by Bobbi Smith
“I chased Steve off, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still around somewhere.”
“I’ll take care of it when we get back,” Josh said angrily. “I left Steve behind to keep an eye on things and to protect the women, not to harm them.”
“Millie wasn’t hurt, was she?” Emmie asked.
“No. She’s fine,” George reassured her.
Emmie sighed in relief at the news. She wished they were back at the house already so she could be with her friend.
“It was a good thing you showed up when you did,” Josh said, glancing over at his brother as he rode beside them.
“Yes, it was,” George agreed.
“So, what brings you to the Rocking R?” Josh asked. He sensed that George’s visit was more than just social.
“I was missing you,” his brother answered.
“You think I believe that?”
They both were chuckling.
“Actually, I was wondering if you’re hiring any hands at the Rocking R. I’m looking for work,” he admitted.
Josh was surprised. “What happened?”
“I ran into some bad luck. Can you use another hand around here? Or should I talk to your partner?” George grinned at Emmie.
“What do you think, Emmie? Should we hire him on?” Josh asked her good-naturedly.
Emmie didn’t hesitate. She was impressed by how George had handled Steve and helped Millie in her time of need. “Yes. We can always use another good man around here, and since Steve won’t be coming back, we are short handed right now.”
Just then the ranch house came into sight, and a call went up as some of the men saw them returning.
Millie and Miss Harriet were waiting on the porch as they rode up.
Millie had been wondering where George was that morning, and now she knew. The fact that he cared enough to go looking for Emmie and Josh impressed her.
“Emmie!” Millie ran down the steps to welcome her friend home.
Josh swung out of the saddle and quickly went to help Emmie dismount. George dismounted and came to stand with them.
“We were so worried about you!” Millie said, giving her a big hug.
“There was no need to be. I was with Josh.” Emmie looked up at Josh and smiled.
Miss Harriet was in a quandary as she watched the scene unfold before her. She wasn’t quite sure what to say or how to react. By society’s standards, it was unfitting for an unmarried young woman to spend the night alone with a man, but then again, this was the Wild West and not Philadelphia. She was coming to understand that life here was more about survival than high society, more about staying alive than impressing anyone with genteel manners. She knew Emmie and Josh might have gotten into serious trouble if they’d tried to make it back to the house in that horrible storm last night. Her mind made up, she left the porch to welcome them.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she told them both.
Josh looked down at Emmie. For an instant they both thought of the moment the night before, when Josh had said he’d heard Miss Harriet coming. It was hard for Emmie not to laugh.
“He took good care of me, Miss Harriet.”
The chaperone looked up at the tall, handsome rancher and nodded her approval. “I knew he would.”
The men moved off to tend to the horses and to let the other hands know that George had been hired on. They also wanted to warn them about Steve, just in case he showed up and tried to cause trouble.
Emmie went inside with Millie and Miss Harriet. Kate was there to welcome her back, and then the cook set about fixing Emmie, Josh, and George a quick meal.
“Here you are,” Kate said, setting the plate of fried eggs, biscuits, and bacon in front of Emmie, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Millie and Miss Harriet.
Emmie thanked her and wasted no time digging in, while Kate prepared plates of food to take to Josh and George.
“This is delicious.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.” Kate was on her way from the kitchen with the plates of food when she remembered she had something to remind Emmie about. “Emmie, before I forget, this Saturday is the annual social in town.”
“Oh, we’ll have to go,” Emmie said excitedly. She had attended the social several times over the years during her visits to her father, and she had always enjoyed herself.
“What goes on at one of your socials?” Millie asked.
“There’s dancing and a big dinner. We’ll have fun, and the social will give you a chance to meet more people. You’ll go with us, won’t you, Miss Harriet?”
“Of course, it sounds like a wonderful time.”
“It is,” Emmie assured them. She had been wondering when she would get the chance to spend some time with Josh away from the ranch, and the social would help with that. At least there she would be able to dance with him. The thought of being back in his arms thrilled her, but she couldn’t let on. Not in front of Miss Harriet. She would talk to Millie later about everything that had happened.
“You can move in here with me,” Josh told George as he finished off the breakfast Kate had brought to him.
“I was hoping you’d offer,” George said. “How soon do you want me to start working?”
“I’ll take you out this afternoon and show you around. I need to check with the other hands and find out if any of them has seen or heard from Steve. I want to make sure Steve knows he’s been fired. I do owe him some back pay, and I’ll see that he gets it, but I don’t want him anywhere on the Rocking R near Millie again. If he’d try something like that with her, he might go after Emmie, too. We don’t have time to ride herd on both of them.”
“Oh, I don’t know. That could be my new job—tending to your fillies. Millie is one fine-looking woman, and so is your Emmie.”
“She’s not ‘my’ Emmie,” Josh denied a little too quickly.
“Well, you do have to admit she is beautiful,” George insisted. He knew his brother well, and realized he was keeping his cards close to his chest.
