Cassie's Cowboy Daddy

“Oh, speaking of wild animals, Samson paid us a visit while you were gone,” Hank said, as if on cue.

“Who or what is Samson?” Ginny asked.

“One of the biggest black bears you’d ever care to see,” Hank answered, leaning back in his chair.

Logan couldn’t have been more pleased with the turn of conversation. Knowing Hank and his aversion to the bear Logan had raised from an orphaned cub, Samson would no doubt grow at least two feet in height and gain a couple of hundred pounds by the time Hank finished describing him.

“When that bear stands on his hind feet, he’s every bit as big as a grizzly,” Hank said.

Logan took another bite of his sandwich to keep from grinning. He couldn’t have asked Hank for a better job of exaggerating the bear’s size.

“Do you think he’ll be back any time soon?” Cassie asked, continuing to spoon the unappealing mush from the jars and into the little girls’ mouths.

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” When Ginny scooted her chair a little closer to his, a pleased expression lit Hank’s face. “Old Samson has been known to hang around for days before he heads back up into the mountains.”

A sense of contentment surrounded Logan. The widow and her entourage would be off the ranch, out of his life and headed back to St. Louis first thing in the morning.

Unable to resist adding a little fuel to the fire Hank had kindled, Logan tried to keep his tone pragmatic. “Wild animals are just one of the hazards of living in this part of the country. At times, the weather can be more dangerous than the wildlife.”

“You might as well give it up, Mr. Murdock,” Cassie said, setting the baby-food jar on the table. The clatter of the spoon inside the empty glass echoed throughout the suddenly quiet room. She knew what he was up to and the sooner he realized it wasn’t going to work, the better off they’d both be. “You’re not going to scare me away from what’s rightfully mine. Whether you like it or not, the twins and I are here to stay.”

The shroud of stillness that descended on the kitchen was deafening as she and Logan glared at each other across the big oak table. It reminded her of the unnatural calm before a huge storm.

“Hank, why don’t you help me with the twins?” Ginny asked, finally breaking the tense silence. She rose from the table and began unfastening the safety straps on the high chairs. “I think these two need to talk.”

“But it’s just startin’ to get interestin’,” Hank protested. When Ginny leaned down to whisper something in his ear, Hank’s face brightened and he left the table so fast his chair tilted precariously. “You’re right. They don’t need us. It’s a fairly warm evening. Why don’t we take the babies for a walk?”

Hank took Kelsie, while Ginny removed Chelsea from her high chair. “We’re going to show the babies Velvet Lady’s new colt.” He waited for Ginny to wipe the twins’ faces, then helped her wrestle matching yellow sweaters on them. They each held a baby as Hank ushered Ginny toward the door. “You two take all the time you need.”

At any other time, Cassie might have found Hank’s haste to be with Ginny quite comical. But considering that their departure left her alone with Logan, Cassie didn’t see anything funny about it.

The man was raw virility personified, and from the moment he’d walked into the kitchen, every one of her senses had homed in on him like some type of feminine radar. The lingering scent of his masculine soap, the sight of his corded forearms beneath his rolled-up shirtsleeves and the sound of his slightly rough baritone had her remembering the feel of his callused hands on her upper arms. The memory of his nude body in the bathtub sent a shiver snaking up her spine that had nothing to do with being chilled.

“Ginny’s right,” Cassie said, her tone sharpened by the sudden tension gripping her body. “We need to discuss the terms of our partnership.”

The harsh sound of Logan’s chair scraping along the hardwood floor echoed through the room. “I couldn’t agree more. There are some things we need to resolve, Mrs. Wellington. And I’d say now is as good a time as any to get it done.”

“Since my children and I are going to be living here, don’t you think it would be a good idea if we were on a first-name basis?” she asked, rising to face him.

He stared at her a moment before he nodded, stepped aside and motioned toward the hall. “All right, Cassie. Let’s go into my study.”

She normally hated confrontations, but she looked forward to this one. Logan Murdock needed to be treated to a few home truths. And the sooner, the better. She’d been around one too many selfish, self-centered men to let this one get the best of her.

She only wished his deep baritone hadn’t sounded so sexy, or that she hadn’t preceded him down the hall. His voice had that rough bedroom quality that sent a tremor passing through her when he said her name, and she could feel his gaze on her backside as surely as if he touched her there.

The man was, without a doubt, the most infuriating, obstinate soul Cassie had ever met. But he made her knees wobble and her lungs forget to take in air.

Logan brushed past her to open the door, and a tingle raced the length of her. Reminding herself to breathe, she entered the study and looked around in an attempt to distract herself from the unsettling reaction. To her disappointment, it was no different than any of the other rooms in the house—cherry wainscoting, massive pieces of leather-and-walnut furniture and neutral, nondescript drapes. It appeared Logan Murdock was stuck in a decorating rut.

“Does it meet with your approval?” he asked from somewhere behind her.

