A Headstrong Woman (22 page)

“You alright?” Rusty asked from beside Jonathon and he realized that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were likely hard.

“Yeah, fine; just had an unpleasant thought is all,” he assured the man as Alexandria rode toward him. He shook his head at himself; here was comparing her to a horse after teasing Sparky for that very thing. He was losing it.

“You ready to return to the house? I have some things I need to do in the office,” Alexandria said as she rode up beside him. He had to admit that she made quite a sight sitting atop Lady. Alexandria’s back was straight and face shining with sheer enjoyment.

“Let’s go,” he agreed. As they rode back to the house, Alexandria asked Jonathon a question that had been plaguing her since Jonathon’s return from town with Lady.

“Jonathon?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you buy me a horse?” she asked.

Jonathon smiled. “I spent the better part of this morning searching for you a birthday gift. Nothing jumped out at me until I saw Lady. You know a lady in mourning is hard to shop for.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she informed him.

“I wanted to.”

“Thank you, Jonathon. When’s your birthday?”

“I’m not telling,” he smiled.

“That is not fair,” she informed him.

“Sorry.”

“If you don’t tell me I’ll have to pick a day myself,” she shrugged.

“June thirteenth.”

“Thank you.”

“You know the biggest reason I bought her for you?” Jonathon said a moment later.

“Why?”

“You two connected. I bought Raven because we immediately took to each other. I think horse and owner should be a team.”

“Oh, well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Alexandria,” Jonathon answered with a smile.

“Rusty informed me that he knows of man in Jasper looking to sell some cattle. He said Tristan mentioned it the other day when their paths crossed in town. What do you think? Would it be a good move to replace some of the cattle we’ve lost?” Alexandria posed her question and watched him closely as he considered it.

“Perhaps, especially if we can find a couple of hands, which I might have. They are supposed to come out tomorrow for an interview. They had stopped by the livery just before I came and Mr. McAllister was able to tell me where to track them down. I wanted to meet them here on your turf and be there when they meet you.”

“You want to see firsthand their reaction to working for a woman?” Alexandria asked in understanding.

“Exactly; any hint that they’ll be a problem and they’re gone.”

“Maybe they’ll work out. I know we could use the extra hands.”

“We could. If they work out what do you say to us taking a look at these cattle?”

“I think we should,” she nodded.

“We should probably move quickly. Do you think we could contact the man through Tristan and be there all by Friday night?”

“Maybe,” she nodded.

“If this goes well tomorrow we’ll plan on it.”

“Want to join us for dinner?” Alexandria offered as they rode into the yard.

“Sure, sounds nice,” Jonathon agreed. He dismounted and reached for Alexandria.

“There you are…”

Alexandria looked up to see her mother, staring wide-eyed at her from the doorway, her words dead on her lips. Until this moment, her mother and father hadn’t known that she was working as a cowhand in men’s clothing.

“Mom!” Alexandria’s own eyes widened.

Jonathon summed up the situation in a moment. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Cannon,” he greeted as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stewart. What a sensible choice of clothing, Alexandria, forgive my surprise.” Shirley had recovered.

“I should have told you,” Alexandria said as she mounted the porch steps.

“You’re an adult and I respect the fact that you’re taking on ranching on your own, you don’t have to explain anything. I would suggest, however, that you tread on the side of caution.”

“I have been, Mom, and I haven’t exactly been on my own. Jonathon has been a great help,” she explained. “Are you coming?” she turned to Jonathon. He nodded and followed her.

“Your dad should be here any time now,” her mother told her as they entered the house. “He had to go to town and I asked him to drop me off here.”

“Stay for dinner?” Alexandria invited.

“I think we will. Michael is joining Carolyn and her family for dinner tonight. They finally set a date,” her mother filled her in.

“When are they getting married?”

“July eight.”

“So soon?”

“Yep.”

“Carolyn, she’s the pastor’s daughter, right?” Jonathon asked the ladies.

“Yes, their one and only,” Anna answered from where she was setting the table. “She’s a vast improvement over the girl he was seeing.”

“Something smells good,” Clay commented as he entered the kitchen. His eyes fell on Alexandria, still dressed for work, and he blanched.

“Don’t you think that Alexandria made a sensible choice of clothing for working on the range?” Shirley’s voice carried an undertone that sounded suspiciously like a warning.

“Yes, yes of course, most sensible,” he said before kissing Alexandria on the cheek. “A bit surprising but sensible.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Alexandria whispered around tears.

“Nothing to thank me for, sweetheart,” he assured her.

“I’m glad you two stopped by, it saves Jonathon and me a trip to see you,” Alexandria said as she tried to compose herself.

“Why did you need to see us?” her father asked as they sat down at the table.

“You know that several head of cattle have disappeared, well, Tristan told Rusty about a gentleman in Jasper who’s anxious to sell some of his herd. If the two new potential hands work out tomorrow, Jonathon, Lilly, and I are planning on going to look into it. Rusty too, though he’ll go ahead of us.”

“With who as a chaperone?” Anna’s tone was clipped.

“Anna, we’d be on a public train together, then I would be staying with my in-laws, there would hardly be call for a chaperone,” Alexandria informed her sister.

“It wouldn’t look right!” Anna argued.

“Mom, Dad, I wanted your input,” Alexandria ignored her sister. Her mother and father were looking at each other and seemingly communicating without words.

“You and Jonathon work together daily and I happen to trust him to look after you, I think it’ll be okay,” her father finally answered. “As you pointed out, the trip would be in full view of the public.”

