A Rancher for Rowena Read online

  “Lanterns. Right.” He loosened his hold, but didn’t let her go completely. Instead, he looked down into her eyes. “You sure are pretty, Miss MacDonald.”

  She blushed a little, the shade of pink making her even more beautiful. “You’re just saying that because until we got here, you hadn’t seen a woman in a year,” she teased.

  “Not true. I saw women at least once a month goin’ into town.” He brushed his lips across hers, stepping back before he could get too caught up in the moment and pull her close again. “I’ve just never seen anyone like you.”

  “That’s because there is no one like me.” She gave him a grin, but then became serious. “Billy, can I talk to you about something?”

  “Of course,” he replied, leaning against the dining room door. “Anything.”

  “I know . . . I know we just started courting and that we haven’t progressed beyond that point, but I feel like I should tell you this before we go any further. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but earlier, I was watching Wade taking care of Margaret, and . . .”

  She was obviously struggling to speak. Billy reached out and took her hand. “What’s the matter, Rowena?”

  “I’m going to be a dreadful mother,” she blurted. “I’ll probably drop all my children on their heads and forget to feed them, and I’ll likely forget their names and call them by the neighbor children’s names instead. I’m just no good at children. I don’t even like them very much. I came all the way across the country to avoid being a governess. And you should know that because . . . well, if things do progress, it’s important that you’re aware.”

  Billy lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “That’s your deep, dark secret? If that’s the worst thing you’ve got to share with me, I’m not worried at all.”

  “You aren’t? But what if I leave one of them outside and it has to be raised by tame wolves because its mother forgot about it?”

  Billy laughed, resisting the urge to pull her close again. “I’ve seen it over and over again—when a young mother cow has her first baby, she instinctively knows what to do. She figures out how to clean it, how to feed it, and how to keep it safe. It’s the same thing in all of nature—mothers know deep in their bones what they’re supposed to do, and they also help each other with the tricky parts. Women are somehow built to support each other. You wouldn’t be alone during the tough times, and I’m sure that your husband—whoever he might be—would do the best he could too.”

  “Really?”

  “Really,” he assured her.

  “You’re pretty smart. You know that?” she asked, looking up at him.

  “I’ve just spent a whole lotta time around cows. Now, let’s go hang those lanterns before Margaret figures out we’re over here smooching instead of working.”

  ***

  By the time the carriages bringing their guests from town rolled onto the Lazy Q, the courtyard had been transformed. There were tables around the edges of the dancing area to hold the food, and their visitors had brought even more baskets of food to contribute. Rowena helped get everything organized and spread out, then she headed inside to slip into her party dress.

  Thankfully, each of the girls had brought a few fancier gowns with them from home. Since arriving at the ranch, those dresses had been tucked away, ignored and forgotten about, but now it was time for them to be brought out. Rowena’s choice for the evening was sapphire blue with dozens of flounces. She smiled as she put it on, wondering if Billy would like it.

  Wynonna’s dress was lighter blue, a shade of turquoise. It brought out her eyes, and after Rowena helped fasten the back, she grinned. “Jack won’t be able to stop staring at you tonight.”

  “He’ll need to start staring if he’s ever going to stop. He still hasn’t shown up, and I’m getting worried,” Wynonna replied.

  “I’ll ask Billy if he knows what’s going on, all right?”

  “Thank you, Rowena. Jack’s a grown man and he can certainly take care of himself, but it’s not like him to be gone for an entire day without saying something. He even tells me when he’s going to help mend fences.”

  “I’m sure everything’s fine. I’ll check with Billy as soon as we go outside.”

  Just as Rowena hoped, when she stepped onto the porch, Billy was there waiting, and he let out a low whistle when he saw her. “That does it, Miss MacDonald. You should wear that dress every day, no exceptions.”

  “Even for scrubbing floors and doing laundry?”

