The Cowboy's Christmas Proposal

“Do you know the perimeters?”

“Yes, I do.” She led the way and gave a good description of each pasture. She’d listened avidly to her father’s talk at the dinner table. They came across several of the other cowboys already at work. Jake told her he’d talked to the men about the assignments they had been given before the past manager had left. “I told them to continue with what they were already doing until I figured out what I wanted to change.”

“Did they all agree with that?”

“Yes, they did. If they hadn’t, I would’ve fired them on the spot.”

“I see.” She didn’t really have an argument against such behavior, but she didn’t want to say so.

She was able to answer most questions he asked, though he didn’t ask many.

Around noon, Penny took her lunch out of her saddlebag and quietly ate as she rode. She was feeling the strain of five hours in the saddle, but she didn’t intend to ask for a break.

Fortunately, after she finished her lunch, Jake suggested they stop. They dismounted by a mountain stream that ran through the property. Jake told her to stretch her legs after she had returned to her mount, they both walked in the direction of a nearby stream. She took both horses to the water and let them drink. Then she took her apple core and broke it in half, feeding each horse its share.

Jake gave her a quick look when she returned. “What did you feed the horses?”

“They each got half of my apple core,” she told him, a challenge in her voice.

“Okay. Thanks for sharing with Apache. He’s particularly fond of apples.”

“So is Stormy.”

“Ah. I wondered about her name.”

As much as she dreaded mounting again, she turned to do so.

“Mind if we walk a little ways along this stream? I’d like to see how full it is.”

“All right.” She took Stormy’s reins and walked along the stream, grateful for the chance to stretch her legs.

Much to her surprise, Jake began talking about the use of this particular pasture, noting what he’d read in a ranching journal about the treatment in vogue among ranchers. She asked several questions, hesitant at first.

Jake answered each of her questions calmly, not changing his manner if the question was good or bad. Then he asked some questions about her dad and how he had handled certain things. Some questions Penny couldn’t answer, but she suddenly realized she might have the answers at home.

“I’d forgotten about it until now, but Dad kept a journal in which he recorded what he did each year. Then he could look back from one year to another. Would you like to take a look at it?”

“I’d like that very much if you don’t mind. I promise I’ll return it in the same shape it is now. I assume you value things like that.”

“Yes, thank you, I do. I haven’t had much time—I haven’t gone through their things yet.”

“It can wait if you’re not ready,” he said gruffly.

“No, I can—I’ll look for it tonight.”

“I appreciate it. I assume your dad’s ranch was profitable?”

“Yes, but I hadn’t realized how much until I overheard my previous manager brag about collecting fifty thousand dollars each year without my father even realizing it.”

Jake whistled. “That’s a hefty sum not to be missed.”

“I know. I can only assume that my dad trusted him completely.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. One of the things I’ll teach you is how to recognize things like that. I did a lot of the paperwork for Dexter—I mean, Mr. Williams, so I can show you how to check over your accounts.”

“Good. I’ll look forward to that.”

“Okay, I think we should mount up and get under way. I’d like to get back to the barn by dark.”

The walk had helped Penny’s legs. She didn’t know if the break had been for her benefit or not, but she had appreciated it.

However, five hours later, when they’d still only covered half the ranch, she barely managed to hold on to the saddle horn as they’d reached the barn. The men were already in the bunkhouse, so she didn’t have to worry about an audience other than Jake. She slid out of the saddle hoping she could hold on long enough for her legs to bear her.

Much to her surprise, Jake said from right behind her, “You can go ahead to the house. I’ll unsaddle your horse.”

“No! I—I’ll do it.”

“Penny, you did well today, but I know you’re not used to riding for so many hours. After you get used to it, you can unsaddle Stormy, but today I’ll do it.”

She took a brief look at his eyes. They were warm and brown and something in them told her to trust in Jake a little. The feeling made her nervous. Then she nodded. “Okay, thanks.” She forced her fingers to release the saddle horn and almost fell, but strong hands caught her arms. A tingling sensation ran the length of Penny’s spine and she knew that the day had tired her more than she thought.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, thank you.” She pulled away and stumbled to the gate and went through. Gradually the walking helped her legs unkink and she managed to get to the ranch house.

When she opened the back door, she was almost knocked off her feet by a wave of warm air that smelled so good. She made it to the breakfast table and fell into a chair.

“Long day?” Harriet asked, sympathy in her voice as she sat a full mug of coffee in front of her.

Penny didn’t answer until she’d had her first sip of coffee. “Oh, my, that tastes good, Harriet. Yes, it was a long day. And we only covered half the ranch. We’ll finish the tour tomorrow.”

“Maybe it will get a little easier as you go along,” Harriet said. “Do you want dinner now, or do you want a hot shower first?”

“Mmm, do you mind? I think I might enjoy the food more after a hot shower.”

“Of course I don’t mind. It’ll be ready when you are.”

“Thanks, Harriet.” She stood and left the room, taking her coffee with her.

Half an hour later, she sat down at the table for a delicious meal. She and Harriet chatted a little, but Penny was too tired to talk about much. However, when dinner was through, Harriet suggested she go to bed at once.

“I can’t. I promised Jake I’d find Dad’s journal. He’d like to see what Dad was doing with the pastures.”

“Can I help you look?” Harriet asked.

Penny took a deep breath. “Would you mind? It shouldn’t be that difficult to find, but—but I haven’t been in their room since—since they died. It might help having someone else with me.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Let me rinse the dishes while you rest. Then we’ll go up together.”