The Rancher's Bride

by Stella Bagwell

  He studied her for a moment, then named an amount that Rose considered surprisingly generous.

  “I think that’s more than fair,” she said awkwardly as her eyes skittered away from his tough face.

  Looks to die for. That’s the way Chloe had described him. Rose didn’t know about that, but she knew whenever she looked at him she couldn’t think or breathe or do anything but gawk like a naive teenager. Her reaction to him was downright silly. But she didn’t know how to stop it.

  Harlan motioned toward the section of land they were presently on. “I have a hundred head to graze and water. Can this spot do that? It’s the closest one to me and the most feasible one to use. Or do you have cattle in here now?”

  She nodded. “Fifty head. But I can move them.”

  “That’s a lot of trouble.”

  It was. But she was getting pretty used to dealing with trouble. First they found babies abandoned on the doorstep, then they discovered their father had been blackmailed by the mother into making exorbitant payments, and now this loan to Harlan Hamilton. Rose couldn’t imagine what else might turn up as a result of their father’s reckless behavior.

  “There’s no other choice,” Rose told him.

  “Where is your open pasture?” he asked.

  Her eyes flickered back to Harlan. The gold of the morning sun was rising behind him, outlining his thick shoulders, the rolled brim of his black hat and the dark curls lying against his neck. He looked like a moonlighter, something the old men of the west called a cattle thief. Could she trust him with her cattle? Her land? Herself?

  “Several miles from here.”

  Rubbing his unshaved jaws, he thoughtfully studied the land spread to the west of them. The river was dry in spots, but in other places the water was deep and cool. If heaven had a name, the Bar M had to be it, he thought.

  “I see you didn’t bring a wrangler with you,” he said to Rose.

  Her eyes on Pie’s tangled mane, she said, “I don’t have a wrangler. I’m it.”

  Harlan couldn’t have been more stunned if Queen, his mare, had suddenly started bucking sky-high. This woman was taking care of several thousand acres of land and cattle on her own? No. He couldn’t believe it.

  “I’m not saying this because I think you’re incompetent, but I just don’t believe…” He broke off with a shake of his head. “Surely you have help of some kind.”

  She combed her fingers through Pie’s long mane, then patted his neck. The horse was her help, her companion, her very best buddy. These days she spent more time with him than she did anyone.

  “Pie here is my help. And Amos my heeler,” she motioned toward the dog, waiting quietly at her horse’s hocks. “Believe me, he’s a lot better than a handful of lazy wranglers.”

  He looked skeptically at her, the sorrel and the scroungy dog. “I’m sure he’s a good horse and the dog is no doubt trained to work cattle, but—”

  “You don’t have a hired hand, do you?” she interrupted.

  “Well, no, but my ranch is half the size of yours.”

  She lifted her chin proudly. Not for anything would she let him know how exhausted she was by the end of the day, how weary she was when she rose before dawn to start all over again. Some days she didn’t know if she could take another step. But the idea of losing her home drove her on.

  “It takes a little more effort. We have someone to cut and bale our alfalfa for us and of course we have to have a farrier over pretty often to shoe Chloe’s horses, but other than that we pretty much do things for ourselves.”

  What would Tomas think if he knew how hard his daughters were working? Harlan wondered. And what had happened to get the place in such shape? Tomas himself? Or had his daughters high-rolled all their money away?

  “I know last night you implied things were tight. I didn’t realize you meant—well, I hadn’t heard you’d let all your hired help go.”

  If that was the case, then he probably hadn’t heard about the twins, or her father’s sordid affair that had produced them. Rose couldn’t help but wonder what Harlan would think of his old friend when he did finally hear the story.

  Rose glanced pointedly at the watch strapped to her wrist. “Well, if you’re ready, I think we’d better see if we can find my cattle and get them out of here. This might take awhile.”

  “Not yet.”

  Rose cut him a glance. “Why? What are you waiting for?”

  “Emily is coming to help. In fact, she should be here any time now.” He reined Queen up the slope. “I’ll go see if I can spot her.”

