said none of you were too happy that he sold to me instead.”
“Mr. Blackhawk was exaggerating,” Shannon said, giving him a steady look. Ben and Tim had wanted the ranch badly. They’d pooled their money and borrowed from friends and family, but they’d come short of the asking price.
“So your visit here today has nothing to do with wanting to check out the man who bought this place from under your cousins’ noses? You’re not interested in trying to find out if I’ll turn right around and sell to them?”
“I’m here in my strictly professional capacity,” she answered tightly. “I already know some of the situation on this ranch. I can help. There are government grants available to you to help solve your water and grass problem.”
Luke’s jaw tightened. He leaned close, speaking slowly and clearly as if to insure there would be no misunderstanding. “Government money comes with government strings, Miss Kelleher, and no one is going to tell me how to run my ranch.”
She’d met this attitude before, but never quite so vehemently. She took a breath and tried to quell the anger that was simmering inside her. “I’m not, but there’s a unique opportunity here to do some good, to bring this place back to it’s natural state—”
“Which would probably be impossible with you government types stomping all over, sticking your noses into my business.”
“That’s not true. We only want to help.”
He stuck his face close to hers. “I’ve been on the receiving end of that kind of help before. I want no part of it.”
“You’re being completely unreasonable.” Frustrated, Shannon turned and gazed over his pasture. Her head spun again, and she widened her stance to maintain her balance. She closed her eyes for a moment until her head cleared.
Luke’s sharp gaze, didn’t miss her moment of weakness. His hand shot out to grasp her shoulder. “Is something wrong with you?”
“No,” she said testily, startled by his touch. “I’m fine.” She shrugged off his hand because it seemed to weigh as heavily as an anvil on her. She forced the dizziness back, and when it settled, she pointed across the field. “Look at that grass.”
“There’s plenty of it.”
“It’s brown and dry. No nutrition in it at all.”
“I can see that, but I have other fields.”
“How many cattle are you planning to run?”
“Not that it’s any of your business,” he answered in a harsh tone. “But I’ll probably start out with five hundred head.”
“Your other fields probably can’t support that. They’re not in much better shape than this one. This field was badly overgrazed by your good friend Gus Blackhawk,” she said, then could have bitten her tongue at the sharp words. She took a breath, lifted her chin and met his gaze. He was glaring at her. “It’s been standing idle for years, but the grass hasn’t come back. The deer and elk won’t even touch it. It needs serious, concentrated intervention to bring it back.”
“Which I can do on my own,” he insisted. “I told you already that I don’t need your help. What’s the point of owning a huge spread like this, having all this to run, to own, if I’m going to let you or anyone else come in and tell me what to do?”
His tone blew all her good intentions to the four winds. Shannon clapped her hands onto her hips. “You’re being impossibly stubborn! Take a look at this.” She bent to grab a handful of the dry grass to show him what she meant. She moved too quickly, though. Before she could prevent it, dizziness swirled through her, followed by blackness. With a soft groan, she folded up right at Luke Farraday’s boot tips.
CHAPTER TWO
“I HAVE to tell you, lady, this is a day for firsts. My first female scientist giving me my first lessons on how to run my place and the first time I’ve ever had a beautiful woman faint at my feet. If you welcome everyone to Tarrant County this way, it’s a wonder there’s been any growth in the population here at all.”
Shannon could barely hear Luke’s voice. It seemed to be coming from miles away. She knew she should have been able to hear him more clearly. After all, her head was against his chest as he carried her with one arm under her knees, the other across her back. She was not a small woman, but he had picked her up as if she weighed no more than a feather pillow.
Her head lolled, seeming to have found its own special resting place between his jaw and his collarbone. As tough as this man was, it should have felt like having her head caught in a vise. Instead, it felt snug, warm and welcoming. For a crazy instant, she fantasized that it was a spot fashioned especially for her. She knew the idea was outlandish and that as soon as she felt better, her sanity would return, but right now, she didn’t mind indulging in the fantasy—and in the comfort he offered.
Giddily, she decided that the best thing about being carried by him was the way he smelled, spicy, faintly sweaty yet all male. Not that she should even be noticing such things, what with her head still spinning, but somehow it soothed her. Her stomach had settled a bit, but she would be grateful to get out of the sun.
Seeming to read her mind, Luke carried her to someplace cool and dark. Shannon opened her eyes to see that he had brought her into the old line cabin she’d seen earlier. She noticed that it was a charming little place, built of sturdy timber, not the ramshackle shack she’d thought it to be. There was a wood-burning stove in one corner and two shuttered windows that could provide cross ventilation. There were two cots with rolled-up mattresses.
“You can lie down here for a minute,” Luke said as he stopped and set her on her feet. He wrapped one arm around her and leaned her against him as he unrolled one of the mattresses, then eased her down on it.
Before she could say anything, he turned and left. Shannon blinked at the ceiling as she wondered where he’d disappeared to. He came back a few minutes later carrying a canteen.
She reached for it, but he gave her a look and sat beside her. “I’ll hold it,” he said, slipping one arm under her to lift her as he held the canteen to her lips. His touch continued to be gentle, filling her with tenderness she couldn’t quite understand. As she drank, she looked in confusion to study his expression. His jaw was set as firmly as a bear trap, his eyes shadowed, but he treated her as carefully as he would a small child. Confused, she paused after one swallow.
He looked at her, his brows drawing together in a frown. “More,” he said in a gruff tone. “If you didn’t feel well, you shouldn’t have started out today with no water.”
“I have some . . . in the truck,” she said, dutifully drinking more water as he pressed the metal opening to her lips.
He grunted as if asking why she hadn’t brought it along with her to the creek. Given his bluntness, she didn’t know why he didn’t voice the question. When she was finished, he settled her onto the mattress, then stunned her by removing a clean handkerchief from his pocket, wetting it and bathing her face.
Casually, he reached for the buttons on her blouse.
Her hand fluttered up to stop him. “No,” she gasped. This was getting way more personal than she wanted it to be.
