Count This Cowboy In (2 page)

She went out and climbed into her old Ford pickup and headed off toward The Crooked Elm and her first interview.

Two hours later she was thinking about the offer she'd gotten, while on her way toward The Babbling Brook.  They had offered her the job, but didn't have anywhere she could stay.  By the time she neared her next stop, she was hoping one of her other possibilities panned out. 

As she was going down a straight stretch of road she saw a small herd of cattle in a pasture by the road, acting awfully antsy.  She looked around in the pasture and spotted what was spooking the cows.  Down low in the grass was a wild boar!  She looked straight ahead of it and sure enough, it had its eyes set on a calf.  Sam pulled over to the side of the road and grabbed her gun from behind the seat.  She quickly loaded it as she got out of the truck and moved a little closer to the pasture.  Just as she got her gun aimed at the boar a few of the cows crashed through the wooden fence
and the boar took off after the calf.

With no hesitation Sam fired
and the wild boar dropped.  She ran towards it, getting close enough to tell it was dead, then took off back in the direction the cows had gone.  Luckily for her, when they heard the shot they ran to a nearby clump of trees and brush and stopped.  She was able to go around and come in behind them and easily herded them back into the pasture.  She was standing there studying the broken fence, trying to decide how to give it a good enough temporary fix to hold them while she went to find the owner, when a man came riding up on a horse.

She could tell he was a bit leery of her
and she didn't blame him a bit. 

"
Are you the one doing the shooting out here?" he asked.

"
Yes, I am.  I shot that wild boar over there in your pasture as it was taking off after a calf."

His eyes shot open wide as he looked in the direction she was pointing.  He saw the dead hog
and looking back at her asked, "And the fence?"

"
A few of the cows were antsy and when the hog got too close they went through the fence.  I got them back in, but I'm not sure how to fix the fence without any materials.  If you want, I can wait here and watch the cattle while you go get a couple boards and hammer and nails.  That'll fix it for now."

The corners of his mouth turned up as the cowboy said,
"I know we haven't met because I'm sure I would have remembered you.  My name's Joe.  I'm the manager here at The Babbling Brook.  Are you from around here?"

Reaching out to shake his offered hand, she said,
"I'm Sam Simmerly, nice to meet you.  From Texas originally, but I'm looking for work here.  Did you say The Babbling Brook?"

"
Yes.  That's whose cattle you just rescued.  Thank you for that, by the way."

"
You're welcome.  I couldn't just watch that feral pig take a calf.  Uh, I'm looking for a Ralph Morton.  Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"
Ralph's up at the house.  Just go down this road a little further and you'll see the entrance to the ranch.  What are you looking for Ralph for?"

"
I have an interview with him."

"
For a job?"

"
Yes."

Smiling, he asked,
"What kind of job?"

Smiling back at him, she couldn
't stop herself from saying, "Ranch hand.  Think he'll give me the job?"

Joe outright laughed before saying,
"Sam, I think you'd make a fine ranch hand, but there ain't no way in hell Ralph would hire you."

"
Why not?"

"
There's no way he'd have a woman ranch hand.  He's old school all the way."

"
Yeah, I figured as much.  Actually, as much as I'd like to be a ranch hand, I didn't think I'd ever get hired as one.  I'm here for the job as cook and housekeeper."

"
I'd say you've got a better shot at getting that, though you look more like a ranch hand."

"
I am more of a ranch hand, but I'll take what I can get.  At least this'll pay the bills."  What he said sank into her head then and she said, "Oh, my gosh, I didn't even think of that, though.  I probably should have worn a dress instead of my jeans.  Will that keep me from getting this job?"

Smiling again, Joe said,
"I honestly don't know.  I sure hope you get the job, though."

"
Why's that?"

"
You'd definitely add some excitement around here.  Can you cook?"

"
Of course I can cook.  Why?"

"
Because I usually eat supper with Ralph every evening and we discuss the ranch.  I'd have a ringside seat to watch you and Ralph butt heads."

"
What?  Why do you think we'd butt heads?"

"
Like I said, he's old school.  He thinks a woman should wear a dress and cook and clean and ––"

When he paused, Sam offered,
"And not open her mouth?"

Joe grinned as he said,
"Something like that, yeah."

She shook her head. 
"Joe, it was nice meeting you, but I'm wondering if I should even go talk to him."

"
Your choice.  Like I said, I'd love to have you workin' here, but I have to admit, I can't see you bein' real happy about it."

"
Well, I told him I'd come talk to him today and I keep my word, so I'll at least go talk to him."  She glanced down at her watch and said, "But if I don't get going, I'm going to be late."  Looking back at the fence, she said, "But since I probably won't take the job anyway, if you want to go get the wood you need to fix this, go ahead.  I'll watch the cattle until you get back."

He looked back at the fence a bit before saying,
"If you'll help me a minute here I think we can prop this back up with this log.  That'll last for a half hour.  I'll be back by then."

W
orking together, they got it fixed temporarily.  Joe said, "Thank you, Sam.  You go on up to the house and talk to Ralph.  If you're late, tell him you were with me.  Good luck."

"
Thanks," she said, smiling.  "Does that mean you hope I get the job or not?"

"
Not real sure."

They were both laughing as she got back in her pickup and went on down the road.  She saw the entrance to The Babbling Brook and went in. 
It was a pretty house off to the right, with the barn and buildings on the left.  She parked in front of the house and went up onto the big porch and rang the bell.

