Page 3 of The Rancher

“And I want to keep them that way. I want them to be as strong as possible, especially with these doping rumors going around. You’ll find that you can’t trust anyone. You might find out that one of your employees has a gambling problem and needs the money to pay off loan sharks or something. You don’t know what is going on in everyone’s lives.”

Ray smelled something good cooking and heard voices in the kitchen. Maddy was asking about dinner from Amy, hishousekeeper and cook. He turned to Lyris and whispered. “I don’t want Maddy to know about the doping. Say nothing to her if you want to keep your job.”

She stiffened. “I would never, but I guess you don’t really know that do you. I would never hurt her or any child on purpose. If I told her she’d be afraid to give White Lightning his chance, and then she’d regret it. I can’t do that.” She whispered back.

He narrowed his eyes. “How is it you think you know my daughter so well?” His voice was still quiet.

She clenched her jaw at his glare. “Because I was just like her when I was her age, and I know things happened that changed my life, not necessarily for the better.”

Ray watched Maddy leave the kitchen. “She’s already lost so much and even though she was so young, I know it changed her. I’ve done the best I could, and Amy has helped just by being here and being a sounding board for both of us. Despite that, I often wonder if I shouldn’t have remarried just to give her a mother.”

“I don’t know the answer to that question, but marrying only for that reason wouldn’t have been good for either of you, or for the woman you chose. You’ve done a remarkable job raising her. Don’t second guess yourself.”

Ray smiled. “You’re a little bossy for being a new employee.”

She looked at him with her eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips. “I’m a contractor. I’m not actually your employee, and we should get that settled right now. We can discuss things and, ultimately, I’ll have to acquiesce to your demands, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight you for what is best for the horses. At least for the year of my contract.”

He narrowed his gaze. “I only want what’s best for my animals. All of them. But that doesn’t mean I won’t stand up for my rights as their owner.”

“And I won’t give in to you just because you’re their owner. I will make my feelings on the subject known and argue for what I think is right.”

Ray cocked a brow. “Well, I guess we’ll see who wins won’t we.”

“I guess we will.”

“Don’t get too comfortable, Lyris, I figure we’ll have definite fights coming up and I want you to be prepared.”

Her eyes were narrow and her face was turning pink.

Ray laughed at her expression. He liked it and liked her. She was the first woman since Francie who’d actually shown him some backbone. But would she stay and fight with him? Or leave like most of the other women he dated since Francie? He didn’t include Marissa in that group. She’d tried and nearly succeeded in trapping him into marriage. But then again, he and Lyris weren’t dating…yet. He smiled. “Let me give you a tour of the house before you get settled. We might not have another chance for a while.”

“Sure. I’d love to see it.”

Lyris walkedbeside Ray after they entered. “This is the kitchen. It opens into the dining room which opens into the family room. When we built it Francie and I both knew that the kitchen is the heart of the house and so we built the kitchen with a large dining area and the family room all together. I don’t have a formal dining room because it would be a waste of space. We take all our meals in here and the table has four leaves and will seat twenty.”

He walked out of the kitchen down a long hall. He stopped at the first door. “My office is here; a full bath is across the hall. Thenext door was to be my den but Francie wanted a craft room so that’s what it became. The room doesn’t get any use now, but I never thought of changing it. It’s like she left it.”

At the end of the hall to the left was the wide curved staircase to the second floor.

To the right was another room and the foyer with the wide double doors.

“The living room is where we entertain guests, usually business associates or clients for the breeding program. To the right side of the stairs is the library. That’s where we usually have drinks after dinner. Sometimes I use the family room because it’s right there by the kitchen.” He stopped and pointed toward the staircase. “Upstairs are the bedrooms. I have ten. Four in the east wing and six in the west wing. Come, I’ll show you.”

She climbed the stairs next to him. The staircase was wide enough for at least three people to walk up it side-by-side. At the top was a large landing with two hallways leading off it.

“The east wing is where Maddy and I have our rooms. Hers is on the left side at the end of the hall and mine is on the right side at the beginning. I’ll show you mine because I know what condition it’s in. No telling whether hers is messy or not.” He pushed open the door to the first room on the right. “This is the largest bedroom in the house. It has a sitting room there.” He pointed at a sofa and two overstuffed chairs with a coffee table between them.

Separating the bedroom from the sitting room was a wall with a saltwater aquarium. It was about six feet long and about two feet wide. It was gorgeous. She’d never seen anything like it.

To the left of the sitting room was a large fireplace. On the back side of the fireplace was a Jacuzzi tub, then the double walk-in closet and the full bathroom.

“Ray, this is amazing. I’ve never see a bedroom like this and I absolutely adore the fish tank.” She waved her arms taking in the entire room.

“That was Francie’s idea. She loved saltwater fish. She was quite happy snorkeling whenever we went to the Caribbean or Hawaii. She preferred it to diving because she didn’t like the idea of being in the water and relying on a tank of air.” He stopped and stared at the tank for a moment.

Lyris wondered if he was remembering his wife. He seemed to have gotten somber. “What is Maddy’s room like? Is it large, too.”

“What?” He was lost in the moment and then shook his head as if to clear it. “Oh, her room isn’t this big but it does have a balcony off of it. This one does, too. It’s behind the curtains on the outside wall between the Jacuzzi and the sitting room.”