The pair continued on for several minutes. She realized that he wanted to say something to her but was having difficulty. Was it about Dusty? she wondered. Was he going to warn her away from his friend?
“Miss Carson,” he began.
“Rebecca, please,” she replied while she held her breath.
He nodded. “I’ve got to be honest. I don’t know if you will have enough. If you got top dollar. Maybe.”
Her insides relaxed. He was concerned about her making the loan. Not Dusty.
“All we can do is all we can do,” she said with a shrug.
He smiled sadly then said, “Jenny and I were talking. If you want, we could maybe loan you a bit. To tide you over until next year.”
Rebecca gasped. The thought of dipping into their funds was unacceptable. Even to save her ranch. It was all they had and they needed it to last them for the entire year. It would mean they would have to scrimp and save throughout the year.
The thought of those two children going without to save her ranch was never going to happen.
“Thank you, Jack. But no. And please tell Jenny thank you. I know how difficult it would be for your family and I treasure your kind offer. But no. The ranch will stand or fail on its own.
He frowned for a moment then nodded and she saw it in his eyes. He agreed with her. It was that way out here. Neighbors could help. But not like this. And she wouldn’t be much of a neighbor if she accepted.
They continued to ride on when she felt a need to change the subject. And of course, her mind thought of Dusty. This man had served with him in the war. Known him for over ten years. Oh, how she wished she could ask him a thousand questions. Anything that would help her understand Dusty Rhodes.
“So,” she began. “You and Dusty served in the war together?”
He nodded. “Along with Hank Richards. The three of us were the only ones in our unit to go the distance. From beginning to end.”
She grimaced thinking of the hardships and loss they must have suffered.
“Was he always like this?” she asked as she bit her lip. “Footloose?”
The tall cowboy laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. More a loner, if you ask me. The best solo scout I had. The best friend a man could have. Or the worst enemy. I could send him out alone and I’d know he’d work his way in behind the enemy’s line and bring back the information we needed. Only a bit of a loner could do that kind of work.”
She nodded. It confirmed her worst fear.
“You know,” Jack said, interrupting her thoughts. “I learned something a few years ago. With my Jenny. A man don’t really know what he wants in life, until he meets the right woman. She has a way of showing him what is important. Things that he never really thought through, until he sees it with her eyes.”
The look he gave her made her heart jump. Was he talking about her? Did he know how she felt about Dusty?
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I’ve just always figured Dusty ain’t found that woman that could tame him enough for him to see what was important.”
Her heart shivered. Was it possible? Could a woman teach him to stay put long enough to see what was best for him? And the even bigger question, was she woman enough to be what he needed?
The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Yes, he was talking about her. She could see it in his eyes.
“Thank you, Jake.”
He smiled, tipped his hat, then peeled away to return to the herd.
Was it possible? Could she entice Dusty to give up his saddle tramp ways and settle down? Settle down with her? How?
For the rest of the day she pondered what Jack Tanner had said. Of course, if they didn’t save the ranch then there would be no chance for them. She refused to come to him a penniless woman with no family and nothing to offer. Her pride would never allow it.
The thought made her laugh. Who was she to think such thoughts? He had given her no indication that he was even interested. He’d been cold and distant. No, she thought with a deep sadness. It would never happen.
The sun was touching the mountain tops off to the right. The cattle behind her were bawling. The wind shifted, bringing her a strong odor of dust and cow.
Four days, she thought. It would all be answered in four days. Dusty had built in a cushion of three days before the loan was due.
“You can never know,” he had told her.
She sighed heavily. No, it was impossible to see into the future and predict what would happen. Who would have thought three months ago that she would be driving a wagon across the desert leading a herd to market?
“Rebecca,” Dusty called from behind her as Big Red loped up to the side of the wagon. “Those cottonwoods to the left,” he said indicating a copse of trees beside a dry creek bed. “Plenty of firewood. We’ll camp there tonight.”
She pulled on the reins to get the horses headed towards the trees. Her heart beat faster knowing he was so close. Oh, how she wished it was just the two of them so that they could talk. So, he could teach her about this land.
But there were over three hundred steers and three other men to think about.
“The herd’s about an hour behind you,” he said. “I’ll get a fire going then ride back and get them bedded down for the night.”
“I am perfectly able to start a fire,” she snapped, suddenly very angry that he thought she wasn’t good enough. “And Consuela told me what to do. I’ll have the beans going and the biscuits cooking before you men are ready. I am not helpless.”
He frowned for a moment then nodded. “In the entire time I have known you, Rebecca Carson, I have never thought of you as helpless. It just ain’t in your makeup.”
Her insides curled up at his compliment. Did he really see her for who she was?
“Yes, well, just you remember that,” she said as she flicked the reins to encourage the team across the dry wash. The land had flattened out. Dotted with sagebrush and brown clumps of grass all intermingled with the occasional cactus and Joshua tree.
Once on the other side of the wash, she pulled the team to a halt under the three cottonwood trees.
Dusty swung down from Big Red to begin unharnessing the team. Rebecca began gathering wood, determined to get a fire going before he left to rejoin the herd, just to prove that she could.