  “Especially for scrubbing floors and doing laundry. A woman as beautiful as you are should feel beautiful no matter what she’s doing.” He took her hand and kissed it, then held it while she descended the steps to the ground. He’d put on a nice shirt and jacket, and she threaded her arm through his. She was all too glad to show off the fact that he was hers.

  “Do you know where Jack is?” she asked, going up on tiptoe so she could speak in Billy’s ear. “Wynonna’s worried about him.”

  Billy grinned. “He’ll be along anytime now. Nothing to worry about.”

  She gave his arm a little squeeze. “All right. I just hope he hurries.”

  As they moved through the guests, Rowena spotted Mr. and Mrs. Brody from the hotel, along with Dr. and Mrs. Wayment. Some of the hotel waitresses were there, along with a few of the many Appleby daughters from the mercantile. She remembered that Alice Appleby had once shown interest in Zeke and hoped those feelings had been put aside—otherwise, that night’s gathering might be a little awkward.

  “Here he comes,” Billy said, and Rowena looked that direction to see Jack working his way through the crowd to Wynonna. He too was wearing a nice jacket, and he presented Wynonna with a small flower before holding his arm out to her. “Was she pretty mad at him for being gone all day?” Billy asked.

  “She wasn’t mad—she was worried,” Rowena explained. “They’re quite different.”

  “Well, it should all work out in the end,” Billy said, but he wouldn’t elaborate, even when Rowena asked him to.

  Cora took a seat at the piano and began a nice assortment of music that was pleasant to listen to while eating. As they’d discussed. the door to the house was left open so the music could be heard outside. Rowena had no idea Cora was so talented—the girl could have performed professionally, and Rowena wondered if that had ever been an option.

  After a few minutes, there was a murmur of voices, and Rowena turned to see Sully walking through the crowd, leading a little palomino pony by the bridle. Everyone parted to make room for it. The animal had been brushed until it gleamed in the setting sun.

  “Oh, what a pretty horse,” Rowena said. “But why did Sully bring it to the party?”

  “Maybe it’s his date?” Frisco suggested, suddenly appearing at her elbow.

  She shook her head with a grin to let him know that while his joke was funny, it wasn’t in the best taste. Frisco never seemed to worry about things like that, though.

  Sully walked through the crowd until he reached Jack and Wynonna, then handed the bridle to Jack and stepped off to the side. Jack mounted the porch steps, tugging on Wynonna’s hand until she went with him. It was plain to see that she had no idea what was going on.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Jack called out to get everyone’s attention, even though the horse had done a good job of that already, “would you please gather around?”

  Cora stopped playing. Rowena squeezed Billy’s arm a little tighter. She knew what was coming—it had to be the proposal. If it wasn’t, mild-mannered Wynonna just might grab a pitchfork and chase Jack all over the yard with it.

  Jack cleared his throat. “As most of you know, I’m in charge of the horses out here on the ranch. We always want our horses in top condition, so I only buy from the best breeders. This morning, Sully and I rode over to the Circle G and picked up this beauty, but she’s not for the ranch. She’s for you.” He turned to Wynonna and handed her the bridle.

  Wynonna looked utterly floored. “She’s so prett
y,” she finally managed to say.

  “Oh, and here are her papers,” Jack said, handing them over as well.

  Wynonna glanced at them, then took another look. “I . . . I don’t understand,” she said.

  Jack chuckled. “Well, let me help.” He took the top sheet back. “That one doesn’t have anything to do with the purchase of the horse. It’s from me.” He held it a little higher and began to read, emphasizing certain words as he spoke.

  “Dear Wynonna, you make my heart gallop. Ever since you came into my life, it’s been more stable. I’m sorry if my voice sounds a little horse, but I’ve had to pony up the courage to say everything in my heart. Let’s ignore the neigh-sayers and make this official. Will you mare-y me?”

  He lowered the page and looked at her expectantly.

  She looked from him to the horse, then back to him again. “Did you just propose to me with a long list of horse puns?” she asked.

  “Yes, yes, I did,” he replied.

