Flint Read online

  He was pulled out of his thoughts when the main ranch house came into view as they topped a rolling hill. The sight of the big charcoal and white clapboard house always made his chest tight. It stood two stories high amidst a well-tended stand of red oaks that had stood on the property for over two hundred years. The original small grove had spread outward by root lines until the grove had grown too thick, and after his great grandfather had cut down a number of the old trees for the construction of the house and barns, they’d begun to harvest newer growth for the sawmill. El Diablo red oak was much in demand by artisans and furniture manufacturers that specialized in beautiful oak pieces and carved doors.

  He glanced down to see Lily’s reaction to his home, and smiled as her eyes widened and her posture straightened to get a better look. “Oh my God…this is beautiful! You live here?” Her cat’s eyes lifted to his face, and he felt something under his breastbone catch. “I really get to work in a place like this? Please tell me I’m not dreaming?”

  “We’ll keep you jumpin' with work, Lily. The place needs a lot of TLC, and Dora isn’t as young as she used to be. I’m sure you’ll get mighty tired of workin' here.”

  “Don’t bet on that…” she murmured as her eyes returned to the beautiful old house.

  She had never been in such a wonderful place, surrounded by ancient, gnarled oaks and a velvet lawn. As the big truck passed down a narrow lane with white-painted wooden fencing on each side, she thrilled to the sight of an orchard where apple trees flourished. On the other side, there was an old grove of peach trees. “Wow…you grow your own fruit…does Dora keep a kitchen garden, too?”

  “She does. Her husband Fred retired a couple of years back, and he does most of the gardening and pruning. Like I said, El Diablo is pretty much self-sustaining, except for the occasional breakdown or the need to replace equipment.” Flint’s voice sounded rightfully proud as she stared greedily at everything around her. “Once you’re settled in, I’ll have someone give you a tour so you can get your bearings.”

  Feeling like a child in a playground, Lily practically bounced with excitement, and he chuckled at her. Warm color rose in her cheeks as she realized she was acting like she’d never seen fruit trees and gardens before…but the little house she’d been raised in was pretty basic. The one tree that shaded their rickety porch was an old pecan tree that had long since lost its ability to produce more than a few scrawny nuts. The soil was too dry and rocky for a decent flower or vegetable garden, and in spite of her father’s hard work at his decent-paying job, they’d never had much of anything. Only her father’s life insurance…and Jake Proctor had pretty much wiped that out, so her mom had been left with only the house.

  And the bastard had gotten that, too…

  The thought of her step-father left a foul taste in her mouth, and the joy at the prospect of her new situation seeped out of her, leaving her feeling weary and scared. She sank slowly back into her seat and stared at her white knuckles as she clutched her hands together. Would he find her here? Would he come for her? Would the son of a bitch take her back to the house that had long ago stopped being a home for her?

  It was almost too much to hope for, this new sense of freedom. It couldn’t last. It never lasted. But she would make sure she got some money together from this job, so that she would be able to buy herself a ticket out of Texas to a state where Jacob Proctor would never find her.

  Chapter Four

  Lily sat in the big, sparkling modern kitchen, sipping hot chocolate and gobbling down a bowl of thick and delicious chili, watching the tall, lean woman who appeared to be in her mid fifties as she bustled about, pulling loaves of bread from an oven, then rinsing fresh eggs in cool water. Dora had welcomed a stranger into her domain with obviously mixed feelings, which she kept firmly to herself. Lily sensed that her sudden appearance on the scene was not something the woman particularly cared for, but she was polite and showed nothing of her misgivings.

  Lily didn’t blame the woman for her concern, especially when the housekeeper seemed to think of Flint as her own son. As she sat there in a borrowed bathrobe while her clothes were washed and dried, she kept her eyes open and her mouth shut unless Dora asked a question. Then she answered quickly and truthfully. She thanked the woman for the meal when her bowl was empty, and rose from the oak butcher block table to head for the laundry room that was just down the hallway from the kitchen.

