A Rancher for Rowena Read online

  A Rancher for Rowena

  Kansas Cowboys Book Three

  by Amelia C. Adams

  With thanks to my beta readers—Barbara, Bonnie, Dorothy, Cheryl, Joseph, Mary, Renee, Robin, Sandy, Shelby, Suzy, Teresa, and Theresa.

  Cover design by Virginia McKevitt

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  Don’t miss the previous books in the Kansas Cowboys series:

  A Wrangler for Wynonna

  A Handyman for Helen

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter One

  The Lazy Q Ranch

  Just north of Topeka, Kansas

  1877

  If ever in the history of the world a man had been confused by a woman, Billy Smits was that man, and he knew it. What had he gotten into when he’d asked Old Sully to send for a mail-order bride? The idea had seemed simple enough at the time, but once the girls had arrived, everything became much more complicated.

  So much more.

  All five of the girls were pretty, no doubt, but there was something about Rowena MacDonald that struck him to his very center. She had rich dark hair and incredible eyes. She wore a slight smile on her face like she knew something no one else did, and she made him feel like he was on top of the world and six feet under all at the same time.

  “Well, that’s nothin’ to worry yourself over,” Old Sully told him, tossing a wood shaving on the ground between his feet. Another long curl was quick to fall from his pocketknife. “All that means is that you’re in love.”

  “Bein’ in love feels like a stomachache?”

  “Pretty much. At least, as far as I understand it. You gotta remember, I don’t have a whole lot of personal knowledge about these things.”

  That was a little hard to forget. The sum total of Sully’s romantic knowledge came from dime novels, and those weren’t exactly the most reliable sources of information.

  “However,” Sully went on, turning his carving over and starting on the other side, “I know a heap more’n any of you flounderin’ boys, and to my way of thinkin’, you sound like you’re in love.”

  “Well, if this is what love feels like, it’s for the birds,” Billy replied. He stood up from the bunkhouse porch and stared up at the sky. The cabins they were building were nearly done, and once that task was completed, they could get back to regular living—taking care of the cattle, seeing to the needs of the land, and most definitely not getting distracted by the pretty young women who had come to live amongst them.

  Not distracted at all.

  “Those look like rain clouds to you?”

  Sully shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted. “Probably are. We’d better get a tarp on that last section of roof before it gets wet out here.”

  “If we hurry, we can just get the shingles on and be done with it. No sense in coverin’ it up once and then comin’ back later to cover it again better.”

  “You’re likely right. I’d be quick about it, though—it’s sunshiny now, but in an hour, it won’t be.”

  Billy stuck his head in the bunkhouse. “Who can give me a hand? It’s gonna rain pretty soon, and I want to get the roof finished first.”

  “Just throw a tarp on it,” Gallagher mumbled from his bed.

  “Let’s just get it done so we don’t have to come back and do it later. Come on—it’s time to get up anyway.”

  “I’ll help,” Abel said. He was already dressed, and he grabbed his boots from under his bed.

  “Me too.” Frisco put on his suspenders and tucked in his shirt.

  As the men were trickling out of the bunkhouse and into the bright morning sunshine, the breakfast bell rang, and they grumbled.

  “You mean we’re gonna miss breakfast for helpin’ you?” Gallagher rubbed a hand across his face, making himself look even grumpier.

  “You can go eat if you want. I just don’t see the point in waitin’ on this roof.” Billy nodded toward the kitchen. He wouldn’t blame the men if they were irritated—Miss Fiona’s cooking was the best they’d ever had. She even made scrambled eggs seem like a treat.

  “No, because then I’d be the one who didn’t help.” Gallagher dragged his feet across the ground as he walked toward the new cabins, looking like a condemned prisoner being led to the gallows, and Billy snickered. Some people didn’t like mornings very much.

