Jake studied her for a second, then shrugged. Loosening his reins, he settled his hat more firmly on his head and hied Dusty into an immediate gallop.
The nearly flat country stretched out endlessly ahead of them, and Sunny watched his receding figure. The powerful dun's legs stirred up a cloud of dust, and the heatwaves rising from the arid ground encompassed the horse and rider in a shimmering haze when they rode toward the horizon. Only the fading sound of pounding hooves disturbed the surreal image, and Sunny sighed in admiration of the dynamic picture they made, contrasted against the dry and dusty land.
"Ranger Jake sure rides good, don't he?" Teddy asked from beside her. "Bet I won't never learn to ride like that."
"Ladies ride a lot more sedately than men," Sunny explained. Then she nodded her head in agreement. "But I'll admit, they do make a handsome sight."
"You think Ranger Jake's handsome, Miss Sunny? I do, too. I was thinkin' 'bout marrying Ranger Jake when I grew up, but I figured he'd be way too old for me by then. Don't you think?"
A flush heated Sunny's cheeks, but she couldn't think of a suitable excuse for voicing a thought she was afraid Teddy might inappropriately pass on to Jake. Of course the man was handsome
— about the most ruggedly handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on. She'd already admitted that to herself days ago, when she first encountered him. And beneath that laid-back exterior he had an admirable soft spot for children. His consideration had extended to her, also, when necessary, but she darned sure wasn't going to start thinking about those crazy dreams she'd been having ever since he'd carried her in his arms.
There was no getting around it. The man was just plain lazy. Every other man in town had pitched in to help with the building repairs. Jake Cameron, however, spent his mornings either walking around town or sitting on that darned chair in front of the jailhouse, visiting now and then with his friend Charlie. More than one afternoon, she'd found him at a card table in the saloon when she'd gone over there to have a cold drink with Ginny. At times he'd be playing some sort of game alone, laying the cards on the table in front of him. Other times, one or two of the men on their work crew would make an excuse to disappear, and she'd find them at that table with Jake.
The men always glanced at her guiltily, but she'd restrained herself from tattling to their wives about their slothfulness. After all, everyone was volunteering their time. She also reminded herself that Ginny depended upon her customers to make a profit in her saloon, and without Ginny, there would be no building for them to use.
Some structures appeared in the distant haze, as well as the image of Jake astride his dun, returning to escort them. The dun trotted more slowly, though it still tossed its head and pranced. Sweat darkened its front withers from coffee-with-milk to a dark chocolate, and Jake's shirt clung to his chest and stomach with the same type moisture. He pulled the red bandanna from his neck and wiped at his face.
"Yep," Teddy said. "He sure is handsome."
"Uh . . . Teddy. Listen, we shouldn't tell a man when we think he's handsome. Ladies don't do that."
"Why not? How's they gonna know we like them if we don't tell them?"
"Can we talk about this when it's just us girls?" Sunny asked hurriedly, noting Jake was almost in hearing distance. "Maybe this evening?"
"Sure," Teddy agreed in a lilting voice. "I like it when we have our girl talks."
"Girl talks?" Jake dropped his reins for a second, controlling the dun with his knees while he re-tied the bandanna around his neck. "Am I interrupting the two of you having a girl talk?"
Vaguely aware of Teddy's voice answering Jake, Sunny contemplated the length of his fingers and strength of his hands while he tied the bandanna. He'd opened a couple buttons on his shirt, and hair the same raven shade as on his head was visible on his chest. The sweat had curled it into tight whorls, much as a woman's fingernail might do.
Teddy's voice broke into her thoughts. "Aren't you gonna answer me, Ranger Jake? What you lookin' at?"
Sunny quickly lifted her eyes and, for just a brief instant, met Jake's gaze. He just as quickly shuttered his eyes and shoved the bandanna knot to the side of his neck, reaching for his shirt buttons.
"Sorry," he murmured. "I forgot I'd unbuttoned them. Now, what were you saying, Teddy?"
