A Marriage Made In Joeville

“That’s okay. I guess I’m not very hungry this morning.” The truth was Jenny’s clothes left little room to breathe, let alone eat. Now she knew why her friend had insisted on separate boxes for her loaners. Jenny knew Essie would never wear them unless she had no choice. As she piled on another dirty plate, she wondered when the little vixen had made the box switch.

Remembering where she was, she glanced around the table and caught Shane’s steady gaze. Was he trying to read her mind, or what?

This one would be hard to fool.

Her breath hitched at the back of her throat as she realized what this last thought meant. She wasn’t leaving after all. She piled on more dishes and exhaled. She’d come this far, why not give it a whirl? If for no other reason than to satisfy her curiosity. Who were these men she’d heard so much about? And Ryder! To think she’d held up this man as the standard for all others! How could she have been so wrong about him?

She made her way around the table and avoided Ryder’s face...as if he remembered she was even there. Except for the casual toast toss, he’d all but ignored her. She looked at Joshua, instead, who was spreading jelly...uh, preserves... and giving her a sympathetic smile. She gave him a small smile back, till suddenly she felt the muscles in her arms quiver from her load. Before she could make a fool of herself and drop the whole pile, she pushed open the kitchen door with her back and deposited the dishes next to the sink. Hannah went about her business, not looking up. Essie watched her a moment, then left for another load, mentally sizing up her situation.

Two friendly faces, one questionable, one crude, and one crusty old lady who she’d bet her bottom dollar had a soft side.

Essie filled her arms again and returned to the kitchen, deciding once and for all that she would stay and make the best of things. She’d come to Montana for another look at Ryder Malone. One bad first impression didn’t come close to answering all the questions she had about this man. Why, after all these years, was that large chip still on his broad shoulders? She stopped and stared out the back window at a pair of mountains aglow with the morning sun. And how could anyone be unhappy in a paradise such as this?

Before she could change her mind, she marched back into the dining room and stood next to Max. “If the offer’s still open, I’ll take it,” she said, watching the surprise register on his face.

With a wide smile, he pushed out his chair and grasped her hand in both of his. “We’re happy to have you, Essie. Would you like to see your room? You will stay here, won’t you?”

She looked around the table one last time. Shane’s face told her nothing, Joshua looked like someone just bought him a puppy, and Ryder was still shoveling it in, acting as though he hadn’t heard the question, or if he had, didn’t care. All the way out here, she’d prayed he wouldn’t recognize her. Now that he didn’t and the initial disappointment at his behavior had subsided, she wanted to whop him upside the head with a two-by-four.

She squared her shoulders and faced Max. “Yes, sir. I would. I’d love to stay here.”

Max patted her shoulder and heaved a sigh. “Great, Essie. Let me show you around.”

That was a first, Essie thought, leaving Max at the front door and heading for her car. In Detroit, she’d haggled over every merit raise, as if each nickel would make a difference. Here, she’d accepted a job without knowing how much it would pay, exactly what her duties or hours would be or even what her accommodation would look like.

She started down the bark walkway thinking her instincts had been right. The room had turned out to be a cozy little suite—a bedroom, a sitting room with a fireplace and her own bathroom. It meant the wages were lower than what she was used to, but what would she need money for out here in the wilderness? She paused and turned back to the log house that would soon be her home. Over the roof line she could see the matching pair of mountains she’d spotted earlier. She wondered how far away they were. They seemed close, yet...

“We call ’em the MoJoes.”

Startled, she swung around and saw Ryder, squatted behind the hand-carved sign she’d noticed earlier at the end of the walkway. He was toweling it off, of all things, fingering all the grooves. She took her time closing the distance between them, afraid what she might encounter this time.

“Mo, because we think they look like giant molars.” He continued cleaning the grooves, not looking at her. “And Joe, since they overlook the fair city of Joeville.”

Essie stopped alongside Ryder and read the oval crest. Arched across the top were the words “The Montana Malones.” In the center was carved a beautiful replica of the snow-crested MoJoes, their reflections mirrored in the painted blue waters below. At the bottom of the sign were the words “Joeville, Montana, founded 1876.” She wasn’t sure she was ready to engage this man in conversation, but since he had started, she trod softly.

“How did this area ever come to be named Joeville?”

Ryder eyed her before answering, then returned to his task. “My great-granddaddy’s name was Joe. He was the first to settle here and start the ranch.” He chuckled. “In school I got the idea to change it to Joe, Montana.” A small smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “Never made it official, but that’s what we call it now.”

Essie watched the sun play on his handsome face and remembered all those Friday-night football games. Without thinking, she asked, “Do you still throw a ball around...or go to any games?” She saw his face go rigid and, instantly, she realized her mistake. He looked at her sideways, the question taking shape behind his dark eyes before his lips ever moved.

“How did you know I played ball?”

She picked up a stone and skipped it across the small pond in the front yard, giving her heart a chance to beat again. “The trophy case in your dad’s study. I just got the tour, remember?”

Ryder pushed off his knees and beat more dust from his jeans. Out of the corner of her eye she could see he was no longer studying her. Now he seemed lost in another time and place.

“Yeah, trophies. He likes to collect ’em. Since he was never there, guess that’s all he has.” He ran his fingers through his hair, repositioned his hat low on his forehead, turned and walked to his pickup.

