Sandra Chastain by Firebrand Page A

antenna. Her body sent out ready signals and she received a confirmation that was so powerful she could almost feel their electrical connection.
    Everything would be better once she got the rules down on paper, she assured herself. Cade would be forced to follow those rules. There would be no more encroaching on her rightful authority. She’d make certain that there was no more letting down, no more giving in, until she was ready. Until—
    Until the time was right.
    In the canyon she heard the high-pitched lowing of a cow, followed by the sound of hooves plowing the hard ground and the guttural bellow of the bull.
    Rusty let out a deep breath and heard a low groan, totally unaware until she caught the look on Doak’s face that she’d been the one to make that sound.
    It was noon by the time Eugene got back. Curious, the men gathered around, watching as he gathered up a large tin tub and an odd assortment of water buckets and brown long-necked bottles.
    “What are you up to?” Doak asked, scratching his chin.
    “Well, that old boy sure ain’t gonna stop to eat, but that’s plenty hot work in there. Just maybe he’ll stop to take a drink, wet his whistle now and then. I’m going to give him something that will change his tune.”
    Inside the canyon Eugene found a level spot beneath an overhang and stationed his tub. Heproceeded to fill it with water from the buckets. He opened one of the bottles, took a deep sniff, and turned it up. After taking a long drink, he emptied it and another bottle into the water and stirred the mixture with a wooden stick.
    “That ought to do it. Let’s pull back and find us a warm spot to wait.”
    By this time Cade had figured out what Eugene was up to. He wasn’t certain it would work, but watching the show would at least relieve the tension between the men and Rusty and Rusty and himself, and if he was right, they’d be entertained at the same time.
    “What’s wrong with the ladies Pretty Boy picked out?” Eugene asked curiously.
    “They’re strays, not the caliber of cow that we want to use to prove my theory,” Rusty answered. “I plan to use only pure Charbray until we get a good sample of stock.”
    She climbed down from her horse and sat down on a rock along the canyon wall. “Are you sure whatever you’re doing is safe? That bull is the most expensive thing on this ranch. I wouldn’t want to take a chance of losing him.”
    “Absolutely,” Eugene guaranteed. “Believe I’ll take me a little nap. There’s food in the truck if anybody’s hungry.” With that, he leaned back into a crevice, using a section of rock as protection from the wind.
    Doak and the other men moved over to the truck and claimed sandwich bags and thermoses of coffee, leaving Cade and Rusty sitting together, and Eugene off to the side. After a few minutes Cade followed suit, picked up two more thermosesof coffee, and brought them back to share with Rusty, dropping down beside her.
    “Tell me about your wife,” Rusty asked as she sipped the hot coffee. “Why didn’t she tell you about your child?”
    Cade looked startled. He thought about her question for a moment, then tried to reason out an answer that made some kind of sense. “Janie was afraid to be alone. She wanted someone to be there for her. I was gone for long periods of time. I think Pixie filled that need for her and she didn’t want to take the chance I’d take Pixie away.”
    “And would you?”
    “I don’t know. She left me for another man. When he left her, she started to drink. From what I’ve learned about her condition, I could have won custody of Pixie in court.”
    From where they were sitting they couldn’t see the bull and his harem. It was just as well. Listening to their sounds was bad enough. It wasn’t long before Pretty Boy plodded into sight, stopped, sniffed, and found the tub. After a long drink he moved back into the canyon.
    “What about your husband?” Cade asked.
    “Ben? Funny, I don’t think