He turned the dun and rode beside the buggy as Sunny urged the horse back into a trot. She sure hoped Mary had something cool to drink. The buggy roof had provided adequate shade so far, with a nice little breeze flowing by them as the horse trotted along. The temperature must have climbed drastically in the last few minutes, however. Holding the reins in one hand, she reached up and jerked her hat pin free, then removed her hat. When she waved the straw hat to cool her face, she heard a smothered chuckle beside her.
"Yep," Jake said in a nonchalant voice, evidently continuing his conversation with Teddy. "There's lots of differences between boys and girls. When they get older though, sometimes they have the same feelings about certain things."
Before Teddy could question him further, he raised a hand to wave at someone he'd spotted in the ranch yard and urged the dun forward. Sunny glared after him. Surely he wasn't alluding to the feelings she'd experienced while studying what she could see through the open vee of his shirt, was he? She narrowed her eyes in contemplation. If so, he'd as much as admitted that he'd been having some feelings of his own.
She'd definitely have to make sure nothing like that happened again. Why, he might get the idea she was interested in him! She had completely different plans for her future than becoming involved with a man she'd have to constantly light a stick of dynamite under to get any action out of him!
***
Chapter 9
The woman waiting on the ranch house porch definitely wasn't Mary Lassiter. Jake already had his dun tied to a hitching rail, and he approached the buggy to assist Sunny to the ground. Teddy scrambled out on her own, looking around eagerly, but Sunny didn't see a sign of Mary's daughter, either.
Jake swung her down and released her a little too quickly for her to have gained her balance. She stumbled a step, then swatted away his hand when he held it out to her. Darn the man, anyway. Didn't he even know how to help a lady down from a buggy? Grimacing at him, she turned her back and walked to the porch.
"I am Theresa," the beautiful Spanish woman on the porch said when Sunny approached. Her deep brown eyes flickered past Sunny to Jake for just an instant. "I am Miss Mary's housekeeper, and she and the children are in the barn with a new colt. Shall I go get her?"
"I'll go," Teddy said earnestly. "Can I, Miss Sunny?"
"Why don't we all go?" Sunny responded. "I'd like to see the colt, too."
"I will prepare some cool drinks for when you return." Theresa turned and entered the house.
A bright red structure, the barn was set off quite a ways from the house and shone in the sun. Sunny joined Jake and Teddy as they started for it. Split-rail-fence corrals, painted white, circled both sides, and a spirited horse with a shining black coat pranced around in one of them, while the other one was empty.
"I've never seen a red barn before," Sunny mused. "But isn't it pretty?"
"Pretty?" Jake replied. "Guess you could call it that. Only a woman like Mary would paint her barn red."
"Spoken like a true bigot," Sunny muttered, shooting him a disgruntled look. "I understand from the other women in town that Mary Lassiter has had to run this ranch for alone for five years, ever since her husband died. And the ranch has prospered a lot more than it ever did with him in charge. I would think she has a right to dress as she wishes and paint her barn any darned color she wants!"
"Whoa." Jake raised his hands. "I meant that in an admiring way."
"That's not how it came out."
"Or maybe that's just the way you took it."
"Perhaps if I saw in you a little admiration for what women can accomplish — for instance, like what we're getting done in town — I might revise my opinion of your character."
"Shhhh," Mary whispered as they reached her. "The colt's only an hour or so old, and the mare had a rough time. This was her first birth, and she foaled a few days early. My foreman, Chuck, knows more about helping in difficult births than I do, but he's out on the far range, checking fences. I wouldn't have sent him out if I'd had any idea the mare was ready to foal."
As Mary spoke, Sunny looked into the stall, where a chestnut mare stood with head hanging wearily. However, the spotted colt at her flank nursed enthusiastically, its coat still wet in places from the birth fluids.
"It's beautiful," Sunny said in awe. "And so active and hungry for only being an hour old."
The colt wobbled and fell, then scurried back to its feet, sticking its head again beneath the mare's flank and butting against her. The noisy slurps hung in the air, the only sound other than the muffled giggles of the women and Teddy as they watched. When Sunny glanced behind her to see what Jake's reaction was, since he was so quiet, she slam-banged straight into his whiskey gaze.
"I'll wait up at the house," he said, abruptly turning away.
