The Texas Rancher
Page 9
So the morning progressed, and Josie was soon
in possession of her pupils' rather undistinguished
scholastic attainments. While the children were
laboriously. writing out the answers to her ques
tions, she took the opportunity of studying Mary
anne's school report, and was relieved to see that
she was at least two grades below the normal
standard for her age. Had she been an exception
ally bright child, Josie would have had the added
worry of her being held back by the rest of the
class. As it was, Maryanne was just as much in
need of extra coaching as were the boys. Kade, she
mused, must have known this, and she had a
shrewd idea that the local teacher had drawn his
attention to the matter.
That week passed and then another, and Josie found herself thoroughly enjoying the challenge, for as Kade had said, it was a challenge. Ways had to be found to keep the children interested in the lessons, particularly as it was branding time on the ranch_so Josie learnt from Pedro, who obviously wished he were elsewhere, but contented himself
THE TEXAN RANCHER
99
with regaling tales of past round-ups to the avid Billy, who would listen with wide eyes, drinking in every word Pedro uttered. Juan and Miguel, although brought up on the same tales, for they were handed down from father to son and went back to the early settlers in those parts, listened with just as much reverence. Maryanne, too, although she tried hard to hide her interest, particularly as she had welcomed Billy as a knight in shining armour on his arrival to the class a few days after school
had begun. His politeness and willingness to listen to anything she said had acted as a tranquilliser on her frustrated feelings, but alas, this happy state of affairs did not last long, for although Billy was still polite, his allegiance was soon transferred to Pedro.
It was an unfair competition that Maryanne lost hands down, and Josie came to dread the break periods when these tales were regaled, and tried to bring up subjects to discuss that would interest all her pupils, and in which all could take part�but she too lost hands down�for an innocent-sounding
question from Billy to Pedro would invariably turn the conversation to ranch life, leaving Josie with a truculent Maryanne to deal with.
Lunch was served in an annexe adjoining the
schoolroom, and Josie was thankful she had elected
to go back to Carella. She had had a valid excuse
for this, as she had wanted to check up on her
grandfather, and get him a meal. As things turned
out, she found she needed that hour's break away
from the children, and would return refreshed and
ready for the fray. , If Maryanne had only been allowed to have
100 THE TEXAN RANCHER
lunch as she had presumed she would, with her uncle at Blue Mount, it would have meant an easing of the frustrations building up inside the child at the lack of attention she was receiving, from her point of view, from -all and sundry. But Kade had meant what he had said about it being time she learnt to live with other children, and adamantly stuck to this policy by insisting that she stayed right through the day with her classmates, as she would have done had she been at any other school.
There were times when Josie was tempted to ask Kade to allow Maryanne this one concession, although she was well aware that he was perfectly right in his reasoning, and in view of this she resisted the temptation. For one thing, he might accuse her of backing out of the challenge, and for another, Josie wished to keep the relationship between herself and Kade on a business tooting.
Her hopes that she might not see a great deal of him during school hours were gratified, but he made a point of seeing her once a week and would appear just before school finished on a Friday to have a word with her on the week's progress, also to find out if there was anything she required�or that the children required.
To his question of whether Maryanne had behaved herself, Josie would always give a cautious answer, only too well aware of the twinkle in his eyes that belied his straight face, and the way he continually watched her, even when he should have been looking at Maryanne's progress sheet
that Josie prepared for him' each week.
It did occur to her that perhaps he was looking
THE TEXAN RANCHER 101
for signs of strain. He must have known�or in
deed heard from Maryanne�of the squabbles that
would break out now and again between the chil
dren, or to be more correct between Maryanne and
the four boys, and how she, Maryanne, would be
the one to be corrected, and nothing was said to
the boys.
In this she .would be perfectly correct, but as she
was the one who had instigated the squabble by
some mischiefmaking remark about some of the
boys' work, it was only right that she should be the
one reprimanded, as Josie had taken great pains to
inform her at the time.
Whatever complaints Maryanne had voiced to
him, Kade never repeated them to Josie, and she
was forced to admit grudgingly to herself that even
if he did have an ulterior motive in employing her,
he was a just man.
-This was not the only admission Josie had had to
make during the first few weeks at Blue Mount. As
time passed, she found it increasingly harder to
place Kade in the role of a double-dealer. It didn't
jell somehow, not with all Josie had learnt about
him, not only from Nat and Luc^ but from the
boys whose fathers were employed by him.
As their names suggested, and by their black
hair and eyes, the boys came of Mexican stock.
