"Why are you frowning," Cora teased, nudging him back to the present. "If Annie thinks you don't like her food then she'll ban you from her table."
"Pardon my manners Cora" he said hastily. "Of course Mrs. Annie West, you are the best cook in Tipton and I don't say that in jest."
"Flattery will definitely get you the last slice of the pie," Annie placed it on his plate and he beamed at her. "You need fattening up Jeremy."
"He can't get bigger than he already is," Cora pointed out. "Otherwise he'll be too heavy for his horse and a rancher needs to be in the saddle for long hours."
"True enough," Jeremy nodded. "Speaking of saddles, would you let me come out to the range with you to catch horses one day? Only if you are agreeable of course. It's is a favorite pastime of mine and once in a while I catch a few just for the love of it." Green eyes clashed with gray ones and Cora was the first to break the contact.
"What about your ranch?" Cora was slightly uncomfortable at the way Jeremy was looking at her. There was a certain look in his eyes, as though he was challenging her to something, but she didn't know what. He seemed to spend a lot of time on Richard's farm these days and though she knew the two men were best friends, she also knew there was something else that drew him to the farm. She hoped it wasn't because of her. He would be disappointed if he had any hopes of attracting her.
"I have enough hired hands on the ranch and my men are so good, it just runs itself."
Cora shrugged. "Well, I have no objections, as long as you know how to take care of yourself out in the wild. I can't be concentrating on finding Mrs. Miller a gelding and babysitting you at the same time."
Richard's mouth fell open and he looked across at his wife who gave him a wink. There was something in the air between these two, even though they were going to great pains to behave as though they barely tolerated each other. In the past month alone, Jeremy had taken meals with them almost daily and Annie wondered what Mrs. Paine thought about her son missing so many meals at home.
"I was practically born in the saddle," Jeremy said with indignation. "I know my way around horses."
"No need to get all worked up now," Cora raised her eyebrows at him. "You can't have a temper and continue to work around animals, especially horses. I hope your bulls and cows don't have to put up with your highhandedness."
Jeremy stared at Cora for a full minute then he burst out laughing, startling Alex who was just beginning to doze off. The child gave a shriek of protest. "I'm sorry Alex," he reached out his hands and took the baby from Annie. "Since I woke you up let me help you get back to sleep."
Cora looked at Jeremy holding the baby gently, crooning a lullaby and she felt as though her food would stick in her throat. He was such a handsome man and a lock of his dark hair fell over his forehead. She longed to reach out a hand and push it back. He was so handsome that she wondered why he had to send for a Mail Order Bride all the way from Boston. Were the women in Tipton all blind? She had seen a number of eligible ladies in church as well as around town and she wondered that Jeremy was still single. She was unaware that as she observed Jeremy, she herself was under observation by her hosts. To cover up her deep longing she gently pushed her chair back so as not to awaken the now sleeping child.
"I'll come in and do the dishes once I've watered the animals," she told Annie who shook her head.
"You will do no such thing Cora O'Malley. You have enough work out in the barn without feeling the need to come and do the indoor chores as well. Concentrate on what you do best, besides, Richard needs an excuse to hang around the house," she smiled sweetly at her husband who was just opening his mouth to protest then thought the better of it when he caught her eye. Richard chuckled inwardly, his wife was up to something and he wouldn't put it past her to try and be a matchmaker between their two friends.
"Alright then, I'll be in the barn," Cora announced unnecessarily. Jeremy couldn't wait to get away and he handed the baby over to his father and followed Cora outside.
"Did you see that?" Richard asked his wife with a smile.
"Of course, why do you think I wanted Cora out of the house? It was a way to get Jeremy to go and spend time with her in the barn."
Meanwhile, in the barn Cora looked around for something to do. They had done most of the work and all that was left was the milking, which was best done when it was slightly cooler. Though it was early spring Tipton could get very hot and she didn't like making the animals uncomfortable.
"So, what do you say about me joining you out in the wilderness sometime?"
Cora did not turn around when Jeremy came in. "Are you agreeable Cora O'Malley?"
She shrugged. "I have no objections as long as you don't get in my way." She sighed. "Tomorrow would be alright now that I need to find Mrs. Miller a gelding. Will you be free then?"
"Yes, tomorrow is fine, though you work too hard Cora."
"I like it this way, it gives me my independence and I'm determined to catch a lot of horses, then sell them to repay my debt to Richard and Annie who took me in and gave me a good home. More than that, Richard is a good man to work with because he has integrity and our partnership is coming along fine."
"Why does a beautiful young woman like you want to spend so much time in the wild?"
"Because I'm making my own money and being free and unencumbered is very important to me. I get to do what I want, when I want, without having to answer unnecessarily to anyone."
Jeremy heard the silent warning behind her words, to keep off. This woman was too independent for his liking but that's what made Cora O'Malley special. He would take the breadcrumbs if it meant spending time with her, but he vowed in his heart to find a way of pulling down the walls she had built around her. She was a happy enough person but her fierce protection of her independence made him wonder about her past. Richard had briefly told him about her marriage but nothing in the way of details. Something had happened in Cora's past that made her so tough and he was determined to find out what it was. Maybe then he'd be able to see beyond her defenses.
