Fiona shook her head. “I’d planned for the men to sit down and pass the dishes along the table politely, not to descend on everything like a plague of locusts.”
“Margaret did say it had been a while since they’d had regular good cooking,” Wynonna reminded her.
“That’s true, but I also believe in things like regular good manners. It’s like they were all raised by wolves.”
Wynonna couldn’t argue with that.
Once the men were done eating, they left their dishes on the tables and streamed back outside as though nothing had even happened.
“Well, now.” Fiona put her hands on her hips. “That was the most ungrateful . . .”
“Uncouth,” Cora supplied.
“Disgusting,” Helen chimed in.
“Yes, all of that.” Fiona exhaled loudly. “And it’s not going to happen again. At least, not while I’m in charge. Once the new cook gets here, he or she can run things however they like, but that’s not how mealtimes take place when I’m behind the stove.” She turned toward the kitchen. “All right, ladies. Let’s get to work.”
Chapter Nine
Wade rode up to the main house that afternoon and tied his horse up at the hitching post. Jack and Sully had seen him coming from aways off and decided to meet him on the porch. Miss Margaret must have had the same idea—she came outside as he climbed the steps.
“The telegram’s been sent, and I paid extra for someone to ride out here when the reply comes.” Wade took off his hat and kissed his wife on the cheek. “Anything excitin’ happen while I was gone?”
“Oh, yes,” Miss Margaret said, followed by Jack and Sully’s echoes.
Wade looked back and forth between the three of them. “All right, suppose you tell me.”
“The girls came to see me just before lunch and told me that this place is an absolute pigsty,” Margaret said, casting a look at Jack and Sully. “Laundry’s unwashed, the bunkhouse kitchen is deplorable—they were quite unnerved. Then they actually volunteered to help. They’ve been out there scrubbing all afternoon.”
“Really now.” Wade looked at Sully and Jack. “Why are five young ladies—who, might I add, are complete strangers to you—out there cleaning up after you?”
“We didn’t rightly know how much help we needed,” Sully replied, and Jack nodded.
“I know things weren’t all that tidy when I moved out of the bunkhouse, but I also know they weren’t that bad,” Wade said. “Have you gotten lazy on me? Forgotten to have a little pride?”
Jack looked down at the floorboards of the porch, ashamed. This wasn’t at all how he thought this conversation would go.
“And I’m completely humiliated,” Margaret went on. “You’re all grown men and you should be able to take care of yourselves, but when you don’t, it reflects badly on me. I must seem like the laziest, most oblivious . . .”
Wade put a hand on her shoulder. “Not one person is going to blame you for any of this, sweetheart. You’ve had more than enough on your plate.”
“The girls were extremely kind about the whole thing, but I just know they’re out there now, wondering where I’ve been this whole time—just how deeply my head’s been buried in the sand.”
“We’ll make certain they know we’re the lazy ones,” Sully replied.
“And not only that, but they say our men are uncouth and smelly!” Margaret sat down on one of the porch chairs and looked at them helplessly. “Honestly, are we raising a herd of little boys on this ranch? Didn’t your mothers teach you anything before you left home?”
“The trouble is, Miss Margaret, that when you work with animals, you come away smellin’ like animals,” Jack said.
“That’s true, but I wonder if it occurred to you to wash up and change your clothes when you’re done working for the day. You could have a set of clothes just for socializing with people and a set just for doing your jobs.”
Jack looked at Sully, rather surprised at the idea. It had never entered his head.
“Truth is, Miss Margaret, no—I don’t think any of us have been taught some of the finer points. We’ve been workin’ ranches for near our whole lives and never knew we were supposed to do some of those things.” Jack met her gaze. “Maybe you could teach us so we could win the ladies over better. At least, make the rest of the time they’re here a little more pleasant for them.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’d like me to teach you how to be more gentlemanly?”
“Yes, ma’am. I know it wouldn’t be an easy task, but it’s about time, I reckon.”
She sat back and looked at him. “Jack Milton, that’s quite an impressive proposal. That takes a lot of humility, and I admire you for it. Yes, I’d be glad to help in any way I can.”