Their fathers were cattlemen- as were their fathers
before them, and had, Josie gleaned, had a thin
time of it for several years before Blue Mount
started up in the locality. To have regular wages
and a roof over their heads was something even the
children could appreciate, and did. :,v At the end of each week Josie would find herself
103 THE TEXAN RANCHER
looking forward to, yet dreading, the meeting with- Kade. His rare smiles were getting through to her, and although she tried to remind herself that they meant nothing personally to her, and that he was just being pleasant, it didn't stop her pulse rate rising, and she would reprimand herself for her stupidity. Before she knew it she would be blushing like a teenager. At this thought she went cold; Kade Boston saw a little too much for her liking, and she had a shrewd suspicion that he was not unaware of the flutter of her pulse rate during
those end-week sessions. Thoughts such as these helped Josie to keep on an even keel. Kade was an experienced man, in more ways than one, she told herself darkly, recalling what Lucy had said about him earlier. For instance, the way he had put that girl in her place when she had all but thrown herself at him. He would, she mused, recognise such a gambit from
way off, and Josie was sure it wouldn't have been the first occasion he had had to give such a setdown; in all probability he was an old hand at the
game.
He might not, Josie told herself, realise just how devastating those slow smiles of his were, and in that case could hardly be blamed for the resultant fiutterings in the feminine breast. She shook her head slowly. Kade Boston was not a man who did
things by accident�accidentally-on-purpose, yes�that was more in his line of reasoning.
Having worked that much out,. Josie had a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. Those smiles had been getting pretty frequent lately, and
THE TEXAN RANCHER 103
took her ba
ck to her first suspicions as to why she
had been offered the job. She had to be on his side
if he wanted Carella, didn't she? Was this the
softening-up process? she wondered; if so, half the
battle was won, if he did but onli know it. Al
ready, she found herself thinking about him dur
ing the week, being able to recall with startling
clarity all that he had said, and his trick of making
her look at him while she spoke to him, even
though she was showing him some of the children's
work.
There was something compelling about him that
frightened her, and even if she had wished she
could let herself go and say precisely what she
thought�as she might have done with her grand
father, or Nat and Lucy�something always held
her back, some inner caution that she didn't as yet
understand. She only knew she felt safer at a
distance from him, mentally and physically. That
he had astutely gauged her feelings on this, Josie
was sure, for it was shown only too clearly in the
teasing light in his eyes when she failed to respond
to his friendly overtures.
She was making certain that their acquaintance stayed on a business footing, allowing for no comebacks in their personal relationship�always reminding herself of the reason as to why she was
there�to pay back a debt�and ^hat she would have to look for other employment when the time came to dose the makeshift school.
Having set her course and ef using to be deviated from it, it was a little disconcerting to find herself in a situation that warranted a personal discussion on a subject she least wanted to bring
104 THE TEXAN RANCHER
up�her pay cheque. It was a handsome pay cheque too, and Josie being well versed in the rates of pay in that country, knew she had been grossly overpaid. But worse than this was the fact that no deductions had been made, and she would have
felt a little better about it if there had been.
As the pay envelope had been placed on her desk on the Friday morning, she had only to wait until the close of school that day to take the matter up with Kade. By the time the children had left. and he appeared, Josie had worked herself up to a simmering fury. Only too clearly did she recall his words on their third meeting when the proposition was put to her. How he had grandly offered to forget the debt if she accepted the post, and how he had hinted at the remuneration she would
receive if he obtained Carella.
Staring down at the cheque in her hand, she felt
that it represented a pay-off�tor services yet to
come�and wanted to tear it up into little bits. So
much for his efforts in making her feel a very
special person�it was very clever of him, she
fumed, and she had almost believed that he meant
it. Had he found his softening-up process wasn't
working fast enough, and had decided to try hard
cash? When he sauntered in and gave her the usual slow smile that had once had such an effect on her, she found she was actually trembling with rage and could hardly bear to look at him, but she did, and her eyes flashed blue sparks as they clashed with the cool grey ones. 'I think there's been a mistake here,' she said as she held out the cheque for him to see, her voice
THE TEXAN RANCHER 105
warning him not to indulge in platitudes.
Barely affording the cheque a glance, Kade raised his left eyebrow as he looked back at her. 'No mistake,' he said firmly. 'It's what I consider the rate for the job.'
Josie drew a deep breath. 'Have you any idea of what a teacher is paid, Mr Boston?' she queried with a glint in her eye.
There was amusement in his eyes as he answered slowly, 'Yes, Miss West, I have�but I still think it's a fair rate for the task you're tackling�with a little aggravation pay added, of course.'
Taking full note of the last remark, Josie thought the word 'aggravation' summed up the situation nicely�in more ways than one. 'I agreed to do the work,' she replied coldly. 'And under the circumstances I don't think it warrants such a salary. I also,' she went on quickly, seeing that he was about to interrupt her, 'see that no deductions have been made. It was agreed that there would be, if I remember rightiv,' she challenged.
This brought an answering glint to Kade's eyes, and Josie didn't feel so bad about things. He hadn't liked being reminded about that, she thought. It also looked as if her original thinking as to why she had been paid such a handsome salary was correct. It must be galling for him to find his second ploy hadn't worked either, and that she was not to be bought.
