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  He chuckled. “No, I wouldn’t think poorly of you then, either.”

  She grinned. “Then you’ll do it again?”

  “I will. If you promise not to go on the cattle drive.”

  They were back to that again, were they? “That’s blackmail.”

  “Maybe. But I don’t care.” He sighed. “The thought of you going scares the hell out of me, Sadie.”

  “Why? I’ve already shown you I can handle myself on a horse.”

  “I know you can. But Boone isn’t going to stand by and do nothing while you win the bet. He’s going to try and stop us from delivering the herd to Cheyenne. If not before we leave, then on the cattle drive.”

  “Which is why it’s even more important to have as many people on the trail as we can,” she pointed out.

  His jaw flexed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” She didn’t answer and he sighed. “Then I guess there’s no more point in arguing about it. But when we’re on the trail, you have to promise me you’ll do everything I tell you to do.”

  “Deal.” She smiled. “As long as you don’t expect me to do everything you say when we’re off the trail.”

  Jake let out a sound that was half chuckle, half growl as he pulled her down for a kiss. When he released her, his face was serious.

  “Sadie, what happened between us here… It doesn’t have to happen again if you don’t want it to.”

  “Of course I want it to happen again.” She swallowed hard. “Unless you don’t.”

  He smoothed her hair. “I definitely do.”

  “Then I don’t see a problem.”

  He shook his head. “Sadie, I saw how the other ranchers looked at you when were at Boone’s last night. Most of them couldn’t hide the fact that they don’t think much of the idea of a woman running a ranch. I doubt they’ll be any more receptive to the idea if it gets out that you’re sleeping with your foreman. And not just any foreman, but one you hired as much for his skills with a revolver as his skills as a cowboy. Will you be able to handle it if it gets out that you’re knocking boots with the hired gun? I’d never judge a woman for satisfying needs everyone has, but this place is your home. I don’t want to damage your reputation as a woman or as a rancher.”

  Sadie chewed on her lower lip. She hadn’t thought of any of that. As much as she hated to admit it, Jake was right. Running a ranch was tough for a woman. People constantly looked for an excuse to point out she was nothing more than a frail girl trying to play at being a rancher. Worse, one who needed a man to keep her ranch for her. And while she definitely needed Jake to be the hired gun and foreman she’d hired him to be, she also wanted to run the ranch in a way that would make her parents proud. Her father had entrusted the ranch to her, and the men and women who worked it depended on her. She couldn’t screw this up.

  Unfortunately, she had even less experience with romance than she did at ranching. Why wasn’t there some way she could have both?

  She looked at Jake. “What if we kept our relationship secret?”

  A lot of men wouldn’t agree to what she was suggesting, either because they were too proud or because it was too much trouble. She hoped Jake wasn’t one of those men.

  “It’ll be hard, but I’m willing to try if you are,” he said. “There are going to have to be some rules, though.”

  She frowned. “Rules?”

  “Yes, rules.” He gave her a stern look. “Just because we’re lovers doesn’t mean I’m going to let you get away with everything. If I tell you something on the ranch needs to be done a certain way, then you do it. Don’t think I won’t put you over my knee and tan that cute, little ass of yours if you give me any trouble.”

  Her pussy purred at the possibility. “That’s a rule I can live with.”

  “I’m going to remind you that you said that the first time I spank you for disobeying me.”

  Sadie laughed and snuggled back down beside him. She couldn’t be more pleased if she’d just negotiated a favorable horse trade.

  She absently ran her finger over the puckered skin surrounding his nipple. “What made you think to hire the Arapaho?”

  She didn’t mean to change the subject so abruptly, but she was curious.

  “Ned suggested it. He said they owed your family, but didn’t say why. Did your father do something for them?”

  “My mother.”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she blinked them back. There were times she could think of her mother and the memory would make her feel warm inside. Then there were other times—like this—when she felt like she might lose all composure if she talked about her.

  Jake rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “You don’t have to tell me about it if upsets you.”

