Lady Outlaw by Stacy Henrie Page A

Thoughts of him brought her traitorous pulse to almost normal speed.
    Jerking her hands free, Jennie stumbled backward. “I think you have it,” she said, her words still coming out shaky. She forced a cleansing breath. “Keep practicing until you can do it with ease. Then come help me with the fence.” Without waiting for his response, she spun on her heel and hurried across the corral.
    She couldn’t like him—she wouldn’t. Her focus had to remain on doing what she must to save her home. No charming, would-be cowboy was worth losing her ranch.
    * * *
    Muscles strained, Caleb held tight to the squirming calf while Jennie applied the branding iron near the animal’s rump. The smell of burnt hair filled Caleb’s nostrils, and sweat ran down his back from working close to the fire. It didn’t help that the day was unusually warm for mid-April. His clothes were now damp, dirty and speckled with blood. He wished he’d worn his old boots for this messy work, instead of the newer ones he’d been given yesterday.
    It’s all for the freight business, he told himself. If he could survive the next few months, he’d never have to look at another cow rump again.
    The calf bellowed and twisted in protest as Jennie put down the iron and took up her knife to cut a small notch in the animal’s right ear.
    “All right,” she said, using the back of her hand to brush hair from her glistening forehead. “He’s done.”
    Caleb untied the rope from the calf’s feet and released it. He jumped out of the way as the animal scrambled through the brush in search of its mother. “How many have we done?”
    Jennie blew out a long breath and plopped down in the dirt. “Twenty calves in all. We had twice that many last spring. It took me and Will three days to round them all up and brand them. We’ve lost quite a few since then.”
    “What happened?”
    “A few died over the winter, but mostly it’s been rustlers.”
    “You mean the Indians that shot your pa?” She looked up sharply at his words, so he quickly added, “Will told me what happened.”
    She nodded. “They took some, yes. But I think one of the other landowners around here might be stealing from us, too.”
    Caleb’s eyebrows shot up. “Why would you think that?”
    “The Indians might want a few head of cattle here and there, but since they don’t have the setup to handle anything more, there’s no cause for them to take very many. But the other landholders...they could add my calves to their stock with no problems at all, and have the bonus of driving us out at the same time. There are plenty of folks who think I can’t handle this ranch on my own. I think someone’s trying to prove it.”
    Her voice was strong and steady, but Caleb could see how tired she looked, how the responsibility for running and protecting the ranch wore away at her. A surge of protectiveness filled him and he promised himself that, for as long as he worked on the ranch, he’d help lift some of that load. But that brought up another question. Would his wages take away from the family’s ability to survive? Could they support another mouth to feed? “Can you afford to pay me?”
    He realized she’d misunderstood the motivation behind his question when her cheeks flamed red.
    “That’s not what I—”
    “I said I would,” she interjected. “It’s going to take another set of hands to make this place what I want, what my father wanted.” She climbed to her feet and threw him a haughty look. “I can afford to pay you when our agreement is up. Just as I promised. And I’ll pay you for every month you stay after that.”
    “Then I’m not a mail-order cowboy anymore?” he teased, hoping to defuse her anger.
    She scowled at him, but only for another few seconds, before she laughed. “I’ll admit you’ve done well.”
    Will approached them carrying a calf, its ankles tied. “I think she’s the last one.”
    “Caleb and I’ll finish up,” she said. “Why don’t