The Cattle Drive [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (23 page)

She found them near the herd giving instructions to the first night crew.

“Michael,” she said as she approached. He turned and saw her walking toward him. Dismounting Jasper, he head toward her.

God, he loved the way she looked. Even with the Texas sun on her face illuminating a nice golden glow around her, she was a beautiful sight after a long, hard day. She was worn down to the bone. Her hair was tussled, and she looked plum exhausted. The closer he got, he saw the frustration in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“We only traveled nine miles today,” she said, looking at Michael, who quickly did the math in his head. Realizing that at this rate it would be almost six months before they reached Montana, he knew this wasn’t good. Knowing this was the wrong way to start the drive, he relaxed himself quickly and asked, “Did you double-check the math?”

“Yes, I know how to add, Michael,” she said, annoyed.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, I was just asking,” he said, pulling her closer to him in the hopes he could calm her down.

“I am not wearing panties,” she said, relaxing in his embrace.

“Well then!” Michael said with a raised eyebrow. Rachael quickly slapped his chest. “Please be serious. What are we going to do?”

“All right, Mrs. Mason. If you calm down, I will help you look over the maps to see if we can find a quicker route,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

“Michael, this is the quickest route,” she said softly.

“Rachael, today was only the first day. The guys are getting used to the drive. Let’s see how tomorrow goes before we make any decisions, okay?” he said, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at him and smiled. As she turned to walk away, Michael walked back over to Kenny and the crew and continued his instructions for the night.

Rachael walked back into her tent and collapsed onto the air mattress, soon falling asleep. That night she did not dream. She slept out of pure exhaustion, waking the next morning refreshed and completely relaxed.

* * * *

The cattle drive was going smoothly, and by morning on the third day, the herd had made it to Eden, Texas. This was going to be the first real test of this drive, and Rachael knew it, because within the hour, they were going to be making their first river crossing. They had reached the Colorado River.

Moving the herd, the cowboys made everything look easy as they all headed for the fresh water source.

“Hey, boss lady!” Kenny yelled, coming up fast behind her.

Rachael turned in her saddle and yelled, “Yeah.”

“Just got word we can’t cross near Eden. They had a bad storm the other night, and the river has yet to crest. We are going to have to find another place to cross,” he said, slowing next to her.

“Are you serious?” she sighed, tipping her hat back off of her head.

“Sorry, boss lady.”

“Have you told Michael yet?”

“No, he is about a half mile ahead, steering the herd.”

Rachael grabbed her walkie-talkie and quickly pressed the button.

“Michael.”

“Jake wanted me to give you this,” Kenny said as he handed her Michael’s walkie-talkie.

“Shit!” she muttered, kicking her horse into a fun run, with Kenny on her heels. Running fast through the grass, Rachael was trying hard to get to Michael before he hit the river.

Flying past the herd, she was coming down off the ridge at full speed and saw that Michael and Matthew were turning the herd hard and fast to the left. Soon all hands were yelling and whistling in a hard effort to change the direction of the herd.

As they continued, Rachael saw Jimmie, Henry, and Marcus coming in from the west, and with a loud, sharp whistle, Henry motioned and quickly turned around heading in the direction he came, leading the herd to a safe place to cross.

The herd crossed the Colorado River close to sundown, Michael taking control, with Henry and Marcus leading the way. Rachael didn’t have time or the patience to confront Michael, and when all was settled and bedded down for the night, he walked into her tent to find a ball of fury waiting for him.

* * * *

Michael walked into her tent to find the devil herself waiting on him. He stopped dead in his tracks, and she turned with a venomous stare.

“Are you just plumb crazy!” she yelled. “We have to have communication on this drive. But no…you go and take off without your walkie-talkie. This is not your cattle drive, Michael. You do not have your ass on the line if this thing fails.”

“Rachael…” he tried to say.

“I’m not done talking yet,” she vented. “How dare you scare me like that? I thought the worst, Michael. Damn you for scaring me like that. I refuse to have you go half-cocked around here. You will obey the rules, or I will have your ass packed out here. Is that clear?”

He stood there quietly as she released all her frustration out on him, never saying a word. He tried his damnedest not to smile, but she looked so damn adorable. Her eyes flamed, and when she reprimanded him, all he could think of was taking that ball of pent-up fury to bed. He toyed with the idea of trying to tame the wild woman before him and quickly decided that he could not change a single thing about her.

What was it that had him so enamored with her?

She wasn’t the type of woman that he normally found himself drawn to, but there was just something about this little pint-sized woman that had his heart beating faster and the blood in his veins reaching their boiling point. Whenever she was around, he lost all train of thought, his mind started wandering, his breathing increased, and his loins always jumped to attention.

As his mind continued to wander, she moved closer to him and jabbed her finger into his chest. “I said is that clear!” she shouted.

Michael couldn’t hold it in any longer. When the smile came across his face, her eyes grew wider, and if he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn he saw the flames of hell ignite within them.

“You’re smiling! You think this is funny!
Get out
!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Michael slowly put his hat back on his head and left her, walking out under the stars to a bunch of snickering, laughing men.

“She sure told you, boss!” one ranch hand said, and soon everyone was laughing.

“Damn, Mikie! Do you have any nuts left?” Mark said, laughing.

“Yeah, don’t forget that leash, Mikie! Boss lady likes you on a tight rein.” Matthew laughed.

