The Lover Read Online Free Page B

working. It was the taller one with the saddle. None of them looked to be more than twenty years old, if that much.
    â€œTo tell you the truth,” the boy finally said. “We’re on our way right now to see a man about a drive.”
    Eagle Jack opened his mouth but he never had a chance to get a word out. She was way too quick for him.
    â€œWe’ll pay more than that man will,” Susanna said. “Is he offering you the going rate?”
    Eagle Jack wanted to slap his hand across her mouth and hold it there. He set his jaw. They had an understanding to reach and they were going to reach it very, very soon or he would be gone.
    With this kind of aggravation, it didn’t seem so important that no one could ever say that he broke his word. His reputation be damned if he had to put up with this for another minute, much less a thousand miles.
    â€œHow much more?” the young cowboy said.
    Eagle Jack gave Susanna a look that, to his surprise, actually stilled her tongue. He spoke before she could recover.
    â€œTwo dollars a month more,” he said.
    The cowboy looked at his companions.
    Without a word passed among them, he turned back to Eagle Jack.
    â€œDone,” he said. “Marvin Dwyer’s my name.”
    He held out his hand to shake. Eagle Jack shook with all of them and introduced himself as they spoke their names.
    Shyly, they tipped their hats in Susanna’s direction, but Eagle Jack couldn’t bring himself to introduce her as his wife. They had that impression already. And it wouldn’t be necessary, anyhow. By this time tomorrow she’d be settled on her own ranch again, and he and these boys would be pushing her cattle north.
    â€œWhere should we meet you at, Mr. Sixkiller? And when?” Marvin asked.
    He shifted his saddle to his other hand and waited.
    â€œAt Brushy Creek Ranch,” Eagle Jack said, “as soon as you can.”
    He smiled. He had actually beat Susanna to the punch for once.
    Then his triumph vanished. He didn’t know how to direct them to get there, not even whether the ranch was east or north or south or west of town.
    Great. There was nothing like a trail boss who didn’t know where he was going.
    â€œI’ll let Miss Susanna tell y’all what road to take,” he said. “I have some business to see to andwe all need to get out there right away.”
    He turned on his heel and left her standing there with the crew she’d hired. Great jumping Jehoshaphat, he’d never known a woman to talk so much—or interrupt so much—and he’d known a lot of women. He couldn’t wait to get her back to her ranch and get away from her for a while.
    He couldn’t wait to be alone. Some peace and quiet might do wonders for his head.
    Yet he hadn’t been in the shop long enough for anything but to greet the proprietor, scan the used saddles, and decide that his stolen one wasn’t there when Susanna followed him in.
    â€œMr. Sixkiller,” she said, “the new hands asked me to tell you that they’ll start for the ranch in an hour. Maybe less. I asked them to go ahead and take delivery of the herd if we aren’t there yet.”
    He froze.
    Then he crossed the shop to her with a whole new fire in his belly. She was the most aggravating woman on God’s green earth but that didn’t mean she had to be the dumbest. If he was going to put up with this nonsense, he was going to accomplish something. Left alone, she didn’t even have a pair of decent gloves and pretty soon she wouldn’t have anything at all.
    â€œWhen the hell will you ever learn to let me do what you hired me to do?” he said. He kept hisvoice low so the saddlemaker wouldn’t hear and that took all the strength he had. He wanted to yell at her at the top of his lungs. “How’ll you like it if they drive that herd off onto somebody else’s place and sell them? Or just start up the trail