Rena's Cowboy

by Agnes Alexander

  “It’s her duty to cook for me,” Silas yelled as the others just stared at her.

  “What do you mean, it’s her duty?”

  “I know your type never reads the Bible. It says a woman shall submit to her husband and do what he says. That means she has food on the table when I’m hungry.”

  Jake started to intervene, but he didn’t get a chance. Rena glared at Silas. “I’ve read that verse and the one that follows, but I don’t think you have. It says a man is to honor his wife the way God honors his church and I sure haven’t seen any honor in this house.”

  Finn sniggered and the two new cowboys lowered their heads.

  “What goes on between me and my wife is none of your damn business.” Silas jumped up and his chair fell backward on the floor. “You keep your…”

  “Please, Rena.” Adela took her hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It most certainly does matter. Where I come from only cowards would dare hit a woman.”

  “Nobody calls me a coward, you whore,” Silas yelled and before anyone could react, he lunged toward Rena.

  No one but Rena knew what happened next. One minute Silas was headed for her and the next minute he was sprawled on the kitchen floor on his back. Rena stood beside him staring into his surprised eyes. “Call me a whore again and I’ll break your arm.”

  Silas got to his feet, but before he could retaliate, Jake grabbed him by the shoulder. “Sit down and finish eating, Silas. We’ve got to get back to the cattle.

  Silas was too stunned to be angry. “How the hell did you do that?”

  Rena smiled at him. “I know a lot of tricks like that.”

  She turned to the table. “Now if the rest of you will begin to act as if you are in the presence of two ladies, we can go on eating the meal without further incident. At dinner, I don’t expect any of you to come to the table before you wash up and can act like you have some sense. You smell as bad as a pigpen and you look worse. If you can’t do better than this, I suggest Adela serve you on the porch like dogs until you can act like civilized men.” With that she sat down at her place and began eating.

  The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, though everyone stole a glance at Rena now and then. Even Silas didn’t say another word.

  Nobody could mistake Finn’s words when, at the end, he muttered, “Hot damn. Silas has finally met his match.”

  Chapter 4

  When the men got back to the range, they still eyed Silas occasionally, but nobody mentioned the tumble he’d taken. They stayed busy checking the cows and getting ready to start branding. Jake did notice that Silas was more subdued than usual, but he decided he’d be subdued too if a tiny woman with yellow hair and the prettiest blue eyes he’d ever seen had flipped him to the kitchen floor in front of everyone. What was it about that woman? Did all women from her time boss men around, or was she just a little spitfire? He was going to have to talk to her about it. Maybe the answer was in that bag the Indian had given him. He’d try to get around to it in the next few days. Right now he had to concentrate on getting the cattle branded and ready for market.

  Jake rode herd on a couple of cows that had separated from the others, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept going back to Rena. What was it about her that attracted him so? No other woman had given him these feelings. Oh, he’d had his pants get tight when a pretty woman at the saloon would pay special attention to him or touch him in a certain way, but this was more than that.

  All he had to do was look at Rena and his mind would run away with thoughts of kissing her and putting his arms around her and holding her against him. He also thought of how her blue eyes would get bluer and sparkle when she was excited and how she’d look at him and expect him to know exactly what she was talking about even if it was something he’d never heard before.

  Jake liked the fearless way she’d stood up to Silas and demanded and got what she wanted from the men. Now that she’d shown them all that she was a mighty little force to be reckoned with, he couldn’t help but hope he would be the one to tame her down a little. He just wasn’t sure how he could do it.

  The two cows moved back with the herd and Jake saw Gil Newton, one of the new hands, motioning for him. He pushed thoughts of Rena from his mind and rode over to him.

  “Jake, I thought I saw a rider up on that ridge. There was a quick flash that could’ve been a gun.”

  Jake looked where Gil indicated. “Think I ought to ride over that way and see if I can find anything?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt. If it’s the rustlers…”

  “I understand.” Jake nodded and turned his horse toward the ridge. He searched for a good while, but the only things he saw were some tracks that were made from horses other than the ones from the Flying H. They could just be from hunters, but he was going to be on the lookout.

  * * * *

  Supper went without incident. The men did wash up a little, and they either nodded or spoke to the women when they came in. They were also a little more careful about dipping into the bowls. Jake decided to keep his mouth shut, and soon they all left the table and headed out to take care of the evening chores.

  He and Silas were in the barn getting things settled for the night. Finn, Newton, and the other new hand, Curly Walker, had already finished and gone to the bunkhouse.

  Silas broke the silence between them. “All right, say it!”

  “Say what?”

  “I know you’ve been itching to tell me how funny it was when that little gal threw me to the floor. Damn, Jake, it was over before I knew what was happening.”

  “It wasn’t funny, Silas. It was…hell, I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t funny.”

  Silas looked at his brother. “You were sitting there. How’d she do it?”

  Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. I started to get up to keep you from hitting her, but you were on the floor before I was on my feet. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Do you think she’s a witch?”

  Jake chuckled. “No, I don’t think she’s a witch. I’m not sure what she is, but I think maybe those Indians were right. Maybe she did come from the future. There are sure no women like her around here.”

