Judy Duarte: The Rancher's Hired Fiancée

She reached up to flick a wild strand of her sleep-tousled curls from her eyes, only to feel something papery stuck to her face. She peeled it off, and when she looked at her fingers to see what it was, she spotted a child’s butterfly sticker.

Oh, for Pete’s sake. How had that gotten there?

It must have been on the bedspread or pillow, and she’d probably rolled over on it.

Determined to shake the flush from her face and to pretend that her ankles weren’t bound together with duct tape, that her brain hadn’t been abducted by aliens, Catherine forced herself to step forward and reach out to shake the neighboring rancher’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Ray. Eva said you’d be coming to dinner tonight. Please come in.”

The handsome rancher’s smile deepened, lighting his eyes, which were a vibrant shade of green.

As he released his grip on her hand, leaving her skin warm and tingling, he lifted a lazy index finger and peeled another sticker from her face.

Her lips parted as he showed her a little pink heart.

“You missed a couple of them,” he said.

Huh? A couple of… what?

He removed a gold star from over her brow and a unicorn from her chin.

Catherine blinked back her surprise, as well as her embarrassment. Then she swiped her hand first over one cheek and then the other, discovering that either Sofia or Stephen had decorated her face while she’d slept.

Goodness. What else had the twins done to her while she’d been asleep? Surely they hadn’t used their Magic Markers on her, too?

She hadn’t felt the least bit self-conscious in years, but it all came rushing back at her now. She must look like a clown. What must the man be thinking?

Calling on her acting skills and her ability to ad-lib on stage, she gave a little shrug, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. “Well, what do you know? The sticker fairies stopped by while I napped.”

Ray tossed her a crooked grin, humor sparking in his eyes. “You’ve got to watch out for those fairies, especially on the Walker Ranch. There’s no telling what they’ll do next.”

“I’m afraid he’s right about that,” Dan said as he entered the living room. “Our younger twins can be little rascals at times.”

Before Catherine could respond, Dan greeted his friend with a handshake, then invited him to take a seat, suggesting that she do the same.

But there was no way Catherine wanted to remain in the living room looking like a ragamuffin, so she said, “I’d better help Eva in the kitchen.”

“I was just in there,” Dan said. “And she has everything under control.”

Catherine didn’t care where she went—to the kitchen, her bedroom or the barn. All she wanted to do was to disappear from the handsome rancher’s sight until she could find a mirror before dinner.

“Well, since Eva doesn’t need my help, I’ll just go freshen up.” She lobbed Ray Mendez her best, unaffected smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

“The pleasure was mine.”

The sound of the word pleasure on the lips of a man who not only resembled a Latin lover but sounded like one, too, was enough to knock her little Texas world off its axis.

And until she flew back to Manhattan, she’d do whatever it took to keep her feet on solid ground in Brighton Valley.

One screwed-up world was more than she cared to handle.

Ray Mendez had no idea who Catherine Loza was, why she’d been napping this late in the afternoon or why she’d been included to have dinner at the Walkers’ ranch. He watched her leave the room, turn down the hall and walk toward the bedrooms.

The minute she was out of hearing range, he turned to his neighbor and friend. “You’re not starting in on me, too, are you?”

“ Starting in on you? What do you mean?”

Ray crossed his arms and tensed. “Is this dinner supposed to be a setup?”

Dan looked a little confused by the question—or rather the accusation. “A setup? You mean, with you and Catherine? No, I wouldn’t do that.” Then he glanced toward the kitchen, as if realizing his pretty wife might have had a plan of her own.

But why wouldn’t she? Every time Ray turned around, one of the women in town was trying to play matchmaker.

“Eva called and asked you to dinner because we hadn’t seen you in a while,” Dan said. “Why would you think we had anything else in mind?”

“Because ever since word got out that my divorce was final, the local matchmakers have come out of the woodwork, determined to find the perfect second wife for me. And the last thing I’m looking for right now is romance. I’ve got my hands full trying to run my ranch from a distance and finish out the term of the previous mayor.”

“Has it been that bad?” Dan asked.

“You have no idea.”

“For the record,” Dan said, “Catherine is a great woman. She’s beautiful, talented and has a heart of gold. But she’s just visiting us. Her life is in New York, and yours is here. So it would be a waste of time to try my hand at matchmaking.”

That was a relief. Thank God Ray’s friends hadn’t joined every marriage-minded woman in town—or her well-intentioned best friend, mother or neighbor.

He unfolded his arms and let down his guard.

As he did so, he glanced down the hall just as Catherine returned with her hair combed, those wild platinum curls controlled by a clip of some kind.

She’d changed into a pair of black jeans and a crisp, white blouse—nothing fancy. She’d also applied a light coat of pink lipstick and slipped on a pair of ballet flats.

For a moment, Ray wondered if she had romance on her mind. But the cynical thought passed as quickly as it had struck.

If Catherine had expected to meet someone special tonight, she wouldn’t have opened the door with her hair a mess, stickers all over her face and no makeup whatsoever.

Although he had to admit, she’d looked pretty darn cute standing at the door, blue eyes wide, lips parted….

As Catherine crossed through the living room on her way to the kitchen, she gave him a passing smile.

And when she was again out of hearing range, Ray turned back to Dan. “Where’d you meet her?”

“She used to be Jenny’s roommate.”

Dan’s sister, Jenny Walker, had left Brighton Valley after graduating from high school. She’d gone to college in the Midwest, majored in music or dance and moved to New York, where she’d done some singing and acting off-Broadway.

About eight or nine years ago, Jenny gave birth to twins, although she died when Kevin and Kaylee were in kindergarten. Dan and Eva adopted the kids and were now raising them, as well as their own younger set of twins.

“Catherine has come out a time or two to visit,” Dan added, “but she never stayed long. She’s an actress and a dancer, so she usually has a Broadway show of some kind going on.”

“Is that what she’s doing here now? Visiting the kids?”

“Actually, this time I’m not sure how long she’ll be with us. She broke up with some hot-shot producer back in New York and wanted to get away for a while. I don’t know all of the details, but it really doesn’t matter. She stepped up to the plate and helped me and the kids out when we really needed her, so I’m happy to return the favor now.”

Ray raked his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should have known you wouldn’t have invited me to come over with more than dinner on your mind.”

Dan studied him for a moment. “Is the matchmaking really that bad?”

He chuffed. “I can’t make it through a single day without someone trying to set me up with a single daughter, niece or neighbor. And that’s not counting the unmarried ladies who approach me on their own behalf.” Ray grumbled under his breath, wishing he’d stayed out of politics and had remained on his ranch full-time.