Sandra Chastain Read Free

playfully, surprising himself with the question.
    Rusty gave him a quick, startled glance, then pulled her eyes away. “No. But they are important to my plans.”
    Cade didn’t consider himself a man to whom social banter came easily, and this talk of physical examinations was more than suggestive. He was willing to bet that her pulse was running just as rampant as his own. Still, such control in a woman was rare.
    “I assure you, Miss Wilder, I am in perfect physical condition. I had a checkup just last month.”
    “I know.”
    “You know?” This time Cade couldn’t control his reaction. “What does that mean?” he asked pointblank.
    “It means I had you checked out before I sent the ticket, McCall. You have a six-year-old daughter with a chronic bronchial condition, but your health is perfect.”
    However, she didn’t add that it was important to her plans to make certain that the child’s condition wasn’t the result of a hereditary weakness in the McCall line. “And it’s ‘Mrs. Wilder,’ ” she said instead. “I never took my husband’s name.”
    “You never took your husband’s name, but it’s Mrs., not
Ms
.,” he said dryly. “At least you’re not one of those card-carrying, men-bashing feminists.
    “On the contrary, Mr. McCall. I’m very much a feminist. But I’m also a realist. Whether or not I like men isn’t the issue. This employment is a business agreement, pure and simple. But it has to be an amenable arrangement for my plans to work. I intend to be fair. I’ll do everything possible to see that it offers as much to you as you will offer to me.”
    “Just out of curiosity, how’d you get confidential medical records?”
    “Truthfully, I have no idea. I didn’t ask. I simply employed a person who’s in the business of getting hold of such things.”
    “And what else do you know about me?”
    “I know that your wife died after an extended illness brought on by her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. I know that you’re responsible enough to have paid off all her hospital bills and funeral expenses, even though she left you nearly seven years ago. Foolish, but admirable. Loyalty is a rare trait. I also know you were unaware you had a daughter until after your wife’s death. And I know you’re flat broke. Is that about it?”
    “Just about. But I’m beginning to think you know something that I don’t. When am I going to learn the rest of the story? What exactly do
you
expect to get out of this?”
    “I had planned to wait until we got to the ranch before explaining all the details, but I suppose it doesn’t matter. You’ll have to know sooner or later.”
    “Know what, Mrs. Wilder? Your dark, mysterious reason for hiring me? I’ll bet I’ve already figured that out, but I’m not sure it’s legal.”
    “What I expect to get,” she blurted out, turning toward him in quick surprise “is a temporary husband, Cade McCall.” Rusty heard herself and cringed. This wasn’t going the way she’d planned. Blast the man, he wasn’t even reacting.
    After a long silence she forced herself to regain her composure and speak calmly. “I had planned to discuss the terms of your employment after you’d seen the ranch. I thought you’d be more agreeable then.”
    Husband?
Cade’s expression might have remainedunchanged, but his inner reaction was of complete disbelief. His only comment was a strained “So, Eugene was right.”
    “Eugene? Who is he?”
    “Eugene is Pixie’s friend, the base-camp cook who first saw your ad.” Suddenly the air became tense. “He warned me that this might happen. Go on, Mrs. Wilder, tell me the rest. I don’t think I can wait for the tour.”
    She might as well. Her inability to control her response to the man had ruined her calm, businesslike approach. Like some love-struck teenager she’d blurted out her plan and made herself look like an idiot. Well, she had no choice now but to go on.
    “I’ll make few demands on your