“Yes, she is,” Josh agreed. He’d been trying to remain focused on running the ranch since they’d gotten back. He’d been trying not to dwell on the time they’d spent alone together at the shack. He’d also been finding out that it wasn’t easy to forget what had happened between them. The ride back had been rough, having her pressed so tightly against him the whole way and memories of how it had felt tormented him. He’d always prided himself on being a man with good self-control, but there was something about Emmie that challenged his restraint.
“How’s it working out having her for your boss? I mean, you get to see her every day and occasionally spend the night alone with her at a line shack.…”
“Emmie’s not my boss. We’re partners,” Josh said quickly. “And nothing happened up at the line shack.”
“Emmie can be my boss any day,” George said. Then he added thoughtfully, “Come to think of it, now that you’ve hired me on, she is my boss.”
“And I’m your boss, too—so remember that.”
“Yes, boss.” George was grinning at his brother.
“As soon as I get cleaned up and change my clothes, I need to go find Steve and settle things with him.”
“Do you want me to ride with you?”
“No. I’ll handle it. You can stay here and go to work.”
Emmie had just finished bathing and washing her hair when a knock came at her bedroom door. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, silly. Who else would it be?” Millie said. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.”
Millie went into the room to find her friend sitting at the dressing table in her bathrobe combing out her freshly washed hair.
“Do you feel better now?”
“Much, although it’s going to take a few days for the soreness to go away and the bruises to fade.” Emmie dropped her robe off one shoulder to show Millie the large, nasty-looking bruise on her back.
“That must have been horrible,” Millie sympa
thized.
“It was, but you know, I really was lucky. I didn’t break anything. It could have been a whole lot worse.”
“Can you imagine if you’d been out riding alone and something like this happened? Thank goodness Josh was with you.”
“I don’t know what I would have done without him. He knew right where the line shack was, and he knew it wasn’t safe to try to make it back to the house.”
“That’s why he’s the foreman around here. He knows what he’s doing.” Millie sat down on the side of the bed as Emmie shrugged back into her robe. “All right…I have to know.…”
Her friend sounded so excited, Emmie wasn’t quite sure what to think. “You have to know what?”
“What was it like spending the night all alone in the middle of nowhere with Josh? That must have been so exciting!”
“It was,” she admitted.
“I know you like him—a lot! I can tell just by watching you when you’re around him. I’ve never seen that look in your eyes before, not even when you were with Kenneth. Are you in love with Josh?”
Emmie had always known that Millie understood her better than anyone else, and her friend had just proven it again. “I think I am.”
“What happened?” Hopeless romantic that she was, Millie was dying to hear Emmie’s story.
“Well, he kissed me.”
“And…?” Millie was breathless as she waited for the details.
“It was wonderful.” Emmie sighed dreamily.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t wait for the social in town this weekend. Then I’ll get to dance with him.”
Millie gave her a smile as she pointed out, “You know, the two of you are already partners. Getting married would just make it an even closer partnership.”
“Just because I think I’m in love with him, that doesn’t mean he’s in love with me.”
“He hasn’t said anything?”
“No.”
“He will. Actions speak louder than words. You’ll see,” Millie said confidently.
Emmie looked up at her friend, excitement shining in her eyes. “I hope you’re right.”
The rest of the day passed quietly for Emmie. She stayed up at the house, resting after her ordeal, and didn’t get the chance to see Josh again. As she went to bed that night, she found it hard to believe that only twenty-four hours before she had been alone with him at the line shack. The memory of his kiss and touch stayed with her, and left her restless as she lay in her solitary bed.
Emmie knew sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon, so she got up and went to stand at the window. The moon was bright that night and cast its glow upon the miles of Rocking R land. Emmie stared out across the moon-kissed landscape. It was dark and peaceful, and she knew deep down in her heart that there was nowhere else she would rather be. She belonged here.
Emmie let her gaze drift toward Josh’s place. There was a lamp burning in the cabin window, which meant he was still awake, and she wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him. She sighed and turned away.
She had to get some rest.
She had to get back to work tomorrow.
This was her ranch.
Josh sat at the small table in his house, trying to relax. He’d just returned from his trip into town to find Steve, and he was ready to call it a day.
“How did it go?” George asked, going to sit with his brother. He was worried about Steve causing more trouble on the ranch, and he wanted to make sure the man wouldn’t be coming back.
“Luckily, Steve was real easy to find. He was down at the saloon, having a good old time.”
“What did he have to say for himself?”
“He wasn’t happy about being fired, but I think he knew it was coming. I paid him what he was due. Hopefully he’ll move on now.”
“Hopefully” George agreed.
They went to bed then.
George fell asleep right away but it took Josh longer. He’d hoped to get back from town early enough to see Emmie. He’d wanted to tell her and Millie how his conversation with Steve had gone. When he’d ridden in, though, the main house had been dark, and he’d known it would have to wait until morning.
