Dream Chaser (12 page)

“Down, Sam,” Suzanna echoed, although the dog had already obeyed.
When she detected the scent of spice and clean adult male as he sat so near her, her heart tripped against her ribs.

Suzanna followed Jonat
han’s directions to the cabin. The
barely-visible
track to the place
hadn’t been used in a long while. Its
ruts rattled her teeth as they bounced along. She dared not look at
the rancher
sitting
next to her
, silent
.
You have to let me rent it
, she mentally chanted, willing him to hear her plea.

When she stopped next to the small building, he
opened the front door
.
Dust covers on the few pieces of furniture offered little protection from a field mouse invasion,
their
droppings evident
on the wooden floor
.
“See for yourself.
It’s rough …
hasn’t been used in a long time.” He went into the ki
tchen and, using a match, lit a
stove
burner
.
“H
m
m,
it
works,”
he muttered
.

She watched the play of his back and shoulder muscles
under
his shirt as he leaned down and lit the oven.

She checked out the bedroom. A
battered chest with a small mirror tacked to the wall sat opposite a double bed. The tiny bath held a shower and a commode with barely enough room to turn around. The door off the kitchen gave her a view of a small group of trees whose
pale green
leaves swiveled in the late spring breeze. Birds twittered nearby.

Jonathan pulled the dust covers from a couch and an upholstered chair. Squeaks from
ben
eath the cushions attracted Sam, who woofed at the skittering noises.
The dog
sneezed as he tried to get under the chair.
Jonathan
lift
ed the cushions to reveal a ne
st of field mice. “I doubt you’ll
want these
critter
s
staying
here.” He hauled the chair out to the porch and took the nest into the woods.

Suzanna laughed
, charmed by the overall look of the old-fashioned cabin. She imagined it as a shelter for a family of pioneers, maybe his relatives
. “At least they made themselves at home. Except for the dust, which I know how to take care of, this will work
just fine! I’d love to rent it
if you’ll do me the honor.”
It was rougher than she
’d
expected, but it was blessedly quiet and just the right size. She so wanted to be able to sit on the front porch and gaze at the distant peaks.

“Are you sure?”

Her smile
broadened
. “Absolutely.
I can see the mountains from the front porch and that darling little cluster of trees from the back where the birds are singing. It’s quiet here
. No
noisy neighbors.” She hoped her enthusiasm was infectious.
And it will give me the time and space I need to figure out what I want to do with my life.
It was perfect
.

“I’ll give you that.”
The man
seem
ed
bemused
as she waved her arms while exclaiming over the view
.
“
Not exactly like those fancy beach cottages.”

She laughed. “Why anyone would call a house with six bedrooms and four baths a cottage, I’ve never been able to figure. This is just what I was looking for.”

He glanced around the perimeter of the cottage then back at her, his expression serious, businesslike. “There’s some
thing you need to understand,” he cautioned as he headed for the Jeep.

“What’s that?” She turned toward him
, her heart in her throat
.
Please don’t tell me no.

“This is a working ranch
,
and my cattle pretty much have the run of the place. We don’t have a lot of fences. They may pay you a visit now and again.”

Suzanna frowned. “Will they
go after
my dog?”
she asked, the comments of the man at the museum coming to mind.

The grin that lit his face heated her to her toes.
“
Not
unless he gets between a cow
and her calf. More likely, he’
ll want to chase them, and I can’t allow that
. He’d
run the fat off them.
We shoot coyotes and wolves who try to run cows. I can’t promise my men would try to call him off before taking action.”

“Not a problem.
Sam’s a good dog. If I tell him
‘no,’ he won’t chase your cows. W
ill you, Sam
mie
?
” S
he scratched
the dog
behind the ears. He rubbed up against her knee.

Jonathan clutched his hat between his hands.
“When were you thinking of moving in?”

“Is an hour too soon? I need to check out of the motel and pick up a few things.”

“Whenever you wish. After you’
re settled, come up to the house, and we’ll talk about the rent. I’ll
make sure
my men don’t bother you.”

“
Terrific.” She was tempted
to give him a hug of thanks, but
didn’t dare
get that close.
Instead, she shook his hand enthusiastically.

“Any chance you might drive me back to the house
, Mrs. Wallace
?” he asked, as she
limp
ed around the side of the cabin,
commenting
to herself
about
the different vistas.

