“I know. I’m worried about him finding trouble in town. Even though Rope A Steer is hardly as sophisticated as I imagine a big city back East is.”
“True. I know what you’re thinkin’, young lady.” Ma wagged her forefinger at Pearl. “The answer is no. He ain’t staying here with us overnight. There’s too much temptation for that. I can see in the little time you’ve been here that you’re tryin’ to do better. And, sick or not, I’m your ma, and it’s up to me to help you get back where you should be with the Lord. That means avoiding temptation.”
“But, Ma—”
“Now don’t you sass me.” She held up her palm. “I can look into your eyes and his and see that. I might be old and sick, but I remember what it’s like to be young. Just barely do I remember, mind you, but I remember. You know what your grandpa would say if he was still kickin’? He’d say we ought to work Benjamin so hard he’d be too tired to think about anything else at night but sleepin’. And speakin’ of work, where is he, anyhow?”
Benjamin was indeed late, but Pearl didn’t want to dwell on that subject. At that moment, they heard a horse’s hoofbeats. Pearl looked through the window to see Benjamin approach, looking like a fine gentleman on his borrowed horse rather than the gambler he was. Her heart beat harder upon eyeing Benjamin. Ma was right. He offered her nothing but temptation. Temptation she didn’t need.
“Is that your man?” Ma asked. “It’s about time that he showed up.”
“It’s Benjamin.” Pearl noticed the trotting horse stirred up red dust. “I’d better get the rest of the clothes off the line before they’re ruined.”
She hurried out the front door to greet Benjamin. She noticed the wind blew in the opposite direction of her clean clothes, so the dust would have little effect. Watching him hitch the horse, she summoned all her willpower to keep herself from running. Only a day had passed since he had last been to the ranch. Why did it seem more like a month? Or a year?
“Did you miss me?” he teased.
She felt her cheeks warm up. “What’s the matter? Do I look like a forlorn coyote or something?”
“Nope. You look better than that. Much better.”
She laughed. “You’re full of flattery today. You aren’t seeking shelter, running from the sheriff, are you?” She realized her question, made in jest, held a hint of fear and seriousness.
He didn’t seem to be offended. “Naw, I stayed out of trouble so far.”
“You found a room at the inn?”
He shrugged. “More like a broom closet. But it will do.”
“What were you expecting in such a small town? A fancy hotel?” She motioned for him to follow her into the house. “I promised you breakfast every morning. I’ll scramble you some eggs. Unless you’ve already eaten.”
“Not yet.” He rubbed his stomach. “Breakfast sounds good.”
Soon they entered the kitchen. “Go on and wash up now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Benjamin said with good humor.
“I’ve already milked Pansy this morning, so she won’t need attention until this afternoon. So probably the best place for you to start your day after you eat is to see if all the fences are in good repair. Our land runs up through the creek on the south side.”
“You’ve gotten mighty bossy.” His tone sounded teasing.
“Have to be. I’m the boss.” She squared her shoulders and broke an egg into the frying pan. “I’ve got some cured bacon, too. You’d better eat a slice or two. You’ll need to keep up your energy if you want to put in an honest day’s work on a ranch, even if it isn’t much of a ranch.”
“You seem to be enjoying being bossy.” He dried his hands on the plain white towel that hung from the side of the basin.
She peered out the kitchen window and thought about how much a coach ride had transformed her. From a life where she was subject to the whims of others, to telling Benjamin what to do. The change felt good.
“So you don’t want to answer me. I reckon that dashes my hopes.”
“I’m sorry. I was caught up in my own thoughts. What hopes are you talking about?” Pearl scooped up the eggs onto a plate.
“I was hoping maybe you’d like some excitement. How about coming to town and being my partner again?”
“Benjamin, you know I can’t.” She set his plate before him. “Give me a moment and I’ll slice you some bread.”
“You mean you’re happy serving me breakfast and tending to your ma? What kind of life is that?”
