Montana Sky

could have expected.” The tightness around her mouth eased as she smiled. “Tess was out here pulling calves. After the first couple, and a lot of squealing, she did okay.”
    “I’d have paid money to see that.”
    For an instant the smile spread into a grin. “It was worth the price of a ticket, especially when her jeans split.”
    “No shit? You didn’t take pictures, did you?”
    “Wish I’d thought of it. She cussed a lot, and the men—well, I got to say they appreciated the moment. We got her a pair of Wood’s cords.” Willa glanced over as Tess approached, in the cords, a borrowed hat, and one of Adam’s cast-off coats. “They fit her a sight better than that sprayed-on denim she was wearing.”
    “Depends on your viewpoint,” Ben said.
    “Morning, Rancher McKinnon.”
    “Morning, Rancher Mercy.”
    Tess grinned at him, adjusted her hat to a rakish angle. “Lily’s brewing up a few gallons of coffee,” she told Willa. “Then she’ll be out to help stick needles into cow butts.”
    “You gonna pull some more calves?”
    Tess eyed Ben, then Willa. From the expressions on their faces, she could see that her reputation had preceded her. “I figured I could give it another day, seeing as I’m going to be spending the weekend at the spa in Big Sky.”
    Willa’s grin fell off her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “Our little bet.” Gotcha, Tess thought, and smiled sweetly. “I pulled two more calves than you the other day. Ham was doing the counting for me.”
    “What bet?” Ben wanted to know, and was ignored as Willa stepped into Tess’s face.
    “That’s bull.”
    “No, it was calves. Of course, some of them might have been bulls, but you’ll fix that in a few months—and that’s something I won’t lend a hand with. Mercy Ranch owes us a weekend at the resort. I’ve already made the reservations. We leave first thing Friday morning.”
    “The hell with that. I’m not leaving the ranch for two days to go sit in some stupid mud bath.”
    “Welsher.”
    Willa’s eyes slitted dangerously, causing Ben to clear his throat and move, subtly he hoped, out of range. “It has nothing to do with welshing. After the trouble around here, I was hardly thinking about some lame bet. I had calls to make, the cops came out. I didn’t pull calves for more than a couple hours all day.”
    “I did. And I won.” Tess shifted forward until the toes of their boots bumped. “And we’re going. You try to back out, I’ll make sure everyone within a hundred miles knows your word isn’t worth diddly.”
    “My word’s solid, and anybody who says different is a liar.”
    “Ah, ladies . . .”
    Willa’s head whipped around, and her eyes seared Ben where he stood. “Back off, McKinnon.”
    “Backing off,” he murmured, spreading his hands as he did so. “Backing way off.”
    “You want to go when we’re hip-deep in this mess,” Willa continued, and poked Tess hard in the shoulder, “you go. I’ve got a ranch to run.”
    “You’re going.” Tess poked her right back. “Because that was the deal. Because you lost the bet, and because Lily’s counting on it. And because it’s time you started thinking of the people around here with as much respect as you give the goddamn cows. I busted my ass to fix this. I’ve been stuck on this godforsaken ranch for nearly six months because some selfish son of a bitch wanted to play games beyond the grave.”
    “And in another six months you’ll be gone.” Why that—simply that—should infuriate her, Willa couldn’t have said.
    “Damn straight,” Tess tossed back. “The minute my sentence is up, I’m gone. But meanwhile I’ve been playing the game, sticking to the rules. You’re, by Christ, going to stick to them too. We’re going if I have to beat you senseless, tie you up, and toss you in the nearest jeep.”
    “Rig.” Willa angled her chin up as if inviting a fist. “It’s a rig, Hollywood, and you couldn’t whip a blind three-legged dog.”
    “Fuck your rigs.” Fed up, Tess gave her a hard shove. “And fuck you.”
    That snapped it. The temper was there and full-blown before Willa could suck it in. Her fist was there, in full swing before she could pull it. It snapped Tess’s head back, left an ugly red mark on the side of her jaw, and sent her butt first onto the slushy ground.
    Even as Ben swore and stepped forward, Willa was apologizing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.