Point Blank Protector

“He’s still cute.”

“Didn’t you see weasels when you visited your grandfather?”

“Not that I remember.”

“How come you never came back after that one summer?”

“My dad and my grandfather had a serious falling out right after that. I don’t think they ever spoke to each other again. I’m not sure about that, though, since my parents divorced when I was in eighth grade. Dad got transferred to the West Coast and started a new life. I didn’t see him much after that.”

But still her grandfather had left her the ranch. There had to be more to that story than she’d said.

“There’s a deer,” Kali said, pointing to a small white-tailed doe that had stepped into the clearing and was staring at them through soft brown eyes. “She’s absolutely regal.”

Zach swallowed hard, moved more than he wanted to admit by Kali’s reverence for the animal in its unspoiled habitat. She reminded him a bit of the deer. Cautious. Curious. Vulnerable. Sexy—well not the doe, but Kali.

He was definitely attracted to her, but he had the feeling that getting involved with her would lead to complications. He never liked complications or longevity in romantic relationships.

“I can’t wait to explore the Silver Spurs on horseback,” she said. “I hope I have lots of deer.”

“You will.” He swatted at a persistent horsefly that had taken a liking to his neck. “Did you know ahead of time that your grandfather was leaving you the ranch?”

“No, I was stunned at the news, but he didn’t actually leave it to me outright. The Silver Spurs only becomes fully mine if I live there for a year,” she explained. “Otherwise it goes to Hade Carpenter. He’s the son of Grandpa Gordy’s third wife. I never met her, but her son is an arrogant clod. He’s fought my taking possession of the ranch with months of legal haranguing.”

“I’ve run into Hade a time or two over the years,” Zach said. “Once when he was in Cutter’s Bar trying to pick up one of the local women. Your description of him is a lot more suitable for mixed company than mine would be.”

“Another beer or two and I’d tell you what I really think about him,” she said. “But not today. It’s getting late, and I still have cleaning to do.”

Zach shifted for a better look at Kali as he took another swig of his beer. “You don’t seem the type,” he said, voicing the thought as it popped into his head.

Her eyebrows arched. “The type to drink a beer outside in freezing weather?”

“It’s not freezing. The low tonight is only going to be in the low forties. And there’s never a bad time for a cold beer.”

“Is that why you keep them in a cooler in the back of your truck?”

“Always be prepared.”

“A Boy Scout, too.”

“Not me. Little League was the extent of my organized participation.” He reached over and knocked away a small black bug that had landed in her flyaway auburn hair. The strands felt as soft and silky as they looked. “You don’t seem the type to move out to a ranch by yourself,” he said, going back to his original statement.

She stretched and leaned back on her elbows, her gaze fixed on the clouds that floated above them. “What type do I seem?”

“The type who’d hook up with a guy right out of college and have a couple of kids, a dog and two hamsters in the suburbs.”

“An interesting pigeonhole. But not for this pigeon.”

“Horses are your thing, huh?”

“Yeah. Horses. I fell in love with them on my first visit to the Silver Spurs and they’ve never let me down. They’re far easier to bond with than any man I know. They’re honest and readable—most of the time.”

“You’re not one of those weird horse whisperers, are you?”

“I don’t whisper,” she said, her voice not only rising, but also taking on a defensive edge. “I relate. If that makes me weird, then I’m one of those.”

“Don’t get bent out of shape. I’m just asking. Jaime dated a guy who claimed to be a whisperer once. The only thing he was whispering that worked was sweet nothings in Jaime’s ear. She finally saw through him just about the time I was ready to knock out his lights.”

“Zach, the protector. You don’t seem the type.”

“I have my moments. Which brings me back to a statement I made earlier. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay at the Silver Spurs by yourself.”

“So what is it you think I should do, go find any old college grad to hook up with?”

“That’s one option. Another might be to hire a wrangler and let him live in the bunkhouse.”

“I don’t have any livestock to wrangle.”

“But you’ll be buying horses soon. Just put him on the payroll a few weeks before you actually need him.”

She sat up and finished her beer. “This may come as a shock to you, Zach, but not everyone has unlimited funds to work with. I can’t afford to hire a cowboy just for his company.”

“Then take one of our wranglers for a while. We’re not particularly busy on the ranch right now. I’ve got just the man for you.”

“Now you sound like my friend Ellen back in Atlanta. She’s always got just the man for me.”

“I can beat any offer Ellen can make. Take Jim Bob Harvey, expert wrangler, easygoing and according to my niece Gina, he does a dynamite Britney Spears imitation.”

“Now, that’s a selling point.”

“He can be temporarily yours for the asking.”

“I can’t just borrow a cowboy like a cup of sugar, Zach.”

“Sure you can. He’s visiting his brother up in Waco for the weekend, but he’ll come roaring in by bedtime. I’ll leave word with Bart to send him over to your place in the morning. I’d bring him and introduce him in person, but I have to go in to Collingsworth Oil early tomorrow. I’m in meetings all day.”

A nine-to-five job. Hell of a predicament he’d gotten himself into.

“I’m serious, Zach. I can’t just take one of your wranglers and even if I could, the bunkhouse isn’t ready for occupancy.”

“There you go. You’ve already got a job for him.”

“I’m not a charity case.”

“Give it a break, Kali. It’s the good-neighbor policy, not welfare. It’s expected when you live in Colts Run Cross, especially among the ranchers.” He jumped down from the hood of his brother Matt’s truck and extended a hand to her. She ignored it.

“I can take care of myself,” she insisted again as she slid off the hood on her own.

But her tone had lost some of its conviction. He’d send Jim Bob over to meet her. He’d win her over in no time flat. She might even fall for him. Plenty of the ladies in town had. Jim Bob just never fell back.