“Emmy Lou.The bottle.”
“Oh, give it to him,” Jo said.“It’s a guy thing.Might as well get it over with.”
Emmy Lou surrendered the bottle with obvious reluctance.“Just so you know, we don’t have a very up-to-date medical clinic in Ugly Bug.”
“I won’t need a medical clinic.”Quinn met Fred’s piercing gaze.Then he slowly raised the bottle to his lips and took another drink, a slightly smaller one this time.Damn, but it was strong.Tears sprang to his eyes, but he lowered the bottle and smiled at Fred.“Good stuff,” he said hoarsely.“You make this yourself?”His whole chest was on fire.
“I do.”
Quinn wiped the bottle on his sleeve and handed it back.“Thanks.”
“Any time.”
“I’ll remember that.”Quinn looked into Fred’s eyes and was rewarded with a gleam of exactly what he’d been hoping for—respect.
ChapterEleven
Jo woke at six-thirty, which was late for her, and heard rain drumming on the roof.She flopped back on the pillow.Rain was good, making the hay grow that she’d use to feed her cattle next winter.If she still had the ranch next winter.But rain meant mud as she went about her chores.Mud wasn’t so good.
She turned her head and looked at the picture of her great-aunt Josephine sitting on her dresser.Aunt Josephine had believed in past lives, and she claimed that Jo was a reincarnated pioneer woman, which Aunt Josephine said explained everything.
Jo’s mother had died when she was thirteen, and her father had married a woman who didn’t seem to like Jo much.Aunt Josephine had been Jo’s salvation, and she’d dreamed of helping run the ranch someday.But her great-aunt had insisted she go to college instead of moving directly to the ranch after high school, and there Jo had met lovable, bossy Cassie.
Jo smiled.When Cassie got an idea in her head, most people went along, including Jo.So after graduation she’d worked with Cassie at her family’s stables for a year, always thinking she could eventually join Aunt Josephine in Montana.Then an unexpected heart attack claimed her seemingly ageless great-aunt, and suddenly the Bar None belonged to Jo.
“Heels down!Back straight!Grab some mane!That’s it!”
That sounds like Fred.Jo threw back the covers and hurried to the window.Her breath fogged the glass, and she rubbed a clear place to look through.
Sure enough, Fred had somebody up on Hyper, and from the way the rider was bouncing around Jo knew who it had to be.God, what had she done?
As she pulled on her jeans, she hopped one-legged to the window to see if Quinn was still aboard Hyper.Trust Fred to give him the acid test, just like he had with the whiskey.And in the rain, no less.Everything was slippery in the rain, including saddles.
Still buttoning her shirt, she took the stairs at a rapid clip.
Emmy Lou was in the kitchen frying bacon.“Fred came to get Quinn at five-thirty,” she called as Jo headed for the door.
“Why the hell didn’t Quinn tell Fred to get lost?”Jo clamped her hat on her head and grabbed a yellow slicker from a peg by the door.
“I think he wants to be your knight in shining armor,” Emmy Lou said.
“I don’t know what to do with one of those,” Jo said.“I never had one before.”
Emmy Lou came to the door.“You were on the right track last night in the barn.”
Jo shook her head.“That would completely louse up the plan.”
“Then maybe you need a new plan.”
Jo flung open the door.“Can’t think about that now.I have to go save Quinn before Fred breaks every bone in his gorgeous body.”
She ran toward the corral, splashing through puddles along the way, but she wasn’t in time.As she arrived, Hyper slid to an abrupt halt, haunches down, and Quinn popped right out of the saddle.The corral was a sea of mud, so there was no question he’d land in it.Fortunately it was butt-first instead of headfirst.
Jo stormed up to Fred, who was leaning against the top rail, the brim of his hat creating a mini waterfall in front of his face.He didn’t turn.“Mornin’, Jo.”
Jo would never publicly chastise anyone who worked for her, but it took an effort for her to keep her voice down so Quinn couldn’t hear her.“It’s raining, Fred.A real trash mover.”
“I did notice that.”