“The kind of life I’m leading now.” She slackened her posture. “You wouldn’t be asking me to abandon my own ma, now would you?”
“No. I just was hoping you might be a little tired of your ma’s preaching by now. I know I was after I was with her only ten minutes. Not that I mean any disrespect.”
“I know. Ma takes some getting used to.” Pearl sat at the table. “But now that I’m home, she’s softening up a little. Why, just this morning she told me how much I’m trying.” Pearl decided to omit the criticism of her cooking that accompanied such faint praise.
“Well, that’s fine, but you still do a lot of work. Wouldn’t you like to get out of the house one or two nights a week? You could put on a fancy dress like you used to. Paint your lips pretty. Don’t women like to do those things?”
The persuasion in his voice made the prospect sound almost too good to pass up. Without meaning to, Pearl studied her hands. In a short time they had grown pink. Not too much, but enough that she could tell she’d been scrubbing pans, washing clothes, and tending to livestock. She could only guess what they, once soft and pretty, would look like in no time at all.
On second thought, she didn’t have to guess. They’d look like Ma’s. Coarse, with blue veins evident. And in years to come irregular brown spots would appear on the backs of her hands and grow larger and larger. Soon the skin was destined to deteriorate to the point where wearing a ring or bracelet would only call attention to her age and the facts of what was turning into a hardscrabble life.
Pearl shuddered.
“You didn’t answer me.” Benjamin picked up a slice of bacon.
She turned her gaze from her hands to his face. “Sure, I like pretty clothes. But this dress I have on is a lot more comfortable.”
He snorted. “That doesn’t sound like the Pearl I know.”
“The Pearl you know isn’t around anymore.”
“Is that so?” He leaned toward her, close enough that she could take in his clean yet manly scent. His nearness made her want more. But Benjamin represented a life she had left behind. A life to which she could not return.
She rose from her seat and made much ado about pouring herself a cup of coffee and him one, as well. “I know that. But I can’t live with my ma and act one way in the daytime, just to go out with you and cheat men at cards every night.”
“I’m not asking for every night. Just one or two nights a week.” His mischievous eyes were impossible for her to resist. Nearly. But she had to resist.
“No. I can’t.”
“So you’re going to bargain, are you? Can’t say that I blame you. Fact is, I admire you for getting smarter so fast.” She was only half surprised when he withdrew a box from his satchel. “Here you are. I got this for you before I left Denmark.”
Returning to her seat, she remembered the bottle of perfume he gave her at the station. “Just how many gifts did you get, Benjamin? Looks to me like you might have bought out every store in Denmark.”
“I’d do that if I thought it would make you happy. I just wanted to be prepared, Pearl. And I’m glad I had that foresight. The general store in town has mighty slim pickin’s.”
“Our needs out here are simple.”
“Judging from the goods that Simpson fellow carries, I’d agree.”
“I know adjusting to life here must be hard for you, Benjamin. Out here, our way of looking at life is different. Our lives revolve around church, not saloons. At least, my life does.” She swallowed and looked
at her napkin on the table.
“So you don’t miss Sadie’s at all?”
Pearl shook her head. “But I would have missed you if you hadn’t followed me out here. I sure am glad you did.”
He looked toward her ma’s room. “I don’t think everyone shares that opinion.”
“Ma wants me to find a churchgoing man.” She looked at him plaintively. “What do you say, Benjamin? Would you give church a chance? Maybe you and I could go together next Sunday.”
“I don’t know, Pearl. I’ve done a little Bible reading, even been to socials at church a couple of times.”
“Really? You went to church?”
“Once or twice. When I was younger.”
“I always thought the people in church were nice. Don’t you think so?”
“Yep. Even nicer than most, I reckon,” he admitted.
“So what made you stop going?”
“Gambling. Whenever I stepped near any church, the preacher man would try to make me give up gambling.”
“And that made you mad.”
