The Rancher's Rules (6 page)

* * * * *

Rafe woke early, as he usually did. And then he felt it – something was wrong. He jumped up and ran straight into the bedroom.

She wouldn’t dare
, he thought, as he reached for the covers and yanked them back.

Pillows. And an extra blanket. Bunched up to look like a sleeping form. She would dare.

Rafe doused what was left of the fire, yanked on his boots and coat, grabbed his gun belt and plopped his hat on his head as he headed out of the cabin for the barn. He could still make out her footprints in the snow, so she couldn’t be gone that long. He hoped.

Rafe decided as soon as he was seated on his horse to head for Tom’s ranch first. Maybe she just wanted to get away from him; maybe she thought he meant to punish her again this morning. When he’d said “talk” to her last night, he had actually meant “talk.” He wanted to know why she was crying. He should have been clear on that.

But now he
would
have to spank her again. She still hadn’t learned that she just couldn’t do things like this – just pick up and go when she felt like it. She should have waited for him. He had told her he would bring her back to Tom’s today. That little girl was like to make him loco, he was sure of it.

When Rafe arrived at Tom’s, he headed straight for the barn to see if his horse was there. It was, along with Tom, Zeke and two of Tom’s other hired hands.

“She’s gone,” Tom said as soon as he saw Rafe. Those two words hit Rafe like a fist to his gut.

“She left your horse here with a note for me and another note for Jenny, and she took one of my horses.”

“I don’t suppose either one of them notes says where she’s headed,” Rafe said, mostly to himself. Tom shook his head.

“Why don’t we head for town – the tracks look like that’s the way she was headin’ – and, just in case, Zeke and Caleb can ride to the north a bit to make sure she didn’t go that way and get lost.” Tom looked at Rafe and waited for his agreement. He was about to ask if Rafe could spare the time to help him chase after Annie, but at the last second he thought better of it.

Tom already sensed that something had changed between Rafe and Annie while he and Jenny were gone. He got the feeling that now he was the one helping Rafe, instead of the other way around.

“We’d best get goin’ then.” Rafe was just barely able to control his impatience. While they talked, Annie got farther and farther away.

Tom saddled his horse and he and Rafe headed for town. Zeke and Caleb headed north, while Luke, the other hand who had been in the barn, went to tell Jenny what was happening.

“When did you get back?” Rafe asked when they were well on their way.

“Yesterday. Late.” Tom was focused on the ground, searching for any sign of tracks. He wasn’t seeing any.

“How was the honeymoon?” Rafe looked at Tom.

“It was fine,” Tom smiled, mostly to himself, as if remembering. “Real fine.”

They made the rest of the trip to town in silence.

* * * * *

When Will Jameson stepped out of the hotel onto the boardwalk, the sun was just beginning to rise. He had gotten into town late the night before, had a hot meal and a good night’s rest and was ready now to get to the bottom of things – things being whether or not his mail-order intended had deceived him and was living close by on the ranch of a man by the name of Tom McCallister.

Will was still kicking himself over not meeting the stage that day. It had been a last-minute change of plans that he lived to regret. He had planned to go himself, meet the stage and bring his mail-order bride, Miss Annie Walters, home. He had been eager to make her acquaintance and anxious to make her his wife. He’d been alone for too long.

But problems that morning with some of the livestock led him to send Teddy Cobb, one of his newer and therefore less valuable hands, to fetch Annie in town that day.

And he’d returned without her.

According to him, Annie Walters wasn’t on the stagecoach. Her twin sister, Jenny Walters, told Teddy that her sister had gotten cold feet and stayed in town two stops back. She planned to take the next available stagecoach back east. But there was another young woman on the stagecoach, although Teddy said she didn’t look much like a woman at all. She claimed to be Tom McCallister’s cousin who was meant to be Jenny’s traveling companion. Teddy believed them because, according to him, “She didn’t look like no one you’d want to take to wife.”

