Her Wild Journey_Seeing Ranch series Page 4

  “You brought it here from New York?”

  “No.” Gemma stopped on the porch. “Before I arrived here, the only needlework I had ever done was on things like lace and samplers. Hurry. Let’s get in to supper. Oh, Clara will be so pleased to meet you.”

  Becoming a flitting butterfly once more, Gemma opened the door and pulled Cadence into a whirlwind of noise and faces. She could not even count the high number of ranch hands in the dining room as they all moved in and out, leaving to wash up or coming in to eat.

  Cadence held her breath as Gemma introduced her to her husband, Mitchell, and the housekeeper, Clara. They both seemed very happy to have her there, though, and asked no probing questions. Instead, they merely pulled out a chair and ushered her into it. Food hit the plate in front of her and someone filled up her glass with water. All eyes were on Cadence, but each of them friendly.

  “What do you think of the Wild West?” one of the hands asked.

  “You like medicine shows, Miss Hurley?” another questioned. “I heard there’s a good one that comes out of Baltimore.”

  “A schoolteacher!” one exclaimed. “Gosh, I wish I was back in school.”

  “You need to go back,” someone joshed. “What with the way you count hay bales. I had to send this man out four times today before I got the same number twice!”

  Everyone burst into laughter and Cadence had to cover her mouth, she giggled so hard.

  On and on the questions went, until Clara waved her hands around wildly. “Hush, now. She just got into town. You all let her be. There will be plenty of time for talk another evening.”

  Cadence gave the housekeeper a grateful look. With her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, she reminded Cadence of her own mother. For a brief instant, pain ripped through her heart.

  But then, she made herself look around. She reminded herself of where she was. Pain and tragedy was far behind her. She had worked hard for years, struggled terribly, but now was the time of opportunities and hope. Just the luck of that one day itself proved that Cadence was being guided. Remembering that could not have made her any happier.

  The chatter became softer, the hands turning to each other and starting their own one-on-one conversations. For the time being, Cadence was forgotten.

  “Bread?” Gemma asked, offering the basket of rolls.

  Cadence opened her mouth to answer, but the sight of Beau coming into the dining room had her expelling nothing but air. Eyes trained on the end of the table, he marched down the length of the room and took a seat next to Mr. Reed. The two men begin talking right away, their voices so low, not one word could be heard.

  “Cadence?”

  “Hm?” She blinked till Gemma’s face was back in focus.

  “Bread?”

  “Oh. Yes. Thank you.”

  Taking a roll, she dropped her face. She had let herself be influenced by Beau yet again. She needed to watch herself. The man was handsome—so handsome, she could hardly look straight at him, but he was nothing but that. Antisocial and rude, he was not the kind of person Cadence needed to concern herself with.

  If she was lucky, they would only see each other at mealtimes. That was something she could deal with.

  Cadence focused on methodically cutting her vegetables. Yes, she would manage just swell at Winding Path Ranch. School all day. And then, in the evenings, she would help with whatever housework she could. She would likely not even have time to think about Beau.

  Satisfied, she looked up to ask for someone to pass the salt—and found Beau staring straight into her eyes. A second later, he looked away, resuming his conversation with Mr. Reed like nothing had happened.

  But, just like that, deep in the pit of Cadence’s stomach, something was changing.

  Chapter Six

  6. Beau

  Chapter six

  Beau finished wiping down his last tool before carefully setting it down on the stable’s pockmarked workbench. The sweet scent of straw and dirt filled his nostrils, familiar and comforting. Down in one of the end stalls, a horse snorted, but other than that, all was quiet. Just as he liked it.

  He hadn’t planned on working past supper, but during the meal, Mitch had reminded him a few of the horses needed new shoes. He’d figured there was no better time than the present to get started on the task.

  Plus, he’d needed an escape from the dining room table. Things were different there. Everyone was so excited to have a newcomer, but the whole thing still made Beau’s skin itch.

  Cadence Hurley was beautiful. There was no doubt there. Not in a typical way, sure. She didn’t have the tiny features, doe-like eyes, or high cheek bones most men seemed to favor. The lines of her face were angular, her eyes sharp and quick. There was character there.

  But she was also bad news. And that was putting her brusque attitude aside.

  Beau had long ago accepted his life without female company. He had this ranch, his work, and the ranch hands around him. A family life just wasn’t in the cards for him.

  And it didn’t much matter how he felt about it.

  Rolling his neck around to get the kink there out, he weighed his options for the rest of the night. He’d already put new shoes on Rosemary. He could move on to the ornery, old mare in the stall next to her, or he could get some sleep now and wait till the morning.

