Love Is Patient Romance Collection

by Vetsch, Erica; McDonough, Vickie; Barton, Janet Lee

  Joshua had just sopped up the last of the barbecue sauce with a hunk of bread before he stuffed it in his mouth. It took him a moment to chew it up. Mother would have a conniption if he talked with his mouth full.

  “I sure didn’t.” He took the last swig of lemonade. “I thought this was a fund-raiser for an orphanage or something like that. No one has asked me for any money.”

  The preacher’s laugh had a rich resonation. “Indeed it is. There’s a bucket on the corner of the dessert table for people to put in their donations. The women thought that after people enjoyed the wonderful food, they’d be more inclined to be generous.”

  Joshua nodded. “Good thinking. I’ve never tasted meat as tender or delicious as this.”

  The two men headed toward the whitewashed frame building crowned by a steeple.

  “They put the desserts in the shadow of the church so they’d be out of the sun.” Reverend McCurdy patted his stomach. “I don’t really need anything else, but I have to have a piece of Miss Mabel’s buttermilk pie. It’s the best I’ve ever tasted. She always brings it anytime we have a church dinner.”

  “So did the church start the orphanage?” Joshua shortened his stride to fit the other man’s.

  “No, but most of the women in the church help the orphanage all they can.”

  Closer to the building, the ground was covered with sparse grass. Joshua was sure that would keep the dust down. Another reason to put the desserts there.

  India had seen the stranger leaning up against a tree when she returned from the hotel. How could she miss him? Even in dungarees and a chambray shirt, he had a commanding presence. Just what was it about the man that made her feel unsettled? Granted, he might be an outlaw, but would a wanted man stay out in the open like that? Hopefully she would get a chance to talk to Reverend McCurdy later.

  During the rest of the social, India felt the man’s presence, even across the field from her. No matter how she turned or whom she talked to, she knew when he moved from one place to another, almost as if he had some connection to her. For a woman who owned a huge ranch and was the boss of a large crew of cowboys, she didn’t understand why she didn’t feel in control. Nothing she did could break that nebulous link.

  He went with the pastor over to the dessert table and sampled plenty of the sugary sweets. She wondered why he wasn’t flabby if he ate like that, but when he walked, his body was poetry in motion. Before she got up the nerve to join the two men in the shade of the church, the newcomer sauntered away, heading back toward Main Street. She took a deep breath and gave a relieved sigh. She was glad he was gone. Wasn’t she?

  Other strangers had come to town, especially since the railroad tracks were laid. None of them had put her off balance with their presence. He shouldn’t have either.

  As the crowd thinned, India went to help clean up. She also wanted to see if any of her lemon pound cake was left. She hadn’t had time for dessert yet. Only one piece remained. As she slid it onto a saucer, her pastor stepped near the table, perusing the contents.

  “We’re almost cleaned out, aren’t we?” He glanced at the small plate in her hand. “At least you got a piece of something.”

  She took a bite, savoring the tartness of the lemon mixed with the sweet, buttery flavor of the cake. The morsel tasted wonderful all the way down. “I just love fresh lemons.” She turned to face the minister. “So who was the stranger I saw you talking to earlier?”

  “Didn’t you get a chance to meet him?” The older man’s eyes searched her face as though he was looking for something specific. “Nice fellow.”

  India hoped her expression didn’t reveal what she had been feeling. She didn’t want him to think she was too interested. “So who is he?”

  “You know, come to think of it, he never did tell me his name.” Reverend McCurdy scratched his chin.

  “What’s he doing in Cactus Corner?” She took another bite.

  “He didn’t really say.” Deep grooves between the man’s brows indicated his frustration.

  She set the saucer on the table and put her fists on her hips. “He might be an outlaw for all we know.”

  Her pastor laughed. “I don’t think so, India. In my profession, I’ve had to learn to size up a man pretty well. I don’t know his name or why he’s here, but he isn’t running from the law.”