  “I better see if my things are dry. The chili was delicious. Thank you…”

  Dora carried the big bowl of fresh eggs into the cooler, and stepped back out, wiping her damp hands on her huge apron. “You can put your mug and bowl in the sink. You remember how to get to your room?”

  Chastised, Lily carried her dishes to the big sink and took a minute to wash them and place them into the drying rack. “Yes, I think so. This house is so big, it would be easy to get lost, but I believe I can find my way. You don’t need to worry that I’ll get into mischief, ma’am.”

  She didn’t wait for a response. She hurried out of the kitchen and headed for the laundry room, her cheeks burning. She wondered how much Dora knew about the reason she was here. It was pretty apparent that the woman didn’t trust her as far as she could throw her.

  Her laundry was dry, and she pulled it out and folded it, stacking it carefully on the laundry table. Her back pack was damp, so she couldn’t load her stuff back into it. She had decided that she would get the hell out of this place the minute she had enough money to do so. She was tired of having folks watching her like she was crazy, or a thief. She still had to discuss wages and work with Flint, and he’d vanished the minute he’d introduced her to Dora. She drew in a deep sigh, and carried her pitiful armload of clothing down the utility hall to the curving stairs that lead to the second level.

  She stepped inside the room Dora had assigned her and walked to the big armoire that stood against one wall. The house was amazing, still retaining its 19th century flavor with the field stone fireplaces and the oak floors. The plumbing had been updated and modernized, as had the kitchen and at some recent point, they had added a big swimming pool out back. But she had no bathing suit. If she wanted to go swimming she would have to do it in her underwear. And that wasn’t an option as far as Lily was concerned.

  She had been advised that she was welcome to use all the amenities, like the pool, and the sauna and weight room that had been added in an airy structure a few yards beyond the pool, but those were things she’d never had any need for. She certainly wouldn’t be using them now. This was simply a short stopover on her way to freedom. The fact that she was here…safe for the time being…was enough.

  Dora had told her that supper would be at precisely 7:00 p.m.. She didn’t have a watch, so she glanced up at the fancy antique gold clock sitting on the oak mantle. It was half past three, and she had a couple hours to waste, so she dressed in one of her pairs of jeans and a T-shirt, then quietly slipped downstairs and out the front door to walk for awhile.

  The sun on her face and the sweet smell of warm, freshly turned earth led her down the white fenced lane between orchards, and when she found a gravel lane that branched off to the west, she followed it, until a wide cattle guard stopped her progress. Beyond the cattle guard lay a grouping of outbuildings and barns, with more white painted fencing. Probably paddocks. She saw barbed wire fencing that stretched as far as she could see into the distance, and as she stood in silent contemplation, a man in a pickup truck came up behind her, and lightly tooted his horn. She stepped quickly to the side as he slowed and leaned out his window, grinning down at her.

  “You lost, ma’am?” He touched the brim of his battered hat as his dark gaze slid down over her worn jeans and faded T shirt.

  Shading her eyes with one hand, she shook her head. “Nope…just exploring. I should get back up to the house.”

  “Hold up and I’ll swing around past the gate and I’ll drive you back.”

  Lily smiled back at the handsome older man and shook her
head again. “I'm enjoying my walk. Thanks anyway.”

  She headed back along the gravel road, and when she glanced over her shoulder, he was leaning out the window, watching her. “You sure?” he grinned.

  “I’m sure.” She waved a hand as she walked a bit faster. She didn’t think he would have tried to hurt her, but she wasn’t about to climb into another truck with another stranger. Call it paranoia…she called it caution. She'd been pretty reckless climbing into a truck with Flint and Curley, and she wasn't about to do something that dumb again.

  She’d walked for about ten minutes when she heard another truck coming up behind her. When the gleaming black vehicle came abreast of her, and she looked up at the driver, she did her best to hide her relief.

  “Did you hire Dora some help, boss?” Fred asked as he eased over to one side of the narrow road to the barns.

  “Why?” Flint asked as he pulled the ranch truck to a stop facing the other way.

  “Just passed a bitty little thing standin' by the cattle guard. I offered her a ride back to the house, but she said she liked walkin’.”

