The problem tumbled around in Cooper’s mind. If Josie did change her mind about marrying him, that would change Nora’s plans. She wouldn’t leave them to marry Lewis. She’d sacrifice her own happiness for Drew and Andy and him. He couldn’t let her do that.
There was only one solution – marry Josie like he’d offered to do. He didn’t have to like it, though. He’d take care of her, and he’d have to be nice enough to her that she didn’t change her mind, but other than that, he’d stay away from her as much as he could.
His plan settled in his brain, he picked up another nail and hammered it into the roof.
Josie put the last of her clothes away. Until Nora got married, she’d be sharing her bedroom.
As she took one of her blouses out of her trunk and shook out the wrinkles, a knock came to the door.
“Come in,” she called out.
Nora opened the door and came inside. Josie smiled. “This is your room,” she said. “You don’t have to knock.”
“I thought you might want some privacy since I doubt you got much on the journey here.”
“That’s true,” Josie replied with a chuckle, “but I grew up in an orphanage. Eight of us shared one room. Privacy wasn’t something any of us had … ever.”
“I didn’t think of that. It must have been terrible to grow up without being able to have any time alone.”
“I suppose it was, but I was used to it.”
“Are you hungry? Lunch is almost ready and you can meet Drew and Andy.”
Josie was famished, but the thought of facing Cooper again as well as meeting his brother and nephew made her stomach churn. Or was that hunger? Either way, she felt as if she’d be better off heading straight to the outhouse rather than the kitchen table so that she didn’t embarrass herself.
“Come on down when you’re ready,” Nora went on. “We’ll wait for you.”
“I’m really not hungry,” she lied.
Nora took a step toward her. “You’re looking positively peaked. You have to eat something. You’re nervous, aren’t you?”
Josie thought she’d been hiding her trepidation well, but it seemed Nora could see right through it. There was no point in denying it. She nodded. “Your brother offered to marry me,” she began.
Nora grinned. “I knew he would. You’re so pretty—”
“He’s not doing it because he cares about me or how I look,” Josie protested. “He’s doing it because he knows you won’t marry unless he does and he’s willing to do whatever he has to so that you will. I’m not sure I can marry a man who doesn’t want me.”
Nora grabbed Josie’s hand. “He will by the time the preacher gets here. I just know it. You just have to get to know him. He’ll be a good husband, Josie.”
“I’m sure he will—”
“And I’m sure that when he gets to know you, he’ll be glad he married you,” Nora went on. “It’s just a shame there isn’t time for you two to fall in love before Lewis and I get married. Lewis is really anxious now that you’re here.”
“When will the preacher be back?” Josie asked.
“In a few days, I expect. As soon as he’s home, I’m going to go and see him to make arrangements to have the wedding as soon as we can. And once you and Cooper are married, we’re all going to be happy.”
Josie wished she had that much confidence. “I know how to cook and clean and look after children,” she said. “I know how to do …” She lowered her voice a little. “…manly chores too, like repair things and build furniture.”
“That’s wonderful,” Nora said. “You’ll be such a good ranch wife.”
“I don’t know anything about men, though,” she admitted. “I’ve never had a suitor.”
“I don’t know much more, but I think most of it comes naturally. Now, I’m going to set lunch out. Come downstairs when you’re ready and meet the rest of the family.”
Nora hurried out, closing the door behind her. Josie heard her light footsteps on the stairs as she lifted another blouse out of her trunk.
She felt her brow crease in a frown. What exactly was supposed to come naturally?
Chapter 3
Four pairs of eyes looked up at Josie as she came into the kitchen. She thought she saw Cooper’s eyes narrow slightly, but then he gave her a tiny smile.
“There you are,” Nora said, bounding up from her chair beside Cooper and crossing to slide an arm around Josie’s shoulders. “Come on in and sit down.”
She led Josie to the chair beside Drew and directly opposite Cooper.
Josie sat down, thankful her trembling legs hadn’t collapsed.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Parker,” Drew said, once Nora had made the introductions. “I hope you’ll be happy here.”
“Thank you,” she replied, returning the welcoming smile he’d sent her, “and please call me Josie.”
It was easy to see the resemblance between Drew and Cooper. Both had black hair, but while Cooper had deep blue eyes, Drew’s were lighter. His face was leaner, too, and his jawline a little less square than Cooper’s. Still, he was a handsome man. It seemed good looks ran in the family.
“And this is Andy,” Drew added, turning to the little blonde boy kneeling on the chair beside him. “Andy, say hello to Miss Parker.”
The boy gazed at her intently, then introduced himself. “How do you do, Miss Parker. My name is Andy Thompson.” Then he sent a questioning glance toward Drew. Drew nodded and smiled.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Andy Thompson,” she replied with a grin.
“I hear you and Cooper are tying the knot,” Drew said as he stabbed a slice of meat on the platter in the middle of the table and put it on his plate.
Heat flooded Josie’s cheeks. She waited for Cooper to comment, but he lowered his head and focused on the food on his plate. “It seems that way,” she said finally.