  Billy climbed the ladder and positioned himself on the roof, then grabbed hold of the rope that was tied to his toolbox and hauled it up hand over hand. Ordinarily, Zeke would be the one up here taking care of this, and his eyesight was improving rapidly, but he still wasn’t quite up to regular tasks yet, so Billy was glad to help out. He was so relieved that his friend wasn’t permanently blind after all, he could certainly stand to pitch in during the recovery.

  Gallagher then tied the rope around a bundle of shingles, and Billy pulled it up as well. Frisco joined him on the roof, and they soon fell into an easy rhythm of placing the shingles and hammering them down. It would feel good to have this task completed.

  “Good morning.”

  Billy heard a feminine voice call from below, and a peek over the edge of the roof showed Rowena MacDonald peering up at them, holding a tray.

  “I noticed that a few of you didn’t come in for breakfast, so I brought you some coffee,” she continued.

  Billy meant to lift his hand in a wave, but instead, he fumbled his hammer, and it went flying off the roof and nearly struck Rowena right in the head.

  “Oh!” she gasped, stepping out of the way just in time.

  “I’m . . . I’m so sorry, Miss Rowena,” he said, scrambling down the ladder as fast as he could. “I didn’t mean to do that—honest, I didn’t. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Billy.” She chuckled. “I’ll tell you a secret—I used to play ball with the boys in my neighborhood growing up, and I’m pretty quick on my feet.”

  Now that he was standing right in front of her, Billy’s tongue felt tangled again. “That’s good,” he replied. “Let me take that.” He lifted the tray from her hands and set it on some planks of wood that were waiting on the sawhorse to be cut. “Mighty kind of you.”

  “Well, I figured, you’re building these cabins on our behalf—I can’t let you go without breakfast on our behalf too.” She flashed him a smile. “I hope you’re done by lunch. If you’re not, I’ll bring you something then, too.”

  Billy stood there and watched her until she disappeared back into the kitchen. Only then was he able to tear his eyes away and see what she’d arranged on the tray.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t thunk her right on the head.” Gallagher ambled up and grabbed a mug, then filled it with coffee from the pot. “That wouldn’t have been very romantic, would it?”

  “No, it wouldn’t. Believe me, I know how lucky I am.” Billy picked up a slice of toast and bit into it. If he’d hurt Miss Rowena in any way, he would never have been able to forgive himself.

  “No actual harm done, so there’s no need to dwell on the what-ifs.” Frisco had also climbed down from the roof, and he grabbed some coffee as well. “Let’s just get the job done so Billy will stop throwin’ all the tools around.”

  “I wasn’t throwin’ all the tools around,” Billy protested. “It was one tool, and I didn’t throw it. I dropped it.”

  “I’m not sure there’s a whole lotta difference. Are you, Frisco?” Gallagher asked.
>
  “No, I don’t think there is. Throwin’ … droppin’ … it’s pretty much the same thing,” Frisco replied.

  Billy’s face was as hot as he’d ever felt it. “Fine. Go ahead and tease me. You’ve got nothin’ better to do, I’m sure. Like . . . thinkin’ about your own girls, for instance.”

  “Ouch.” Frisco winced. “He’s got us there.”

  “We might not have girls to flirt with, but we also don’t have girls to throw hammers at and nearly kill,” Gallagher pointed out, and both men laughed.

  Billy shook his head and tried to look irritated, but soon he was laughing too. He couldn’t stay mad at his friends for long, and they did have a point, he supposed.

  They hauled another bundle of shingles onto the roof, and Billy paused to check the progress of the rain clouds. They were rolling in faster than he’d like, but the men were also making decent headway with the shingles, so maybe they’d make it on time after all. He’d throw a tarp over the rest if he had to, but only if he had to. There was a measure of pride to be taken in a job well done, and he liked that feeling in regards to his work.

  ***

  “I’m fairly sure that dropping a hammer on someone is a sign of their adoration and affection,” Fiona said, a smirk on her face as she wiped down the kitchen counter. “And in some far-off countries, it could be considered a marriage proposal.”

