To Love and to Cherish (10 page)

***

The men were waiting for Jared when he returned to the kitchen. They didn't waste time getting right to the point.

“What did she mean when she said she was a partner?” Loomis asked.

“You know the banker turned me down for the loan I needed to buy the Herefords.”

“Yeah, but what has that got to do with her being a partner?”

“She's going to give us the money to buy the whole herd.”

“Where'd she get that much money?” Clay asked.

“Why does that mean she had to be a partner?” Nick wanted to know.

Odell asked, “How's that going to affect us?”

Jared knew he should have discussed this with the boys ahead of time, but as much as he liked them, they couldn't agree on anything without long and often strident debate. He had been afraid they would scare Laurie off or take so long she'd decide to invest her money elsewhere.

“Maybe you'd better put on another pot of coffee,” he said to Odell. “This is liable to be a long evening.”

“It doesn't have to be,” Loomis said. “I'm glad you found the money.”

“So am I,” Clay added. “Do you have it already?”

Clay always thought of money first and anything else later. “She'll give me the money when it's time to buy the herd. She's the widow of a very wealthy man, so there's no problem about where she'll get it.”

“If she's that rich, what's she doing cooking for us?” Nick asked.

“She refused to invest any money at all unless she got a full partnership,” Jared explained. “She didn't have enough money for that, so she agreed to cook and clean until she could make up the difference.”

“How is that going to affect our shares?” Clay asked.

Jared was reluctant to answer that question, but his men deserved the truth. If they decided to take their money and leave, he couldn't blame them. “It will cut into everybody's share. I know I promised you more, but this is the only way I can get the money to buy the herd.”

They sat in an uncomfortable silence as the news sank in. He hoped he could take their silence to mean acceptance.

Odell spoke first. “I don't think it's right for a woman to own half your ranch. Why wouldn't she agree to go partners on the herd? That's what we did.”

“I can't tell you that. I just know that those were her conditions.”

“I can't blame you for what you did, but why didn't you tell us about it?” Loomis asked.

“She turned down my first offer so there was nothing to tell. When she came back, I was afraid if I didn't agree at once she'd go away and not come back. I don't mind giving up part of my share. If we can get that Hereford herd, our profits will more than make up the difference.”

The discussion didn't end there. They covered the issues of being left out of the bargaining, their discomfort with a woman owning half of the ranch, and not wanting to see Jared and Steve lose part of their ownership.

“The whole setup was your idea,” Loomis said. “You decided which ranch to buy, made the purchase, and got us all out here. All we did was give you a little money.”

“I wouldn't have had the courage to do any of that if I hadn't known I'd been working with men I could trust with my life,” Jared said. “Your presence is even more valuable than your money.”

“That's not saying much in my case,” Odell said.

“Me, neither,” Nick added. “I'd have wasted it drinking and whoring.”

“I don't like her driving at night,” Loomis said.

“Neither do I,” Jared told him, “but she flatly refused to stay here. She offered to fix lunch and supper, but I told her breakfast was our most important meal. The only way she could do that was to get here early. I wouldn't let her drive in the dark alone, so Steve offered to stay at her house.”

“What good is that kid?” Loomis asked.

“He'd not as irresponsible as he appears,” Jared said. “And he knows how to use a gun.”

“I don't think he ought to be staying at her house,” Loomis said. “What are people going to think?”

“I doubt they'll think anything at all. He's still a boy.”

“I don't like it, either,” Clay said.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don't like it. So if you can come up with a better plan, I'll be glad to hear it. Now that the kitchen's cleaned up and the coffeepot is empty, I say we go to bed. We've got to start clearing the range of longhorn bulls. I'm not going to spend fifteen dollars a head for Herefords to have them dropping longhorn calves.”

“Is fifteen a head enough?” Clay asked.

“Probably not, but I'm hoping he'll be so desperate to get rid of the whole herd that he'll drop the price some.”

“What if he won't?”

“Then I guess we'll have to pay more per head.”

“Where will you get the money?”

“I don't know.”

“What will you do if she works here all that time and we don't get the herd?”

“I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Now unless you've got something that needs to be discussed tonight, I'm going to bed.”

The men grumbled, but they headed out, leaving Jared alone. It felt odd not to have Steve in the house, but the biggest difference was Laurie. All she'd done was fix supper and do a little cleaning, but already her presence seemed to have penetrated every corner. It was the smell of peach cobbler in the kitchen, the well-ordered neatness of the parlor, and the lack of dust in his bedroom. Even the smell was different. It must have been from the cleaning solution. Or was it from her perfume? He laughed at what a woman would think of a man who could confuse her perfume with her cleaning solution. It didn't say much for his knowledge of women.

He left the kitchen and went to his desk in the parlor.

Laurie wasn't like the women he was accustomed to. It wasn't just that she was a lady, or that she had money of her own. Though she was nervous about it, she was determined to establish her independence, and she wasn't afraid to run counter to some rules to do it. She had enough backbone to drive a hard bargain, but she wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

He wondered why she had bothered. She apparently had so much money she didn't need to work to support herself. And if she did need to work, she could have found other jobs that wouldn't have gone against people's ideas of what was suitable for a young widow. He had no problem with Steve sleeping at Laurie's house, but he was certain there were many who would consider any male above the age of twelve a danger to a woman's honor. They ought to be glad
someone
was looking out for her. No woman as young and attractive as Laurie should be alone. If he were her father, he'd be tempted to build a fence around her. A woman like that could cause a man to do crazy things.

Could cause crazy thoughts to chase each other through his head until he felt dizzy…and desperate. It was a good thing Steve was the one staying with Laurie. Jared was sure he couldn't survive a single night.

