by Danni Roan
Dan huffed out a breath, his anger rising. “Why can’t you listen to me?” he barked. “I’m here to explain if you’ll give me a minute.”
“No!” Rosa whirled back to the stove, plunging the ladle into a large stew pot with a harsh clatter.
“Rosa,”
“Don’t you Rosa me,” the petite woman snarled, whipping back in a flutter of skirts and shaking her finger at him. “You have no right to bother me. You are not my husband and not my friend. Go. Away.”
“No.” Dan’s stomach quivered as he met Rosa’s dark eyes. She needed to understand about the mistake that he could never regret.
The stream of Spanish that hit him as Rosa threw her hands in the air was like a wave crashing over him and threatening to pull him under, and Dan staggered back as the woman approached.
“Rosa,” he tried again but was drowned out by her rapid fire words. He had no idea what she was saying, but the sharp poke of her finger in his chest was painful as she backed him into the opposite wall.
“Rosa,” he tried again, but she only snarled and spun to return to her stove.
“Go!” she bellowed, giving the heavy pot a stir.
Dan took a step forward, determined to get through to the stubborn woman. He had made a mistake, but he only wanted to be sure she was cared for. He had offered her a little house on his property several times over the past year and a half, but she wouldn’t accept it, instead insisting on living out her days in this stuffy kitchen with no hope for a better tomorrow.
“Rosa,” his voice was soft, imploring. “Please listen.”
Rosa Rodriguez grasped the handle of the stew pot, her eyes prickling with unshed tears as her anger at the man burned hotter than the spices in the stew.
“I didn’t mean,” Dan stuttered, stepping one pace closer. “I mean…”
The pot shot from the stove in a swift gesture, hurtling toward him and dumping its contents like hot oil from the parapet of a castle.
Dan Gaines eyes grew wide as he dove for the door, tucking as his hands hit the hard plank floor and rolling in a quick somersault that placed him back on his feet. Grabbing his hat he raced for the front door in a racket of harsh words, loud laughter, and the sound of pounding hoof beats.
***
Olive gaped as the town’s mayor raced out her door and charged away on the cow pony that must have been waiting outside. She had warned him not to try to talk to Rosa in her current state, but he hadn’t listened and now look at the mess they were in.
Turning slowly, she pinned the laughing cowhands with her dark eyes. “Something is happening here,” she spoke, her lips pinching as she glared. “Do any of you know what’s going on between Rosa and Mayor Dan?”
The roll of laughter snapped like a taut string breaking to silence and the men shot nervous glances at each other then looked back to Olive shaking their heads.
Something more than Rosa being frightened by her former brother-in-law was going on. Olive was sure of it, and someone must know what it was. One way or another she would get to the bottom of this. Whatever it took.
“Mother Olive,” a sweet voice made Olive turn, her shoulders sagging as her quietest daughter-in-law Ellen looked at her.
“What is it dear?” Olive sighed as a dull throb started between her eyes.
“Arabela sent Rosa away,” Ellen said softly, twisting her apron in her hands, her blonde head dipped low. “I’ll clean up the mess.”
“Mess?” Olive asked. “What mess?”
Ellen took her mother-in-law by the hand and pulled her toward the kitchen and the pot of stew oozing across the floor. “Oh my!”
“Don’t worry,” a black haired beauty standing next to the hot stove like a queen about to hold court, said turning to smile at Olive. “Rosa will be back, but I sent her out for a while. Shi is taking Christina for a walk, and Ellen said she’d clean up while I start on supper. Honestly mother Hampton,” she continued. “I’ll be glad to eat something that doesn’t burn your insides out.”
A nervous laugh filled the kitchen as all three woman grinned, letting the tension of the week slip from their shoulders. At least life wasn’t dull in Needful.
Chapter 4
Rosa paced across the clearing at the back of the Hampton House, her heavy skirts dragging through the dust unheeded.
No one had ever been able to make her as angry as the Mayor of Needful. Well, perhaps once upon a time her father. She spat in the dust, spinning again as a breeze teased at the hair that had been freed from her long braid.