A big man, who looked anything but friendly, answered the door. 
"Yes?"

"
Hi.  I'm here to see Mr. Morton."

"
What for?"

"
I have an interview with him."

"
You're late."

Glancing down at her watch to see that she was eight minutes late, she said,
"Yes, I am and I apologize.  There were some cattle out down here ––"

"
I'm not much interested in excuses.  I want someone who can read a watch and be on time."

"
I'm sorry, sir, but there was a ––"

"
Again, not interested in excuses.  If you think you can be on time when you're working here you can come on in."  He moved out of the way and walked into the house, obviously expecting Sam to follow him.

She watched his retreating back a few moments, turned around and looked back toward where she
'd been talking with Joe and turned back toward the house.  "Excuse me, Mr. Morton?"

He stopped walking and turned around, looking at her.  He sighed and said,
"What?"

In a calm, level, sweet voice that was extremely difficult for her to maintain, she said,
"If I'm driving down a road again and see a wild boar about to attack an innocent calf, and cows so worked up they charge through a fence, I'm going to stop and do what I can to help the animals.  If that makes me eight minutes late getting here or anywhere else, I will apologize, but there's not much else I can do.  If that makes me not acceptable to you or up to your standards, I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable to me and I just don't think this job is up to my standards.  Have a good day."

She turned around to leave, but walked right into a solid mass of something.  That solid mass had arms that came out to steady her
and it appeared to be chuckling.  She looked up and saw Joe, smiling down at her. 

"
I see you've met Ralph," Joe said.

Mr. Morton was back at the door now and asked his foreman,
"Do you know her?  Do you know what the devil she's talking about?"

"
I just met her, Ralph.  I'll explain it all later, but in my opinion you should offer her a job as a ranch hand."  Holding up his hand to stop the objection he knew was coming, he said, "But I know you won't.  I don't think you two would ever get along with her as your housekeeper and I think it would be wasting her talents, so I think you two should part ways now, before either of you has time to get any more upset with the other."

He turned to Sam
. "I wish you luck finding a job around here.  If you need a reference, tell them to talk to Joe at The Babbling Brook.  Most ranchers around here know me."

Sam smiled as she said,
"Thank you, Joe.  I appreciate it."

"
Thank you for your help.  That hog and a few others have been causing a ruckus around here for a while now.  That was the big one and I'm real glad it's gone."

"
You're welcome.  Sorry I just let it lay there.  I trust you'll take care of it?"

"
I will.  I hope I see you around town."

Sam smiled at him as she climbed back into her pickup and turned around.  She waved at Mr. Morton, who was still scowling, now at both her and Joe
and headed down the lane. 

She
drove toward The Bar T, hoping to have better luck there.  So far she'd pretty much struck out.  She checked her phone, but was disappointed.  Still no call from Trevor at The Circle N.  That was the job that sounded best to her, but apparently he wasn't looking for anyone or he would have returned her call.

An hour and a half later Sam was leaving The Bar T, job offer in hand.  The problem was, she wasn
't at all happy with the offer.  They had an extra bedroom in their house she could stay in, but they expected an awful lot, in her opinion.  She would be fixing breakfast and dinner all the time for the whole family and lunch for just him during the school year, all of them in the summer and on Saturday.  She would also be doing all the cleaning in the house and laundry, as well as watching the kids at times when their mother was busy or out doing something.  She had the impression that would be quite often in the summer and on Saturdays.  She would have Sunday off, but would be expected to make meals on Saturday that just needed to be heated for Sunday.

With four kids, that sounded like an awful lot to ask of one person, especially for the salary they offered.  She
'd told them she wanted to consider all her options and would let them know.  Although she wasn't really considering the job offer at The Crooked Elm, she did have options.  She could always move on down the road a ways and try looking for work again.  But she liked this little town and she liked Sally and was hoping to find something here.  She had a lot to think about tonight.

As she was driving back toward town she saw a sign up ahead that said The Circle N.
She pulled into the lane and looked toward the house and barns.  The Circle N was a nice looking ranch.  She really wished he would have returned her call.  On a whim she went up to the house.  Maybe he never got the message.  What harm could it do to stop and ask?

* * * * *

Trevor Nottingham was sitting in his office staring at his computer, wishing something on it made sense to him.  He glanced outside at the sunshine and growled.  He had work he should be doing out there.  Heaven kn
ew he'd rather be doing it.  Even fixing fences beat this blasted office work.  But somehow he had to figure out why he got 144 pairs of welding gloves instead of 12 and he had to pay some bills.  He got a past due notice in the mail and he knew if he got one, there'd be more coming.  If only he knew how to work this blasted thing. 

Just as he had convinced himself
it was time to concentrate on the computer again he noticed a pickup coming up the lane.  He looked at it closer, but didn't recognize it.  Great.  One more thing to slow him down.  It was probably someone wanting paid for something.  If he knew how to work that darn computer he'd be happy to pay him. 

He watched as a cute little strawberry blond pixie slid out of the old pickup and headed toward the house.  She was cute as a button.  She looked like a gal on a mission, but she sure didn
't look like a bill collector.  He stood and went to the door, opening it just as she was raising her hand to knock.  He saw her jump and apologized.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.  I saw you pull in."