And Here I'll Stay

by Rita Hestand

  When she did open her eyes, she moved away quickly, "What am I doing in here again?"

  "You went to sleep downstairs. You were exhausted again. You hardly moved all night."

  "How would you know?"

  "I watched you part of the night." He smiled.

  "Why?"

  "Kind of nice having my wife in bed with me."

  "I got to get to work." She jumped up, ignoring the fact that she was all tangled up with him.

  "I went to see Pettigrew last night." He informed her.

  "I know." She glanced down at him as he sat up in the bed. "Maria told me where you were."

  "He's a lot better, doc said a few more days and he can return to work."

  "That's good." She sighed. "He's really better?"

  "Yeah, sitting up in your bed, your mother feeding him well, your dad entertaining him with stories and stuff." He chuckled. "They are treating him so well; he might not want to leave."

  "I'll make him think twice about that. George and I both are worn out. He's got to get back to work and soon."

  "Oh yeah, about that. He didn't tell you, but he said you can't tell the customers you'll have it done by end of the day, but by the end of the week."

  She looked perplexed. "I don't understand, why?"

  "Because you are working your butts off, when that's not what he does."

  "What does he do then?" she put her hands on her hips and waited for the answer.

  Joe took a deep breath and looked up at her. "You gotta tell them you'll get to it as soon as you can, spread the customers over the week and have it all done by the weekend, not by days end. His customers are working the two of you to death. He said he started out that way too, but it wore him out, and he had to learn to not give a definite time when it would be done. But always by the end of week."

  "Why didn't he tell me that before?" she cried.

  "Well darlin' he didn't plan on getting sick. It just happened. He said to straighten them out fast as he couldn't keep up that kind of pace himself. They'd get spoiled to it and expect it of him."

  "I'm going to kill him when I see him." She huffed, then as she was heading out the door. "Is he really better?"

  "He's really better." He smiled, glad that she cared that much.

  "I'm glad."

  He chuckled.

  She went downstairs and Maria had her some coffee and lunch ready for her and George. "You are losing weight; you eat good today."

  "Thanks Maria, gotta run. See you later."

  "Take care," she told her.

  Joe came down a few minutes later and just before her and George left, he hollered at them, "Be sure and straighten them out."

  "Don't worry, we will." She frowned.

  "What was that all about?" George asked as he pulled out of the yard.

  "Well, it seems Mr. Pettigrew failed to tell me something."

  "Yeah, what?"

  "He never tells them he'll have it done by the end of day. He spreads it out over the week, with each customer so he's not rushed." Anna firmed her lips. "They are taking the advantage while Mr. Pettigrew is sick. We have to wise up and let them know we can't get to them all in one day."

  George laughed, "Well, at least now we know how he gets things done."

  "I don't know about you, but I'm dead tired this week." She complained. "Of course, when I took this job I promised not to complain."

  "Tell you what, I won't tell on you, if you don't tell on me. I'm tired too." he chuckled.

  They worked hard most of the day, but they told the customers to check back in a day or two on big jobs, that work was stacking up and they seemed to get the message. At lunchtime they sat down and ate two platefuls of Maria's enchiladas. "Man, Maria she's a good cook." George shook his head.

  "I'll say," Anna agreed. "I was so tired last night I didn’t eat supper. I miss cooking every now and then though. I used to help Momma all the time. It seems there is no work around the ranch for me. Nothing for me to do. I’m not used to that."

  "Well, you better eat, you don’t want to blow away."

  She chuckled, "My Momma used to say that."

  "You been to see Mary lately?" George asked.

  "No, haven't had the time. I saw her briefly at the wedding, but Mary doesn't linger long." She reminded him.

  "Next time you visit with her, tell her I said hi." George smiled.

  "I'll do that. You liked her, didn't you?"