“No. Not really. I knew the preacher had to say such stuff and nonsense. He had to make a living just like everybody else.”
Pearl laughed even though she wasn’t sure she agreed with his logic.
“Laugh all you like, but I don’t know any other way to make a living.”
“Now you’re the one talking stuff and nonsense. You sure do know how to make a living.”
“How’s that?”
“Why, you can make a living right here, earning more than the pittance we can pay you now. You don’t realize it, Benjamin Wilson, but I have big plans for this place.”
Chapter 6
Benjamin looked into Pearl’s shining brown eyes. For the first time since he’d met her, they sparkled with joy. He propped his elbow on the kitchen table and stroked his clean-shaven chin. “What are your plans? And, uh, do they include me?”
“They can if you want them to.” Pearl averted her gaze, then looked back up at him. “If you really do want to get away from life at Sadie’s. I mean, I think you do. You followed me out here. And so far you haven’t hightailed it back to Denmark in spite of Ma’s preaching.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Her preaching must not bother you much. You’re still here.”
Pearl shook her head. “And I want to stay here. Listen—I know Ma must seem peculiar to you. She’s not at all like the women who raised you. I know she takes some getting used to; but she’s my ma, and I love her.”
“You’re a fine daughter.”
Pearl’s grin looked wry. “I’m trying to improve.”
Her words stung. In the solitude of the country, he could see where he needed to improve, too. Maybe it would be nice to take a break from his life of gambling. Sleeping in late every day, up all night—what kind of life was that? Besides, maybe taking a new turn would elevate him in Pearl’s eyes. Funny, he had come out here to talk her into changing her life back to the way it was, and instead, she had convinced him to try a new way of living.
“So do you think you can help me realize my dream of making this a real ranch?” Pearl asked.
“I’d like to, but what use do you think I’d be around here? I don’t know anything about ranching, and anyhow, it seems to me there isn’t much of a ranch to handle. You told me your ma only grows enough vegetables to keep herself fed.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen your stable. You don’t have horses to break, and even if you did, there’s not much room for them to run. You do a pretty good job on your own of taking care of the chickens, and how much work is it to take care of two pigs, a few chickens, and one cow? Even your ma could do that much on her own before she got sick.”
“True. But I have plans, and you can be a part of them. If you joined us here on the ranch, we could buy more livestock and eventually hire more people and make this ranch a real going concern, not just a little farm where one or two people can barely eke out a living.”
“Sounds ambitious. You really do have dreams for this place, don’t you?”
“I suppose so. I didn’t realize it myself until I came back.” She leaned toward him. “What do you say? Will you help me?”
Those eyes held too much interest for him to refuse. “All right. I will.”
That afternoon Benjamin reentered the house, and Pearl joined him in the kitchen.
“How’s she doing?” he asked.
Pearl shushed him, though not in an unkind way. “She’s asleep.”
He nodded and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Everything looks to be in good repair, except I saw a few places where the chicken coop could use some work. I should be able to get to that this week.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
The absence of food on the table told him he’d finished his chores well before supper, much to his regret. According to his rumbling stomach, he could use a bite to eat. He could only hope the inn would have something good on their menu. “I’d best be getting along. See you tomorrow.”
Raised eyebrows indicated Pearl’s surprise. “You milked Pansy already?”
Pansy! He’d forgotten. And he wished Pearl had forgotten, too. Afraid of failure since he’d never milked a cow, he was desperate to escape the chore. He looked out a window to the sky, hoping the sun hadn’t settled too far. “It’s a little early for milking, isn’t it?”
“No. In fact, your timing couldn’t be better. You’ll find the bucket and milk stool in the barn.”
Instead of expressing gratitude for her guidance, Benjamin shuffled his foot from one side to the other and stared at the tip of his brown leather boot. “Oh.”
