Kitabı oku: «Cowgirl Makes Three / Her Secret Rival», sayfa 2

Chapter Two

SHE HAD TOLD NOAH that she wouldn’t bother him anymore, so why was she out here repairing a section of fence?

Ivy wrestled with her conscience. She acknowledged that simply trying to stay out of the man’s way while still attempting to impress him with her ability to do the job was pushing the limits. But what could she do? She needed money to survive. If she could earn enough money to pay the taxes, she could sell the ranch. Then she could hide for a long time. No facing reporters wanting to ask her how losing Bo and Alden and her famous face had changed her life. It had been two years, but just as soon as she thought everyone had forgotten about her, some new model would shoot to the forefront and the reporters would seek her out again for a “whatever happened to” segment, and she just couldn’t do that.

She’d enjoyed modeling and her looks had brought her honest work, but how she felt about the loss of those looks was…complicated. Her scars were a reminder of a life she had loved and lost, but even more than that, they were a reminder of her failure to save her baby, and she never hid them with makeup. She had lived while Bo died. She couldn’t forgive herself for that, but she wouldn’t discuss it, either. No. She needed anonymity and enough money to allow her to disappear.

So, yes, she felt guilty about her impulsive comment to Noah, but she couldn’t give up. Taking her pliers in her gloved hand, she snipped the wire and pounded the staple home, snugging up the wire.

“Nice job, but it won’t work, Ivy. Most of my fences are in good repair.”

She whirled, and there he was. “How did you sneak up on me like that?”

“Applesauce knows how to be quiet.” He patted the big black gelding.

“Applesauce? He looks more like a Thunder or Killer.”

Noah almost smiled. “My daughter named him.”

Daughter. Child. He had one. Hers was gone. The familiar arrow of pain bit deep, but she was ready. She’d heard that he had a child, so she was able to keep from crumbling. This time.

“She’s a little young to be naming horses, isn’t she?”

“Lily’s almost three, but she loves horses and she also loves—”

“Applesauce,” they said at the same time.

Ivy let that sink in. A man who would risk being ribbed by other men for riding a horse with a silly name in order to make a child happy seemed more human than she wanted to acknowledge.

“The horse is irrelevant, though,” he said. “I’m not hiring you, Ivy. You’re wasting your time and mine.”

Okay, no matter that she was touched by his regard for his daughter, Noah was never going to be on her list of favorite men. If she had such a list, that is.

“You haven’t even given me a chance.”

“I don’t have to. I own the ranch and I call the shots.”

Desperation began to crawl through her bloodstream as she felt her last chance slipping away. “So you’ll hire a man with inferior skills just so you won’t have to hire a woman.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“The fact that you won’t even test my skills implies as much.”

“Maybe I just don’t want to hire an insubordinate employee.”

“I wouldn’t be insubordinate.”

He chuckled. “Ivy, you’re arguing with me. Isn’t that the definition of being insubordinate?”

She frowned. “I know how to follow directions and be submissive.” Unfortunately she knew that all too well. And the word submissive…maybe that hadn’t been the best choice. He was looking at her as if she’d said something sexual. Then he swore.

“I’m sorry. You obviously have your reasons for pursuing this, but I have my reasons for saying no. It’s not happening, Ivy.”

She opened her mouth.

He groaned. “Give up, Ivy.”

Something inside her cried out at the injustice, but she knew when she was beaten. She’d traveled this “no way to win” path before. In this very town. On the ranch she’d grown up on.

Pocketing her pliers, she turned to walk away.

“You don’t have to walk. I’ll arrange for you to ride.”

She stopped, tipped her head back as she pivoted and stared up at him. “No. You have only one thing I want and that’s all I’ll accept from you.” A ride was a pity gesture. She had what it took to do this job, even if Noah couldn’t see it. Walking home was nothing. Deciding where she went with her life from here? That was the difficult part.

Still, she wouldn’t let him see her fear. A frightened woman wouldn’t change his mind. Ivy squared her shoulders and marched away. She and Noah were done, unless…

Stop it, she told herself. There won’t be any unless. He’s made that clear.

But then, she’d always had a stubborn, rebellious streak. Sometimes a good dose of stubborn was all a person had to see them through the day.

“What’s that you’re eating, pumpkin?” Noah asked his daughter.