Later in the afternoon as he rode back home, he wondered what his mother would think about Cora. She was fiercely independent and he knew she was not one to give up anything without a fight. She was definitely not a lady according to his mother's standards, and he couldn't see her sitting still of an afternoon working at some tapestry or embroidery. She wasn't like Annie West and his mother in that respect. She was a good cook though because he'd tasted some of her meals. She didn't plan elaborate dishes like his mother and Annie did, but favored plain wholesome meals. She rode astride like a man and wore skirt pants, for crying out loud!
~#~#~#~
Chapter Three
"So Cora, what do you think of Jeremy?" Annie broached the subject that was foremost in hers and Richard's mind; Jeremy and Cora's budding relationship. "You two seem keen to go out to the range together."
Cora frowned slightly. "It's just to catch some wild horses, don't place too much on it."
"You think so?" It was Richard's turn to feed his son, something he was doing with a lot of difficulty since Alex did not seem to want to stay still. Most of the mashed potatoes ended up on Richard's lap and on his cotton shirt, much to his wife's dismay. Her little boy kept blowing bubbles and would bite the spoon with his toothless gums whenever his father tried to put food in his mouth. "Jeremy has been coming around a lot and I don't think it's just to see Annie and me. I thought that when our house renovations were over he would stop coming but I see he's here more than he is on his own ranch."
"He's definitely interested in getting to know you better Cora."
Cora laughed shortly. "Really, I'm not interested in getting to know that man any better than I do already. Jeremy seems like a good man and it's nice being friends with one of your friends Richard, but don't go hoping for anything further developing between us. Being in business with you is good for me and my aim is to make it on my own. I want become prosperous and on
e day I'm going to build my own small cabin next to you on the land you promised to sell to me Richard. That is all."
Annie understood that her friend was scared of getting married again and giving up her hard won independent identity. Cora had shared a lot with her about her first marriage and Annie empathized with her friend. Having grown up under a domineering father and then being married to a man of the same character, was enough to make any woman shy away from marriage. What was worse, was that Cora seemed to have been under the control of her husband to such an extent that when he died and the in laws threw her out, she was left penniless and had to start over from scratch.
Cora was becoming obsessed with her independence and Annie hoped that her friend had not closed her heart completely to love. Cora was a good woman who deserved to marry a good man - someone to love and take care of her, but she would be the last person to admit it. She tried to show that she was alright being alone, but once in a while Annie caught her observing her and Richard, and she had seen the deep longing on her friend's face.
"Well, I'm just glad that you came to live with us Cora," Richard said. "Because of you we've become prosperous and our lives have changed for the better."
"No Richard, you work equally hard and it was just a matter of time before things broke through for you. I'm the one who is most grateful for you taking me in when I had nowhere else to go. If there is anyone who is thankful, it is me."
"We make a good team," Richard said. "God has been good to all of us and I know I speak for Annie when I say that you are more than just a friend Cora, you are like our sister and we are so glad you are here with us."
"Stop," Cora held up a hand. "Or else you'll have me bawling like Alex when he has soiled himself."
~#~#~#~
Later that night Annie sat on the rocking chair in their bedroom, her son held close to her chest. Alex was fussing, refusing to feed and he also had a temperature, sure signs that he was teething. Richard lay on their bed watching her.
"Shall I take him?" He got up and she smiled at him, shaking her head.
"He'll soon settle down. I rubbed some ginger root on his gums and have a small cucumber handy," she pointed at the vegetable which was on a plate on the small table in their bedroom.
"If your hands get tired I am here to relieve you."
"You really are the best husband and father in the world Richard West," Annie said and Richard saw the love shining out of his wife's eyes, unaware that his had the same glow in them.
"And I will never tire of hearing you say that my love," he reached out a hand and placed it over hers. "I never believed that one day I would be this happy."
"All glory to God my dear husband. If it was not for Him working things out so Jeremy Paine sent for me and then put me aside, we would never have been married and sharing this wonderful life."
"I just wish Jeremy would find true love. His mother is a very difficult person to live with and because he loves her so much, he has allowed her to take over his life."
"If only Cora would warm up to him," Annie shook her head. "Sometimes I feel Cora actually likes Jeremy but she's too loyal to me, especially since Jeremy rejected me. She feels as though she owes it to us not to get too close to him."
"That's true, and she might also feel she is being ungrateful when we gave her a home after her first husband's family threw her out."
"Jeremy's a good man and if he could find a way around his mother's disapproval of every woman he shows interest in, he'll be a good husband and father. You can see it from the way he is with Alex."
The child whimpered and Annie gave him to Richard who held him close. "This child is my joy Annie," Richard looked at his son tenderly. "Let us pray that Jeremy and Cora can find a way to be together, and they may soon be parents too, and then our children can get married and cement our friendship."
Annie laughed. "We always seem to set the cart before the horse my darling."