He nodded. “Thank you, Miss Margaret. Sure appreciate it.”
As Sully and Jack walked away from the big house, Sully nudged Jack in the ribs. “So, now we do have to learn to be all sissified? What are you plannin’ to do, dress us in frilly shirts?”
“If I’m not mistaken’, Captain Fitzgerald wears frilly shirts,” Jack replied.
Sully paused. “Well, maybe he do and maybe he don’t. But you’re never gonna get these men to agree to it.”
“Right now, I just want to hear what Miss Margaret has to teach us. She’ll be the one to know what we really need to be doin’.” Jack grinned as he heard the dinner bell. “Now, let’s go see what Miss Fiona did for us tonight.”
***
The five girls lined up in front of the dining room and braced themselves as Fiona rang the dinner bell. When the men came running, they encountered a solid wall of women, and they stumbled back, confused looks on their faces.
“Good evening, gentlemen,” Wynonna greeted them. “We’re so glad you could join us for dinner.”
“Good evening,” one of them said hesitantly. Wynonna hadn’t learned his name yet.
“Wasn’t lunch lovely today? Didn’t Fiona do a wonderful job?”
The men nodded. “What’s for dinner?” one of them called out.
“You’ll find out in just a few minutes. First of all, please line up single file and make your way over to the water pump. We’ve laid out soap and towels, along with a nail brush. Once you’ve scrubbed, you may come back over here and get in line for dinner.” Wynonna smiled sweetly. “Please notice how nice Irish and Frisco already look. They’ve been helping us all afternoon, and they cleaned up and got their dinner before any of the rest of you as a thank you for everything they’ve done.”
Irish and Frisco, standing at the end of the porch, grinned, looking more than a little smug.
“If you’d like to eat early tomorrow, by all means, you can lend us a hand as well,” Wynonna said. “Now, let’s get washed up.”
The men walked over to the water pump, grumbling as they went, and Wynonna turned to her friends. “This is going quite well so far, don’t you think?”
Rowena shook her head. “I think they’re about to stampede.”
“They might—but then they won’t get their dinner.”
Once all the men had washed up, Wynonna invited them to come in and sit down. “You’ll notice that the tables are set nicely. You’ll each take a seat, and then we’ll pass the food. Oh, you should also take note of how clean it is in here—we worked extra hard scrubbing down these tables and the floor, so you get to help us keep it that way. Don’t they, Frisco?”
Frisco fingered the Colt he’d donned just for that purpose. “That’s right, Miss Wynonna.”
Now it was her turn to be smug. “Everyone, you may be seated now.”
The men chose their spots and sat down with a minimum of squabbling, and Wynonna turned to Fiona. “What would you like them to know about their meal?”
“Tonight you’ll be eating fried chicken and mashed potatoes. You’ll be using your best table manners, and at the end of the meal, we’ll serve pie. When you’re done, you’ll carry your plates over to the slop bucket and scrape them, and then
you’ll place them in the basin of hot water to soak.” Fiona indicated the basin as she spoke. “Are there any questions?”
One man spoke up. “Name’s Gallagher, ma’am, and I have a question. Why are we all bein’ treated like little boys in nursery school? We’re grown men—we don’t need all this talkin’ down to.”
Fiona met his scowl with one of her own. “Mr. Gallagher, I didn’t see grown men this afternoon—I did see a dining room full of little boys. Now, if you want me to keep cooking for you, you’ll obey the rules of my kitchen, and after the lunch you tasted today, you do want me to keep cooking, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking down at the table. “Sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” she said brightly. “Any other questions? No? All right, we’ll begin by passing the chicken from this end of the table.”
Wynonna noticed Mike glancing at Fiona with new respect on his face, and it made her smile. As far as Jack went . . . well, she was still annoyed with Jack, even if she wasn’t exactly sure why. She’d have to think about that later.
The remainder of the meal went extremely well, and at the close of it, the men scraped their plates and set them to soak, just as they’d been instructed. Then Zeke and Tenny grabbed some dishtowels and wiped down the tables without being asked.