Something about the whole story just didn’t set well with Will. He could understand the cold feet. Any young woman traveling this far to wed a man she didn’t know was taking a big chance. However, in her few letters to him, Annie claimed to not have much of anything – money or possessions. How could she manage a return trip?

There were too many unanswered questions as far as Will was concerned, and he aimed to get himself some answers. If that other woman had, in fact, been Annie, then he was takin’ her home with him. If she hadn’t, well then maybe her sister could answer some of his questions to his satisfaction. He felt he deserved at least that much, given the money and time he had invested in Annie.

He intended his first stop to be the town jail to speak to the sheriff. The sheriff should know Tom McCallister and what kind of man he was. Plus Will didn’t want any trouble. He would be letting the sheriff know his intention to go to Tom’s ranch and take back his bride. After fetching his horse from the livery, Will made his way over to the town jail. He stepped inside and immediately put out his hand.

“Mornin’, Sheriff. Name’s Will Jameson and I’m lookin’ for a man named Tom McCallister. You know him?”

“Tom McCallister? Why sure, I know Tom.” Sheriff Cole stood up from where he had been seated behind a big desk drinking the first of many cups of coffee for the day. He shook Will’s hand. “He’s a good man. Fair, honest. One of our best citizens, I think it’s safe to say. What do you want to see him for?”

Will quickly explained his reasons to the sheriff for needing to pay a visit to Tom’s ranch.

“Now I do recall the day that stagecoach arrived with Tom’s mail-order bride and I also do recall that other woman.” The sheriff was scratching his whiskers and thinking as he spoke. “But I can’t say as I know for sure whether that was Tom’s cousin or Miss Jenny’s sister.”

“Then you can understand my reasons for wantin’ to find out for sure which way it is, Sheriff.”

“Of course, of course.” The sheriff then looked straight at Will. “I have no problem directing you to Tom’s ranch. As long as you can assure me you don’t mean to cause trouble there, ‘cause you’ll get none from Tom. If there was deception, I can guarantee he had no part in it.”

“I’m not lookin’ for trouble, Sheriff. Just my mail-order bride or some answers.”

“Very well, then. Let’s step outside and I’ll point you in the right direction.” With that, the two stepped out onto the boardwalk just as Rafe and Tom rode past on their way to check the stables for Tom’s horse.

“Well, whaddaya know,” the sheriff said. “That’s Tom McCallister right there. Tom!” Sheriff Cole called out to Tom and waved him over. Tom turned to Rafe.

“You head to the livery. I’ll see what Cole wants and catch up to you.” Rafe nodded in response. He had no intention of stopping to talk to the sheriff. He wasn’t wasting another minute.

Sheriff Cole quickly made the introductions and then let Will Jameson explain the rest.

“Annie
is
staying at my ranch,” Tom said slowly, “but she and Jenny both claimed that you rejected her on sight.” Will shook his head. He had just known something wasn’t right. And it was plain to see that Tom McCallister, true to the sheriff’s word, had played no part in it.

“I was never there that day,” Will explained. “I had to send one of my hands to fetch Miss Walters and he’s the one they deceived.”

Tom was shaking his head in disbelief as he listened. “I’d like to apologize to you on behalf of my wife, Jenny. You can rest assured that her behavior will not go unpunished.” Tom was not happy. “As for Annie, well, there’s a problem there.” Tom proceeded to explain to Will why he, along with his friend and neighbor Rafe Stanton, just happened to be in town this morning. With that, Rafe rode up to them.

“Your horse is at the livery and Annie took the early stage out. If we leave right now, we should be able to catch it.” Rafe was almost relieved. She hadn’t gotten that far. They would catch up to her and get her safely back to Tom’s ranch. Rafe’s palm was already itchin’ to give her the walloping she deserved for this wild goose chase.

But something wasn’t right. Tom wasn’t making for his horse.

“Let’s go,” said Rafe, as if he didn’t believe it actually had to be said.

Tom looked real uncomfortable. He quickly made the introductions, then turned to Rafe. “Will here needs to come with us. He can explain why on the way so we don’t waste any time.” Rafe just nodded. He didn’t understand, but something about the way Tom was acting told him that he would understand soon enough and wish that he didn’t.