Making a circle of large rocks, she laid her fire and glanced over to see Dusty at the water barrel filling his hat for the horses. Once each had a drink, he staked them out on the only patch of good grass.
“We’ll stop the herd a couple hundred yards back,” he said as he turned to look at the sky to the south. His brow furrowed with concern.
“What is it?” she asked as she lifted a hand to shade her eyes as she tried to see what was worrying her.
He nodded south. “I don’t like those clouds. Looks like a storm might be brewing up.”
Rebecca frowned, “A storm? Here in the desert?”
He scoffed. “They get some real gully washers around here. Thunder, lightning. Enough to make you think you’ve been sent to Hades itself.”
She could see it in his eyes, he was very worried. Her stomach tightened. If Dusty was concerned it must be serious. He was not the type of man to worry at imagined shadows. She watched the creases in his forehead deepen as he studied the distant clouds then shrugged.
“Not much we can do about it. If they’re going to come, it's going to come,” he said with a heavy shrug.
She almost laughed. That was so Dusty. Ruin might be hours away and he would meet it face on.
“We’ll get the herd bedded down,” he told her as he swung up onto his horse. “I’ll send the men in one at a time for a quick meal. It’s going to take a while to get the stock settled. And if that storm rolls in it will take all of us to keep them from bolting.
Rebecca gasped. Stampede. She had heard about them. Hundreds of cows running wild through the night. Surely that wouldn’t happen.
“Stay close to the wagon,” he ad
ded. “I saw a couple of coyotes earlier. We don’t want them raiding our stores. The boys would be upset if something got to their biscuits.”
She laughed as she nodded, agreeing to stay close. She wondered briefly if he was making up the story about coyotes as a way to convince her to stay close.
He gave her one last weak smile then turned back to the herd. Rebecca watched him ride away. A heaviness filled her. The man took up her world when he was near. Even now, she could feel his presence.
Taking a deep breath, she shook off the depression and started gathering the things she would need for dinner. Maybe if she kept busy, she could push aside the thoughts of Dusty Rhodes that gnawed at her soul.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dusty used his left knee to tell Red to stop a steer from wandering off. The steer shot them a nasty look then turned back to the herd.
“They’re nervous,” he told his horse. “Dry camp. First day on the trail. And that storm in the distance.”
The big horse wiggled his ears as if he agreed then spun to stop another steer from bolting.
Eventually, they got them settled enough so that he could send Young Tom in to get a bite. The rest of them circled the herd. Talking to the cattle calmly, soothing them. Letting them know that there was nothing to worry about.
After Tom, Sam hurried in for a meal and when he came back to the herd, Jack broke off to get his himself some food.
Sam, pulled up so that Dusty could catch up with him.
“They ain’t happy,” the dark cowboy said referring to the cattle.
“Really?” Dusty said. “I never would have known.”
Sam laughed, “Don’t get twisted in a knot. I’m just saying.”
“Sorry,” Dusty said. “I’m just feeling ornery.”
“A woman will do that to a man,” Sam said as he glanced towards the camp.
Dusty felt his back stiffen. Was it that obvious? Ignore him, he thought. If he made a thing of it, the man would know for sure that he was bothered by Rebecca Carson.
Sam, being an old cuss, couldn’t let it rest. “You know,” he continued, “that woman there would make a man a good wife. Keep him on his toes. Marrying up always does that to a man. Makes him more than he would have been. Seen it time and time again.”
Dusty’s insides tightened up. “What would you know you old coot?”
Sam laughed. “I ain’t so old I can’t know a good woman when I sees it. She’s got sand, that one.”
Dusty bit the inside of his cheek. Don’t let the man push you into reacting. He’d tease him all the way to Reno. “We ain’t paying you for that kind of advice. You just mind the herd.”
Chuckling, Sam urged his horse to lope ahead and widen the distance between the riders. “Ain’t paid me nothing yet,” he called back over his shoulder. “That don’t make it wrong.”
Dusty could only shake his head at the man’s ideas. The woman was not like any woman he had ever known before. She would never be interested in a man like him. No, she was too beautiful, too intelligent, with a streak of iron down her back.
Shaking it off, he tried to focus on the herd. His stomach churned, If Jack didn’t hurry up, he was going to have to catch himself a jackrabbit.
The sun had sunk behind the mountains and the moon was out when Jack returned to the herd.
“Won’t be too dark,” Jack said as he approached and nodded at the bright moon.
“Give it a bit. If that storm comes in, it will be worse than dark,” Dusty replied.
Jack nodded back to the camp. “You better hurry up. She’s making up a fresh batch of biscuits. Try ‘em with some of my Jenny’s jam.”
Dusty snorted. “You and your biscuits. I swear you’d pass up a good steak for an average biscuit.”
Jack laughed, but Dusty noticed he did not disagree.
“Yeah, well,” Jack said. “You’re getting the fresh batch. I swear, it’s almost like she planned it that way.”
“Mind your cows,” Dusty said as he guided Red back to the camp. When he got there, he swung down and loosened the cinch strap before giving the horse some water and a scoop of oats.
