Brady nodded. "Yep, that's her."
"I've met her but can't say I really know her. Sad about her husband."
"Yeah, they've got a cute little boy, Caleb. Must be hard raising him alone."
"I bet it is," Mitch said.
"I was wondering if you've been seeing Dan Whitman lately."
Mitch said in disgust, "Way too much of him if you want to know the truth. What's up?"
"He ran into Jessie a few days ago and said some pretty disgusting stuff. Seemed to me like he was threatening her. She won't go to the sheriff, so I thought maybe I'd just take care of him myself. I can make sure he never bothers her again."
Mitch said, "You want to be careful with him. He's a mean drunk, and he's unpredictable. I've had to cut him off twice in the past week or so, and he didn't take it well. I damn near had to call the sheriff myself the last time."
"Jessie says he didn't used to be like this."
"No, he really didn't. He was always asking Jessie out, but he didn't take offense when she turned him down. He'd just try again and he laughed right along with everybody else, kidding around about it."
Brady said thoughtfully, "I wonder what changed him."
"You want the truth?"
"Always."
"I think it was when he found out that you were staying out at Jessie's. She's turned him down a hundred times and then you come along. Good looking and a war hero and you're living at her house. Everybody expects you to be a couple."
Brady said morosely, "That's not how it is."
Mitch shrugged. "That may be, but Dan doesn't see it that way. My guess is it's eating at him."
"Well, shit." Brady said, taking a sip of beer.
"Hopefully, he'll get over it as a little time goes by."
"You think?"
"I hope."
"Could you do me a favor, Mitch? Next time he shows up in here, would you give me a call? I want to have a few words with him."
Mitch studied him for a moment. "I would normally say no, but I will in this case. I just don't want any trouble here in my bar."
"You have my word."
"Okay, give me your number."
Brady wrote down his phone number and paid for his beer, leaving Mitch a generous tip. Mitch watched him go and shook his head. "There's trouble brewing, I'm afraid."
Chapter 8
Jessie thought long and hard about Kayla's advice. Every time she would think seriously about taking it, she'd get a real case of butterflies in her stomach. She finally decided that she had to try at least initiating another kiss. Besides, the one she'd had was so good that the thought of another one made her mouth water. But "jumping his bones" might be carrying it a little too far.
When the first snowflakes flew, early in November, they decided it was time to move the herd to the winter pasture near the barn. Brady had set up the gates he'd bought at auction to funnel the cattle into the new pasture. Indy had developed some excellent cow and horse sense and they didn't have to worry about her getting trampled. In fact, she was getting pretty good at moving cattle too.
Brady and Jessie saddled up and headed to the pasture, Indy following behind. Brady leaned off his horse and unfastened the pasture gate, swinging it wide open. They rode in, slow and easy, and began the move. They kept the pace slow and the cattle stayed calm. Indy headed off a calf that wanted to trot off in the wrong direction and Jessie grinned at her.
"Good girl, Indy," she called.
When the herd was all in the new pasture and gates were closed, Jessie was beaming. "That was so much fun!" she exclaimed.
Brady laughed. "I'm glad you liked it. Wait till you're moving a hundred head. Now, that's fun."
Jessie's eyes widened. "I think I'm glad I'll be easing into that."
They watched the cows and calves for a little while and then rode back to the barn.
"Tell you what," Brady said. "I'll take care of the horses if you'll go whip us up some lunch. I'm starving."
"Deal." Jessie bent down to pet and fuss over her dog for a minute. "Indy, you did so good! Good girl."
When Brady got into the house, he said, "Wow! Something smells good. I'll wash up."
Jessie ladled out steaming bowls of chicken stew with dumplings. She had some leftover broccoli salad to go with it. Brady walked in and gave a little groan at the sight of the food.
"When did you make that?"
Jessie grinned and said, "Yesterday afternoon. I figured we'd need it after we moved the herd today. I turned on the crockpot before we went out."
