A Beautiful Ranch Read online

  "Okay," Stella agreed. "I can have it on the table in fifteen minutes, or should I hold it longer?"

  "No, that will be fine. Thank you," Dalton said as he disappeared up the steps to his bedroom.

  Daphne went back to her conversation with Stella, until another handsome cowboy came through the kitchen door. "Evening, Stella," he said, as he took his hat off and hung it on a hook by the door. He looked up, and stopped short when he saw Daphne.

  "Clay, this is Miss Lilly Jamison, a friend of Miss Daphne's." She turned to tell Lilly, "This is Clay Humphries, Dalton's ranch foreman."

  Dalton came back into the kitchen just in time to see the sparkle in Clay's eyes as he very sincerely said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Daphne. If you have any questions about the ranch, feel free to ask me."

  "Why, thank you, Clay. I'll remember that," she said with what Dalton thought was a bit of a flirty smile. Judging by the big grin on his face, apparently Clay did as well. Dalton was startled and rather confused when he realized that somehow bothered him.

  "I see you two have already met," Dalton said, drawing their attention to him and away from each other. "As my foreman, Clay eats meals in here with me so we can talk about the ranch and what needs to be done. We'll try to keep shop talk to a minimum while you're here so we don't bore you to death, Lilly."

  "Actually, ranches have always fascinated me. I'd love to hear what all you're doing. And please don't feel you have to do anything different just because I'm here," Lilly insisted. "You probably won't even know I'm around."

  "Oh, I'll know," Dalton said with a chuckle. "As long as you're here, I'll feel responsible for you, and I take my responsibilities seriously. We'll go over the rules while we eat." Turning to Stella, he asked, "Are we ready, Stella?"

  "Most certainly, Dalton. You three go on in and be seated, and I'll be right in."

  "Thank you, Stella," Dalton said as he casually led a surprised Lilly into the dining room with a gentle hand on her back. He pulled the chair out and seated her before sitting next to her, at the end of the table. Clay sat across from her, and before she had a chance to consider the odd sensation that went through her as Dalton's hand came into contact with her arm, Stella was setting bowls of food on the table in front of them. The food all looked fantastic, and she felt a bit overwhelmed.

  She recovered as she heard Dalton speaking. "Help yourself, Daphne. We're pretty informal around here." He passed her a bowl of mashed potatoes as he said, "I put a piece of Swiss steak on your plate, but help yourself to more."

  She paused a moment to consider whether she appreciated him assuming she wanted Swiss steak, but quickly put the thought on the back burner to listen to the two handsome cowboys as they discussed their day on the ranch.

  "Did you and the men get the fence fixed in the northwest corner today, Clay?"

  "Yep, we fixed the one place it was down, and then we rode the entire fence to be sure it was all okay. There were a couple small places we repaired, but there was really just the one spot that was a real problem. It should be good to go now."

  "Good," Dalton said. "We'll transfer the main herd tomorrow into that pasture. They've gotten the one they're in now pretty well eaten down." Clay nodded his head in agreement.

  They continued to eat a few minutes before Clay asked, "Have you heard anything yet about your offer to buy the bull?"

  "Not yet," Dalton said, "but I'm glad you said something. I want to call him tonight and see if he's made a decision yet. If he's not going to sell his bull, I want to start looking around for another one. I definitely think we need to introduce a new blood line. There's a man out east of Cheyenne that I've heard a lot of good things about. They say he's been working for several years now on his breeding program and has some nice looking stock."

  "That sounds like it's worth looking into, anyway," Clay agreed.

  Dalton looked at Lilly. "We need to go over your rules, Lilly, but before we do that, you haven't touched your food. I guess I should have asked sooner, but are you a vegetarian, or do you have any food allergies?"

  "No, I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't have any food allergies."

  Dalton's eyebrows rose as he looked down at her plate. "Is there some problem with your food?"

  Lilly looked down at her untouched plate and felt her face redden, though she wasn't sure why. "No, everything looks delicious. I was listening to you two talk and I guess I was a bit mesmerized. I've always thought ranches had a rather mystic air about them."