“Your dinner is ready,” Rebecca called out from the fire.
He turned to see her bathed in the yellow firelight. Soft, feminine, a beauty that pulled at his very soul. The kind of beauty that could make a man rethink what was important.
“Thank you,” he said as he took the plate from her. Beans, salt pork, and biscuits slathered with butter.
“Sit,” she said, “You need to rest.”
He laughed. “I’ve been sitting all day. My feet need to learn they’re still attached to the rest of me.”
She frowned for a moment before turning back to the wagon, after stowing the food she filled the pot with water before setting it on the fire to heat up for washing dishes.
He watched her work as he finished his meal. Even here, the flare of her hip pulled at him.
It was hard to believe this woman had grown up a pampered princess. He slowly examined the campsite. She’d gathered enough firewood to last the night, swept aside an area for bedrolls and shifted the supplies in the back of the wagon to lay out her own bedding between sacks of flour and beans.
Now she was cleaning the last of the dishes. A sense of pride filled him. Sam was right, the woman was remarkable. His heart ached with admiration and desire. The thought of leaving her and returning to the herd felt wrong somehow. As if his position in this world should be next to this woman.
Sighing heavily, he finished the last biscuit and handed her his plate. She shot him a quick smile. But there was something in her eyes that troubled him. She was upset about something.
Was she worried about the banker? Heaven knew she had just cause. But it was something else. Some deep worry that he didn’t think he’d ever be able to drag out of her.
“I’ll send in Jack and Tom in a bit to grab some sleep.”
She nodded as she dried off the last plate.
Still, that reluctance filled him as he tried to think of something else to say. Something that would keep him there just a bit longer.
“If it rains, you pull that canvas over you. It will keep you dry.”
She nodded as she turned to look up into his eyes. His heart turned over. A look like that could melt a man’s heart and make him want to move a mountain just to show off. He licked his lips and swallowed hard.
Every instinct told him to pull this woman into his arms and kiss her like there was no tomorrow. Kiss her like she had never been kissed before. He remembered that instance on the train when he had thought she wanted him to kiss her. The way her body had felt next to him.
It was enough to make a man forget about his responsibilities and think about taking what he wanted.
A distant lightning flash broke the spell, reminding him that he had a herd of spooked cattle to care for and shouldn’t be dreaming about things he could never have.
He tipped his hat to her, tightened his saddle, and swung up onto Big Red. He paused for a moment then turned back to her. She was still looking at him with that strange expression. As if she were searching, hoping for something.
He gave her a quick smile then urged Red back to the herd before he made a fool of himself. The woman was his boss. A special lady. As far out of bounds as a woman could be.
By the time he got back to the herd, he had almost put his thoughts aside. Concentrate on your job, he told himself. But he knew that in the back of his mind, there would be a special woman. Always reminding him of what he would never have.
Sighing, he caught up to Jack and Tom and told them to head in for a few hours.
Jack turned and looked at the distant storm. “You sure?”
Dusty shrugged, “It won’t be here for hours if it comes. You two might as well grab some sleep while you can.”
Jack nodded then indicated Tom should follow him to camp.
“It if hits,” Sam said after the others had left. “These cattle will sp
ook.”
Dusty looked south as another flash of lightning lit the distant sky. All he could do was shrug. There was no way to stop a thunderstorm. All they could do was try to keep the cattle steady. If they were lucky, the storm would pass east of them, or veer off and head for the mountains.
For the next several hours, Dusty nervously watched as the storm grew ever closer. He debated with himself about rousing Jack and Tom. It would take every one of them to keep the cattle bunched if that storm hit.
Finally, he sent Sam in to get the other two.
“And tell Miss Carson to button up tight,” he called after the cowboy. “It’s going to blow a gully washer for sure.”
His stomach churned with a dozen different worries. Each one worse than the other. Swallowing hard, he started circling the herd, speaking softly to them. Reminding them that he was there in the dark. Trying to keep them calm. But it was getting more difficult. Several were up, facing the approaching storm.
He sent up a thanks for the silver moonlight. It would have been so much harder in full dark. But he knew if those clouds hit them, it’d be darker than the inside of a stove in an instant.
As the other three cowboys returned, he felt a sense of relief only to have it replaced with gut-wrenching nervousness. The air had changed. Becoming charged with so much energy that the hairs on his arm stood at attention.
The cattle felt it as well as they all rose together, bawling and crying at the thought of being forced to stay where they were. Their instincts told them to find cover but they were being kept in place against their will.
Dusty could almost read their minds. They had been in a place of good grass and water. Forced off their range to this dry barren spot. And now, a fierce storm full of wild energy was approaching them.
Of course, they were upset.
Even Big Red seemed nervous, tossing his head and glancing at the storm as if he would have preferred to be anywhere else.
“Hold ‘em,” he called out to his fellow cowboys.
Steers started to move, bumping into each other as they tried to leave the area back towards their old range. Jack and Tom, both waved their arms, turning them back in on themselves. Dusty’s gut tightened, it was going to be a close thing.
High Desert Cowboy (High Sierra Book 2) Page 14