"You're a genius. Let's eat!"
That evening, Brady said, "Jess, I've talked to Red Holloway about picking up some work here, part time for now but going to full time in the spring, if his part time work is good. Do you know him?"
"No, I don't think I've ever met him. I've heard his name; he's pretty well known around here. I've never heard anything negative about him."
"Well, I'd like you to meet him and see what you think. We're going to need somebody we can depend on by the time Christmas gets here. I thought Thanksgiving would be a good time to try him out. I'd like to go to my parents' for Thanksgiving. My dad's brother is coming and I haven't seen him in a long time. And I have some personal things I need to take care of. You'd be here to keep an eye on things, and if there's any problem, I'm not that far away. I can always come back."
Jessie looked insulted. "You know, I'm not just the little woman here. This is my responsibility and I need to be able to run the ranch myself. I'm sure I can take care of a few days on my own. If there are things I don't know yet, there's plenty of time for me to get it all down before Thanksgiving gets here."
Brady looked thoughtful. "You have a point. But we still need to give Red a trial. What about this? I'd like to leave on Wednesday after the morning chores are done. We'll make sure you know the daily routine and you take care of Wednesday night, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after. Then have Red come and do all the chores on Saturday and Sunday. I'll be back by the end of the day on Sunday, and if everything is good, we'll have our part time help."
Jessie was satisfied. "I'm okay with that. I'm kind of itching to get more hands on with the ranch. I could always hire a cook if needed, so that I could handle more of the ranch chores."
Brady looked a little panicked. "Now, don't go rushing into something like that. I mean, your cooking is…nobody is going to be able to cook like you do."
Jessie laughed. "Don't panic. I'm not in a place where I need to give up the cooking yet. But, there really are plenty of people around who can cook just as well as I can. If it came down to running the ranch or doing the cooking, I'd choose running the ranch."
Brady ate a forkful of pie before he asked, "What are you going to do for Thanksgiving?"
Jessie hid the little pang she felt at the idea of not being with him for the holiday. But, after all, they weren't a couple. Not yet, anyway. Hell, she didn't know if they would ever be a couple. And logical or not, she was going to miss spending the holiday with him.
"Well, I hadn't really thought about it. I'll see what Kayla is doing. There's a Thanksgiving dinner that the church holds every year. I can go to that. Everybody takes a dish, and it would be fun. And, if nothing else, Indy and I will have our own little Thanksgiving. I can get some shopping done. Christmas will be here before we know it, and I'd really like to make this place look a little Christmassy this year."
Brady felt a pang at the fact that they wouldn't be together for the holiday, but he really needed to spend some time talking to his sister and his mom. He was feeling the need for some opinions and advice from the women in his life, and he couldn't do that if Jessie was with him. He also hated the idea of leaving her to take care of the ranch on her own. He was confident that she could do it, but he had a pretty good idea that he was going to be in full mother hen mode when the time came. God, Brady, you're such an idiot!
He knew damn well that Jessie was a competent, intelligent woman, not a helpless little gir
l. Still, she did have her little girl side. He let out a big sigh, knowing that it was going to happen, regardless of how he felt about protecting and guiding her little girl side. He started a little when he realized that Jessie was regarding him intently, her head cocked and a frown on her face.
"What on earth were you just thinking?" she asked. "You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders."
Brady looked evasive. "Just thinking that my mom is probably going to put me to work hanging Christmas lights all over creation. And it'll probably be the coldest day of the year when she wants me to do it."
That distracted Jessie. "Oh, that reminds me. I'd like to put some Christmas lights up here. How do you feel about that?"
Brady grinned. "Sure. Knock yourself out. Now would be a good time to do it, before it gets too cold out."
"Well, I was hoping that you would help with that," Jessie wheedled before she realized that he was teasing her.
Brady laughed and said, "I'll help you put up all the lights you want."
Jessie looked relieved. "Good. I'll buy a bunch of them tomorrow."