  She picked up the cake again and took another bite, frowning as she did.

  The man beside her reached into the bucket and pulled out a wad of bills. He unrolled them and riffled through them. “This is the donation he made. It’s a goodly amount, India. Don’t judge a man before you know anything about him.”

  After spending a few minutes in the hotel washroom freshening up, Joshua returned to his broom-closet room. He took off his stiff outer clothing and stretched out on top of the covers. At least there was a tiny window that let in a slight breeze. Tomorrow he would see if the livery had any horses for sale. He wanted to ride his own mount out to the Circle C.

  Even though he had studied every woman at the social, he didn’t see anyone who might be India Cunningham. Maybe he was too late. Since the letter had taken a year to reach him, maybe she had already lost the ranch. Now he wished he had asked the parson about it. He could be going on a wild goose chase. He might have to rethink buying that horse. Perhaps he should rent one and go to check things out first.

  After having chased that rabbit, his thoughts returned to the blond he’d seen at the barbecue. For some reason, he’d felt an invisible connection to her, almost as if they’d been tied by strong rope. The feeling didn’t release until he started back to the hotel. She was a vision of loveliness, but he didn’t know anything about her. He probably wouldn’t even see her again. That thought gave his heart a little hitch.

  This new obsession would have to stop. After he was sure that India Cunningham didn’t need his help, he would board the train for the westward journey back to civilization. He didn’t need to leave any complicated ties in this town. He pulled his worn Bible out of his carpetbag. Maybe feeding on the Word would take his mind off her.

  When he had finished eating a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant the next morning, Joshua quickly found the livery stable. A beautiful palomino stallion caught his eye. He made a deal to hire the horse for the week, then headed out of town toward the Rincon Mountains. He felt sure he could remember the way to the ranch.

  Even though the countryside was mostly desert, splashes of beauty were all around him. Joshua remembered the tall cacti that looked as though they were reaching for the sky. A few of them sported blossoms on their outstretched arms. The ground wasn’t bare; it was covered with a different type of vegetation from what he was used to in California. Off in the distance, a line of varying shades of green indicated where the river meandered through the ranch. The two-story ranch house was built on a knoll not far from that river. If Joshua missed the turnoff, he could just ride across country and follow the stream.

  The trip took longer than he remembered, but eventually he reached the cluster of buildings. There were more of them than he recalled, though. The house looked much the same. White paint glistened in the bright sunlight, and the shutters and outside trim wore a coat of dark green. Instead of one barn, three stood sentinel far enough behind the house that the barnyard smells shouldn’t reach there. A few smaller houses probably indicated that some of the hands were married, and twice as many bunkhouses as before flanked the barns.

  Joshua wondered if all this happened before Mr. Cunningham died or if maybe a new owner had expanded. He rode up to the corral beside the first barn. The man who had turned the steer on the spit yesterday stood with one booted foot hiked up on the bottom rail. He leaned his crossed arms on the top rail and watched a young hand working with a skittish horse.

  When Joshua brought his horse to stop by the hitching rail, the man turned around. “You looking for a job?”

  Joshua didn’t know how to answer that.

  “I only put the notice up
at the feed store in town yesterday when I went to the barbecue. I didn’t expect any takers this soon. Miss India will be glad.”

  Well, that answered one of his questions. India Cunningham was still here. Maybe he should hire on while he scouted out the lay of the land, so to speak. “Sure, I’d like a job.” He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his dungarees and hunched his shoulders.

  The man dropped his foot onto the ground and walked toward him. “I’m Nathan Hodges, the foreman of the Circle C. I do all the hiring and firing, so you don’t want to rile me.” His laugh took the sting out of the words. “When can you start?”

  “Right away. I’ll need to go back to town and get my things from the hotel.”

  “You got much gear?” Nathan held out a hand, and Joshua shook it.

  “A trunk and a carpetbag.” Joshua was glad the man didn’t seem surprised. He knew a cowboy usually traveled with only his horse, a saddlebag, and maybe a bedroll.