Lily held out one chubby little hand, in which she clutched a mangled piece of toast with jam. She looked up at him with her huge blue eyes and smiled. “Cook-ie,” she said with a little laugh.

Noah wiggled his eyebrows. “That looks like toast to me.”

Lily giggled. “Cook-ie,” she insisted.

“Marta, are you giving our girl cookies for breakfast?” he asked incredulously.

Marta gave a dramatic sigh. “She insisted.”

Noah shook his head. He pointed to the toast. “No cookies for breakfast, Lily.”

“Cookie,” she said with another laugh, her blond curls swaying as her little body rocked with delight at this strange little routine she and her daddy had somehow fallen into.

Noah did his best to look stern. “Okay, hand over the cookie, Lilykins.”

And here came the good part, the part she loved. “No. Toast,” she said with great relish and popped a piece into her mouth.

“Ah, you are a clever one, sweetheart,” he told her. “And a stubborn one. You know how to get your way when you want to.”

He was still thinking about that when he wandered outside to work. In her own way, Ivy reminded him of Lily. Stubborn and determined and proud and hard to resist.

Noah stopped in his tracks. That was a road he didn’t want to travel. Ivy had no business invading his thoughts. That was how all bad things with women started—when you let ones you had nothing in common with start creeping into your thoughts uninvited. Next thing you knew you were in high water, unable to get back to shore or swim against the strength of the current, and they were leaving you. Or even worse, they were leaving Lily. Hurting her. Without so much as a drop of remorse.

Noah growled.

“Bad night?” Brody asked, coming up beside him in the barn.

“You sound hopeful.”

Brody laughed. “Not at all, but if you did have a bad night, your day isn’t going to be any better. Ed broke his leg last night and he’s out of commission. Now we’re down two hands instead of just one.”

Noah’s growl turned into a blue streak of cussing.

“Is that any way for a daddy to talk?”

“No, but Lily’s inside, and I have good reason to swear. I recognize that look in your eyes.”

“What look is that?”

“It’s the ‘I’m holding a good hand’ look. You’ve wiped the floor with me at poker that way before, so let’s not play games. Say what you’ve got to say.”

“Okay, I will. The thing is…Ivy isn’t just nice to look at. She’s a determined worker. I saw her wade in and rescue a calf yesterday that had gotten caught in some muck.”

“She did what? And you didn’t tell me?”

“No point in telling you when you weren’t listening.”

“She was going. She wasn’t coming back.” But in Noah’s mind he heard Lily holding a piece of toast and telling him that it was a cookie while she laughed at her own joke. Ivy might have left and intimated that she wasn’t coming back, but she obviously had a stubborn streak as wide as his daughter’s.

Now Brody was shaking his head. “She sure did a number on you, didn’t she?”

Noah didn’t ask who. Brody didn’t know the half of what his wife had done or about the woman preceding her. And Noah had had enough. Without saying another word, he turned toward his car.

“If you’re looking for Ivy, she’s out at the corral getting acquainted with Bruiser.”

Noah’s heart lurched. “And you let her? I should have got rid of that horse long ago. I’ve been meaning to. Have to before Lily starts roaming around outside.”

“I get the feeling Ivy isn’t the kind of woman a man lets do anything. She has a mind of her own.”

But Noah was through listening. Brody was clearly besotted and worthless where Ivy was concerned. Instead Noah made a beeline for the corral where Bruiser was penned alone. He had bought the horse one insane day a year ago when he’d finally realized that Pamala was never going to even make an attempt to be a mother. He’d been counting on the hope that once Lily got past the tiny baby stage and turned cute as all get-out, Pamala might at least try to show up and be a mother occasionally. But he’d thought wrong. He’d raged against Pamala’s coldhearted betrayal of her own child, but there had been nothing he could do.

He’d been in the mood to go up against someone his own size, and Bruiser had seemed like a creature who was more than willing to meet the challenge. He and the horse had ridden the hills, fighting each other, each one half-crazy and wild. Although there was evidence that the big horse had been abused at one time—there were scars on his back and flanks—he and Noah were a match. They had ended that long ride with an understanding, a wary respect for each other, but Bruiser didn’t tolerate anyone else. As big as he was and with that surely volatile history, he was too dangerous to keep on a ranch with a young child who promised to grow up unpredictable.

