“I’m in a position to know there are no job openings, Ms…?”

“Catherine Arnold,” she supplied evenly. “Then I should consider myself fortunate I already have a job I love,” came the evasive comment.

“I meant no offense.”

“None was taken.”

Her guile less response disarmed him. She had a lot of ready answers without asking the right questions. There was a reason she’d come to the ranch, but she didn’t intend to tell him any more than she had to. That was too bad, because he was determined to learn the truth one way or the other.

“The maid thought you had followed her into the house. When she couldn’t find you, she called Security.”

Though her expression didn’t change, he watched in fascination the way her slim fingers tightened around the steering wheel. She wore no rings, only a gold wristwatch. A clear polish covered her manicured nails. He could see the half-moons of her cuticles clearly.

Everything about her appealed to his senses. That was another thing that hadn’t happened to him in years.

A trace of a smile formed on her lips. “And here I was hoping someone would come outside to en lighten me, Mr…?”

“Farraday, but I answer to Cole.”

“Thanks for your help, Cole,” she said, without as much as a flicker of those long lashes.

Cole wasn’t a vain man, but it was a fact that their family’s name figured prominently in the settling of this part of Nevada. If she recognized it and was playing dumb, she was a superb actress, particularly since Buck’s death had been highly publicized in the media.

Angry at himself for letting her get to him, his chiseled features formed a grimace. “Why do you want to speak to the man who does the hiring?”