Linda Warren - Skylar's Outlaw

If he knew Cait and Maddie—and he did, since he’d worked side by side with both—he couldn’t see them going along with such a plan. But they were sisters, and owners of High Five. He was just the hired hand. A cowboy.

He threw a saddle over his brown-and-white paint, Rebel, and tightened the cinch. The horse did a quick side step and reared his head. Cooper had just bought and broken the gelding, which was still fidgety. But he’d settle down.

The calluses on Cooper’s hands rubbed against the leather strap. He was a working man—work kept his demons at bay. Cait had understood that. So had Maddie. But the redhead wanted him gone, and he wondered if she’d get her wish. It didn’t matter to him. He didn’t know if he could continue to work for the woman, anyway. Maybe it was time for him to move on.

To what?

Dane Belle had given him a job when no one else would. High Five was his home now and the redhead wasn’t getting rid of him. Besides, he was on probation and couldn’t leave the county. He was here to stay. Once he made that decision the knot in his stomach eased.

But not for long.

The redhead was coming his way.

“MAY I SPEAK WITH YOU, please?” Sky was determined to be polite, using her best manners, as Gran would want her to.

“It’s a free country.” The deep drawl came from the other side of the horse, and the man made no move to look at her or to acknowledge her presence.

She gritted her teeth, but his insolence wasn’t going to cause her to lose her temper. “We have to work together so could you please look at me?”

He lowered the stirrup, raised his head and glared at her over the top of the saddle. For the first time, she noticed his eyes were a deep green, not brown as she’d thought. Green and cold as a frozen pond. She actually felt a chill and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I’m guessing you want to talk because the meeting with Cait and Maddie didn’t go your way.” His voice was as cold as his eyes. Even so, it had a gravelly intone that would be attractive if it hadn’t been delivered with such an edge.

She bit her lip as fiery retorts zinged through her head. The cow dogs lay at his feet, but they were looking at her almost as if they were waiting for her next words.

She took a step closer, surprising herself at her calmness. “No. It didn’t go my way. I find it very hard to work with you when it’s crystal clear you don’t like me.”

His jaw tightened, as did the chiseled lines of his lean face. “Like you’re crazy about having an ex-con on the property.”

“Okay. I’ll admit I have a problem with that.” She tugged her fingers through her frizzy red curls. God, it was a humid day, and her hair was a mess. Not that the man on the other side of the horse noticed. And nor did she want him to. Focus. “But Cait, Maddie and Gran are on your side, so let’s make this work.”

The dogs rose to their feet, and she knew that was a signal the man was about to mount his horse. She grabbed the reins so the animal couldn’t move. The horse moved nervously and tried to rear its head, but she held tight. Her heart ricocheted off her ribs from the anger blazing in his eyes.

But she didn’t back down, though it was hard not to. The man stood at least six foot two, with a whipcord body and broad shoulders. Faded jeans and a pearl-snap shirt molded his muscled frame. He pulled his worn and dusty Stetson low so it hid most of his brooding expression.

She had a split second to get her words out before he exploded. “We have to run this ranch together, and you might as well accept that. If you have something against me, just say so and we’ll talk it out. But High Five comes first and we have to put our differences aside. I’d appreciate your cooperation. And Gran would like it if you’d have your meals at the house as you did before.”

His eyes seared hers like a hot iron as he jerked the reins from her hand. Without a word he swung into the saddle, spurred the paint and shot out of the barn like a rocket, the dogs following.

At his high-handedness, she freed the padlock she’d had on her emotions and kicked at the dirt. “You low-down, sorry bastard! You son of a bitch!”

“Girl, where did you learn words like that?” Rufus, Etta’s husband, came through from the corral, leading his horse.

She gulped a long breath. “Sorry, Rufus. I was letting off steam.”

Rufus was in his seventies, tall, lean and slightly bowlegged. He’d spent every day since he was a kid in the saddle, except for the years he’d been in prison.

“Cut the boy some slack.”

“I was just trying to do that, but he ignored me once again.” She frowned. “Why does he dislike me?”

Ru tipped back his hat. “Now, girl, that’s a mighty powerful question.”

The old tomcat that lived in the barn darted out and scurried across bales of hay stacked in a corner. The sweet, pungent scent of alfalfa reached her nostrils. That smell always reminded her of home, of High Five.

“Could be he took his cue from you?”

She brought her gaze back to Rufus. “What?”

“You never hid how you felt about him.”

“Oh.” What was it with the elders on this ranch? They were on a spear-Skylar campaign, making her aware of every lousy fault she had.

Ru patted his mare, Dixie. “You never felt that way about me, did you?”

Her eyes flew to his clouded ones. “Of course not. I’ve known you all my life and you’re part of our family.”

“I killed a man, though.”

“You were trying to keep him from murdering his girlfriend. You never meant to hurt him.”

“But I drank a lot back then. Etta didn’t like it. I went to bars, too. Etta didn’t like that, either, but I kept going. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to hit the guy if I’d been sober. One swing from my fist and he was dead.” Ru flexed his right hand. “Sometimes in life those bad breaks happen. Prison woke me up, and I’ve always been grateful for the people who stood by me, like Mr. Bart, Miss Dorie, Dane and my Etta. Couldn’t have gotten through it without them.”

A lump formed in Sky’s throat. Ru was a quiet man. He rarely spoke and he never talked about that time in his life.

“Coop’s had no one,” he continued. “His mother died and his dad beat him regularly as a kid. Finally, he ran away and made it on his own. He was doing good. A lot of ranchers wanted to hire him, and then that man framed him to get the insurance money from the thoroughbred horses. In anger, Coop lashed out. I don’t blame him. I probably would have done the same thing, but it changed his life forever. No one trusts him. It’s like a brand he wears every day—‘ex-con.’”

She swallowed the lump, feeling lower than dirt. And Ru wasn’t through.

“Have you ever seen a ranch this size run by two men, one of them getting on in years? Coop’s a workhorse. We have corn, maize, coastal and alfalfa planted. It will all have to be harvested at about the same time. Coop will get very little sleep during those weeks. This is his home now. He has no family but the one he’s made here at High Five.”

Ru placed a worn boot into the stirrup and mounted his horse. The leather creaked from his weight. Dixie pranced around, ready to go. “If you love High Five, you’ll adjust your attitude. Remember, Dane Belle is watching.” After delivering that startling news, he slowly rode out of the barn.

Sky sank onto a bale of hay and let the sounds and smells of the old barn take her away. Most people would think the scents of manure, horses, dogs and hay unpleasant. Nevertheless, it brought back her childhood—days of fun and laughter and of being loved. She had very little of that in her mother’s world. They moved so much her suitcase was always packed.