"You don't have any Christmas lights?"
"No, the only Christmas stuff I have is a box full of ornaments that Jake and I collected while we were growing up. And a nativity set that my dad carved before he got so sick."
Brady looked pityingly at her. "Oh, girl, you are going to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I can't have you going through Christmas without my mom's full decorating experience. She probably has enough Christmas stuff to decorate her whole ranch and this one too. We're going to set you up good."
Now Jessie looked a little panicked. "Slow down, Brady, that sounds like a lot of work."
"It is," he said cheerfully. "But it's at least as much fun as it is work. Especially for my mom. She gets to direct the men to do all the hard stuff. I'll be at your disposal."
Jessie felt her heart warm at the idea of a festive Christmas. "I'll make cookies and candy and fudge."
Brady clapped a hand over his heart. "You can make fudge? The dark chocolate kind with the marshmallow creme?"
"Yep. I used to do it every year."
He looked at her with puppy dog eyes and she dissolved into laughter. "I'll be your Christmas slave for fudge."
* * *
Outside, a few yards away from the house, Dan Whitman watched from his hiding place in the bushes. His face was twisted with a dark and bitter hatred as he stared through the kitchen windows at Jessie and Brady laughing and talking. He muttered softly to himself as he stood there, until the two got up to clean up the kitchen together. His expression got even darker when Brady whisked Jessie off into a little dance around the table. He stayed there until the lights in the kitchen went out and his toes were numb in his insulated boots. Then he crept silently away, his head full of dark plans.
* * *
Jessie was loading a cart with Christmas lights and other decorations. The farm store was well supplied with tons of Christmas stuff. She bought stockings and candles and cute Christmas signs that she knew she would be tempted to leave up year round. She bought several pieces of a Christmas village, resisting the temptation to buy the whole thing. She told herself that she would add to it every year until she had the whole village. When she got finished, the back of her truck was fully loaded with bags and boxes.
She stopped at the grocery store to get what she needed to make fudge and homemade cocoa. She hadn't forgotten to get Indy a Christmas dog toy. On her way home, it occurred to her that this was the most fun she'd had at Christmas time in a long, long while. The pang of sorrow that hit her when she thought of Jake was tempered with gratitude that he had sent Brady to her. Her healing had not begun until she started building the ranch, and Jake had known it would be that way.
"I love you, Jake," she whispered with a soft smile.
When Brady came in, Indy was romping around delightedly with her squeaky reindeer and the living room was littered with boxes and bags and packages of everything Christmas. He looked around in shock.
"Holy shit, what did you do?"
Jessie laughed helplessly. "You said I had to get the Christmas spirit."
"For the ranch, not the whole town." He looked a little dazed.
Jessie laughed harder. "It's cold out. I made cocoa; want some?"
Brady nodded and said, "Yeah. I might need a shot of whiskey in it."
"You can't ruin good cocoa that way," Jessie scolded him with a grin.
Brady put his hands on his hips and gazed around the room. "Jessie, I don't even know where to start with this."
"I do." Jessie got up and went to ladle out two steaming cups of cocoa. Adding marshmallows and peppermint sticks, she said, "I made a plan. I'll show you."
Brady sat down at the table with his cocoa and she showed him the neat charts she had made, detailing where she wanted lights, wreaths, and garlands.
"This is like when you planned your garden. You've even got everything measured." Brady shook his head in amazement.
"It's always easier with a good plan." Jessie looked supremely satisfied with herself.
Brady started to laugh. "Can I make copies of these? I have got to show this to my mom."
"I already made copies. We have to have copies to work from."
"I can't wait to show Mom."
"So can you spend some time on this tomorrow?"
"Darlin', I wouldn't dream of not spending some time on this tomorrow. When are you making fudge?"
"Tomorrow. I bought the ingredients today."