  She glanced around as though not sure what to do. Rowena all but held her breath. She thought the idea was clever—didn’t Wynonna like it?

  Finally, Wynonna said, “I’m sorry for stalling like that. I didn’t mean to give you the colt shoulder. It’s a little hard for me to rein in my emotions right now, but yes, I’ll mare-y you.”

  Everyone burst into applause, and Rowena realized that Wynonna’s hesitation had only been to come up with the right words—the right ridiculous words. She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

  Cora started up the music again. Jack and Wynonna handed the pony off to Sully and then moved through the crowd, accepting everyone’s congratulations. When they reached Zeke and Helen, Zeke said good-naturedly, “I thought this party was to celebrate our engagement.”

  “And I thought it was to give Margaret something to do so she wouldn’t go mad with boredom,” Helen replied.

  Jack laughed. “Sorry, Zeke. I didn’t mean to steal your attention. I just wanted to do something special to show this woman how much she means to me.” He wrapped his arm around Wynonna’s shoulders. “Nothing ordinary would do.”

  “Yes, that certainly was out of the ordinary,” Wynonna said, her tone dry. Then she kissed him on the cheek. “I loved it.”

  They soon moved off, leaving Rowena and Billy alone again. “That was so sweet,” Rowena said, nodding toward the disappearing couple. “You knew about that?”

  “I knew they were going to get the horse. I didn’t know about the rest of it.” Billy chuckled. “I might have tried to talk Jack out of it otherwise.”

  Rowena laughed. “Come out on the dance floor with me. Let’s try some of the things you’ve learned.”

  “I don’t know.” Billy shook his head. “All these people . . .”

  “They’re talking to Jack and Wynonna. Please?”

  He let out a puff of air. “All right, but this better not ruin my reputation as a rough-and-ready cowboy.”

  “You have that reputation, do you?”

  “Well, I like to think I do.” He flashed her a smile, then led her out to dance.

  Perhaps his movements weren’t as smooth as they could have been, but Rowena didn’t care. Being held by him was everything she’d ever wanted, and they could smooth things out together—not only in dancing, but in life.

  If this turned into more.

  The doubt almost made her miss a step. Where had it come from? Billy hadn’t said or done anything to make her think he was having second thoughts. He’d even accepted her confession about children with good humor. But it was early in their relationship yet—early enough that anything could happen.

  “Are you all right?” He looked down into her eyes. “Would you like some punch?”

  “Yes, please. I’m just hot all of a sudden.” She allowed him to lead her off the dance floor and accepted the punch he handed her. She didn’t know how to explain what she was thinking and feeling—that she’d realized how very much she cared for this man, and how afraid she suddenly was that she might lose him.

  After the party drew to a close, their guests hung the lanterns they’d brought with them from the canopies of their carriages and headed out into the night.

  “Why don’t you just do that instead of staying overnight in Topeka?” Rowena asked Billy, motioning toward the bobbing lights heading out in the darkness.

  “Too much of a chance for a horse to cripple itself pulling a wagon with the kind of weight we tend to carry when we stock up,” he replied. “Besides, if we hadn’t spent the night in Topeka, I couldn’t have kissed you on that nice quiet street.”

  She grinned. “I suppose there are benefits to being slightly stranded.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze, and for a moment, her heart felt lighter. But when he stepped away to help carry the tables back, the doubt returned to her chest.

  As they were getting ready for bed that night, Rowena listened to Wynonna talk about the proposal to her heart’s content, genuinely glad for her friend. She wouldn’t steal one ounce of Wynonna’s happiness for anything, so when Wynonna asked her what was wrong, she just said she was tired. That was true too. Setting up the party and taking things down afterward had been exhausting, but there was so much more to it than that. There were things she had to work out inside herself, and there was no sense in dampening Wynonna’s joy with her troubles.

  Chapter Eleven

  Wade stood on the steps of the main house, all the men gathered around to get their assignments for the day.

