by Rita Hestand
"God, I love it when you say that…" he reached to bring her closer so he could kiss her once more. This kiss was filled with the tenderness that she deserved, this kiss told her that they had something very special and she'd tread lightly so as not to ruin it.
"That's fine with me, taking the time. I got all the time in the world." He smiled and they began walking back, hand in hand. As they walked, they stared out over the land and silently enjoyed the newness of their relationship. A calm settled over them both, and he squeezed her hand from time to time to let her know they were having the same feelings. A trust was building between them; a love was growing stronger.
Chapter Six
Noah fixed a small room for Jen and it lent her all the privacy she needed. It wasn't fancy, it had a bed, a candle and a pot for personal use. She set her bag of clothes down and made herself to home since she was bone tired.
The men slept in the back room, it was big enough for the two of them and they each had a small cot of a bed. Jace hung off at the feet, but he didn't mind a bit.
He dreamed of Jen and all the somedays they were going to have.
The next morning though, Jen was up before dawn and making coffee and breakfast. She found Noah's kitchen well stocked and had no trouble slicing some bacon and making pancakes.
When the men smelled the bacon and coffee they started rousing. "Boy I think I did right by hiring her as my cook." Noah told Jace.
"I heard that," she hollered from the kitchen.
"She's pretty mean in the kitchen, don't know where she gets it. Her folks died early on."
"That's a shame. She's been on her on then for a while?" Noah lowered his voice.
"A good while. But not any more."
Noah's face broke into a smile. "I'm glad boy, I'm glad. She's a fair little gal."
Jace nodded with a smile.
"Smells wonderful in here…" Noah cried as he walked into the kitchen with his hands and face washed and his hair combed.
"Well you just eat up, all you want." She suggested as they both crowded around her.
The conversation flowed easily between the three of them as though they all knew each other well.
"Say now, we're gonna be gone part of the morning, do you know how to use a rifle?" Noah asked her.
"Quite well in fact." Jen smiled.
"Good, I got a spare I'll leave you. You never know who might amble around here, so don't hesitate if you have any troubles." Noah told her.
"I won't." She assured him. "Do you have much company?"
"No, but you never know up here. Hunters are often combing the woods, and sometimes a nosey rancher or two." Noah told her.
After breakfast she cleared the table.
They packed up and just before they rode out, Jace leaned down from the saddle to kiss her lightly on the cheek. "Take care, we'll be back soon."
She smiled and watched them ride out.
She walked back inside and latched the door. Staring at the dishes she moved to wash them up quickly. But all the time she washed, her mind ran rampant. Her heart swelled to think Jace cared about her so much. She knew how she felt. She loved him. She had loved him as a young girl, but she didn't figure he looked at her like that then. She did though. She licked her lips and smiled to herself.
She'd never felt like this before, her childhood crush on Jace was just that, childish. But these feelings that swamped her now, were so…fulfilling. And something was growing inside her that was never there before, hope for the future. Since she was thirteen she'd lost hope for any good coming of her life. Her life in the saloon had been hard for her as a young girl. She didn't like looking back. She hoped Hank would not worry about her. Not that she had feelings for the man. She had nothing but respect for him and his wife.
She wondered about Jace too. How had he gotten into stealing? Why had he? She was happy he had changed. For the first time in her life she had hope, a hope for a better future.
When she had first gone to work in the saloon, she'd spent the first week in a chair in front of her bedroom door with her shotgun in her lap. The gun had been her father's and the only thing she had managed to save from the place. She'd gotten rid of everything else.
She'd been terrified that first week she worked in the saloon. The bartender finally told her she had to work or she was out of there.
Years of a saloon had made her harder, but not as bad as some. Some had been working there too long, were too cold and unfeeling. She didn't want to get that way, but after eight years she'd seen and been around enough men. Still, being with Jace was different. It always had been. She didn't think years ago, that he'd bother paying attention to her, but he had. He had always cut up with her and she had such a crush on him, even knowing he was in love with her sister.
Her life in the saloon was over now, and she couldn't be happier.
She cleaned the dishes and put them up singing while she did it. She made all the beds, and swept out the cabin. She then gathered the wash and decided to rinse what clothes they had out, and check on Noah's laundry too.
She had enough to make one wash so she headed for the creek and took her lye soap and a bucket to bring the clothes back in. She bent over and started washing and scrubbing their clothes, she'd spotted a rope out back strung from a tree to the cabin window for a clothesline. Once she finished washing and rinsing the clothes out, then wringing them, she put them in the bucket and took them to the clothesline and hung them. She even found a bag hanging from the line with wooden pegs in it. Obviously Noah was a clean man, who had a few rituals of his own. She smiled.
She was hanging the last of their clothes on the line when a woman rode up in the front yard. Seeing Jen, she rode to the side of the house. Jen stopped what she was doing to eye her. She was well dressed, and smelled of expensive perfume. Even a few feet away Jen could smell her. She looked so out of place here in her silk gown, but Jen was glad to see a woman and smiled at her.
Her dress could have been made for the saloon, it hid little of her attributes. She had a beautiful figure and face, and reminded Jen of Rebecca.
