The Rancher's Bride

Her eyes on Pie’s tangled mane, she said, “I don’t have a wrangler. I’m it.”

Harlan couldn’t have been more stunned if Queen, his mare, had suddenly started bucking sky-high. This woman was taking care of several thousand acres of land and cattle on her own? No. He couldn’t believe it.

“I’m not saying this because I think you’re incompetent, but I just don’t believe…” He broke off with a shake of his head. “Surely you have help of some kind.”

She combed her fingers through Pie’s long mane, then patted his neck. The horse was her help, her companion, her very best buddy. These days she spent more time with him than she did anyone.

“Pie here is my help. And Amos my heeler,” she motioned toward the dog, waiting quietly at her horse’s hocks. “Believe me, he’s a lot better than a handful of lazy wranglers.”

He looked skeptically at her, the sorrel and the scroungy dog. “I’m sure he’s a good horse and the dog is no doubt trained to work cattle, but—”

“You don’t have a hired hand, do you?” she interrupted.

“Well, no, but my ranch is half the size of yours.”

She lifted her chin proudly. Not for anything would she let him know how exhausted she was by the end of the day, how weary she was when she rose before dawn to start all over again. Some days she didn’t know if she could take another step. But the idea of losing her home drove her on.

“It takes a little more effort. We have someone to cut and bale our alfalfa for us and of course we have to have a farrier over pretty often to shoe Chloe’s horses, but other than that we pretty much do things for ourselves.”

What would Tomas think if he knew how hard his daughters were working? Harlan wondered. And what had happened to get the place in such shape? Tomas himself? Or had his daughters high-rolled all their money away?

“I know last night you implied things were tight. I didn’t realize you meant—well, I hadn’t heard you’d let all your hired help go.”

If that was the case, then he probably hadn’t heard about the twins, or her father’s sordid affair that had produced them. Rose couldn’t help but wonder what Harlan would think of his old friend when he did finally hear the story.

Rose glanced pointedly at the watch strapped to her wrist. “Well, if you’re ready, I think we’d better see if we can find my cattle and get them out of here. This might take awhile.”

“Not yet.”

Rose cut him a glance. “Why? What are you waiting for?”

“Emily is coming to help. In fact, she should be here any time now.” He reined Queen up the slope. “I’ll go see if I can spot her.”

Rose followed close behind him. “Emily knows about riding and herding cattle?”

He shot her a dry look over his shoulder. “Emily was born on a ranch back in east Texas and she’s lived on the Flying H for seven years. Like you, she knows what it’s all about.”

“You taught her?”

“It’s just me and her. I may come up short at being a stand-in mother, but as her daddy, I’ve taught her all the things I could. That may not seem like much to you, Rose, but…” he paused and shrugged, “someday it might help her.”

The two of them rode on to the top of the slope, then pulled their mounts to a stop. As they waited for Emily to appear, Rose considered what Harlan had just told her.

Teaching Emily about ranching was as much or more than what Tomas had taught her. She’d hate to imagine what sort of shape she and her sisters would be in now if they’d been raised as helpless females. Still, she couldn’t imagine not having a mother’s soft hand to wipe away a tear, brush her hair, help her pick out a dress for the junior high prom.

Rose had been devastated when she’d lost her own mother a little over a year ago. But at least she’d had her love and guidance while she’d been growing up. Emily had been robbed at a very vulnerable time in her life. Did Harlan realize that?

Only a minute or two passed before Emily came riding up on a big Appaloosa. Like Rose, she was dressed for riding in the sun and the brush. A smile on her face, she appeared to be much perkier this morning than she’d been last night.

“Good morning, Rose. I hope you don’t mind me tagging along. Daddy thought I might be a help.”

Rose smiled at the girl. “I’m very grateful that you’re going to help. Since I don’t have any wranglers anymore, it’ll just be us three and Amos.”

The teenager stared at Rose in pretty much the same way her father had. “You don’t have help on your ranch?”

“Not right now,” Rose told her. “We’ve had to do a little cutting back.”

Harlan wondered what it cost Rose to admit to having financial problems. The woman obviously had pride and he respected her for that. He also respected the fact that she hadn’t given up. She was working hard to keep her home together. If she had caused some of the money problems on the Bar M, she was certainly trying to make up for it now.

Wanting to lighten the moment he grinned at both women. “Too bad, honey,” he teased Emily. “There won’t be any young cowboys for you to show off for.”

Emily groaned and tossed her head. “Oh, Daddy, you know I don’t like boys.”

“Not yet, huh?” he said, then gave Rose a conspiratorial wink.

Rose couldn’t remember the last time a man had winked at her. Feeling her cheeks turning pink, she quickly reined Pie away from him. “We’d better get moving,” she said matter-of-factly.

Fortunately the Bar M cattle were feeding on a patch of prickly pear not far from the pasture Rose intended to move them into. With Amos barking and circling the herd, it wasn’t too difficult for the three of them to bunch the cattle in a tight wad.

Because of the heat, they moved the animals at a slow walk. Even so, fine dust boiled high in the air and covered the three of them. Rose pulled a handkerchief from her jeans pocket and rode over to Emily, who was coughing and waving her hand in front of her face.

“Do you want my handkerchief?” Rose asked her.

Her face brown from the flying dirt, Emily grinned with appreciation, but shook her head. “Thank you, Rose. But you should keep it for yourself. I’ll be all right.”

It was difficult for Rose to believe this was the same girl who had been whining about washing a sinkful of dishes. So far Emily hadn’t complained about anything. In fact, she was working just as hard as Rose to get the job done.

“Then why don’t you ride up toward the front of the herd?” Rose suggested to her. “It won’t be as dusty up there. Your father and I can watch things back here.”

Emily nodded and urged the Appaloosa forward. “Thanks, Rose!”

Rose tied the handkerchief over her nose and mouth, then swung in place a few yards away from Harlan at the back of the herd. She was surprised to see he was watching her.

What was he thinking, she wondered. That all of this would someday be his? Well, thinking was as close as he was ever going to get, she silently promised. She’d sell every last cow and calf on the place and beg every bank in the state before she’d lose this ranch to him, or any man.

“How much farther?” he called over to her.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her forearm. “About a quarter of a mile. We’re almost there.”

He nodded and she noticed that unlike her and Emily, he appeared to be coping with the dust as though it wasn’t any more irritating than a pesky fly.

“I sent Emily up toward the front to get her out of the dust,” she told him.

“I noticed.”

He didn’t say more. Rose didn’t expect him to, but something about the expression on his face made her gaze linger longer than it should have. Suddenly his eyes softened and she felt at that moment it was just him and her against the world.

As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “We’re going to get through this, Rose. The both of us.”