  “How the hell could she come all the way from 2011?”

  “I don’t know, but you’ve got to admit she has some peculiar ways. She’s not taking anything she doesn’t want to off anyone, and that includes you and me.”

  “Then I say we need to send her back.”

  “Gray Feather said there was no way she could ever go back.” Jake’s muscles tensed at his own words. He knew he didn’t want her to go back, though that was a crazy notion. Even the wild thoughts he’d had about her were no reason to want her to stay here. Of course he had to admit that he did think she was the prettiest little thing he’d ever seen. Even Molly at the Silver Slipper wasn’t anywhere near as pretty, though she was the smallest girl at the saloon. Jake had always been attracted to small women, but it gave him a start to realize that Rena’s looks put Molly’s and any other woman’s he’d been with to shame.

  “Then what’re we going to do with her? You can’t keep sleeping on the couch.”

  “We’ll think of something.” Jake stuck the pitchfork in the hay and turned toward the door. “I guess if we don’t do it soon, it won’t make a difference. Jefferson will come here demanding his money.”

  Silas followed Jake out of the barn. “I hate like hell to lose this place, Jake. Do you think we’ll get enough for the cows to save it?”

  “I’m not sure. It doesn’t look like we have as many cows as we should have. I think somebody’s helping themselves to our cattle.”

  “Rustlers, you mean?”

  “Looks like it.” Jake pushed his hat back. “Gil thought he saw somebody watching us from the ridge today, but I checked and couldn’t find anybody. I’m going to ride out tomorrow and see what I can discover.”

  “Want me to go with you?”

  “You bett
er stay with the new guys and keep rounding up all the cows you can find. We’ve got to start branding soon.”

  * * * *

  Rena didn’t get up in time for breakfast the next morning. When she woke, the men had eaten and gone. Adela was still washing dishes though.

  “I’d appreciate it if you’d wake me when you get up to cook, Adela. If I’m going to live in your time, I need to start learning how to do it.”

  Adela turned and gave Rena a timid smile. “If you really want me to, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “I do want you to.” Rena took the clean cup sitting on the counter and poured coffee for herself.

  “I put your breakfast on the back of the stove.”

  “Thanks.” Rena got the plate and sat down. “Adela, get yourself a cup of coffee and sit with me. I have some questions I want to ask you.”

  Adela wiped her hand on her apron and got coffee. She watched Rena as she sat down. “I hope you’re not going to throw me on the floor or anything.”

  Rena laughed out loud. “No, Adela. I’m not going to throw you on the floor. As I said, I’ve got to learn to get along in this world until I find a way to get back home.”

  “Did you really come from another time?”

  “I don’t want to think so, but the evidence points to the fact that I did.”

  “I don’t see how that could happen.”

  “Neither do I.” Rena bit into the biscuit and smiled. “These are wonderful. You’re a good cook, Adela.”

  Adela beamed. “Thank you. I bet you are, too. You’ve been wonderful to help me in the kitchen.”

  Rena shook her head. “I’m okay at peeling potatoes or boiling vegetables, but I’d never be able to bake biscuits like this. I mostly eat frozen dinners or one dish meals.”

  “Frozen dinners?”

  “They come in packages from the grocery store. They’re in a divided plastic tray and usually consist of a pre-cooked meat and two vegetables. Sometimes there’s a dessert, but I usually get the smaller ones. They’re frozen hard and you put them in a microwave or conventional oven to heat.” When she saw the puzzlement in Adela’s eyes she added, “It’s almost impossible to explain because there are so many things that’ll be invented in the next hundred and fifty years. It would all seem impossible to you, but believe me, they happen.”

  “I’m sure you miss them.”

  Rena shrugged. “I do miss the conveniences, but I think I miss the people’s attitudes more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In my world, women are supposed to be considered equal to men. Of course, there’re a few of the male persuasion who still think they can dominate a woman, but most women won’t stand for it. We have rights and our opinions are as important as a man’s.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” She smiled at Adela. “Not long ago a woman ran for president of the United States. She didn’t win, but the winner appointed her Secretary of State.”

  Adela’s mouth fell open. “You mean a woman can do that?”

  “Oh, yes. There are female doctors, lawyers, politicians, heads of large corporations, firefighters and so on. Women can do anything they want to do and they’re just as good as men at it.” She grinned. “I told you I’m a police officer. I’ve been decorated for bravery and I’ve arrested some pretty hardened criminals.”

  “I can’t imagine. Silas would be mad if I tried to do anything except be his wife.”

  “I noticed he’s demanding of you. I can’t stand to see a woman kowtow to a man like you do, but it’s your life.”

  Adela grinned. “You kind of did something when you threw him to the floor. How did you do that anyway? He’s so big and you’re so little.”

  “It’s Karate. I have a black belt and even teach it to other females.” When she saw Adela didn’t understand, she added, “It’s an Asian self-defense way to fight. I’ve been studying Karate since I was a kid. A black belt means I’ve reached the top of the class. You can throw somebody with a body weight greater than yours if you catch the person off guard and know how to maneuver your body to get the momentum. I didn’t think Silas was familiar with the moves and I acted on instinct when he came at me.”

