Free The Lone Rancher by Carol Finch Page B

theaters of New England. And to think he’d even felt sorry for her when she confided her father had pushed her to be something she hadn’t wanted to be. She had freely admitted to being a sassy hoyden, he reminded himself. But her striking beauty and the unruly desire that prowled through him when he came within five feet of her had made him vulnerable.
    Well, no more of that, Quin fumed as he spurred Cactus into his swiftest gait. He and that hellion were going to have an honest-to-goodness showdown. Maybe not with pistols at twenty paces, but he was going to chew her up and spit her out if his cattle were locked in her pasture!
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    Adrianna smiled secretively as she lounged in bed, choosing to be lazy this morning rather than hitting the ground running as she had been doing lately. Last night, Quin Cahill had invaded her dreams and she kept seeing him smiling down at her before he drew her against his masculine body and kissed her, caressed her, bedeviled her.
    The man could be amazingly charming and amusing when it was his wont, she recalled. He’d told delightful stories about life on the range and cattle drives during their luncheon in town. Then he’d walked her to Rosa’s Boutique, gently guiding her with his hand to the small of her back. His incidental touch had sent pleasure and desire swirling through her.
    Perhaps Quin had softened now that they had shared confidences. Maybe he had begun to respect her and accept her for what she was. They might become friends… And perhaps in time they might become some thing more….
    Her speculative thoughts shattered when someone rapped on the door. “Addie K. dear, one of the cowhands wants a word with you. Are you decent?” Bea called from the hallway.
    â€œTell him I’ll be down in two shakes.” Adrianna bounded from bed, ran a brush through her wild, curly hair, then donned the new pair of breeches and shirt Rosa had made for her.
    She frowned in concern when she saw Ches Purvis lounging against the post on the porch, his arms crossed over his chest. She noticed immediately that he had made use of the new bathtub she had placed in the bunkhouse two days earlier. He wasn’t as ripe as he usually was, she noted gratefully.
    â€œIs there a problem?” Adrianna questioned.
    â€œYes, ma’am,” Ches said soberly. “Rocky came back from sorting off your longhorn cattle for the spring trail drive and he noticed some of your purebred Herefords are missing from the east pasture where he put ’em yesterday afternoon.”
    â€œWhat about the ones I separated and left in the pen for breeding to the shorthorn bulls?” she asked anxiously.
    â€œThey’re still there, ma’am,” the shaggy-haired cowboy confirmed. “I checked ’em myself before I came to the house.” He started toward the barn, opened his mouth, then clamped it shut.
    â€œObviously there’s something else on your mind, Ches,” she said impatiently. “What is it?”
    â€œWell, Rocky was speculating about whether this was one of Cahill’s pranks to retaliate because you hired him away from the 4C. We didn’t want to check 4C pastures in search of your prize heifers without your permission. Don’t need to start a range war if there is a reasonable explanation.”
    Blast it, Adrianna silently muttered. That sounded exactly like something Cahill would do, the ornery rascal. First, he had insulted her, then he’d stolen Elda. Then he’d changed tactics and become the attentive companion at lunch in town. She had let her guard down to the point that her instinctive attraction to him had invaded her dreams and left her aching for his touch. She’d even felt sorry for him because his brothers and sister had lit out and he didn’t know what had become of the younger two.
    Damn him! He had purposely set her up to humiliate her. The short-lived truce was over and the private feud