“In fact,” Nora burst in, “I’ve been thinking about this. Why don’t you come with me when I go see the preacher? We can have a double wedding. I can’t get married until you do, since you can’t very well live here with two grown men without the busybodies in town ripping your reputation to shreds.”
Still there was no response from Cooper. What was he thinking? Was he filled with regret for offering to marry her? She wished she knew. She’d always been honest – sometimes brutally so – and she preferred that in other people as well, even if the truth was sometimes painful to hear.
If he was sorry for his words earlier, she wanted to know.
Josie found the rest of the meal awkward, but it was apparent the others didn’t feel the same. The subject of weddings faded amid talk centered around ranch chores, news from town, and Andy’s description of the caterpillar he’d found outside earlier that morning. It now had a new home in a cardboard box filled with grass and dirt.
Josie found Andy’s chatter delightful, and she couldn’t help but notice the difference between meals at this table and those she’d eaten quietly at the orphanage. Of course, having silence at the table there made sense. The noise of thirty or so children all speaking at once would have been unbearable.
None too soon, Drew excused himself to take Andy with him while they checked on one of the horses who’d cut his leg. A minute or so later, Cooper excused himself and left, too.
“Well, that was pleasant,” Nora remarked sarcastically once the men were gone and she and Josie were clearing the table. “Cooper didn’t speak directly to you once.”
“It was a little uncomfortable,” Josie agreed. “I don’t know how we can get to know each other when he won’t even talk to me.”
Nora carried one of the empty pottery bowls to the dry sink. “He’ll come around. Why don’t you go and talk to him while I take care of the dishes?”
“I don’t mind helping you first,” Josie said, looking out the window. Cooper was in the yard, an axe in one hand as he set a log on a stump with the other. Then he stood back, and as she watched, he swung the axe in a high arc.
His muscles tensed beneath his shirt, and the axe came down, splitting the wood cleanly as if it were butter. The two smaller pieces of wood fell off the stump and landed in the dirt.
As she watched, he picked them up and tossed them into a pile behind him, then took another log, set it on the stump and repeated the process.
Nora waved away her offer. “It’s easier if I do it myself. Besides,” she added with a grin, “I’d really like you two to at least be on speaking terms before the wedding.”
Josie would like that, too, but by the silence from him at the table, she wondered if he planned to ever talk to her again.
Well, she mused as she crossed the kitchen and opened the door, no time like the present to find out.
Josie stepped outside and closed the door quietly behind her. The pine-scented breeze ruffled her hair, and she paused for a few moments to tuck the stray curls behind her ears.
Cooper looked up as she crossed the yard to where he was chopping wood, then returned to his task.
Josie stopped a few feet away, far enough that there was no risk of being hit by flying wood chips.
“Something I can do for you?” he asked finally.
“I wondered … that is … can I help you?”
“Help?” he asked. “Help me what? I’m chopping wood. There isn’t anything you can help with.”
She glanced around. She hadn’t really stopped to think about exactly how she could help him, only that it was an excuse to talk to him. Her gaze stopped at the pile of wood beside him. “Chopping firewood is hard work,” she commented, “and since you don’t need it until winter I’m surprised you don’t wait until fall when it’s cooler.”
“The wood needs time to dry out or it won’t burn.”
“Oh.” She’d never seen anyone chopping wood before. In Chicago, firewood magically appeared in the shed beside the orphanage in late autumn.
“What will you do with the wood once you’ve chopped it?”
“I’ll stack it in the lean-to and let it dry out in the heat.” He jerked his head in the direction of a makeshift roof and two posts attached to the back of the house. A few pieces of firewood lay on the ground beneath it.
“I see.”
“I need to get back to work, so if there’s nothing else …” He leaned the axe against the stump and turned away.
Well, Josie thought, surely there’s something I can do to help, even if he doesn’t think so. Her gaze scanned the yard, and a hint of a smile teased her lips.
Without a word, Josie crossed to the ever-growing pile of wood. Since both the lean-to and the wood pile were behind Cooper, he couldn’t see what she was doing. She smiled to herself. He likely thought she’d gone inside.
The wheelbarrow would make the job easier, she knew, but using one was a skill she’d never been able to master. Crouching, she filled her arms with wood, then took them and arranged them in a row along the length of the lean-to.
She’d stacked three rows of wood before Cooper’s voice cut through the silence. “What are you doing?”
Josie frowned. He sounded … confused, although why he would be was a mystery to her. It was plain to see what she was doing. “I’m stacking the wood,” she replied. “Is there a special way you like it done?”
He put the axe down and closed the gap between them. “No, but that’s too heavy work for a woman.”
She met his eyes squarely. “I’m stronger than I look.”
“Well … still …”
He was flustered, and Josie couldn’t help but grin. “I’ll stop if I get too tired,” she said.
“I don’t expect you to do a man’s work as well as your own once we … once Nora leaves.”
Josie couldn’t help but notice his reluctance to admit they were getting married. Was this how he was going to feel for the rest of their lives? She might mention it at some point, but right now, it was more important for them to have a conversation.
“I don’t like to be idle,” she said, “and once we’re married and Nora is living in her own home, I may not have much time. If I do, though, I’d like to help you and Drew with the ranch chores as much as I can.”