  "Yeah, but we weren't that good together. I couldn't dance back then, and you know how she loved to dance. But that wasn't all. I chewed tobacco and she didn't like it. I also had a beer every now and then, and she didn't like that either. Her rules for men were just a tad hard to keep up with. I finally made her angry enough to tell me to get lost. But I can't say I didn't regret it a little, she was one fine woman."

  Anna put her plate down and looked at him. "Have you never married, George?"

  "No, like I say, I got my habits, and most women don't want to put up with them."

  "Were you sweet on Mary?"

  "I thought her beautiful, and quite a lady. But cowboys and ladies don't always mix too well. What's her husband like?"

  "Her husband is so boring." She sighed then looked at the surprised look on his face.

  "Did you ever meet him?"

  "Henry Thompson, of the Oklahoma Thompsons he would say. As though that were something to brag about. Mary liked the fact that he thought himself someone. She said it improves your self-confidence to speak as though you know more than the next man."

  "Never thought about it, seems like bragging to me. Sounds like he had a better pedigree than me."

  "He's from Oklahoma, kind of dull if you ask me."

  "Really, how?"

  "I don't know, he's too strait-laced. He doesn't do any of those things you just said. He's supposedly a cowman, but he doesn't dress like one. He dresses like a dude from up north."

  "And he's from Oklahoma?"

  "Yeah well, he's a college man, real educated and went to school up north somewhere. One of those fancy colleges. Studies on how to do things all the time. His nose is usually in a book. How you gonna take care of an animal if your nose is in a book?"

  "You don't like him?"

  "I don't really know him. He's not the friendliest of sorts. I guess I prefer men who are rough around the edges. I never was around him much. After they got married, they moved south of Camp Dallas. I haven't seen her in over a year except at the wedding. She writes about how well they are doing; how happy she is. I just can't imagine them together."

  "The say opposites attract. Maybe you should get to know him. You know you can't judge someone just meeting them once or twice. And being a bit different is something that should seem familiar to you." George reminded her gently.

  She blushed and considered his words.

  "I guess you are right about that. I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, they get along well. And the way this town thinks of me, I have no right to talk. But it really doesn't matter much, she's happy with him."

  "So, tell me, how do you like living on the ranch?"

  "I don't know, I haven't seen much of it lately." She chuckled.

  Then Susan walked in again. Susan was Joe's age but not as mature as Joe and she always acted as though she were a bit better than Anna. Still her family was no better off than Anna's and they'd gone to school together. But she was near tears today.

  "Something wrong?" Anna asked.

  "My horse died."

  "Died?" Both George and her stared with open mouths.

  "He was colicky, and the vet is looking after him now." She told them. "We're not sure what caused his death yet."

  "I'm sorry, is that the sorrel you were riding the other day?"

  "Yes, I've had her for three years."

  Anna draped an arm around Susan and hugged her, "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose a horse. When I lost Buttercup, I swore I'd never own another. But I bought Sally in San Ant
onio and I love her."

  "That nag you ride?" Susan burst out, pulling away from her.

  Anna's face went white then red with anger. How dare she talk like that.

  "Yes, the nag," Anna grit her teeth, and moved the rake she'd been cleaning with, with a thud. "So, what do you want Susan. Why are you here?"

  George didn't say a word; he went to fix a shoe on one of the horses.

  "I wanted to ask Joe if he had any mares, he wanted to get rid of." She blurted.

  "I'll ask him."

  "He's not here?"

  "No, he doesn't hang around the livery stable. He's got work to do on the ranch." She glanced at Susan strangely.

  "Oh, well, let him know I’m looking for a new horse."

  "Sure, I'll do that."

  "Thanks," she said and left.

  "What was that all about?" George asked when she left.

  "Dramatics, she's full of it." Anna told him. "That filly of hers was fine the other day. I can't imagine her dying so suddenly."

  "She's sure pretty." George commented.

  "The horse or Susan?" Anna chuckled.

  George laughed.