"I need to mix a pail of mash for the mare," Mary said, ignoring Jake's sudden exit. "If you'd like to wait up at the house, I'll be along shortly. I usually don't entertain guests in my barn."
"Oh, this is fine," Sunny said. "And very interesting. If you don't mind, Teddy and I would like to stay."
"Of course. But maybe Teddy would like to see the new kittens in the loft. That's where Suzie and Chester are." She pointed to a ladder across the way. Teddy bobbed her head and took off, hiking her skirts to climb the ladder and pigtails bouncing on her back.
Lowering her voice for just Sunny's ears as she walked away from the stall, Mary continued, "Suzie would have been perfectly happy staying with me during the birth, but Chester got green around the gills. They came down to see the colt after it was born, then went back up to the loft. At eight year's old, Suzie's quite the little tomboy, but of course Chester's two years younger so I'm sure he'll come around."
"I'm looking forward to meeting your Suzie and Chester," Sunny said as Mary pushed open the door on a room that held tools and supplies. "I was so busy with all the other ladies at church Sunday that I didn't missed your children. I . . ."
A muffled scream cut off Sunny's words, and Mary turned suddenly. At first Mary glanced at the loft, but they both realized at the same instant the scream had come from the direction of the house. When a curly-mopped little girl peeked over the edge of the loft, Mary ordered, "You young'uns stay up there until we tell you to come down!" Grabbing a pitchfork from inside the storage area, she took off in a dead run. Sunny lifted her skirts and raced after her.
Mary headed toward the back of her house, and Sunny pulled her skirts even higher, trying to keep up with her. By the time she rounded the corner of the house, Mary was standing to one side, watching Jake pound the daylights out of a man Sunny didn't recognize — a man who probably outweighed Jake by at least fifty pounds. Theresa huddled on the back step with her hands over her face.
Jake's fist thudded into the other man's face and he crumbled to the ground. Reaching down, Jake dragged him to his feet again, then drew his fist back and drove it deep into the man's stomach. The man flew backward several feet, landing again on the ground. Jake walked toward him, flexing his shoulders and clenching his fists at his sides. The man groaned and rolled away, shakily regaining his feet and backing away from Jake, his hands outspread in defeat.
"Get out, Miller," Mary snarled, raising the pitchfork to emphasize her demand. "You're fired! You've got exactly one minute to get your gear and clear my property. If I see you even close to my land again, I'll shoot you the same as I would a fox raiding my hen house!"
"She's been askin' for it . . ." Miller started to whine. When Jake took a step toward him, he flinched and shut his mouth.
"You can press charges against him," Jake told Mary. "Or at least, Theresa can."
"Please just make him leave," Theresa spoke up from the steps. "I do not wish to have the whole town know he attacked me."
Jake glanced at Mary, and Mary nodded. "Get going, Miller," she snarled. "And remember what I said."
Stumbling and holding his stomach in pain, Miller grabbed the reins of a sorrel horse nearby and heaved himself into the saddle. He rode over to a building Sunny assumed was the bunkhouse, dismounted and went inside. No one spoke again as Miller returned and remounted his sorrel, reining it toward the front of the house. As he rode a wide swathe around the group watching him, Sunny noticed that Jake had his hand on the butt of the gun sticking up from his right holster.
Her staunchly held opinion of Jake Cameron's laziness started pulverizing into the same dry dust littering the Texas landscape. No man could handle himself as Jake had with muscles grown lax from inactivity. The coiled power she'd witnessed in his shoulders and fists had her swallowing back a stab of fear, given all the times she'd unwittingly baited that depth of fury with her own wayward tongue.
His face still bore the residue of his anger, clearly visible since his hat was laying on the ground near his feet. Normally whiskey colored eyes were darkened to walnut and narrowed to bare slits. His jaw was clenched, and his lips thinned in a straight line.
Catching a glimpse of movement, Sunny's eyes fell once again to the right holster on his tense thigh. His forefinger and thumb rubbed together next to the gun butt, twitching back and forth as though any second he would pull the gun and fill the air with a blaze of bullets.
