Delfyne blinked. Yes, she supposed that did make it sound as if she’d been plucked from the streets. Owen’s brows drew together in a scowl.
“Len,” he said, his voice low and gravelly and cool. “You’re a fine veterinary student and a good hand, and you know that I would be hard-pressed without you, but right now you’re skating on ice so thin I can hear it cracking beneath your feet. Delfyne is a friend, a new one, and I’d prefer that you not act as if your mother never taught you any manners by asking her a lot of nosy questions.” Owen paused, his hands on his hips, his scowl deepening. “The truth is that Delfyne wanted to see some of the world, and she’s never been to Montana. She and her friends Theron and Nicholas will be visiting for a few months. As to where their home is, that’s none of your business. I don’t like having my guests interrogated. I also don’t like them to be talked about…by anyone. I hope I’m clear on that.”
Len held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Got it, Owen. You’re right. I was out of line, ma’am,” he said, backing away but not looking all that sorry. “I’ll just get my sorry rear out of here before I get fired. Morgan and a couple of the boys will disinfect everything here, boss,” he said. “You see to your guest.”
But as she and Owen walked away, she could swear she heard something very low that sounded like “A few months?”
She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that Len was grinning. “By the way, nice meeting you, Delfyne. Your secret, whatever it is, is safe with me, but I have to tell you, you’re the prettiest guest this ranch has had in…oh, just about forever.”
When she turned back around, Owen was striding away, his white shirttail flapping around his hips. She ran to catch up with him. When she drew even with him, she could see that his mouth was drawn into a thin line. His jaw looked granite-hard.
“I came in at a bad time, didn’t I?” she asked. “And I embarrassed you with your friend.”
He turned that ice-blue stare on her. “Len is a pain in the—he’s a pain, sometimes. But he’s a good vet, or he will be when he finishes his training. He knows he’d have to do something pretty heinous for me to fire him, and he likes mouthing off. He especially likes women,” he pointed out.
“I could tell.”
Owen chuckled. “I’m sure you could. I’d like to see Len’s eyes roll back in his head if he found out he was trying to flirt with a princess. That would shut him up.”
“Don’t be so sure. Sometimes knowing a woman is forbidden brings out the worst in men.”
Owen studied her carefully. “I don’t intend for you to see the worst side of any man around here. I owe Andreus a great deal. Letting his little sister be harassed isn’t in the cards while you’re here. I’ll keep Len away.”
She frowned. “You don’t have to. Len seems harmless.”
Owen’s frown intensified. “If he thinks he can get you into bed, he’ll use all the charm he has to do it. Women tend to fall for Len. Sometimes I think that’s why he’s taking so long to finish his training. Not being licensed yet leaves him with more time for his love life. None of those middle-of-the-night calls that full-fledged veterinarians get.”
“You think I’d be susceptible to someone so obvious?”
“I think I don’t know you at all, so I can’t answer that. I do know that friend or not, Len’s just the kind of man Andreus would want me to protect you from.”
She raised her chin.
To her consternation he smiled.
“What?” she asked.
“Your identity may be a secret, but your manner is purely royal.”
“I’ll have to work on that, then. My manner…these clothes… Len knew I didn’t fit in, and I don’t. I want to become part of the woodwork, to be a part of my surroundings.”
“Sort of an experiment,” he suggested.
“No. A life experience. I want to immerse myself.”
“Well, you certainly got a good start with what happened back there with that cow and her calf.”
“It was…interesting.”
He laughed out loud then. “Did they teach you diplomacy before you learned how to walk? You nearly fainted. And…I understand your desire to have some fun and live a little before you get on with your life, but Andreus must have taken leave of his senses. This is no place for someone like you.”
And even though he was right in some ways— this ranch was not the place she would have chosen to spend this summer—Delfyne couldn’t help but bristle a bit.
“I didn’t faint. I’m not just fluff.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You implied it.” She couldn’t keep the slight edge and the hint of hurt from her tone, and to her surprise he reached out and gently grasped her chin.
“I guess I did, and I’m sorry about that. Len would tell you that I’m more of a pain than he is, and I guess I’m the one who should be told off for having bad manners instead of him, because no, you didn’t faint.”
His hand was warm against her skin, his touch was doing terrible, wonderful things to her senses. As if he suddenly realized his effect on her, he released her. “Timing is important when life hangs in the balance. The fact that you sent me back to work enabled us to get the job done, for which I’m grateful, but that doesn’t change things. It doesn’t mean that I think this is a good place for you. And yes, I can be silent about who you are, but I can’t ignore it.
“This is a ranch, Delfyne. It’s a big ranch and a prosperous one, but even the biggest ranches revolve around cattle. Animals. Heavy, dangerous machinery. There’s a lot of dirty work, some blood, a ton of sweat and a fair amount of muck. Most of my men are regulars, but sometimes for the short term there are rough, transient workers about, and there are plenty of things a woman like you wouldn’t ordinarily be exposed to. I can’t like that. What were you doing out there, anyway?”
She hesitated. Her first instinct was to say that she had spent two days alone and wanted company. But that sounded a whole lot like, “I’m bored,” the whining of a pampered princess.
“I need to do something,” she said instead.
“In the calving shed?” Was he smiling? Was he laughing at her? Somehow the thought didn’t offend her. It cheered her up.
She laughed. “Oh, is that what you call that place? I had no idea. Will the cow and her baby be all right?”
She expected him to say yes automatically, the way people did. “Probably,” he said instead. “Len is careful but there’s always the danger of infection. One of the men will check in on the two of them round the clock tonight.”
It occurred to her that in his line of work he probably saw a lot of sickness and more. “Did you ever…I don’t know…keep one of them? Name it?”
He stopped and faced her, his shirt still hanging open, his bare chest gleaming in the sun. For a second she felt faint again and she fought not to sway. “This is a ranch, Delfyne. It’s not smart to get attached. I don’t get attached. I know the rules and I always live by them.”
She was pretty sure that he was talking about more than cows. She also knew that he was being smarter than she was, but she was going to be here for several months. This situation—living alone with nothing to do—was unacceptable.
“I need to do more than lounge around reading,” she said. “You may think that’s what—” she glanced to the side “—princesses do,” she whispered. “But I’m not that