  "Yeah, she's pretty." Anna agreed. "If she'd take that nose down a notch a man might grab her. You know it's funny to me."

  "What's that?"

  "When we were in San Antonio, there were fine ladies dressed in beautiful clothes, but they smiled at you and said hello, they didn't have their noses in the air. I just noticed that Wayward is full of snobs."

  George chuckled, "Small towns get that way for some reason. I think it's because they are scared."

  "Scared? Of what?"

  "Of someone finding out they aren't somebody."

  Anna chuckled too, "Maybe you are right. The city women seem to mind their own business too."

  "You don't like her, do you?"

  Anna thought about that. "I must seem awfully inconsiderate to you."

  "No, you're right. When we have a drive and we go into towns, the big towns have lots of friendly people who will talk to you and not get nosey. But small towns are tight knit, and don't allow you to get to know many of their citizens. Don't know what it is, but it's that way."

  "Do you enjoy the drives?"

  "Nope, I'd rather be here, on familiar territory." He grinned.

  Anna huffed then realized she was being catty. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm a bit cranky. I guess I sound as though I hate the world today."

  "You need to get some rest, that's all. And eat more."

  "I will when Pettigrew gets back."

  They went to work again and along about five that evening three men walked in with horses that were rode hard. George kind of looked the men over. Anna didn't pay much attention at first, but the way George seemed to tense made her look at them once more.

  George brought her the horses as they said they wanted to leave them over night and to feed and curry them.

  Anna saw they wore long white coats, that were dirty, guns on their hips and their horses were give out. Two of the men looked pretty tough, the other was young and not as seasoned.

  "You might check the front leg on the bay, he was limpin' a little," said the tall man with a scruffy looking face.

  George waited until they were gone then looked at Anna. "I'm glad you had your hair tucked in." George glanced at her a minute, his tone a bit serious.

  'Why?" Anna looked at him strangely.

  "I don’t know." George stared out the doorway as they crossed the street to get something to eat. "Something about those men, doesn't look right. Those horses have been rode hard, look at the sweat on them."

  "Yeah, I saw that, maybe they are just traveling."

  "Traveling hard. Men don't ride a horse to the ground like that unless they are runnin' from something. So, don't let on you’re a girl around them, hear me?" George cautioned.

  "Alright, if you say so." Just the tone of George's voice told Anna to pay attention and do as he said. "You think they are running from the law or something?" Anna looked a bit big-eyed at him.

  "Could be. Could be they are here for no good too." George told her.

  "You gonna get the Sheriff?"

  "No, don't have nothing to tell him. But I can smell a rat pretty easy. They looked as though they used their guns a lot, and they rode hard into town. Those horses are worn out."

  Anna looked at the animals now and nodded. "Your right."

  "Just keep out of sight around them, if they come back, you hear me."

  She nodded. "You're scarin' me, George."

  "Well, just warnin' you to be careful. They won't be back tonight, I don't think. Probably drinkin' now. Put some feed out for them and we'll curry them tomorrow, they need to cool off first anyway."

  "Alright."

  She fed and watered them, and they closed up and went home. "You're right about their horses, they were really thirsty."

  "I'm gonna talk to Joe about this."

  George told Joe about the men as soon as he arrived, and Joe was concerned.

  "Did you tell the Sheriff?"

  "No, nothing to tell yet. Just horses that were rode hard."

  "Sill, I don't like the sound of it any more than you do."

  "Miss Anna might ought to stay home tomorrow though." George suggested.

  "Alright, I'll go in and work with you tomorrow. I don’t want you there alone, and I don't want her there at all."

  "Alright boss. See you in the morning."

  Joe nodded to him.

  Anna had gone up to change and came down all clean and pretty. She didn't look quite as worn out today and he was glad. He wanted to talk to her, but he still hadn't figured out what tack to take with her.

  "You're not going in tomorrow."

  "But why—" She asked a bit shocked.

  "Those men could be dangerous. George told me all about them and I don’t want you there."