Tom and Will then mounted their horses and the three rode out in the same direction taken by the stagecoach, with the sheriff shouting good luck after them.

Annie stared wistfully out the small window next to her seat on the stagecoach. She just couldn’t seem to shake the funny feeling in her stomach that she’d been feeling since buying her ticket for the stage. Every other time in her life when she’d had the urge to run away, and then had actually done so, she had always felt nothing other than elation and relief at her escape. Joy, basically. She felt nothing like that now. Something was wrong.

She’d bought her ticket and had plenty left over from the sale of Pa’s watch to keep her for a while, if she was careful with it – and she would be. Everything had gone smoothly at Tom and Jenny’s. She had slipped in and out of the barn unnoticed and made the trip to town without a hitch. In fact, the whole thing made Annie a little nervous. There was always a problem, small or large, and since she hadn’t encountered one yet, she just knew one was yet to come. It was the not knowing when or where that worried her.

In addition to the note explaining the horse situation, Annie had also left a letter for Jenny. It broke her heart to leave her sister, but she knew there was no other way. Jenny would understand and forgive her. And Annie had promised she would write and let Jenny know where she was and how she was doing. She just knew that Jenny would be happy with Tom and have a good life, the life that Jenny had wanted for so long, with a husband and babies. Maybe Annie would be able to come back and visit sometime, even. 

So was it because she knew she’d miss Jenny? She thought hard on that for a minute or two. Nope, that wasn’t it. Of course she’d miss Jenny. But she had also run before and left Jenny behind before. Nothing new there. Thinking about Jenny didn’t bring that feeling on.

Rafe’s stern face came to mind and, with it, that feeling, as strong as any kick in the stomach could ever be.
No, can’t be
! Annie thought.
I can’t wait to get away from him
! In fact, Annie knew for sure that if Rafe Stanton caught her right now as she was trying to run off, he wouldn’t hesitate to take his belt off and tan her bare bottom with it. Why, he’d probably do it right in the stagecoach!

He was overbearing and unrelenting in his discipline. He was harsh and unyielding. He was dictatorial and dominant. But then he was also tender at times and gentle, generous and kind, strong and fair. And Annie had never before in her life experienced anything like his kiss.

She loved him.

And what if she was wrong in thinking that Rafe wanted to be done with the responsibility of her? If there was a chance he might love her too...

That funny feeling flared up again at that very thought, hard and strong, and desperate. The stagecoach was moving away from Rafe Stanton and if she stayed on it, she might never see him again. Annie suddenly found the very idea unbearable.

She’d begun to reach her hand out the window to try to get the driver’s attention when the stage slowed down and came to an unexpected stop. Annie and one of the other passengers peered out the windows, looking for riders alongside them. Why did they stop? Were they being robbed?

The door on Annie’s side flew open and there stood Tom, relief pouring over his face at the sight of her. “Annie!” Tom sounded truly glad to see her. “Thank goodness we found you!”

Tom reached out a hand and helped Annie out of the stagecoach and onto the dusty, dirty ground; she felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth at her brother-in-law’s heartfelt pronouncement. He really seemed to care. It took some getting used to, still. Over Tom’s shoulder, Annie saw Rafe dismounting his horse, and there was another man too. She didn’t recognize him. Annie’s initial elation at seeing Rafe for the first time after realizing her true feelings for him quickly gave way to anxiety, confusion and disappointment when she saw the grim look on his face. Something was wrong.

Rafe was headed straight for her, and she was frozen to the spot. She took a quick, nervous glance around her; even if she tried to run, she knew she wouldn’t get very far. And Annie was suddenly surprised to realize that, for the first time in her life, the very last thing she wanted to do was run away. Tom stepped aside just as Rafe approached.

“You have some explaining to do, young lady.” With that, Rafe took Annie by the elbow and led her over to where the other man stood by the horses. “This is Will Jameson.”

