second. That was nothing to sneeze at. “Congratulations,” Ryder said, folding his forearms against the tabletop.
“Second place at the NFR is big money,” Stark said needlessly. “Which, I venture to say, is why Jeri’s here.”
“Oh?”
“I’m looking for property,” she divulged. “I’ve established myself well enough to produce and train top-notch racers. The next obvious step is a breeding ranch and training center.”
“And she’ll be staying with us while she’s land shopping,” Tina announced happily.
“Sure beats a motel room or the coffin bed in my trailer,” Jeri said, smiling.
Ryder wasn’t certain how he felt about Jeri Bogman being a semipermanent resident of the War Bonnet area, let alone a permanent one. He didn’t like the way she affected him. He seized on the first sensible question that came to mind.
“Why choose our little corner of the world?”
She clasped her coffee cup with small, delicate hands. “I’m still competing and, God willing, will be for many years. This area is fairly centrally located. There’s land to be had, and it’s relatively inexpensive. Cost of living is reasonable, and there are numerous properties between Duncan and Ardmore and Red River. Most important, it’s decent horse country.”
Ryder smiled at his big brother. “That’s what I’ve been telling Wyatt. We’ve got some good horse pasture here.”
“And I said I’d consider expanding the operation to include raising horses,” Wyatt reminded him.
“So?” Ryder pressed.
“So, I’m considering it.”
Stark drained his coffee cup and got up to leave. “Well, I have an appointment. Thanks for the hospitality. Jeri, I’ll probably see you when you come over to care for the horses. Hope the property hunt goes well.”
Jeri looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks so much.” She looked at Tina then, adding, “Because I have a rigorous competition schedule, I’ll only have two or three days a week to look around, so this could take a while.”
Tina looked decidedly happier about that than Ryder felt. He’d resigned himself to the fact that romantic relationships would not be part of his life, and he surely didn’t want to make a fool of himself over this woman. She was young, beautiful and already accomplished enough to be setting up her own horse ranch, while he was hanging here on his brothers’ shirttails. In other words, she was out of his league. Besides, he hated to think what her reaction, or any woman’s, might be when she discovered he was also an accused murderer.
Wyatt and Tina called out their farewells as Stark threw on his coat, grabbed his hat and went out into the cold. The door barely closed before Wyatt pushed back his chair.
“Ryder, I could use your help haying the cattle and putting out mineral blocks in the southeast section before the storm hits.”
The southeast section was too rough to be reached any way except by horseback. Once a week or so for at least a couple of months in winter, they loaded up special sledges with hay and minerals, harnessed the sledges to some horses and hauled everything out to provide extra nutrients to the livestock.
“No problem. But I haven’t seen Delgado yet. Reckon he’ll be here by the time we’re ready to load the horses.” Delgado, who lived in town, was their only hired hand.
“We’ll have to trail the horses,” Wyatt said, “so we’ll just tie them onto the back of the trailer. Delgado could haul them in a trailer, but he won’t be in today. He mentioned that he needed supplies, so I told him to stay in town and take care of it. Didn’t want him getting trapped at home without the necessities if the weather turns off worse than they predict.”
Ryder gulped down as much of his coffee as he could before replying. “We better get moving, then, if we’re going to finish before lunch.”
“You saddle the horses, I’ll start loading the trailer with hay.”
“I took care of that yesterday afternoon.”
“Good job. We’ll just have to load the mineral blocks then.”
“I can help,” Jeri said, looking from one man to the other.
Ryder and Wyatt traded glances. “Oh, we couldn’t ask you to,” Ryder began, but she cut him off.
“I’m an excellent rider, and I’d welcome the chance to look at your range.”
Trying to telegraph refusal to his brother, Ryder tilted his head. Wyatt got the message.
“It’s awful cold out there.”
She pushed back from the table. “I have warm clothes. Just let me change.”
“Thank you, Jeri,” Tina said, widening her eyes at Wyatt, who smiled at Jeri.
“Yes. Thank you, Jeri.”
“Guess I’ll saddle three horses,” Ryder muttered, heading for the door. He couldn’t help being irritated. The woman disturbed him, made him uncomfortable somehow. And yet, when he thought back to the first instant he’d laid eyes on her, he couldn’t help smiling. Beautiful and accomplished. What man in his right mind wouldn’t want to spend the morning with that? All he had to do was remind himself that nothing could come of it.
As if he could forget.
* * *
Jeri dropped her favorite hat on the dresser and threw open the suitcase atop the pretty mauve bedspread. Needing to appear the prosperous potential landowner, she’d dressed with a purpose today—but now she could put on the clothes in which she felt most at home. Quickly pulling out worn jeans and a pair of long-sleeved thermal tops, she sat on the edge of the tall bed to yank off her boots, her mind working busily over all that had led her to this point.
She couldn’t help wishing that he wasn’t so good-looking. She’d known, of course, that Ryder Smith was a big, fit hulk of a man with coal black hair. She’d seen the tape of the sparring workout with her brother, as well as promotional photos of him in various fighting poses. Besides, she’d caught glimpses of him on Houston’s local television news. That hadn’t quite prepared her for the live version, however. He was meant to look fierce and brutal in the publicity pictures, and he’d kept his head down and face averted during much of the media snippets. In the one interview that he’d done immediately after the incident, he’d had crocodile tears streaming down his face, and that had so appalled and infuriated Jeri that she hadn’t been able to see anything but his obviously phony emotion. Coming face-to-face with the real deal today had momentarily stunned her, and she knew she’d stared like a giddy groupie when he’d first entered the house.
Quickly slipping on pink thermals and faded denim, she mulled over that video of the sparring match that had ended with her beloved little brother’s death. The video, taped by Smith’s manager, conveniently did not show Ryder Smith actually killing Bryan; yet, the Houston police had used it to exonerate Smith of any wrongdoing in her brother’s death. After watching that tape repeatedly, she’d thought she was prepared to meet in person her baby brother’s murderer,