  Sadie shook her head. “I want to.” She wanted Jake to know what a caring, compassionate, selfless woman her mother had been. “Years ago, the Arapaho reservation was hit with a terrible illness. The town doctor went to help, but there were too many sick for him to tend on his own. No one would help him, though. No one except my mother. She was like that. Always helping people who needed it. I wanted to go with her, so I could help, too, but she said it was too dangerous.” The conversation played over in Sadie’s head, and she closed her eyes. “Mama was there day and night for two weeks before she fell ill with the same fever. She died a few days later.”

  Jake swore under his breath, his arm tightening around her. “Sadie, I’m so sorry. How old were you?”

  “Fourteen.”

  “That must have been very difficult on you.”

  “I was so angry with Mama for leaving my father and me, for going to help those people when she knew there was a chance she could get sick, too. But then an Arapaho women came to the ranch with her little girl to tell my father and me how sorry she was about my mother and how grateful she was to Mama for saving her daughter. I was never more proud.” A tear trickled down Sadie’s cheek and she wiped it away. Dammit, she hadn’t wanted to cry. “I try so hard to be the woman my mother was while at the same time trying to be the rancher my father was, but sometimes I think all I’m doing is failing at both.”

  Jake cupped her chin and tilted her face up to his. “I didn’t know either of them, but from what I’ve seen, you’re every bit as good and kindhearted and determined as they were. Another woman in your position wouldn’t know the first thing about running a ranch. If Boone wasn’t making trouble for you, you would never have needed to hire me.”

  Which in an odd way meant she had that varmint to thank for bringing Jake into her life.

  Outside, one of the horses whinnied. Jake glanced toward the opening of the shelter, then turned back to her.

  “We should get back to the house before Ned forms a search party.” A frown creased his brow. “Your bottom isn’t too tender to ride, is it?”

  Sadie hadn’t even thought about that. She started to reach back to check, but then stopped. Grabbing Jake’s hand, she guided it around until it was on her derriere. She pretended to think a moment before shaking her head.

  “No, not tender at all.”

  He chuckled and gave her a sharp smack. “Naughty vixen. Get dressed before I decide you need another spanking and you really do have to ride back to the house on a sore bottom.”

  Sadie laughed, but obediently got dressed.

  *

  ISABELLA WAS MAKING dinner when she walked into the kitchen. The housekeeper looked up from the stew she was stirring to take in Sadie’s dusty denims and rumpled shirt.

  “Ned said you and Mr. Wagner went for a ride to sort some things out.”

  Sadie walked over to the stove to peek into the cast iron pot. “We did.”

  “And did you get what you wanted?”

  “I did.”

  The housekeeper stopped stirring to pull a piece of hay out of Sadie’s hair with a raised brow. “Everything?”

  Sadie couldn’t help it. She smiled. She never could keep a secret from Isabella anyway. “Everything.”

  Chap
ter Seven

  ‡

  JAKE STARED UP at the rafters on the ceiling of the bunkhouse. If he didn’t still have the scent of Sadie’s perfumed soap on him he’d think last night was a dream.

  What the hell had he gotten himself into? He’d been hired to do a simple job—act as ranch foreman and deal with the person trying to drive Sadie Buchanan out of the cattle business. The first part of the job required working with cowboys and longhorns. The second part would most likely involve shooting people at some point. He knew how to do both of those things very well.

  The one thing he wasn’t good at was women. Sure, he did a passing job of attracting them, and he liked to think that when it came to bedding them, he certainly satisfied them. But this situation with Sadie was different. And a hell of a lot more complicated.

  First, he’d spanked her. Not once, but several times. He’d met more than a few women who had tempted him into putting them over his knee, but none of them had been his employer. Then, on the tail end of taking a strap to that perfect ass of hers, he’d had sex with her.

  But that wasn’t even the crux of the problem. The rock in the horseshoe was that the time he’d spent in the hay shelter with Sadie last night had been just about the most amazing moment of his life.

