Free The Cattle King's Mistress by Emma Darcy Page B

her personal sidesteps and he never pushed beyond the boundaries she set. Getting the business right came first with him and he wasn’t about to upset that applecart.
    “How’s it going?” he called cheerily as he came up the path.
    “Fine!” Miranda answered.
    He stopped short of the verandah, looking up at them with a quizzical little smile. “Mum and Jared have flown in for the weekend. You are commanded to come to dinner at the station homestead tonight.”
    She frowned. “Commanded?”
    Her heart started skittering. Nathan had commanded?
    “Invited,” Tommy corrected wryly. “But take it from me, there’s no ducking out of my mother’s invitations.”
    His mother, not Nathan.
    Her mind started skittering.
    Did Tommy think she ducked out of his invitations? Why couldn’t he simply accept her disinterest? Was he behind this command? Was Nathan? Was it simply Elizabeth King dictating her own desire to check the situation at the resort?
    Why couldn’t they simply let her be? She was doing a good job. Yet she felt an irresistible tug at the thought of meeting Nathan again...what it might mean...
    It would be safe, she reasoned. Had to be safe with Elizabeth King there, and the other brother, Jared. It might even dispose of the wanton thoughts that plagued her lonely nights... show her beyond question how foolish any involvement with him would be.
    “What about our guests here?” she prevaricated, feeling hopelessly at odds with a desire she knew could lead nowhere good.
    “Spend Happy Hour with them,” Tommy promptly replied. “Settle them at the table, and leave them to their own devices. They know each other from last night, don’t they?”
    He’d checked the bookings earlier in the week and all four couples in the homestead suites overlapped this weekend. “I won’t be able to leave here until after seven,” she pointed out.
    “That’s understood. We’ll be dining at eight.” He slid Sam a teasing look. “Mum said for you to come, too, squirt. Balance the table.”
    “Oh, sure! I can just hear Elizabeth saying that,” she scorned.
    “Well, I told her you probably didn’t have a dress to wear.”
    “I’ll put one on especially for Jared.” She cocked her head on one side. “Or maybe I’ll make a play for Nathan, now that Susan’s out of the picture.”
    Susan...Miranda found her hands clenching and consciously relaxed them. Susan might not have been Nathan’s mistress, but he hadn’t married her. Don’t forget that!
    Tommy laughed and bounded up the steps, ruffling Sam’s copper curls as he passed. “Go get him, Red!” Then to Miranda, “I’ll just have a word with Roberto. He can come out of his kitchen between courses and wax lyrical about what he’s cooked for the guests. Keep them happy.”
    They watched him head off inside, mission accomplished as far as they were concerned.
    “One of these days I’m going to kick him in the shins,” Sam muttered.
    It drew an instant wave of sympathy. Both of them fools over men. “You have beautiful hair,” Miranda quietly assured her. “If you ask me, Tommy couldn’t resist touching it.”
    She heaved a rueful sigh. “I bet no man has ever ruffled your hair, Miranda.”
    “I haven’t had the easy-going kind of friendships you’ve made. I rather envy you that.”
    It drew a speculative look that Miranda instantly shied away from, not wanting to answer questions about her life. She glanced at her watch. “Better get moving. Are you going to accompany me to the commanded dinner or go over earlier by yourself?”
    “I’ll wait for you. I’ll get one of the resort Jeeps and have it out here at seven-fifteen. Okay?’’
    “Yes. Thanks, Sam.”
    “You’ll like Jared,” she remarked, still with that speculative look.
    “We’ll see,” Miranda returned non-committally.
    It wasn’t Jared on her mind as she headed off to get ready for tonight. It wasn’t Jared or Tommy or Elizabeth King playing havoc with her pulse rate and