Caitlyn’s Prize Read online

  Caitlyn had said something about the shoe having no magic. That if he was a prince, it would have been magical. Was she talking about a stupid fairy tale? No, she was too mature for that. But it was romantic stuff. Stuff that was important to her.

  He strolled to the house with the shoe in his hand. The place was in darkness and endless quiet prevailed—the way he liked it. His study light was on and he headed there for the bourbon.

  Placing the shoe in the center of his desk, he poured himself a shot and sank into his chair with a groan. What a night!

  He licked his lips, still tasting the wine on Caitlyn’s. Magic was there. Why couldn’t she see it? Why couldn’t she feel it? He downed the amber liquid in the shot glass and gazed at the shoe.

  It seemed to taunt him.

  The shoe wasn’t magical.

  Did she honestly think she could slip her foot into a magic shoe and he would love her? He had never loved her, had he? He desired her. He wanted her. Those were the emotions he understood.

  Oh, God. He jammed his hands through his hair and then poured himself another drink. Everything was supposed to be simple. With the royalties gone, Caitlyn’s only option would be to sell High Five. Even though she wouldn’t want to, her sisters would force her hand. He’d have his revenge and she would disappear out of his life forever. He wouldn’t see her in High Cotton. He wouldn’t see her anywhere.

  His mother had warned him that Caitlyn would come back fighting. She’d been right. Now Caitlyn was making his life a living hell.

  He downed the bourbon. She was making him aware of how much he wanted her. That was lust, not love. And there was no magic in that.

  After opening a drawer, he reached for the shoe and flung it inside.

  So much for magic.

  And Caitlyn Belle.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE NEXT MORNING SAW a tearful goodbye. After a big breakfast, Etta drove Maddie and Sky to the airport. Gran went along so she could spend more time with her granddaughters.

  Cait didn’t have time to be nostalgic. There was work waiting for her. She met Coop and Rufus at the barn.

  “The baler broke, but Ru and I got it fixed last night,” Coop told her. “We’re ready to go.”

  “God willing and the baler doesn’t break again, we should be through by the end of June.” Ru climbed into his truck. “There’s still a lot of hay on the ground, though.”

  “I’ll check the herds and then give y’all a hand,” Cait called.

  Coop jumped onto the tractor connected to the baler. “Jaz was in the corral this morning. And I found a red high heel in the barn. Don’t know where it came from and I’m not asking. I put it on a shelf. See you later,” he added, with a twinkle in his eye.

  She waved as they rolled out of sight, and then glanced toward the corral. There was Jaz, and her bridle was hanging on the fence. Had Judd brought back the horse or had he sent one of the cowhands? Either way, she just wanted to forget the miserable evening. Her aching head made that a little hard, though—a reminder that was going to be with her for the rest of the day.

  Saddling up, Cait found her eyes straying to the red shoe laid haphazardly on a shelf. She had no idea where its mate was. The only explanation was that she’d lost it on the way to Southern Cross, and she’d just as soon forget about that visit.

  She headed for the pastures. Water was flowing in all of them, the windmill spinning like a large whirling fan. The stock tanks were getting lower, though. Local ranchers needed rain badly.

  In the last pasture, she didn’t see Boss, and worried he might be on the Southern Cross again. Cait rode through the herd twice and still didn’t spot him. Damn! Then she saw him coming out of the woods, looking a little scuffed up. He’d probably been fighting with the other bulls, which was his modus operandi. But she was relieved he wasn’t trying to court the Southern Cross cows again.

  At midday she headed back to the ranch house, and was surprised to find Etta and Gran weren’t back. Cait checked for messages on the phone and there weren’t any. If something was wrong, there would have been a message, so she told herself not to worry.

  She made sandwiches and packed a lunch to carry to Coop and Rufus. Afterward, she worked the tractor with the front fork to lift the round bales from the field and place them along the fence. It was a hot, scorching day—the type of weather to be indoors with air-conditioning or in a swimming pool.

