“Then don’t insist on doing something stupid like staying in Bannon.”

Libby was appalled at the way he was talking to their guest. “Meade! That’s uncalled for.”

“Believe me, Libby, you wouldn’t say that if you knew what she’s really like. All you’ve seen is a rare glimpse of her best behavior. She is the most stubborn, headstrong creature I have ever met, and—”

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“And she’s standing in this room,” Rayna said hotly. “She’ll thank you not to talk about her as though she were in New Mexico.”

Libby whirled to her. “Rayna, I’m sorry. I know Meade doesn’t mean to be rude.”

“Oh, yes he does,” she replied. “He’s very good at it, too.”

Meade’s smile was sarcasm personified. “I’ve had lots of practice, thanks to you.”

Libby looked back and forth between them. “I swear, you two are worse than Jenny and Lucas,” she muttered in amazement. “Rayna, despite Meade’s rather heavy-handed invitation to you, I wish you’d reconsider. You can’t imagine how nice it would be for me to have you around the house for a while. I love the ranch and my children, but I do get lonely for another woman to talk to.”

Meade let out a scornful snort of laughter, and Rayna threw him a look that dared him to express his thoughts aloud. In the face of her challenge, he couldn’t resist. “Oh, by all means, Rayna, stay. I know you and Libby will have a lovely time discussing the latest fashions and exchanging recipes.”

Libby placed a hand on Rayna’s arm. “Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s only teasing me because he knows how much I hate superficial woman-talk about fashion and such nonsense.”

Rayna looked down at the lovely, petite lady and wondered if perhaps they might have more in common than she’d thought last night, after all.

Actually, it did make sense that she stay, but only on certain conditions.

“Libby, I would be happy to accept your hospitality if you’ll allow me to earn my keep around her. If you treat me like a pampered guest, I’ll go crazy within a week.”

Libby hadn’t been certain before, but she was now: She liked Rayna Templeton. Anyone who could get Meade this fired up and hold her own against his sharp tongue was definitely a woman worth getting to know. “Very well. From this moment on, I shall consider you a part of the family and treat you as such. Tessa and I will be more than happy to have someone to help with the household chores.”

Meade laughed outright this time and looked to Rayna. “Do you want to explain the facts of life to my sister, or shall I?”

Libby frowned in confusion, and Rayna told her, “What Meade is so graciously trying to insinuate is that I’m not very domestic. I’ve been helping my father run Rancho Verde for a very long time, and I’d much rather help with the roundup than with the dishes, if you don’t object.”

Libby was surprised, but not totally shocked. “Of course. Whatever you like. Case took his uncle and nephew with him, so we’ve been a little short-handed, anyway.”

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“Good,” Meade declared. “Now that that’s settled, shall we head into town?”

“Very well.” Rayna removed the letter from her valise and made her way outside to the carriage while Libby gave Meade the list of supplies she needed him to pick up in Bannon.

As they rode away, Libby stood on the porch watching them. She noted their stiff backs and the more than respectable distance between them on the wide wagon seat. They didn’t speak; they didn’t look at each other.

Libby smiled happily. If she’d had any doubts last night, they were gone now. Her stubborn brother, who’d spent most of his life insisting he didn’t believe in love, had fallen hard. He wasn’t happy about it, and he had no idea how to cope with his intense emotions, but he was in love all right.

It seemed that in the space of a single day, Libby had discovered not one sister-in-law but two. Of course, Case still had to find Skylar, and Meade had to admit he was in love, before they could all truly be a family, but it would happen. Libby was confident of that. There was nothing she could do to help Case, but Meade was a different story.

Humming a merry tune, Libby went about her morning chores.

After a very practical shopping spree in Bannon’s only general mercantile store, Rayna waited in the wagon while Meade finished filling the supply list.

She had purchased enough clothes to get by on and had impulsively picked up presents for Jenny, Lucas, and Libby.

