faint floral scent as she leaned closer to lower the bowl before she moved away. He felt his muscles tighten and he had to restrain the urge to watch the sway of her hips encased in faded jeans. She wore a sweater with a high neck, her hair a spill of silvery blond against the bright red wool. She was covered from head to toe in boots, jeans and wool sweater yet she drew his attention like a magnet.
“Careful, the bowl’s hot,” she commented before she returned to her seat across the table.
They ate in silence, emptying their bowls and the plate of corn bread. Pete carried his china and utensils to the sink and returned with a thermal carafe of coffee, gnarled fingers holding the handles of four mugs. He poured and passed around filled mugs without saying a word.
“Thanks.” Cade sipped his coffee and leaned back in the wooden chair. “Suppose you all bring me up-to-date on what’s been happening here.” He glanced around the table. “Who’s in charge of the cattle?”
“I guess that would be me,” Pete said in his gravelly voice. “Though we all pitch in with fixing fences or moving a herd when necessary.”
“How many cow-calf pairs was Dad running? How many steers? And how many did you lose over the winter?”
Pete quoted numbers that surprised Cade. “That’s more cattle than I’d expected, especially with just three full-time hands.”
“Two full-time hands,” Pete corrected him. “Mariah only works here part-time.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed over the slender female. She met his gaze without comment. He couldn’t help wondering why Joseph had left a valuable house to a part-time employee. Cynicism told him there had to be a reason and more than likely, the answer wouldn’t make him happy or reflect favorably on the pretty blonde. He shifted in his seat, annoyed that he was attracted to the woman who may have conned and used his father.
“And Mariah is most likely the reason we’ve got such a low loss rate,” Pete said with pride. “She keeps track of the baby calves and makes sure they survive the first few weeks. She usually ropes J.T. into helping her so I guess he deserves some of the credit, too.”
“My thanks to you both.” Cade’s words only brought a nod of acceptance from Mariah but the teenager shifted in his seat, faint streaks of red marking his cheekbones, clearly uncomfortable with both Pete’s praise and Cade’s thanks.
“What about other livestock?” Cade queried.
“There’s not much,” Pete told him. “A few saddle horses, a mule or two, and some chickens Joseph kept for the eggs.”
Cade considered the news. “So what you’re telling me is that the ranch is running cattle, but not much else?”
Pete exchanged glances with Mariah and J.T., then nodded.
“What about field crops? I noticed alfalfa bales stacked and tarped in the flat next to the creek this afternoon. Was Dad planting oats or rye in the fields bordering the highway?”
“Joseph stopped planting anything but alfalfa several years ago,” Pete told him. “Said he just couldn’t keep up with the work and he’d rather raise cattle.”
Cade wondered how long the old man had been sick but didn’t ask. “And the Kigers? Are they still on Tunk Mountain?”
Pete, J.T. and Mariah all wore identical expressions of blank confusion.
“The Kigers?” J.T. repeated, stressing the last word rhyming with tiger as if the word were part of a foreign language. “What are Kigers?”
“Mustangs,” Cade said. “My mother bred and raised them.”
Pete shrugged. “I never heard Joseph mention them. Ain’t never been to Tunk Mountain, either. We kept the cattle closer to home.” He frowned. “Don’t remember chasing cattle on Tunk Mountain for roundup, either, come to think of it.” His shrewd blue eyes fixed on Cade. “If Joseph had a herd of horses on the mountain, he kept it a secret.”
Cade shrugged. “Maybe he sold them years ago.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, boss,” Pete began, “we were wondering what plans you have for the Triple C?”
“I’ll try to hold it together and pay the bills until my brothers are located and can get here,” he said brusquely, his tone grim. He hadn’t missed the tension that instantly gripped all three when Pete asked his question. He wasn’t going to lie or sugarcoat the truth. They’d stayed on the ranch without wages when they could have sought work elsewhere and they deserved nothing less than his honesty. “From what the attorney told me about the ranch’s financial situation, that won’t be easy.”
“And what happens when your brothers arrive?” Mariah asked.
“I guess we’ll decide if we’re going to sell out or try to hold the Triple C permanently.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s been a long day. I think I’ll check on Jiggs and head up to the house.”
“If Jiggs is the black, I fed and watered him, then put him in a stall in the barn,” J.T. told him. “He’s not a quarterhorse, is he?”
“He’s Andalusian,” Cade explained. “I brought him home with me from Spain.” The look on the kid’s face told Cade that he was burning to ask questions, probably lots of questions, but Cade wasn’t in the mood to give him answers. He shoved back his chair and stood, carrying his bowl and utensils to the sink before recrossing the room to collect his hat and coat.
“The attorney told me the estate hasn’t paid salaries since the old man died,” Cade said as he shrugged into his coat. “I’ll have to look at the books before paying you whatever salary you’re owed but if anyone needs an advance for the next few days, I have cash.”
Relief lit the two men’s expressions.
“I’m almost out of pipe tobacco. I could use fifty,” Pete told him.
“Me, too,” J.T. added.
“I can wait until you’ve had time to review the payroll accounts,” Mariah said. “They’re on Joseph’s desk in his office.”
Cade nodded and took out his wallet, counting out bills before handing them to Pete and J.T.
“Who’s been doing the bookkeeping?” he asked, sweeping a glance over the three.
“Mariah,” Pete answered, gesturing at her. “She’s better at math than I am.”
“Better than me, too,” J.T. put in.
Mariah tucked her hair behind her ear and didn’t comment. Cade’s face had tightened at the other men’s comments and she didn’t have to be a mind reader to guess that her new boss wasn’t happy she’d been the one keeping track of the ranch’s financial records.
“Come up to the house tomorrow morning,” Cade told her. “You can explain the system to me.”
“I’m at the café until eleven but I should be home by noon.”
He frowned. “You’re eating breakfast in town?”
“No,
