The Cattle Drive [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Rebecca Joyce Page A

him. She watched as he stopped the horse and just sat there looking down at her. Infuriated, her hair had come loose and was now flying all around her. Even though she was so angry she could have been spitting nails, his stark ruggedness took her breath away. She watched as he dismounted the horse and walked toward her and stood toe to toe with her.
    “My son is not going to be working for you this summer. I want you to tell him no,” he said firmly, looking her directly into her eyes.
    “Who are you to tell me who I hire and who I can’t? If Henry is willing to learn, then I will hire him. Besides, he is almost eighteen, and you want to tell me why he doesn’t even know how to ride?” she asked, looking up at him and placing her hands on her hips.
    “That is none of your business. I don’t want my son working on a cattle ranch. Is that clear?” he said, stepping closer to her.
    “If he can do the job, I will hire him. Is that clear?” she said, inching toward him.
    “Damn it, woman, I don’t want him riding or working on a cattle ranch. He is going to college and getting a decent job. Henry is too good for manual labor.”
    “So ranch work is beneath him. Only poor, stupid, ignorant people are allowed to work a cattle ranch.”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “Oh yes you did,” she yelled. They were both standing so close to each other that she could both feel the heat from his body. Rachael watched as he took a deep breath, raking his hands down his face.
    “You want to tell me why?” Rachael said, trying to curb her frustration at the whole situation.
    “I know what it’s like working on a cattle ranch. It’s hard work, and one can get immersed in it. I want something better for my son.”
    “You’re from Illinois. What do you know about ranching?” she asked.
    “Henry is from Illinois. I was born and raised in Montana. My father owned a cattle ranch. So I know what working one entails,” he replied, smiling.
    “If your son can do the work and he is willing to learn, I’m sorry, Michael, but I will not turn him away. I will hire him.”
    “Damn it, Rachael, I don’t want him working a ranch,” Michael said, grabbing her arms and pulling her into his body. He held her firmly there, looking down into her eyes.
    “Fine!” She smiled. “If you won’t let Henry work the ranch, then that leaves you. Come this fall, you will help me drive the cattle to market,” she said firmly.
    “The hell I will!” he lied.
    “You just cost me an employee, therefore you will stand in his place. I won’t argue about this anymore. I expect to see you come summer,” she said, wiggling out of his grip and walking back over to her horse. She was on her horse so quick, she felt like laughing, because he just stood there openmouthed. She turned around in her saddle and smiled. “And Michael, don’t be late. If you really know cattle…you should know they get feisty if they aren’t fed on time,” she said, laughing as she trotted off.
    As she rode off, reality hit. “Shit, I just hired him for the cattle drive.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Sitting atop their horses, two men looked down into the valley at the vast ranch before them. The land was a cover of golden honey. A stream ran through the north end of the property. The treelined feeding ground was overrun with cattle as they grazed. Off toward the south stood a large farmhouse with barns and corrals.
    The two men watched as ranch hands maneuvered the cattle. The R & R Ranch was a working cattle ranch, and a very profitable one at that. With over three thousand heads, fifteen ranch hands, and a very determined owner, the ranch was money.
    He sat there grinning as the other man handed him a folder.
    “What?”
    “That’s your family down there. Wouldn’t it just be easier to talk and settle this like a gentleman before things go too far? I am sure they would understand.”
    “What you need to learn is that I do what I want, when I want. I suggest you keep