“Well now,” Helen said, nodding toward the dining room. “I think I’m seeing a miracle unfold before my very eyes.”
“Now we’ll see if they can keep it up, or if this is a one-time thing,” Rowena replied.
The girls finished the dishes, then stepped out of the kitchen, leaving everything tidy and put to rights. Fiona exhaled as they walked into the evening air. “I thought yesterday was the longest day of my life, but now I think this one was,” she said. “I’ve never done so much scrubbing before.”
“Me neither, but everything sure looked better when we were done,” Cora said.
They climbed the stairs to the porch of Mike’s cabin, then sat in the chairs on either side of the door. “So . . . tomorrow. Laundry?” Wynonna asked.
“Laundry,” Rowena replied. “I heard that Sully’s going to start the breeding, so I’ll be glad not to be anywhere near the corrals.”
“Yes, that does make laundry sound awfully good,” Wynonna agreed with a chuckle.
She glanced up and saw Jack walking toward the cabin, his hat in his hands.
“We’ll . . . go see what needs to be done inside,” Helen said, standing up. “I’m sure there’s a lot.”
“Yes. Definitely a lot,” Fiona replied, and all four girls disappeared behind the door.
Jack reached the porch and looked around. “Evenin’. Where’d the other ladies go? I thought I saw you all sittin’ out here.”
“We were, but they remembered things they needed to do,” Wynonna replied. “How can I help you?”
“There are a couple of things, actually,” he said. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“Not at all.”
He took the chair next to her, but didn’t meet her gaze right off. “Well, for beginners, I’d like to apologize for this mornin’. I didn’t mean to come across soundin’ like I thought you were my property. You’re an independent soul, and I admire and appreciate that. I like how you put your foot down and set things straight. You’ve got a lot of courage, Miss Wynonna, and if my words took any of that away from you, I’m truly sorry.”
When he looked up, she could see his sincerity in his eyes, and she felt her heart melt almost instantly. “I’m sorry too, Jack. I didn’t mean to be so prickly. I think I was punishing you for things that have been said to me years past.”
“I understand. You know, this was a mite easier two days ago when you didn’t know who I was—and I didn’t know you didn’t know.”
She laughed. “It was a lot easier. I think I felt more comfortable, like I could be myself around you. I even hoped that I’d get to see you again once I was married because I felt we could be friends.”
“But when you found out who I was?”
“I can’t explain it. All of a sudden, it was like . . . you wanted something from me. There was an expectation there.”
“So . . . is that what gettin’ married is to you? Somebody wantin’ somethin’?”
“I never thought about it that way, but now that you mention it . . . yes, that’s probably how I’ve viewed it.” She shook her head. “Gracious. Just when I think I’ve moved on from something in my past, it comes right back again. I’m sorry, Jack. You’ve gotten caught up in all my sad childhood stories.”
“That’s all right. It’s better to face ’em with a friend, isn’t it?” He stood up and held out his hand. “Miss Wynonna, I have a proposition for you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Why don’t you come for a walk with me, no strings attached, no expectations, and we just talk like we did on the drive yesterday?”
“I think I’d like that,” she said slowly, then reached out and took his hand.
He only grasped it long enough to help her out of her chair, and she was glad to have the support because her muscles were already rebelling from her long day of cleaning. “There’s somethin’ I should tell you,” he said as they strolled along between the buildings. “We asked Miss Margaret, and she’s going to teach us how to be more like gentlemen. Although, I have to say, you and Miss Fiona sure did a good job of gettin’ us all under control for dinner. I’ve never seen anyone put Gallagher in his place like Miss Fiona did—she’s sure somethin’ else.”
“She really is,” Wynonna said with a chuckle. “So, gentleman lessons, you say? What sorts of things will you be learning?”
“Well, I don’t rightly know, but she said she’d help us be less uncouth. She said that was Miss Cora’s word for us.”
“That does sound like Cora,” Wynonna replied. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Oh, don’t be. She’s right—we need some polishin’ up, and we aim to do it as fast as possible so we don’t bother you too much before you go. Although. . .” He paused, turning to look at her. “At least one of us is hopin’ that you’ll change your minds and decide to stay.”
