She glanced away. She’d best not forget the wound this man carried, deeper than flesh. “You were telling me about the tally system?”
He tugged off his gloves. “If a cattleman comes across somebody’s cattle like yours mixed with his, he’s supposed to keep a record of it. He can sell your livestock, but then he’s supposed to settle accounts next time he’s in the area and give you money or cattle equal to what he took. Only, there’s too many scoundrels. Take the cattle, sell them, then never show up in this county again.”
She shuddered. “So…am I going to have any cattle left?”
He leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “Goodnight says he’s seen several dozen, and I’m sure there’s more he hasn’t seen. I’m going to work hard to round up every one of them before June first. I bet I can gather at least a hundred for the drive. Rest assured.”
Her fork hung in her fingers. It would be hard work. Maybe she should go, too, but she had a garden to look after.
His gaze dropped to the slice of cherry pie on her plate. “You going to eat that?”
“I reckon?—”
He reached out and broke off a piece of the top—crunchy brown crust.
“Well.” She gaped at him. “Aren’t you taking liberties?”
He grinned as he stuffed the bite into his mouth. “A man needs to be fed well if he’s going to venture out to round up cattle for you.”
For her. “Didn’t you already have a piece of pie?” She covered hers with her hand.
“It was about half the size of yours.” He wiped the crumbs from his mouth.
“I bet if you go ask Mr. Gary’s sixteen-year-old daughter, she’ll give you another piece.”
“I’m not interested in sixteen-year-olds.”
What was he implying here? “You have to be interested in a girl to ask her for pie?”
“No. I just figure it’s part of my pay.” He slipped two fingers beneath her hand and nabbed another piece of crust.
She swatted at him, almost toppling the remainder onto her lap.
He laughed.
The sound warmed her all over. My goodness. Was he flirting with her? She needed to bring some sanity to both of them. “You’re in pretty good humor for having just found out we might not have that many cattle to sell.”We. He even had her sayingwenow?
The merriment faded from his face. “There’s more news.”
“Bad?”
“No. It’s a good opportunity. But it’s a serious undertaking.”
She sliced her pie in half with her fork and slid half to the side of the plate nearest him. “What is it?”
His eyes lit at her gesture, and he dug his fork out of his trouser pocket. “There’s a widow, southwest of Weatherford, right over the border in Palo Pinto County interested in selling all of her cattle. Goodnight heard about her while he’s been here. He doesn’t have time to travel down there and round up her scattered herd before he heads out on the trail for New Mexico.He’s willing to give me a letter of recommendation, advising her to sell the herd to me. Of course, if he makes a second drive before fall, he’d be willing to take our newly acquired cattle to market for a percentage.”
Her throat tightened. “Buy a herd?” Was he serious?
“A small herd.” He devoured a bite of pie. “From all indications, your original herd won’t be enough to put your ranch and income on solid footing.”
She fingered a fold in her skirt. “But how much would that cost? We don’t… We can’t afford that.”
He swallowed another bite. “Don’t worry about the cost.”
Her stomach dropped. “You’re going to spend more money on us, aren’t you?”
He blew out his cheeks. His gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “It’ll be an investment. You and I will split the profits fifty-fifty.”