"Hello." She called as she hung her last piece and went around to greet the woman who was still mounted.
"Hello, is Noah about?" The woman looked shocked to see her and her gaze went around the property thoroughly, then on her.
"No ma'am, he's out, can I help you?" Jen asked.
"I doubt it. I need to speak to him, who are you?" The woman's nose wrinkled with slight indignation. Jen didn't want to judge the woman too quickly, sometimes things seemed one way when they were another. She learned that working in the saloon.
"The name's Jen, I-I work here."
"Work here?" The woman stared. "Since when?"
"Since yesterday."
The woman looked her over and sized her up, "Exactly what kind of work do you do?"
Jen couldn't stop the flush to her cheeks.
"I'm a cook and housekeeper." She replied giving the woman the same once over. "May I ask who you might be?"
"I'm Kate Williams from the WW ranch."
"Oh," Jen drawled the word, sizing the woman up quickly. She was beautiful, with long red hair and pursing red lips and skin like alabaster. She had flashing brown eyes. Plain and simple, the woman was beautiful. This woman never worked hard in her life. But she was a woman and in Jen's books very welcome. She hadn't had the pleasure of conversing with another woman in some time, she welcomed it.
"You've heard of me?"
"As a matter of fact, I think we met a couple of your hired hands the other day…"
"We?"
"Yes, Jace and me."
"Must have been Slim and Martin." The woman said as though to herself. "Jace, and exactly who would he be?"
"Noah hired him too!"
"Really, that is interesting since Noah is such a recluse and rarely takes to people." The woman huffed climbing down from her horse. Her eyes blazed with suspicion.
"He took to us just fine." Jen smiled.
"Do you know where Noah is?" She snapped, her eyes flashing at her with disdain.
"No, just out somewhere on the range chasing wild mustangs. They'll be in directly if you'd like to wait inside."
"Of course?"
"Was he expecting you?" Jen turned to look at the woman as she entered the cabin.
"No, of course not." The woman huffed and sent her a frown. Her jaw clenched and tightened. Jen wondered if this was her nature, or if she was miffed about something.
"How about a cup of coffee while you wait a spell?" She offered.
"Yes, maybe he'll show up."
"You have business with him?" Jen asked as she heated the coffee.
"If I do, I wouldn't be talking to the cook about it." She insisted in a haughty voice.
That certainly put her in her place.
Jen came to sit at the table with her, admiring her beautiful gown and wondering why she was dressed like that out here in the sticks. But she wouldn't ask. She'd learned not to judge people too quickly. Maybe she had been to some church social or something. Or perhaps just in a bad mood or something.
"Look, I realize you are a high-falootin' rancher lady, and that you own a lot of property, but we are the only two ladies in a few miles so don't you think we should try to get along?" Jen offered. "I mean it's nice talking to a lady for a change."
The woman eyed her, and shrugged. "I'd like that coffee now, thank you."
A silence prevailed and Jen watched her closely. The lady wasn't coming off her high-horse. Jen sighed, it would be a long wait. It would have been wonderful to sit down and talk to her as equals. But that wasn't going to happen, Jen realized quickly.
Pouring them both some coffee she sat down again and sipped her coffee while she peered at her over the rim of her cup. The woman paid little attention to her.
"I came hoping to see Noah about buying this property." She finally blurted. "I tried to talk to him a few weeks back but he wouldn't listen to reason. Given time, I hoped he'd reconsider."
"Really, I didn't know it was for sale." Jen's expression was hooded.
"It's not—exactly. I was hoping to persuade him though."
"Oh, I see. Why?"
"Why? Well…anyone can see this property is next to mine and there's some good timber acreage on it. I'm willing to pay him top dollar for it. But I simply must have it. He's getting up in years now, he can't handle this place much longer, I'm afraid. Besides, I'm willing to offer a generous price for it. It's not like I want to cheat him or anything."
"Well, I guess that's something he'll have to discuss with you. I have no idea what his plans are. But I'd think if he hired us, he wouldn't be in the market for getting rid of it. Now that he has a man to help him, he can do the work he needs on the place."
The woman stared at her suddenly. She started to snarl but instead she steadied her temper and folded her lips. "I wouldn't count on having a permanent job here, miss. It is miss isn't it?"
"Yes ma'am." Jen sipped her coffee. "You think you can persuade him otherwise."
"I really can't stay, I was in hopes of catching him home and talking to him. Please tell him I stopped by and want to talk to him soon." The woman stood up and glanced around the place. Turning her nose up at the crude furnishings, she didn't waste any time flying out the door.
Jen nodded and followed. "I'll tell him for sure."
She glanced at her again, "Thank you, and good day."
Wanting to be friendly, Jen followed her and lifted a hand to her as she mounted. "I hope we can be friends."
"You won't be here long enough for that." The woman sneered and reared her horse and left. "Besides, you're only a cook. I don't socialize with hired help if I can help it. Good day."
Jen let that slide off her back, but she looked through veiled lashes at her, "Everyone has to start somewhere."
The woman ignored her remark and spurred her horse into action. She was a good horseman, but she sure lacked her manners, Jen thought to herself as she went inside to clean the cups.