Noah already had misgivings about his abilities as a parent. He’d made mistakes, he’d failed Lily on many occasions and in many ways, and worst of all, he hadn’t been able to stop Pamala from leaving his little girl. But he meant to do better, to be as good a father as he could, so selling Bruiser should have been an easy call. He didn’t know why he hadn’t done it already, but now he was going to have to. Apparently Ivy Seacrest was going to force his hand.

Again. Noah frowned. He rounded the barn…and came upon Ivy in the corral brushing Bruiser’s coat. The huge black creature looked more than a little nervous.

“Ivy,” Noah said softly.

She raised her head, looking almost as wary as Bruiser. Like some wild creature who had been abused and expected to be abused again.

“Shh,” she said, and she soothed her hand over the big horse’s side.

Bruiser shivered, and Noah’s breath nearly stopped. “For God’s sake, Ivy, step away from the horse. Slowly. Quietly.”

“He’s not going to hurt me.” She leaned closer to the horse.

“He’s not a lamb, Ivy. He’s big and muscular and easy to anger and—”

He stopped midthought when she smiled. The maddening woman was wedged up against the massive bulk of a nervous horse—and she was smiling. “What on earth are you smiling about?”

“Big, muscular, easy to anger,” she said. “Sounds like you.”

Suddenly he wanted to smile, too, and he would have if he hadn’t still been worried about her safety.

“I mean it, Ivy. Bruiser isn’t just any horse.”

“I know,” she said sadly, tracing a scar that ran down Bruiser’s back. “He’s been hurt.” Her voice nearly broke, but as she ran her hand over the animal, Bruiser whickered softly. He turned his head toward her and nudged her shoulder. Gently. He shivered again, and now Noah could see that Bruiser’s expression was anything but angry. That shiver hadn’t been nerves. He liked having Ivy pet him.

“You sly devil,” Noah said to the animal. “What do you know about that? It seems that my unpredictable, angry horse likes you, Ivy.” He’s got something in common with Brody, Noah thought.

“He just likes someone who understands and trusts him.” She stared at him with those big, innocent-looking blue eyes that weren’t innocent at all. She was trying to school him, and her point was clear.

Now Noah couldn’t keep from smiling. “I don’t distrust you.” It was more like himself he didn’t trust. Around her. She was far too attractive, and he was not a man who could afford to be attracted indiscriminately anymore. Still, he couldn’t stop smiling at her attitude.

“You don’t distrust me, but you’re not hiring me,” she pointed out.

“Yes, I am.”

“You are?” Her voice was so hopeful and—She obviously pushed hard against Bruiser, who whickered and sidestepped.

“Dammit, Ivy, get out of there.”

“I told you…he won’t—”

“I know what you told me, but I want you out of there.”

She raised her chin. Tall as she was, Bruiser dwarfed her height. Noah almost said “Please.” That wouldn’t be smart under the circumstances. A boss didn’t plead with his employees.

“Are you working for me or not?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes.” And giving Bruiser a hug—a hug, for heaven’s sake!—she climbed over the fence and dropped lightly to the ground beside Noah. “I’m working for you. What do you want me to do first?”

Her vault over the fence had left her standing mere inches from him, so close that if he leaned forward he could place his lips against her forehead, tangle himself in that tawny hair.

What do I want you to do? Let me touch you or…no…I want you to step away, dammit! he thought. He almost stepped back himself, fearful that he might put thoughts to deeds and actually touch her. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Tomorrow will be soon enough to start work. For now I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

“I’ve met Brody.” Oh, yeah, he definitely knew that. Brody was going to be laughing…when he wasn’t drooling. Noah was going to have to make some rules about how Ivy was to be treated. By all of them.

He introduced her to Darrell.

“Delighted, Ivy,” Darrell said with a smile that Noah thought was much too wide.

“Come on,” Noah said, barely giving Ivy time to answer. “Let’s go to the house.”

Ivy stopped in her tracks. “Oh. No.”

Did she think…surely she didn’t think…“We won’t be alone,” he explained.

She blinked and tilted her head back to look into his eyes. “I didn’t think that. I just…your family will be there.”

“There’s just me and my daughter, Lily, and my housekeeper and babysitter, Marta. You’ll be in contact with them if you’re working here.”

She blanched. “I…my father never had any workers. I hadn’t thought…I thought I would just work outside with the men. I don’t need to meet your daughter.”

