Rustlers and Ribbons

by Kirsten Osbourne

  He swore. He didn’t want to care that much. Didn’t want to find himself worrying about her the way he’d always worried about Nora and Drew and Andy.

  But it looked like he had no choice in the matter. Now there was one more person in his life he’d worry about until his dying day.

  Chapter 7

  I’d like to go and see Nora today,” Josie said as she and Cooper were finishing breakfast the next day. She’d finished fixing the chair after supper the night before, and now she didn’t have to worry about it collapsing and her landing on her backside. “May I use the wagon?”

  Cooper drained his coffee and set his mug back on the table. “Sorry, but that’s not possible. One of the wheels broke so it’s in town getting fixed.”

  Josie was disappointed, but she understood. “It’s fine. I’ll go another time,” she said, trying to force brightness into her voice to offset the disappointment she felt. She hadn’t seen Nora since the wedding, and she missed having female companionship.

  Not that she minded spending time with Cooper, she amended. She was growing fonder of him with every passing day. He had his faults, to be sure. He was untidy sometimes and it never occurred to him to wipe his feet before he dragged dirt into the house. But if that was the worst she had to complain about, she thought with a half-smile, she was a lucky woman.

  “So what will you do today then?” Cooper’s voice filtered through her thoughts.

  She shrugged. “Same as every other day, I expect.”

  He gazed at her for what seemed a long time, then got up and left the room. When he came back a few minutes later, she was drying their dishes and putting them back on the shelf. She turned when he came in, a frown forming when she saw the pair of pants draped across his arm.

  “Here,” he said. “Put these on.”

  “What? Why?”

  “It’s time you learn to ride, and today’s as good a time as any. If I’d taught you like I promised to, you could have gone to visit Nora today.”

  “I can go another time. It’s really not important—”

  “It is important that you know how to ride in case you need to go into town and the wagon isn’t here.” He held out the pair of denim pants. “It’ll be easier for you if you don’t have to worry about your skirts and petticoats getting in the way.”

  Josie laughed but didn’t reach out to take them. “I’m not putting on your pants,” she sputtered. “Why, what will people think?”

  “They’re not my pants,” he told her. “They’re Nora’s.”

  Josie’s eyes widened. Nora wore pants? She’d never seen Nora in anything but proper women’s wear, but was it possible most women in the west wore pants sometimes?

  “They might not fit you properly, but you’re not much different than Nora is.”

  “What will people think?” she repeated.

  “What people are those?” he asked. “There’s just us here today. Nobody will see you.”

  Josie still wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t want to argue. “If you’re sure …”

  “I am.”

  With a sigh of resignation, she hung the dish towel on a hook and took the pants. “I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d be wearing men’s clothes …” she muttered as she left the kitchen and went upstairs to change.

  Within a few minutes, she was surveying her reflection in the mirror. Nora was thinner than she was, so the pants fit snugly around her waist and her backside. She turned sideways, taking note of how the pants clung to her hips and emphasized her legs. The stiff fabric rubbed against her inner thighs, which wasn’t overly pleasant, but at the same time, she did find wearing the pants quite freeing. It was a change to not have to worry about petticoats and skirts getting caught in anything.

  “Are you ready yet?” Cooper’s voice called out from the bottom of the stairs.

  With one last look in the mirror, she sucked in a deep breath and joined him downstairs.

  He grinned. “I think I like seeing you in those,” he said, doing his best to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively while his gaze raked over her.

  His obvious approval as he studied her caused her veins to tingle, and she tamped it down. “Don’t get used to it,” she told him. “I’ll only wear these when we’re alone.”

  “Then I’ll be sure to look at you a lot today while you have them on.”

  She blushed. “Then I’ll be sure to walk behind you so you can’t.”

  “You’d refuse me that little bit of pleasure …” he said with a chuckle.

  She opened the door and stood behind the door so she was half-hidden. He was teasing her, but she didn’t mind. In fact, if she was being completely honest with herself, she actually found that his flirtatious remarks excited her. She felt desirable, something she’d never felt before, and it was a heady feeling. She couldn’t let him see how his words affected her, though. Forcing herself to be stern, she gave him a withering look. “Are you going to teach me to ride or not?”

  Gold, orange and pink streaks painted the sky. Lately, it had become a habit to sit on the porch in the evenings with Josie and watch the sun set behind the mountains. Cooper never tired of the view, and it seemed Josie felt the same way.

  He slid a glance in her direction. Her eyes glittered in the lantern light and her cheeks were flushed from the heat, but it only made her even prettier than she already was.

  Once she’d gotten past her initial fear of the mare he’d saddled for her, she’d taken to riding as if she’d been riding all her life.

  “Thank you for today,” she said softly, the lilt of her voice washing over him like sweet honey. “I enjoyed it.”

  He looked over at her, at the way the last rays of daylight caught the golden tones in her hair and the sparkle in her eyes.

  “I’m glad,” he replied. “I liked showing you the ranch.” They’d ridden until they’d reached the river that formed the boundary between his ranch and the Grimsby ranch. They’d dismounted there to let the horses drink and spent an hour resting under a tree, talking about nothing … and everything.

