The Reluctant Bride (22 page)

He did feel responsible for her. He could wring Welt’s neck all over again. Hell, it was obvious she didn’t know what she was doing. Only a crazy woman would get on a stage and head off to a town where she didn’t know anybody and didn’t have enough money to survive more than a few days without a job. Why couldn’t women understand anything about the practical side of life? They knew every trick there was when it came to manipulating men to get what they wanted, but what they wanted was never anything useful like land, cows, or even a business. They always wanted pretty clothes, jewels, and a good time.

His woolgathering ended when he pulled to a stop before the ranch house and Welt stepped out on the porch.

“I’ll help you down,” he said to Tanzy. “It’s time you met the man who wrote those letters.”

Chapter Fourteen

“So you’re the man who thought Russ needed a wife,” Tanzy said when Russ introduced her to Welt. He looked a bit flustered but didn’t appear to be the shy type.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I must compliment you on the letters. You made life at the ranch sound good and your boss even better.”

“I was only telling the truth.”

“You can stop trying to persuade her I’m husband material,” Russ said.

“Then what’s she doing here?”

“Your boss decided I couldn’t leave town without paying what I owe him. Since the school committee has decided that a former hostess at a gambling hall is unfit to teach their children, I had to choose between working for Stocker Pullet in his saloon or working as cook and housekeeper for your boss. With Tardy to serve as my chaperone, I decided to take Russ’s job.”

Welt looked from Tardy to Russ and back to Tanzy.

“You intend to install a woman who refused to marry you in your house with a boy who should be in school as chaperone?”

“That’s about the size of it. Why don’t you give Tardy a hand with her luggage while I show her where she’s going to sleep?”

Welt muttered something that sounded like a curse and stalked off. Tardy threw a questioning glance at Russ.

“He’s always grouchy as a bear with a sore head.”

“Why don’t you fire him?” Tardy asked.

“Because he’s my best friend.”

The house was a log cabin made up of one long open space that appeared to be used for cooking, eating, and sitting around the fire. At one end was what appeared to be a storeroom, at the other was what she hoped was a bedroom.

“I haven’t had time to build a proper house.”

“Where do the men sleep?”

“In the log cabin I used to live in.”

“Where will I sleep?”

“In the bedroom.”

“It’s the only one.”

“You’re the only woman on the ranch.”

“It doesn’t seem fair.”

“Maybe not, but it’s logical.”

Tanzy had wondered about the wisdom of her decision nearly every mile of the extremely tedious trip to the ranch. Only by comparing Russ’s offer to working for Stocker or going to a strange town without money or prospects did it seem like a good decision.

“What do you expect me to do?” she asked.

“Cook two meals a day, keep the cabin clean, and wash some clothes once in a while.”

“Only once in a while?”

“We only change clothes when we smell worse than our horses.”

“You’ll change more often if you eat at any table I set.”

“Where do you want this?” Tardy asked as he entered carrying a suitcase.

“In the bedroom,” Russ said

“Where am I going to sleep?” Tardy asked.

“Are you sure you want to stay?”

“I promised Miss Gallant I’d take care of her.”

Welt entered and carried a box to the bedroom without comment. Tanzy could feel the tension in the air. “When do you eat supper?”

“Whenever you get it ready.”

“What about breakfast?”

“I like to be in the saddle at first light.”

“Who’s been doing the cooking?”

“Welt.”

Great. Not only did he dislike her because she’d refused to marry Russ, he was going to be angry she was putting him out of a job. This decision was looking worse by the minute. “How many people do I have to feed?”

“Seven counting yourself.”

“We got all the stuff in the bedroom,” Tardy announced. “Now show me my horse.”

“Ask Welt to show you,” Tanzy said. “Russ and I have a few business matters to discuss.”

“You been on a horse before?” Welt asked Tardy. “Do you even know how to saddle one?”

“Of course,” Tardy said, insulted. “I ride all the time.”

“You haven’t ridden until you’ve been on a horse that tries to buck you off every morning and spends the rest of the day trying to bite your leg off.”

Tardy blanched. “I’m not afraid of no horse,” he said manfully.

“You’d better be,” Welt said. “That way you might leave here with all your fingers.”

“Is it really that bad?” Tanzy asked as they left the cabin.

“Only if Welt puts him on the worst horses.”

“He won’t, will he?”

“You can’t ever tell about Welt. He was thwarted in love. He’s been a little crazy ever since.”

Tanzy realized it was probably too late to change her mind about the job, but she’d have to figure out a way to send Tardy back to his aunt. She refused to be responsible for the boy being maimed for the rest of his life.

“How long do I have to work?” she asked.

“You only have to work a month to pay me, but you’ll need cash when you leave. I’ll pay you for every day past a month.”

“Let’s settle for one month right now. If things work out better than I expect, we’ll talk about two months, but I’m definitely not staying after that.”

“Fair enough. Anything you need to know that I haven’t told you?”

“What do you do for entertainment?”

“We sing to the cows.” Russ suddenly grinned. “They’re not an appreciative audience, but we’re not good singers. If we get bored, we talk. Welt has some books he’ll share if you get desperate.”

“I won’t be desperate. I’ll be teaching you how to read.”

He looked surprised. “Running this ranch keeps us real busy.”

“You had time to ride into town before. Think of how much time you’ll save by my being here.” She wondered if his reluctance stemmed from not having told the rest of his cowhands that he couldn’t read.

“Would you be willing to teach two of us?”

“Two?”