Something hard and flinty took shape within Noah. Pamala had not wanted children. She’d hated everything associated with her pregnancy and she’d barely looked at Lily after she’d been born. Within days, Pamala had gone. Off to California looking for something better. For the limelight. Away from her baby.

“You don’t like children.” He couldn’t keep the edge from his voice.

But when she looked up this time, her eyes were so…anguished was the first word that came to mind.

“I don’t dislike children,” she whispered. “I need to go home now. I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow. To work. Outside.”

Then she fled.

Noah stood there wondering what he had done, what he had gotten all of them into. For sure it wasn’t anything good.

In the middle of the night he woke from a dream. He’d been plunging his fingers into Ivy’s hair, framing her face with his hands, kissing her and staring into those blue eyes.

This time they hadn’t been anguished. They’d been filled with passion.

But none of that was real. The reality was that Ivy Seacrest didn’t want to be near his Lily.

Finding out why would involve getting to know Ivy better, and he didn’t intend to do that. Just as soon as Ed was able to get around without crutches, he’d pay her off handsomely and send her on her way.

No more night dreams of her. He hoped.

Chapter Three

IVY IMMERSED HERSELF IN ranch work as if she really enjoyed it. She drove herself relentlessly. By the end of the first morning the pretty, crisp scarf she’d been unable to resist fastening at her neck was wilted. She was muddy and worn and she had a long scratch on her hand, the result of catching her glove on barbed wire, which tore it off and bit into her skin. Still, there was a sense that she was accomplishing something, closer to her goal of paying her debts, leaving her past and Tallula behind and getting on with her life.

That was a good thing. Of course, she knew darn well that good things didn’t last forever, and sure enough, right when she had just got knocked on her butt by a cow and had landed in a pile of muck, she looked up to find herself staring into Noah’s amber eyes.

“Need a hand?” he asked, reaching out.

She stared at his big, manly hand and knew that touching him would be a mistake. She’d already realized that he was just too potent for her. But she was his employee. He was just offering what he would offer to Brody or Darrell if either of them had landed on their backsides. Saying no to a gesture of goodwill would make something more of this than the situation merited.

She reached out, felt his hand close around hers, big and strong. She felt the kick of awareness, the heat that pooled in her body.

“Thank you,” she somehow managed to say once she was on her feet and, once again, standing much too close to the man. What was wrong with her lately, anyway? It must just be the effect of being back in a place she’d thought she had left behind long ago. She was ten years older, but nothing had changed.

Except Noah is much more potent than I remember. Ivy wanted to scream at the thought. Instead, she backed off a step and put her shaking hands behind her back.

“You okay?” he asked. “I didn’t think she nudged you that hard, but you’re pretty slight. Easily hurt.”

Ivy chuckled. “Still trying to talk me out of working for you? Too late. You’ve given me a job, and I’m not going to lose it.”

“I saw what you were doing, trying to convince that stubborn cow to accept her calf. She’s not too thrilled that you’re trying to turn her into a mama.”

“Poor little thing. Every time he gets close, she kicks out at him. He’s almost too scared to try anymore. But I’m not giving up. This is going to be a love relationship before I’m through.”

He shook his head, muttering something about “love relationship” and “city-girl nonsense.” He turned to walk away, then swung back.

“Go up to the house and tell Marta you need a change of clothes. There are some things…my wife didn’t take everything when she left. I’m sure there are some jeans you can fit into.”

Ivy could see that he didn’t like talking about his ex-wife. Well, who could blame him? She didn’t know anything about Noah’s situation, but the words when she left were pretty telling. As for his suggestion that she go up to the house? Panic began to beat within her chest.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Ivy,” he drawled.

“Noah,” she drawled right back.

“I expect my employees to be sensible. You’re not acting sensible. Brody and Darrell live on the ranch, and all their things are here, so there’s no problem if they need to clean up. You’ve got nothing here.”

Which said a whole lot about her situation in Tallula. She was an outsider, and she did have nothing here. Not just on this ranch, but in this whole region. But Noah had given her a job. He was trying to be nice. And she was a mess, with a half day of chores still to go. All she had to do was go to the house, quickly change and get back to work. The little girl might not even be around.

“Thank you for offering,” she said. “I should remember to leave some clothes here in future.” And with great determination, ignoring the tortured pounding of her heart, she started toward the house.