At the mention of the man’s name, Annie’s heart plummeted and her insides twisted.

“Nice to finally make your acquaintance, Miss Walters.”

“I–I...” Annie stammered. She didn’t know what to say. She was caught and she knew it. And the worst part of it was that Rafe couldn’t seem to look at her. She looked from Rafe to Will to Tom.

“Annie, is it true that you and Jenny lied to Will’s man, Teddy Cobb, to trick him into thinkin’ you were someone else?” Tom looked disappointed.

Annie had to look at the ground; it hurt to see the look on Tom’s face. “Yes, we did.” Annie looked up then. “But, Tom, it was all my idea. I got scared and didn’t want to get married. Jenny didn’t want to lie, she did it for me. You have to believe me. Please don’t be mad at her.” Annie would plead with Tom all night if need be to protect Jenny. And it was true; Jenny hadn’t wanted to do it, but Annie begged her. She didn’t think Jenny should have to pay for her misdeed.

“I’ll take what you say into consideration, Annie, but it’s my decision how I’ll deal with Jenny. She has some explaining to do to me.” Tom turned to Will. “Rest assured, she’ll be punished for the deceit.” Will just nodded in response. Tom turned back to Annie. “And it’s up to Will here how he’ll deal with you and your lyin’.”

Will spoke up then, “I’ll handle Annie’s punishment once I get her home.”

At that moment, the stagecoach driver came over with Annie’s satchel. “I take it the young lady is not plannin’ on gettin’ back on the stage? ‘Cause if that’s the case, them other folks is anxious to get on the way.”

Will reached out and took Annie’s bag from the man. “That’s right, sir, she’s off the stage. Sorry for the delay.”

“That’s all right, that’s all right. Good luck to you folks, then. Ma’am.” He tipped his hat to Annie and made his way back over to the stagecoach, climbed up top and grabbed the reins. They started off, with the other passengers watching them through the coach windows.

Annie just stood in shock at Will’s words. He was taking her home with him. She looked at Rafe. “But... Rafe...” she started, but didn’t know quite what else to say.

He looked right at her. “You promised yourself to him. That should mean somethin’, Annie.”

“But... I thought...” She didn’t know how to say what she thought. She thought she loved him and she thought he might love her too. She thought he wouldn’t let Will Jameson take her away and make her his wife.

Rafe took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, then he turned his head and looked off in the distance at nothing in particular. He shook his head slightly. “I just can’t reconcile with takin’ what belongs to another man.” Rafe looked at the ground, then out at nothing again. Seemed like he didn’t know quite where to look. “Ain’t never done that in my life, and I don’t intend to start now.”

Annie could feel the tears starting as he spoke. Rafe glanced at her once, then quickly looked away. Annie’s tears could move him like no other woman’s had ever been able to do. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do what he needed to do, what he knew was the right and fair thing to do, if he saw those tears. He could not look at her again.

“It’d be for the best if you go with Mr. Jameson here, like you was supposed to in the first place.” Rafe was angry. He had never felt this way about any woman before in his life. Now he did, and he couldn’t have her. She belonged to someone else.

Annie continued to look directly at him, not wanting to believe him. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She loved him. She was sure of it. And she had let herself believe that he might just love her too. Now he wouldn’t even look at her. Annie felt her heart breaking.

“Annie.” Will spoke up then. “I think it best if we get on our way now. There’s still plenty of day left and we’ve got a bit of traveling to do.” He proceeded to secure Annie’s bag to his horse.

“You’ll ride with me,” Will stated firmly. Annie was in shock. This was all happening so fast – too fast.

“Can I say goodbye to Jenny?” she pleaded. Annie wanted to do anything to not leave. She looked from Will to Tom.

“Seein’ as you were on your way out of town, I’m guessin’ you already done that to your satisfaction.” Will then gestured for Annie to come over to him to mount his horse. He was leaving now and she was going to have to go with him.

Annie looked at Tom again with tears in her eyes. Tom truly looked sympathetic. He was a good man.