Pausing, the petite Mexican woman sucked in a breath of air, letting it out slowly as the tears she held in check threatened to fall.
She had wanted to rant at Arabela. To scold and shout, but the woman’s haughty blue eyes and raised brow had stopped Rosa from giving in to her instincts. She had been acting like a rabid dog, but every time she thought back to the rescue, her temper flared once more.
Rosa Rodriguez had been through enough in her short life. She had thought that marrying Raul was the answer to all of her troubles, but with him gone she was on her own, and it frightened her. Still, she would rather live her life in service to the Hamptons than agree to Dan Gaines and his proposal. She would not make the mistakes of her mother. She had a roof over her head, a place for her sweet baby girl, and friends. Perhaps she had started as the hired help here at the boarding house, but now she knew the Hamptons were almost family.
Guilt squirmed in her middle at how she had been treating her friends, but the anger that burned in her had blazed so brightly that she hadn’t given a thought to her behavior. Those who loved her shouldn’t have to suffer for the sins of one man. A hint of a smile touched her lips as she thought of throwing the pot of stew at the town’s mayor then she cringed at what it would cost Olive and Orville to replace the wasted food.
No, she had to get herself under control. Calm down and make her life better. Losing Raul, a man she had loved dearly, had been devastating, but she couldn’t give up. She had a daughter to care for. Friends who loved her and a new home to build. Daniel Gaines, mister almighty cattle rancher and mayor could go soak his head for all she cared.
Rosa brushed her fingers over her lips as her rebellious body remembered the press of Dan’s lips on hers and heat stirred unbidden. He was a handsome man, but had no honor. No, she would stay away from the Mayor of Needful and hold tight to her pride. She would not repeat the sins of the past. Her daughter would have a life with joy, peace, and respect. Rosa had left Mexico and the pain of the past behind when Raul had started a farm in Texas. She would continue in her new life unfettered by sin.
***
“Rosa, Rosa?” Ruth Rivers’ voice filtered into Rosa’s weary brain and she turned toward the small house at the other end of the yard where the plump young woman waved cheerfully. “Come have tea with me?”
Rosa sighed but nodded, lifting her skirts and giving them a shake to rid them of most of the dust her nervous pacing had caused.
“Are you finally taking some time off?” Ruth asked, her eyes glinting behind round spectacles. “I told you, you needed time to rest after what happened.” Ruth grabbed Rosa’s arm, pulling her toward the front door of the small single room house. “Wait till you see what Darwin bought me,” the other woman gushed.
Rosa grinned at Ruth’s infectious cheerfulness. She had grown close to the newest Needful Bride as she had taught her to cook and clean over the summer.
“What has your man done for you now?” she asked as they stepped into the darker recesses of the house. The afternoon breeze ruffled bright yellow curtains at the open windows and Rosa looked around the simple home trying to spot anything new.
The small trunk Ruth had brought with her still sat in front of the stone fire place skirted by two chairs, the large bent wood bed looked comfortable and inviting with a new quilt spread across it and two more trunks stood at attention on the far side of the room. Rosa couldn’t see what Ruth was so excited about.
&nbs
p; “There,” Ruth gushed still holding Rosa’s arm and pointing into the fire place where a miniature stove stood, sparkling with shiny chrome and pristine white porcelain.
“You have a real stove!” Rosa gushed, turning to hug her friend. “Your Darwin, he is a good man.”
“He is,” Ruth blushed “and there’s so much more happening, but that’s for another time.” She winked cheekily and moved the kettle onto the burner. “We’re having a tea party.”
Rosa laughed and more of the anger and tension she had been holding so tightly to sloughed away like shards of broken shale.
Rosa took a seat by the small trunk that served as a table for two and watched Ruth prepare the tea. When the other woman had arrived in Needful, she hadn’t even known how to boil water, but she was becoming a proficient cook and homemaker. Rosa squirmed in her seat, remembering how she had been storming in the kitchen since her safe return, virtually banishing everyone from her domain. Surely Ruth had missed their days working at the big oven, and Rosa’s face heated with shame at her selfishness.
