“And you got nothing?”
“Not a penny.”
“So your father died when you were twelve and your mother spent your inheritance.”
“That about sums it up.” Brandee spoke matter-of-factly, but Shane couldn’t imagine her taking it all in stride. No child grew up thinking it was okay when a parent abandoned them. This must have been what led to Brandee erecting her impenetrable walls. And now Shane was faced with an impossible task. The terms of her wager made much more sense. There was no way he was going to get her to fall for him.
After a slow circle of the pasture, Brandee declared it was quiet enough that they could return to the barn. Leaving the horses saddled and tied up, they grabbed some coffee and settled in the ranch office. While Brandee looked over her herd data, updated her birth statistics and considered her spring-breeding program, Shane used the time to research her.
“You started a fashion line?” He turned his phone so the screen faced her.
She regarded the image of herself modeling a crocheted halter, lace-edged scarf and headband. “A girl’s got to pay the bills.”
“When you were eighteen?”
“Actually, I was seventeen. I fudged my age. You have to be eighteen to open a business account at the bank and sell online.”
“From these news articles, it looks like you did extremely well.”
“Who knew there was such a huge hole in the market for bohemian-style fashion and accessories.” Her wry smile hid a wealth of pride in her accomplishment.
“You built up the business and sold it for a huge profit.”
“So that I could buy Hope Springs Ranch.”
He regarded her with interest. “Obviously the fashion line was a moneymaker. Why not do both??
?
“Because my dream was this ranch. And the company was more than a full-time job. I couldn’t possibly keep up with both.” She picked up her hat and stood. “We should do another sweep.”
Back in the saddle, facing an icy wind blowing across the flat pasture, Shane considered the woman riding beside him. The photos of her modeling her clothing line had shown someone much more carefree and happy than she’d ever appeared to him. Why, if there’d been such good money to be made running a fashion company, had she chosen the backbreaking work of running a ranch?
Was it because she’d been trying to continue her father’s legacy, molded by him to wake up early, put in a long day and take satisfaction in each calf that survived? From the way she talked about her dad, Shane bet there’d been laughter at the end of each day and a love as wide as the Texas sky.
He envied her.
“Is that the cow you were watching earlier?” He pointed out an animal in the distance that had just lain down.
“Maybe. Let’s double-check.”
When they arrived, they left their horses and approached the cow on foot. Judging from the way her sides were straining, she was deep in labor.
It struck Shane that despite spending his entire life on a ranch, he’d only witnessed a few births, and those had been horses not cows. He took his cue from Brandee. She stood with her weight evenly placed, her gloved hands bracketing her hips. Although her eyes were intent, her manner displayed no concern.
“Look,” she said as they circled around to the cow’s rear end. “You can see the water sack.”
Sure enough, with the moon high in the sky there was enough light for Shane to pick out the opaque sack that contained the calf. He hadn’t come out tonight expecting excitement of this sort.
“What did you expect?” It was as if she’d read his mind.
“Frankly I was thinking we’d be riding around out here while you kept me at arm’s length with tales of your brokenhearted ex-lovers.”
With her arms crossed over her chest, she pivoted around to face him, laboring cow forgotten.
“My brokenhearted what?”
“I don’t know,” he replied somewhat shortly. “I’m tired and just saying whatever pops into my mind.”