A Rancher for Rosie

by Molly Ann Wishlade

  Rosie stopped marching and turned to face him.

  “You know that’s not true but you also know that Kenan doesn’t give a damn. He loves Catherine too much to care. What do you want, Joshua?”

  With her flashing amber eyes and the color that blazed now in her cheeks, she had a rare kind of beauty. Her cheeks seemed fuller and rounder than before. Her thick ebony hair shone in the evening light. It was pinned at the nape of her neck but a few tendrils had escaped and they danced around her forehead. Standing in the long grass in her faded blue dress, she looked like some kind of warrior woman. It made him long to pull her close, to cover her mouth with his and to make her his forever. But she also made him nervous because he feared that if he did reach out and touch her that she would explode, push him away and break his heart forever.

  “Tell me what I’ve done wrong, Rosie. I need to hear you say it. I know that I should have dealt with our situation before now and I am sorry for it. But I want what I have wanted for months…what I have always wanted, Rosie. I want you to be mine.”

  She sighed and tore at the wild flowers in front of her, pulling off the heads and tossing them aside.

  “It cannot be, Joshua.”

  The orange-streaked sky collapsed around him and Joshua struggled to stay upright. “Please, Rosie. I’m not sure that you understand. I love you, and I want you to be my wife. I should have made things official a long time ago. I was wrong to wait but I thought that I was doing the right thing…”

  Her golden eyes filled with tears and she bit her bottom lip. She seemed to caress him with her gaze then she blinked hard and the beads of liquid burst forth and trickled down her cheeks. She wiped them hurriedly away with the back of her hand.

  Joshua stepped closer. “Rosie? Will you marry me?” Please. The wind suddenly rushed through the grass and seemed to echo his thoughts…please…please…please.

  As she shook her head, Joshua’s future dispersed before him. She had loved him. He had loved her. But he had waited too long. He didn’t know exactly why, and he didn’t know if Rosie was about to explain, but something had changed and the life he had yearned for would never be realized. The seeds of a future that they had planted together would never come to fruition.

  The lovely Rosie Duggan was about to break his heart.

  He grabbed hold of her upper arms and pulled her against him. He covered her face with kisses and found her mouth with his own. At first, she resisted, and Joshua wondered if he should stop but suddenly, she softened beneath him and kissed him back.

  He was overwhelmed with hunger and need and he reached for the hem of her skirt and lifted it then pushed his hand between her thighs. She was wet already. He had to take her, to have her before he lost her forever.

  He stroked her sex, parting her folds, then slipped two fingers inside her. As he touched her like that, she trembled and climaxed quickly.

  Joshua turned her around and lowered her to her knees. As he lifted her skirt again, she leaned forward and rested on her hands, knowing instinctively what he was about to do. He loosened his trousers and freed his cock then pushed into her in one go. Her flesh was hot and tight around him and he took her hard and fast, erupting into her quickly with a groan.

  When his erection began to wane, he slid out of her and pressed her to his chest, his heart thundering from his climax and also from fear. He could not bear to hear what he feared she was about to say.

  Being cold toward Joshua was the hardest thing Rosie had ever done but she forced herself to do it. To be strong. She slipped out of his arms and righted her clothing.

  “We cannot be together, Joshua.” She said it again, to convince herself as much as him, as she stood and took a step backward.

  “But why, sweetheart?”

  “You do not love me, Joshua. Not really.”

  “That’s not true, Rosie. Not true at all.” Joshua stood too.

  “It’s taken you a long time to propose, and I fear that you’re doing it out of sympathy or a sense of duty…because of this.” She gestured at them both.

  “No, Rosie, no.” His face crumpled and Rosie wrapped her arms around her waist to prevent herself from rushing forward and hugging him. In the long run, this would be for the best. Right now, it burned her to the core, but they would survive and Joshua would move on. As he should. As they both should. But Rosie would still go away for a while, just to make sure.

  “What we had was…good while it lasted. But I…” Can I really say it? “I don’t love you either.” The words nearly choked her. So untrue. Such awful lies. But it was the only thing that would make him leave and she knew it.

  Joshua frowned and whispered her words over and over as if trying to accept them. He kept shaking his head and flexing his hands. She wondered briefly, how far would a desperate man go? But if she didn’t release Joshua now, then Dylan Hampton might wreak a far worse revenge, and he would certainly cut his own son out of his life. She couldn’t see that happen.

  “It’s best you go now. Go on home.” She waved a hand in a shooing motion. “Best you do.”

  She turned on her heel and began to stride toward the house. The long grass seemed to reach out to her as if trying to stop her, to hold her back so that she couldn’t break two hearts. But she forced her legs on in spite of the burning of her calf muscles, in spite of the searing pain in her chest and the sour bile in her throat.

  “Rosie.”

  His whisper followed her on the breeze and though she willed herself not to glance back, she did.

  “I do love you, Rosie, and I’ll prove it to you. And I know you love me too.”

  “No, Joshua, I don’t. Not at all. Now go on home and don’t come back. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

  Free of the long grass, she hurried on, tears coursing down her cheeks and her chest heaving with pain, even as Joshua’s seed trickled down her thighs.

  It was for the best and she knew it. Best for everyone involved.

  So why didn’t it feel like it?

  Chapter Seven

  Rosie squinted as she stepped off the stagecoach and into the bright afternoon sunlight. It had been a difficult morning but she had made it to her destination. She pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders then followed the procession of people away from the raised platform that had been installed to ease the arrival and departure of the stages, and off toward the town.