  Rose followed close behind him. “Emily knows about riding and herding cattle?”

  He shot her a dry look over his shoulder. “Emily was born on a ranch back in east Texas and she’s lived on the Flying H for seven years. Like you, she knows what it’s all about.”

  “You taught her?”

  “It’s just me and her. I may come up short at being a stand-in mother, but as her daddy, I’ve taught her all the things I could. That may not seem like much to you, Rose, but…” he paused and shrugged, “someday it might help her.”

  The two of them rode on to the top of the slope, then pulled their mounts to a stop. As they waited for Emily to appear, Rose considered what Harlan had just told her.

  Teaching Emily about ranching was as much or more than what Tomas had taught her. She’d hate to imagine what sort of shape she and her sisters would be in now if they’d been raised as helpless females. Still, she couldn’t imagine not having a mother’s soft hand to wipe away a tear, brush her hair, help her pick out a dress for the junior high prom.

  Rose had been devastated when she’d lost her own mother a little over a year ago. But at least she’d had her love and guidance while she’d been growing up. Emily had been robbed at a very vulnerable time in her life. Did Harlan realize that?

  Only a minute or two passed before Emily came riding up on a big Appaloosa. Like Rose, she was dressed for riding in the sun and the brush. A smile on her face, she appeared to be much perkier this morning than she’d been last night.

  “Good morning, Rose. I hope you don’t mind me tagging along. Daddy thought I might be a help.”

  Rose smiled at the girl. “I’m very grateful that you’re going to help. Since I don’t have any wranglers anymore, it’ll just be us three and Amos.”

  The teenager stared at Rose in pretty much the same way her father had. “You don’t have help on your ranch?”

  “Not right now,” Rose told her. “We’ve had to do a little cutting back.”

  Harlan wondered what it cost Rose to admit to having financial problems. The woman obviously had pride and he respected her for that. He also respected the fact that she hadn’t given up. She was working hard to keep her home together. If she had caused some of the money problems on the Bar M, she was certainly trying to make up for it now.

  Wanting to lighten the moment he grinned at both women. “Too bad, honey,” he teased Emily. “There won’t be any young cowboys for you to show off for.”

  Emily groaned and tossed her head. “Oh, Daddy, you know I don’t like boys.”

  “Not yet, huh?” he said, then gave Rose a conspiratorial wink.

  Rose couldn’t remember the last time a man had winked at her. Feeling her cheeks turning pink, she quickly reined Pie away from him. “We’d better get moving,” she said matter-of-factly.

  Fortunately the Bar M cattle were feeding on a patch of prickly pear not far from the pasture Rose intended to move them into. With Amos barking and circling the herd, it wasn’t too difficult for the three of them to bunch the cattle in a tight wad.

  Because of the heat, they moved the animals at a slow walk. Even so, fine dust boiled high in the air and covered the three of them. Rose pulled a handkerchief from her jeans pocket and rode over to Emily, who was coughing and waving her hand in front of her face.

  “Do you want my handkerchief?” Rose asked her.

  Her face brown from the flying dirt, Emi
ly grinned with appreciation, but shook her head. “Thank you, Rose. But you should keep it for yourself. I’ll be all right.”

  It was difficult for Rose to believe this was the same girl who had been whining about washing a sinkful of dishes. So far Emily hadn’t complained about anything. In fact, she was working just as hard as Rose to get the job done.

  “Then why don’t you ride up toward the front of the herd?” Rose suggested to her. “It won’t be as dusty up there. Your father and I can watch things back here.”

  Emily nodded and urged the Appaloosa forward. “Thanks, Rose!”

  Rose tied the handkerchief over her nose and mouth, then swung in place a few yards away from Harlan at the back of the herd. She was surprised to see he was watching her.

  What was he thinking, she wondered. That all of this would someday be his? Well, thinking was as close as he was ever going to get, she silently promised. She’d sell every last cow and calf on the place and beg every bank in the state before she’d lose this ranch to him, or any man.

