch’s first guests were here. She couldn’t allow him to destroy her efforts with well-timed barbs or, worse, comments on her inefficiency or some such nonsense.

She cringed. Her plans and expectations sounded both militaristic and impersonal now, more so than they had at the table this morning. Eli had been all about operating as she proposed, but he was a lawyer by education and experience. The win-at-all-costs, general lack of concern for other people’s overall well-being, including Cade’s individuality, was Michael’s style. Not hers. And that left her with the distinct sensation she needed to shower. In bleach. It was almost over, though. This event was going to get things on track. Then she could operate the way Reagan and Ty did, with a more humanistic approach. She just couldn’t afford to soften her resolve. Not for thirteen more days.

Which brought her full circle, because it meant getting Cade on board.

She lifted her coffee cup to her mouth, pausing halfway as a horse and rider topped the hill.

The horse was magnificent, broad and heavily muscled with a smooth gait and a sense of confidence she’d never known an animal could exude. His brown coat gleamed with sweat. His black mane and tail simply shone. When the cowboy called out to someone, the horse never faltered, just kept his forward momentum toward the barn. At an invisible directive from the cowboy, he slowed to a walk.

The man rode as if he’d been born in the saddle, relaxed and yet obviously in control. He was masculine grace personified—broad shoulders, narrow waist, chestnut-brown hair that shone in the sun when he removed his Stetson.

Cade.

Half of her wanted to stand there and watch him, unobserved, as he interacted with others, to discover the differences in how he treated her versus the others on the ranch. Did he show her any favor? Did it even matter? The last question was the deciding factor. Setting her coffee cup on the kitchen counter, she crossed to the foyer, slipped her feet in her designer cowboy boots and walked out the front door. He’d dismounted and disappeared into the barn, so she headed there. She hadn’t made it thirty yards before a discreet wolf whistle sounded.

Someone hollered for the men to, “hold your comments to none, thanks.” Glancing around, she spied Ty on the roof of one of the cabins, attaching the tin to the wood decking. Stomping over, she glared up at him.

“Don’t glare atme,” he said on a laugh. Then he pulled off his hat and slapped it against his leg before retrieving a bandana and wiping his brow. “Your problem client just went into the barn.”

Emma had to admit Ty was attractive, and he ran this particular crew with efficiency and good humor. But it wasn’t him who crowded her mind and kept her tossing and turning all night.

“What’s with the wolf whistling?” she asked.

He shook his head and climbed down the ladder. “Ignore ’em. The best-lookin’ thing they usually set their eyes on is me. Pretty woman shows up, they get a little out of control.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

“That Cade’s hat?” he asked quietly.

“I suppose it is, yes.” She pulled it off, tracing a finger along the brim.