Damn. She hadn’t meant to awaken that demon. But why, if they lived under the same roof for all these years, hadn’t he and his father come to terms? With one hand on the door handle and the other holding his sunglasses, Ryder looked back at her and her chest constricted again.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you around, then...uh, what did you say your name was?”

She met his even stare, wondering if he truly didn’t remember her name or if this was another of his games. She imagined he played many. “Essie. Essie Smith.” She leaned a little heavy on her last name, watching to see if it triggered anything.

If it did, he masked it well. With his gaze still on hers, he slid his glasses in place and lowered the brim of his hat another notch. “See ya around, Essie Smith.”

His tone and grin were suggestive, leaving her breathless and angry, all at the same time. After the slightest pause, he hopped into his pickup, backed it into a stone-throwing arc, and tore down the road the way he’d come.

Two

Less than an hour after he’d arrived, Ryder drove away from the Purple Palace, eyeing it through a veil of dust in the rearview mirror, worrying again about Billy. The months ahead would be difficult, but somehow Ryder would find a way to ease the little guy’s fears. At last a plan had been put into motion that should help. At least he hoped it would—if mother nature and the attorneys didn’t ruin things before they started.

When he passed under the Malone arch, he put that problem aside and thought of another. In the month since his return home, he still hadn’t found his place in the scheme of things. He wanted to help Shane and Josh, but they’d each carved out their own niches, leaving him little but the scraps of daily errands. In part that came in handy, since Maddy and Billy needed him more than ever these days. Yet he missed the comfort of routine.

At the ranch in Helena, where he’d spent most of his adult years, he’d always known how he would spend his days. He had complete charge of the cattle and horses. It was a place where men looked up to him for direction, and women tried to compete with his dim memory of a young girl—a girl he’d thought was his only true friend. Oh, some of the women had succeeded in distracting him short-term. They’d strutted their stuff and he’d danced their dance. For a while. But something was always missing.

Ryder parked his pickup near the stables and headed directly for the corral beyond, the memory of this morning’s new cook niggling at a corner of his memory. There was a vague familiarity in the way she talked, or was it the sound of her voice? He couldn’t quite get a handle on it. Still...she didn’t look like anyone he’d ever met, either in Helena or Joeville.

Shane spotted him and waved his hat high above his head. Old Bucking Horse stood nearby, but he didn’t look up. Ryder sauntered toward them, knowing the old Crow heard him approaching. He heard everything, yet said little. Not exactly a fault in Ryder’s book, since he was a man of few words himself. He hitched his elbows up onto the fence and scraped the bottom of a boot on a lower rung.

Shane made his way over, running his fingers through his nearly black hair, then resettling his hat in place. “Looking for something to do?”

Yeah, something permanent that he could call his own, he thought, but he didn’t say it. He would wait. In time he would find his place. He pushed his hat back on his forehead. “Sure. What do you have?”

“We’ll be moving the cattle to summer pasture in a couple weeks. Could use some help on the fence out there. Got a few downed rails.” When Ryder didn’t jump on that one, Shane offered another. “Or you can help Josh with the Cat. He’s about ready to dig irrigation ditches for the hay, but the equipment’s been acting up.”

“I’ll give Josh a hand first, then see to the fence.” He scraped off his other boot and looked off at Buck working a horse around the ring. “There’s some new quarter horses up for bid in Billings. I was thinking of driving over tomorrow for a look...unless you want to handle it yourself.”

Shane regarded him for a moment, then turned his back to the rail and hooked his elbows over the side. “Nah. You go ahead. If you find anything, we could use about four.”

Ryder knew the significance of Shane’s trust. Horses were his first love—his and Buck’s. In the tradition of the Crow tribe, Buck knew his horses, and he’d always shared his vast knowledge with Shane. Their special bond had angered Ryder when he was a kid. Now he understood it was envy, not anger. Buck was the dad Shane had needed at the time. At least his brother had found someone.

Ryder studied Shane’s rugged profile, noticing the deep lines at the corner of his eye etched against wind-and sunbrowned skin. He closed his eyes and tilted his high cheekbones to the sun, looking as untroubled as ever. He was seven years Joshua’s senior and only three, Ryder’s. Ryder looked at his boots and turned over a few stones. Maybe if he’d been the mature son like Shane, instead of the rebellious teenager, he could have stayed at the ranch, too. Detroit may as well have been Siberia, except for that special friend of his....

“Well...” Shane pushed off the fence. “If we’re going to get anything done, we can’t stand around here working on our tan.” He started to walk away, then stopped. “By the way, what do you think of the new cook?”

Ryder flashed him his best bad-boy smile. “Many fine attributes...but I’m sure you noticed.”

“Yeah, I noticed. I also noticed she couldn’t keep her eyes off you.”

“Really?” This was news to him. If anything, he thought he sensed an air of hostility.

“Probably wouldn’t help any to encourage her, now would it?” Shane leveled a stern look on him that reminded him of their father, a look that set his teeth on edge.

“I think I’m old enough to handle my own affairs, bro.” He turned and walked toward the equipment bam, but he heard Shane’s muttered response behind him.

“Yeah, we’ve all heard about your affairs, little brother. Just don’t make this one another.”