And Here I'll Stay

by Rita Hestand

  Then he kissed her, without even touching anything but her lips. She let the kiss linger a little longer than normal and she heard a groan but wasn't sure where it came from.

  "Have a good day," he whispered hoarsely.

  She nodded, her glance penetrating him now.

  As she walked out on the porch, she licked her lips, tasting him there and smiling, "He sure can kiss," she whispered under her breath.

  George already had the wagon ready and drove up to the house to pick her up. "Boss said you got a busted wheel needs fixing."

  "I sure do. A customer brought it yesterday and I thought I could stall him until Mr. Pettigrew got well, but I'm sure glad you can fix it for me." She smiled. "I don't think Mr. Pettigrew is going to be back for a while."

  "I used to work in a livery stable and I was a part time blacksmith too, so you got any heavy work, you let me tend to it, until Pettigrew gets back."

  "I'd appreciate it. Sometimes it's a full-time job just keeping the stalls clean. Much less all the things Mr. Pettigrew did for people. A man brought five horses in yesterday wants us to keep them for a week, so that's double duty too."

  "I guess that must have scared you pretty bad when he got sick?"

  "I'll say, but I had no idea how sick he was. Harold came by and he took him to my Momma's. She's good about nursin' the sick."

  "Heard it was his appendix?" George looked at her.

  "Yeah, the doc got there just in time."

  "Well, don't you fret that old man is stronger than a bull." George laughed.

  "I'm sure glad."

  "You like working there?" George asked.

  "Yeah, I do. I guess that sounds silly to a man like you?" She looked at him.

  "No, I know all about that work from my own mother. She loved that kind of work too. So, it don't sound silly to me. I was telling the boss about her just yesterday, he was amused."

  "He's not too fond of me working there."

  "Don't fret, he'll come around to your way of thinking." George chuckled. "One thing about you, you are an original."

  "How long you been working for Joe?"

  "About five years now. He sure made a lot of improvements on the old place."

  "I'll say."

  "You known him long?"

  "All my life. As kids we were best friends."

  "No kiddin'."

  "We kind of lost touch as we grew up for a while." She added, wondering why she was telling this man everything, but he was easy to talk to.

  "Well, I'll tell you one thing. I think marriage is good for him." George chuckled.

  "Why?"

  "Well, he's been kind of lonely the last few years. Working so hard to get the place like he wanted. I think he finally realized he didn’t have anyone to share it with."

  "Didn't he have lady friends?"

  "Oh a few every now and then, but the boss didn't fall for them. It was like he was missing something. And to tell the truth I think that something was you!" George glanced at her.

  "Me?"

  "The last few days he's been happier than any time I've known him. And the only thing it could be is you. To tell the truth I didn’t think he'd marry."

  "Why not?" Anna stared now.

  "Well there was that Susan gal, she tried her best to latch onto him last year, she was always around. But he didn't grab that bait. Then there was the Finch gal, he liked her, and she liked him too, but I think she was more a friend than anything at least on his part. She tends to be a little too snotty sometimes. I hear Ken McCartney is courting her now. He never talked her up at all. But you, he talks about you all the time to all of us."

  "And I bet it's not all good either!" Anna let that slip.

  "Nope, it wasn't. That's why we knew he was in love. A man don't always say good things about the ones they care about. They get mad, their emotions are involved. When a girl is just a friend, he'll put up with her and not say much. But when it's someone they care about; you can't shut them up. That's how he is about you."

  "But I'm so far from perfect it isn't funny. Some of my friends think I'm crazy." She admitted.

  "I know, and you should hear him take up for you around them. I have. I ain't seen him so passionate about anyone before in my life. And it tickles me."

  George obviously wasn't seeing things right, but she wouldn’t correct him. She liked him.

  All day they worked together and ate lunch together. George fixed the wheel and another man came in with a busted wagon axle and he fixed that. Anna had to admit she couldn't do every job here, and she was glad for the help.

