Jake kissed his wife again, then headed toward the door leading out of the kitchen. “I bet you’re anxious to get settled, Gabe. I’ll show you to one of the cabins. It’s small. One-room, but it’s got everything you need – a bed, bathroom, and a kitchenette. You’re welcome to eat meals with the guests. I’ll introduce you to the other wranglers tomorrow.”
“Are they all women?” Gabe followed Jake out the door. His eyes darted to the truck still parked in front of the big house.
What the hell were you expecting? That she’d be standing there, waiting for you?
Not seeing Morgan there brought a heaviness to his chest. Damn. He missed her already, and she hadn’t even been out of his sight for an hour.
Jake chuckled. “No. We got three women wranglers, and four men. There are also six cowpokes that are in charge of the cattle and drives for the guests. We all share in the general care of the livestock. The girls do most of the riding lessons for the guests. We do weekly campouts, that the guys usually run, but the girls go on those, too.”
Gabe shook his head. “I ain’t wrapped my head around a female wrangler yet.”
Jake laughed. “Better get used to it, quick. Those girls can ride, and some of them are tougher than a few of the men. Things have changed a lot in the last 150 years, Gabe.”
“I’ve been finding that out.” Gabe chuckled.
“I’ll spare you an introduction until tomorrow, but I’ll warn you now. Abby and Lisa fight like a couple of barn cats. Seems like they were squabbling over the same guy a while back. I think Abby ended up with him, and Lisa’s accusing her of stealing her boyfriend.” He laughed and shook his head. “Keeping up with all the female squabbling is too much for me, so I stay out of it unless the fur really starts to fly. The other gal, Judy, she’ll go out with just about any man from what I’ve heard. None of them will take any bull from a man, so you’d best watch what you say and how you act.”
“So noted,” Gabe said.
He couldn’t suppress the smile that passed over his face at the memories of Morgan’s tongue-lashings and annoyed looks whenever he did or said something that was out of line. He glanced over his shoulder once more when a baby’s cries came from the direction of the house. Balling his hands into tight fists at his sides, he followed Jake down the path toward the cabins beyond one of the barns.
* * * * *
Morgan stirred the huge pot on the stove with a wooden spoon, waving her hand over the vapors and inhaling deeply. Her mouth watered when the sweet aroma of baked beans reached her nose. She swiped a hand across her damp forehead. For the last two days since arriving at the Trails End Ranch, she’d helped prepare the guest cabins, cleaned, and worked in the kitchen. All day today, she’d prepared salads, beans, and cobblers, and marinated different varieties of meats and ribs for tonight’s welcome barbeque for the guests who would arrive shortly for a week of western adventure. Following Sonja Owens’ family recipes, she hoped she’d done everything correctly.
Despite the long hours, she was having the time of her life. She was finally working, earning her own money, and doing something she enjoyed. No one told her to fix her hair, or that she shouldn’t be seen in public without make-up. Her jeans and simple, blue t-shirt were decorated with splatterings of sauce, dustings of flour, and other sticky substances, and no one cared. Sonja Owens worked right alongside her, conversing about life on the ranch.
The only drawback to the last two days had been Gabe’s absence. She hadn’t so much as caught a glimpse of him since they parted ways when Jake Owens interviewed him for a position. She’d wanted to ask Rachel about it, but Jake’s wife had her hands full with her toddler daughter and her four-year-old nephew. On top of that, she’d offered to watch Logan, saying one more little one wouldn’t be any extra trouble.
Morgan had found out, to her great relief, that Jake had hired Gabe. In the evenings, Logan had demanded her full attention, and she’d been too tired to explore the ranch and perhaps find Gabe after the workday was over. At least she’d see him tonight, when all the guests and ranch workers would eat together and get to know each other.
“I’ll give you a list of the guests later tonight, and you can go over activities and schedules. Once you introduce yourself, you’ll be helping them choose activities and coordinate their schedule for the week.”
Sonja Owens wiped her hands on a dish towel, and surveyed the kitchen with a satisfied smile.
