“Why, you barely pecked at this,” Ballard observed as he dumped the remains in a plastic trash bag. “The great outdoors usually whets up most people’s appetite. But I guess that’s how you keep that slim figure of yours.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tara smiled. “You’re Dick Ballard, aren’t you?”
He made a mock bow of admission, giving his dusty hat a little tip. “Now I’m the one who’s flattered that you remembered me, Miss Tara.”
Realizing that he assumed she recognized him from her days when she was married to Ty, Tara didn’t bother to correct him. “Ty mentioned that you were the one to first suggest the idea of an auction.”
“It just seemed like a logical thing for the Triple C to be doin’.” He noticed she still held the tin coffee cup. “Want me to freshen your coffee for you? I was just about to pour myself another cup.”
“Please.” She surrendered the cup to him.
Waiting while he filled both cups, Tara used the opportunity to make a closer study of the lanky cowboy. He was nice-looking in an innocuous sort of way. His eyes were unquestionably his best feature, blue and thickly fringed with a soft, gentle quality about them.
“Milk or sugar in your coffee?” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Milk, please.”
“I figured as much.” He picked up the milk jug set out for that purpose, poured some in, then passed the cup to her, handle first. “This range coffee can be almost as strong as espresso.”
There was a delicate arch to her eyebrow at his comment. “I didn’t expect a Triple C cowboy to know about espresso.”
“The truth is out, I guess.” He took a sip of his own undiluted coffee, eyeing her over the cup’s tin rim. “I’m not what you would call a true Triple C hand. Like you, I’m something of an outsider.” He used the cup to gesture toward the other riders in camp, busy chowing down. “That’s what they call somebody who hasn’t been born and raised here.”
“But when I saw you earlier with Jessy, the two of you seemed very friendly.”
“I’m just the friendly sort,” Ballard replied, but Tara was certain she detected a sudden leap of wariness in his eyes. Briefly they sharpened their focus before he let a slow grin sweep across his face. “Besides, even though I’m technically an outsider, I’ve known Jess since heck was a pup.”
“Then you must have known her when she worked as an ordinary ranch hand.”
“That’s right,” he acknowledged, then said, “The architect mentioned that work should be starting in the next week or so. That was a good idea you had, revampin’ the old barn into an auction facility.”
Her smile lengthened knowingly. “That was a deft change of subject, Mr. Ballard. I didn’t realized that I was making you uncomfortable by talking about Jessy.”
There was a definite cooling in his eyes. “It strikes me, that if a lady noticed that, she would have had the good manners not to point it out.”
For a split second, her temper flared at the veiled insult, however gently worded, but Tara quickly controlled it. “The gloves are off, are they?” she murmured somewhat mockingly.
“That’s up to you.”
“Is it?” she countered, hurriedly reassessing her opinion of the cowboy.
“Look. I don’t know what your game is, but something tells me you’re here to make trouble. What kind of trouble, I don’t know.”
“I’m afraid you’re completely wrong,” Tara replied smoothly. “I’m only here to help in whatever way I can. Having come up with the idea to convert the barn into a sale facility, I’m eager to see it come to pass.”
“If you say so.” Ballard took another drink of his coffee.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” She could see it in his face.
“Let’s just say that I’ve never known a skunk to change its stripes yet.”
“I must say you don’t have a very high opinion of me.” Tara regarded that as a challenge, something to be overcome.
“I guess I’m just rememberin’ all the trouble you caused in the past, and I don’t want to see Jessy gettin’ hurt again.”
“We’re back to Jessy, are we? You seem to be very fond of her.”
“I’d like to think that she looks on me as a friend, somebody she can depend on, but don’t be thinkin’ you can use that,” Ballard warned. “Jessy only has eyes for Ty. I’ve known that for a long time. So you aren’t going to be able to use me to cause trouble between them, if that’s your thought.”