  Nathan gazed over Joshua’s shoulder and called out, “Come over here, Miss India. We already have a taker for the job.”

  Without turning, Joshua knew whom he would see. He felt her approach.

  Chapter 3

  India had watched the man ride in on the palomino—the handsome stranger who could have been an outlaw but was just a cowboy needing work. Why should she care if the man showed up at her ranch for a job? Twenty or thirty men inhabited the large bunkhouses at any given time. Just because he sparked a special awareness at the barbecue yesterday didn’t mean anything.

  As she walked toward the two men, the stranger slowly turned and looked straight into her eyes. Her heart took another hitch. This would never do. She had to let him know that she was the boss on this ranch and not give him time to even think about having to work for a woman.

  The way his eyes widened was barely perceptible before his face became a stiff mask. She would have missed it if she hadn’t been looking straight at him. His flinty gaze seemed to take in everything about her without raking her up and down. She was thankful for that. Maybe having him around wouldn’t be so bad, if the man could do the work required of him. The ranch did need another hand in the barn when many of the men went out to round up the heifers with calves that were scattered all over the outlying pastures. She hoped the fact that he was wearing new, instead of well-worn, clothes didn’t indicate that he was inexperienced on a ranch.

  Joshua studied the woman walking toward them without making it too obvious. Today she wore a no-nonsense split riding skirt and matching long-sleeved shirt. Her hair hung in a braid over one shoulder; wisps framed her face under a well-worn cowboy hat.

  He had known of a couple of women whose hair had lightened to blond by the time they reached adulthood, but neither of them had almost snowy hair. Why hadn’t he considered that possibility? He wouldn’t have wasted so much time looking at every woman with brown hair when he would rather have spent his time getting reacquainted with this beauty.

  When she stopped beside the foreman, Joshua noticed a faint sprinkling of the freckles he had wondered about. If he had gotten close enough yesterday, he might have recognized those blue eyes as the ones he remembered from her childhood, but maybe not. Her lashes were thicker and longer than any he had seen on any other woman.

  India held out her hand. “I trust Nathan’s judgment. Welcome to the Circle C.” Joshua engulfed her hand in his before he shook it. “Thank you. I’m glad to be here.”

  Before he had a chance to say anything else, she quickly withdrew and turned toward the foreman. Joshua felt as if he had been dismissed—something he wasn’t used to—and he hadn’t even told her his name.

  He stepped back so they wouldn’t feel he was eavesdropping. Maybe he should continue to be just a hand until he could see how well she was doing with the ranch. From the way the foreman listened to her, he must respect her and trust her judgment. Did the other men? If he hired on without the other hands knowing why he was really here, perhaps he could learn the truth about how they felt about India.

  When the two finished their conversation, India went back into the main house while the foreman turned toward Joshua. “You can take the wagon into town to pick up your gear. When you get back, we’ll settle you into one of the bunkhouses.” The foreman called over his shoulder to another hand. “Bring the wagon out here, Clint.”

  In less than half an hour, Joshua headed away from the ranch with the palomino tied to the back of the wagon. He went straight through town to the livery, which was on the other side of the business district, such as it was.

  Joshua took off his hat as he walked into the cavernous stable. “I need to talk to you.” He wished he had asked the liveryman’s name earlier.

  The tall, thin man looked up from mucking out one of the stalls. “You didn’t stay away long. You aren’t going to turn the horse in, are you?” He stuck the pitchfork in the dirt and leaned both hands on the end of the handle. “I don’t give any money back.”

  “No. Actually, I wanted to know if this horse is for sale.” Joshua dusted his Stetson against one leg.

  The man leaned the pitchfork against the railing of the stall and pushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Funny you should ask today. That there horse belongs to Elmer Brody over at the freight line. Just this morning, he said he was thinking about selling him. You’ll need to talk to him, though.”