  Dalton and Clay looked at each other as they asked in unison, "Mystic?"

  Feeling her face flush even more, Lilly said, "Okay, maybe not mystic. Maybe more magical." When she saw the blank look on both men's faces she quickly said, "Okay, maybe not magical, either. I've just always been intrigued by ranches and how they are run."

  Clay gave her an indulgent smile. "I take it you've never spent time on a ranch?"

  "Only when I'd come here to visit Daphne for a weekend. I always loved it."

  "Which is why we're going to go over some rules you'll need to follow," Dalton interjected. "This is as good a time as any. For the time being I don't want you wandering too far from the house alone. Make sure you can always see the house from wherever you are."

  "What? Dalton, I'm an adult."

  "I can easily see that, Lilly," he answered with a grin. "But a ranch is not a good place to be roaming around, possibly lost. It's easy to get turned around and head away from the house when you think you're coming back here. There are some wild animals out there you don't want to run into alone without a gun."

  "Okay, I hadn't thought of wild animals. Do I need to get a gun to take with me when I go out to paint?"

  "That depends," Dalton answered. "Do you know how to use one?"

  "I haven't before, but how hard can it be? I'm a quick learner with most things."

  "Then to answer your question, no, you shouldn't go get a gun to take with you."

  She looked confused. "But why not, if there are wild animals I need to watch out for?"

  Dalton looked at her and shook his head. "Lilly, I will not have someone on my ranch with a gun unless I'm sure they know how to use it. If you stay for a little while, I'll teach you to use a gun if you want, and then we can talk again if you want to take one with you. But for now, no, absolutely not. I don't want to have to worry about anyone getting shot accidentally."

  "But then how will I see all the gorgeous scenery?"

  Dalton saw Clay smile and quickly cut off his response. "Let me ask you; how exactly do you do your painting? Do you take your canvas out with you and paint directly onto it?"

  "Sometimes. Sometimes I see an area that I know would be gorgeous on canvas, and I'll take out my phone or a camera and take a bunch of pictures to memorialize it. Then as soon as I get home, I'll start the painting while it's fresh in my mind. Usually I at least start it when I'm there, looking at it. Why?"

  Lilly could tell Dalton was thinking through what she'd said, and waited patiently for his reply. Finally, he offered, "We'll work it out. I'm thinking I can take you around the ranch when I have a little free time. If you see a spot you like, you can take some pictures, and then we can go back with your supplies when we have a little time, like maybe on a Sunday."

  "I don't want to inconvenience you. You shouldn't have to spend your free time taking me places."

  "I'd be happy to take you out sometimes, Lilly," Clay offered.

  "We'll see how it goes and make decisions on it as we go along," Dalton quickly decided. "For now, let me go over the rules you're to follow while you stay here."

  Lilly frowned a bit, but said, "Okay."

  Dalton had to concentrate on not chuckling when he saw her frown. The Lilly he remembered growing up as Daphne's friend certainly wouldn't have wanted to hear about any rules either. He was guessing she hadn't changed all that much. He put that thought aside for the moment and started speaking, watching her expression. "Okay, we've talked about the first one. When you
're alone, I want you to always be able to see the house from where you are. I know you're not happy with that, but I think you'll find once you go out and start exploring, that gives you more leeway than it sounds. The house is on a knoll, so you can see it from quite a distance."

  Lilly nodded and reluctantly agreed. "Okay. I'll see how that goes before I complain. You're right; it may let me wander further than I'm thinking."

  He chuckled as he said, "That's a good idea. See what you're talking about before you complain about it."

  Lilly totally missed the subtle point he was trying to make. "Yeah, I guess. Anything else?"

  He hesitated a moment. "Lilly, let me explain why I'm making these rules. If you understand why I'm doing the things I'm doing, maybe they won't seem as restrictive. This is my ranch, and I'm responsible for the safety of everyone and everything on it. If you ask my ranch hands, they'll tell you I have rules and I expect them to be followed. They know if they don't, they'll be fired. In your case, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like; as long as you follow the rules. They're for safety reasons; for the safety of not only you, but my ranch hands, as well."