Noah’s hand on her arm stopped her. The man must walk like a cougar. She hadn’t even heard him coming. She looked up into his eyes.

“What exactly is it about my daughter that bothers you so much?”

They stood there, connected, their eyes locked for several seconds. Then Ivy blinked.

“How much time do you spend on this ranch, Noah?”

He raised one dark eyebrow. “Most of it. Why?”

“I see. Well, that explains things.”

He looked perplexed. “Maybe you should explain to me.”

She took a deep breath. “You know that I became a model after I left here?”

“Of course. Everybody knows that.”

“But you don’t know anything about me beyond that.”

“I’ve been a bit busy. I must have let my copy of Elle expire.”

“Oh, that was wicked, Noah.”

“I try.”

Ivy almost smiled, except…now came the tough part. She hesitated, then opened her mouth to speak.

He shook his head. “I don’t know anything, Ivy, because I don’t tune in to gossip. Plus…I really had no right to ask that question. You’re here to work, and your skills and dependability are all that matter. I shouldn’t have gone all Papa Bear on you and asked. I retract my question.”

Somehow that made it easier. “No, I want to explain. I don’t want you to think that I dislike her. It’s just—when I told you that modeling wasn’t an option anymore…I was in a car accident a couple of years ago. That’s where I got these scars.” She touched her face. Some days she missed the profession she’d loved, but there were things so much more important than being pretty. She would lose more, give more, if only…

“My husband was killed,” she rushed on, “and…and my little boy was…he was, too. So please don’t think I have anything against your Lily, Noah. It’s not that at all. I just…” She bit down to keep her lips from trembling.

“Ivy, I’m—damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” He slid his hand up her arm and across her cheek. He cupped her jaw in his palm. “I’m so sorry. Next time you just tell me to shut up.”

Ivy felt as if her body was being taken to another plane. She was aware of every inch of her skin Noah touched. And his concern—that rough quality in his voice—made her want to lean close, touch him, too. She hadn’t had anyone other than doctors touch her in two years.

That thought stopped everything. If she reacted to the sensation of Noah’s skin against her own, it was just because this was the first time. She struggled for something smart-mouthed to say, anything to distract her attention from the physical contact between them. What had he said to her?

She found a tiny half smile somewhere. “I’ve never had a boss tell me that I should tell him to shut up.”

“You’ve probably never had a boss who made such a boneheaded misstep.”

Finally she found her footing and gave him a real, whole smile. “You’ve clearly never been a model if you think that.”

The laugh that emanated from his body traveled through his skin, the vibration pulsing in his fingers that were still touching her face. As if he realized what he was doing to her, he lowered his arm. “Yeah, no modeling for a rough guy like me.”

Although, in her mind, he could name his price if he went into modeling. Women would empty their piggy banks just to get him to take his shirt off.

“I’ll just go to the house and get something for you,” he said. “There’s an empty crew house over the rise. It’s not much, but you can use it while you’re here.”

“I don’t like acting weak,” she confessed.

“Lady, you hugged Bruiser. You took a shove from a cow that weighs ten times what you do. Weak is not a word I’d use with you.”

“What words would you use with me?” Where had that come from? “That came out wrong. Let’s just not go there,” she corrected.

“Too late,” he said with a wink. “I have three words to describe you right now. Stubborn, sassy and…in need of clean jeans.”

“That’s more than three words.”

He chuckled. “Roll with it. Ranching demands flexibility.”

Noah turned to leave. Then he quickly turned back. “You’re bound to run across her now and then while you’re here. Can you handle it?”

Ivy nodded tightly. “I’m so sorry about this, Noah. I’m sure your child is sweet, and I would never want to do anything that would hurt her. I just…I’m still working things through, and right now…”

He held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain. If anything happened to Lily, I’d be insane. Everything I do, say or am right now and for the next twenty years or so revolves around her. Every decision I make deals with her. I never forget that, so while I can’t possibly put myself in your shoes, I can understand why being around her is a problem for you. I—you know how temporary this job is, don’t you?”

“Yes. I don’t need it to be anything else. I’m not staying.”

“Good. I can’t and won’t hide my child away, but since you won’t be here long, we can make concessions that wouldn’t work out if you were long-term. What I’m saying is that I’ll do my best to make any contact between you as brief as possible. Will that work for you?”

