Read Online The Lone Rancher by Carol Finch - Free Book Online

Slyck, collected monthly for him had been deposited in the ranch account. Although Quin had told Bowie, Chance and Leanna that he was pouring all the profits from town rentals and cattle sales into ranch improvements and expansion, he had paid his siblings dividends—in case they needed a financial boost. Of course, they would have to contact him—which they hadn’t. Quin wasn’t worried about Bowie’s finances since he’d had a job before leaving 4C. Not the kind of job their parents had approved of but Bowie was drawing sheriff’s wages. Quin had no idea what Leanna and Chance were doing to make ends meet. Nevertheless, the money awaited them when they finally came to their senses and returned home where they belonged.
    Like Boston—who never should have ventured west to disrupt his life and take the starring role in his dreams. Damn the woman. He kept playing that tantalizing kiss over and over in his mind and wondered ifperhaps he had been the one who had initiated it. For certain, she fit against his body as if she had been made for him….
    Now there was a thought that rattled him to the extreme.
    Yet, maybe he had been going about dealing with Boston all wrong, he mused as he halted in front of Hell’s Corner Saloon. Perhaps he should have charmed Boston as he had charmed Elda Quickel into cooking and cleaning for him. She was a gourmet cook of the highest order. His taste buds nearly went into riot remembering the delicious fare she had served him. Besides, it was nice to have someone join him at the dinner table—and he had insisted on that. No need for Elda to eat alone in the kitchen, after all.
    His thoughts flitted off when he saw Lucas Burnett and his black-eyed wolf dog—named Dog—moving along the respectable side of the railroad tracks. Lucas was riding his favorite horse called Drizzle and leading four Appaloosa-and-mustang crosses that he had culled from his prize herd.
    â€œWhere are you headed, Burnett?” Quin called out.
    Lucas inclined his raven head toward Town Square. “I’m meeting Rosa for lunch. Then I’m taking the horses to Fort Ridge to sell. Care to join us for lunch, Cahill?”
    Quin veered away from the saloon to join Lucas. “So…how is married life treating you? Haven’t seen much of you since Rosalie put a ring through your nose.”
    â€œTorment me all you want, Cahill,” Lucas replied, unruffled. “I’m happy. Thanks to Rosa’s influence, I don’t feel quite so much like an outcast in town. Since everyone adores her, they tolerate me.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell me that McKnight hellion is Rosalie’s cousin?” Quin accused abruptly.
    Lucas shrugged his broad shoulders, then cut Quin an amused glance. “First off, I haven’t seen you lately because we have been on our honeymoon. Secondly, you didn’t ask.”
    â€œWell, I’m asking now. How can your sweet wife be related to that snippy heiress who thinks she can manage a sprawling Texas ranch without going broke like her Eastern-and London-based predecessors?”
    â€œAddie K., as Rosa calls her, inherited a staggering fortune from both sides of her family,” Lucas explained without bothering to elaborate on Rosa’s financial connection—or lack thereof. “Addie K. could likely buy and sell you a few times over if she had a mind to, Cahill.”
    The teasing comment and the mischievous grin with which it was delivered made Quin squirm in the saddle. “No doubt that’s what set off that firebrand when I offered to buy her ranch the first day she arrived.”
    Lucas barked a laugh and his shoulders shook with amusement. “You tangled with the wrong female, friend. According to Rosa, Addie K. doesn’t have much use for men. Too many adventurers and gold diggers were after her fortune. I think that’s one of the reasons she came west.”
    Quin recalled