By the time she was six years old Rosa had been cooking, cleaning, and caring for her mother’s richly appointed home and tending her younger siblings. It seemed that every second year there was a new child added, and each one made Rosa sag more heavily with shame.
She had gone to the priests in her tiny town lighting candles and praying that her mother’s shame would end, but it never did. The priest had offered little hope, but each time she looked at the polished crucifix at the front of the cathedral she pleaded once more for a chance to escape the lifestyle of her family. Jesus had looked down on her in silent sorrow and love, but still nothing changed.
“You look troubled,” Ruth’s voice was soft; kind. “Are you still upset about what happened? You’re safe now and everyone here is looking out for you.” Ruth reached across the trunk, patting Rosa’s hand, relieved when her friend finally lifted her dark eyes and met hers.
“It is, how you say, complicated.” Rosa shook her head. She couldn’t speak to even Ruth about her past. She couldn’t bear the look of horror and disgust that would surely fall on her once the sweet woman knew.
“Rosa, you are not alone anymore,” Ruth said removing her hand and grasping the simple brown tea pot as she poured the bubbling brew. “You know you can tell me anything. I love you.”
Rosa smiled sadly, wondering what the other woman would feel if only she knew. Rosa had escaped the life of shame, leaving her family behind when Raul had fallen in love with her. Her mother had been livid when she had run away at the tender age of seventeen with the paunchy caballero with the quick smile and sparkling eyes, but she had escaped and would never go back.
“It has been a very hard time,” Rosa said taking the cup Ruth handed her. “In time things will go back to normal, and all will be well.”
“Has Dan been to see you again?” Ruth asked, a twinkle entering her eye.
Rosa raised her chin, her dark eyes flashing with anger. “I do not want to see that man,” she spat. “I will poison him the next time he tries to speak to me.”
Ruth blinked, leaning away from the other woman’s wrath. Surely a kiss, in the heat of the moment, hadn’t been enough to inspire such anger in her friend.
“Rosa, you need to forgive him.” Ruth shook her head, lifting her cup and saucer with care. “He didn’t mean any disrespect. He was just relieved to find us safe. We could have both been murdered or worse!”
Rosa’s face grew cold. “I do not need to forgive him. He had no right to do what he did.” Rosa waved a hand as if brushing a speck of dust from her dress. “He is not a good man.”
Ruth bit her lip, not knowing what to say. She loved Rosa, but she couldn’t agree with her on this. Ruth didn’t know Mayor Dan well, but he had a reputation as a well-liked and honorable man. “How can you say that?” Ruth met Rosa’s eyes over her tea cup. “Everyone speaks highly of him. His men respect him, and if he were a scoundrel, I’m sure he never would have been elected Mayor.”
Rosa snorted, a very unlady-like sound in contrast to the lovely china cup she held in her hands. “There are many men who have a good reputation in their community, but hide their dirty secrets in the dust of the country.”
Ruth could see that there was no point arguing with her friend, so she let the subject drop but filed away the comment for further investigation at a later date. “How is Christina?” Ruth asked, changing the subject and sighing when Rosa smiled.
“Ellen took her for a walk,” Rosa said. “She has been too much inside with me these past few days. I have been selfish.”
“Rosa, you have been through a traumatic experience,” Ruth tsked. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. If I had a child, I wouldn’t let her out of my sight after that.” Ruth blushed, gazing into her teacup so that Rosa wouldn’t see the twinkle in her eye. She had a secret, and as soon as she found the right words to tell Darwin, she would let everyone else know as well.
Chapter 5
Dan was in a foul mood as he rode into the ranch yard and gazed about him. His big barn and neat outbuildings usually cheered him on a hard day, but today no surge of joy greeted him as he stepped down and tossed his reins to a wrangler.
“Boss,” the man greeted, but the tall cowboy stalked toward his house without hearing. If he had been a drinking man, he may have wasted his time and money in the town’s single saloon, but instead he had ridden home, the heat of embarrassment and frustration riding his back.