All at once she knew explicitly what Mary, Ruth and her aunt had meant about not under-estimating Jake Cameron, the Texas Ranger in Liberty Flats. Gulping against the apprehensive lump in her throat, she cautiously edged toward Mary and her pitchfork.
As soon as Miller disappeared, Jake turned to where Theresa sat. The young Spanish woman looked at him, then surged from the steps and ran into his arms. Jake's face changed instantly as he gathered her close and stroked her back, murmuring soothingly to her. Unexpectedly, a violent stab of jealousy swam through Sunny, but she quickly chastised herself. Theresa had just had to fight off a man's attack, and she had a right to their comfort and concern. However, when Jake laid his cheek against Theresa's silky black hair, Sunny abruptly turned her back.
"I'll go check on the children," she said to Mary. "They're probably worried about what's happening."
Mary nodded agreement, then moved toward Jake and Theresa. As she walked away, Sunny could hear Mary's voice added to Jake's, offering her own consolations to her housekeeper. She hurried her steps, but turned before she lost sight of the back of the house. Mary and Jake were leading a still-sobbing Theresa into the house.
In the barn she found all three children waiting at the foot of the loft ladder, worried expressions on their little faces. The curly-headed moppet who was Mary's daughter, Suzie, spoke first. "Is my mama all right?"
"She's fine, Suzie," Sunny assured her. "There was a problem with one of the hired hands, but your mother fired him and sent him away."
"Must have been that Miller," Suzie replied. "He's a no good if I ever saw one."
"Yeah," the little boy whined. "But what if he comes back and tries to hurt us?"
"Oh, shut up, Chester!" Suzie exclaimed. "Mama will take care of us, and Chuck will be back soon. Miller won't mess with Chuck, and I'll bet Miller's as sorry as the flea-bitten hound he is that he messed with Mama and got his sorry rear end fired."
Sunny's mouth dropped open further and further as Suzie's colorful language spewed from her cute, bow-shaped lips. She and her brother were dressed almost identically, both in denims and checkered shirts, but Suzie's tousled curls and piqu
ant face left no doubt as to her feminine gender. Her language, though . . .
"What did that dirty dog do to make Mama finally fire him?" Suzie asked her.
"Uh . . . he . . . uh . . . I'll let your mother explain that," Sunny stammered, glancing at Teddy to see a look of total admiration on her face as she listened to her new friend. Already Teddy's dress skirt sported a long rip, and Sunny shook her head. Instead of it bothering her, though, she made up her mind right then and there to buy Teddy a couple pair of denims to wear when she visited Suzie. And wouldn't pants be much easier to work in while the Cultural Center was undergoing repairs? That, however, might be going just a tad too far, she admitted with a reluctant sigh.
"Would you children like to come on up to the house now?" she asked.
"I promised Teddy she could ride my pony," Suzie replied. "If that's all right with you, that is, Miss Fannin. I can have him saddled in a jiffy shake, and we'll only ride around the corral this time."
Feeling certain Teddy would be in capable hands with the self-assured Suzie, Sunny gave her permission. Though Suzie tried to insist that Chester go on to the house, the little boy stuck out his lower lip stubbornly and refused. A smile curving her lips, Sunny left the barn, allowing the children to work out their own differences.
A beautiful Texas sunset lit the western sky as the buggy horse trotted back toward Liberty Flats in the cooler evening air. Fiery streaks of vermilion shaded to deep purple on the horizon when the sun sank out of sight, and Sunny couldn't ever remember seeing such a wondrous sunset. Perhaps her appreciation of the magnificence came partially from her own contented feelings, she admitted to herself.
Teddy curled at Sunny's side, and from the sounds of stifled yawns she heard, Sunny figured Teddy would be sound asleep by the time they reached town. They'd lingered at Mary's even after Teddy had her first riding lesson, then agreed to share a meal of stew and Theresa's fresh baked bread before undertaking the trip back. Despite Theresa's reddened eyes, she had insisted she was perfectly able to serve the meal, and had sat with the family at the table. Sunny's praise at how delicious everything was had been sincere, and she'd left with a recipe for Theresa's bread in her pocket.
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