  "I don't understand. How could I do something to hurt them?"

  "A ranch is like a well-oiled machine. It runs smoothly as long as everything, or everyone, is doing their job. Think of a ranch as a wheel. There are many spokes on that wheel. None of them are extraordinarily strong on its own, but together they support the wheel. If one spoke breaks, it puts extra pressure on the others, and soon one of them breaks. See where I'm going?"

  "So far, yeah."

  "Well, there are lots of things that need to be done on a ranch, and as long as everyone does their job, and does it well, everything works together and runs smoothly. Now, keep that idea in mind as I explain these next two rules. First, don't bother my ranch hands. Each one of them has a job to do. If you start asking them questions or asking them to do something for you or take you someplace, it may not seem like much, but it takes them away from what they're doing. If they fall behind and their job doesn't get done…"

  "Their spoke's going to break," Lilly finished.

  "Exactly. So the men are busy. Let them do their work."

  "Okay, that makes sense. What else?"

  "We need to talk about fences and gates. Gates are to remain closed. If you want to pass through a pasture that's empty, I'm okay with that, but climb over the gate; don't open it."

  "Okay, but why?"

  "If you open a gate you might forget to close it, or not get it closed quite right. Either way, the cattle can get out, and that's a serious problem. Depending on where it is, it might go unnoticed for a period of time and the cattle can scatter pretty quickly. Then it takes all the hands and a lot of time to round them up and get them back in. They can get hurt while they're out and running. Or they can go onto a road and get hit. Then the ranch is held responsible."

  "Okay, I get it. If you open a gate, be sure you close it right," Lilly said.

  "Is that the rule I just gave you, young lady?" Dalton's casual voice had suddenly turned into a very stern, authoritative voice, and he didn't sound happy. It startled Lilly, and she quickly glanced up and saw a stern expression on his face. More than a little riled, she shook her head. "I'd like an answer, Lilly."

  "No," she squeaked out. She didn't know why his tone upset her so much, but she couldn't help it. He was suddenly very intimidating.

  Chapter Two

  Dalton seemed very stern as he asked, "What did I say about gates?"

  Lilly quickly answered, "Not to open them."

  His voice was instantly back to normal as he said, "That's better. Climb over them and you won't have to worry about not getting it shut right."

  She was shocked. Just that quickly, his voice and demeanor were back to what they'd been before. Clay was eating his dinner and didn't seem surprised by what she considered a sudden outburst by Dalton. She'd have to consider that later, when she was alone. Maybe she just misunderstood his temporary change.

  Meanwhile, Dalton was already onto his next rule, so she looked over at him and tried to catch up to what he was saying. Unfortunately, she was too late. He was looking directly at her as if he were waiting for an answer. Again she felt her face flush as she asked, "I'm sorry; what?"

  Dalton sighed, and Clay smiled, but quickly looked away. "Just as I thought," Dalton said. "You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?"

  "I'm sorry."

  "Lilly, these rules are important. I need to be sure you're safe while you're staying here. If you don't even care enough to listen to them, how can I expect you to follow them? Maybe this isn't…"

  "No, Dalton, please don't finish that sentence. I do care about the rules. I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said. I was just thinking about the last thing you said, about the gates. I understand now what you were saying about them, and I'll be careful with the gates now. This is all new to me and I'm sorry if it takes me longer to follow what you're saying, but I'm listening. This is important to me. Please don't say I can't stay here."

  Dalton felt like a heel now. He hadn't thought of her inexperience around a ranch. He assumed his rules were straight forward and wouldn't need any explanation, but he'd been wrong. He gentled his voice to finish his conversation with her. "No, I'm sorry. I forgot you're not used to being on a ranch. I'll try to explain things better. The next thing I want to talk to you about is meals. Stella fixes three meals a day for us. Breakfast is right after morning chores are done, which is usually around 7:15 or 7:30. I understand you may not be used to getting up that early, so that's optional for you. If you get up later, you'll have to fix your own breakfast though. Lunch is in the vicinity of noon to 12:30, and supper is around 6:00. Those times can change a little from time to time, depending on what we're doing, but if they change, you'll know about it. The reason I tell you when we eat is because I expect you to be here for lunch and supper unless you tell me otherwise."