“Oh
, of course. And, please c
all me Suzanna. After a
ll, we’re neighbors … again.”

He glanced at her, his blue eyes twinkling,
as the Jeep bounced over the ruts in the road and back to the ranch house. He grabbed the side window to avoid bumping her shoulder as she swung the Jeep wide
around
a deep rut.

When she stopped the
Wrangler
in front of the
ranch house, she turned to him, thinking
Margaret would want to know, certain she needed to know, too.
“I have
another
question, Mr. Kingsley.”

He halted halfway up the steps.
“
Jonathan. What is it
?”

“Have you ever been a school
teacher?”

“No.”

“I didn
’t think so.” Sh
e
beamed, relieved and at the same time excited that her nearest neighbor was someone she’d never call boring. She imagined Margaret laughing and slapping her sides.

“She seems like a nice person.
”
Nate interrupted Jonathan as he tried
to concentrate on the
numbers in front of him. “N
ot afraid of a little work,
from the way you said the old place looks
.”

“H
m
m?”
Jonathan looked up from the spreadsheet. “Oh. A
nd, no time
to get it
clean
ed up
. She sa
id she would be back in an hour.
I figure she’ll get tired of being out there all by herself and take off
as soon as she stops limping
.”
Or come back to the main house. Why did she turn me down?

“Maybe not
.”

“She’s a city woman,
not all that used to hard work.” Jonathan leaned back in his chair,
seeing her long fingers and the graceful way they floated in the air when she was exclaiming over the view. He glanced back
at
Nate
. Maybe he should have
him
bring more furniture down
, see if she was all right
.

Nate rubbed the top of his head.
“She struck me as a stayer.”

“What gives you that impression?”

“Didn’t she get you to show it to her?”
He grinned.

“You heard us talking.”

“You
know how
voices carry.
”
Nate
smirk
ed. “And she convince
d you to let her rent it.
”

Jonathan nodded.

“I rest my case. The champion negotiator
just got snoo
k
ered by a woman. How many other women
have got you to say yes when you didn’t want to
? A bunch of dust isn’t going to chase that one off if it’
s where she wants to be.” T
he old man chuckled.

Jonathan
turned back to
his calculations
, not wanting to discuss it
. “
Nate
, I
have to get this done …
”

H
e
placed
a ten dollar bill on
Jonathan’s
desk.
“
I’m bettin’ sh
e asks to stay the whole summer.”

“Keep your money,
I don’t want to rob you. She said a few
days, maybe ten at the most.
I doubt she’ll last more than
two weeks
.” But
something about her made him think
it might be nice if she
stayed longer
.
Maybe her being on the ranch, if not at the house, would give him a chance to get to know her better. She’d piqued his curiosity with her insistence on staying at the cabin when he knew she’d be more comfortable at the house.

“
We’ll see
.”
Nate
turned to leave.
“
You can
hold
my bill
till it’s time to pay up
.”

Jonathan
glanc
ed
at his manager. “You think you’re going to win this bet?
”

“That lady isn’
t like the other women who’ve been around here.
’
Cept for Christine, and your daughter could always get you to do what she wanted.”

“
Nate
, enough, I have to get back to work.” He didn’t want to compare this tenant to the
few times
he’d invited
women
to the ranch
after Chelsea had left
.

“Sure thing.”
Nate
turned back to his boss. “I’ll collect my money and your match when she pays the rent and says she wants to stay longer than a month.” He shut the door.

Later that afternoon, t
he door
of the post office
banged open, alerting Abigail to a customer.
Jonathan
strode in, filling the small space
.

“Hey, Jonathan.
Come for the mail instead of sending that red-h
ead
ed Caleb, who
never
says more than two words
?
Sorta like old Calvin Coolidge that your papa always talked about,
” she quipped.

“You’re right on one count.
You can give me
the mail. Care if I speak my mind, Abby?”

“Since when have you been one to hold back?”

“
Why
did
you t
ell
M
r
s. Wallace to ask me about
renting the cabin?” Jonathan placed
his hat on the counter
and ran one hand through his hair
.

“Well, let’s see. She needed a place to stay, and it seemed like it might work. And
you a
ren’t using it for anything special
, far as I know
.”

“Uh-
huh. You kno
w why it hasn’t been used since …
after the
kids stopped using it as a play
house.”

“Well, that’s true.
But I thought it was time.
”

“Time
f
or what, Abby?”
His tone took on an edge that made her fidget.