“You go on and get settled in and Jenny and I can make a trip to visit, if that’s okay with Will here.” Tom was trying to make Annie feel better. It did help to know that she would be able to see Jenny again. It didn’t help to know she might never see Rafe again.

“You’re both welcome,” Will conceded. “I’ve got plenty of room for guests.” With that, he walked over to Annie, took her arm and led her over to his horse, since she didn’t seem to be moving.

“You’ll need to learn to mind me,” Will stated quietly as he helped Annie up on the horse. She was still crying. Will settled himself behind her on the saddle, wrapping one arm around her, and picked up the reins with his free hand. Turning to Tom and Rafe, he tipped his hat. “Much obliged to you both for your help.” With that, Will clicked his heels for the horse to move and they were on their way.

Annie turned to look back, tears running down her face. She watched as Tom and Rafe mounted their horses and headed off in the opposite direction. She couldn’t make herself stop watching Rafe until she couldn’t see him anymore.

Rafe didn’t look back once.

* * * * *

It had been a little more than two weeks since Rafe had last seen Annie and he wasn’t feeling one tiny bit better about things. He had thought maybe if he focused on his ranch and worked hard from sun up to sundown, he could forget about Annie Walters. He really hadn’t known her for very long and she had given him plenty of trouble in that short time.

Rafe remembered how apprehensive he had been to even be responsible for her while Tom and Jenny honeymooned. She had seemed like nothin’ but an unwanted burden then. He told himself he should be glad to be rid of her. But he wasn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the way she sat a horse in them britches, lookin’ all tough and fearless. He couldn’t stop thinking about how she looked in the mercantile that day, the first time he saw her in a dress, with her hair done up, and how he thought she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. How she had made all the meals when they were shut in at his cabin from the snow and how, even if they weren’t talking, she was good company.

Rafe couldn’t stop himself from thinking about that kiss, right after the strapping he gave her – it was the sweetest kiss he could ever recall in his life.

And he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Annie’s face when she realized that she would have to go with Will Jameson. Rafe had wanted nothing more than to grab her, jump on his horse, take her home and never let her go.

But he had let her go. And now he didn’t know how to keep going.

He was leaning on the counter at the tack shop, waiting for the clerk to fetch something from the back storeroom. Rafe hadn’t been in town since that day he and Tom had chased down Annie. He needed supplies, but hoped he wouldn’t run into anyone who’d want to ask him about Annie, like Claire, for instance. He was avoiding the mercantile.

Another customer came in and approached the counter just as the clerk returned. The clerk wasn’t looking up and just started talking. “I believe this is what you’re looking for, Mr. Stanton,” he started, “but, if not, we can—”

“Stanton?” The new customer interrupted. “You wouldn’t be Rafe Stanton by any chance, would you?”

Rafe turned toward the man, feeling a little annoyed at the interruption. He really just wanted to get his supplies and be on his way. “Yes. I’m Rafe Stanton.”

“Name’s Ben Wilkes, Mr. Stanton.” Ben stuck out his hand and Rafe felt obliged to shake it. “My boss sent me here to deliver two things to you. One of them is this here letter.” Ben reached into the chest pocket of his jacket, pulled out a folded paper and handed it to Rafe. “He said you’re to read the letter first and it’ll explain everything.”

Rafe eyed the man suspiciously. “Your boss sent you. Who’s your boss?”

“Mr. Will Jameson is his name.” Ben smiled then. Rafe didn’t know what to think as he unfolded the letter and began to read.

Mr. Rafe Stanton,

Good day to you. The man delivering this letter to you is my most trusted hired hand, Ben Wilkes. I regret that I could not come myself, but sparing Ben is almost more than I can manage right now. I’m sure you understand, being a ranch owner yourself.

The day we caught up to the stagecoach and I took Annie with me, you stated that you could never take what belongs to another man. I appreciated your sense of honor as I share it with you. I have never taken anything that clearly belonged to another.

Which is why Ben is delivering this letter and also delivering one Miss Annie Walters to you.