Much Ado About Mavericks (32 page)

“Sounds awful.”

He squeezed her against him.  “I guess in that way, it is.  But in other ways, it’s exciting.”  Kissing the top of her head, he continued, “There’s
heavy
commerce—trading—at
Boston
Harbor
.  Lots of
rich people can’t spend their money fast enough
.  I work in the law offices of Morris and
Graves
.  We only take the wealthiest of clients who are willing to pay a pretty penny for us to keep them on the right side of the law with their wheeling and dealing.”

“Figgered as much.”  She drew her legs up to her body.  “So what’s your house like?”

“Large.  You could put the Bar EL house in it three times.  I have a cook and a housekeeper.”

“What do you do with such a big house?”

He shrugged.  “Most of it’s closed off.  I was hoping to get Ma and Suzanne to
Boston
someday.”

“But?”

“But they don’t want to go.  Even now that Father’s dead, they won’t go.”

“You said it yourself, this is beautiful country.”

“Yes, it is.  And even more beautiful because you’re here.”  They sat still, listening to the roar of waterfall. 

After a few minutes, Jake said, “Ben, I ain’t thinking to hitch up with you just because we, uh . . .”  She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers on her temples. 

God in Heaven!  He hadn’t even thought of marriage, although it was the proper thing to do.  He had compromised her.  But then, it hadn’t been too clear whether he had compromised her, or whether it was the other way around.  What a woman.

“So what exactly is it that you do for these rich fellers in
Boston
?”

Glad for a change of subject, he answered, “Contracts and negotiations.  That sort of thing.”

“And that stirs up your juices?”

Not as much as you do.
  “It’s interesting.”

“So’s a skunk in heat, but I don’t wanna be around one.”

He combed his fingers through her long, luxurious red hair and took a deep breath of cool, misty air.  “That’s true.”  The silky strands stirred him, for sure.  “I’ve been thinking about that.  I might stay the winter.”  He shrugged.  “Hell, we should get married.”

She hopped to her feet and buckled her gunbelt around her hips.  “We best be moving out.”  Tossing his hat to him, she turned on her heel and scrambled over the rocks to the horses.

“Jake!” he called, but she didn’t look back.

An hour later, they were nearly back at the
Sands
Basin
camp.  Ben had cogitated on her strange reaction to his suggestion of marriage every single stride of the way.  Jake hadn’t uttered a word since he’d mentioned it.

At least the wind had died down and the temperature seemed warmer, although it was probably a few degrees cooler.  The ride would have been pleasant had it not been for Jake’s stiff demeanor.

“Jake, we have to talk about this before we get back to camp.”

She kept her gaze straight ahead and shrugged.  “Talk.”

“Discuss.  We both talk.”

“Say your piece,
Boston
.”

That pretty much said it all, he thought.  In one afternoon he’d fallen from the most eligible bachelor to the most despicable cad.  Still, he had to try.  “I think we should get married.”

“Why?”

Why?
  They’d just spent an afternoon making bone-melting love, the kind only two people who loved each other could have, that’s why.  “I thought, since what happened and all—”

“I just ain’t the marrying kind,
Boston
.  Get that through your thick skull.  I’m foreman of the Bar EL.  I’m starting a horse breeding operation on the Circle J.  You tell me when I have time to wash some man’s longjohns.”

“But we—”

“Had ourselves a little entertainment.  That’s all.”  She spurred her horse to a trot.

So she thought he was a tasty treat and that’s it.  Damnable woman!  But he didn’t believe her for a second.  Something was wrong and he aimed to find out what. 

He caught up with her and said, “My proposal stands.”

Chapter 16

Jake felt like a miserable fool as they rode into camp.  Hell, she knew all along that he
liked
her.  She cursed herself for her stupid mistake in thinking that he could love her.  And for doing the deed.  She’d gambled and lost, so she folded her cards.

“Jake!  Jake!” Teddy said as he ran toward her. 

She reined to a stop and dismounted.  The boy threw his arms around her legs.  “Come see Suzanne.”  He grabbed her hand and pulled.  “Whip made her a thing to put her leg on and now she can walk!”

She pointed at one of the cowhands, then pointed to her horse. 

He jogged over and took the reins.  “I’ll brush him down good.”

“Thanks.” 

Teddy pulled her behind the chuckwagon.  There stood the heifer, her back leg tied to two small boards with a little wheel on each side.

“She likes to eat weeds, but Whip said we was gonna rope her mama and milk her.”

The calf licked Teddy’s hand.  “She thinks you’re her mama now.”

“Garsh, Jake.  I can’t be her mama.  You gotta be a girl to be a mama."

“Her papa, then.”

He pursed his lips and nodded.  “I’m gonna make sure she grows up big and strong, and I ain’t letting no one eat her, neither.”

“That’s what cows are for.”

“Not mine.”

Jake patted the heifer on the head.  “I’ll bet she gives us a strong calf every year.”  She chucked Teddy on the cheek.  “You’re taking mighty good care of her.”

She left, thinking she’d talk Ben into signing a bill of sale over to the boy.  Hell, each of the strays ought to have a few animals to take care of.  They were old enough.

Whip waved a ladle at her.  “I shot an antelope today.  We’re having stew for supper.  Have a taste.”

Walking over to him, she sipped some broth from the spoon he held.  “Mmm.  Beats the hell out of beans.  Two weeks of beans every night gets damned old.”

“It’ll be ready in another hour.  I’m gonna let it simmer a while.”

“That’s because you ain’t baked the biscuits yet.”

He chuckled.  “There is that.”  He looked around and said, “I thought Ben went with you today.”