  Flint shook his head. “Sounds like my guest is exploring. I better go round her up before she gets lost.”

  “Guest, huh?” Fred grinned.

  “A very special guest. No one’s to give her any kind of shit…let the others know.” He pulled back onto the lane and headed back toward the house, ignoring Fred’s chuckle. Knowing his hired hand, he figured that everyone on the spread would know about his “guest” within a couple of hours.

  She was walking quickly back toward the house, and as he drew up beside her, he couldn’t miss the look of relief on her face. She sure as hell was man-shy. He stopped next to her, and leaned over to open the passenger door. “Hop in. It’s a long walk back to the house.”

  She managed to climb into the big truck without help, and as she settled the seat belt around her thin frame, he headed down the graveled road toward the ranch lane. “Did Dora get you something to eat?”

  “Yes, thanks. But I think she’ll be counting the silver. I get the feeling she thinks I’m some lost soul you dragged in. And I am…” her voice was low, and she looked out the window, so he barely heard her quiet statement.

  “She’s got a good heart, Lily. She’ll warm up to you soon.”

  She glanced back at him and smiled sadly. “So, what is this job you offered? I need to start paying my way.”

  Irritation flickered through him. He had only offered a job because he didn’t want her bailing on them on the drive home. But he could see she’d taken him seriously. “Depends on what you would like to do. I can have Dora set you to polishing and cleaning, or you could help with the horses. Do you ride?”

  Amber eyes brightened. “Not really. I was only on a horse once. But I’ve always wanted to learn. You would need someone who knows a lot more than me to help with your horses. But I can clean, do laundry, and I could maybe muck out stalls and such. I did that one summer right after dad died when I needed money for school clothes.”

  Flint came to a full stop where the gravel lane met the paved road. He met her earnest gaze and fought the crazy urge to drag her out of her seat and onto his lap. “You’ll be needing some work clothes if you plan to help out around the barns. Boots and jeans and flannel shirts. A hat to keep the sun from burning that white skin. Some work gloves.” He watched warm color rush from her collar to her cheeks, and wondered if that color reached her breasts. Shaking himself back to business, he swung the truck left on the paved lane, and headed toward the closest town that boasted a mercantile that sold what he needed.

  “Um…the house is back that way…” Lily glanced over her shoulder and then turned her gaze to him. I have jeans and a pair of hiking boots. I can make do.”

  “I’m sure you could, sweet thing, but you’ll need a few things, I’m sure. There’s a drug store and a mercantile in Beesford, just twenty-six miles from here. And I’ll be needing a few things, as well…”

  Like a couple boxes of condoms…

  He kept her busy answering inane questions about her mom and the house she had lived in, knowing that fertile mind was seeking any way out of letting him buy her things. And by the time he pulled up in an angled parallel parking spot in front of Lucky Bee Drugs and Sundries and slid out of the truck, she’d relaxed one hell of a lot. And he’d learned one hell of a lot. They walked through the old fashioned swinging half doors, and he gave her a gentle nudge toward the feminine products aisle while he headed on a beeline for the condom display, quickly grabbing several large boxes of Trojans Max, paying for them and having them bagged before she came up to the counter with her stuff. He saw her blush, and said to the clerk, “Just put it on my tab, Ellie. She’ll be working out at the ranch for a while. Send her on over to the mercantile when she’s done here.”

  As Lily set her box of tampons, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and a deodorant stick on the counter, the elderly woman began to ring them up. The faded blue gaze met hers, and when she blushed even deeper red, and asked where the condoms were, the woman grinned.

  “Flint just about bought out the store, sweetie…no need to worry about that.”

  Lily coughed and looked down, and accepted the bagged items with a whispered thank you.

  “Mercantile’s up the block that a way…” Ellie chuckled, pointing.

  As she hurried out of the store, she felt a bit dizzy. Flint had bought condoms? Of course, she had planned on having some in her drawer just in case, but knowing that he’d been thinking the same thing left her feeling flushed and hot. But then, he might just be stocking up for the ranch hands, but she doubted it. She had sensed his interest from the night in the motel room, but he was so damn far out of her league, it seriously sucked.