  Joshua nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that. But what about the saddle? I like a saddle that’s been broken in, and this one fits me just fine. I’d like to buy it.”

  After they completed that transaction, with the man offering to make an allowance for some of the money already paid to him, Joshua headed toward the freight office—an unpainted building that had weathered to a smoky gray. When he came back out into the bright sunlight, he owned the stallion. He’d have to rename him, though. The animal seemed smart enough to learn a new name quickly. Goldie sounded more like a mare’s name, or even a dog’s. King was more masculine.

  Joshua walked to the stallion’s head and began stroking his forehead and neck while whispering into his ear. “You look really regal, boy, so I’m going to call you King. Before we go back to the ranch, I’ll see if the general store has some carrots or apples for you.”

  Joshua climbed into the wagon seat and looked back toward his new horse. King held his head higher as if he understood every word.

  At the hotel, Joshua paid his bill and loaded his trunk and carpetbag in the back of the wagon. Now he was glad he had thought to pack several books. His evenings might be a little lonely out in the bunkhouse. Most of the cowboys his father hired at his ranch in Texas had been rather solitary until they got to know a man. Those books would come in handy.

  Before he headed back to the ranch, he stopped by the café for lunch. While he ate, he listened unobtrusively to as many conversations as he could, trying to get a feel for what was going on in the town.

  A couple of tables over, two older men talked to the waitress about yesterday’s festivities. They made a few comments about India Cunningham, but they were all complimentary. It sounded as if she was well liked in Cactus Corner.

  India had turned one of the downstairs rooms in the main house into an office. She liked to see what was happening on the ranch through the windows that wrapped around two sides of the room. While sitting at the desk working on the books, she heard the wagon rumble by on the way to the barn. India had wondered why Nathan sent the newcomer to town in the wagon. Maybe he needed something from the store. She went to the window and leaned close to the glass so she could watch the two men. A large trunk sat in the bed of the wagon, and the same palomino followed the conveyance.

  She’d never before known a cowboy to want that much encumbrance. Why did the man have a trunk with him? India wished she could see what he kept in it. Her father always told her that her curiosity would get her into trouble one of these days.

  Even though there were things about that cowboy that didn’t make sense, India ha
d never found any reason not to trust her foreman. If Nathan thought the man wouldn’t make a good hand, he wouldn’t have hired him. One of the things she learned when she first started running the ranch without her father was that she needed to be able to trust other people. Since Nathan and Martha had been on the ranch almost as long as India could remember, she knew from their long association that her trust wasn’t misplaced.

  All this woolgathering wasn’t getting the books done. She turned from the window and delved back into the finances of the ranch. She wouldn’t relinquish this task to another person. Her father always knew exactly what was going on with the finances. He taught her that a good rancher had to, and she wanted to be a good rancher.

  India had ridden across the vast acres and helped with roundups by the time she was a young teenager. That’s why she could take over running the ranch when she returned from back east. All through her father’s last months, she had kept an eye on everything while letting him feel that he was still in control, making it an easy transition for everyone when he was gone.

  Since Joshua had more possessions with him than most cowboys, Nathan Hodges offered one of the empty cabins to him, but he wouldn’t be able to get a feeling of what was going on with the cowboys if he moved in there. When he declined, the foreman assigned him an empty bed at one end of a bunkhouse. His trunk would fit in the corner by the wall.

  “Since it’s Saturday, most of the boys will go into town this evening.” Nathan leaned against the wall and crossed his booted feet. “Were you planning on going, too?”

  Joshua slid the heavy trunk from his shoulders and put it into place. “I didn’t realize this thing weighed so much.” He stretched his neck and rotated his shoulders. “I should have let you help me carry it like you offered.”

  Nathan chuckled. “What’s in there? Rocks?”

  Joshua gave a sheepish grin. “No, books. I like to read.”

  The foreman nodded.

  “About your first question, I’ve been in town twice today. That’s enough for me.”