  But she wasn’t an indoor person, and lying around a pool wasn’t her, either. She must enjoy cruel and inhuman punishment, Cait decided ruefully. Sweat rolled down her back and soaked the waistband of her jeans. It coated her whole body, and the warm breeze made her feel as if she was in a sauna.

  She lowered a round bale to the ground and massaged the calluses on her hands. This isn’t women’s work. How many times had her father said that to her? And how many times had she tried to prove him wrong?

  Was she trying to hold on to High Five for Gran, or trying to prove something to her father? As she removed her hat and wiped sweat from her brow, she thought she might be proving him right.

  He’d always said that a woman’s place was in the home, making babies and pleasing her husband. None of his daughters had cottoned to the idea, so to speak, but he’d never wavered in his conviction. And neither had Caitlyn.

  As the sun sank in the west, Cait suspected she was going to grow old clinging to her beliefs. Nothing would ever change her mind.

  Not even Judd Calhoun.

  Or her love for him.

  That thought stayed with her as they made their way home.

  She came to an abrupt stop in the kitchen doorway. Etta was at the stove, and Maddie and Gran were setting the table.

  “Maddie, I thought you left.” She removed her hat and placed it on a rack.

  Her sister wiped her hands on her apron. “I thought about it all the way into town. I now have the cash to pay off my debts, so I stopped and called my mom and wired her the money. She’s going to pay the bills and I can stay here and help you. You need it.”

  “Maddie…”

  “Belles stand and fight. Isn’t that one of Dad’s sayings? And I have a stake in this ranch, too.”

  “Oh, Maddie!” They hugged tightly.

  “Why are you girls talking about such things?” Gran asked, straightening a napkin. “Your father takes care of all that.”

  Cait and Maddie glanced at each other and knew a response would be useless.

  “Here, Gran.” Maddie pulled out a chair. “Have a seat. Etta’s chicken fried steak is almost ready.”

  Gran sat as Cooper and Rufus walked through the door.

  When Coop spied Maddie, he took a step backward. “Oh, I didn’t know we still had company.” Before he could take another step, Maddie grabbed his arm.

  “No, you don’t, Cooper Yates. I don’t bite. I promise.”

  Maddie’s sweet smile thawed the cowboy faster than the Texas heat. “I just don’t want to intrude.”

  “You’re not,” Cait said. “And I’m starving. How about you?”

  After supper, Maddie helped Etta with the dishes.

  “See you at home, Etta.” Rufus shuffled out the door and Cooper followed.

  The phone rang and Cait ran to answer it.

  “This is Gil Bardwell. I’m trying to locate Caitlyn Belle.”

  “This is Caitlyn.”

  “Chance Hardin gave me your number. I’m the foreman of a large road construction company and I need sand and gravel. Chance said you have some to sell.”

  “Yes. Yes, I do.” She took a long breath. This was too good to be true, but she wasn’t looking this gift horse in the mouth. They arranged to meet in the morning and discuss a price.

  “Was that Sky?” Maddie asked from the doorway.

  “No.” Cait hugged her. “You’re bringing me good luck. That was a man who wants to buy sand and gravel. It’s going to help tremendously. I have to make some calls to check on prices.” She picked up the phone and glanced a
t Maddie. “Could you please help Gran? I’ll be up as soon as I finish.”

  “Don’t worry about Gran. We’re going to watch an old movie. Giant, with Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson.”

  “Thanks. I’ll try to catch the end.”

  By ten o’clock Cait’s eyes wouldn’t stay open any longer, so she trudged upstairs. But she had numbers and knew what prices to ask. There was a light beaming at the end of the tunnel of her nightmare.

  Gran was sound asleep with Maddie curled up at her side, a popcorn bowl in the crook of her arm. Cait clicked off the TV and shook her sister.

  “Time for bed,” she whispered.

  Maddie sat up, stretching. “I didn’t realize I was so tired.”

  “Me, neither,” Cait admitted. “See you in the morning.” At the door she looked back. “Thank you.”

  “That’s what sisters are for.”

