having depleted it to pay her hands and make this month’s loan payment. The sale of some of her herd was supposed to help her make next month’s payment and overhead. Now with over fifty head rustled, even making payroll was looking like a no go.
Catalina swung by the table and called out to the room, “I’m on break, Kelly is covering for me.” Then she dropped into the seat across from Mona, her deep-brown brows tugging downward, a sharp contrast to the bright blond of the fringe hanging over her left eye. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything.” Before she could say more, tears welled in Mona’s eyes and spilled over. She brushed them away with the back of her sleeve. “Damn it, I never cry.”
“It’s the baby talking. All those hormones play hell with a woman’s emotions.”
“Shh. Don’t say that too loud.” Mona glanced around the room to see if anyone had heard Catalina’s remark.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell. Especially since you won’t tell me whose it is.” Catalina’s eyes narrowed. “Was it Jimmy Raye over at Bar M?”
“No. And forget it. I’m not telling anyone. That particular secret will go with me to my grave.”
“Damn. And I thought best friends shared all their secrets.”
“I can’t afford for this one to get out.” Mona’s gaze dropped to where her hands twisted together, more tears slid down her cheeks.
“Okay, okay. I won’t push it. Now tell me what’s got your chaps in a twist.”
“I just came from the bank.” She gulped and forced calm into her voice. “They’re going to start foreclosure proceedings on the Rancho Linda if I don’t make the balloon payment that’s due in thirty days.”
“Madre de Dios!” Catalina slammed her palm against the tabletop, all of the Latino in her coming out in the one phrase. “As if you don’t have enough problems. Why won’t they roll it over into a new mortgage?”
“From what I gathered, they’ve lost faith in my ability to manage the ranch. What with the rustling and hiring a new ranch hand.”
“Was it the advertisement that got them in a froth?” Catalina’s chocolate-brown eyes lit. “I have to admit, it reminded me of the Wild West.”
Her fit of desperation had backfired, and now Mona regretted placing the ad. However, she didn’t regret hiring the man with the gun. His green eyes haunted her thoughts, vaguely familiar, as if she’d seen them before, when she knew she hadn’t met him until he’d shown up in the canyon. “Something like that.”
“I heard you actually got a man to apply for it.”
“I hired one.” Mona didn’t want to go into the details. She wasn’t altogether sure why she’d hired Reed Bryson on the spot. For now, she attributed her brash move to desperation.
“So what’s he like? Does he look like Clint Eastwood or John Wayne from one of the old westerns?”
“No. And it doesn’t matter what he looks like, I have bigger troubles.” She inhaled and let out a deep breath. “How can I come up with fifty thousand dollars in thirty days?”
“Have you tried one of the other banks in Prairie Rock? If they won’t help, you may have to go to Amarillo.”
“I’ve never applied for a loan, which means I don’t have a credit history. I’ve only been paying on the loan my father set up.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I can’t believe I didn’t pay closer attention to the terms of the loan. I’m doomed.”
“Cut yourself a little slack. It’s not as if you’ve had a lot of spare time on your hands.” Catalina snorted. “So who is your cowboy? Anyone I know?”
“Why are you asking? You already know it’s Reed Bryson. By now everyone in town should know.” She smiled sheepishly.
“I just wanted to hear you say it. So, you hired Reed?” Catalina’s brows rose up into the fringe of bangs that swooped to one side of her pale olive forehead. She fanned herself with one of the plastic-coated menus. “He’s hot.”
“You know him?”
“He broke up a few fights in Leon’s Bar over the past couple months while I was working my weekend shift. How could I miss him?” A grin spread across her face. “How’d you catch him? I couldn’t get him to ask me out no matter how hard I tried.”
“I didn’t ask him out, I hired him.” Her cheeks warming again, Mona glanced toward the window.
“Your face is turning red. What else did you do? Fess up, girl.”
Mona sighed. Her friend knew her too well. “I kinda told Sheriff Lee that Reed and I were living together.”
“You did what?” Catalina chuckled. “I’d loved to have been there when you did. That man’s been chasing you like a rutting bull for the past few months.”
“I know. He doesn’t get the meaning of the word no. So when he came out about the missing cattle, I made up the story.” Mona tried to shrug it off, but Catalina wasn’t having any of it.
“And Reed? He went along with it?” Her friend sat back, crossing her arms over her chest. “From what he told me, he didn’t want anything to do with relationships. Seems contradictory, if you ask me.”
“It was a lie. I made it clear to him that I only wanted him to provide a front to keep the sheriff out of my hair. Nothing else.”
“Well, good for you. Maybe something will come of the little game you’re playing. You could do worse than have him as a husband.”
“I’m not in the market for a husband. I’m looking for a way to save my ranch.” Mona stood. “Speaking of which, I need to get moving. The men are out repairing the fences, and I have a loan to secure. Guess I’ll check out the competition here and then head to Amarillo.”
“What about lunch?” Catalina raced across the floor and grabbed a prepackaged sandwich from a glass-fronted refrigerator. “At least take this.”
Although the sandwich looked less than appetizing, Mona accepted it and dug into her purse for money to pay.
“It’s on me.” Catalina laid her hand over Mona’s, halting her search. “You know you’ll have to slow down pretty soon, don’t you?” She stared at the thickening waist Mona tried so hard to hide by wearing her shirttails loose.
Hiding her bulge wouldn’t be an option in the next couple of weeks. She’d be forced to wear bigger shirts and the maternity pants Rosa had purchased from a resale shop. Of all times to be pregnant, now wasn’t the best.
Catalina walked with her to the door. “I’d stop by this evening and check out your Mr. Bryson myself, if I didn’t have to work. Why don’t you bring him by Leon’s tonight, if you get a chance.”
“Don’t think that a smoky bar is the place to be at this time.” She ran a hand over her belly, the thought of cigarette smoke making the acid churn.
“I
