Cowgirls Don't Cry(68)
Cass swung up on the big sorrel, and settled into the saddle. Boots touched her knee.
“I’m sorry, baby girl.”
She closed her eyes and fought for control as Boots mounted his horse. The man never did anything without a good reason. Someday, maybe she wouldn’t hurt so much, and she could talk about it. Not now. Now she had a herd to deliver.
Buddy barked and quivered with excitement. She glanced at her handful of drovers and though she tried not to, she had to glance at Chance. He hadn’t moved and his face looked as if it had been carved from granite for all the emotion he showed. Fine. She didn’t need him. Twenty miles from the ranch to the stockyards with five hundred head of cattle. If she pulled this off, it would be a miracle. She had to be as crazy as a grasshopper sunbathing on a red ant pile.
Fourteen
Chance recognized the stubborn jut of her chin and had to admire her despite the fact he pretty much hated himself as much as she claimed to hate him. She’d mounted her horse with controlled elegance and didn’t take out her obvious anger on the sorrel. The grim set of her mouth didn’t diminish her beauty. She wheeled Red around to face the people who’d gathered.
Despite angry looks from other bystanders, he stepped back to the front fender of his truck to watch. This moment belonged to Cassie. He might have destroyed any hope for a relationship but he still cared, still loved her. Cyrus Barron would never be able to take his feelings for her away. Chance had wanted her to have this moment of glory, even if it turned into a last hurrah. He would track down who tried to rob it from her.
“This is it,” she called. “Cyrus Barron has decided I’m public enemy number one. Some of you might not want to get on his bad side. I’ll understand if you drop out. No hard feelings. But I’m mad as hell, and I’m going to prove to that old bastard that he can knock me down, but I won’t stay in the dirt.”
She straightened her shoulders and stood in her stirrups. “My daddy didn’t know what giving up meant. I’m not about to let him down now. I have four days to get these cows to the stockyards and by God, I’m gonna get ’em there come hell, high water or the damned Barron family!”
Cheers answered her, and he couldn’t suppress the feeling of pride welling inside him. And apprehension. If he knew his father, she would have both hell and high water to deal with.
She laughed, but it sounded mirthless in the fading echoes of the shouts of the drovers. “I’ve always wanted to say this! Head ’em up! Move ’em out!”
Chance waited until the last steer and the drag riders disappeared up the road. Two men patched the fence, and Nadine rolled up the awning on her RV. She walked over and leaned on the truck fender next to him.
“You should’a told her.” The woman gazed eastward where a red haze still hung in the still air.
“Probably.” He watched the same dust cloud.
“You care about her.”
“Probably.” Hell, yeah, he cared. He loved her. But he couldn’t admit it. Not out loud. He’d told Cass and look what happened. He hung his head and refused to meet Nadine’s knowing gaze.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Damned if I know, Nadine.”
She chuckled and smacked his arm. He resisted the urge to rub the spot. For a woman her age, she still carried quite a punch. “Then it’s high time you figured it out, Chancellor Barron. She’s worth fightin’ for.”