“Coming,” Walt grumbled from the other side of the door at Ryan’s second knock. The door swung open and the old man blinked at the sun behind Ryan’s back. “Yeah?”
“Can I come in?” Ryan asked.
“I guess.” Walt stood back, allowing Ryan to walk past him before he shut the door, blocking the sun.
“Got something against light?” Ryan asked.
“Only when it burns a hole in my head.”
Ryan looked his mentor over. He’d changed his clothes, so the bar smell wasn’t clinging to him. Good.
“The lady wants to meet with you today.”
“What are you? The go-between?” Walt asked, looking insulted.
“I’m the one who lives close. She came to see me and told me she wants to meet with all of us.”
“I’ve met with these guys before. No big deal.”
“Yeah, but this is a different kind of meeting.”
“How so?”
“This lady is here to evaluate the ranch. She wants to know about our jobs. What we do and when.” Ryan rubbed the side of his neck. “She’s some kind of human-resources person.”
“Human resources?” Walt scowled and Ryan could see that this was the first he’d heard of the evaluation, so the only thing he’d kept to himself was the fact that one of the family was coming for a visit.
“Okay, so I tell her what I do. Anything else?” He gave Ryan a narrow-eyed look. “Shouldn’t you be on the mountain looking for those four head by now?”
Ryan let out a breath. “I’m getting a late start. I had to go to town, you know. Pick someone up.”
“No. You didn’t. I would have made it back on my own this morning.”
Walt never apologized for his benders. To him they were part of his stress-management program. He never drove drunk. More than once Francisco or Ryan had had to return to a bar to pick up the keys Walt had handed over to the bartender the night before.
Walt nodded. “I’ll contact the lady and set up a meeting time. I can do it alone.”
“I’m not trying to be your keeper or anything, Walt. I just wanted to warn you. This evaluation thing kind of blindsided me and I didn’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
“Thanks.”
“And...” Ryan shoved his hands into his pockets. “You might want to write down a list of what you do around here.”
“Justify my existence.”
“Be prepared for the interview.”
“All right. I will. Now go to work before I fire you.”
Ryan walked to the door. Hopefully, Walt would have worked his way past his headache by the time he talked to the woman. Ryan would have given anything to be in on the meeting, run interference, but Walt was on his own. He was the manager, not Ryan. He just hoped Walt didn’t do anything stupid, such as tell her he planned to die on the property.
* * *
EXACTLY THREE WEEKS had passed since quitting her job and Ellie had yet to acclimate to her new schedule. Having time on her hands made her feel antsy, almost guilty. Yes, she had a purpose here at the ranch, but it wasn’t going to fill eight hours a day. The internet/satellite guy was supposed to show up tomorrow to work on the connection and hook up the television, and the fact that she was counting the hours until then bothered her. What kind of person was she that she had to have the internet and television?
The kind who’d been career driven and no longer had a career to fill her time. When was the last time she hadn’t had a schedule so full that it was a challenge to simply make it through the day?
The day before she’d resigned.
Ryan had driven away shortly after she’d spoken to him—off to warn his boss, who had no cell phone, no doubt. Well, good. She wanted the staff to be prepared. It would save time...although right now saving time wasn’t a concern. She needed something to fill time.
If she went now, she could familiarize herself with the layout of the ranch without wondering where Ryan was and if he was watching her. There was something about him that she found unsettling.
Unmitigated hotness, perhaps?
She hadn’t expected him to be so attractive. Hadn’t expected to have to fight herself to keep from watching him walk across the living room to the door earlier that morning and wondering just what exactly he looked like without the worn denim jeans and white cotton shirt.
What the hell was she doing thinking thoughts like that? Nick had been hot, too. Hot, charming, dishonest. The dishonesty had been by omission, but dishonesty all the same. Ellie pressed her hand to her abdomen. She would not judge all men by Nick, but she wasn’t going to allow herself to be taken in by general hotness anytime soon, either...although judging by the way Ryan Madison had responded to her during their first meetings, being tempted by hotness wasn’t going to be an issue. She was the enemy, and he’d made little effort to hide his displeasure about her being there.
She slipped on her shoes and headed for the door just as the red truck drove past the house toward the barn. So much for him not being around. Ellie paused at the door. She couldn’t spend her days cooped up in the house. The people who worked here were employees. She wasn’t exactly the boss, but she was a representative of the boss. No different than anyplace else where she’d consulted.
Except that these people lived here.
Well, so did she and she was going to get to know her surroundings—although she’d really prefer to explore when no one was around. She was surrounded by the unfamiliar, and Ellie didn’t like it when she wasn’t in total control.
* * *
RYAN SADDLED SKIPPER and headed out to find the few head of cattle that had been reported on the mountain, wondering if he could possibly get back before Walt had his meeting with Ellison. Not that he could control any part of the meeting, but he wanted to know the outcome as soon as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Walt... No, it was that he didn’t trust Walt.
He had just started across the pasture when he heard a sharp shriek. Skipper’s head jerked up at the sound and Ryan reined the gelding around, various scenarios chasing through his brain. He pulled Skipper up at the gate, dismounted and then stood for a moment, wondering where the scream had come from.
The jays squawked from the trees near the house, probably wondering when the next pie was going to appear, but other than that the place was silent. Ryan looped the lead rope attached to Skipper’s halter over the gatepost and then headed for the house, wondering what in hell the deal was.
He knocked on the door. A few seconds later it opened and Ellison gave him a politely inquiring look that made him wonder if he had or had not heard a scream. No—he’d heard it. It’d been a woman’s voice and since Jessie was a half mile away, Ellison had to be the screamer.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She looked okay. Not a blond hair out of place.
“Yes,” she said simply.
Ryan waited a couple seconds and then, when it became clear that she was not going to expand on her answer, he said, “I thought I heard someone yell.”
Color rose in Ellison’s face but her expression remained controlled as she said, “I hadn’t realized I was that loud.”
“You were.”
“Yes, well.” She cleared her throat. “There was a snake on the steps. It startled me.”
“That was probably—”
“Hiss. I know. The boy who