  “Whatever you say it was, you sure caught him off guard. You actually caught us all off guard.”

  “Maybe it will teach the men to have a little more respect for us women.”

  “Could you…I mean…would you teach me a little of that? I’ve always been afraid to be here by myself so much, but if I could learn to fight like that…”

  “I’d be happy to teach you, Adela.”

  “You wouldn’t tell Silas would you?”

  “Nobody will know except you and me.” Rena pushed back her plate. “Now may I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “Jake said I was found in a cave. Could you take me to that cave?”

  “It’s on the other side of our property and takes a while to get there.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I can’t leave because I have to cook for the men.”

  “So, I guess I’ll have to go look for it on my own.”

  “You can’t do that, Rena.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well…it’s dangerous.”

  “So. I’m not afraid.”

  “You should be. It’s not safe for a woman out on the prairie alone; besides taking off is not fitting for a woman to do.”

  “But if you can’t take me…”

  “If you can wait until the men go on the cattle drive…”

  “How long will that be?”

  “They’re trying to be ready in a couple of weeks.”

  “That long, huh?”

  Adela looked at her. “Silas did say we had to get supplies for the drive.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They’re going on the drive with another rancher. He has a chuck wagon, but the Flying H will have to bring their own supplies. When we go into town, we’ll go near the caves.”

  “So when is this trip to town?”

  “In a couple of days.”

  Rena nodded. “I can wait a couple of days, I guess.”

  Chapter 5

  Jake sat astride Spider under the shade of a scattering of pines, their tops waving in the gentle breeze that often happened at the edge of the hills, even in the hottest days of summer. He removed his wide-brimmed hat and ran his fingers through his hair to let the breeze cool his scalp. He could see the entire valley from this vantage point; this view of the ranch always relaxed him. The ranch he and Silas had fought so hard to gain. It had been a struggle, but they both thought it worth the effort. It was their home and they hoped to raise their own families on the land and pass it on to their children. But if they couldn’t meet the bank terms, that would be another dream killed.

  They’d never know what had possessed their father to will the land to their half-brother. Maybe it was Elsie’s fault. Maybe she talked him into giving the land to their son, though the boy had never been further west than his St. Louis home.

  When their mother died, Silas was fourteen and Jake was twelve. Two years later Elsie Scalling, a distant relative, showed up and declared her intention to marry their father. Both sons laughed at the idea, but not only did she marry him, she insisted they move to St. Louis, taking the gold their father had accumulated from his years in the mines. She didn’t care that they were abandoning the ranch and everything the boys loved.

  Both boys refused to go with the newlyweds. Their father didn’t put up much resistance and left his sons there with Gideon Finn, who was only a few years older than Silas. Clark Haywood wasn’t cut out for ranching or for being much of a father either. It was their mother who had loved the open spaces and wanted to live in the land that once belonged to her grandfather. She had instilled the love of the land into the hearts of her two sons.

  Ten years ago, twenty-year-old Silas returned from the battlefields. Young Jake, who had just turned eigh
teen, was still trying to run the ranch with their faithful friend, Finn. Silas pitched in and together they began to build the cattle and horse business into a real ranch.

  Two years later, they got word their father had died of consumption. They traveled to St. Louis for the funeral, but were hardly welcomed. It was clear the rest of the family wanted them headed back west as soon as possible. They were just as anxious to leave and planned to be on their way as soon as the will was read. When Elsie’s lawyer read the document, the brothers were stunned to learn the ranch had been willed to their half-brother, Brett, who was eight at the time. It left nothing to Clark Haywood’s first two sons.

  The lawyers told them there was nothing they could do but sell the ranch for the minor child and put his mother in charge of his money.

  Silas and Jake had only one recourse. They bought the ranch. Now for over six years they’d been strapped with paying a mortgage that their half-brother owned. It left them little money to make improvements on the land or to expand and build the ranch the way they wanted.

  When Silas fell in love with Adela, she wanted to help and they thought they could get ahead. Adela’s father, a descendent of a noble Spanish family, was a big rancher in New Mexico Territory where they’d taken cattle to sell. When the two met, they fell in love and after a week’s courtship they married. When they came back to the ranch, they celebrated the fact that Adela’s father had promised a large dowry so his daughter could live in comfort. Then his letter arrived. Instead of the expected money transfer, a hand-written letter from her father told them he was disinheriting her because she’d disgraced her royal Spanish family by marrying a man with Indian blood. He went on to say he’d never accept grandchildren from the unholy union of his daughter and a savage. Neither did he want either of them to set foot on his New Mexico ranch again.

  The Haywoods were stunned. They knew their mother’s father was the product of a trapper and an Indian maiden. They’d never thought much about it, though they knew they were a fourth Shoshoni.

  Knowing it did no good to brood about the past, Jake put his hat back on his head and pulled it low to shade his eyes from the sun. As he urged his horse forward, he grinned to himself when he wondered what the yellow-haired Rena would say if she knew Indian blood ran in his veins. Did people in her time think mixing blood with Indians was a bad thing?