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But Culley wasn’t there to hear her response. He had already slipped out the back door, only a faint snick of the latch marking his exit.
Chapter Ten
Flies buzzed around him, drawn by the salty smell of sweat, while Laredo worked to tighten the water pipe’s connection and stop its slow leak. The ground at his feet was slick with mud, making for poor traction. Unable to tighten the connection another centimeter, he disengaged the wrench and straightened to watch for any telltale beading of moisture. Seeing none, he stowed the wrench in the tool chest, flipped it shut, and wiped the sweat from his face on his shirtsleeve.
He idly threw a glance at the cattle in the lot. They were a contented bunch, their bellies full with their morning rations. The sun’s rays streamed over their backs, creating a mottle of highlights. But it was the interested lift and turn of their heads that caught Laredo’s attention.
When he looked beyond them, he noticed the fast-spreading boil of dust on the road, signaling the approach of a vehicle. Satisfied that it wasn’t some critter that might spook the herd, he checked the pipe connection one last time. It was still dry, so he walked over to the faucet. The day was young, but already he was hot and sweaty. Desiring nothing more than to cool off, Laredo gave the handle a turn, and a steady gush of water flowed from the tap. Pulling off his hat, he didn’t bother to look around when a vehicle crunched to a stop somewhere close by. A door slammed as he stuck his head under the water and let its coolness stream over him, then pulled away from it, shaking off the excess water.
He had a hand on the tap, ready to turn it off when he caught a movement in his side vision. Glancing toward it, he saw a petite brunette striding toward him with fire in her eyes. He knew at once who she was—Chase’s daughter, Cat.
“Exactly what do you think you are doing?” she demanded hotly.
A bit taken aback by the hostility emanating from her, Laredo was a split second slow with his answer. “Just cooling off, ma’am.”
“You’ve done it. Now turn that water off.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t bother to tell her that he was about to do that very thing. He simply gave the handle a turn. Metal squeaked against metal, cutting off the flow.
“I don’t have to ask who you are.” Green eyes raked him with a look of contempt and disgust. “You’re the new man Uncle Culley told me about. The one called Smith from Texas.”
“That’s right, ma’am. Laredo Smith.” Using his fingers he combed his wet hair into order and settled the hat back on his head. “And you are Chase’s daughter, Cathleen. I saw you at the funeral.”
But Cat didn’t warm to his smile. “Water is a precious commodity in this part of Montana, Mr. Smith. I don’t know what you do down in Texas, but up here we don’t waste it by letting it run on the ground.”
“Actually, ma’am, neither do we.”
Her hands snapped to her hips as she adopted a challenging stance. “Really? Then how do you explain all this mud?”
Laredo glanced at the tool chest, then decided against telling her about the leaky pipe he had just fixed. “Something tells me you didn’t drive all the way out here to lecture me about wasting water.” But it was possible she had come just to get a look at him. Laredo wished he knew what O’Rourke had told Cat about him.
She seemed momentarily thrown that he had offered no argument in his own defense. Recovering quickly, she fired back an answer. “As a matter of fact, I didn’t.” With that, she turned on her heel and started back to her truck.
“What was it you needed?”
She jerked open the driver’s door, glanced at the cattle in the lot, and threw a glare in his direction. “I have already seen what I wanted.”
The pickup’s engine roared to life almost before she had the door shut. An instant later she drove off, fast-spinning tires kicking up another dust cloud.
Amidst all the swirling dust, Laredo smelled trouble, but he wasn’t sure what form it would take. One thing was certain, though—Chase’s daughter didn’t seem to like him very much. That in itself didn’t worry him. But knowing she was married to a lawman made him a tad bit uneasy.
Pen in hand, Jessy scratched her signature across the bottom of the check, picked it up with its attached invoice, and passed them both to the Triple C’s bookkeeper, who hovered next to her chair. She remembered all the times in the past when Ty and Chase had complained about the seemingly endless stream of paperwork involved in running the ranch. It was a sentiment she totally echoed now.
When she caught the sound of Laura’s happy squeal coming from outside, Jessy looked up, welcoming even this momentary distraction. But she wasn’t exactly thrilled when she recognized the cause for her daughter’s excitement, although Tara had always made a habit of showing up unannounced.
“It looks like we have company,” she told the bookkeeper and laid the pen aside. “I’ll sign the rest of the checks later. You go ahead and take these.”
Leaving him to collect the stack of signed checks, Jessy rose from the desk and made her way to the entry hall. She arrived as Tara walked through the door, carrying Laura. Laura had both hands fastened on a brightly wrapped gift.
“Look, Mom. Aunt Tara got me something.” Laura’s dark brown eyes shone with pleasure.
“I hope you thanked her for it.”
“I gotta open it first,” Laura declared as Tara set her down. Immediately she dashed into the living room.
“I wish you wouldn’t bring her presents all the time.” Jessy didn’t attempt to hide her irritation. “You are spoiling her.”
“I know. That’s what aunts do.” There was a suggestion of taunt in the smile Tara flashed her before she followed Laura, moving with her usual gliding grace.