“Looks like most everything is ready. You’ve been a huge help already, Morgan.”
“Thank you.” Morgan smiled, thankful that she was making a good impression.
“Why don’t you spend a few minutes with Logan?” Sonja offered. “I think Rachel is in the living room with the kids. The cobblers won’t need to come out of the oven for a while yet. Then we can get the tables set outside.”
Morgan washed her hands, then headed for the living room. Loud babbling and children’s laughter echoed through the hall. She bent to pick up a couple of wooden toy trains, and listened to the sound of happy children. She smiled, and entered the spacious living room, glancing up at the vaulted ceiling. Two leather couches stood in the center, a wood-carved coffee table between them. Two boys, about seven or eight years old, lay sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the wide-screen television mounted on the wall.
“Morgan.” Rachel called to her from one of the sofas, a wide smile on her face. She had her feet propped up on the coffee table, a glass of lemonade balanced on her bulging abdomen.
“At least a pregnant stomach is good for something.” Morgan laughed, pointing at the glass. She scooped up Logan when he came crawling her way.
“That’s about all it’s good for,” Rachel said, and sat up straighter.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much for you?” Morgan glanced around the room. Toys littered the ground. A young boy was assembling some sort of tower with large Lego blocks, and a little girl sat next to him, tearing it down again.
Rachel laughed. “No. Watching the kids is no problem at all. With this many, they practically entertain themselves. I’ve been a mother to my nephews since I was very young.” She rubbed at her belly, and smiled. “Isn’t that what a woman is supposed to do? Take care of the home and raise children?”
Morgan stared at Rachel. Logan squirmed to get off her lap, and he crawled back to where the little boy and girl were arguing over Legos.
“You sound just like Gabe. He’s got a lot of old-fashioned ideas about women’s roles, too.” She blurted. “I mean, not that it’s a bad thing,” she added hastily.
“Sometimes, an old-fashioned view can be a good thing,” Rachel said quietly.
“Oh, I agree. He’s the most polite man I’ve ever met. When I kissed him a couple of days ago, he practically ran from the room.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “You kissed Mr. McFarlain?”
Morgan laughed, then dug at the pie dough that was stuck under her fingernails. “Yeah. He’s always ignored Logan, and the other night I found them snuggled up asleep together. I’ve liked Gabe since the day I met him, but I know I fell in love with him at that point.”
She glanced up, to find Rachel studying her. She smiled.
“Some men don’t know how to relate to children.”
“That’s Gabe, all right.” Morgan faced her friend. “You seem to be pretty old-fashioned yourself.”
“Yes. And my husband is a very modern man.” Rachel chuckled softly.
Morgan scoffed. “Gabe told me we were too different. I think I’m too modern for him. For as nice as he is, he’s sure stubborn as a . . . a mule. It’s as if he’s got this chip on his shoulder, like he doesn’t deserve to be loved for some reason. I wish he’d be more open with me, and tell me what’s going on in that thick head of his.”
Rachel reached out, and placed a hand on Morgan’s shoulder. “Many old-fashioned men are like that, Morgan. They are often closed-off. Talking to a woman, opening up about feelings is just not done. Perhaps he just n
eeds a little coaxing.” Rachel smiled. “We old-fashioned types sometimes do.”
“Did you need coaxing to realize you loved Jake?”
Rachel’s smile widened. “Oh, yes. I sure did. But once I realized it, there was no turning back.”
Morgan stared out the large window, looking toward the barns. He was out there, somewhere. The first chance she had, she’d go look for him. Gabe had feelings for her. She’d seen it in his eyes. He was fighting his attraction to her, and sooner or later, she was going to get to the bottom of why he believed he wasn’t worthy of her. If they were really as different as he seemed to think, then time would tell, but she wasn’t going to let him walk away from her without giving her a chance.
“What brought you to Montana, other than this job?”
Rachel’s question startled Morgan from her thoughts. She laughed softly.
“I needed to get away from my mother, and stand on my own two feet. There’s also a wild horse sanctuary to the north of Bozeman where I’ve been sending donations. I found out that the place is in trouble. I thought that by actually coming to Montana, I could see if there was anything I could do to help them.”
