Kathie DeNosky - Cassie's Cowboy Daddy

She shuddered and turned away. Instead of her gaze settling on something innocuous, she came face-to-face with the largest snake she’d ever seen outside the confines of a zoo. It was sitting in the middle of the mantel above the fireplace, four inches of rattles protruding from the tan-and-brown-blotched coil, the raised head promising a deadly bite from its enormous, bared fangs.

What sort of man kept such hideous works of taxidermy in his home? she wondered, spotting a lynx on the shelves beside the fireplace. The animal was frozen forever in what looked to be a really lousy mood.

“No wonder you keep this door closed,” Cassie said, her voice slightly shaky. “No one in their right mind would want to come in here.”

It was all Logan could do to keep from laughing out loud at Cassie’s shocked expression. Her face had paled to a pasty white and she looked ready to bolt for the door. She had no way of knowing this room had scared the hell out of him when he was a kid. Or that the stuffed animals were a lot older than he was.

“They threatened the welfare of the Lazy Ace,” he stated, lowering himself into the chair behind the desk. “When they attacked the livestock, my family had no choice but to deal with them.”

“You see me as a threat.” Cassie turned to glare at him. “Is this your way of telling me I’m the next to be stuffed and mounted?”

Logan watched her cheeks color a pretty pink as the double meaning of her words registered with both of them. He swallowed hard and his body responded in ways he’d rather not dwell on as a very provocative scenario flashed through his mind. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He was supposed to be discussing her departure from the Lazy Ace, not trying to hide the fact that her remark excited the hell out of him.

“I…uh, never said you were a threat.”

“You didn’t have to.” She sat in the leather chair in front of his desk, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, her expression defiant. “Once you found out who I was, you turned off the charm and turned on the hostility.”

“You weren’t exactly Miss Congeniality yourself.” He leaned back in the high-backed chair and sighed heavily. “Look, taking potshots at each other isn’t going to get us anywhere. What do you say we start over?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she agreed. “I think that might make our living here more tolerable.”

Every time she mentioned staying on the ranch, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and his gut felt as if he’d been punched.

Logan squared his shoulders. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt he wasn’t going to like what she had to say, but he’d always been of the opinion that a situation should be dealt with head-on.

“Why don’t you tell me why you want to live here, then we’ll go from there,” he suggested.

“All right.” She took a deep breath, then met his gaze. “Uncle Silas bequeathed money to my cousins, but his last wish for me and the twins was a new way of life. By leaving me his half of the Lazy Ace Cattle Company, he’s provided me the opportunity to stay at home to raise my girls.” Her relieved smile made the knot in Logan’s gut twist even tighter. “I remember hearing Uncle Silas repeatedly say the unhurried pace of rural Wyoming was the perfect place to raise children. And he was right. It’s much safer here, the girls will have a healthy atmosphere away from the smog and fumes of an overcrowded city, and I’ll be with them to watch and enjoy every moment of their lives, instead of hearing about it from a baby-sitter.”

By the time she finished telling him about her desire to be a full-time mother and how important it was for her to raise her kids in a safe, wholesome environment, Logan felt as if he’d been blindsided by a steamroller. If he insisted she leave now, he’d feel like a low-down, sorry excuse for a skunk.

“Wouldn’t you rather live in town?” he asked hopefully. He knew all too well the dangers the area posed to women and children. But if he tried to explain that to her now, she’d think it was nothing more than a ploy to get her off the Lazy Ace.

She shook her head. “I’ve analyzed it from every angle and arrived at the same conclusion each time. It was the nicest thing Uncle Silas could have ever done for us. I want the girls to grow up here where they can run and play.” She gave him a pointed look. “And I want to be here to oversee my share of the ranch.”

Logan left his chair to pace back and forth behind the desk. “I could keep you informed of all business transactions in a quarterly report when I send a check for your part of the profits. Like I did for Silas.”

“Nothing against you, Mr. Murdock, but it’s my inheritance and I think it would be in my best interest to be here in order to watch over it.”

“The Murdock and Hastings families have been in business together for over a hundred years….”

“I know,” she said, nodding. “I’ve heard the story since I was old enough to listen—first from my father and grandfather, then after they passed away, from Uncle Silas. Your great-grandfather, Jake Murdock, and my great-grandfather, Ned Hastings, left St. Louis with nothing but their six-shooters and a deed for a large piece of prime ranch land they’d won in a poker game.”

“That’s right,” Logan agreed. “And it was your great-grandfather who lost interest and moved back to Missouri thirty-five years later,” he said pointedly. “He and the rest of your family have been perfectly happy as silent partners in the ranch. The Murdocks were the ones who stuck it out and made the Lazy Ace what it is today.”

“I’m well aware of that,” she said, her patience beginning to wear on his nerves. “But when Uncle Silas willed me his share of the ranch, I made a firm decision to become an active partner. It’s not fair that you and your family suffered all the hardships, while my family sat back and did nothing. Besides, I want to have firsthand knowledge of how you’re handling our livelihood.”

Logan stopped to glare at her. “I’m a man of my word. If that was good enough for your uncle, it should be good enough for you.”

“I’m not my uncle, Mr. Murdock. Put yourself in my shoes. Would you trust someone you didn’t know with the stakes this high?” When he remained silent, she smiled and rose to leave. “I’m no different. This is my children’s future we’re discussing and I’m not about to leave anything to chance.”

“But what about your family?” Logan asked desperately. “Won’t you miss seeing them?”

She shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to ever return to St. Louis. My parents are both deceased and I don’t have any brothers or sisters.” Opening the office door, she advised, “You might as well accept the fact that, from now on, my daughters and I will be calling the Lazy Ace home.”

He watched her close the door with a quiet click. “Not if I have anything to do with it, lady,” he muttered.

Cassie stood at the foot of the stairs, feather duster in one hand and a bottle of furniture polish in the other. Where should she start?

Yesterday, after finding Logan in the bathtub, she hadn’t given cleaning the house a second thought. A warm shiver coursed through her. She doubted there was a woman alive who could think of dusting and polishing woodwork after seeing Logan Murdock in the buff.

And she’d told a real whopper yesterday when she’d said his body was unremarkable. Just the memory of all that masculine skin and the feel of those rock-hard muscles pressed against her had kept her awake most of the night. Which was about the dumbest thing she’d ever let happen. She wasn’t the least bit interested in Logan or his impressive muscle groups.