Wynonna blinked several times. “Stay? Here? Jack, you don’t even have a place for us to live. How could we possibly stay?”
“If you wanted to, we’d build a place. Zeke’s a natural when it comes to wood and nails, and we’d all help him ’round the clock till we were finished.”
He looked so eager, as though that one solution would mend everything. “There’s more to it, Jack. This ranch . . . It’s not big enough to support so many married men. I did the math yesterday, and I don’t see how it would stretch to feed extra mouths.”
“It’s growing, though. Wade has plans to expand it, and they’re all solid ideas.”
Wynonna sighed. She was going to have to say it, wasn’t she? She rested her hand on his arm. “And then there’s the question of being in love,” she said gently.
He pursed his lips. “Let me make sure I’m understandin’ you,” he said at last. “Yesterday, when you’d never seen me before, you were all set to marry me because you thought I was rich. Didn’t matter that we didn’t love each other—that never even came up. Today, though, now that you know I’m not rich—now you’re worried about love? Are you sayin’ you can trade love and money back and forth like that?”
Oh, that hadn’t come out how she meant it—not at all. “No, Jack. I’m saying . . .” Gracious. What was she saying? “A woman is willing to go through a lot more when she’s in love. I’d happily be poor alongside my husband if I knew he loved me.”
“But you’d put up with whatever hateful feelings he had for you if he was rich enough?”
“No! Goodness, Jack, why won’t you let me explain?” She leaned against the fence surrounding one of the corrals. “We were going to start being straightforward with each other, weren’t we? We might not have agreed to that outright, but I thought that was our new goal.”
He nodded. �
�I thought the same thing.”
“Then let me try to explain how a woman’s mind works.” She pulled in a deep breath. “A woman needs to feel secure. If she’s financially secure, that’s wonderful—she appreciates knowing that she’ll always have a roof over her head. Even more important, though, is her need to feel secure in her relationship. She wants to know that she’s first in her husband’s heart at all times.”
“Are you thinkin’ we couldn’t do that?” Jack asked. “Miss Wynonna, we might not be fancy dressers, but you won’t find a more loyal group of men anywhere, and if we tell you we’re committed, we won’t stray one tiny bit from your side.”
“I believe that. I truly do.”
“Then what in tarnation is the problem?” He took off his hat and then slammed it back on his head. “If you’re willin’ to be poor with men who love you, and if we’re willin’ to drop everythin’ to build houses and turn this ranch into what you need it to be, why are you bein’ so stubborn?”
“Are you saying you’re in love with us? Is that what you’re saying?” Wynonna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “After how things went today, how can you be in love with us? It was a disaster! Actually, one disaster after another!”
“Maybe it was for all the other men, but it wasn’t for me,” Jack said. He turned and folded his arms on the top rail of the corral. “I mighta said some things that weren’t exactly kind, and I mighta given you a hard time, but the thing is, Miss Wynonna, I fell for you yesterday—I fell hard. And I want the chance to see how that might play out.”
Wynonna opened and closed her mouth a few times until she felt like a fish. “I don’t know what to say. I’m surprised and flattered . . .”
“I don’t want to hear a bunch of fancy words about how you’re honored, but you couldn’t possibly accept,” Jack said, not looking at her. “I’d like to hear it straight out. Do I have a chance at all? Are you willin’ to try gettin’ to know me a bit while you’re still here, or should I just leave you plum alone?”
She appreciated the down-to-earth tone of his question. She didn’t want to play games either. “I’ll be honest with you, Jack,” she said at last. “I was disappointed to get here and find out that everything we’d been led to believe was a misunderstanding—or maybe even a lie. I had my heart set on certain things—a nice home on a ranch, my own buggy, a husband who could provide all the things for me that I didn’t have growing up. When we learned the truth, it wasn’t just about money—it was about letting go of those dreams I’d built up in my mind. Yes, it was silly to imagine how my life would be before I even got here, but that’s what girls do—we like to picture and plan and daydream.”
A Wrangler for Wynonna Page 9
