If Shane married her, the idea of perhaps combining her little ranch with his plan to buy the ranch for sale down the road, might fuel Shane’s latest bullheaded bid for independence. And Nick knew for a fact that another small ranch would soon be coming onto the market, and Shane might also want to snap it up. His kid brother had managed to put together enough winnings in the past three years to be able to strap himself to a hell of a mortgage.
It’s what he’d do if he were Shane’s age and he hadn’t already become permanently addicted to the even riskier challenge of running Merrick Ranch. If his brother had his kind of drive, then starting from scratch under his own power with his own earnings would be an irresistible challenge that would more than prove his Merrick heritage.
That challenge would test everything Shane had ever learned about ranching, and put his mind and body and will to the test of a lifetime. A woman like Corrie Davis would share the work and the worry. And, from the look of her now, provide a hefty share of the reward.
The idea that suddenly came to him then was about strategy, though he had to admit that it had been inspired by the feminine loveliness he was staring at.
Was it possible to make Corrie an ally?
First he’d have to find out exactly what was between her and his brother. And since the quickest way to find out was to put the two of them together in the same room so he could see it for himself, Nick decided he might as well arrange it now. He gave a slight smile to banish some of the tension he’d hoped to build in her. He regretted doing that now.
“I was thinking it might be a nice surprise for Shane if I asked you to supper tonight. I know it’s short notice, so we could do it tomorrow if you’d rather. I’m not much for dressing up after the day I put in, so I’m hoping you wouldn’t mind if we kept things casual tonight. Maybe we could save something more formal for another time.”
It was amazing how easily the lie rolled off his tongue. He’d spent the day indoors doing paperwork. But the goal was to make Corrie feel comfortable coming to the ranch. Folks tended to be overawed, and Corrie was about as country as they came. He knew for a fact that she’d turned down Shane’s invitations to dinner at Merrick Ranch every time he’d made one, so it made sense that she’d heard about the family’s tradition of dressing for dinner. And, going by the times he’d seen her, Nick had to wonder if she even owned a dress.
A slight flush came into her cheeks, but he watched her gaze spark with interest and faint surprise. Her voice was a soft, quiet drawl.
“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Merrick. Are you…sure?”
He knew right away she was asking if they were still foes, so he smiled to reassure her. “Times change. People change. You’re close to Shane. We’ve been neighbors all your life. Might be time to be a little more neighborly…Corrie. I’d appreciate if you could call me Nick.”
He saw the flicker of doubt and thought for a moment he’d overplayed it. But then she apparently bought into the idea of neighborliness and quickly made up her mind.
“I’m obliged. What time should I be there?”
“Seven o’clock’s the time we usually set for company.”
“All right, seven.”
He reached up to tug a pinch of hat brim. “Until then.”
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