  "Are you serious? I haven't had to check in with my mom since I was about ten. If I was there for a meal, I ate, and if not, I had to fend for myself. But I certainly didn't have to check in with her."

  "I'm sorry to hear that," Dalton said.

  She was ready to verbally let him have it, but when she looked at his face she could tell he was serious and had a look of sympathy on his face. "I'm sorry you didn't have anyone who let you know how much they cared about you while you were growing up," he explained.

  "My mom cared."

  "I'm sure she did," he answered. "But I can't imagine not knowing where someone I care about is at a mealtime. I guess it's just a difference in how we were brought up. But as long as you're here, I want to know you're okay, so I'm going to ask you to be here for lunch and dinner, unless you tell me otherwise. I'm not asking where you're going or with whom, but if you're going out for dinner with Daphne or someone else, please let me know you won't be here. I won't worry about you then."

  A warm feeling spread across Lilly, and she said, "Okay, I'll let you know if I won't be here for a meal. Anything else?"

  "Not right now. I'm sure as we go on things will come up and we'll probably have to add a few more rules, but those are the basic ones I want you to keep in mind. Oh, and if you go out on your own to paint or take pictures, take water along with you. If you ask Stella, she can get you a thermos of tea or water or lemonade or whatever you want to take, but make sure you have something to drink. It gets hot out there pretty quickly."

  "Okay, I'll try to remember that."

  "Now, do you have any questions?"

  "Not that I can think of right now."

  "Okay. If you do, be sure to ask them. I won't be upset."

  "Okay, thanks."

  They finished their dinner, or supper as he called it, with kind of a getting-to-know-you session. Dalton and Clay asked questions about the work she did and where she'd been living. She asked questions about the ranch, and learned that Clay has been Dalton's foreman for the past six years an
d was two years younger than Dalton, which put him four years older than herself. He seemed to be a nice guy.

  That night when she went to bed, her mind wandered. She was sleeping in Daphne's old room, and looking around brought back lots of memories. When they were younger, she'd always envied Daphne. She had a brother, which was something Lilly always wished she had. She was an only child; raised by her mother. Dalton's words came back to her while she lay in bed. Her mother had cared about her, but not in the way Daphne's parents and brother cared about her. She'd always wished she had a family like Daphne's.

  She remembered how Dalton always seemed to look out for Daphne when they were younger. Even before their parents died, he seemed to always somehow be there for her when she needed him. When they were a lot younger, he always walked them home from school, stopping at her house first, then taking Daphne home. He used to ask his sister every day if she had much homework and if she needed any help with it. Daphne used to complain that she didn't have any privacy, but Lilly had always been jealous of her. She thought it would be nice to have a brother who watched out for you like that.

  Remembering back, she'd not only thought Dalton was very caring and attentive to Daphne, but he was also about the hottest looking guy she'd ever met. In her opinion, he'd only gotten more handsome with time. He was tall and had always been attractive, but working on the ranch had turned his body into a chiseled, muscular masterpiece. Add his dark hair with just the right amount of curl, and his brown eyes that were so expressive, and she knew she'd have to be careful around him. She wasn't ready for another man in her life, but he was the kind of guy that could be dangerous. She went to sleep that night imagining what it would be like to have him care for her like he used to care for Daphne.

  ***

  Lilly woke the next morning anxious to explore. She got up and dressed in blue jean shorts and a tee shirt, slipped into her flip flops, grabbed her camera and headed downstairs. She was halfway to the door when she heard a deep voice behind her. "Good morning, Lilly. In a hurry?"

  She'd been so excited to get out and explore that she hadn't even considered running into Dalton. She assumed it was late enough that he'd be out working. His deep, sexy voice startled her and she jumped, but turned and managed to say, "Good morning, Dalton. I'm not in a hurry so much as just anxious."