  “I’m sorry I was on the phone so long. Sky couldn’t call.”

  “I phoned her on my cell. I told her you were making big deals. She made it home safely and said she can’t stop holding Kira.” Maddie kissed her cheek. “’Night, sis.”

  Cait showered and fell into a dead sleep, but right before the hazy, blissful slumber claimed her she saw Judd’s face and heard his words.

  Why wasn’t this enough?

  THE NEXT MORNING was hectic as everyone hurried to work. After breakfast Coop and Rufus went to the hay field and Cait rushed to meet Mr. Bardwell. Within an hour, they had hammered out a deal. He explained they would have to dig forty feet deep or more with a dragline excavator, creating some steep hills and deep valleys. He promised to level the land as much as he could and keep damages to a minimum.

  She showed him the places on the ranch he could dig, the areas Grandfather Bart had sold from years ago. The pastures with the cattle were off-limits.

  Maddie stayed at the house with Gran, and that arrangement worked well. Cait didn’t worry about Gran with her sister there.

  Maddie had also undertaken the job of cleaning the house from top to bottom. Dust didn’t have a chance with her around. And most days she brought lunch to the fields so they didn’t have to make the trip to the house.

  Several people had called about buying hay, and Cait sold what they didn’t need. The ranch was taking a turn for the better. If her luck held, she’d have the books in the black before the six-month time period. She couldn’t let up, though. Every day she had to stay on top of things.

  It was time to tag the new baby calves and round up the older ones to sell. Maddie saddled up to help. She was a good rider; their father had seen to that. The job was dusty, hot and tedious, but Maggie never faltered.

  With the help of the dogs, they herded the cattle from the pastures into the corral. There, Cait and Coop dismounted and waded into the herd. He caught a baby calf and she marked it, using an ear tag gun. More than once Cait stepped in cow crap, and the scent filled her nostrils. She never stopped, though. They continued until every baby was tagged with the number of its mother.

  Then they saddled up again and separated the herd, cutting out mothers and babies into another corral. Rufus worked the gate and Maddie helped; the dogs nipped at the cows’ feet. Cows bellowed and the dust was suffocating. Finally, only the older calves were left in the corral. Rufus and Maddie herded the other animals back to the pastures.

  “I’ll load ’em up later and get ’em to the auction barn for tomorrow’s sale,” Coop said.

  “Good. I’ll make sure the cows are settling down.” Cait glanced up as she heard riders, knowing it was too soon for Maddie and Rufus to return.

  Harland and four Southern Cross cowboys rode into view.

  “Uh-oh, I sense trouble.” Coop wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his chambray shirt.

  Harland galloped forward. “Miss Belle, we have a problem with your bull again. I have orders not to shoot him, so you’d better come take care of the situation.”

  “I’ll be right there.” She put her foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle. Coop did the same.

  “Yates doesn’t come onto Southern Cross property.” Harland spit chewing tobacco onto the ground.

  Cait rode out of the corral to within a foot of Harland. “Cooper goes where I go.” Her voice was sharp enough to cut through a T-bone steak.

  “Well, Miss Belle.” Harland leaned back in the saddle. “You just might need a man to help you with this problem, so I’ll allow it this time.”

  A round of snickers echoed from the cowboys.

  “Just show me where my bull is.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Harland jerked his bridle and shot away, the cowboys behind him. She and Cooper immediately followed. It was clear the foreman was trying to lose them, or to prove that they couldn’t keep up. But she knew every inch of High Five and there was no way she’d fall behind.

  They came to a gap and one of the cowboys opened it. It was farther along the fence that Boss had broken through earlier. She wondered why they weren’t riding through a broken fence instead of the gap.

  She pulled up as Harland and his boys stopped. All eyes were on her. Boss stood alone in the woods, with his head hanging low. He hadn’t budged as the riders approached.

  Cait dismounted and walked to the animal, Harland and Cooper behind her. She stood in shock for a moment at the sight in front of her. The lower part of Boss’s belly was swollen and his split penis was almost hanging to the ground. Blood and pus oozed out of it. Her stomach churned with a sick feeling, but she tried to hide her reaction.

