The Rancher (3 page)

Her body still tingled in
remembrance of his touch and that little voice in her head was
whispering she could have it again. That her desire for him could
be sated night after night. She refused to listen. She couldn’t get
involved with him. Ever. Regardless of how much she wanted to.

She rode under the curved arch
leaving Avery Ranch and she couldn’t stop from turning her head,
peering over her shoulder to where she'd left Holden standing.

He was still watching her.

* * * *

Laurel was clean out of sight
before Holden turned toward the house. He could see Alex sitting on
the steps, her elbows propped on her knees and knew, regardless of
what he said, she would fight him until she was blue in the
face.

He walked back to the fence,
grabbed his shirt and slipped it on, smiling to himself as he
buttoned it. After four weeks of wondering, in one afternoon he'd
not only found the temptress he couldn't seem to forget but he also
learned her name was Laurel and where she lived. Right here in
Willow Creek of all places. His heart gave a powerful thump with
the newfound knowledge.

Many a night he'd lain awake
thinking of her. Wondering if he'd ever see her again. Wishing he'd
done things a bit different all those weeks ago. He would have
taken his time, for one, forgoing sleep entirely to spend one more
hour looking at her. Touching her. Tasting her kisses and savoring
those little noises she made as they lay skin to skin. He hadn't
even minded she didn't want to know his name and refused to tell
him hers. At the time, he'd been without a woman for so long, he
hadn't cared. Not until later, when he was halfway home and
couldn't stop thinking about her. It's why he'd turned around and
went back. He hadn't wanted to let her go. He'd wanted her to the
point his body ached with it. A shiver raced up his spine again as
he remembered their night together.

He started for the house, his
gaze locked on Alex and wondered what she'd done at school. He knew
she was rowdy but he'd never had any of her previous teachers tell
him she was unruly and the fact Laurel did, left him feeling
uncomfortable.

He hadn't told her he had a
daughter, she hadn't wanted to know anything about him, and now
that she knew, he wondered what she thought about it.

His mind drifted further and
further toward Laurel as he approached the house and he mentally
berated himself for not taking the time to meet the towns new
teacher when she arrived. Four wasted weeks had gone by with Laurel
in town and by the time he made it into the yard he knew, half the
men in the surrounding area had probably seen Laurel. He'd have to
fight them off with a stick to keep them from trying to court
her.

She was the finest looking woman
he'd seen in ages and with women being a scarce thing in this area,
she'd have suitors lined up the length of town asking for her hand
in marriage. The whole idea left a bad taste in his mouth. He
couldn't imagine her with someone else. He wouldn't. As far as he
was concerned, Laurel Montgomery was his. He'd make her want him
like he wanted her, even if he had to tame his hellion of a
daughter to do so.

Alex glared at him when he
stopped at the steps. The frown on her face said it all. She wasn't
going to be cowed by him or anyone. He sighed and readjusted his
hat. "Have you been giving the new school teacher a hard time?"

She rolled her eyes. "She's too
uppity, pa. Makes us say please and thank you for everything."

"That's just good manners, Alex,
not being uppity."

"Same difference." She stood up,
stared him in the eye, and braced her hands on her hips. "She said
we can't spit, we can't say anything mean to anyone or tease them
and we have to act like perfect ladies and gentlemen at all
times."

"There's nothing wrong with
that."

Her eyes widen. "I'm ten. Why I
got to act like a lady?"

Holden laughed and walked up the
steps to where she was and sat, pulling her down beside of him and
looked out toward the road Laurel had left on. "Thing is, Alex, as
much as I'd like to keep you with me until I'm old and gray, there
will be a time when you have to make a life for yourself. You'll
want a family of your own."

She gasped. "I ain't gettin'
married!"

"So you say." Holden grinned and
ignored her outrage. "You'll find a man who will love you, even
with you spitting and cussing and beating him up once a week, but
finding him will be easier if you look and act like a lady."

Alex sighed. "You're gonna make
me dress like a girl, ain't ya?"

Holden wrapped his arm around
her shoulder and squeezed her to him. "You knew it would happen
someday, Alex." He placed a kiss to the top of her head. "With Miss
Montgomery new to town, I have to do what I can to make sure she
doesn't run off like the last teacher did. They're too hard to come
by way out here." Not that he'd ever let Laurel leave now that he'd
found her again. He intended to keep her whether she liked the idea
or not. He smiled at the thought. "Besides," he said, "she seemed
pretty nice to me. I think if you start behaving, you'll see she
isn't as bad as you think she is. You might even like her given
enough time."

His daughter turned her head and
looked up at him, her eyes narrowed a fraction. "What I got to like
her for?"

"I didn't say you had to."
Holden raised a hand and scratched his jaw. Alex was still staring
up at him and he smiled before giving her a wink. "Just don't
dislike her because she makes you do things you don't want to
do."

"Did you like her?"

Holden's face heated and he
hoped it didn't show. "Well, she can be a bit rude and comes off
brash but I think she was just being that way because she was
working. I figure she's quite nice when she don't have her teachers
hat on."

Alex squinted at him, her mouth
forming a straight, hard line. "Don't you go getting sweet on her,
pa. I can tell by the look in your eyes you liked her."

The heat on his face increased,
traveled to his neck and landed around his heart. "What if she was
sweet on me, instead?"

A horrified expression covered
her face, her eyes widening. "Having her for my teacher is bad
enough. I don't ever want to see her at my house again. Don't you
dare get any ideas of courtin' her, pa. I won't have it."

