Hal’s actual son. When he’d been younger, he’d often hoped the rancher would adopt him, but Hal never had. And now, it was too late. He couldn’t change anything, and things were what they were. He’d do as he always did—work hard and take care of Hal and the others as best he could. If this dark-haired newcomer brought Hal happiness, Travis wasn’t one to begrudge him that.
And if Scarlett had ulterior motives for being there, hopefully she’d look around the decaying Victorian and realize Hal didn’t have ready access to huge sums of money. Most of his savings had been depleted trying to find out what was wrong with him.
As for his assets... There was the ranch, of course. And the livestock. Oh, and the fact that oil had been found on neighboring pastures. Once she learned about that moneymaking potential, she’d probably be all over the oil company’s offers like a flea on a dog. Vivian and Amber certainly were.
Travis couldn’t worry about that. He had enough on his shoulders as it stood. No matter whether Scarlett was the real deal or not, her very presence had the potential to break Hal’s heart.
Damned if he’d let it get to that. For now, he’d keep an eye on her. But the second she gave the slightest inclination toward trying to use Hal in any way, Travis would immediately put a stop to it. He’d get rid of her, offer her money, whatever it took. And make sure she told a good, believable story so Hal would be none the wiser.
The next morning, up before sunrise as usual, he chugged down a large cup of strong black coffee and ate his usual breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. Though he normally stopped by and had breakfast with Hal, he wasn’t up for dealing with Scarlett first thing before starting his day.
Like always, he had a long list of chores to take care of. Today, he planned to repair some fence line on one of the remote pastures. Most of those were best accomplished on horseback. Eager to get started, he saddled up his best gelding and headed out.
Riding always soothed away any ill temper or worries. The motion of the horse under his saddle, the connection he shared with the animal, felt better than driving any machine made by man. He checked on some fence line under repair before joining up with a couple of ranch hands bringing in a herd of cattle. By the time they’d gotten them into the new pasture, he was tired and dirty and hungry. And it wasn’t even much past noon yet.
He headed back in, figuring he’d stop by and see Hal and have lunch. Might as well check on how things were going between the old rancher and his new daughter.
When he reached the barn, he saw Scarlett perched on a bale of straw. Today, she wore another brightly colored dress and bright red high-heeled shoes. She looked both exotic and completely out of place. And much more beautiful than she had a right to be.
For all intents and purposes, she appeared to be waiting for him. Ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her, he rode past, deliberately ignoring her while he dismounted. He tied the reins to a hook outside the stall and removed his saddle, which he carried over to the saddle rack. Returning, he dipped his chin in a small nod of greeting and began brushing down his mount.
He knew the instant she got up and came around to stand silently behind him, though he pretended not to notice. He hated the way his body hummed with hyperawareness of her presence, as if he’d merely been sleepwalking and only came awake when she was near.
But then again, beautiful women had always been his weakness. A blessing and a curse. Once, when he’d cared enough to actually try to attract them, they’d flocked to him like moths to a flame.
Now he knew better. Beautiful women were nothing but trouble. Trouble and a world of hurt. These days, he managed to avoid them. He’d even stopped dating, having neither the time nor the inclination to have his heart shattered again.
Luckily, he kept an iron grip on his self-control.
Still, having Scarlett watch him without speaking managed to make him feel uncomfortable. He pretended to be entirely focused on his task, refusing to allow her to bother him.
Only once he had the horse taken care of and back in the stall did he turn and face her.
“Hi,” she said, offering a friendly smile. “You seemed so engrossed in brushing your horse that I didn’t want to disturb you. I’m guessing you love working with your hands.”
Suggestive? Whether intentional or not, when he raised one eyebrow at her comment, she blushed. Strangely enough, this actually made him like her a little better.
He decided to ignore what she’d just said. “Is there something I can help you with?” Direct and to the point. Much better than asking her what the hell she was doing in his barn.
“Yes.” She met his gaze dead on. “I came out here to talk to you. Hal said you’re his stepson as well as his foreman. I guess that kind of makes us kin.”
“Kin?” He shuddered. “Not hardly. Hal and I aren’t related at all. Now what did you need to talk to me about?”
When she didn’t immediately respond, he braced himself, figuring whatever it was would probably be a doozy.
“I just thought...” She looked down, twisting her hands as she let her words trail away. He almost felt a pang of sympathy—almost—before reminding himself that he needed to be wary around her.
“I just thought we might be friends.” When she lifted her face to his, the raw vulnerability in her green eyes had him taking a step toward her before he realized.
“Friends?” he repeated, dazed at how close he’d come to letting down his guard. “Why?”
“Why not?” She smiled, the beauty of which made his mouth go dry. “I’m getting to know my father. I didn’t even know about him for most of my life, so he and I have a lot of catching up to do. Hal asked me to stay awhile and I’ve accepted. Clearly, you care about him. And he you.” Still smiling, she shrugged. “I just think it would be easier if we all got along.”
“Delilah mentioned that you’d be staying awhile. Let me ask you something. Did Hal ask for a DNA test?”
She recoiled, almost as if he’d slapped her. “No. But if he does, I’ll be perfectly willing to have one done.”
“Good. I’ll be sure to mention it to him.” He kept his tone friendly. “After all, that’s the only definitive way to know you’re actually his daughter.”
Though she narrowed her eyes, she still didn’t look away. “Why don’t you like me? You don’t even know me.”
“Does it matter?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He shrugged. “Look, I don’t dislike you. As you pointed out, I don’t know you. I just don’t trust you.”
“Again, I have to ask why?”
He decided to be blunt. “I protect Hal. That’s what I do. I might not be able to stop his illness, or even identify it. But I can keep him away from people who want to hurt him or use him. Do you understand?”
“I do.” She didn’t even blink. “And since I have no intention of doing either, you have nothing to fear from me.”
“Fear? Interesting choice of words.”
This made her groan, clearly frustrated. “Oh, please. Give me a break.”
To his surprise, he realized she’d managed to coax a reluctant smile from him. He immediately turned that into a frown. “I’m guessing you feel I should just take you at your word. I promise, I’ll be watching you. So help me, it won’t look good for you if you try to take advantage of a dying man.”
She froze. “Dying? What do you mean, exactly? I know he seems ill, and he has a nurse, but...”
“We don’t know what’s wrong with him. We’ve had every test run and the doctors can’t figure it out.” He decided to be brutally honest. “We’ve had him checked out at MD Anderson also. It’s