  “How much farther?” he called over to her.

  She wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “About a quarter of a mile. We’re almost there.”

  He nodded and she noticed that unlike her and Emily, he appeared to be coping with the dust as though it wasn’t any more irritating than a pesky fly.

  “I sent Emily up toward the front to get her out of the dust,” she told him.

  “I noticed.”

  He didn’t say more. Rose didn’t expect him to, but something about the expression on his face made her gaze linger longer than it should have. Suddenly his eyes softened and she felt at that moment it was just him and her against the world.

  As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “We’re going to get through this, Rose. The both of us.”

  Maybe they would, she thought. But what would it be like once the rain eventually came, the debt was finally paid and the two of them went back to simply being neighbors again? She’d probably never see him after that.

  The thought should have comforted her, even given her something to look forward to. But strangely enough she felt bothered by the idea. Although she couldn’t understand why. Harlan wasn’t her type. No man was her type. She’d do well to remember that.

  By the time the three of them left Rose’s cattle safely secured on fresh pasture, it was noon. Harlan suggested they eat lunch before starting the task of moving his cattle onto Bar M land.

  Down by the river, Rose found a smooth spot beneath a poplar and pulled out the lunch she’d packed in her saddlebags.

  As she spread the containers of food on the ground in front of her, Harlan walked up behind her. “You know, you never cease to amaze me.”

  The sound of his voice jerked her head up and around. She’d thought he was still tending the horses, not looming over her shoulder. The sight of him standing so close set her heart pounding heavily.

  “Why do you say that?” she asked, trying her best to sound casual.

  A faint smile tugged at his mouth as he looked down at her dusty face. She wasn’t comfortable in his company. He’d known that the moment he’d walked up to her yesterday evening and she’d introduced herself. Her voice had been cool, yet her glances had been shy. Now the more Harlan was around her, the more he wondered why she wasn’t married. She must still be in her early twenties, and when she looked at him with her clear gray eyes, he got the impression that she was far more innocent than her years.

  “I never expected you to have your lunch with you.”

  Frowning, she turned her attention to the sandwich in her hand. “I take food out with me every day. I never know when I’ll be too far away from the ranch house to make it back for lunch. Besides, it’s always wise to at least carry a thermos of water or some sort of drink with you in this country.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” he said. He sank to the ground a few feet away from her and leaned his back against a half-dead cottonwood. “Most women wouldn’t be so prepared. Hell, most women would be lost out here like this. But you seem right at home in the saddle, herding cows.”

  She bit into a ham sandwich and told herself not to look at him. She didn’t like it when her senses went haywire. And that’s what the sight of him did to her, she realized. It crippled her brain. “I was born on this ranch, Harlan. I am home, here.”

  He drew up one knee and rested his forearm across it. As he watched Emily splash in the river with Amos, he thought about the home he’d left in east Texas, the wife he’d buried there and the home he’d tried to build here.

  The Flying H had most everything they needed. A fairly nice house and several barns. Cattle and horses to work the place, cats and dogs for pets, two vehicles to get where they needed to go and a regular pew at church on Sunday.

  It was a seemingly normal household. Yet the place had never felt exactly like home to Harlan. And now he knew why. It was missing a woman. Others had pointed the problem out to him before, but he’d blindly refused to see it. He hadn’t wanted to see anything except the memories of his wife. The way it had been with her and the way he’d wished it could have been now.

  But Rose had opened his eyes. How or why, Harlan couldn’t figure. Nor did he know what, if anything, he was going to do about it.

  “You like ranching, or would you prefer to be teaching in a classroom?” Harlan asked as he pulled a sandwich from his own saddlebag.

  “I like being needed,” she answered, then glanced over to his face. His expression told her he didn’t quite understand.

  She gestured with her hand to the land around them. “Before Daddy passed away, he had men to take care of all this. There was no need for me to ride fence, spread feed and hay, doctor sick cows, or search for newborn calves. But that’s all changed.”

