The Cowboy

in defiance of the heat. He did not seem surprised to see Margaret coming out of the barn with his boss.
    "Good morning, Miss Lark." Hatcher inclined his head politely. "Nice to see you again."
    "Thank you, Doug." She knew he was lying through his teeth. The poor man was no doubt struggling mightily to maintain a polite facade. There was little chance he was actually glad to see her. Hatcher was fiercely loyal to Rafe and he probably blamed her for the collapse of the Spencer deal last year. She was not at all certain his opinion of her would have changed just because Rafe ordered him to change it.
    Then, again, when Rafe gave orders, people tended to obey.
    "What's up, Hatcher?" Rafe asked easily. "I'm on vacation, remember?"
    "Yes, sir." Hatcher indicated the briefcase. "I just need to update you on a couple of things. You said you wanted to keep close track of the Ellington deal. There have been a couple of recent developments I felt you should know about. I also have some figures to show you."
    Rafe released Maggie abruptly. His good mood seemed to have suddenly evaporated. She recognized the signs instantly. She could almost feel him shifting gears into what she always thought of as his "business alert" mode. He was fully capable of remaining in it for hours, even days, on end. When he was caught up in it nothing else mattered to him. He brooked no distractions, not even from the woman he was currently bedding.
    "Right," Rafe said. "Let's go inside and take care of it. Maggie, why don't you take a swim or something?"
    Her first reaction was a rush of anger. Same old Rafe. As soon as business reared its ugly head, he was like a hunter who had caught the scent of prey. He was already dismissing her while he took care of more important things.
    Then she looked at his face and saw the tension in him. He knew what she was thinking. The fact that her incipient disapproval had gotten through to him was something, she told herself. Last year he wouldn't have even noticed.
    "I don't really feel like a swim, Rafe."
    "Honey, this won't take long, I swear it. I guarantee I've developed some new ways of working lately but I can't just let go of everything, you know that. I'm still responsible for my family, the ranch and a heck of a lot of jobs at Cassidy and Company. Be reasonable."
    She relaxed slightly as she saw the expression in his eyes. "I know, Rafe. It's all right. I understand. I think I will have that swim, after all." Of course he couldn't let go of everything. She didn't expect him to abandon his business altogether. She just wanted him to learn to put things in perspective. He was trying, she realized. And that was the first step.
    Rafe nodded once, looking vastly relieved. "Thanks. Let's go, Hatcher. I want to get this over with as fast as possible. I've got other things to do today. More interesting things."
    "Yes, sir."
    Margaret preceded both men into the house and was turning to go down the hall to her bedroom when Bev Cassidy came through the patio doors. Connor Lark was right behind her. They both looked anxiously first at Margaret and then at Rafe.
    "You two get this marriage business settled?" Connor demanded aggressively. "Bev and I aren't takin' off for Sedona day after tomorrow the way we planned if you two haven't worked this out."
    "Don't worry, Connor. Everything's under control," Rafe said mildly.
    "You sure?"
    "I'm sure," Rafe said.
    "About time."
    "Yeah. You can say that again." Rafe started toward the study he used as an office. "I need to spend a few minutes with Hatcher. Maggie's going swimming, aren't you, Maggie?"
    "Looks like it," said Maggie.
    Bev brightened. "I've got another idea, if you're interested, Margaret?"
    "What's that?" Margaret smiled.
    "How would you like to go shopping? I thought you might want to buy something to wear to the engagement party tomorrow evening."
    Margaret reeled. Her eyes widened in shock as she whirled to glare at Rafe. "
Engagement party
. Now, just hold on one minute, here, I've never said anything about getting officially engaged. Don't you dare try to rush me like this, Rafe. Do you hear me? I won't stand for it."
    Hatcher, Conner and Bev looked at each other in obvious embarrassment. But there was a suspiciously humorous glint in Rafe's eyes when he said very gently, "Mom is talking about the engagement party she and Connor are giving tomorrow night to celebrate their engagement. Not ours."
    "I'm so sorry, dear," Bev said quickly. "In all the