“He did.”

“Where the hell is he?  I got news from the supply wagon.”

“He’ll be around.”  She shrugged and walked off.  She’d paid no attention to where he’d gone and she didn’t care.  At least she didn’t want to care.

*   *   *   *   *

The aroma of the antelope stew wafted over
the cow camp
.  Ben breathed in a long smell, enjoying this stew like no meal he’d ever had before.  At least he could enjoy something—Jake had avoided him like he was poison oak since they’d returned from
Jump
Creek
Canyon
.

He took a bite, savoring the taste.  This was his second helping and he was fairly full, but he ate the delicious stew anyway.  Just as he scooped another spoonful into his mouth, he heard a wagon pull up.  He turned to see a carriage—Reginald!

Ben put his plate down and stood, wondering what the hell Reginald was doing here, and why he drove a carriage. He pulled the team to a stop, wrapped the reins around the brake, and hopped off.

“Ben, old fellow!  I brought you a surprise.”  He opened the carriage door.

Whip walked to him and shook his hand.  “You’re just in time for supper.  We got plenty.”

Ben gritted his teeth, but stayed where he was.  Why hadn’t Reg gone back to
Boston
with his sister?

Ben held his breath, watching Reg open the carriage door.  Out stepped Suzanne, giggling as Reginald held her hand.  Then came their mother, who immediately approached Whip, then stopped and smiled brightly.  “Good to see you.”

He nodded.  “Have something to eat.”

“I will—it smells delicious.”  Without looking around, she said, “Where’s my son?”

Whip motioned toward Ben, and Mabel hurried to him.  But not before Patience descended from the carriage like a queen visiting the commoners.

“She was supposed to be gone,” Ben growled.

His mother sighed.  “She wouldn’t leave without you, she said.  She’s redecorated the entire house in preparation for the wedding.”

“There’ll be no wedding.”  He watched Patience wave to him as if he’d be glad to see her.

“That’s not what she thinks.”

Just as Patience got to Ben, Peter Blacker rode in.  “Looks like we have some fine female company this evening,” he said, grinning at Patience.  He tipped his hat to her.  “Nice to see you, Miss Morris.”

Ben didn’t think so.  At all.  “Put your horse away, Peter, then help yourself to some of Whip’s antelope stew.”

Peter smacked his lips.  “Looks like this night will be a special treat all the way around.”  Again, he tipped his hat to Patience and rode away.

“This is no place for a woman,” Ben barked at Patience.  “Get back in that carriage and go back to
Boston
.”

“But Ben, the sun is setting.  We can’t drive the carriage over these primitive trails in the dark.”

True enough.  The horses didn’t need to pay for
her
folly.

“Sleep on the ground, then, and leave in the morning.”  He stomped off toward the creek, not caring where he went as long as Patience wasn’t there.  He figured one night of sleeping under the stars on a bed of sticks and rocks would send her back to town.

But, for some reason, she seemed determined to have him.  He didn’t know why—she couldn’t possibly love him.  Patience used people to get what she wanted.  More than likely, what she wanted was to be the premiere hostess in
Boston
.  With him at the head of Morris and
Graves
, she had a sure shot at becoming just that.

Equally determined to have Jake, Ben wandered to the creek and sat on the boulder where he and Jake had watched the stars.  Patience was everything Jake was not—selfish, spoiled, and greedy.  He hadn’t noticed any of those things in
Boston
, but this country seemed to bring out a person’s true character.

Had he
been as hollow as Patience the last eight years
?
  The answer didn't please him at all, because his only goal had been to gain status and respect
, and he
didn’t really give a damn about all those fat robber barons.  He wanted their money and their
high regard
.

He’d gotten them both, and too late, he’d realized that neither had done him much good.  All he had to show for all those thousands of hours of work was a narcissistic woman who relentlessly pursued him and a parsimonious boss who held his daughter as bait until Ben knuckled under.

Hell, there were other places for a lawyer to work in
Boston
.  Many firms had courted him already. 
But now he wasn’t interested in them, either
.
 

Dismissing
any more confusing thoughts,
he picked up a good-sized rock and threw it into the creek.  The deep
plunk
didn’t satisfy him any more than Jake’s rejection of his proposal.  Sighing deeply, he leaned back on the cold, hard rock and closed his eyes.

Sooner or later he’d have to go back to camp and see to his so-called guests.  He wished it could be later.

*   *   *   *   *

Patience tapped her foot impatiently as the bumbling men pitched her tent.  Reginald stood and wiped the perspiration from his brow.  “You’ll have to bear with me, sister, I’ve never done this before.”

She hoped he’d never have to do it again, at least, not for her.  Swearing she’d never set foot outside of a city again, she sighed, sat on a log and folded her hands in her lap.

Oh, what a destitute place!  She couldn’t, for the life of her, understand why Benjamin had waxed eloquent about his childhood home.  Only sparse, scraggly trees dotted the brown mountains.  The rutted, washed-out roads had jarred her nearly to the point of exhaustion.  No, not one thing could be called beautiful about this land—the scenery consisted of dirt, dirt, and more dirt. 

Dust settled on absolutely everything!  She shook her parasol, then sneezed at the flying dust.  Her hair was dusty, her clothes were dusty, and the people here protected their water like gold, so washing was rare.

Finally, a crusty old cowhand she’d heard called ‘Whip’ took one last swing at the stake.  “Done,” he said as he strutted off. 

The nerve of him!  Reginald would need much more help carrying her things into the tent. 

“Reginald, unfold my cot and put it in the back of the tent.  Put the wash basin on the side, and my trunk on the other.”