  He couldn’t remember ever feeling so relaxed in the company of another person, especially a woman.

  “Your ranch is beautiful. All of it.”

  “Our ranch,” he pointed out.

  She grinned. “Our ranch is the most beautiful ranch ever.”

  “Even the brambles?” he teased.

  She’d gotten her leg tangled in some brambles when she was wandering while the horses were resting during their ride that afternoon. Luckily, the heavy pants she’d been wearing had prevented her from being hurt. “Even the brambles.”

  They sat in comfortable silence until night fell and the stars twinkled in the clear sky above.

  “Have you ever wished on a star, Cooper?” Josie asked.

  “No. Have you?”

  “Once. I wished my parents would come back for me, but that didn’t happen.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Maybe they weren’t meant to come back, so that I stayed at the orphanage, and I eventually came here.”

  Cooper thought about that for a while. He was pleased that she was happy to be here, pleased that they could spend their evenings sitting quietly together, and their nights making love.

  He wouldn’t let himself love her, but he was pretty sure he liked her a whole lot, and he was content with that.

  He reached out and took her hand. He brought it to his lips and lightly kissed it. “Then I’m glad your wish didn’t come true.”

  Andy had been fussing all morning, but finally, he’d fallen asleep upstairs. He was exhausted from the trip to see his grandparents, and he’d slept more than usual since he and Drew arrived home late three days before.

  Josie poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to write a long-overdue letter to Sally.

  Dear Sally,

  I have so much to tell you …

  She continued to write, pouring out the details of everything that had
happened since she left Chicago. Everything except her feelings for Cooper. She couldn’t find the right words to explain the sense of peace and contentment she’d found, and the way her feelings for Cooper were growing stronger every day. She knew that if only he loved her … and if she could give him a child of his own … her life would be perfect.

  She had just sealed the envelope when she heard a knock at the door.

  Setting the pen on the blotting paper, she hurried to the door and opened it. She was thrilled to see Nora standing on the porch, a plate covered in a checkered cloth in her hands.

  “Come in, come in,” Josie said excitedly. “It’s so good to see you. Cooper has been teaching me to ride so I could come to visit you, but I’ve only had one lesson so I’m not good enough to go off on my own yet.”

  For the next two hours, the ladies drank tea and ate the cinnamon bread Nora had brought with her.

  “There’s a dance in town on Saturday night,” Nora told her. “Lewis and I are going, and you have to persuade Cooper to take you. It’ll be fun. He’ll come up with a dozen excuses why he can’t go, but if he knows you really want to go, he’ll give in. It’ll be fun.”

  “I’ve never been to a dance,” she said, “but it would be nice to get away from the ranch for a few hours. Not that I’m complaining. I love being here more every day—”

  “And what about my brother?” Nora’s eyes twinkled. “Are you growing to like him more every day, too?”

  Nora seemed to be able to read her thoughts. For days now, Josie had been examining her feelings for Cooper. She’d never known what it was like to love or be loved, so she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she missed him when he was away and that every minute she was with him, she was happier than she’d ever thought possible.

  And when he touched her, or kissed her … her body seemed to have a mind of its own.

  Was it love? And if it was, what was she going to do about it?

  She was fairly sure Cooper liked her, but she was positive he didn’t love her. She was sure of that. He treated her well, and he was always gentle with her, but that didn’t mean he loved her.

  She couldn’t bring herself to voice her thoughts to Nora, though. Nora and Lewis were so much in love, and even though Josie fought it, she was envious. She wanted the same kind of relationship they had.

  Stop it! she chided herself. She should be thankful for the life she had instead of coveting things that were impossible.

  “I like him and I think he likes me, so we’re content,” she said.

  Suddenly, the door opened and Cooper strode in.

  After giving his sister a hug, he sat with them at the table, catching up on the latest news.

  “So you’ll be bringing Josie to the dance on Saturday, won’t you?”

  “Dance? Oh … yeah … I did see something about it.”

  “So we’ll see you then?” she asked.

  “If Josie would like to go, I don’t mind,” he replied.

  Nora’s eyes widened. “You’re not going to argue?” Turning to Josie, she laughed. “What have you done to him?”

  Josie shook her head. The relationship Cooper and Nora had was special. She could see that, even when they were bickering, it was done with love and respect.

  “Do you want to go?” Cooper asked Josie.

  Mrs. Norton had made sure all the children learned to dance, at least enough not to embarrass themselves, but she’d never really mastered the skill. Still, it would be nice to have an evening away from the ranch. She nodded. “I’d like to, very much.”

  “Okay then,” he said, turning his attention to Nora. “We’ll see you there.”

  He got up and put his hat back on his head. “Drew and I are heading out to the north pasture so I’ll be a bit late for supper. That’s what I came in to tell you. Now you’ll have more time to visit, so it all works out.”

  “That’s fine,” Josie replied with a smile.

  He turned and left them. As soon as the front door closed, Nora grinned. “He loves you.”