“What’s the matter? Has the sun gotten to you? Are you feeling too poorly to milk Pansy?” She peered into his face, her expression much like that of a concerned nurse. “My, but sweat is just pouring down the sides of your face. I reckon the sun can get pretty hot out there when you’re used to being inside all day.” Pearl glided to the kitchen counter and picked up a transparent pitcher. “Here. Let me get you a glass of water. That might cool you off.”
Benjamin wanted to lie and tell Pearl that indeed he felt sickly and wanted to go back to his room at the inn right away. But he realized that excuse would only buy him that afternoon. The next day he’d have to tell her the truth. Besides, if he was going to be more like the man Pearl wanted him to be, he couldn’t start out by lying to her now.
He cleared his throat. “A glass of water would be nice, but I’m right as rain physically.”
Pearl handed him the water. “That’s good to hear. But you seem hesitant. Why?”
Stalling for time, he took a gulp of water. Never could he remember feeling so stupid. “I—I don’t think I can milk Pansy.”
“Why ever not?”
He paused. “Truth be told, I don’t know how.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then burst into laughter.
This time it was Benjamin’s turn to shush her. “Do you want to wake your ma? Besides, I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that it never occurred to me you wouldn’t know what to do. But why would you? You’ve never had to tend livestock before in your life.” Pearl looked toward her mother’s open door and back. “I think Ma should be fine. Come on. I’ll give you a lesson.”
Embarrassed that Pearl had to discover his ineptitude but grateful she was willing to help him learn, Benjamin watched her lure Pansy to the barn with the ease of a woman familiar with the task. Soon they were situated. A honey brown creature with big brown eyes, Pansy chewed her feed while regarding him with what seemed to be nonchalant disdain.
“I’ll be gentle, Pansy,” he assured her.
“She doesn’t look too worried.” Pearl placed a bucket underneath the animal’s udders. She set the stool beside the cow and sat down.
Benjamin noticed the cow’s bag looked plenty big, and he wondered how long the process of extracting the milk would take
.
“Here’s how it’s done.” Pearl reached for a teat, gripped it, and squeezed a stream of milk into the pail as though the motion were the most natural thing in the world. The cow remained unperturbed, chewing and swishing her tail. Pearl drew two more streams of milk into the bucket, the liquid hitting the bottom of the metal bucket with force.
“You make that look easy enough.”
“It is easy. You’ll learn in no time.” She rose from the stool. “Now you try.”
“I was hoping you were having so much fun you’d keep at it yourself,” he only half jested.
Pearl smiled and pointed to the stool.
Benjamin took the seat. He chose the nearest udder and gripped it gently. For some reason, the animal’s warmth, conveyed through thick pink skin covered with sparse but coarse white hairs, took him aback. He let go.
“Everything all right?”
He nodded. “Yep.” Taking a breath, he tried again, forcing himself to become accustomed to the cow. This time he pulled. No milk resulted.
“You have to pull a little harder,” Pearl advised. “Try an udder on the other side. Don’t be scared. Pansy can sense your fear.”
His manly pride took a blow at such a term, but he knew Pearl meant well. He nodded and yanked. This time a stream of milk came at him, and good. The milk missed the bucket and landed on his thigh.
“Don’t get discouraged. Happens to all of us.” Pearl grinned, looking as though she’d held back a big guffaw.
The idea that Pearl was amused by his clumsiness left him in ire. Determined to succeed, he grabbed a back udder and aimed it at the bucket. He yanked.
He heard Pansy’s angry moo, then felt a kick. With a sharp hoof the animal struck him in the leg with such force that Benjamin fell off the stool and yelped.
“Benjamin!” Pearl knelt beside him, all traces of mirth absent from her expression. “Are you all right?”
He righted himself though pain reminded him of the encounter with Pansy. “I reckon so.” He grimaced.
“Don’t try to stand up. Not yet. Just stay there for a moment.”
Benjamin didn’t argue. Intense pain left him with little choice.
Texas Brides Collection Page 53
