When All My Dreams Come True (12 page)

“Go on, Bobbie. I’ll take care of this.”

“All right. If you insist.”

“I do.” She was nearly inside the barn when he dropped the bag, caught up with her, and touched her elbow. “Did everything go all right today?”

“Yes.” Her smile looked forced. “Annie and I had a great time.”

He searched her face, sure that something had happened in town that she didn’t want to tell him about. He veered toward the wagon and paused with his hand on the side rail. “Bobbie, most women scream when they’re frightened, but not you. Your hands went up.”

She took a step toward him. “That incident with your cows and the falling rocks left me a bit shaken, Jace. It seems someone is after you, and if that’s the case, who’s to say they wouldn’t also come after your ranch hands? I didn’t want to take any chances.”

He liked that she looked him in the eye the entire time she spoke. He nodded. “Completely understandable. I’m sorry I spooked you.”

“It’s all right.” She retraced her steps.

“Did Annie mention anything to you about Bible study tonight?”

“No.” She turned but held her ground halfway to the barn. “Why?”

“Just wondering if you might like to go?” Seeing her in that dress with her hair fixed up nice and no dust to mar her features was a sight he couldn’t shake from his head.

Bobbie’s smile spoke to him before her words. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

“Great. We’ll need to leave shortly after six thirty.”

“All right. I’ll be ready.”

He smiled and hoisted the bag on his shoulder, maybe too pleased she’d be joining them.

She’d disappeared into the barn but reappeared moments later. “Jace, I know you’ve set up a night watch to keep an eye out for whoever stole your cattle. You never told me when it’s my turn.”

“You don’t get a turn.”

He dropped a roll of wire inside the barn door and went back for more. With the answer he’d just given her, he expected a battle. The way she stood with her hands on her hips proved he would get it.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re a woman.”

Bobbie’s mouth dropped open about the time he saw flames leap into her eyes. “I’m a ranch hand, Jace.
Your
ranch hand.”

“You’re a
female
ranch hand, Bobbie. Protection for you will force one of the men to pull double duty, and I won’t do that to them.”

She crossed her arms in front of her. “I can take care of myself. I think I’ve proven that.”

“The answer is no.” He grabbed another roll of wire.

“But Jace, you know whoever’s stealing the cattle will need a fire if they do anymore branding. If I see a fire, I promise I’ll come back for help.”

He gave an inward groan.
Women!
His men would have accepted his answer and moved on. He shook his head. “I’m not going to discuss this any further with you, Bobbie. You’re not getting a turn.”

He started past her, and her mouth fell open again to continue arguing. He stopped next to her and leaned his face toward hers. “No.”

Without another word, she headed toward her horse. He hid a grin, certain Mack would either get a vigorous brushing or the ride of his life.

Evening settled in as Bobbie made her way toward town following the wagon at a comfortable distance. In her current mood, she didn’t feel like wearing a dress. Donning clean trousers, she decided to ride Mack and wouldn’t take no for an answer. She didn’t feel much like meeting with the townsfolk either. Convincing them she was glad to be there would take some good acting on her part.

Little Ben turned in the wagon and waved. She forced a smile and waved back, seeing Jace out of the corner of her eye do the same. He had insisted on riding horseback with her, which proved he didn’t trust her to ride into town alone. If only he could be as sweet as his nephew. Right now, he irritated her like a biting mosquito. She’d rather have the mosquito. At least then she could swat it.

An owl screeched off to the east where darkness touched the
scrub pines. Mack snorted and shook his head and she patted his neck.

“Easy boy. There’s nothing out here we can’t outrun or outsmart.” Tonight, holding her tongue would be her greatest challenge. She’d love nothing more than to give Jace an earful of what she thought of his chivalry.

Her musings came to an end when Mack stopped.

“Here we are.” Jace reined in his horse in front of a large, two-story house. He jumped down and tied his horse to Pete’s wagon.