  “Benedict, Irish, and Drew have been working hard this week, and they’ve gotten the cabin floors smoothed out and the bedrooms whitewashed,” he announced. “Zeke and Gallagher went above and beyond and put a few extra touches in the largest cabin too. I’m happy to say that everything’s ready to go—Zeke just finished checking, and all the whitewash is dry. We can tell the girls to pack up, and we’ll help them move after lunch.”

  Billy grinned. The girls had been patient for a long time, but they would be happier living in their own cabin for sure.

  “I bet Mike will be glad to get his cabin back,” Wade commented.

  Abel snorted. “If it doesn’t smell like perfume now.”

  “If it does, it would be a nice change,” Tenny retorted.

  Wade held up both hands to quiet the chattering. “Wes and Gallagher cut some pine logs and made some real nice bedframes, so we’re well underway with making everything comfortable.”

  He went on to talk with them about the other priorities for the day, but Billy’s mind wandered. Yes, they’d be getting the girls set up in their own cabin, but it wouldn’t be long before Helen moved to a smaller one with Zeke, and Wynonna with Jack. Weddings were becoming the style out on the Lazy Q ranch. That wasn’t something he’d ever envisioned, but it was a nice change—having the girls around had definitely been an improvement, and for everyone, not just the men who were courting.

  After taking care of a few things for Wade, Billy and Jack went out to the north corral to check on a couple of cows who seemed down. “Could be they’re just feelin’ the signs of motherhood a little early,” Jack said, patting one on the side when he was done checking her over. “’Course, it’ll be another couple of weeks before we know for sure where the breeding took and where it didn’t.”

  “When will the vet be by?” Billy asked.

  “First of the month.”

  Billy nodded. “That’s good. And in the meantime?”

  “Same as always—just make sure their feed is dry and hasn’t gone moldy.”

  As they walked back toward the main buildings, Billy said, “Sure was glad to see Wynonna accept your proposal. Shame to let that beautiful horse go to waste.”

  “Yeah, it’s a good thing she took her.” Jack chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my life. Even knowing Wynonna wanted me to propose, I still felt like I was teeterin’ on the brink of a cliff or something.” He paused. “Are you thinking about asking Rowena?”

/>   “I’ve been thinking about it since she climbed off the wagon that first night,” Billy replied. “I’ve loved her from that very moment, but I didn’t say anything until the other day, so it’s like we’ve just begun. I don’t want to scare her away by askin’ too soon.”

  “Scare her away? Where’s she gonna go?” Jack held out his arms, indicating the wide open space around them. “And even if she tried to leave, she’d change her mind before she made it a mile. She loves you, Billy. It’s all over her face.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, and considerin’ that I’ve been engaged since seven o’clock last night, I’m the expert on everything now.”

  Billy clapped Jack on the shoulder now. “I’ll have to remember that. Thanks.”

  ***

  “You can just put that under the window, Wes. Thank you,” Rowena said as the last of her trunks was carried into the room that would be hers. She and the other girls had been ecstatic that morning to hear that they’d be moving into their own cabin, and they’d spent the interim sweeping the floors and hanging the new curtains they’d made. Everything was so fresh, with the smell of new wood surrounding them.

  Cora poked her head into the room. “I love it. Didn’t they do a wonderful job?”

  “They really did. And just think—after Wynonna and Helen are married and move out, the rest of us will have rooms of our own. We’ll be quite spoiled.”

  Cora laughed. “I feel like I could use some spoiling.”

  Fiona and Helen were in the kitchen putting away the new dishes. “Can you believe it?” Fiona said when Rowena came in the room. “They made everything even nicer than they were first talking about. No wonder they wouldn’t let us near here for the last week—they wanted to surprise us.”

  “And we’ve already had so many surprises this week,” Helen added.

  “I hope I’m a welcome one,” said a new voice in the doorway.

  The girls turned as Margaret entered the cabin, Wynonna at her side. “I had to come see how everything turned out,” Margaret went on. “I know you’re unpacking and won’t be ready for a real visit for a while, but my curiosity has been eating me alive.”