  “Oh, hush.” Rowena scowled at her friend. “It was just a hammer. Yes, it could have landed on me, but it didn’t. I’m just glad it didn’t crash into the tray. What a mess that would have made.”

  “Whereas landing on your head wouldn’t have made a mess at all?” Helen looked up from the bread dough she was kneading.

  “My head is fine. I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. Now, can we please finish clearing up breakfast? Gracious. I wish I’d taken my turn sitting with Margaret this morning so I could have avoided this whole thing.”

  “No, you don’t wish that. She and Cora are winding yarn today. I know how much you hate winding yarn.” Wynonna set down the tub of plates she’d just carried in from the dining area. “You’re better off here.”

  “Now that I think about it, yes, I would rather get clubbed in the head with a hammer than having to wind yarn. Thank you for putting things in perspective for me.” Rowena began taking the plates from the tub and dropping them into the washbasin that stood ready with hot water. Then she paused. “I’m really not a very good person, am I? I dislike taking care of children, I hate winding yarn—I’m not much use at all.”

  “Are those the things that make a person good—children and yarn? I don’t recall reading anything like that in the Bible,” Helen replied.

  “And we all know how I feel about sewing. If you’re a bad person, I’m right there with you,” Wynonna chimed in.

  “And I don’t care for the idea of getting married. My goodness, we’re just a bunch of terrible, terrible people. Cora might be the only good one out of the lot of us.” Fiona laughed. “Ladies, we’re in the wilds of Kansas now. We’re not living up to the expectations of the society we came from, or the families we grew up in, or the schools we attended. I think it’s perfectly all right for us to explore who we really are deep down, and if that means admitting to the world how very much we hate winding yarn, so be it.”

  “I didn’t even think about that, but you’re right,” Rowena said. “There’s no one breathing down my neck making sure that I’m folding my hands properly or placing my napkin just so. I could even leave my napkin on the table, couldn’t I? And no one would scold me.”

  “You’re so rebellious,” Helen teased. “I’m not sure I can associate with you. You might persuade me to do improper things, like using my knife when I should use my fork.”

  “I honestly can’t bear to hear another word!” Wynonna put her hands over her ears. “Such anarchy! Such horrors!”

  “Um, excuse me?”

  All the girls froze in the middle of their laughter and turned toward the kitchen door. Billy stood there, his hat in his hands. “I don’t mean to interrupt . . .”

  “No, that’s all right, Billy,” Fiona said. “We were just having some fun while we cleaned up. What can we do for you?”

  “I was comin’ to check on Miss Rowena and make sure she’s all right,” he said, looking at Fiona and not glancing Rowena’s way at all. “I’m not usually so clumsy . . . well, that’s not true. I am pretty clumsy, but I never meant to put her in harm’s way.”

  “I’m perfectly fine, Billy, but thank you for coming to check on me,” Rowena told him. “I was startled, but I know it was an accident.”

  He gave a nod, and the little curl that sat in the center of his forehead bounced the slightest bit. Rowena tamped down the urge to reach out and smooth that curl back with the rest of his hair, then wondered where that urge had come from. Certainly not from her strict upbringing, but after all, they were in the wilds of Kansas now, and anything could happen.

  “I’m glad to hear it. I’d best be gettin’ back now—the rain’s almost here.” He gave another nod, then disappeared as quietly as he’d come.

  “I wonder what the men think of us, the way we giggle and carry on when we think we’re alone,” Fiona said. She picked up a knife and began chopping carrots for the next meal’s stew. “I’m sure we seem like giddy little girls most of the time.”

  “We are giddy little girls. We just also happened to come across the country on a grand adventure.” Helen gave the dough a final pat and covered it with a clean dish towel to rise. “Do you think we’ll ever find out what happened to Miss Green?”

  “I doubt it,” Rowena replied. “She’s likely changed her name, set up another matchmaking office somewhere, and is taking money from other young hopefuls and ruining their lives.”

