“Like when she decides she’s in love with a man she barely knows.”
“Better you than Carl Ellsworth,” Jordan said. “He’s hardly more than a boy.”
They had wandered over to the edge of the low rise on which Jordan had built his ranch house. A few cows grazed on the treeless prairie stretched out before them. A bell rang somewhere on the far side of the ranch house, signaling it was time for the cowhands to eat supper.
“I was told you were hoping she’d marry Van Sonnenberg in order to join the two ranches,” Will said.
Jordan shrugged and pressed his lips together in apparent frustration. “At one time I thought Webb would marry Idalou and Mara would marry Van. All the ranches would have been connected by family, and all of this tension would disappear. After Webb died, it seemed the only logical thing was for Mara to marry Van, but she said she’d fallen in love with Carl Ellsworth. I told her I would never let her marry a man who was too poor and too young to provide for her. At the same time, I wasn’t too happy with the way Van was developing. He’s become so self-centered, he doesn’t care how he affects others. Sometimes I think he doesn’t even realize it. So you understand why I was pleased when she said she’d fallen in love with you. You’ve got all the good qualities of Carl without the bad qualities of Van. Plus you’ve got maturity. You know how to handle yourself, how to deal well with people.”
This wasn’t what Will had been hoping to hear. “I wouldn’t depend on her interest in me lasting more than a few days.”
“With your looks, you could make sure it does.”
His looks again. Didn’t people ever think there was anything to him other than his face? “I’m not in the marrying mood right now.” And if he had been, he wouldn’t have been interested in a young woman who changed her mind every few days. “Besides, I’m going back home after I find the bull. You wouldn’t want your only child that far away.”
“Her mother would be terribly upset.”
“You ought to reconsider Carl Ellsworth. I know he’s young, but he has the makings of a solid, dependable man. And I think he’ll make a fine rancher. He likes the Double-L far more than his sister does.”
“You’d never know it from the way she tears into me every time she thinks I’ve somehow taken advantage of her.”
“Why shouldn’t she feel like that, when you’ve got ten times as much land as she does but your cows spill over onto her land?”
“That hasn’t happened in a long time.”
“Two of them were at the dam this afternoon. They had calves that had been sired by her bull. What kind of stud fees do you pay her?”
Faint color rose out of Jordan’s collar. “I don’t pay her anything. I can’t help it if her bull wanders onto my land and impregnates my cows.”
“What if those cows had been on her land when the bull serviced them?”
“They weren’t.”
“How do you know?”
Jordan was looking decidedly uncomfortable. “My problems with Idalou aren’t your concern.”
“That’s not quite true. You’re one of the men who wanted me to be the sheriff. Since Idalou has asked the sheriff to look into the problem, she’s put it squarely in my lap.”
“What are you planning to do?” Jordan had gotten his back up. He looked angry, even belligerent.
“I’m not planning to do anything. I’m hoping you and Idalou can sit down and work this out between you. You ought to include Carl in the discussion. I think you’ll be surprised at how reasonable you find him.”
“Which is more than I can say for his sister,” Jordan said, appearing to calm down. “I’ve tried to talk to her.”
“I’m sure you have. But as long as your cows keep wandering onto her property and breeding with her bull, you can understand why she might think that you don’t mean what you say.”
“Dammit!” Jordan’s voice had risen in volume. “I don’t need the use of her bull to make a profit. I’ve got good longhorn bulls of my own.”
“I don’t doubt you,” Will said, “but Idalou is the one you have to convince. I’d give some thought to paying her something for all those calves her bull sired. It would go a long way toward helping her believe you are serious.”
“I don’t care what Idalou thinks. She’s a stubborn, fractious woman.”
“Who just might one day be your daughter’s sister-in-law. It’s always helpful to think ahead. Children have a bad habit of having ambitions that don’t agree with those of their parents. Besides, you’re the richest man in this area. It’s up to you to set the tone of the community.”
Fortunately, before Jordan could become incensed at Will’s intrusion into his personal affairs, Mrs. Mc-Gloughlin signaled that it was time for dinner. Now Will had to find a way to turn Mara’s thoughts back in Carl’s direction.
Chapter Six
Will couldn’t think of anything more likely to give Mara the wrong impression about his feelings for her than being alone with her in the moonlight. To make matters worse, Alma McGloughlin had spent the entire evening staring at him with a dazed look that had the power to instill terror in his heart. He’d seen that look before. It was the I’m going to be your mother-in-law look that had been fatal to so many incautious young men. But Will wasn’t incautious. Despite his rather easygoing attitude, he had a highly developed sense of self-preservation. He and Mara were now sitting in the yard facing away from the house. They were close enough to the house to cause no anxiety to her parents but far enough away to be able to talk quietly without being overheard.
“You won’t have to buy a ranch or cows for your bull,” Mara was saying. “Daddy has everything you need right here.”
What was it about women that took them from seeing a man they liked straight to planning the wedding and the next twenty years, all in less than twenty-four hours? Mara had never even asked if he was single. No one had. It was time he shifted the focus of the conversation. “What was it you saw in Carl that made you fall in love with him?”