  At the end of the day he sighed with a grin. "I've missed this kind of work."

  "Really. How long you been a horse wrangler?"

  "Twenty years. Started when I was real young. But I like this too."

  "I'm sure glad, because I really couldn't do it all like Mr. Pettigrew. I'll be the first to admit it too."

  "Well, all I can say is, for a woman, and a little one at that, you do darn good, gal." He smiled.

  "Thanks, but I'll be taking some flak from the women in town. They don't understand me. It seems I'm too different to suit the women here in Wayward. But I kind of figured out that I'm a bit different, come from a different mold. I always wanted to be like my sister. And we aren't a bit alike."

  "Mary?" He asked.

  "Yeah, you know her?"

  "Sure, I courted her some time back, but I think she was a bit too gentle for a guy like me. She was a pretty thing, like you. She's quite a bit older than you, though."

  "Yeah, I was one of those unexpected babies You know I finally figured it out, I'm not like her at all. I'm a little too rough around the edges." Anna blurted. 'I don't remember you courting her though."

  "Well, we just went to a picnic once and a dance, but it didn't take me long to see we weren't cut from the same mold so to speak. I hear she's got a youngun now and another on the way." George told her.

  "Yeah, she'll have a brood of them, I’m sure."

  George glanced at her and hurried on to the ranch.

  Before he put the wagon up, she asked him, "You gonna go with me tomorrow?"

  "Planning on it. The boss wants me to be there until Pettigrew gets back."

  "Doesn't he need you around here?" She asked.

  "He's got plenty of men, I'm just the overseer and don't do a lot of hands on work. I'm his second."

  "What does that mean?" She asked with a chuckle.

  "I do whatever he needs me to, when he needs me to. We work well together."

  "Sounds like it. Well, I gotta admit, I sure was glad you were there today. See you tomorrow then." She smiled.

  He nodded.

  Chapter Twelve

  When she went inside Melanie Finch was sitting in the front room with Joe. They looked as though they were immersed in conversation and Anna felt she had interrupted something.

  Melanie was such a lady, dressed regally in a beautiful silk lavender dress and hat, with her long brown hair falling over her shoulder, and big brown eyes that could capture the heart of any man, Anna felt like an animal standing there in her stable clothes.

  They stopped talking the minute she walked in.

  "Melanie, I'd like you to meet my wife, Anna Lee." Joe stood up.

  "Anna, how are you doing. I've known Anna for some time." Melanie smiled. "Congratulations on your marriage." She said politely extending her hand to her.

  Anna knew Melanie well enough to know she wouldn't be catty like Susan about their marriage. She was a real lady and a real threat to Anna's so-called marriage.

  Anna shook her hand and offered a smile. She felt so ill at ease as this woman was dressed nicely, and smelled good, and she smelled like hay and horse poop.

  "Excuse me please, I need to change." Anna moved to go upstairs.

  "Of course," Melanie chuckled.

  They continued talking for some time and when Anna changed into a skirt and blouse and came down, she didn't head for the front room but the
kitchen to speak with Maria.

  "Looks like we might have a guest tonight," Anna told her.

  "Uh, no, she left just a few minutes ago. Her fiancé came by in a buggy to pick her up" Maria told her.

  "Oh! Well, do you need some help?" Anna asked her.

  "You can put the plates out, if you like." Maria shot her a glance with a smile.

  "Okay," Anna nodded, and Maria showed her where they were.

  "You are not afraid of hard work, are you, Miss Anna. You work all day and come in and offer to help me. You are a going to make Joe a very good wife."

  "No, I'm not afraid of work. I enjoy feeling as though I'm doing something, especially these days."

  As she was setting the dishes on the table, Joe came up behind her. "So, how did it go today?"

  Anna whirled around and nodded, realizing he was standing very close, she grabbed her chest. "Great, George was a big help. Thanks for sending him with me. He fixed the wheel and another man came in with a broken axle and he fixed that too. He said you wanted him to come with me until Mr. Pettigrew got back."