“What’s eatin’ him?” the wrangler asked as another hand joined him at the corral.
“Only two things get a man riled like that,” the older man grinned. “A woman or money trouble.”
“We ain’t gonna miss our pay are we?” the younger cowhand asked. “I’m savin’ up to put in an order for one of them brides Olive and Peri order up for Needful. I almost got enough to put a bit down on a patch of dirt and pay for train fare.”
The older man thumped his friend on the shoulder and laughed. “Dan Gaines is a careful man,” he intoned. “I don’t reckon, unless we have a bad drought or the like, we’ll miss a payday.”
“Then why would he be havin’ woman trouble?” The younger hand scratched under his hat then stripped the saddle from his boss’s horse turning it into the corral. “He didn’t order no bride.”
***
Dan stormed into his little house. The simple four bedroom building was bigger than he needed, but he’d tried to plan for the future and had made room for his brother Spencer and his son Chad. Dan had sent for them once he had the ranch up and running and had hoped his brother would partner with him at the ranch, but things had gone in a different direction for both of them.
Striding into the large kitchen, Dan gazed around him and groaned when he didn’t see his cook at the stove. The man was out at the round-up feeding the crew, and Dan had forgotten to order a meal at the Hampton House as well.
Tossing his hat on the table, he slumped into a chair and pressed his face into his hands. It had been a long day, and it wasn’t even suppertime yet. He couldn’t understand what Rosa’s problem was. Sure, he’d made a few mistakes with the woman, but that couldn’t be helped, and he only wanted to help her.
How many times had he offered to set her up with a place of her own? Somewhere she could raise Christina in peace. He was willing to pay for all of it. If only she would agree.
Pushing himself to his feet, he took a turn around the scrubbed table looking at his home. It was simple but well set up with a modern kitchen and sturdy furniture that served him and his crew well.
He wouldn’t consider himself a wealthy man, but Dan Gaines had done well for himself and his men. Leaving behind his former home and the ravages of the War Between the States, he had struck out for new territory to find his destiny. What he had found was wild cattle in the hill country of Texas and a collection of men, battered and bloodied by the war, who were willing to risk life and limb to build something from nothing.
Raking his hands through his hair, Dan thought back to those hard years in harsh surroundings where he and a handful of men who had followed his command drew a line in the dusty earth of Texas and marked it as their own.
***
Texas, July 1865
“Where you headed Cap’n?” Jake Anson asked as he pushed his weary mount up next to the man he had followed for the past three years.
“I don’t know, Jake.” Dan turned in the saddle, studying the six men dogging his heels. When they had been mustered out of the Northern Army a few months earlier most of his soldiers had drifted home, but these men had stayed with him. Most of them had nothing to go back to and were looking for a place to put the past behind them.
“Water up ahead,” A lean rider called galloping toward him, his horse panting in the heavy heat of a summer day.
“We’ll make camp ahead,” Dan said waving the others forward. Most of them still wore their blue and gold uniform trousers, but had shed the heavy coats days ago as they’d been hit by waves of heat in this new land. Now, in nothing but shirt sleeves or suspenders and union suits, they sweltered in the afternoon sun.
The small column ambled toward the small river as their horses lifted into an eager trot. The sun was headed toward the horizon and Dan wondered if the night would be cool again. Behind the last rider, a string of war horses laden with heavy packs picked up their pace. Everything the men could beg, or barter for was wrapped in those packs and the future of each of them weighed heavily on Dan’s shoulders.
As the march through the southern states had sapped his hope and joy, it had also provided hints and rumors of a new life to Daniel Gaines and his men. He’d heard rumors of wild land still available in the heart of Texas, and the stories of wild cows just waiting to be rounded up, pulled him deep into the state.
With a deep history of independence, fighting spirit, and wide open spaces, Texas beckoned, and Dan had answered the call. He hadn’t planned on others wanting to join him, but when several of his men had saddled up and turned west with him, he hadn’t argued. It would be good to have men he could trust at his back as they stepped into a new life.