“Shut the hell up!” Michael laughed and shrugged his shoulders, and he walked over to his tent and tried to get some sleep. He laid there smiling at what happened. He knew she was right to be concerned, but damn, she chewed his ass up one side and down the other. What amused him the most was that he let her. He allowed her to chastise him like a small boy. Laughing once again remembering the look upon her face, he knew at that moment that he was in love with her. Michael was truly and hopelessly in love with Rachael Mason.

The thought of being in love began to scare the hell out of him. He had always liked women, but he had never been in love with them. He loved his son, his brothers, and his mother, but this was different. This was something so much more.

At the age of thirty-six, Michael had come to the realization that he was destined to stay a bachelor. Then without even thinking or expecting, she blazed into his life, bringing chaos and turmoil. Nothing was ever as it seemed when Rachael was around. He knew that she was an independent and determined woman who was capable of doing almost anything she put her mind to. She was headstrong and obstinate. She wanted everything her way or not at all. But there was another side she rarely showed, a softness that would melt the hardest of men. A gentle hand that could calm an angry bull and a loving nature that could draw bees to honey, she was everything he thought he wasn’t looking for all wrapped up into one pistol-wearing fireball.

Lying on his bedroll thinking of her, he soon fell asleep.

* * * *

Michael woke the next morning to find her nestled close to him. Her arm was sprawled out across his chest, as her legs were intertwined with his. Michael had never been so vehemently chastised one minute and felt needed the next. He enjoyed waking up with her in his arms. It felt natural, like a perfect puzzle piece that was made just for him. His whole life he had devoted himself to his son, and now he found himself wanting to care for her. Though he knew she didn’t need anyone to care for her, he just wanted to fit somewhere within her puzzle. And what a complex puzzle she was. A woman who could go from zero to sixty in one minute, hell-bent on having everything her way. She was tenacious, pigheaded, and fought better than any of his brothers. Rachael could be your best friend or your worst enemy. She was gentle, with a giving heart. A lover until the end, devoted to those she cared about and to hell with the rest. Rachael had it all.

He loved the way she moved as she slept next to him, always trying to get closer. Her fingers slowly moved, as if she were trying to tickle him. She would shift her hips until she was pressed up against him, and when he would tighten his hold on her, she would smile.

Michael just lay there, holding her closely.

The sun was coming up, and Michael heard the camp start to come to life. He could smell the coffee brewing, and as he tried to pry himself out from under her, she moaned. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, trying unsuccessfully to get off the air mattress. He managed to remove her arm from his chest, but as he went for her leg, he heard her giggle, and she grabbed him, bringing him back into the bed with her.

“I guess the argument is over,” he said, kissing her.

“Hum…” she said, still half-asleep. Michael wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, breathing in the soft scent of fresh morning dew all around her. Closing his eyes, he relished the few moments of privacy with her.

“I love you,” she whispered in her sleep, tightening her arms around him. Michael slowly opened his eyes and let out a long, deep breath. He just lay there with her in his arms, wondering what he was going to do now. He so desperately wanted to utter those same words to her, but something stopped him. He just couldn’t say the words.

Michael quietly got up and quickly dressed himself, leaving her there alone to sleep. He walked over to the chow wagon, where Jake was already dishing out breakfast for the guys.

“Mornin’, boss,” the man in his late fifties said, handing him a cup of coffee.

“Morning, Jake,” Michael said, trying a warm smile unsuccessfully.

“Boss lady still sleeping?”

“Yeah, let her sleep.”

“Okay.”

Michael walked over to the campfire and sat down next to Kenny and Mitchell. Everyone quietly ate and drank their coffee. As the men started to file out, heading for their horses, Michael just sat there staring off into space and thinking of those small three words that she uttered to him.

He knew for Rachael to say those words, she meant them with everything within her. Though he would give anything to rewind time just for ten minutes and repeat those same words to her, he couldn’t do it. His heart was aching to repeat the same sentiment, but his mind was telling him now was not the time. He knew he needed to see this drive completed and make sure she didn’t lose her ranch. Coming to the conclusion that his mind was right, he hoped that would make him feel better, but it didn’t. He knew that he had missed the perfect opportunity to say what he truly felt, and now the moment was gone.

Cursing himself, he stood and handed his plate to Jake.

“Let’s get the boys moving, Mitch. Get ’em loaded up, and let’s get the herd moving,” Michael yelled, frustrated, putting his hat on his head and storming away.

“What about Boss lady? You want me to wake her?” Kenny yelled after him.

Michael stopped and turned, looking back at his tent. “Let her sleep,” Michael said, mounting Jasper and riding off to catch up with the guys.

“What’s up with him?” Jake asked Kenny, who just shrugged his shoulders.

It was almost noon as the drive continued on toward the northwest, when Michael felt the vibration on his hip. Grabbing his cell phone, he looked at the caller ID. Noticing the number, he turned Jasper off in another direction and out of earshot before he answered.

“What the hell do you want?”

“I want to talk to you,” the gruff voice bellowed through the phone.

“I’m busy.”

“I know. How’s the cattle drive going?”

“What do you want?”

“I want what’s rightfully mine.”

“Over my lifeless dead body,” Michael said, getting ready to snap. He didn’t need any of this crap. He already had enough on his mind.

“Give me Henry, and I will forget about everything.”

“Go to hell,” Michael said, laughing sinisterly into the phone.

“Watch that tone, boy. I am still your father. You will show me respect,” his father yelled into the phone.

“Right,” Michael said before hanging up the phone and throwing it out into range ahead of him. He sat there for several minutes trying to curb the anger that was radiating through his body. This was not what he needed right know. Already fighting the urge to return to camp and talk with Rachael, he really didn’t need to hear his father’s demanding voice vibrating through his mind.