Chapter Eighteen
The rest of the week passed quickly, and Emmie was glad. They’d been working hard, and she was ready to relax and have some fun—and spend some time with Josh. They hadn’t had a minute alone together since the night at the line shack, and she found herself regretting that.
Saturday morning dawned clear and bright, and Emmie and Millie were eagerly anticipating the day ahead as they went downstairs for breakfast.
“If you can be ready to leave by eleven, we’ll go into town then. That will give us time to get settled at the hotel before everything gets started,” Emmie said.
“Do you always spend the night in town after the social?”
“The dance doesn’t end until late, so it’s easier that way.”
“I’ll be ready, and I’ll make sure Miss Harriet is, too.”
Miss Harriet was already at the table when they entered the kitchen. They found she was talking with Kate about the day’s activities and was as excited as they were about the upcoming social.
“Why wait until eleven?” Miss Harriet asked. “I’m ready now.”
“Josh and some of the men are going to ride in with us, so we have to wait until they finish their chores,” Emmie explained.
“They should work faster,” Millie teased.
“They’re working plenty fast,” Kate joined in. “They like the idea of a night in town, too.”
“Are you wearing a dress on the ride in?” Millie asked her friend.
“Yes. I can get away with wearing my pants when I’m working, but not today.”
“I guess I’d better wear a dress, too,” Miss Harriet put in, laughing.
They all laughed with her and finished eating breakfast.
“What are you making to take to the dinner?” Emmie asked Kate. She knew the cook always prided herself on the desserts she brought to the social.
“Pecan pies,” Kate said.
“Sounds delicious,” Millie said.
“They are, trust me,” Emmie assured her friend. “Most everybody at the social will be watching for Kate to come in. They all want to see what she’s bringing for the dinner.”
“I’m making four of them, so hopefully you’ll all get a piece.”
“I don’t know. Some of those cowboys stake out the table and pounce on what ever dessert you bring.”
“Yes, I know,” Kate said, smiling. “Burley’s already been up to the house this morning to check on me.”
As soon as they were finished with the meal, they went up to pack what they would need for an overnight stay in town.
It was right at eleven o’clock when George drove the carriage up to the house. The women were ready and waiting for him.
“You ladies look lovely today,” he told them, his gaze lingering on Millie.
“Why, thank you,” Miss Harriet said.
He began loading their bags and then helped them up into the carriage. Soon they were on their way. When they drove past the stable, Josh, Burley and the other ranch hands who were going to town rode out to accompany them into Shotgun.
It was a warm day, and the streets of the town were dusty as they rode in. George stopped in front of the hotel to let the ladies out before taking the carriage to the stable. Miss Harriet and Emmie got down first, and then George reached up to take Millie’s hand to help her.
“Will you save me a dance to night?” he asked, his dark eyes challenging hers. He was looking forward to the evening. Over the last few days he’d managed to spend more time with Millie, and he knew she was a very special woman. He wanted to get to know her better—a lot better.
Millie gave him a teasing grin as she asked, “Just one?”
Right then and there, in the middle of Shotgun, with lots of folks around, George wa
nted to take her in his arms and kiss her. It took a lot of willpower, but he managed to control the impulse. He grinned up at her. “I thought there might be a long line, and I wanted to be first.”
Millie’s heartbeat quickened at his romantic words. “You can have all the dances you want.”
“I’ll see you to night.”
“Don’t be late,” she told him, looking over her shoulder flirtatiously as she went to join Emmie and Miss Harriet where they were waiting on the sidewalk.
Josh tied up his horse, got the ladies’ bags for them, and went to speak with George. “Take the carriage on over to the stable. I’ll meet you down at the saloon.”
“Sounds good to me,” his brother agreed. He cast one last quick look Millie’s way and then drove off.
Josh went to talk to Emmie, Millie, and Miss Harriet for a moment.
“It’s going to get a little wild here in town to night,” he cautioned.
“It is? Why?” Millie asked.
Josh quickly explained, “It isn’t often the boys get to come into town and party this way. They’re going to be enjoying themselves, so be careful and stay together if you can.”
He had managed to speak to Emmie earlier that day when Millie hadn’t been around to warn her to keep a lookout for Steve while they were in town. He was reasonably certain the troublemaker had moved on, but there was no way to know for sure. He knew George would be spending as much time with Millie as he could, but he wanted the girls to remember they weren’t back East anymore.
“We will,” Emmie promised.
“But we don’t have to worry,” Millie protested. “You’re here, and so is George.” Then, giving him a teasing smile, she added, “That is, unless you’re the ones we’re supposed to be looking out for.”
Josh laughed.
“You never know,” he said as he opened the door to the hotel for them.
“I’ll meet you here in the lobby just before four, and we can go over to the dinner together.”
“We’ll be ready and waiting for you,” Emmie promised.
A short time later Emmie and Millie were busy unpacking in the room they were sharing. Emmie finished first and sat down on the bed to wait for her friend.