The Savage

She could smell his skin, smell the dust and sweat and heat of him, and she wanted more. Raising her lips to his, she tried with a sweet caress to draw his anger from him. Her tactic succeeded…partially. Only somehow Lance turned the tables on her, and it was she who found herself trembling and on the defensive. She drowned in the dark seizure of his kiss, and knew a profound disappointment when he abruptly let her go.

“Now, get the hell out of here before I forget it’s broad daylight.”

“Broad daylight never stopped you before,” Summer murmured wickedly, and laughingly scurried out of his way when he pretended to lunge after her. “I’ll tell Reed you’re coming after you finish here.”

She wanted to be there during their discussion, but she knew her presence would be unwise. Her husband and her brother needed to come to know each other without her interference, and to realize they needed each other. She hadn’t lied about that. Reed did urgently require help with the ranch, even if he wasn’t willing to admit his limitations. And Lance needed to be accepted into the family, without feeling like he was surrendering his manhood by taking charity. He needed the responsibility and challenge that running an operation like Sky Valley afforded. And he needed to believe the Westons trusted him to oversee such an endeavor. Her husband was a strong, proud man, too proud to walk in anyone’s shadow—and special tact was required in handling him.

Remembering Lance’s capitulation just now Summer felt her mouth curve in a self-congratulatory smile. Finally, after all this time, it seemed she was learning how.

The interview with Reed was as uncomfortable as Lance knew it would be. He hated coming hat in hand like some beggar looking for a handout. And so when he was shown into the parlor that was Reed’s combination study/bedchamber, he refused to remove his hat at all, and he remained standing, even when Reed politely offered him a seat in front of the large oaken desk. His stance exuded belligerence, and his expression might have been carved in stone, so stiff were his facial muscles. He knew it, and yet didn’t attempt to change it. Instead he said through gritted teeth, “Summer asked me to talk to you.”

Reed’s blue eyes surveyed him coolly. “I know. She asked the same of me.”

“So talk.”

“You aren’t going to make this easy for me, are you?”

“Should I? I don’t recall you Westons ever making anything easy for me. Fact is, I distinctly remember your pa trying to make my life hell.”

Reed sighed. “I know. And I’m sorry for that. But I’m not my pa.” When Lance remained stubbornly silent, he ran a hand roughly through his dark hair. “All right. I’ll just spit it out. My sister made a contract with you, and I feel obligated to honor it.”

“You’re gonna let me into the Weston family, is that it? You’re going to let your sister stay married to a breed?”

“Actually, I don’t have any say in the matter. Summer is of age. She makes her own decisions. I can’t say I like it, but it’s done. You’re her husband now.”

“She’s likely to be shunned by all your fancy friends, staying married to me. Nobody around here is likely to accept me as a social equal.”

“Probably not. But there’s not much I can do about that—except stand by her. If we stick together, then perhaps we can keep the wolves at bay. I’m not without influence in this county, despite my Union sympathies. I can have a talk with the ranchers in the area…try to encourage them to accept you.”

“You’re willing to stick your neck out for me? Why the hell should you do that?”

Summer’s brother ground his teeth. “Because I’m a man of my word, for one thing. And I would be doing it for Summer as much as you. If they accept you, they’ll accept her. And last—most of all—because I owe it to you both for what you did for Amelia.”

Lance still didn’t believe Reed was willing to accept him as a brother-in-law, and a devil drove him to press the point. “I can’t give her all this.” He waved a hand, indicating the luxury that surrounded him. “I can’t support her in the manner she’s accustomed to.”

“None of us can have what we’re accustomed to,” Reed retorted with a bitterness Lance recognized. “The war saw to that.”

“Summer said the ranch was part hers,” Lance said finally, his lips stiff.

“Yes. Which means it now belongs to you, too. You can have your share now, if you want, but I’d rather…It would be better to keep the place together.”

“Better for who?”

“Perhaps for both of us. Certainly for the ranch.”

Lance stared coolly.

“The fact is, I can’t…I’d be obliged if you’d lend me a hand.” When Lance continued silent, he lost his temper. “Look, dammit, I don’t like this any better than you do, Calder. I didn’t like being beholden to you for saving my sister, and I sure as hell don’t like being in this position. It galls me to have to ask for help. But Summer’s right. I can’t continue to manage the place alone. The ranch will only continue to go downhill if I try.”

“Seems to me Summer did well enough by herself during the war.”

“Perhaps so, but she says she won’t do it any longer, that it’s your place now. Besides, she’s a woman. She wasn’t brought up to ride the range and supervise an operation of this size. I can’t do it myself now, either, with only one goddamned leg.”

“What about your foreman?”

“Dusty’s a good man. And we’ve got good hands. Summer made do with the vaqueros during the war, and since then we’ve hired more men to build up the operation—Sky Valley is nothing like it was when my father was alive. But hired hands can’t make the thousands of decisions that make the difference over the long haul between a first-class ranch and a run-down one. They don’t care about this place, not like an owner would.” He held Lance’s dark gaze. “You’re part owner now. You have a say in how Sky Valley is run. So what do you say?”

“You really want my help on the ranch?” Lance asked slowly, as if still not believing.