  "Yeah, I didn't realize Pettigrew took care of so many odd jobs. You're going to need him." Joe said with a look of surprise.

  "I guess you're right." She nodded and went to get the tea glasses.

  When she came back, Joe had moved her plate next to his. "You moved it, why?"

  "Well, it might be proper to eat like that in the old countries, but how can we talk when we're sitting a mile away from each other."

  "You want to talk?" Anna asked.

  "Well sure, I haven't seen you all day. Why not?"

  "Fine." She nodded shyly.

  When Maria saw it, she smiled and filled their plates with another Mexican dish. It smelled delicious.

  "I was kind of hoping Melanie would stay for supper. I haven't seen her in ages." Anna told him. "It would be nice to catch up on things."

  "Well, Ken McCartney came to pick her up and they had some plans so I couldn't invite her."

  "You could have invited them both." Anna told him.

  He glanced at her and a twinkle in his eye caught her attention. "I didn't even think to. Guess I'm lacking in manners."

  "Ken McCartney, I don't recall him?" Anna said.

  "He's from back east. He moved here last summer, and they've been seeing each other ever since."

  "Oh, what does he do?"

  "He's a lawyer." Joe said quietly.

  "Oh, really. Here in Wayward?"

  "Well, he had an office in San Antonio but he's moving his office here now, so he can be close to Melanie, I'm sure." Joe offered. "It looks like they are getting pretty serious about each other. I'd expect a wedding invitation in the near future."

  "Does that bother you?" Anna asked.

  "Bother me?" he frowned. "No, why should it?" He looked a bit puzzled.

  "Well, you've known her longer than he has." Anna didn't look at him now. She'd overloaded her mouth again and she wished she could take it back.

  Joe stared at her now, "I have no interest in Melanie, personally. She's just my horse trainer is all. I happen to be a married man, Anna Lee."

  "No need to get angry, I just thought maybe you might have been interested—before he came, I mean. You know I really don't know much about your life the last few years."

  "I've never been interested romantically in Melanie. She's way to high-falootin' for me. If you think this ranch is something, you need to go see theirs."

  "Really, it's that good?" Anna's eyes grew large with surprise.

  "Very. Her father was an older man before he moved here and married her mother. He made lots of money, and they've invested their place into a showcase. They have bloodline horses from Kentucky. I have two bloodlines and they have about fifty."

  "I didn't realize. I guess I haven't kept up with everyone. So why didn't you invite them both to dinner."

  "I guess because he told me he had plans to take her to a theater in San Antonio." he frowned and threw his napkin down. "That isn't true either. I didn't invite them because he's a lawyer and I didn’t want you asking him questions about a divorce. Now if you'll excuse me, I got work to do!"

  "I'm…" she started to apologize but he stalked out before she had a chance to say anything.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks now, and Maria came in to take the dirty dishes. Embarrassed Anna ran to her room. She was tired, frustrated and confused about this strange marriage of hers. She couldn’t seem to say the right things and he was continually angry with her. She never thought he'd be angry with her, but he was. Perhaps he was totally disgusted with their marriage.

  She lay across her bed for the longest, crying.

  She'd misjudged the situation with Melanie. But she never dreamed what Joe was thinking. The lasts couple of days she'd been so busy, she had no time to think of the divorce she insisted she'd be getting.

  But it was on Joe's mind, obviously. Was he afraid the town would talk about him and her? Was he as embarrassed as she had been when she married him?

  She owed him an apology, and she was bound to make it.

  She dried her eyes and washed her face, then went downstairs. She went outside and didn't see him. She wandered about, then went into the barn. There he stood in the stall with Sally, brushing her down.

  Her heart turned over in her chest. He'd called her a nag, but then why would he waste his time brushing her down if he had no regard for her. She started to apologize to him, but he was talking to Sally.

  "She has no idea what I think or feel, Sally. How can I make her understand?" He muttered,

  "You're brushing Sally down?" she asked a bit surprised that he cared about the old horse. She moved closer and patted Sally on the rump.