His clipped, almost harsh reply to this told hei that he had correctly assessed her thinking. 'I am not in the habit of throwing money away. Miss West�whatever else you choose to think of me- 01
ji06 THE TEXAN RANCHER
whatever other interpretation you care to put on it.' He gave a grim nod in acknowledgment of Josie's bright flush at this bald statement. 'I admit I did not make any deduction,' his jaw hardened and his eyes pierced hers. 'For that I apologise. I shall make up for it next month�if that's agree*
able?' ; The question was shot at Josie, who was still recovering from his earlier attack, and all she could do was to give a small nod of agreement. 'Now, is there anything else you have to discuss with me?' Kade asked abruptly, as if his patience with her was exhausted; and it very probably was, she thought miserably as she tried to concentrate on his last question. There had been something she had wanted to tell him�or ask him�but whatever it was, it had been pushed out of her mind by the turn of events. When she shook her head dumbly, he said curdy, 'Good; you know where to find me if you've an) other queries,' and turning on his heel he strode to the door, leaving Josie in no doubt of the fact that he was an exceedingly angry man. The door closed with a hard snap, and only by exercising a certain amount of self-control had he refrained from slamming^ it, surmised Josie as she stared at the closed door in front of her, still partially dazed from the way he had countermanded her challenge. The swift counter-attack had left her floundering, and had made her feel the lowest of the low�not only ungrateful, but positively meant Her eyes dimmed with tears as she thrust the cheque into her bag. If only she knew Kade and
THE TEXAN RANCHER 107
could trust him�but she didn't. She could only remember that he wanted Carella, and try as she might, she couldn't forget the way he had offered
her money for her help in obtaining his goal.
She sighed as she locked her desk, and picking up her bag walked to the door. If only everything had been straightforward from the start, she would willingly have accepted his offer of friendship� and more than that, she conceded miserably, for there was no doubt in her mind that Kade had the power to enslave her heart. Only the memory of what had gone before had saved her heartbreak, she told herself as she climbed into her car, and only too clearly could she see the future should she be foolish enough to play his game. With Carella in his pocket, she would find herself standing outside the gates of paradise clutching a fat cheque, with a smiling Kade directing her to seek other
pastures. At this thought her hand clenched on the car wheel. She was glad she had made him furious with her! He had to learn some time that she wasn't going to be bribed or flattered into bowing to his wishes. In all probability he would fire her now; there were plenty of other qualified teachers to do the work she was doing�and how she wished he would! She was tired of having to weigh up each small incident and place other interpretations oh them, and she wanted to be done with skirmishing on the boundaries of cold reasoning. Open war was much to be preferred, as against Kade's type of guerrilla warfare where her every move was checkmated with devastating swiftness. He was so much better at the game than she was, she mused miser
; 108 THE TEXAN RANCHER
ably. It would have been fairer if she had been able to read his thoughts as he so obviously read hers, thus being one step, if not two, in front of
her.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE following Monday, Josie halt expected to find a note of dismissal on her desk, and knew a sense of untold relief when she found nothing more incriminating than a terse note from Kade telling her that Maryanne would be leaving half an hour earlier on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to take music lessons at Blue Mount.
Even the bold signature looked intimidating, Josie mused as she studied the short missive, and she knew she hadn't been forgiven for her unspoken thoughts on the matter of the cheque However, she didn't mind that one bit. Her feelings were still the same, and the longer Kade stayed annoyed with her, the easier it would be to keep him at a distance.
Her relief at not being dismissed far outweighed any other consideration, and told Josie a few things she would rather not have had to admit to herself.
Her exact feelings for Kade, for one thing, and how well he had undermined her defences. She had once said that Kade was proud�well, she was proud too, and not for worlds would she allow am hint of her feelings to get through to him. She gulped at the thought of the sort of set-down he would hand out to her should he become aware of her weakness. Ice-cold politeness, or a furious tirade would be welcome against such an alternative.
Before mid-morning, the news of Maryanne's
109
10 ' THE TEXAN RANCHER
coming music lessons formed the major subject of conversation�from that young lady's contribution anyway, and by then the boys were heartily sick of listening to the numerous qualifications her music teacher had attained, and Josie, feeling a little lenient towards the child, for she had had a rough time lately in the adoration stakes, did not call her to order as promptly as she might have done in the past, and allowed her a little more leeway.
However, by the time the morning break was due, even she was tired of the continual accolade attributed to Maryanne's music teacher, who she
learnt answered to the name of Miss Hanway, and lived in the nearby township. There was no lack of information on this front, for it appeared that Maryanne had attended a garden party over the weekend at which Miss Hanway had presided as hostess, and apparently taken to Maryanne in a big