Rachel scrunched her eyes, as if she was thinking about what Morgan had said.
“What sort of trouble?”
“They need to relocate the horses. Their land lease got revoked.”
“I could mention it to Jake. We’re always looking for new ways to attract people to come here. Wild mustangs might be of some interest.”
“That would be great. Even if it was only temporarily.”
Morgan sat up straighter. The mustangs had been on her mind, and she’d planned to contact Mr. Banks in the next day or so to see if he’d found a new piece of land to lease. Guilt nagged her that the sanctuary hadn’t been at the forefront of her thoughts. One stubborn cowboy had taken over that position in her mind, as well as in her heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Morgan carried a large basket of biscuits she’d just taken from the oven through the kitchen and out the back door. Many of the guests, who would be starting their week of western adventure, were already seated along the rows of picnic tables in the yard. Some stood, drinks in hand, talking and mingling with the cowboys who hovered around the large campfire crackling in the fire pit. A tripod hung over the fire, and several metal coffee pots sat in the coals, one pot still hanging from a chain over the fire. All in all, it looked like an old-west campout.
She set the basket on the serving table, which already held a line of bowls filled with potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salad, corn, and countless other foods.
“I think everything is set,” she said to Sonja, who came up next to her.
“Ben will ring the dinner bell as soon as the meat is done,” the older woman said, and wiped her hands on the apron she had tied around her waist.
Morgan did the same. She touched her hand to her hair, which she had parted and braided on either side of her head. She tucked some loose strands behind one ear that weren’t long enough and had come loose. Her red t-shirt was tucked in at the waist of her jeans, still clean after she’d changed out of her dirty work clothes earlier.
“You look like a real country girl.” Sonja beamed at her.
Morgan shrugged. “My mother taught me to always dress for the part.” She laughed. If her mother could see her now, she’d probably disown her. “I’d better get back inside and get some of those dishes cleaned.”
“Nonsense.” Sonja tugged on her arm. “Everything is taken care of for now. We don’t do any more work until we’re all full-to-bursting. Why don’t you mingle with the guests a little? Better yet, go find that good-looking cowboy friend of yours and eat supper with him. I haven’t given you any time to socialize in two days.”
Morgan scanned the crowd. She spotted Gabe among six other cowboys, and three girls, who were standing or sitting around the fire. Her heart rate increased. He was smiling, and apparently having a good time with his new co-workers. He held a tin cup to his mouth, looking every bit the nineteenth century cowboy with his hat tilted back on his head. When he lowered the cup again, he looked her way.
Morgan held her breath. Their eyes connected, and it was as if some electrical current traveled through the air, slamming into her chest, then spreading through her torso, down her legs, and out her arms. Adrenaline made her legs go weak, and her arms almost numb.
He stared at her from across the distance, until one of the girls bumped his arm. An annoyed, almost angry look, passed through him when he turned his attention to the girl, whose back was to Morgan. She leaned toward him, and obviously whispered something against his cheek. Gabe drew back, then darted a glance in Morgan’s direction and raised his coffee mug to his lips again.
“I’ll go get Logan, and then I think I will join Gabe.” Morgan tucked those annoying loose strands of hair behind her ear, and tore her eyes away from Gabe.
“Tell Rachel to hand over the little ones to Jake or Tom,” Sonja called after her. “She should be out here, enjoying herself.”
Morgan turned and rushed into the house. Logan was still with Rachel, who’d somehow managed to get all the kids fed and cleaned up. The older boys mingled outside with the men and cowboys, but the four-year-old, David, and Rachel’s daughter, Polly, along with Logan, all sat at the dining room table, munching on some fruit.
Morgan strode into the room. “Are you going to come out and finally take a break?”
Rachel excused David from the table, and the little boy rushed out of the house, no doubt to join his brothers. Morgan lifted Polly from her high chair before she gathered Logan into her arms.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” Rachel said. “You go ahead.”