  He didn't turn around. "Yeah, I went over to your folks place today and picked her up."

  "Why?"

  "Because she's your horse, and I figured you missed her."

  "I did, I talk to her too you know." She smiled.

  "Does she understand you?" he asked.

  "I think so, older horses listen better." She chuckled.

  He turned around.

  "It's nice to see you smiling."

  "I've been kind of grumpy lately, haven't I?"

  "A bit." He smiled at her now.

  "How are my folks?"

  "Quite well it would seem. Pettigrew is still there. He'll be there for another week or two, the docs orders. They ask about you?"

  "What did you tell them?"

  "That you were doing fine, taking care of the livery and all."

  "Thanks. Look, I-I'm sorry!" she said trying to hold her head up. "I misjudged you! I misjudged the situation. But in all honesty, I know nothing about your friends and how you feel about them. You don't seem to want to talk about them to me. Melanie's a beautiful woman and you work with her all the time. I have no idea what kind of life you led before we married, or who you cared for, and I realize it's my fault for not knowing you better before we married. Besides that, I was tired, and looked like some waif when I came in. I was a bit ashamed, she smelled like lilacs and flowers and I smelled like horse poop."

  He turned around and almost laughed. But he hid the laughter when he saw her distraught face.

  "Under the circumstances I could understand that."

  He stopped brushing her horse but didn't turn around again. Finally, when she didn't say any more, he looked at her.

  "Apology accepted." He said firming his lips.

  "Thanks," she whispered and started to leave but turned and glanced at him over her shoulder. "And I wouldn't have asked him about the divorce. Before I do anything, I'll talk to you about it. Fair enough?"

  "Does this mean you've put the idea of a divorce away?"

  "Well, I have to, I don't have the money for one. Unless you are in a hurry, then you could get it. I could repay you. It's up to you." She stood there waiting for him to say something.

  Now he was looking at her. "I don't believe in divorce, Anna Lee. I never did. I b
elieve two people should talk about their problems, air out their differences and work on the marriage. Despite us being best friends, we still have a lot to learn about each other."

  "Yes, I know that now. But you won't open up and talk to me about your life and what you feel about things. How can we work on a marriage that isn't a marriage? Everything I say, upsets you. Everything I do annoys you. How can we work things out?" She moved quickly toward the door and left before he could tell her how wrong she was about everything. She was always wrong. But what he didn't see was that she wanted the best for him, always.

  She had said she loved him many times, but he'd never said it to her. How could a marriage survive without it?

  Patience her mother had advised her. How long would it take to mend this between them? They could barely talk to each other and it was getting worse by the moments.

  Still a year ago, she'd have never apologized. Today, she had made strides to do right, no matter how much it bothered her.

  When would they get back to trusting each other, and being friends?

  Was his friendship what she wanted? Or something more? Since they'd married, she wasn't sure any longer. He'd never kissed her before they married, and each time he did, she reacted to the kiss. Didn't he see that, didn't he feel it?

  But suddenly he caught up to her and whirled her around, "I guess I misjudged you too." He said contritely. "Most women don't work as hard as you do every day. I should be a bit more understanding."

  "I didn't know for sure how you felt about Melanie. She's very sweet, beautiful and you are friends with her. I don't even know if we are friends anymore. We don't know each other very well, do we?" She said softly.

  "No, I guess we don't. We used to."

  "I'd never do anything to purposely hurt you. I thought you knew that much." Her face looked forlorn. "You should know that much about me, except, well, I did marry you on the spur of the moment. It wasn't fair, I realize that. I just figured a divorce would rectify the problems between us."

  "What do you think a divorce would do for me?" he asked in anger.

  "Set you free, give you a life, make amends for my selfishness." She said with tears running down her cheek. "The town might talk about you, but they'd get over it, and then you could go about your life the way you wanted. Everyone knows it's not you that's crazy, it's me!"