The ride home was as uncomfortably silent as the ride into town had been, and the raw tension between them became the cornerstone in the foundation of their relationship for the next two weeks. They spoke to each other only when necessary and managed to keep their arguments to a minimum for the sake of Libby and the children.

Six area ranches had joined forces for the roundup, and Jedidiah was ram-rodding the Eagle Creek contingent. Once he realized what an excellent cowhand Rayna was, he made full use of her services and very quickly came to respect her. She got along well with the other hands and there was no job she considered beneath her. From sunup to sundown, she was on the range searching for small herds and driving them to the holding pens where they were separated into various herds according to their brands and earmarks.

She could cut a single cow out of the herd as well as any man Jedidiah had ever seen, and she was absolutely fearless. In fact, the only problem he had with her was that he couldn’t pair her up with Meade, who was also helping with the roundup. In the beginning, Jedidiah had tried to keep both of them close to him because he knew Meade had a lot to learn and Rayna needed evaluating.

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breakneck speed through the brush and over a hill after a stray, he had left the herd to go galloping after her. Long before he caught up with her, Rayna had reappeared on the rise with the docile steer trotting in front of her. The argument that ensued had spooked the cattle and kept Jedidiah’s ears burning for the rest of the day. The next morning he had wisely paired Meade with one of the other hands.

The arrangement had worked out to the satisfaction of everyone except Libby. She had tried to persuade Jedidiah to force her brother and Rayna to stay together as much as possible, and when he asked her reason, Libby had finally confessed that she was playing matchmaker. Though Jedidiah loved Libby like a daughter, he seriously questioned her judgment—and her sanity.

Never in his life had he seen a less likely couple than Rayna Templeton and Meade Ashford, and he was too busy with the roundup to dabble in playing Cupid for a totally lost cause.

The result of the working arrangement was that Rayna and Meade usually saw each other only at breakfast and supper. They were generally so exhausted from their labors that they turned in early, having barely spoken to each other the entire day.

Though the work kept Rayna busy, she had plenty of time to worry about how the roundup at Rancho Verde was faring without her, and far too much time to fret about Skylar. Every day that passed without word from Case Longstreet drove another spike into the coffin of fear that imprisoned her.

And the situation with Meade wasn’t adding to her peace of mind. He wore his disapproval of her like a badge for all to see, and kept any kinder feelings well hidden behind a suit of armor that nothing could penetrate.

Despite her exhaustion, the frustrating combination of emotions made it increasingly difficult for Rayna to sleep at night. She was tired of fighting with Meade, and she resented him because he couldn’t see that she needed his strength, not his disapproval. She needed his love, not his intractable hostility.

Only Libby seemed to understand what she was going through. Meade’s sister was kind and encouraging. At odd moments Rayna would catch a glimpse of her concern for her husband, but her faith in his ultimate success was unshakable. Rayna needed desperately to believe that all would be well, and though she didn’t quite have Libby’s conviction, her new friend’s faith kept Rayna going.

Two weeks to the day after she’d arrived at Eagle Creek, Rayna lay in bed tormented by fitful memories of her night with Meade and fearful imaginings about what Skylar was suffering. Everyone else had long since turned in, too, and the quiet house closed in on her. Finally she gave up pretending to sleep altogether, put on her robe, and silently made her way downstairs.

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The instant she opened the front door, she realized that she’d been wrong; not everyone had turned in for the night. The faint smell of Meade’s cheroot filled her senses, and her first instinct was to close the door and return to her room before he noticed her. The thought of spending another hour alone, tossing and turning, changed her mind. She saw him silhouetted in the moonlight as he stood leaning against the pillar at the top of the porch steps.

“Couldn’t sleep, either?” she asked as she moved onto the porch.

Meade turned and stifled a groan at the sight of her. He’d come out here to escape the tormenting sound of her tossing and turning in the room next to his. He didn’t need yet another reminder of her nearness. “No . . . I couldn’t sleep. Too tired, I guess.”