“I think that’s wonderful,” Cora said, certain this announcement was for her benefit. “I was just telling Skylar today that I’d never had a sister. The prospect of having two is thrilling.”
“I’ll anticipate seeing more of you, then,” said Skylar. “Seems a shame that in the three years we’ve been neighbors, this is your first formal visit.”
“Truly,” Salina said, beaming. “I would love nothing more.”
A side glance from Skylar told Cora she had her doubts.
Boot steps pounded against the porch just before the front door burst open. Tucker stormed in as though he intended to foil a robbery. Chance walked in behind him. Both men stopped short as their gazes collided with Salina.
“Salina,” said Tucker. “Is everything okay on your ranch?”
Her gaze moved a bit frantically between the two, as though trying to distinguish one brother from the other, which Cora found rather amusing. “Yes. Thank you.”
The seething chill in Chance’s eyes must have given him away. “Hello, Chance.”
“Evening.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees. It appeared she wasn’t the only one subjected to Chance’s less-than-welcoming reactions. For a reason she couldn’t explain, her spirits lifted.
Salina sprang up in a flutter of black chiffon. “I really must be going. Skylar, Cora, it has been lovely.” She stepped between the two brothers and slid her arm beneath Chance’s. “Chance,” she said, not seeming to notice the narrowed eyes that had never left her. “See me out, won’t you?” Chance stared down at Salina’s smiling face, then glanced at her arm hooked around his.
What the hell’s going on?
He didn’t wait to find out in front of his family. He turned and guided Salina toward the front door as quickly as he could.
The moment Garret had told him Widow Jameson was at the house, he and Tucker had hightailed it home. If Tucker was right and he had roughed up Salina’s current lover, he didn’t want his sister-in-law bearing the brunt of her anger. Judging by the eerie pleasantries he’d just witnessed, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Salina nestled against his side as he led her onto the porch and closed the door behind them.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, tightening her hold on his arm.
“Lately, I seem to be blessed that way.” Being missed by women was becoming a true hazard.
Once in the yard, he slipped his arm from her grasp.
“Chance,” she said, puckering her lower lip. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you weren’t happy to see me.”
“Well…” He rubbed a hand against the tension in the back of his neck. “I suppose that all depends. Did Wyatt give you my message?”
“Are you referring to the news of your guest, Miss Tindale?” she asked, batting her thick eyelashes.
“I’m referring to Wyatt blocking one of our rivers. I lost one of my best colts yesterday as a result.”
“My gracious. That is truly terrible. I had no idea our pond construction would have such a diverse effect on your land.”
“Pond construction?”
“Yes.”
“Nearly eight miles from your house?”
“Yes.” Her eyes fluttered as she flashed a smile.
“And you didn’t realize diverting water from my land would turn the riverbed into a mud bog?”
“Why, I suppose I just didn’t think it through. I must admit, having you to help oversee such business decisions would clear up this kind of confusion.”
The woman was talking in riddles. “Oversee your business decisions?”
“After you put a ring on my finger, of course.”
He’d definitely missed a big part of this conversation. “A ring?”
She batted those long lashes. “Well, I’ve tried being subtle.”
“Salina, you’re about as subtle as a thunderstorm.”
She beamed a smile. “Then you must have realized that I fancy you.”
The way he heard it, she’d fancied quite a few men even before she’d been widowed, but he wasn’t one for repeating gossip. It wasn’t his business and she wasn’t the first to marry for material comfort.
“You see, I’ve decided it’s time to start thinking about the future, and I want that future to include you.”
“Why?” The question shot from his mouth as if by its own accord, surprising him—and Salina.
“Well…” she said, seeming to search for an answer. “You’re the first real gentleman I’ve come across in a long while.”
“You’d be the first to label me as such,” he said, amused by the title. Just because he hadn’t tossed her to the grass and taken what she’d repeatedly offered didn’t mean he was a gentleman. He’d been tempted. He enjoyed a roll in the hay as much as the next man, but not at the risk of gaining a wife he hadn’t sought. For now, reason outweighed his lust.
“Surely you can see the advantages of seeking my hand,” she persisted. “You’d gain my land and the profit of my stock.”
“That’s a hell of a proposal, Salina.”
Anger firmed her delicate features. “I wasn’t proposing! I was merely suggesting the good that could come from merging our land.”
“Only, I don’t have the need for a cattle outfit. My business is horses. The cattle we range are for training and our own consumption. The ones your men don’t steal, that is.”
“By merging our ranches, there’d be nothing to steal.”
Now he was getting somewhere. “So you admit your awareness of the problem?”
“You’re straying from the topic of conversation.”
“Which is?”
“Marriage.”
This just wasn’t his week. “Then let me be blunt. I don’t want a wife. And we’re getting real tired of dealing with the thieves and thugs you call a cattle crew.”
She sashayed toward him in a way meant to gain a man’s attention. “I think I can change your mind,” she said, placing her hands against his chest, slowly sliding them up to his shoulders. He wasn’t immune to her touch. He’d gone too long without the physical gratification of a woman. “Perhaps you’re not comprehending the finer points of marriage?”
He comprehended just fine.
He let his hands fall against her tiny waist, noting she smelled of rose petals. Not one of his favorite scents, he decided.
“Salina,” he said, leaning his head toward hers.
“Yes?”
“If your men don’t learn to behave themselves, someone’s gonna get killed.”
She shoved him with a huff and planted her fists on her narrow hips. “You’re a difficult man, Chance Morgan.”
“I’m a businessman, Salina. And you are an independent, business-minded woman.”
She beamed as though he’d given her a compliment. “Exactly. We’re well suited.”
She certainly