The Cattleman Read Free Page A

try.”
    “You’re not inadequate, just out of your element. Now, you wait right there for my pig-headed son,” she said.
    There was no way to keep from liking Nick’s parents. Especially Juliet. Her husband had been very ill for quite some time, but the woman never had a bad word or complaint. Nick was her only child and suffered from PTSD after being shot last year. His state of mind was evident to everyone who knew him—and even those who didn’t know him well.
    One night together and she’d witnessed the tension, his avoiding sleep as long as possible, the slight shaking in his hands when others spoke of the cartel.
    Juliet was at the swinging door to the kitchen. “I’m very concerned because my son was shot, nearly died and then almost killed a second time. I can’t bear to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t been there. We have plenty of space in this house. It makes a lot of sense for you to stay close.”
    Beth took a step toward the kitchen to follow.
    “No, no. You stay there and enjoy your coffee. It’ll be so nice having another woman around here. And you know, there really is a lot Nick can teach you.”
    “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she mumbled after her hostess went through the door.
    Nick Burke had been a thorn in her side since she’d arrived in Marfa, Texas. Each way she turned in this investigation, there he stood. He was thrown in her path or she was thrown in his. Even the horrid horses she’d been on had worked against her efforts to stay away from him.
    Now her supervisors had arranged for her to bunk at Burke’s ranch and practically be bait wiggling on a hook. With one phone call, Ranger McCrea had assured the very people who had sent her here to fail that she had no problems. He’d told her boss that she was vital to the task force and that the firing of her weapon and subsequent death of an attempted murderer fell under his jurisdiction. The matter had been investigated and was closed.
    Then he’d turned to her and said she needed to learn more about the area and enhance her riding skills.
    What riding skills? She was a city girl, used to mass transit and high-rises on every corner. She’d refused to resign after her mistakes in Chicago. So as punishment, they’d sent her on an assignment she couldn’t possibly complete. The wide open spaces made her feel small and inferior. Not to mention the wild animals...or the tame ones.
    Nothing could be worse than banishment to West Texas for letting her guard down.
    Well, it wouldn’t happen again. There would be no hesitation. None. Ever.
    She sipped her coffee, and wandered around the immaculate room. She lifted a picture of a young Nick and Kate McCrea back in high school. Was that a twinge of jealousy eking its way into her emotions? No. She wouldn’t fall for the hurt, silent cowboy no matter how compelling his story.
    But it didn’t matter. She set his picture back in its spot on the writing desk. Every time he opened his mouth it was easy to push him further into a “don’t touch” category. Almost as far as she seemed to have landed on his “not worth the bother” list.
    The smell of baking biscuits soon filled the air. She should offer to help in the kitchen again, but she truly was hopeless there. Her mother had tried to teach her often enough, but nothing had stuck. When setting the table she could never remember which side of the plate the knife or fork should be set. Of course, that wasn’t the reason she was here. The real reason was about six-three and didn’t want her near him...or his mother.
    “Mornin’.” Nick’s greeting was anything but pleasant in tone. It was something close to—but not quite—reluctant tolerance. “How’s your arm?”
    Beth gulped the last swallow of coffee and continued to stare out the window toward the mountains that looked close enough to touch. So did he—at least his reflection.
    The T-shirt he wore was tight over a sculpted chest any woman would