“You can’t be serious?” Anna’s eyes were snapping with indignation. “Do you know how that will look? A single lady…”

“Don’t question your father, Anna. Besides, your sister is a widow with a ranch to run and a daughter to rear, not an innocent straight out of school,” Shirley said to her youngest.

Anna’s cheeks flushed at the reminder that she was just that.

“You want to go? Then we could be
two
single women traveling with a man,” Alexandria’s tone was sharp.

Anna turned a deep shade of scarlet.

Shirley gave her daughters a sharp look and both dropped their gazes to their plates.

Jonathon shifted uncomfortably at the end of the table.

“We could hire a chaperone if you’re worried about it,” Jonathon offered Alexandria.

“I’m not, however, if you are, I’ll dress as a man and pose as your brother,” she proposed.

Jonathon choked on the bite in his mouth and quickly reached for his glass; he took a long gulp before responding.

“Forgive me, Alexandria, not only would you
not
pass for a man, I would certainly foil that one in no time. I don’t care how you dress or what work you do, you are a lady and I can’t forget that. I think one man helping another on and off the train and holding doors might look a little funny.”

“I could cut my hair and…”

“No!” Jonathon cut her off, paused to collect himself, and continued. “Alexandria, it’s preposterous to think you could pass for a man, even if you concealed your figure, one look at your face and anyone would know.”

“Jonathon’s right, it’s silly to go to that kind of trouble, if you’re concerned enough to try disguising yourself, hire a chaperone, but I think it would be a waste of time and money to do so,” Clay spoke up.

“I agree,” Alexandria nodded and took a bit of her dinner.

“Now that that’s decided, how are you two faring?” Shirley asked her daughters.

“Fine,” Anna said coolly.

“I’m okay, I guess,” Alexandria shrugged.

“When exactly are you leaving?” Shirley asked them.

“Friday, it’s short notice and we have a lot to do, but we have to act quickly.”

“Then we’ll plan your birthday dinner for after you return,” her mother informed her.

“That’s a good idea,” Alexandria agreed.

***

Alexandria paced the confines of her office as she waited for the arrival of the potential new hands. Jonathon had agreed that if these men were going to work on the ranch that Alexandria should greet them dressed in her widow’s weeds. It would also expedite her paying a call on Tristan. A knock on the door brought Alexandria to the door where she admitted Jonathon and the two men.

“Alexandria, this is Mitchell Harris and Lenny Mills, gentleman, this is Alexandria Morris, owner of the Bison Creek Ranch.”

“Mrs. Morris,” Mitchell Harris, the taller of the two gentlemen, quickly removed his hat and bowed slightly.

Lenny Mills followed his example and did the same. The two men were opposite in coloring. Mitchell was equal to Alexandria in height with blonde hair and cool blue eyes. His face was sharp and angular in an appealing way. Lenny was stocky, his eyes nearly as dark his black hair and his complexion ruddy.

“Gentlemen, please be seated,” Alexandria invited as she circled the desk and seated herself. On top of her desk lay a list of questions that Jonathon and her father had worked up for her to ask the men. Several questions later the men seemed to be working past the worst of their nerves and were answering her questions more comfortably.

“I feel it is only fair to warn both of you that I take a hands on approach to working on this ranch and am often among the men. I hope that doesn’t prove a problem for you?” she watched them closely.

“No, ma’am,” the both quickly assured her. Alexandria looked to Jonathon for their agreed upon signal and nodded.

“Very well; I would like for you to start a two week trial as of this afternoon. If that is too soon, tomorrow morning will suffice,” Alexandria informed them.

“This afternoon is just fine ma’am. We were hedging our bets and brought our things,” Mitchell stood and hesitantly offered his hand.

“Very good; one more thing,” Alexandria smiled for the first time since the interview has started. “Call me Alex,” she took his hand.

“Yes, ma’am…er Alex,” Mitchell smiled in return.

“Thank you…Alex,” Lenny offered his hand.

“Mr. Stewart is going to introduce you to Rusty. He’ll be showing you around since Jonathon and I have business to see to,” she informed them. She followed them to the door, closed it behind them and then sank against it in relief. Had she done okay or had they been aware it was her very first interview?

A moment later a knock on the door brought her back upright. She knew it was likely Jonathon.

“Hi,” she greeted him with a nervous smile. “Did I do okay?”

“You handled it like a pro,” he assured her.

“You flatter me,” her smile widened.

“No, I’m serious. You were as cool as a cucumber. Had I not known you had never done this before I would believe you did it on a regular basis.”

Alexandria’s expression was still skeptical but she nodded anyway.

“Are we ready to go?” she asked.

“Ready when you are,” he assured her.

Alexandria stepped into the kitchen. “We’re leaving for Mr. Price’s; we’ll back shortly,” she informed her sister and Millie where they worked. Today Lilly stood on a chair stirring something in a bowl she had been entrusted with.

“You be careful over there, that man watches you too closely. We don’t want him thinking he can add you to his list of mistresses,” Millie cautioned darkly.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised.

“Every man out there in her employ would tear him limb to limb if he tried,” Jonathon’s announcement caused Alexandria to jump; she wasn’t aware that he had followed her. Her gaze when it met his was disbelieving.

“It’s true, every one of those men would protect you if it came to it, well with the exception of Nick; I’m still not so sure about him.”

“Me either,” Alexandria admitted as she recalled the way he had watched her the day before. “We’re off now,” Alexandria nodded to her sister and turned to leave. The buggy stood waiting and with Jonathon’s aide Alexandria was soon seated in it.