  Josie felt a flush rising to her cheeks. “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  “Oh, it’s not ridiculous at all. I know my brother. That’s the only reason I can think of why he’d agree to go to a dance without any argument at all.” She nodded her head. “Yes, I’m right. Mark my words. He might not know it yet, but he loves you. No question about it. Now, it’s getting late and I have to get back.”

  Nora collected her things and made her way outside. Josie went with her and stood beside the buggy until she was ready to leave. “Thank you so much for coming,” Josie said. “I’ve really enjoyed our visit, and I hope we can do it again soon.”

  “I’ll see you on Saturday night,” Nora reminded her, then with a wave, she set off.

  Josie watched her go, her excitement building. She’d never been to a real dance, and she couldn’t wait.

  As she went back inside and started clearing the table, Nora’s words echoed in her mind.

  He loves you.

  She sighed. If only that was true …

  Chapter 8

  Do you want to help me fix the well, Andy?”

  Josie had noticed the past few times she’d collected water that the wall was beginning to crumble.

  She’d thought about mentioning it to Cooper, but he and Drew were always so busy she decided against adding more to their workload, especially since she was confident she could repair it herself. The same thing had happened at the orphanage a few times, and Hank had taught her how to make sure she had the right mixture of mud and straw. If the soil here had a clay base, she could take care of it.

  Andy looked up from the wooden train he was rolling on the floor and nodded. “What’cha gonna do?”

  Josie opened the door and Andy hurried outside and down the steps. He raced to the well. Josie joined him and crouched down. “See here?” she asked, pointing at the dried muddy material holding the wall of the well together. “The cement is crumbling and the rocks will fall out soon if we don’t fix it.”

  “How you gonna fix it?”

  “We need to put more mud between the rocks,” she said. Turning the handle, she raised the bucket out of the well and poured a little water on the ground beside them. Then she reached down and scooped up a handful of soil. She formed it into a ball and smiled. “Perfect.”

  Andy copied her, grinning. “I like to play in mud.” Then his smile disappeared. “Papa will get mad.”

  “No, he won’t,” Josie said with a chuckle. “He’s going to be so proud of you for helping me fix it.”

  “Now we need some straw.”

  “I can get it,” Andy announced, dropping the mud ball and racing toward the barn. Josie followed behind him and by the time she reached the barn door, he’d already gathered an armful of straw from the floor.

  “Good work, Andy,” Josie said. “I’ll get some, too, and then we’ll be ready.”

  While Andy waited for her, Josie picked up as much straw as she could carry. They likely wouldn’t need it all, but it would save them another trip to the barn.

  “We need to break the straw into smaller pieces,” Josie told Andy as they walked back to the well. “Can you help me do that?”

  Andy nodded, and a minute or two later, they had a pile of small pieces of straw.

  “Now we have to get as many little stones out of the dirt as we can, okay?”

  Andy dug his small fingers into the dirt, picking out the stones and tossing them into a heap beside him until Josie estimated they had enough.

  Josie grinned. “Now we have fun.” Adding water to the dirt, she dug her hands in and began mixing.

  “We have fun,” Andy repeated, sinking his hands into the mud and swirling it.

  “Toss in some straw, Andy,” Josie told him.

  Andy picked up some straw and threw it. Most of it hit Josie, but she didn’t mind. Soon, they were both covered in straw and mud, and giggling.

  Josie took a handful of the mud and slapped
it on the wall of the well, tucking it into the spaces between the rocks. “Your turn.”

  They were almost finished when the sound of hoofbeats filled the air. Josie looked up to see Cooper astride his horse, watching them. “What in Heaven’s name are you two doing?”

  “Fixing the well,” Josie replied with a smile.

  Cooper’s brows drew together. “You couldn’t wait for me to fix it?”

  By the tone of his voice, it was obvious he didn’t approve, although she had no idea why he’d object. She was helping him, after all. “Didn’t see any reason to.”

  “You need to have the right mix—”

  “I know that,” she replied bluntly. “I fixed the well at the orphanage several times. The soil here is perfect.”

  He didn’t answer for a few minutes. His gaze settled on Andy happily slapping mud on the wall. Finally, he turned his attention back to Josie. “I don’t need you to do my chores, you know.”

  Suddenly, she understood. It wasn’t what she was doing that bothered him, but that he felt she was criticizing him for not doing the work himself. “I know that. I’m only trying to help. Isn’t that what a wife is supposed to do?”

  He didn’t answer. With a flick of the reins, he rode away in the direction of the barn and disappeared inside.

  Josie watched him go, the pleasure she’d felt at easing his workload gone.

  Cooper heaved a coil of thick rope onto his shoulder and strode across the yard toward the well. He couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting to the rocks that Josie had repaired.

  He smiled. The woman was remarkable, never expecting him to do anything she could do herself.

  She was always willing – no, she was always eager – to do what he considered man’s work, and she made a point of tackling these chores when he wasn’t around to stop her.

  He’d been annoyed, though, when he’d seen her and Andy fixing the well. That was his job, not hers. For a while, he’d felt as if he wasn’t working hard enough, that she thought she had to do his work for him, too.