  The cellophane out of the way, he bit into the sandwich. After he’d swallowed, he asked, “You didn’t feel needed when you were teaching?”

  She thought about his question. “Oh, yes. I did. But there’re always other teachers to take your place. There’s no one who can take my place here on the ranch,” she told him, then with a little mocking laugh added, “at least, no one who’d work for my salary.”

  Emily waded out of the shallow river and joined them in the dappled shade of the trees. Amos followed and before Rose could shoo him away, he shook, spraying water over the three of them.

  “I guess he thought we all needed a shower,” Harlan said with wry humor.

  Rose wiped at the drops sliding down her chin, then pointed sternly at the dog. “Amos, get over there in the shade and behave or you won’t get the sandwich I brought for you.”

  Amos whined in protest, but did exactly what his mistress told him. Emily was more than impressed by the dog’s behavior.

  “Gosh, none of our dogs are that obedient. If you tell them to do something, they just ignore you.”

  Harlan chuckled. “Sorta like you do me.”

  Emily groaned. “Oh Daddy, you’re going to have Rose thinking I’m spoiled. And you know I’m not.”

  “Rose can probably figure that out for herself,” Harlan told his daughter. “She used to be a schoolteacher.”

  Emily dug into her father’s saddlebag for a sandwich. “Why aren’t you a teacher now? You don’t like kids or something?”

  Brushing the crumbs from her fingers, Rose reached for her thermos of lemonade. “I like kids and teaching. But I need to work at home now.”

  “A few months ago, Rose’s father died of a heart attack,” Harlan gently explained to Emily. “That’s why she and her sisters are…having a rough time of it right now.”

  An achy lump suddenly collected in Rose’s throat. He sounded as if he cared, and that touched her in a way she hadn’t expected it to. Yet she knew she couldn’t afford to get any soft notions about Harlan. Where men were concerned, she always had to be on guard, always be cautious.

  Emily looked at Rose with such a sorrowful expression that Rose wanted to take the
girl in her arms and hug her tightly.

  “Gosh, that’s awful. I know, ‘cause my mother died when I was little. Do you have a mother?”

  Rose shook her head and tried to smile. The last thing she wanted to do was appear maudlin or bitter in front of this girl. Emily needed to know that her young life wasn’t ruined because she’d lost her mother. “No. My mother died last year after a long illness.”

  Emily’s eyes widened with sudden dawning. “Daddy, did you hear? Rose…she’s like me. She doesn’t have a mother.”

  Harlan nodded at his daughter. “She doesn’t have any parents. You still have me, so that makes you a little bit luckier, don’t you think?”

  A dejected expression settled over the girl’s thin features. “I guess,” she mumbled. “But all my friends have moms. It doesn’t seem fair that I don’t.”

  “I’m your friend and I don’t,” Rose said gently.

  Emily looked across at her and slowly the sadness disappeared from her face. “I guess that makes us kindred spirits. Is that the right word for it? When two people sorta know how the other one feels?”

  Rose smiled gently at the girl. “Yes, I think you could safely call us kindred spirits.”

  A half hour later, after all the food was eaten, the three of them mounted their horses and crossed through the downed fence onto Flying H land. Riding a few paces behind, Harlan watched his daughter continue to chatter with Rose.

  He’d never seen her open up to anyone like this before. Not even him. As far as he could remember, today was the first time she’d ever brought up the fact of not having a mother. Before now, she’d always acted as though she’d never had a mother, nor did she ever want one.

  His daughter had surprised him today. But then so had Rose. Just looking at her made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, think things that he’d long ago forgotten. She was going to be trouble for him, he realized. Not because she owed him money. But simply because he was going to want her. Maybe he already did.

  The deeper the three of them rode into the Flying H, the more open and arid the land became. The hills grew bald. What little grass that hadn’t yet burned was hidden beneath a thick covering of sagebrush. Because the grazing was so limited, Harlan’s cattle were scattered from here to yonder. It took all afternoon to gather the cattle, then drive them onto Bar M land.