“The ranch could be prosperous if I could afford to pay for ranch hands. As it is, well. I plan to run only as much stock as I can handle on my own. That’s if Clem and his rotten bank don’t take it off me.”
She attacked her steak with such gusto he wondered whether it was him, her brother or the bank manager she was thinking of. Probably all three of them if truth be known. She had every right to feel aggrieved. Her dilemma was worse than his; at least he was a man who could find work on another ranch. What could she do if she was forced out of her home? What kind of brother would leave his sister in such a mess? Any wonder he had just about lost his faith in humanity.
If he agreed to marry her, the bank would loan her the money she needed, and he would have somewhere to stay until he worked out what to do. If she had plenty of land with not much stock, he could bring his cattle there for a while and they would be safe. As it was now, he risked Edward getting rid of them. The more he thought about the idea the better he liked it.
“I’ll marry you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“You will? Oh, thank you, Rowan.” Her beautiful smile almost floored him.
“I wonder if the preacher would marry us today.”
“Today?” he exclaimed.
“Yes. Do you know him? I can’t stay away from the ranch for too long”
“Not really. I read the bible, but I’m not a regular church going man.”
“But he might if we told him it was urgent. Then we could go to the ranch, pick up your cattle straight away and I can help you drive them to my place.”
“Steady on.” He feared he had just got himself into something more than he had anticipated. He rarely did things on impulse.
“We need to think things through.” This gal was a whirlwind who made his head spin.
“No, we don’t. I need a husband to keep the bank happy. You need somewhere to live and to graze your cattle. It’s perfect, unless.” Her voice faltered. “You don’t really want to marry me.”
“It’s not that, I just don’t like being rushed.” What was wrong with him? The quicker they got this over and done with the better.
“I guess what you say is right, Miranda, only I wanted to sort something out for a couple of the old-timers on the ranch first. They won’t be happy staying there once I’m gone and Edward is vicious enough to fire them, then where would they be?”
“Bring them along, too. They could help get your herd to my place and I could afford to give them some work.”
Her offer surprised him.
“There are other local ranchers around so they could pick up extra work. I don’t have a bunkhouse, although the original cabin is still standing, if they don’t mind sharing. It’s not in bad condition; it’s where any casual hands stay. Well, we never had more than a couple at a time because we couldn’t afford the wages.”
She reached over and picked up his hand and jiggled it. “What do you say?”
“Why not? Let’s finish our meal first before it gets cold.”
“How romantic.” She laughed and it was a nice sound. Him agreeing to marry her had obviously lifted a weight from her slender shoulders.
“What do you want me to say?”
Red fired her cheeks.
He had no idea what to say, although he knew what he wanted to do – taste those sweet lips of hers.
Chapter Nine
Miranda could not believe she was acting nearly as wantonly as that Dorothea woman. She snatched her hand away. “Sorry, I got carried away.”
He grinned. “It’s okay. We need to get a few things clear first.”
“Like what?”
“Living arrangements.”
“It’s a three-bedroom ranch house with plenty of space. I thought if your men didn’t mind sleeping in the cabin, they could have their meals with us. I’m not a bad cook.”
“It’s a generous offer, Miranda. Exactly what kind of marriage do you want?”
The question hung between them. What if he didn’t want an annulment? She had not thought of that. He was obviously much more meticulous about things than her. “What kind of marriage is there?”
“Well, there are only two I know of,” he said with a grin. “A marriage in name only and we get an annulment when we both get what we want, or a proper marriage. You know, the death do us part, share the same bed kind of one.”
She swallowed quickly. “What kind do you want?”
His eyebrows shot up to form peaks. “You would be happy with either?”
“Well.” She gnawed her bottom lip. “I’m not sure.”
He laughed. “I knew you hadn’t thought things through, see what I mean. There’s the financial consideration as well.”
“What financial consideration?”
“You don’t imagine I would be prepared to live off you,” he said indignantly. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
“An honorable one, and I’m sorry I screamed at you before. I was just so angry and upset at what I thought was your betrayal, when you knew how desperate I was. Well, I guess I wasn’t as desperate then as I am now.”
“I’m sorry too. I can’t believe I forgot all about you. Like I told you, things have been really terrible here of late, with George’s poor health and Edward’s antics. To top it all off I’ve had to put up with Dorothea
