Lured by the Rich Rancher

As he scanned the crowd, he looked for the little blonde that had caught his eye at the wedding. He hoped she hadn’t skipped the reception. She was definitely someone he’d like to get to know.

He was almost positive she wasn’t from the area. None of the women he knew looked or dressed like her. From her perfectly styled hair all the way down to her spike heels, she gave every indication of being a big-city girl, and he would bet every last penny he had that the red strapless dress she was wearing had a famous designer’s name on the label. But it didn’t matter that they came from two different worlds. He wasn’t looking for anything permanent with anyone. All he wanted was for them to have a little summer fun while she was around.

When he finally spotted her, he barely suppressed a groan. She and his mother seemed to be deep in conversation and that couldn’t be good. Since his mother had gotten a taste of what it was like to be a grandmother with Cassie, she had made several comments that she wouldn’t mind him giving her another grandchild or two in the near future. Surely his mother wouldn’t be talking him up as husband and father material.

He frowned. Of course, he couldn’t be sure. She’d shocked the hell out of him a couple of months ago when she had admitted that she’d known all about the affair his late father had thirty years ago. Then his mother had surprised him further when she admitted that she was the one who paid child support to Hannah’s mother all those years after his father’s death. His mother’s secrets had caused him no end of frustration and it had only been in the past few weeks they had started to repair the breach those issues had caused in their relationship. Surely she wouldn’t run the risk of creating more problems between them.

Lost in thought, it took a moment for him to realize that Logan had said something to him. “What was that?”

“Time for your toast,” Logan said, grinning. Lowering his voice, he added, “Unless you’d rather make us wait while you sit there and ogle the blonde seated next to Marlene.”

“Did anyone ever tell you what a smartass you can be, Whittaker?” Chance grumbled as he took his champagne flute and rose to his feet.

He ignored his new brother-in-law’s hearty laughter as he sincerely wished the couple a long and happy life together, then gifted them a thousand acres on the Big Blue ranch to build the new house he knew they had been planning. Now that the toast was out of the way and he had given them his gift, he was free to enjoy himself. And the first thing he intended to do was talk to the blonde.

Hell, he might even ask her to dance a slow one with him. Not that he was all that great at doing more than standing in one place and swaying in time to the music. He wasn’t. But if the lady was willing to let him put his arms around her and sway with him, it would be worth the risk of looking like a fool.

Ten minutes later, after listening to several more toasts for the bride and groom, Chance breathed a sigh of relief as he headed over to the table where his mother, Cassie and the blonde sat. “I’m glad that’s over,” he said, smiling. “Now it’s time for some fun.”

“You did a fine job with the toast, son,” his mother said, smiling back at him.

“Uncle Chance, would you dance with me?” Cassie asked as she jumped down from her chair and skipped over to him.

“You’re my best girl. Who else would I dance with?” he teased, winking at the blonde as he picked Cassie up to sit on his forearm. “But we’ll have to wait until the band starts. Will that be okay with you?”

Cassie nodded. “I hope they hurry. I’m going to pretend we’re at the ball.”

“Fee, this is my son, Chance,” his mother introduced them. Her smile was just a little too smug as she rose to her feet. “While we wait for the dancing to begin, why don’t you and I go inside the house to see if we can find your princess wand, Cassie?”

“Oh, yes, Grandma Marlene,” Cassie agreed exuberantly. “I need my wand and my crown for the ball.”

Chance set the little girl on her feet as the band started warming up. “I’ll be waiting for you right here, princess.” When his mother and niece started toward the house, he placed his hand on the back of one of the chairs at the table. “Mind if I join you, Fee?”

Her pretty smile caused an unexpected hitch in his breathing. “Not at all, Mr. Lassiter.”

“Please, call me Chance.” He smiled back as he lowered himself onto the chair his mother had vacated. “I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone with the name Fee.”

“It’s actually short for Felicity.” She brushed a wayward strand of her long blond hair from her smooth cheek as they watched Hannah and Logan dance for the first time as husband and wife. “My grandmother talked my mother into naming me that. It was her mother’s name.”

“Are you a friend of my sister?” he asked, wondering if she might be one of the teachers Hannah worked with in Denver.

“No, I’m a public relations executive with Lassiter Media,” she answered as she picked up her cell phone from the table and tucked it into her purse. When she looked up, he didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone with bluer eyes. “I work out of the Los Angeles office.”