  Suddenly she chuckled, realizing that the man she was fantasizing about seemed hell bent on giving her those fantasies. Or not. Maybe he had a girlfriend. Maybe he’d simply run out. She sobered as she entered the blue-painted wooden front door of the Beesford Mercantile and Ranch Store.

  She looked around curiously at the shelves filled with folded blue jeans and the round hanging racks of flannel shirts. There was a section labeled “women’s wear” and she gravitated toward it, her gaze sliding over a wall lined with boots and leather goods. There were saddles and tack, as well as stuff for humans, and the scent of rich leather hit her nostrils and she sighed with pleasure.

  Through a wide rolling door to the rear, the scents of oats and feed and hay pellets wafted on a slight breeze, and as she checked out the racks of clothing, she glanced around occasionally for Flint. A grizzled man of about fifty, with skin tanned so dark his blue eyes looked like jewels in his face approached. “Kin I help ya, little lady?”

  She nodded. “I need some work jeans in a size 6, a couple of flannel shirts in a size 10, a pair of work boots and some socks and a hat and probably a belt. Do you have women’s underthings?”

  He shook his head. “You’d want to go over to Summerton’s Ladies’ Apparel for that, little girl. But let me see what I have in those sizes.” He moved around the racks, peeling out hangers. He looked at her shoes and asked her shoe size. Leading the way to the wall, he reached up high and dragged out a couple of big boot boxes, and set them on one of the chairs where folks sat to try shoes on. While she tried on a pair of Wellingtons that would be perfect for working around the barns, he came back with a pristine white felt ladies’ hat and a straw one as well for her to try on.

  Her fingers dragged longingly over the white hat with its turquoise beads and feathers in the fancy hatband, then reached for the straw. It would be far cheaper, and that white one would be ruined if it got dirty. She tried on the gloves he brought for her, and picked out a pair that were meant for dirty work, sighing over the lush soft riding gloves.

  “You’re gonna need a pair of ridin’ boots, aren’t ya?” He opened the box that contained a stunning pair of beautifully tooled cowgirl boots, and she couldn’t resist trying them on. On a lark
, she pulled the white hat down over her eyes and walked in front of the tall mirror, grinning like an idiot at her reflection.

  “You look purty enough to be a rodeo queen, girl…” the admiration in the man’s rough voice made her blush again. She pulled off the hat and boots, and shook her head.

  “I can’t afford them, but thanks. How much do I owe you for the rest?” She watched as he tallied up the jeans and shirts and boots and socks, and swallowed hard as she stared at the total.

  “Um, maybe I better just take one pair of jeans and one shirt. And the hat will have to wait. I have some boots I can get by with.”

  “She’ll take it all, Ned. And the fancy boots and both hats.”

  She swung around to stare at Flint, who had come up behind her. Under his arm was a large shopping bag that bore the name of Summerton’s Ladies’ Apparel. “I only have $78.00. The work boots cost that much. I’ll wait until I get paid and get the rest.”

  Flint lifted his dark gaze to Ned’s grinning face. “Wrap it all up…and toss in two more pair of jeans and three more shirts. Put it on my tab. Did she find gloves?” His eyes slid over the buttery soft riding gloves, and he nodded to them, as well. “Everything she liked.”

  Ned’s chuckle brought another mad blush to her cheeks. “At this rate, I’ll never be able to pay you back!” she hissed under her breath as the man bagged her purchases and handed them over the counter to Flint.

  “Call it an advance on your first week’s pay…” He flashed white teeth that could have graced a toothpaste ad.

  “I don’t think you plan to pay me $500 a week…do you?”

  “Depends on how hard you’re willing to work.”

  He watched as she fought the words he guessed were just screaming to come out. Turning to lead the way out of the store, he walked down the sidewalk and dumped the bags in the rear seat of the king cab. He pulled the passenger side door open and before she could say a word to protest, he circled her slim waist with big hands and lifted her easily onto the seat, without turning her toward the dashboard. He leaned in slightly, and his hips pressed between her legs, as he let her feel the thick, hard ridge that strained against his buttoned fly.