  As he debated, Crick walked in and plopped down on his pile of blankets under the work table. No doubt, his two siblings were still out, smelling around and looking for fox and deer trails. It was less than an hour before sunset, prime time for all the critters to be out.

  Tomorrow, Beau decided. If he turned in early, he’d be up earlier than usual and with more energy to spare.

  Stretching his arms high above his head, he turned, but stopped when someone stepped into the stable doorway.

  “Oh. I am sorry,” Cadence said, turning to go.

  “No. Wait.”

  She paused, hand on the doorway, and looked over her shoulder at him.

  “What are you doing out here?” he questioned.

  “Just looking around.”

  “It’s cold.”

  “I am used to it.” Her face was flat, guarded, betraying just as many reservations about him as he had about her.

  “It’s also not safe. There are wolves around here.”

  She turned to fully face him, holding onto the door frame for help. “Is that not what the dogs are for?” she asked with a nod at Crick.

  “Maybe if one actually comes into the stable, he’ll let out a bark. Otherwise, it’s not the best idea to be walking around the ranch all by yourself. Not when you’re not familiar with the land. You could get lost. Meet up with outlaws or fall into a hole.”

  “A hole?” Cadence folded her arms, eyebrows raised in displeasure. Strands of her pulled-back hair had come loose and were falling around her face. She must have known her hair was coming undone, but still made no attempt to fix it. Likely, she was the kind of woman who had no idea how beautiful she was—and so, with that, became even more beautiful.

  “I have a limp. I am not a baby,” she snapped.

  Beau’s chest squeezed tightly and he turned away, busying himself with organizing the tools on the work table, even though he had done just that before she arrived. “Then don’t act so petulant like one.”

  He waited for her to leave, but instead, she walked across the stable, coming right to him. Still, he kept his back turned away.

  “What is it with you?” she demanded.

  The question felt like a hundred little pin pricks to his heart. Swallowing the anger down, he slowly turned to face her. She was closer than he had thought, just a foot or so away, with real ferocity in her eyes. Beau’s skin turned hot. He wanted to step away, but he couldn’t—and not just because of the work table at his back.

  “Well?” Cadence spat.

  He took his time answering. “You have quite the temper.”

  She shrank back. “And you are quite the callous man.”

&nb
sp; “What do you expect?” he barked, waving his hand in the air. “That I should just let you do whatever you please? Let you go and get yourself killed?”

  The words were too much. He regretted them as soon as they came out. If only he could reel them back in and swallow them down…

  But if he had hurt Cadence, she didn’t let it show. Her gaze was still hard, her jaw strong and tight.

  “You’re...” Fragile. The last word died before Beau said it. No. He was wrong. The woman in front of him wasn’t weak and in need of help. She might have looked it, but there was a strength exuding from her eyes. She was a fighter. And he was just a grumpy ranch hand who had no business socializing.

  “I am what?” She tilted her head, daring him to go on.

  “Nothing,” Beau muttered. “Forget it.”

  Her chest rose and fell sharply. “This may be my first time in Wyoming, but I am not just out of the cradle. I have been through more than you probably suspect, sir.”

  He couldn’t help himself. “Like what?”

  “I am not about to share my life story with you.”

  “Look, I...” Her close proximity was too much. He couldn’t think. Sidestepping away from her, he went to the middle of the stable. “You do what you’re gonna do. All right?”

  “I will.”

  “Good.”

  “Wonderful.”

  They both stayed where they were, neither moving so much as a hair. Under the work table, the dog noisily yawned.

  “We’re keeping Crick from his beauty sleep,” Beau pointed out.

  “Is that humor I detect?”

  He guffawed. “What are you doing here, Miss Hurley?”

  “Taking a walk. Or limp, I suppose some might say.”

  Beau’s mouth drew tight. It wasn’t right that she talked so disparagingly about her leg. It was a burden, sure, but she didn’t need to beat up on herself because of it. Life tossed a person around bad enough as it was. No point in self-inflicting.

  “What are you doing in Shallow Springs?”

  “Oh.” She looked away. “Teaching.”

  The part she didn’t say was clear: it was none of his business.

  Crick’s brother, Mutt, entered the stable and sniffed at Cadence’s foot before lifting his head for a petting. She scratched behind his ear and the dog happily opened his mouth.

  “Do not worry, Mr. Johnson. I will be out of your hair in just six weeks’ time.”

  She looked up at Beau, daring him to bite back.

  “I don’t have anything against you,” he responded.

  “And I have nothing against you, either. I just do not appreciate people who do not know me taking it upon themselves to pass judgment.”

  Beau chewed on that for a moment. He couldn’t really come to a conclusion. The two of them had gotten off on the wrong foot and there just didn’t seem to be much hope of things turning around.

