Salvation in the Rancher's Arms(22)

“Well...I...” Her gaze searched the corners of the barn as if the correct answer was hidden amongst the bales of hay and bridles. She didn’t have time to think of herself, she had a family and they came first. “What does it matter to you?”

He shrugged, his steady gaze unnerving her. “Suppose it doesn’t.”

“Then perhaps you could answer my original question with respect to your intentions.”

“I have no intention of running you or your family off your land.”

“It isn’t my land anymore, Mr. Beckett.” The words caught in her throat. She swallowed, determined not to break down in front of this man. Fainting was bad enough, but to cry? She wouldn’t have it.

“Caleb,” he said. “Since it appears we’re going to be spending plenty of time with each other for the current duration, I see no point standin’ on ceremony.”

She bristled at the notion. It made her nervous. Already the short time she’d spent in his company had left her twisted in knots that had nothing to do with losing her land. The more distance she could keep between them, the better. But that would be hard to do if he planned on settling in for a while.

“I think for the sense of propriety it would be best if we kept our relationship more...formal. And how much time will you give us?”

“And I’ll call you Rachel,” he said, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Propriety don’t mean a hill of beans when there’s no one around to judge how proper you’re being.”

“Mr. Beckett—”

“Caleb.”

She gritted her teeth. The man was as irritating as he was handsome. It was a shame one didn’t cancel out the other.

“Unless you’re worried callin’ me by my given name might make you like your mama. Is that it?”

Rachel sucked in a mouthful of air but still couldn’t breathe. Mr. Beckett’s suggestion rendered her lungs useless. “What do you know about my mama?”

Had someone in town said something? Rachel had hoped the rumors about her mother’s behavior would have died long ago when they buried her. Rachel had done everything within her ability to live a proper and respectable life, to erase the tarnish her mother’s actions had put on their family. Living with a gambler and cheat did little to aid her, but it did not stop her from trying. Had the attempt been wasted effort?

“Don’t know more than what Kirkpatrick said to you, but it seemed to hit a nerve so I’m putting two and two together.”

Relief swept through her. She glared at him, resenting the ease with which he leaned there, not a care in the world. And why would he care? He wasn’t the one who had lost everything. Everything she had lost, he had gained.

“I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to add up things you don’t understand. All I want to know from you, Mr. Beckett, is what your long-range plans are.”

He smiled at her emphasis on his name and she was struck by the sudden transformation in his features. Years peeled away, and for a brief instant, she had a hint of the young boy he might have been. But as quickly as it appeared, the smile vanished, and the enigmatic stranger returned.

“I don’t make long-range plans, Rachel.” Her name slid over her, awakening areas that had long been dormant. He pushed away from the wall and stalked toward her. Each step swallowed the space between them, drawing him closer until she had to fight the urge to run away, to find one of those dark corners she’d searched out earlier and hide in its shadows.

He stopped a few feet from her, and when he spoke next, she had to struggle to hear him over the rapid beat of her heart. What was wrong with her?

“For the short term, I can tell you I have no intentions of sending your family packing. If your husband had lived, I would have fixed this somehow.”

Rachel forced her legs to move, a feat that took more will than she wished. She walked to the open barn doors and stared unseeing into the yard beyond. She needed distance. She couldn’t think with him up close. He was like a strange poison that flooded her bloodstream and invaded her mind.

It was ridiculous, this unwarranted response to him. She didn’t know this man from Adam. He had barged into her life, a stranger she knew nothing about, bringing the worst news possible, and yet...yet he was the only lifeline she had.

Wasn’t that just her luck?

She heard his footsteps growing closer. She spoke to ward him off, in the hope her words would stop him in his tracks. “Fixed it how? Were you going to give it all back? Do you expect me to believe you would hand over a prize piece of land out of some misplaced sense of honor?”

“Honor is never misplaced.”