“Tim can’t read either.”

“How about your other cowhand?”

“He reads fine. He went to some College back east for two years.”

“He went to College and he’s a cowhand?”

“He didn’t like being closed up, so he came west.”

“And neither you nor Tim asked Welt or the other man—”

“Oren.”

“—to help you learn to read?”

“You have to understand about a man’s pride.”

“I understand. That’s why my father and brothers are dead.”

“I don’t think Tim and I are that bad.”

“I hope not. Now why don’t you go rescue Tardy while I see what I can do with this kitchen?”

“What do you mean by bringing that woman here?” Welt demanded when Russ joined him at the corral.

“This was the only way she could pay me back.”

“Lie to yourself, but don’t lie to me,” Welt snapped. “You don’t give a damn about that money.”

“Okay. If you know so much, why did I bring her here?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. It’s like you’re trying to punish me for writing those letters.”

“If I wanted tö do that, I’d shoot you in the belly and watch you die slowly. Still might do it.”

“What are the other guys going to think?”

“They’ll be happy to see a face a lot prettier than yours at the table.”

“They won’t be happy to have that boy on their hands,” Welt said, indicating Tardy, who was trying to enter into a friendship with an uninterested sorrel gelding.

“I expect he’ll go home in a couple of days, but bringing him made it easier for Tanzy to come out here.”

“Why should you care about that?”

“Dammit, Welt, she was about to set off for some strange town with no money, no job, and no one to keep her out of trouble. I’m the reason she’s out here, so I’ve got to make sure she’s okay until we can figure out what to do with her.”

“I still don’t understand this crap about a feud.”

“You ought to. I just dislike Stocker. You want to see him dead.”

“She says you don’t respect her,” Welt said. “That shouldn’t have been hard to figure out when you make it clear to everybody you don’t like women. You’re still afraid they’ll turn out to be like your mother and sister. Which brings me back to my first question. Why did you bring her here?”

“I told you.”

“No, you didn’t. I hope she’s got hold of you somehow. It would be good for you to find out that not all women are like your mother and sister, but don’t go pretending you only brought her here because you’re doing a good deed.”

“She did get a raw deal,” Russ said. “First from me, then the school committee.”

“I knew something was different when you admitted to her that you couldn’t read. Seeing her, I can understand. She’s a beautiful woman.”

“I’m not in love with her.”

“Maybe not, but you care about her. I’m just trying to figure out how deeply.”

“Stop worrying about me and see if you can keep Tardy from killing himself in the next few days.”

“That’s something else,” Welt said. “When did you start taking in orphans?”

“Maybe when I saw myself in him. We both know how I turned out. He can stay here as long as it takes to make him believe he’s not worthless. Believe me, it’s not a nice feeling.”

Russ stepped into the corral, lassoed a horse, and began to saddle him. He didn’t need Welt to tell him Tanzy had her hooks into him. He’d figured that out days ago. What he couldn’t figure out was why.

He didn’t care about the money, so why had he lied and said she had to stay in town so she could pay him back? He had decided he didn’t want Tanzy in his life, so why had he brought her to the ranch?

Because he couldn’t help himself.

Damnation! He was just as stupid and helpless as any other man. What the hell was he going to do now?

“That’s an awful lot of food,” Tardy said to Tanzy.

“I’m cooking for five hardworking men and a boy with a hollow leg,” Tanzy said, bringing a bowl of steaming peaches to the table. “I don’t expect there’ll be much left when they’re done.”

“You want me to call them?”

“Where are they?”

“Outside washing up. Welt said they had to look decent now there was a female on the place.”

Tanzy wondered if her presence was enough to make Russ feel he ought to clean up some. So far he’d treated her like one of the hands, which didn’t set well with Tanzy. She didn’t believe she should be accorded special treatment, but neither did she feel she ought to be ignored. Russ hadn’t returned to the house, so she’d had to brave Welt’s sour temper to glean the information she needed to cook her first meal.

“Everything smells better than when Aunt Ethel does it,” Tardy said.

“You’d better call the men in before supper gets cold.”

Tanzy didn’t want to hear Tardy tell her again that he thought Russ was in love with her. She was irritated Tardy could be so blind, but she was also irritated Russ was ignoring her. She’d agreed to take the job as Russ’s housekeeper because the evil she knew looked safer than the evil she didn’t, but she was beginning to wonder if there hadn’t been a bit of female pique mixed up in there somewhere.

Russ’s reaction to her had been a strange combination of indifference and determined interest. She didn’t understand either. He didn’t want to marry her, but he had taken responsibility for her safety until she could support herself. He didn’t show her any special attention, but she’d been the first person to whom he’d confided that he couldn’t read. Even though he was now her boss, he’d agreed to let her continue to teach him. That involved her reading short writings that were very personal and unusually revealing, that in essence established an intimacy between them he didn’t share with anyone else. She had assumed that intimacy moved their relationship to a personal level. Apparently she’d been wrong.

She needed more time to determine the real nature of her disappointment, but right now it felt very personal, and that worried her. She liked feeling she had a special relationship with Russ through his writing, but she didn’t want it to be a relationship she needed for her happiness. That would make her vulnerable, defenseless, the pawn of a man who would treat her as property rather than as a partner. She’d seen what came of that and had no intention of letting it happen to her.

“Something smells mighty good,” an attractive young man said as he burst in the door with unruly enthusiasm and a smile that split his face from ear to ear. “I hope you got biscuits. I love biscuits, but Welt can’t make them worth a damn.”