Matt and Rebecca Cromwell’s home rested at the edge of town, far from the bustle of the Half Moon Saloon she’d heard so much about from the other wranglers. Bobbie twisted the reins in her hands as a wave of homesickness washed over her. Rose bushes just starting to say hello to the new season grew along the picket fence that circled the house.

“You coming?” Jace offered his hand to help her down. Her eyes met his. His expression looked as pleasant as the tiny purple flowers peeking out beneath the rose bushes. He didn’t seem a bit remorseful that he’d made her feel incompetent. She ignored his hand and jumped down beside him.

The front door of the house opened and an older couple stepped onto the porch as another wagon rumbled up to the house. Jace grasped Bobbie’s elbow and directed her up the path toward the waiting couple.

“Bobbie, do you remember meeting the Cromwells Sunday?” Jace made the introductions again, reminding her that Matt owned the livery.

Rebecca smiled and put an arm around Bobbie’s shoulders. “Not to worry, Bobbie. It’s hard to remember everyone at first.” Rebecca waved at the young couple that had arrived behind them. “That’s my oldest daughter, Amy, and her husband Mike Cowling.”

Bobbie nodded her greeting. Annie must have noticed Bobbie’s tension because she looped her arm through Bobbie’s while giving
her a sympathetic smile. A girl Bobbie guessed to be in her teens entered and led Ben and Sara away.

“That was my other daughter, Mandy,” Rebecca informed her. “She watches the kids during our study time.”

A burst of sweet, warm air tickled Bobbie’s senses as Rebecca opened the door and waved everyone inside. Brownies, or better yet, chocolate cake, she thought with a smile. She hadn’t eaten much for supper. Jace’s attitude had made her lose her appetite.

They all moved into the living room, and Pastor Robbins and his wife, Garnett, stood to envelope her in a hug.

“It’s good to see you again, Bobbie,” the pastor said.

Bobbie gave a self-conscious nod. “Thank you.”

Pastor Robbins continued the introductions. “Here we have our town sheriff, Morgan Thomas, and his wife, Beth. And next to them is Ella Ramsey, the Cromwells’ neighbor.” The pastor turned. “Last but not least is Cade Ramsey, Ella’s son. He works at the livery with Matt.”

Cade rose and Bobbie looked up, her mouth opening in surprise. He stood a good two inches taller than Jace and looked as though he could lift the horses he worked with in the livery. She took his extended hand, and for the first time ever, she felt delicate.

He flashed an even, white smile. “I knew I was saving this seat for a reason.” He motioned toward the piano bench where his Bible rested. “I just didn’t know that reason would be so pretty.” Cade picked up his Bible and sat on the floor beside it.

She wanted to laugh. He hadn’t saved any seat. Jace moved around her to take a chair across the room. With a defiant attitude, she lifted her chin. Sitting next to Cade would be a wonderful idea.

The pastor opened with prayer and then read from the book of Romans. Upon finishing, he asked for thoughts about the verses. Bobbie listened to the comments about never speaking badly of her enemies and the need to spend time with them, trying to befriend them.

In her 19 years, she never had enemies of any real sort. Once, a
band of rustlers tried to steal some of the Simmses’ cattle, but that hadn’t been personal to her, and Roy Simms told her it was important to love everyone, even those rustlers who might not believe a God existed.

She gazed at the faces of the people around her, stopping at Jace. Apparently, he had enemies, yet he hadn’t said a word about revenge. Did he take the cattle thefts personally? How would he handle it when he found out who was causing the trouble? His eyes met hers. Maybe he was mulling over those very same thoughts. He gave her a tight-lipped smile. She looked away as Cade made a comment.

“I think the important thing to remember is that Christians are to be an example of peace and love, not revenge and hatred.”

The hour sped by, and she was stunned to hear the pastor conclude by reminding everyone that it took commitment to the Lord not to let evil reduce them to evil. He closed the meeting the same way he’d started, with prayer.

Good-byes were said in haste because of the lateness of the hour. Jace and Bobbie reined their horses into a slow walk behind the wagon. Her mind scrambled to find a way to fill the silence and landed on Cade.