Mara’s blissful expression turned to confusion, tinged by melancholy.
“Carl is a sweet boy, but he’s so immature.”
She was trying to sound grown-up but only succeeded in sounding insincere.
“Maybe, but what was it you liked about him originally? You can’t have forgotten it already.”
Mara’s lips pushed forward in a pout. Before she could make the expected objection, her expression changed. She took her lower lip between her teeth, dropped her gaze to her hands, which had begun to twist in her lap.
“I don’t know. I just liked him,” she said.
“Did you look forward to being with him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked away. “He was always doing sweet things.”
“Like what?”
“Like telling me how pretty I was, how he dreamed about me, how he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone except me.”
“Is that important?”
“Yes, but—”
“What did you like to do when you were together?”
“We’d take rides. Sometimes we’d find a place to sit and talk.”
“What did you talk about?”
She blushed. “He’d talk about the flowers he’d bring me, or the pretty dresses he’d buy for me. You probably think that’s silly.”
“Why would I think that?”
“Daddy and Webb said real men didn’t talk about flowers and women’s clothes.”
“Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know.” She looked confused. “Van says the same thing.” She looked embarrassed. “He laughed at me when I asked him what kind of flowers he’d give a girl.”
“Do you like Van?” The quiet of the evening seemed to be affecting Mara. She became more contemplative as the sun sank out of sight and the sky turned orange shot through with blood red.
“He’s okay.”
“But you feel more comforta
ble with Carl?”
Mara nodded.
“Why?”
“Van makes me feel like a little girl. He thinks all the things I say or do are silly. He says I’ll think differently when I’m a woman.”
Will had a poor opinion of Van, but now he added stupidity to his list of shortcomings. He didn’t know if Van didn’t want to marry Mara or if he was just after her father’s ranch and considered her a necessary part of the bargain.
“Everybody’s ideas change a little as they grow older, but there’s nothing wrong with what you feel now,” Will said. “It certainly doesn’t mean you’re silly.”
“Daddy says I’ll understand when I get to be Van’s age.”
“I’m older than Van, and I don’t think a man giving a woman flowers or buying her pretty dresses is silly. Women like things like that, and I think it’s important for a man to want to make his wife happy.”
Mara’s face lit up like lightning against a black sky. “That’s why I love you. You understand all about women.”
Will could see he wasn’t getting anywhere trying to convince Mara that she liked Carl better than him. She was confused by thinking he was a hero and having her parents enthusiastically support her choice. This wasn’t something he was going to fix in one night. It might be a good idea to get a woman’s perspective on the situation. Maybe he’d ask Idalou. She wasn’t too happy with him, but surely she’d be eager to see Carl and Mara back together.
“No man understands everything about women,” Will said. “The best we can do is hope to keep from getting in so much trouble that some woman starts dreaming about our being trampled by a loco steer.”
“Well, I think you’re perfect,” Mara stated. “And so does Mama. Even Daddy says he can’t find anything wrong with you, and he finds something wrong with everybody.”
Will decided it was time to admit defeat and head home. “We’d better go in. I have to get up early in the morning, and your parents are probably starting to worry.”
“They’ll never worry as long as I’m with you,” Mara said in a hopelessly romantic way. Will was thankful that none of his brothers had witnessed this scene. They’d taunt him for the rest of his life. He stood and helped Mara to her feet.
“They ought to worry,” he said. “There’s something wrong with any man who’s completely trustworthy when he’s with a girl as pretty as you.”
Mara blushed and looked so discomposed by the compliment, Will decided he couldn’t allow her father to force her to marry Van Sonnenberg. A man like him would crush the life out of her, or make her despairingly unhappy.
“You talk like Carl,” Mara said.
“I knew there was a reason I liked that boy.”
“Because he talks like you?”
Will’s poor effort at humor was obviously a little beyond Mara, but he didn’t hold that against her. She’d been sheltered by overly protective parents.
“I like him because he’s a nice young man who hasn’t let adversity make him angry or spiteful. I’m certain he’d be unspoiled by success, too.”
“Daddy says he’ll never be successful on that little bit of land he and his sister have.”
“I think your daddy may have underestimated Carl and his sister. And if you married him, your ranches would be joined. I’ve got some things to take care of, so I’d better say good night to your parents.”
He could have told her he was riding over to tell Idalou and Carl that Jordan had agreed to meet with them to work out their differences. He had no intention of telling her he wanted Idalou’s advice on how to make a young girl fall out of love with him.
After what she’d said that afternoon, Will was the last person Idalou had expected to see riding up to their ranch. She’d been sitting on the porch trying to decide if Carl was right in saying she’d misjudged him. Everyone else seemed to think he was wonderful, but everyone else was overwhelmed by his looks. Until Will rode into Dunmore, Van and Webb had been the two best-looking men she’d ever known. Both had grown into selfish young men. How was it possible that Will, who was twice as good-looking as either of them, wouldn’t have done the same? She got up as he brought his horse to a stop at the foot of the porch steps.
