She didn’t flinch.He imagined she wore the same look that gunslingers used in the Old West to face down their opponents.“I reckon you have that power,” she said evenly.“And probably the right, too.”
“You’re a fearless woman, Freddy Singleton.”
A corner of her mouth turned up.“Just what I wanted you to think.”
Damn, but he liked her.“I won’t turn you in.For one thing, it’s no secret that the property’s price can be negotiated downward.I’ve studied the profit and loss statements.The resorts built recently in Tucson have hurt business and I know Westridge has a cash-flow problem and is eager to sell.By the way, do they know about this so-called curse?”
“No, not really.They just think the ranch is falling apart from age, which it probably is.”
“Do you think it’s cursed?”
She shook her head.“I’d planned to tell you I did, to help scare you off, but I think we’ve just had a run of bad luck.”
“If it reduces the asking price, it’s good luck for me.All I have to offer is enough to squeeze out Whitlock.”
“I see.”Her gaze hardened.“Somehow, when you’re hobbling around a campfire without your pants, I forget that you’re a shark in the business world.”
She was quick.He liked that, too.“I wouldn’t be name-calling after the trick you pulled on me yesterday,” he said.“Shall we just agree that we’re fighters, and we can both be ruthless when it comes to getting what we want?”
She studied him, seeming to take his measure as he was taking hers.“Ruthless is a harsh word.How about determined?”
“Determined works.”
The smile she gave him, fresh as the morning, made his heart ratchet in his chest.“It’s a beautiful day,” she said.“The birds are singing and the sky is clear.What do you say we call a truce?”
He’d never been at war, but she did seem to perceive him as the enemy.“Okay.Truce.”
Breakfast was coffee and biscuits, which Ry wolfed down with an appetite that astounded him.Somehow he pulled on his jeans and boots without help from Freddy.With luck, they wouldn’t have any more intimate encounters like the one with the Bag Balm.He suspected there was some powerful chemistry at work if he could get aroused in the midst of all that pain.Once he’d looked down and seen her head practically in his lap and caught a glimpse of her supple fingers at work, the power of suggestion had made him instantly hard as a rock.Since then, he’d had stirrings in that direction, but he’d kept a rein on his imagination.
He gave her as much help as he could breaking up camp.Moving around was painful, but exercise helped work the stiffness out of his legs.They used the last of their water on the fire and smothered any remaining embers in sand.Freddy paid more attention to putting out the fire than any of the other leave-taking chores.
“No hydrants up here,” she said.“Lightning starts enough fires without people adding to the danger.”
“Have you had many fires?”
“More than I cared to.”Freddy pointed up above the cliff face.“See that grassy area?Lightning started a fire a few years ago, wiped out all the trees on that slope.Seen from the ranch at night, it was almost pretty, with the mountain glowing like a Christmas decoration, until you realized that the decoration was destroying acres of trees, and that if the wind changed, the fire could sweep down and take the ranch.”
“What can you do if the wind changes?”
Her expression clouded.“Everything possible, of course.A few times, we’ve hosed the perimeter when a fire came too close for comfort.But in the end, if you can’t stop it, you take your animals and get out.”
“Is that what happened to the old ranch house?”
“No, that was a kitchen fire, which was bad enough.A runaway brushfire is our worst nightmare.”
Ry gazed down into the valley at the cluster of buildings and corrals, which seemed suddenly small and defenseless against the devastation he could imagine overtaking it.Fire protection might be an issue with developers.But then he thought of all the fires in the canyons outside Los Angeles, of the multimillion-dollar homes that had succumbed to the flames.People still clamored to live at the edge of wilderness, despite the danger.
“I guess that’s about it,” Freddy said, tightening the cinch of Maureen’s saddle.“You’re sure you don’t want to ride down?”
“Mikey and I will walk.We’ve bonded.”
Freddy laughed.“I do believe you have.Why don’t you go first so I can follow and keep an eye on his hind leg?”
“Sure.”Holding Mikey’s bridle, Ry surveyed the camp one last time.He was reluctant to leave because he knew the walk would be uncomfortable, but that wasn’t the only reason.
Freddy settled herself in the saddle and gathered her reins.“Listen, I could still ride down leading Mikey and send a helicopter back up for you,” she said.“Nobody would think the worse of you for it, Ry.”
“Oh, no?”He grinned and shoved his hat to the back of his head as he gazed up at her.“Can you picture Duane and Curtis watching that helicopter coming in without making a few choice comments about the dude from New York who thought he could ride a horse?”
