time.”
“I’ll do it myself.”
“So you said.” Shannon twisted to look at him. Their eyes met, and she was temporarily distracted when she noticed that his eyes had flecks of gold in them, which only added to their unique appearance. She forced her mind on track. “I’m sure you’ll try to do what you can here, but you need an expert. You need me.”
He set his jaw, and his eyes raked over her. “I have to wonder why this is so important to you.”
“It’s my job.”
“Is that all? Or could it be because it’ll enhance your reputation if you can do what that guy who called last week couldn’t do?”
Stung partly because it was true, she turned. “Of course not.”
He gave another one of those dry laughs. “Can it, Miss Kelleher. I’ve already said no.”
Shannon’s mouth tightened. “I heard you.”
“But you don’t listen very well.”
She ignored that “Do you know the history of this ranch?”
“As much as I need to know.”
His tone discouraged discussion, but she forged ahead anyway. She could be stubborn, too. “The Crescent Ranch is one of the last intact spreads in this area. It was homesteaded at the turn of the century by the Crescent family. The last member, Millard, built the fancy rock ranch house but should have put some of that money back into range management and improvement. He didn’t, though, and lost the place during the Depression. It’s had half a dozen different owners since then, until Gus Blackhawk bought it about thirty years ago. Some people say he bought it for his son, Garrett, but Garrett didn’t want it, so it’s been leased since then. I guess old Gus thought his son would change his mind someday and come back to live here.”
“Thanks for the update on local gossip,” Luke said.
“Sorry,” she answered, miffed. “I just thought you’d be interested in the past so you’d know what to avoid in the future.”
“I already know what to avoid. Interference.”
“So you said.”
“Just keep in mind how impossibly stubborn I am.”
She winced at having her words thrown back at her. “I shouldn’t have said that. I apologize.”
“Why apologize?” he asked with a shrug. “It’s the truth.”
Shannon gave up and made no further attempts at conversation as they rode across the range. Looking around, she felt sad at the knowledge that this ranch would never be returned to the lush vegetation it had once known.
When they reached the barn, Luke dismounted and helped her down. “Are you all right to drive back to town?”
“Yes.” She was worn-out, but she couldn’t admit it. Maybe her time with him had made her as stubborn as he was.
As if he didn’t believe her, Luke grasped her chin. Tilting her head, he looked into her eyes as if checking her pupils. Shannon’s gaze flew to meet his. “I’m fine,” she said.
Luke didn’t release her jaw. Instead his touch lingered. His eyes studied her face. One corner of his mouth tilted upward, but it wasn’t a smile. “Beautiful,” he said, his voice rough. “You’re too damned beautiful.”
The way he said it was an insult. Shannon snapped her head out of his grasp and nearly sent herself into another swoon. She turned, plucked the keys from her pocket and scrabbled for the truck’s door handle. He was there ahead of her.
“You’re in no shape to do this.” He rapped the words out. “I’ll drive you back to town.”
“Absolutely not,” she responded, her eyes flashing as she turned to him. “You’ve done quite enough.”
“No, I haven’t.” He snagged the keys from her hand. “I’ll be right back.”
Shannon watched in impotent fury as he took the horses to the barn, unsaddled them and turned them into the corral. She wanted to run after him and demand the return of the keys. Unfortunately, he was right. She was in no shape to drive or to go tearing around after him.
But he didn’t have to be so high-handed about it.
Accepting defeat, she climbed into the truck and sat behind the wheel, arms folded and lips drawn into an angry line as she waited for him to return with the keys. He was back within a few minutes and didn’t even pause when he saw her. He scooted her aside and took her place behind the steering wheel.
“I guess it won’t do any good to point out that this vehicle belongs to the agency and only its employees are allowed to drive it?” she asked.
“You’re right. It won’t do any good at all. Fasten your seat belt.”
“How will you get home?”
Luke stuck his right thumb in the air. “I’ll hitchhike.”
Shannon turned in her seat to examine his grim profile, the hard set of his jaw. With his face shadowed beneath the brim of his black hat, he reminded her of a gunslinger of the old west. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “There’ll be any number of people willing to pick you up.”
“I bet you’d be surprised.”
“Not today,” she said wearily. “Nothing about you would surprise me.”
He stopped at the highway to wait for traffic and shaved a look in her direction. “You don’t have this whole diplomacy thing down too firmly, do you, Miss Kelleher?”
“I thought I did until I met you, Mr. Farraday.”
That brought another of those gritty laughs.
Shannon didn’t respond. She wasn’t accustomed to feeling unsettled, infuriated and powerless all at the same time. She’d never been around any man who was so determined to have his own way, who was so convinced his own way was right.
Turning her head, she stared at the scenery they passed. Cattle grazing in the lush grass in a field belonging to the McAdam family gave way to a field of prairie flax waving its lavender blossoms in the breeze. Two years ago, their fields had been as badly overgrazed as Luke’s, but they’d prospered with a little help from her and lots of good management by the McAdams. She wouldn’t waste her breath telling Luke that, though.
She told herself it was none of her business. She had tried and failed, but it galled her.
“Sulking won’t make me change my mind,” Luke said, giving her a sideways glance.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You could also stick your bottom lip out and start crying, but that won’t make me change my mind, either.”
Chin in the air, she said, “Even if I thought it would, I wouldn’t resort to that. I’m