  He wanted it all to change, though. He wanted them to get along… wanted to know her better… which was why he had to end this conversation right away.

  “You have a good night, Miss Hurley. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”

  She blinked, looking shocked for a second, but then, that stern expression was back. “Any stay not spent in the streets is a good one to me.”

  Before he could ask just what she meant by that, she turned and left. Mutt joined Crick on the dog bed, spinning around several times before collapsing with a sigh.

  “Any stay not spent on the streets is a good one,” Beau whispered to himself. What was she suggesting? Was she speaking from experience?

  He shook his head. No matter. It seemed they’d come to a strained agreement. Cadence would be around for the next six weeks. During that time, he would do everything he could to avoid her.

  Shaking his head, he took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. That woman… was she like this with every man? Or was it just him? Before he could wonder any more, a second person intruded on his alone time.

  “Hey, now!” Nat’s voice was far too exuberant for such a late hour. He stopped at the stable’s doorway and smiled. “I thought I heard someone in here. What are you doing?”

  “Just shoeing some horses,” Beau grumbled. “You spying on me?”

  “Now that you mention it… I did see Miss Hurley up here. Were you getting to know her?”

  Beau shot the younger fellow a withering glare. Nat dipped his head, acknowledging how aggravating he was being.

  “I didn’t invite her in here,” Beau clarified. “And she shouldn’t be...”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Beau put his hat back on and walked for the doorway. When he got to it, Nat still stood there, looking at him.

  “She seems real nice,” Nat said.

  “Sure.”

  “Anyway… ‘night.” Nat turned to go, but as he did, regret filled Beau.

  “Nat. Hold up.”

  Nat turned back around. “Uh-huh?”

  Beau cleared this throat, feeling as if he was having to work to drag up the right words. “What do you know about her?”

  “About Miss Hurley? Not much. She’s gonna be the new schoolteacher.”

  “Right. I know that.”

  Nat scratched his jaw. “Though I did hear Gemma talking to Clara in the kitchen after supper. You know that fellow, Dunst?”

  “Yes.”

  Dunst had a farm on the other side of town. He’d been a staple in the community for years, but the last few seasons hadn’t been very good to him. Whether it was the land he sat on or just dumb, bad luck, Dunst’s crops hadn’t been doing as well as they used to. Beau had heard through the grapevine just the week before that Dunst was thinking about selling the land.

  “Gemma said Cadence came to marry Dunst,” Nat explained. “She used a… what was that? The same thing Gemma did. A bride agency.”

  Beau absorbed this news. “But she’s not marrying Dunst… Is she?”

  “No. Something happened.” Nat lowered his voice. “McGraw told me Dunst might file bankruptcy.”

  “Hm.” Beau didn’t partake in rumors, but that bit of information sounded like it could be true.

  “So, maybe he just can’t afford to have a wife anymore.” Nat frowned. “Oh, well.” He shrugged. “At least now, the school has a new teacher. Night, Beau.”

  “G’night.”

  Beau stared at the ground as Nat left. So, Cadence had come to Shallow Springs as a mail-order bride. It was nothing to be ashamed of. Gemma herself—and two other young ladies in Shallow Springs—had done the exact same. The area was full of men, but the same couldn’t be said when it came to the other gender. Ordering gals from back east likely provided the town with its only chance of making it into the next century half-populated.

  But why hadn’t Cadence told him any of this?

  ...Better yet, why did he think he had a right to know?

  He knew what he was doing. Being hot and cold. Playing with himself. Getting involved in things that were best left alone.

  Cadence Hurley and her whys and hows didn’t matter. Other men might have gotten good use out of those mail-order bride agencies, but Beau wasn’t one of them. He was just fine on his own. He didn’t need an ordered wife. He didn’t need a wife at all.

  And he certainly didn’t deserve one.

  Chapter Seven

  7. Cadence

  Chapter seven

  The morning air in Wyoming sparkled with life. At least the few Cadence had seen so far did. The morning after moving into her room at Winding Path Ranch, she woke before the sun, knowing that everyone else would be up and about then as well and needing help with the housework.

  Gemma and Clara looked at her in surprise as she came into the kitchen. They showed even more shock when she dipped her hands into the cold well water and began scrubbing potatoes.

  “I was going to heat the water,” Gemma said.

  “No need,” Cadence cheerily responded. “I used cold water all the time at m
y last job. There just is not always time to wait in the mornings.”

  She liked that she could be helpful. It gave her additional pleasure to show others that her limp, while it might slow her down, certainly did not prevent her from getting the necessary work done. She fed the stove, set the table, and milked the cows just as well as anyone else.