  He was no wet-behind-the-ears cowpoke who’d gotten his first piece of tail. He’d bedded and bounced women from near about coast to coast—women who ran the gamut from virgins to experienced whores. Every one of them paled in comparison to Sadie—and that was after a short ride in a pile of hay. He couldn’t imagine what being with her would be like when they took their time to relax and really enjoy it. He wasn’t sure he’d survive.

  He pushed back the blanket and rolled out of bed. He knew one thing for certain. There wasn’t a man in his right mind who’d willingly walk away from a woman like Sadie, even if he had to see her in secret. But damn, if that wasn’t a blow to his pride. He supposed he couldn’t complain too much. After all, he’d been the one to point out to Sadie it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to be seen sleeping with her foreman. Not when she was in the middle of a fight with one of the most powerful land barons in the territory and everyone was looking for an excuse to call her weak. That didn’t mean a part of him didn’t want the whole Wyoming Territory to know she was his woman.

  Right now, though, he had more pressing issues to think about—like the cattle drive. He didn’t like the idea of Sadie going, but maybe he didn’t need to worry about her as much as he thought. Beyond her beauty, sexual prowess and interest in a good, firm spanking, she was a hell of a rancher. She was fiery, courageous, loyal to her people, rode a horse like she was born on one, and she handled a lasso like a seasoned cowhand. Something told him she’d handle herself just fine on the trail. He didn’t know if he was going to be nearly so warm to the idea when the lead started flying between them and whoever Boone sent to stop them. But what was done, was done. She’d won the race last night, so she was going. The only thing he could do now was make sure everyone on the drive was as prepared as possible.

  Jake got dressed, grabbed something to eat, then went looking for Ned. The older man chuckled when he learned Sadie would be joining them.

  “I figured she’d beat you down somehow.”

  Jake grunted and asked about the men Ned had taken out the day before. According to the older man, the “young’uns” had done pretty damn good. That was a relief. For a drive of three thousand cows, he’d normally bring a dozen men. However, since Boone was sure to try and cause trouble, he wanted to take some extra men with them.

  “We need to leave a presence here, though,” he added. “It won’t do any good to get the cattle to Cheyenne, only to come back and find Boone’s men burned down the ranch.”

  Ned nodded thoughtfully. “We could leave most of the Arapaho. I know they’d feel better if they didn’t have to be too far away from their families.”

  Jake hesitated. He’d wanted to take the Indians with him. Not only were they excellent fighters, but they were damn good at tracking. If Boone’s men were going to ambush them, the Arapaho would know it. But Ned had a good point. The Indians had gotten antsy being away from the reservation the few days they’d helped build the barn.

  “Okay,” he agreed. “But I’ll take Dakota and Mohan with me. They know the area along the trail to Cheyenne. If Boone’s men attack and we’re forced to take the longhorns down a different trail, they’ll know which way to go.”

  The two young Arapaho would be damn hard to sneak up on, too.

  If the Indian men didn’t like being included, they didn’t comment on it when Jake told them he wanted to take them out for an evaluation ride along with other men he’d selected to go on the cattle drive.

  They were just about to ride out when Sadie trotted out of the new barn on her mare. She didn’t say anything, but simply joined the group and followed him out. He had to admit he was impressed by her acting skills. It was all he could do not to look her way and flash her a grin. Hell, he probably would have tipped his hat, too. But she didn’t even glance his way. It was as if last night had never happened. Maybe keeping their relationship secret wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.

  When they got to the cow pasture, Jake gathered the group around to talk about the cattle drive. He started off with the basics, like who’d ride where, how often they’d rotate, and when they’d start in the morning and stop at night. Then he moved into the more important areas, like what he expected of them when they were on guard duty, how often they’d take rest breaks—for the longhorns, not them—and how long it’d take to get to Cheyenne.