"It's a measure of faith," Richard grinned at her. His five o'clock shadow made him even more handsome and Annie couldn't believe this gentle giant was hers to love and to hold for the rest of her life.
"You know what we can do? If we see any sign of the relationship between Cora and Jeremy developing, we'll speak with her and reassure her that we're very happy about it."
"I married a wise woman."
"Really, Jeremy and Cora are made for each other, only they are too blind or too scared to see it. They'll make a wonderful couple and loving parents - and I'm sure that with just the right amount of gentle nudging from us, a relationship between them will develop."
~#~#~#~
As the Wests were discussing Cora and Jeremy, the two of them were spending a sleepless night miles apart from each other. Cora could not get Jeremy out of her mind. He was affecting her and getting under her skin, just when she was working so hard not to give in to her emotions and feelings. She had been hurt in the past and though she worked hard to forget the pain in her first marriage, the memories sometimes threatened to overwhelm her.
Having seen her own father bossing and dominating her mother to the point where Rita O'Malley became a pale shadow of herself, Cora had known that it was just a matter of time before Bart Spinks did the same to her. She had been of no more value to him than one of his horses, and as long as she did what was expected of her there would be no problems. Bart had never listened to any of her suggestions and put her down in front of other people, especially his family. No wonder that they hadn't valued her enough to include her in the family after he died.
It would never happen to her again. She had feared Bart would begin using his fists to subdue her, much like her own father did to her mother, and she often wondered whether she would have accepted the violence and been a goodly timid wife, or if she would eventually have rebelled. Now she would never know, but she didn't intend ever to find out. Annie often spoke of Mrs. Myra Paine, Jeremy's mother and she sounded just like Bart's mother.
~#~#~#~
Jeremy lay facing the ceiling, his hands knitted under his head. Dinner had been strained and he wished his mother would stop nagging him so much. Immediately he'd come home she had demanded to know where he'd been, since the hired hands told her they'd not seen him since that morning, and to her knowledge it was not market day when he went to sell some of their animals.
"I rode over to see my godson," he had said and she twisted her lips.
"Jeremy, I don't understand why you choose to spend so much time with that good for nothing friend of yours. Since the time you were seventeen I've tried to wean you away from that boy but you never listen."
"Ma, Richard is a hardworking man and he's doing well now."
"They are not the kind of people you should be associating with," she had said. "They are all a bunch of troublemakers."
Rather than get into an argument with his mother about his friends, he chose to keep quiet. What would she say when she knew he was pining after Cora O'Malley, a widow and the most unladylike woman he had ever met; and fiercely independent to boot. He couldn't see the two women getting along at all and he felt torn between the two women who mattered most to him.
He was falling in love with Cora, even if he had only seen her a few times and today was the first time they'd spent a significant amount of time together. The more time he spent with her, the more he liked her and he knew this was one woman worth fighting for. How he was going to get around his mother and have her accept Cora as his choice was something that troubled him, but not as much as Cora's determination to be her own woman and make her own way in life. She was lovable and deserved to be loved. Without being vain Jeremy knew he would make a good husband and father, but convincing the woman to give him a chance would be no mean feat.
~#~#~#~
Chapter Four
Cora gently coaxed more speed from Thunder and he did not let her down. Her hair was flying behind her and she felt giddy with joy. The wind swept through her hair, tousling and cr
eating a mess of it. She could hear thundering hooves behind her as Jeremy and his horse Dancer tried to catch up with her and Thunder. It was all in vain though and the race soon ended when Cora and Thunder crossed the finish line they had agreed upon.
Jeremy was chagrined at the defeat, but he was very good natured about it. Besides, it had given him the opportunity to observe Cora as she rode. She was a natural and loved being on a horse; that much he could tell. This was a courageous woman, one who felt right at home out on the range.
"I told you, Thunder is built for racing but Dancer is more of a draft horse," Cora jumped off the horse and led it to a shade tree and hobbled him so he could graze. "His record is unbeaten and if I didn't love him so much, I'd sell him to someone who's looking for a horse to race or use for the rodeo."
"You are a remarkable horsewoman Cora O'Malley," he looked down at her from the lofty position atop his horse.
"Aren't you going to come down and let Dancer rest for a little while?"
Jeremy shook his head. "I know it's still early but if we catch some horses now, we can spend the rest of the day wearing them out. That way they'll be docile when we take them home."
"Alright then," Cora hoisted herself back up onto her horse and Jeremy hid a smile. The girl didn't care that she was in the presence of a man who might offer to help her up. She had it all worked out. Miss Fiercely Independent Cora O'Malley!
As they raced after the wild horses Cora thought about the man working beside her. It had still been dark when he'd come to the house and they had left for the range soon after. Annie had surprised her in the kitchen that morning and handed her two thick packages. She wasn't normally such an early riser, usually catching a few stolen moments of sleep after feeding Alex, but because of his teething problems, her routine was disrupted. Annie had thoughtfully made lunch for Cora and Jeremy from fresh baked bread and smoked ham while two bottles of milk completed the meal. It was a lot of food and when she protested Annie had informed her that she expected them to be gone the whole day so they would need plenty to keep them going.
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