“Why isn’t Cade married?” she asked Jace. “He seems like a gentleman.”

“Oh, he’s a gentleman all right. He has the softest heart of any man I know.”

“Sounds like you two are good friends.”

“Been best friends for as long as I can remember.” Jace heaved a sigh. “He thought about marriage once. To a girl from school. But when she moved away with her parents without a backward glance, he doubted she felt the same way. We assumed she’d be back every so often because her aunt and uncle run the mercantile, but we haven’t seen her. He hasn’t been serious about another woman since.”

“I imagine there have been plenty of women interested in him though.”

“Mmm. So, Bobbie, what did you think of the study?”

“I really enjoyed it. Was Sunday’s service as good as that?”

He laughed. “The Sunday services are always good, but I like the Bible study better. It’s informal, and we get a chance to compare thoughts and ideas. We also get to dig a little deeper into the Scriptures.”

They moved on in silence, the drone of locusts surrounding them with an endless chorus. Jace cleared his throat. “Do you have any questions?”

She had been waiting all evening to tell him how she felt. “Who do you consider your enemy, Jace? I mean, do you think unbelievers are your enemies?”

“Anyone who is ruled by Satan could be considered an enemy to a child of God.”

“So, since I ain’t what you call saved, I’m considered one of your enemies?”

He remained silent for a time. Maybe she had offended him. Worse, what if he did think of her as an enemy?

“If you try to lead me away from God or do something that goes against what’s written in His Word, then yes, I would have to consider you an enemy. But we’re talking about a spiritual enemy, Bobbie, not a physical one. Do you understand the difference?”

She sat quiet and held the reins loosely in her hand, glad for the shadows that guarded her expression.

“I can’t see you very well in the dark, Bobbie, so I’m going to have to ask. You gave every appearance of being tense earlier. Are you upset?”

She snapped her head in his direction. “The way you order me not to help with this job makes me feel like your enemy, Jace. I don’t need you to look out for me. I can take care of myself. I think I’ve proven that in the last few weeks.”

“Yes.”

Was that all he could say? “If you won’t let me do my job—”

He reached out and grabbed her reins, interrupting her outburst and bringing them both to a stop.

“I don’t know how many men are involved in this, Bobbie. It could be one, or it could be a group. If they have men keeping watch, one of them could see you coming long before you knew they were there. I firmly believe these men would be much worse on a woman than they would on a man.” He cleared his throat. “They may do things to you, Bobbie, that they wouldn’t do to one of my men. I couldn’t bear for that to happen.”

His last few words came out just above a whisper, and her resolve weakened. Even in the dark she could tell his eyes were trained on hers, not more than two feet away. Horrible images raced through her mind. She thought she could take care of herself, but hearing Jace’s speech made doubts rise to the surface. She also had to admit he wasn’t acting any differently than her father or Roy would have in this situation.

“You’ll have to forgive me for trying to be a gentleman, Bobbie. My mother worked hard to instill that in me, and believe me, it was no easy task.” She heard him sigh. “I’d like to think my mother would be proud of the way I’ve handled the situation.”

She understood his stance, maybe even sympathized with him over the loss of his parents. His voice sounded so solemn. Her heart ached for him.

“I think I can safely say she would be, Jace.” She exhaled, and her fury drifted off on the wind. “Thanks for your concern.” She hoped her voice didn’t reveal the reluctance she felt saying those last words.

He grasped her arm. “I have no doubts about your abilities, Bobbie. I want you to know that up front. You also need to know that my employees are my responsibility, and I’ll do all I can to protect them. That includes you.”

He released her and walked his horse on ahead. She stared at the dark shadow of his back and lagged behind on purpose. He cared about his ranch and the people helping him run it. She could respect
that, but she could also shoot better than half of his men, and she was smart enough not to get caught alone on the range. Unless she wanted to drive herself crazy, she’d have to accept his position and believe his sincerity. Still, that presented a new problem. No man had ever treated her like a woman.