  “Oh, come on now. Our lives aren’t ruined, are they?” Fiona asked. “Wynonna and Jack have found love together, even if Jack hasn’t gotten around to proposing yet.” Wynonna made a face at that. “Helen and Zeke are blissfully happy, even though Helen is usually the grumpiest out of all of us.” It was Helen’s turn to pull a face. “And I love my work, even though it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had. Aren’t we happier than we were before?”

  Rowena had to think about that for a moment. “Yes, I think we are,” she said at last. “You and Wynonna and Helen, no doubt. It was myself I had to question, and yes, I can see your point. It’s just so very different from the life I imagined I’d be living by now.”

  “We all feel that way, I’m sure,” Fiona said. “But I like my reality better. My back is sore all the time, but I’m content because I’m making my own decisions. Wade told me I could cook up whatever I liked, and it’s been so much fun to try out my ideas on the men.”

  “They appreciate it, too,” Wynonna told her. “Jack told me how happy they’ve been since you came. When Ruth left, they thought they were eternally done for.”

  “They nearly were.” Fiona laughed. “Well, I’m glad I can bring a little salvation back to their souls.”

  The girls finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes and did what they could to help Fiona get ready for lunch, then they each went their ways to start on their next tasks. Yes, it was true that this life wasn’t what Rowena had imagined, but she was happy—much more so than she’d expected. There was something about Kansas—the wide-open spaces, the blue sky, the endless horizon—that called out to her and seemed to settle deep into her bones. It was almost as if this was where she should have been all along.

  Chapter Two

  Billy pounded the last nail in the last shingle just as the rain started to come down. He sat back on his heels and laughed, tipping his head to the sky and letting the raindrops splash on his face. “Talk about timing,” he called out to Frisco. “Let’s get off this roof before the lightnin’ starts up.”

  They got the ladder put away and then traipsed into the dining room, careful to wipe their boots before entering. They all knew how Miss Fiona felt about muddy footprints in her
dining room, and they weren’t about to do anything to upset her.

  She greeted them with a smile when they came in. “You’re a little early for lunch, but I’ve got some hot coffee right here.”

  “Thank you. That’s what we came for,” Frisco told her. “The rain’s a bit chillier than usual today.”

  “That’s too bad. I love a good warm rain.” She grabbed a couple of mugs and filled them up, then grabbed a third when the door opened again and Big Mike came inside.

  “That rain’s comin’ down pretty hard already.” He pulled off his hat and tossed it onto the table. “Afraid we’re gonna have a gully washer.”

  “What’s a gully washer?” Fiona asked as she handed him the mug.

  “A whole lotta rain all at once. Tends to wash out ditches, gardens—things like that.” He took a gulp. “I noticed you and the other girls were puttin’ in some vegetables.”

  “We got started the other day, but didn’t get any farther than some carrots. Do you think they’ll be ruined?”

  Mike shrugged. “No way of knowing. All you can do is hope.”

  “The hard rain’s good for the soil sometimes, though,” Billy said. “It can drive the seeds deeper and help them root better.”

  Fiona pursed her lips. “I guess we’ll see after the rain stops. I’m glad we didn’t plant more than that—I’d hate to lose all that hard work.” She headed back for the kitchen, and Billy noticed how Mike’s gaze followed her. Sorta like how Billy had been watching Rowena earlier, even if he didn’t want to admit it outright.

  “You got that roof done, I noticed,” Mike said, and Billy nodded.

  “Sure did. We didn’t get the pitch on before the rain started, but we’re all set once it’s dried out.”

  “Good. It’ll be nice to get everyone moved in and situated where they’re supposed to be.”

  “I bet you’ll be glad to get your cabin back,” Frisco said teasingly. “Sleepin’ in the bunkhouse when you’re the boss? Just isn’t fittin’.”

  Mike swatted his shoulder. “I’ll be glad to get away from your snorin’, but no, I haven’t really missed my cabin all that much. It’s sorta lonely at night when I can hear you all laughin’ together in the bunkhouse. The last little while, bein’ there with you makes me feel like I’m one of you again.”