She tempered her reactions to the woman. She didn't know her, and judging her on this visit might be unfair. She'd hold her thoughts on the woman. Maybe she was simply havng a bad day.
The woman meant to be intimidating. Jen realized it quickly. She reminded her of her sister. Rebecca carried the same air about her too. Always looking down her nose at others. But of course Rebecca had never treated her that way. They had loved each other and respected each other too. Used to her kind, Jen thought nothing of this Kate Williams. Still, she was glad that Jace hadn't hired on with her bunch.
But on second thought, she went to the men's bedroom, looking for a mirror.
Maybe she looked a fright. She was wearing men's clothes, so she couldn't have looked too nice. But in the kitchen on a shelf was a broken mirror. She picked it up and stared at the woman in the mirror.
"Oh I look terrible. No wonder she sneered at me." Jen cried. "No wonder she didn't want to be my friend. I can't say as I blame her. I've got to clean myself up."
How could Jace care for a girl that looked that bad? This woman, this Kate would quickly steal his heart if he met her. The thought that anyone could steal Jace's heart bothered her. She was quickly falling for him and she knew she could easily be in for devastation. It was too late to stop her feelings, but she knew she might be in for a real fall.
As a dancehall girl she'd never considered herself a beauty, but she often had a bubbly personality and she could make the men laugh, so they liked her. She'd tried to keep the men drinking so she wouldn't have to go up those stairs with them. Now, as she stared in the mirror she so wished she'd never heard of a saloon. Why couldn't she carry off that air of sophistication? Why was it only doled out to people like her sister and this woman?
She was a frumpy girl in men's clothes!
She went outside to her saddle bags and drew out a brush and comb. She found an old ribbon at the bottom of the bag and she grinned, she pulled her hair back.
She went inside and spent some time trying to pretty herself up. She took out a country dress she picked out of gingham and after washing up, she put it on.
Instantly she felt more like a woman. She didn't have any expensive perfumes with her and so she washed extra good. She sighed when she was done, she smelled like lye soap. Oh well, she was clean and she had dressed better. She spent some time on her hair, curling it and making herself more presentable.
Chapter Seven
She found chicken's wandering about the yard so she grabbed one and after wringing its neck, she plucked its feathers and proceeded to cook it and made dumplings. She had gotten flour all over her and began dusting herself off when she heard horses. They were back already!
It was nearly noon when the men came back with several head of horses that they quickly corralled. They made a lot of noise and Jen hurried to finish cooking the meal for them.
She looked out the window and saw them.
She watched Jace with interest. Funny, Jace had come to mean so much to her in such a short time she could not believe it. Now, just the sight of him warmed her heart. She saw them smiling and talking and contentment ran through her . A feeling of euphoria surrounded her. She couldn't ever remember a time when she felt so content with her life, as now. How could a few days make such an impact on her life. How could she have gone from a lonely saloon girl with no future to this? No one had ever made her feel this secure, this happy, it was almost scary. She embraced it with hope though.
Talking hardily, they stomped the dust off and came inside.
"I have some vitals ready for you, if you've a mind." Jen told them. Her glance flew quickly to Jace, and she saw the smile on his face. It warmed her cheeks.
"Smells great, what is it?"
"Dumplings, I noticed you had chickens and I thought dumplings might be good." She announced with a smile. "Looks like you had some luck."
"Yeah, we did better than expected, that's why it took us so long," Noah expl
ained.
Jace was staring at her, and she could tell he appreciated her cleaning up.
"Well, wash up and we'll eat then." Jen set the table, distracting herself from Jace's glances.
As they gathered at the table, Noah offered a prayer and Jace and Jen stared at each other with a smile.
"Well, you had company while you were away." Jen told Noah as she dished them both a hearty portion of the dumplings.
"Company? Who?" Noah looked shocked.
"Mrs. Kate Williams from the WW ranch." She smiled as she handed them their plates.
"Aw for crying out loud. The woman never stops!" Noah raised his voice. "She's not company, she's a nuisance."
Jace and Jen stared at his anger a little shocked.
He glanced at them and apologized. "I'm sorry. But she wants this property bad. She's been here a couple of times trying to talk me into selling. I told her I wouldn't sell. But she don't seem to know what the word no means." Noah's mouth twisted, and his forehead creased as he spoke.
"What does she want the property for?" Jace frowned.
"She wants the timber and the water mostly, and just to add acreage to her own place. As if she didn't have enough to begin with. A couple of smaller outfits have sold to her recently." He snorted. "You know; I think that's part of the reason I don't have big ambitions. You get to taking things from others and it doesn't stop. She'll never be big enough in this valley. She's never content with what she has. You see there's quite a duel between her and Hank Hardin, he's the other big rancher around here. Well, it's a dual on her part. Hank don't much care about such matters these days. He's settled himself down with a good woman and he's content."
"I hear tell he's as greedy as she is about the land."
"I don't think that's true anymore." Jen added.
Jace slanted her a look.
"Hank's all right. He's changed a lot over the years. Got a wife he adores and he spends most of his time just keeping things going and taking care of her." Noah told them.
"Taking care of her?" Jace asked.