That explained why he’d never seen her before, as well as her polished career-girl look. But although she probably bought everything she wore from the shops on Rodeo Drive, Fee Sinclair had a softness about her that he found intriguing. Most of the career women he’d met were aloof and all business. But Fee looked approachable and as if she knew how to kick up her heels and have a good time when she decided to do so.

“I’ll bet you worked on the publicity for the grand opening of Lassiter Grill,” he speculated, motioning for one of the waiters carrying a tray of filled champagne flutes. Asking the man to bring him a beer, Chance took one of the glasses of bubbling pink wine and handed it to Fee. “My cousin Dylan said he couldn’t have been happier with the way you handled the opening.”

“I didn’t see you that evening,” she commented.

He shook his head. “No, I had to be over in Laramie on business that day and didn’t get back in time.”

She seemed to eye him over the rim of her glass as she took a sip of the champagne. “I’ve also been put in charge of getting your family’s image back on track what with all the controversy over J. D. Lassiter’s will and Angelica’s association with Jack Reed.”

“So you’ll be here for a few weeks?” he queried, hoping that was the case. “Will you be staying here at the ranch?”

“Lassiter Media has rented a house in Cheyenne, where they have employees from the L.A. office stay while they’re in town on business,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll be here at least until the end of the month.”

Chance waited until the tuxedoed waiter brought him the beer he had requested and moved on before he commented. “I don’t envy your job. Our reputation of being a solid family that got along well took a pretty big hit when Angelica pitched her little hissy fit right after my uncle’s will was read. Do you know how you’re going to go about straightening that out?”

“I have a few things in mind,” she answered evasively.

Before he could ask what those ideas were, Cassie skipped up to them. “I’m ready to dance now, Uncle Chance. I have my wand and my crown.”

“You sure do,” he said, laughing as she tried to hang on to her pink plastic wand while she adjusted the tiara his mother had bought for her a few weeks ago. As if on cue, the band started playing a slower tune. Turning to Fee, he smiled. “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep the princess waiting. I’ll be right back.”

Fortunately, all he had to do was stand in one place and hold Cassie’s little hand as she pirouetted around him. The kid had definite ideas on the way a princess was supposed to dance and who was he to argue with her? He just hoped she didn’t make herself too dizzy and end up falling flat on the floor.

When the dance was over and he and Cassie returned to the table, Chance held out his hand to Fee. “Would you like to dance, Ms. Sinclair?”

She glanced at her uncomfortable-looking high heels. “I...hadn’t thought I would be dancing.”

Laughing, he bent down to whisper close to her ear. “You witnessed the extent of my dancing skills with Cassie. I’m from the school of stand in one place and sway.”

Her delightful laughter caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his chest. “I think that’s about all I’ll be able to do in these shoes anyway.”

When she placed her soft hand in his and stood up to walk out onto the dance floor with him, it felt as if an electric current shot straight up his arm. He took a deep breath, wrapped his arms loosely around her and smiled down at her upturned face. At a little over six feet tall, he wasn’t a giant by any means, but everything about her was petite and delicate. In fact, if she hadn’t been wearing high heels, he could probably rest his chin on the top of her head.

“Chance, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” she said as they swayed back and forth.

“I’m all ears,” he said, grinning.

“I’d like your help with my public relations campaign to improve the Lassiters’ image,” she answered.

He didn’t have any idea what she thought he could do that would make a difference on that score, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to hear her out. Besides, he wanted to spend some time getting to know her better and although she might not be staying in Wyoming for an extended period of time, that didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun while she was here.

Before he could suggest that they meet for lunch the following day to talk over her ideas, she gave him a smile that sent another wave of heat flowing through him. He would agree to just about anything as long as she kept smiling at him that way.

“Sure. I’ll do whatever I can to help you out,” he said, drawing her a little closer. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, thank you so much,” she said, surprising him with a big hug. “You’re perfect for the job and I can’t wait to get started.”

He was pleased with himself for making her happy, even if he didn’t know what she was talking about. “I don’t know about being perfect for much of anything but taking care of a bunch of cattle, but I’ll give it my best shot.” As an afterthought, he asked, “What is it you want me to do?”

“You’re going to be the family spokesman for the PR campaign that I’m planning,” she said, beaming.

Because he was marveling at how beautiful she was, it took a moment for her words to register. He stopped swaying and stared down at her in disbelief. “You want me to do what?”

“I’m going to have you appear in all future advertising for Lassiter Media,” she said, sounding extremely excited. “You’ll be in the national television commercials, as well as...”