Morgan nodded, then made her way through the yard toward the fire pit, eager to join Gabe and find out how his first couple of days at the ranch had been. Logan babbled non-stop, his eyes wide and full of wonder, pointing at the bright flames of the campfire. Her little boy, who’d always been so shy and reserved when there were lots of people around, really seemed to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere.
“You like this better than living in the city, don’t you?” she whispered to him, and kissed his cheek. She maneuvered past several of the cowboys, when someone bumped into her.
“So sorry, Miss.” A tall, lanky guy with blonde hair and a moustache said quickly, and pulled his hat from his head.
“No harm done,” Morgan said with a quick smile.
“The name’s Daniel.” He held out his hand.
Morgan shook it. “Morgan Bartlett.”
His mouth widened in a smile. “Ah, the new activities coordinator.”
“Yes, that’s me.” Morgan had to tilt her head to look up at the tall man.
“Well, I’m sure we’ll see more of each other soon. I’m head wrangler, and if you have any questions about any of the riding activities for the guests, you come and see me.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Morgan answered, then looked to where she’d last seen Gabe. Her heart skipped a beat when he emerged from between two other men and headed straight for her.
“Morgan.” He stopped inches from her, and removed his hat.
His eyes darted to Daniel, who nodded in greeting. Behind Gabe, the cowgirls giggled.
“Maybe she’s the reason you struck out, Judy,” one of them said loud enough for everyone around them to hear. The other girls, and a few of the cowboys, sniggered.
“I didn’t strike out. I wasn’t really trying,” the one named Judy retorted.
“Maybe you can sink your teeth into Gabe later,” the shorter one said. They all laughed.
Morgan tuned out the women’s banter. She smiled softly. How was Gabe dealing with three girls as co-workers? She shot a quick look at the tall cowboy who still stood beside her. He glanced from Morgan to Gabe, who stared at him with an almost warning gleam in his eyes. One of the cowgirls yelled something to the tall cowboy, and Daniel scowled, obviously annoyed.
�
�Women,” he scoffed. “If they’re not bantering each other, they torment the rest of us.” Nodding politely to excuse himself, he turned toward the fire.
Morgan grinned. “He doesn’t have a sense of humor, does he?”
Gabe hadn’t moved an inch, or made a sound. Morgan met his gaze, and everything around her ceased to exist.
“How are you?” she asked softly.
Her throat constricted around the lump that had steadily formed, and she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t seen him, much less talked to him, in two days. Staying busy preparing for the guests had given her little time to miss him, but now that he stood right in front of her, he was such a welcome sight. Her lips tingled at the memory of their kiss. She adjusted Logan on her hip, curbing the urge to raise her hand and touch Gabe’s cheek.
“Da-da,” Logan screeched, and leaned forward, his arms outstretched. Morgan laughed to dispel some of the awkward feeling that hung in the air between them.
“He misses you, too,” she managed to say despite the dryness in her throat. Morgan took a step closer, close enough for Logan to touch Gabe.
“He’d like you to hold him,” she prompted. Would he comply, with so many people around?
Gabe’s jaw clenched, but he reached out and took her son from her arms, and even cracked a slight smile when Logan patted his hand against Gabe’s cheek. Butterflies somersaulted in her stomach.
A loud clanging noise vibrated through the air, and a collective cheer erupted from the people around them.
“Come and get it,” a man hollered. Morgan turned her head. Ben Owens, Sonja’s husband, stood by a large triangle hanging from a post next to a massive outdoor barbeque and grill.
In front of her, Gabe cleared his throat. “Would you, ah . . . care to sit with me for supper?”
Morgan smiled broadly. She hooked her arm through his free one, and tilted her head to him. “Are you asking me on a date?”
Gabe frowned.
“Are you . . . ah, courting me?” she amended, laughter in her voice. If only he would say yes, but the look on his face told her otherwise. The muscles beneath his shirt tensed, and that warm look in his eyes vanished. He shook his head.
Diamond in the Dust (Second Chances Time Travel Romance Book 3) Page 16