  “How did this happen?” she managed to ask.

  “Well, Ms. Belle, it seems your bull has taken to jumping the fence. This time he was ready for action, if you know what I mean, and he caught his main feature on the barbed wire, splitting it open. He’s useless now. He has to be put down.”

  A low, guttural sound left Boss’s throat. He was in pain and probably had an infection and fever.

  “I’m not sure your boy Yates here is allowed to use a gun—being on probation and all. Looks like you’ll have to do the honors.”

  The cowboys snickered again.

  Out of the corner of her eye Cait saw Judd’s black horse, and a few seconds later he was standing beside them.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Harland relayed his story and Judd squatted to look at Boss. “Damn. He has to be put down. He’s in a lot of pain.”

  “That’s what I was telling Miss Belle.”

  “She won’t do it,” she heard a cowboy murmur.

  “She hasn’t got the guts,” another said.

  “Shut up or go back to the barn,” Judd ordered.

  Cait headed for her horse. “I’ll do it,” Coop whispered beside her.

  “You’ll get in trouble.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I do.” She yanked her rifle from the scabbard on the saddle. She always carried one for coyotes and wild dogs that preyed on baby calves. But she’d never used it.

  And she didn’t know if she could use it now. The men kept watching her with smug expressions. She saw money exchange hands between two cowboys. They were betting she couldn’t.

  “We’ll take care of the animal,” Judd said.

  The note in his voice that said she shouldn’t have to do this ricocheted her courage into high gear. She was a woman and shouldn’t be running a ranch. This was where the fictional line was drawn in the sand. She either stepped over it and did her job, or she stepped back and admitted she couldn’t run this ranch.

  For her, the latter was unacceptable.

  “It’s my animal. I’ll take care of him.”

  “Caitlyn…”

  She walked away, stopping about twenty feet from Boss. He made that gut-wrenching sound again and she knew she had to put him out of his misery.

  What was the price of courage? Her pride? Her heart?

  Without a second thought, she released the safety and raised the rifle. She took aim at Boss’s shoulder through the
crosshairs. Everything else faded away. Boss was in pain. She had to do this.

  She had to do this.

  The rapid beat of her heart pounded in her ears. Her palms were sweaty, and fear like she’d never known before crawled up her spine.

  She had to do this.

  I’m sorry, Boss.

  She squeezed the trigger. The big bull dropped with a thud. He was dead.

  The rifle butt kicked her shoulder as the sound of the blast echoed across the landscape. The explosive noise caused a ringing in her ears.

  She stood frozen.

  After a moment she lowered the gun, walked to her horse and shoved the rifle into the scabbard. Swinging into the saddle, she said to Coop, “Get the tractor and take him back to High Five.” Then she rode hell-bent for somewhere other than here.

  She kept nudging Jaz on, faster and faster, her stomach churning. When she reached Crooked Creek, she jumped off and threw up until there was nothing left in her but the pain. The pain of having to kill a living thing.

  On her hands and knees, she crawled some distance away and leaned against an oak tree, taking deep breaths. Her mouth tasted like bile and she wiped her hand across it. Feeling weak, she rested her head on her knees.

  There was absolute quiet here in the deep woods. Just an occasional twitter of a bird, the rustling of leaves and the call of a crow. Through the silence she heard a rider, and thought Coop was coming to look for her.

  She raised her head and saw the black horse. Judd.

  The last person she wanted to see.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  JUDD WALKED TO HER and sank into the grass. Plucking a dried sprig, he studied it as if it was a marvel of science.

  She didn’t speak.

  Nor did he.

  He lifted his eyes, and their depths were so dark she couldn’t even see the pupils. “Why do you have to be so tough? You didn’t have to do that.”

  “A man would have without a second thought, and no one would have told him not to.”

  “You’re not a man.”

  “Yeah.” She faked a laugh. “My father reminded me of that every day of my life. I was never the son he wanted.”