  "But if they are, George will be in danger." She fretted.

  "I know, that's why I'm going to help him tomorrow."

  "Can't I come along; I'll stay out of the way?"

  "No, I don’t want you there. I won't allow it, and for once don't argue with me."

  She hung her head but realized he was only being cautious.

  He came to tip her chin up and smiled, "If they are gunmen, I don’t want you hurt. They probably didn't notice you were a girl, or you could have been in danger today. Men like that take what they want unless someone stops them."

  She nodded, "Alright, oh, I forgot to tell you, Susan came in today and said her horse died. She wanted to know if you might have one, she could buy."

  "Probably, but I'm not going to worry about a horse for her tomorrow."

  "You really think they are dangerous?" She asked him.

  "I don’t know. But if George seemed concerned, there's probably a good reason for it. He can sniff trouble. You don't ride a horse down like that for no reason. They are either running from the law, or up to no good."

  "Then you could be in danger." Her smile faded.

  He smiled, "I'll be fine."

  Chapter Fifteen

  After Anna helped Maria set the table she sat down with Joe.

  Joe took her hand and smiled, "I thought we'd start off with a little blessing. Do you mind?"

  "N-no, not at all." She replied a bit surprised.

  He blessed their meal and slowly let go of her hand.

  He glanced at her with a slight smile, "I want to talk to you after supper, so try not to go to sleep on me?"

  She looked at him, studying him a moment. There was a lot to like about Joe, for one, he was such a clean man, He always cleaned up before supper, and she got in the same habit herself. He also believed in God, and that was quite special to her, for she did too. "So, what do you want to talk about, I mean, is it important?"

  "Yeah, it's real important." He answered but didn't go into detail.

  "About those men?" She questioned.

  "No, about
us." His glance went all over her with interest.

  She blushed, "Oh." Her face flushed from the way he was looking at her.

  He saw she had tensed up and he wanted her to relax. "So, tell me, what happened to Susan's horse?"

  He often changed her directions of thought. "We're not sure. She said she thought it had the colic, but it got worse and died. If I remember correctly, that horse was still just a filly. Funny thing was, last week I saw her and there was nothing wrong with the horse. The Vet will probably figure it out. Do you have a horse to sell her?"

  "Yeah, Frisco, she's a pretty good filly and very healthy. If you see her, tell her I'll take fifty for her. I don't really like selling horses to her though."

  "Oh, any special reason?"

  Joe looked off, through the window for a moment, "Nothing I can prove, but it wasn't that long ago another one of her horses died, rather mysteriously."

  "You may see her before I do. She seems to drop around the livery a lot." Anna told him. "She thought you'd be there. Why I don't know, I told her you had a ranch to run. She sees you there tomorrow she might think I'm lying."

  "You sound a bit aggravated with her."

  "Do I?" she let out a muffled sound. Guilt riddled her again. She was aggravated with Susan thinking Joe hung around the livery as though he had nothing better to do. "Aside from the fact that I don't like her much, she called Sally a nag. She was standing there talking about her horse dying and then referred to Sally as a nag. Sally is a sweet old horse, and I love her to death, and no one is gonna talk about her like that."

  "You've gotten kind of sweet on that horse, haven't you?" He chuckled.

  "She's a good horse. Dependable, and gentle. She wouldn't win any blue ribbons or races, but she's a very good horse."

  "Oh, well, I guess Susan's gonna have to learn some manners then."

  "How come you never paid her much mind?" Anna asked out of the blue.

  "Who, Susan?"

  "Yeah, Susan." She rolled her eyes a bit. "She's sweet on you as if you didn't know, and she's beautiful. She dresses like a lady, and aside from being a bit uppity, she's alright, I guess."

  "Well for one, she's too high strung. Got a bad temper. And she gossips. That's what bothers me about her. I guess I'm a bit different than most men in one way, I don't judge a woman by her looks."