Ideas of doing that very thing
flitted through his mind but he didn't say as much. He left Alex
there on the porch after giving her extra chores for misbehaving at
school and walked back to the pasture, his thoughts on Laurel and
what the other men in town would do once they got a look at her. He
saw them lining up at her door, flowers in hand and slobbery smiles
on their faces. His heart thumped harder the more the scene
materialized in his mind's eye. One would have to be a complete
fool to pass up a chance to court her and every man in town would
be fighting for her hand once they got a good look at her.

Stopping by the fence he was
repairing, he turned to look toward the road. Laurel was a sight
for sore eyes and heaven knew he hadn't seen anything so pleasing
since his brothers all showed up with their new wives on their
arms. It was his turn. He wasn't the superstitious sort but having
Laurel show up in Willow Creek couldn't be anything but fate. He
was meant to have her and he would. He'd waited too damn long as it
was and Alex might be against the idea but he couldn’t stop
thinking about it. One way or another, Laurel Montgomery would be
his wife and he didn't have time to waste making it happen. He'd
have to act fast and wondered how long he should wait before
letting his intentions to court her be known.

Chapter Two

He wouldn't court that woman if
she was the last available one in all of Montana.

Holden barely refrained from
yelling, biting his tongue instead as Laurel gave him a
disapproving look and talked down to him as if he was one of her
unruly pupils.

He'd thought showing up early to
pick up Alex, and have a chance to talk with Laurel was a good idea
until she began berating him for disturbing her class, giving Alex
ample excuse to act up and get away with it. Having to agree to
allow Alex to be detained after school for her behavior was nearly
too much, especially when his daughter glared at him nonstop.

"She can't hit people the way
she does, regardless of what is said."

He blinked when he realized she
was still talking. "What?"

She sighed and crossed her arms
under her breasts. "Have you not heard a word I've said?"

In truth, he hadn't. Well, not
much, anyway. He was too busy admiring her small waist and the way
the yellow fabric of her dress made her whiskey colored eyes shine
more brightly. The way her dark hair curled around her face,
drawing his attention to lips so plump they just begged to be
kissed.

And how much she apparently
loathed the sight of him regardless of the way she'd acted back in
Missoula. The look in her eyes told him that much. She wasn't happy
to see him at all. "I heard most of it," he lied. He glanced over
her shoulder, peering into the schoolhouse and watched Alex wash
the blackboard, fury evident on her face. He locked eyes with
Laurel again, saw the disregard she had for him, and the anger he
felt chased all thoughts of wanting her away and told him to just
leave. To let her be and his desire for her would diminish. "I've
got a few things to take care of in town. I'll be back for Alex in
a little bit."

He turned and left Laurel
standing there, gape-mouthed. She wasn't through berating him,
apparently. He ignored her exasperated gasp and the repeated use of
his name and walked downs the steps, exited the schoolyard and was
headed toward the saloon at a fast clip. He needed a drink.

The Diamond Back Saloon was
fairly active for a Monday. The noise inside was filled with men
cussing and the occasional hoot of laughter. Holden wondered why
there were so many people milling about so early in the day. He
didn't have to guess long. The words, Laurel and pretty little
thing, reached him before he'd made it to the bar.

"Afternoon, Holden. What's it
going to be?"

He nodded his head at Vern, the
bartender, and ordered whiskey. The glass was sat in front of him
and he stood there staring at the amber liquid debating on drinking
it. The stuff Vern sold was bad on the worst of days and downing
the stuff was done with courage and puffed up pride. None of which
he had today. Laurel had taken that from him the moment she set
eyes on him.

"She got to you too, didn't
she?"

Turning to look down the bar,
Holden watched the men as they laughed. "She who?"

"The new schoolmarm.
Laurel
Montgomery
."

He tried not to react but
something on his face must have given him away. The men laughed
again, raised their glasses before hooting and hollering and
swilled their liquor before asking for another.

"She's a piece of work, I hear,"
Vern said as he refilled their glasses. "Mean and spiteful." He
turned to look at him once he'd finished. "One would think a woman
that fetching would have a sweet sort of disposition but I'm not
sure she has it in her. She's just plain mean."

He smiled. "So it wasn't just
me?"

The laughter returned. "No.
She's a right ornery woman from what I've heard. Doesn’t take too
kindly to men, either." Vern grinned and nodded toward Ben Atwater.
"What was it she said to you, Ben?"

Ben belched and tossed back his
drink before turning to look down the bar. "She said I was a foul
smelling sot and I should go drink off my stupor." He scowled and
banged his glass on the top of the bar. "Wouldn't even take the
flowers I found on the side of the road." He snorted. "As if I'd
want to court a woman who was offended I drink. Why, she's too
opinionated to ever get a husband, let alone keep one. It's
probably why she's here! She's just a bitter old spinster no one
wanted."

The gaggle of men inside the bar
comforted Ben, telling him how wrong the schoolmarm was and Holden
smiled as he listened to them. He wasn't about to agree. For all
Laurel's faults, she was at least honest. Ben Atwater
was
the biggest drunk from here to Missoula.

His confrontation with Laurel
was still fresh on his mind. He wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong,
or what caused her to be so cross with him. He'd waited until the
children were dismissed and were gathering their things before
approaching her and the flower he'd picked up by the fence hadn't
made her eyes sparkle like he thought it would. It had infuriated
her. She'd torn into him immediately, giving the kids ample time to
start misbehaving, Alex being the one to instigate it all, and
within minutes, he'd been scolded and put in his place, all his
hopes of courting, and then making Laurel his wife, dashed in an
instant.

She apparently hated him.

It took him near half an hour to
finish his drink, the laughter and the rude comments about Laurel
remained the topic of conversation. Holden checked the time and
said his goodbyes, laughing as the men continued to debate Laurel's
less than appealing attributes and he almost wished he didn't have
to face her again. As much as she heated his blood and made him
think things he shouldn't about her, the venom she spouted was
disheartening.