  “It’s going to a damn hard job,” he added. “It’ll be hot during the day and cold at night, and you’re going to be dog tired when we’re done. On top of that, Harlan Boone is going to send men to stop us.” Jake jerked his head in Sadie’s direction. “For whatever reason, Boone wants your boss off this land. Maybe he doesn’t like a woman running a ranch, or maybe he’s just a greedy horse’s ass. Either way, he’s going to be gunning for us. I don’t know what he’ll do, but it’ll probably be nasty. If any of you want to sit this one out, I’ll understand.”

  Jake held his breath. Although a few men glanced at Sadie, none of them took him up on his offer. He’d picked a good group.

  “And if you need a little more incentive to stick your spurs up Boone’s lily-white ass, he bet Miss Buchanan we couldn’t get three thousand longhorns to Cheyenne. She put up ten-thousand acres that said we could. You’re not going to let her lose, are you?”

  That got a round of “No, sirs,” and “Hell, no’s.”

  “That’s what I want to hear.” Jake’s mouth edged up. “Let’s see what you boys got.”

  Jake pushed them hard for a couple of hours, making sure Sadie and the men could herd, rope and ride to his expectations, as well as shoot a rifle and a pistol.

  Sadie more than held her own. Though he was more than a little pissed when she jumped off her horse to take down a steer alongside the men. He bit his tongue, though. He didn’t want to embarrass her in front of the ranch hands, even if she was being needlessly reckless. She might have a lot of grit and determination—which made the men push themselves beyond what they probably would have done otherwise so they didn’t look weak beside her—but she didn’t have the strength or the body weight to wrangle a steer. She was damn lucky she didn’t get killed.

  The little fool clearly didn’t see the danger. She lined up for another run. Jake swore under his breath and moved his horse in front of her to give her a warning look. She flashed him a smile and tried to ride around him, but he blocked her horse again. Then, for good measure, he smacked his leather gloves loudly across his thigh several times.

  Her eyes widened and for minute he thought she was going to forget the promise she’d made to obey him, but she edged her horse around him and settled in to watch the ranch hands. While she cheered along with the others as the cowboys bet which man could bring down the really big ones, she threw sev
eral covert glances Jake’s way, her gaze lingering on the gloves he was still holding. She’d gotten the message.

  He’d gotten hers, too, and his cock hardened at the thought that she was going to be thinking about getting her bottom warmed with those gloves for the rest of the day.

  *

  CONCENTRATING ON ANYTHING besides Jake that night at dinner was dang near impossible After getting back to the ranch, everyone had gathered around the big outdoor tables to eat the meal Isabella had made. It was a tradition her parents had started when Sadie was a little girl. She’d tried to keep it going as much as she could after her father died, but the get-togethers had been smaller and more somber lately. Tonight was different, though. Sadie couldn’t remember this much energy and excitement around the supper table in a long time. She had Jake to thank for that. He may have worked all of them hard today, but he had her and everyone else believing they were going to get all three thousand head of cattle to Cheyenne, Boone be damned.

  Sadie glanced at Jake from underneath her lashes. She was becoming as enamored with his skills as a cowboy and a ranch foreman as she was with his good looks and his talents in bed. He was quite possible the best leader of men she’d ever seen—and that included her father. They weren’t going on this cattle drive because they had to; they were going on it because they wanted to. She couldn’t have chosen a better man to help turn the ranch around.

  Or her. He was the first man who had ever grabbed her attention in both hands and held on for so long she couldn’t look away. She was dang near enthralled with the man. And the way her body had responded today when he’d smacked those gloves against his thigh? Good Lord above, it was like she was a puppet on a string. She still had no idea how she’d been able to keep working the rest of the day. Every time she looked at those supple, leather gloves, she kept imagining him putting her over his knee and slapping them against her bare bottom.

  She bit her lip to stifle a moan. She’d been so good the entire day, but being this close to Jake reminded her of their romp in the hay shelter last night. All she wanted to do was drag him up to her bedroom. She couldn’t do that without raising a few brows, though. So, she did the next best thing. She asked Jake into the study to discuss the cattle drive.