“I was hoping you’d still be up,” Will said as he dismounted.
“I was enjoying the cool of the evening.” It had clouded up. She hoped they’d get a little rain. “Did you have a nice supper?”
Will smiled up at her, and she had trouble remembering she was angry with him. It wasn’t fair for a man to look that good. He dismounted. His horse blew though his nostrils as Will tied him to the hitching post.
“I ate too much.”
“Mara said her mother was planning to go all out tonight.”
“Getting the women of Dunmore to feed me was one of the conditions I laid out when I took the sheriff job, but I had no idea they’d try to fatten me up like a hog for the slaughter.” He walked up to the steps but didn’t mount them.
Idalou laughed, though she didn’t feel like it. “Women can’t resist feeding a handsome man. The more you eat, the better we think you like us.”
“In that case, there are three nervous husbands in Dunmore. I’ve eaten enough to make them think I want to run off with their wives.”
Idalou thought there were probably more than three women in Dunmore who would have dreams that would embarrass them come morning. She hoped she wouldn’t be one of them. Carl came around the corner of the house from where he’d been talking to their two hands.
“What brings you over this way at night?” he asked Will.
“I had a few minutes alone with Jordan before supper, so I mentioned the cows I saw at your dam this morning. He seemed genuinely surprised. He said he’d given his hands orders to make sure his cows stayed on his land.”
“And you believed him?” Idalou asked.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Will asked.
“Because he’s a liar who’ll do anything he can to drive us off our land.” She’d never forgiven Jordan for trying to have a judge invalidate her father’s homestead along the creek.
“Have you talked with him?” Will asked.
“A dozen times. All he ever does is deny that he’s done anything wrong.”
“I wasn’t talking about accusing him. I meant talking to him.” Will turned to Carl, then back to Idalou. “He is your neighbor. You’ve got to learn to live with him.”
Idalou didn’t know whether Will believed what he said or if he was just trying to get her to shut up and go away, but she decided she’d judged him accurately, after all. Too agitated to sit still any longer, she got up and walked to the top of the steps where she could look down at Will.
“I thought a sheriff was supposed to investigate the complaints of every citizen. I don’t call having dinner with Jordan, then telling me I ought to talk with him so he can spin more lies, much of an investigation. It looks to me like you’ve sold out, Sheriff.”
“Lou, I don’t think—”
“I’m sure you’ve had a rough time of it,” Will said so calmly it was infuriating. “Jordan and others may have taken advantage of you, but there’s nothing I can do about that. I’m only going to be here a few more days.” Will included Carl in his glance. “You’re the only ones who can do anything that will make a lasting difference.”
“I’ve tried, but no one will listen to me,” Idalou said.
“You’re older now. So is Carl. It’s time to make people start treating you like adults.”
Idalou walked to the end of the porch, looked out over the yard of the ranch that had cast a shadow upon her life. She found little to admire in the buildings, the small house, even the tall trees along the creek. Carl loved it, but to her it was just an unending burden. “They’ll never do that, because they can’t stop seeing me as a woman.”
“Take Carl along when you talk with Jordan, Lloyd, or anybody else. I think Jordan knows his cows were on your property when they mated with your bull. I can’t tell you wh
at he’ll do, but I think he wants to work something out.”
“When does he want to meet with us?” Carl asked.
“Tomorrow. If you’ll take my suggestion, you and Carl will talk over what you want to say and what you want Jordan to do. You’ll have a better chance of convincing him if you’re in agreement. If you’re going to argue with each other, you might as well save everybody time and stay home.”
“I appreciate you talking to him for us,” Carl said. “We’ll do what you suggest.”
Will turned to his horse. “One other thing. I haven’t been here long, but I’m usually a pretty decent judge of people. It might be a good idea if you don’t assume Jordan is lying about everything.” He mounted up. “Come by tomorrow, Carl, and let me know how things go.”
“Why didn’t he ask me to let him know how things went?” Idalou asked after Will rode off.
“Probably because he expects you’ll get mad at him again. Just for once, Lou, could you give somebody the benefit of the doubt?”
“How can you do that when he’s trying to steal Mara away from you?”
“He’s not in love with Mara. Hell, he’d be interested in you if you didn’t tear in to him every time you set eyes on him.”
Idalou was so shocked, she hardly knew what to think. She was attractive, but Will could have virtually any woman he wanted. She hadn’t even been nice to him. “He couldn’t possibly be interested in me.”
“Why not?” Carl climbed the steps, pulled a chair over, and sat down. “You’re a damned fine-looking woman. You just get your back up and don’t give a man a chance. Now we’ve got to decide what we want Jordan to do. I think we ought to consider that he might be telling the truth.”
“But he’s not!”
“Nothing we’ve done so far has worked. I’m willing to give this a try. Will you?”
Idalou was in a quandary. They were on the verge of losing the ranch. Even if she didn’t believe Will’s plan would work, she was desperate enough to try anything once. But no matter what agreement they reached with Jordan, it had to include getting the bull back. Its sale was the only thing that would save them.
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