“Suit yourself.” He walked away and picked up the axe, returning to his chores.
Josie wasn’t ready to go back inside, so she stacked the wood as he chopped it until he was finished.
Without speaking, he put the axe in the wheelbarrow and took them both into the barn. Josie waited for him until he came back outside.
“Will this be enough wood or will you need to chop more?” she asked.
He studied the neat rows she’d made. “More than enough, I expect.”
“I see.” In a way, Josie was disappointed.
“You did a good job,” he said quietly. “There’s enough air circulating that it’ll dry right out before winter. Have you done this before?”
She shook her head. “In Chicago, I think someone brought the wood and stacked it. I saw it and how it looked so I assumed that was the right way.”
“It is.” He smiled at her then, and again she noticed how nice his smile was. She wished he’d smile more often.
She was surprised she really wanted to spend more time with him, to see that smile again and to learn more about him and the farm. “What are you going to do now?” she asked. “Can I help?”
“I think it’s best if you go inside now. You don’t want to get too sunburned, and already your nose is pink.”
Her hand flew to her nose. It definitely felt warmer than it should. “Oh …”
“It’d be a shame to ruin that pretty skin of yours,” he went on. “I’m going to ride out to the north field and see if Drew needs some help, but we’ll be back in time for supper.”
Josie watched him walk away, heading toward the barn. A smile tugged at her lips. He’d called her pretty … well, sort of.
And for some reason she didn’t understand, she felt as if butterflies were fluttering in her veins. It was a strange sensation, and if she was being completely honest with herself, she liked it.
Josie didn’t see Cooper for the rest of the afternoon, and by the time he came inside for supper, Josie’s nerves were at the breaking point.
Sitting across from him at the table, Nora prattled on about the preacher’s arrival and how everything was going to work out so perfectly for everyone.
Josie wasn’t so sure, and again, Cooper sat through the meal without saying a word, his gaze glued to the food on his plate.
Finally, the meal was over. Josie bounded up from the table and began gathering the dirty dishes to take to the dry sink.
“You and Cooper need to talk,” Nora said, blocking Josie’s path to the sink and taking the plates out of her hands. “I’ll take care of these.”
“It’s not necessary—” What she could say to Cooper, she didn’t know, and by his silence during the meal, she was pretty sure he didn’t have anything to say to her either.
Nora glared at Cooper. “Cooper, take Josie out to the porch. If you two are going to be husband and wife, you need to at least talk to each other.”
Josie saw Cooper sigh, but he rose from the table and set his napkin beside his plate. He gave Josie a faint smile. “Guess we’d better do what we’re told. One thing I know about my sister, when she sets her mind on getting somebody to do something, she doesn’t let up until they give in.”
Nora grinned, then turned away toward the sink.
Cooper opened the front door and stepped aside to let Josie go first. Night had fallen and the searing heat of the day had faded. Stars twinkled overhead and the faint scent of pine and cedar floated on a soft breeze.
“I’m not sure what Nora expects us to talk about,” Cooper finally said when she was seated in one of the rocking chairs on the porch. She expected him to occupy the other, but instead he leaned his hips against the porch railing, directly in front of her.
Josie laughed. “I’m not sure either, but she’s right. If we’re going to be married, we should at l
east talk. Perhaps you could tell me about your ranch.”
His face was cast in the glow from a lantern hanging on a nail nearby and the light streaming through the window from inside, and Josie could see the smile creasing his lips.
“I bought this land four years ago. It’s a little less than a thousand acres, but it’s plenty for me. I have no need to be rich, so if you’re looking for a husband who has enough money to buy you jewels and other frippery, you’d best look somewhere else.”
Josie’s hackles rose. That he would assume she was a gold-digger infuriated her. “I can assure you I have no need for frippery,” she snapped. “I only ask for a roof over my head and food in my stomach, and enough money to provide for any children we might have in the future.”
Realizing she’d implied that they’d … that he’d want to exercise his marital rights one day, her face flamed. She began to form an apology in her mind, but then decided against it, hoping he hadn’t really heard her.
Her hopes were dashed when he spoke again.
“You wanting a real marriage then?”
Drat! He had heard her! “I … didn’t mean … that is …”
He laughed then, the sound rich and deep. Small creases formed at the corners of his eyes. He was pleasant to look at when he was serious, but when he smiled and his eyes twinkled the way they did in the lamplight, he was so handsome it almost took her breath away. In that moment, she made it a goal to do her best to see him smile and laugh more often.
“Don’t worry, Josie,” he said once his laughter had subsided, “I figured it was a slip of the tongue.”
She raised her head to meet his eyes. “It was.”
“But it does raise a few questions,” he said, straightening and crossing to the rocking chair beside her. He shifted it so that he could see her face without twisting around and lowered himself into it. “Why did you travel all this way to marry a man you didn’t know?”
She didn’t answer immediately. She was sure that telling her future husband that her decision to marry him seemed like the lesser of two evils wasn’t the right way to start a relationship. Yet it was the truth, and Josie believed in being honest, no matter what.
Rustlers and Ribbons Page 25