The next morning, Jessie woke early, full of anticipation. She beat Brady to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee and then put some potatoes and onions and sausage in the skillet. Brady wandered into the kitchen a little later, led by his nose to the source of the delicious smells she was creating. She poured him a cup of coffee, and he sipped it while he peeked into her pans on the stove.
"Just what are you cooking here?" he asked.
"It's Jake's specialty. He called it a garbage skillet. Potatoes, onions, peppers, whatever meat you have, then eggs scrambled into it all and the whole thing covered with gravy."
"Damn! And all the time I knew Jake, he never shared this with me? Shame on him." Brady plucked a bite of potato out of the skillet and Jessie swatted his hand.
"Have a little patience. It's almost done." She took a pan of freshly made biscuits out of the oven and set them on the counter.
Jessie handed him a bowl lined with a clean towel. "Here, make yourself useful and put those biscuits in here."
Brady filled the bowl with biscuits and draped the towel over them to keep them warm. A moment later, they were seated at the table and loading their plates with the breakfast concoction and biscuits, ladling gravy over it all. When they were finished, Brady groaned and pushed his chair back.
"Jessie, I'm not sure I can move after that breakfast."
She looked alarmed. "Oh, no, you don't. You have to put up Christmas lights today."
He laughed at the look on her face. "I suppose that's why you fed me that way. So I'd have plenty of fuel for my duties."
Primly, she said, "That's right. I'm doing my part to support your efforts. And I've already gathered the eggs and fed the chickens."
"I guess you were up early, huh?"
She gave him a big grin. "Yep. I just couldn't sleep any longer."
"Okay. Give me the diagrams for the lights and I'll get to it."
"No, wait. I'll get the kitchen cleaned up so I can come out and help you."
"This is my area of expertise. Besides, it's going to take me a while to get the cattle fed and gather up all the stuff I need to put these lights up."
"Okay, I'll come out when I get finished. You said your mom supervises, right?"
"Yes, and I don't need you to follow her lead on that. I've done this enough times to know how to do it. She drives me just a little bit crazy with her supervising."
Jessie looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I'm really lo
oking forward to talking with your mom. All the boxes of lights are on the back porch."
Brady was still chuckling when he went out the back door. Jessie couldn't resist checking on him several times through the day, but he sent her back into the house each time. Around one, he came in for a break and let out a whistle. Jessie had hung her Christmas signs and set out all her music boxes and other treasures in the places she wanted them. Stockings were hung from the fireplace mantel and her little village collection was arranged on the mantel. She still had one unopened box sitting next to the console table beside the front door.
"Are you hungry? You've been working out there all day, you must be starved."
"Are you kidding? After that breakfast? If you just make me a grilled cheese, that'll be just right."
"Okay. I still have cocoa; want a cup?"
"Actually, I'd rather have something cold. It's cold outside, but it doesn't seem like it so much when you're up and down the ladder hanging lights." Brady winked at her.
Jessie poured him a glass of iced tea and busied herself making his grilled cheese.
"What's in the pot?" Brady asked.
"I'm making chili for supper. And pretty soon, I'm going to make that fudge. It took me a while to find my candy thermometer; it was still packed away."
It was late in the afternoon when Brady finished. All the lights were tested and hung and the giant wreath was hung on the barn. He called Jessie out to look around, and she clapped her hands in delight at the sight of the wreath on the barn. She actually jumped up and down a little as she exclaimed, "Oh, Brady, I can't wait until it gets dark so I can see them all on!"
Brady laughed at her and said, "You know, it's three more weeks until Thanksgiving. Even my mom waits until Thanksgiving to decorate."
Jessie grinned. "I don't care. I have Christmases to make up for."
"Well, I like one thing about this. The outdoor lights are all up and the weather wasn't bad for doing it. Mom always plans to have us do this early but time gets away from us, and every year we end up hanging lights in a near blizzard. You don't have to turn them on until after Thanksgiving."
Jessie’s Dusty Dreams Page 8