“Yes.”

She would make it work. Somehow she would manage to make all of this work.

And she would not think of Noah as anything other than her boss. She definitely wouldn’t allow herself to remember how much she had liked having his fingers against her skin.

“Yeah, I’ll get right to not remembering that,” she muttered to herself as he strode toward the house and she tried not noticing how long and strong his legs were.

Why had she ever imagined that working for Noah would be smart?

Noah carried the jeans out to Ivy. Just pretend you don’t even know that in a few minutes she’s going to slip out of her clothes and pour her long, slender body into these, Ballenger, he told himself, struggling to do just that.

“They might be a bit short,” he told her, his fingertips brushing hers as he handed them over. A zing of male awareness ricocheted through his body at the touch. Ignore that, he ordered himself.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. Thank you,” she said softly.

“Here, I’ll show you the cottage. It’s been empty for a while, so I’m not too sure how things look inside.”

They looked pretty bad. When he opened the door and saw the layer of dust and the sad and shabby furnishings, the first thought he had was that she had been a model. This would look like a hovel to her.

“It needs work,” he said, stating the obvious.

“I like work.”

“Well, then, you’re going to love this place.” He stepped past her to pull open a shade, and as he did, his body brushed hers. Was that hiss of awareness coming from him or from her?

Noah looked into her eyes. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but he could tell that she wasn’t unaffected by him.

Too bad. The lady’s off-limits. “I’ll just let you get to…”

Undressing.

“Business,” he said, hoping that his voice didn’t sound hoarse. “And I’ll get back to mine.”

Probably best to leave Ivy to Brody’s care, he thought, heading back to the house. But something stubborn and strong inside him didn’t like that idea.

So deal with it. He’d obviously been on the ranch too long; his reaction to her was beyond hot. But there was nothing he could do about that. He and Ivy had a deal. He would keep Lily away from her, and Ivy would leave as soon as this job ran out.

That thought strengthened him. He’d been an idiot before, but all of that was pre-Lily. There were serious, long-term consequences to his actions now. He couldn’t afford to do anything stupid.

Ivy Seacrest would be just another hand to him from now on. The fact that she made him break out in a cold sweat couldn’t matter.

Three days passed, and Ivy tried to work and not pay attention to anything else going on around the ranch. She tried not to notice her aching muscles or the fact that her ranching skills were rusty. She especially tried not to remember how she had reacted to Noah in that split-second brush of his body against hers when he had moved to open the shades.

“Damn, damn, damn,” she muttered beneath her breath. For two long years she had not had one whit of an interest in men. Life had jerked her around too much and all the bad times had boiled down to her dealings with men who had ruined her life—her father who had destroyed her mother with his blind, obsessive devotion to his ranch, and her husband, Alden, whose obsessions that blinded him to others’ feelings had destroyed everything else that had mattered to her. She would never get involved with another man who wore blinders, and it was clear that Noah did.

That comment about Elle magazine had been funny, but it had obviously also been true. Despite his comment about gossip, he had to have been out roaming the range not to have known anything about her past, given the way the paparazzi had covered her accident.

Or maybe he’d been mourning the loss of his wife, she thought. But even that was evidence of how much he cared about this ranch. She’d heard that his ex-wife had left because she hated the ranch. Yet Noah had stayed. He’d let her go.

That was none of her business, but it was just impossible to dodge. The other day when she’d shown up wearing the too-short jeans, Darrell’s eyebrows had risen.

“Noah let you wear Pamala’s pants?”

The pants were a bit loose around the waist, but Ivy had suddenly felt as if they were too tight. She’d wondered if Noah would look at her and think of his Pamala.

Brody had let out a low whistle. “They look way better on you, Ivy, even though they’re a bit high on your boots. But—damn!—I’m surprised those are even still around. I would have thought Noah would have burned those things. She sure burned him. She hated Ballenger Ranch like fire hates water.”

Ever since then, Ivy had tried not to wonder about the man who’d let his wife walk while he stayed at the ranch. It wasn’t any of her business, but she was still glad she knew. It would make it easier to think of Noah not as a man but as a man she couldn’t want. Actually, it would be best not to think of him at all, but that was impossible—a truth that was driven home when she found out that the following morning she would need to ride out on a search for lost cattle. Roping would be involved. Noah would be there.