***

Naomi was on Laurie's doorstep before she could open the front door. “Peter, why don't you and Esther show that young man where to put the horse and buggy?”

The six-year-old boy and his twin sister ran up to Steve, both chattering at once.

“I can't believe they're the same children who came here after their mother died,” Laurie said to Naomi. “Colby must be very proud of them.”

“Colby is so proud of them he's silly sometimes, but you're not going to get me off track. I want to know every detail of your day at Jared's ranch.”

“It's not very interesting, but you'd better come inside and get little Jonathan out of the cold. You've got to be tired of holding him.” The baby was a year old, but he was big enough to be twice that.

“He's like Colby. Nothing seems to bother him. Now stop stalling and tell me what happened.”

“Come into the kitchen. I need to make some coffee to warm up.” Laurie kept her coat and hat on while she set about grinding the coffee beans and putting water on to boil. “There's not much to tell. Jared showed me around when I arrived, then left to join the others. I did a little cleaning, but mostly went over the house to see what needed to be done. I spent the rest of the time fixing supper. After supper was over, the men volunteered to clean up because Jared didn't want me driving home in the dark.” She poured the boiling water into a pot containing the coffee grounds. “I told you it was nothing exciting. Would you like some coffee?”

Naomi set Jonathan on the floor. “You're not going to get away with as scrawny a tale as that. How did Jared treat you? What were the other men like? Did they like supper? Can you trust that man who came with you?”

“His name is Steve. He's only a boy, but I can trust him.”

“He's got to be fifteen or sixteen. That's a man out here.”

“He may do a man's work, but he's still a boy.” She laughed. “He said I was so beautiful I had to be an angel. Would any man say anything so silly?”

“Hundreds would if they were talking about you. When are you going to believe you're a beautiful and desirable woman?”

“When I can forget years of being told my body was an affront to decent women.” She handed Naomi her coffee and picked up Jonathan. “What do you feed this child? He weighs as much as a calf.”

“If you ate as much as he does, you'd weigh as much as a cow. Stop stalling and talk.”

Laurie sighed and put the baby back down. He hadn't learned to walk yet, but he scooted across the floor on his hands and knees. “Jared was kind and thoughtful enough to leave so I wouldn't be uncomfortable poking my nose in their lives. The men are all ex-soldiers. They were a little rough on each other, but they were very polite to me and said the food was wonderful. They were even concerned about me having to travel so far each day.”

“I'm glad to hear that. Maybe one of them will escort you instead of that boy.”

“He would have to stay here so he could drive back with me in the morning. Jared couldn't afford to put them up in a hotel even if we had one.”

Naomi was frustrated. “Obviously that wouldn't work. Jonathan, stay out of that cabinet. You don't have to do this. I can talk to Norman, get him to change his mind.”

“Norman's not going to change his mind, and I won't have anyone begging him to for my sake. I intend to get everything that belongs to me one way or the other. In the meantime, I'm going to prove to him that I don't need his approval or Noah's money.”

“How will you live?”

“I have a little bit of money.”

“How? You told me Noah accounted for every penny.”

“Norman gave me twenty dollars.”

“That's not enough.”

Laurie grinned. “Noah kept extra cash in his desk. That's one thing he didn't put in his will. Besides, I'll eat my meals at the ranch. Steve has promised to cut enough wood to heat the house. That ought to give me enough time to figure out what to do about Norman.”

“You forgot to include what Jared's paying you.”

That was easy, since he wasn't paying her anything. “Yeah, that, too.”

Jonathan pulled himself up on one of the chairs.

“I didn't know he was walking,” Laurie exclaimed in surprise.

“He's not. His legs aren't strong enough yet, but he will be soon. I'll either have to tether him to a post, or get Peter and Esther to watch him. Peter's impatient with him, but Esther thinks she's his mother.” Naomi stood. “It's time to put the children to bed, but I'll be back tomorrow and every day after that until I'm satisfied you're safe.”

“The most dangerous thing I ever did was marry Noah, and I survived that.”

“You know what I mean.”

Laurie gave her cousin a kiss on the cheek. “It's sweet of you to worry about me, but I'll be fine. It's just a job. I go to the ranch, do my work, and come home. What could be dangerous about that?”

Naomi returned her kiss. “A lot, but I'm relieved to see you looking more energetic and less haunted. Maybe this will be good for you.”

“It will be. Now go find your children and send Steve inside. I want a fire.”

***

Laurie tried to calm her nerves, but the closer they came to Cactus Corner, the more tense she became. She and Jared were coming to town to buy supplies. When she'd handed him her list of what was needed, she'd said he didn't need her and could go alone, but Jared had insisted she come with him. He'd said he wasn't used to shopping for a household and would make so many mistakes it would probably require a second trip to correct them.

Despite the first days of spring being nearly a week away, the weather had taken one of its abrupt turns. The sun shone from a cloudless sky with such brilliance Laurie had left her coat at the ranch. She felt so warm she wanted to undo the top button of her blouse that buttoned under her chin, but she didn't dare. The blouse fit her body with unaccustomed snugness. She hoped the high collar and long sleeves would prevent her from appearing immodest, but the look Jared had given her when she arrived at the ranch that morning caused her to doubt it.

Still, she wouldn't have changed her blouse if she'd had the chance. After years of Noah telling her she was unappealing, she needed to feel desirable, to feel that men looked on her with approval.

“It's hard to realize Cactus Corner is less than three years old,” Jared said as they approached the outskirts of town. “They've done a remarkable job in a short time.”

That first summer they spent in Arizona had been one of unrelenting hard work for everyone. Colby and Naomi had organized the layout and building of the town, and Norman had paid for it. Many people still disliked him, but everyone admitted their success wouldn't have been possible without his help.