Cassie turned toward the sound of his voice, but instead of the snappy comeback she’d intended, she let loose a startled squeak. A huge bear in the corner loomed over Logan, mouth agape, claws extended, and after all the talk about Samson, it took a moment for her to realize the beast was poised for all eternity in the ferocious, battle-ready stance.

She shuddered and turned away. Instead of her gaze settling on something innocuous, she came face-to-face with the largest snake she’d ever seen outside the confines of a zoo. It was sitting in the middle of the mantel above the fireplace, four inches of rattles protruding from the tan-and-brown-blotched coil, the raised head promising a deadly bite from its enormous, bared fangs.

What sort of man kept such hideous works of taxidermy in his home? she wondered, spotting a lynx on the shelves beside the fireplace. The animal was frozen forever in what looked to be a really lousy mood.

“No wonder you keep this door closed,” Cassie said, her voice slightly shaky. “No one in their right mind would want to come in here.”

It was all Logan could do to keep from laughing out loud at Cassie’s shocked expression. Her face had paled to a pasty white and she looked ready to bolt for the door. She had no way of knowing this room had scared the hell out of him when he was a kid. Or that the stuffed animals were a lot older than he was.

“They threatened the welfare of the Lazy Ace,” he stated, lowering himself into the chair behind the desk. “When they attacked the livestock, my family had no choice but to deal with them.”

“You see me as a threat.” Cassie turned to glare at him. “Is this your way of telling me I’m the next to be stuffed and mounted?”

Logan watched her cheeks color a pretty pink as the double meaning of her words registered with both of them. He swallowed hard and his body responded in ways he’d rather not dwell on as a very provocative scenario flashed through his mind. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He was supposed to be discussing her departure from the Lazy Ace, not trying to hide the fact that her remark excited the hell out of him.

“I…uh, never said you were a threat.”

“You didn’t have to.” She sat in the leather chair in front of his desk, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, her expression defiant. “Once you found out who I was, you turned off the charm and turned on the hostility.”

“You weren’t exactly Miss Congeniality yourself.” He leaned back in the high-backed chair and sighed heavily. “Look, taking potshots at each other isn’t going to get us anywhere. What do you say we start over?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she agreed. “I think that might make our living here more tolerable.”

Every time she mentioned staying on the ranch, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up and his gut felt as if he’d been punched.

Logan squared his shoulders. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt he wasn’t going to like what she had to say, but he’d always been of the opinion that a situation should be dealt with head-on.

“Why don’t you tell me why you want to live here, then we’ll go from there,” he suggested.

“All right.” She took a deep breath, then met his gaze. “Uncle Silas bequeathed money to my cousins, but his last wish for me and the twins was a new way of life. By leaving me his half of the Lazy Ace Cattle Company, he’s provided me the opportunity to stay at home to raise my girls.” Her relieved smile made the knot in Logan’s gut twist even tighter. “I remember hearing Uncle Silas repeatedly say the unhurried pace of rural Wyoming was the perfect place to raise children. And he was right. It’s much safer here, the girls will have a healthy atmosphere away from the smog and fumes of an overcrowded city, and I’ll be with them to watch and enjoy every moment of their lives, instead of hearing about it from a baby-sitter.”

By the time she finished telling him about her desire to be a full-time mother and how important it was for her to raise her kids in a safe, wholesome environment, Logan felt as if he’d been blindsided by a steamroller. If he insisted she leave now, he’d feel like a low-down, sorry excuse for a skunk.

“Wouldn’t you rather live in town?” he asked hopefully. He knew all too well the dangers the area posed to women and children. But if he tried to explain that to her now, she’d think it was nothing more than a ploy to get her off the Lazy Ace.

She shook her head. “I’ve analyzed it from every angle and arrived at the same conclusion each time. It was the nicest thing Uncle Silas could have ever done for us. I want the girls to grow up here where they can run and play.” She gave him a pointed look. “And I want to be here to oversee my share of the ranch.”

Logan left his chair to pace back and forth behind the desk. “I could keep you informed of all business transactions in a quarterly report when I send a check for your part of the profits. Like I did for Silas.”

“Nothing against you, Mr. Murdock, but it’s my inheritance and I think it would be in my best interest to be here in order to watch over it.”

“The Murdock and Hastings families have been in business together for over a hundred years….”

“I know,” she said, nodding. “I’ve heard the story since I was old enough to listen—first from my father and grandfather, then after they passed away, from Uncle Silas. Your great-grandfather, Jake Murdock, and my great-grandfather, Ned Hastings, left St. Louis with nothing but their six-shooters and a deed for a large piece of prime ranch land they’d won in a poker game.”

“That’s right,” Logan agreed. “And it was your great-grandfather who lost interest and moved back to Missouri thirty-five years later,” he said pointedly. “He and the rest of your family have been perfectly happy as silent partners in the ranch. The Murdocks were the ones who stuck it out and made the Lazy Ace what it is today.”