Page 19 of Falling for the Cowgirl
She jerked away from his hold. “Sorry for what?” Her cheeks were flushed. As her chest heaved up and down, he tried to ignore how womanly she was and kept his focus on her face.
“I didn’t know you were buying Steele’s land until you walked into his house today.”
Vulnerability flashed across her expression.
His mind scrambled to find a solution to the problem. There had to be something he could do, some way he could still pretend he was interested in the land without hurting Ivy’s chances at buying it once he left.
“I’ll tell you what.” He lifted a hand to brush a stray tear from her cheek but then stopped himself. “We’ll have a contest.” A contest? What was he thinking?
She cocked her head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“It isn’t fair of Steele to sell the land to me just because I’m a man.”
“You’re right about that.” A spark came to life in her eyes again, exactly what he wanted to see there. He’d rather have her angry than hurt.
“Then whoever saves up for Steele’s asking price first gets the place.” The words tumbled out, the best he could think of so quickly.
“That ain’t fair and you know it.”
“Why?”
“’Cause, for starters, you probably already have a heap more saved than I do. And plus, you’ll just go on and work construction for Wyatt. But I won’t have any way to earn money except through the cowhand competitions.”
“Wyatt and Flynn aren’t paying you the same as the other cowhands?”
She released a scoffing laugh. “They tell me at least once a week I’m getting too old to be out working with the cattle and oughta be back at the house with the other womenfolk.”
Jericho reckoned he might be doing the same if he were in their shoes. He didn’t like the idea of Ivy being out on the range with the men, even if Flynn or Wyatt or Judd was always present. She was naïve to think the fellows would ignore how pretty she was and accept her as just another cowhand.
“That’s what I’ll do.” She fiddled with one of the buttons still open on her bodice. “Greta needs the help, has offered to pay me. I’ll tell her I’ll do it.”
“Alright. Then starting today, whoever saves up the most by the end of the summer has the right to buy the land.” He’d gained himself some time, which meant he wouldn’t hurt his cover as a would-be rancher, but he also didn’t have to hurt Ivy’s dream of getting her own place.
Her eyes had rounded, making them more beautiful, especially because her lashes were so long and dark. “You’d do that?”
“Do what?”
“Give me a fair chance at it?” She watched his face carefully as though attempting to see behind his expression into his mind.
He tried to ignore the guilt that nudged him, the guilt that told him he didn’t want the land in the first place, that he’d let her have it at the end of the summer no matter how much she earned.
She quirked a brow. “What?”
She’d always been able to read him better than mostpeople. But this was a situation where he couldn’t let her in on the truth. It was simply too dangerous. Rodney James was too dangerous. “I’ll tell Steele about our competition, that he can sell the land to whoever wins.”
She nodded, then plucked at a loose thread in her skirt. “Thank you—” she started.
“I’m sorry—” he said at the same time.
She met his gaze, the hurt gone, the old admiration back in place.
Some of the tension eased from his muscles. “You go first.”
“No, you.”
Yes, things were getting back to normal. He almost smiled. “I apologize for what happened at the store. I was out of line. For being such a pig.”
She fiddled with the loose thread again. “I’m sorry for telling you I wished you’d never come back.”