  Her legs shook beneath her plain black skirts and she had a strange feeling in her stomach. It was as if a hard ball of clay had settled there. But every so often, it would roll over and create the most unsettling fluttering. She had to admit that she was actually somewhat excited. Which she had not expected. Here she was, setting out into the world alone, unchaperoned—for the first time ever—and she felt strangely liberated. It was completely unforeseen.

  The people in front of her shuffled along and she was glad of their slowness, for it gave her the opportunity to look around and to get her bearings. The first thing she needed to do was find somewhere to stay. Then she would need to find employment. In the dead of night whilst her family slept, though it had made her heart ache to do it, she had lifted the floorboards beneath the wooden table in the homestead and removed some of Kenan’s savings. She knew where he kept the money because he’d had no reason to hide it from her. Until now. She could not bear to think of what he would say when he realized that it had gone and that his own twin was a thief who had taken the money he’d sweated and toiled to save. He had aimed to use it to create a better future for his wife, child and siblings. She had left a note promising that she would pay him back just as soon as she was earning but she still felt the noose of her betrayal chafing at the tender flesh of her throat.

  With any luck, he would not even find out that it was gone and she could send it to him with any extra that she had to spare. The fear that she might not be able to do so made her suddenly aware of the heat of the spring afternoon, and tiny beads of perspiration rolled down her chest and soaked in
to her chemise where it was compressed by her corset.

  As the queue dispersed and folks wandered off through the town in all directions, Rosie looked both ways. Up or down? She could make out houses, shops, saloons, a stable and a post office. The dusty main street of Nevada City was busy as people made purchases or chatted about the weather and horses trotted up and down, guided by businessmen and cowboys and pulling carts laden with produce. She had taken the stagecoach from Virginia City to Nevada City, knowing that her brothers frequented the former location too often for her to avoid discovery. But here, she hoped to avoid being found. It was far enough away but not too far as to cause her to panic.

  “Excuse me, ma’am, may I be of assistance?” Rosie froze. The man’s voice was deep and laced with an unfamiliar accent. She turned cautiously to face him and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You may if you know where I can find a place to stay and perhaps some form of employment, sir.” She offered a thin smile to the very short man in front of her. He was hunched over, which obviously made him appear shorter than he actually was, and she wondered at his affliction. His brown suit was heavily soiled, and whenever he moved, it gave off a sour, musty aroma that left Rosie struggling not to gag.

  “There’s the Nevada City Hotel. Though I’m not sure that they’ve got vacancies, ma’am.” The man blinked quickly then lifted his Stetson and raked a grubby hand through his damp, dark hair. “However, I could take ya to see Mrs. Appleby. She takes in boarders for a small fee and she’s very nice indeed.”

  Rosie chewed her lip. Hotel or boarding house. She glanced at the man and fought the urge to recoil as he spat out a lump of brown phlegm. It landed at her side, just missing the hem of her skirt. What if this man was a degenerate, intent on leading young women astray as soon as they arrived at Nevada City? What if…?

  “You want my help or not, ma’am? See, there’ll be another stage in soon and I need the money from helping folks out. I ain’t real good for much else.” His cheeks flushed and he dropped his gaze to the ground. Rosie gasped. How could she have been so insensitive? He was clearly hunched over because of a distortion of his spine. The poor man.

  “Yes, please, sir. I would like to meet this Mrs. Appleby. If I may.”

  He doffed his hat then reached for her bag. Rosie hugged it to her chest. Though Kenan’s money was wrapped in linen and tucked beneath her corset, she did not feel comfortable handing the man her meager possessions. Just in case. She had a few coins tucked into her left glove which she would use to pay the man when she was safely escorted to the boarding house.

  He shrugged as if unsurprised at her reluctance to part with her belongings. “This way then.”

  He limped off along the street and Rosie followed him, surprised at how quickly he moved in spite of his disability. She was acutely aware of the stares that she attracted as she walked. She had hoped that the somber black gown and shawl with a plain black bonnet would spare her too much interest and that folks would suspect that she was the widow of some recently deceased miner, but she now recalled Kenan and Matthew talking about how the population of Nevada City had dwindled over the last few years as miners moved on to seek out gold pockets elsewhere. So, like all newcomers, she was bound to attract attention, even in widow’s weeds.

  Her guide stopped suddenly in front of a wooden-fronted building that appeared to be built onto the side of another. Though the exterior was somewhat shabby, the windows were clean and had frilled pink curtains at the sides. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad. A sudden wave of homesickness washed over her for the cozy homestead and the familiar landscape she had left just that morning.

  “You want me to knock and speak to Mrs. Appleby for ya?” The man tilted his head to one side as he waited for an answer. Rosie saw one of the curtains twitch and realized that someone inside must be curious about her intentions.

  She slid a finger into her glove and shook her head. “No. Thank you. You’ve been very kind.”

  She held out her hand and the man approached her. She dropped a few coins into his palm and had to bite back a protest as he lifted them to his mouth and bit them in turn. Apparently satisfied, he pocketed the money then nodded at Rosie before loping off in the direction they had come. He turned once, as if to check that she was still there, and she raised her hand and smiled but he merely nodded then continued on his way.

  Rosie took a shaky breath. So here she was. Alone in a strange town. About to ask a stranger if she could lodge with her. But wasn’t that what other folks did? Especially young women new to an area. Surely it was better than walking into a hotel alone? She shivered. What was Joshua doing now? Would Kenan have informed him about her disappearance or would he have suspected him of eloping with Rosie? Would Joshua be hurt or relieved that she was gone?

  Just as grief and guilt threatened to consume her, the front door of the house swung open and a buxom woman with fat pink cheeks and golden sausage curls stepped onto the porch. Rosie’s quick perusal suggested that she was about her age, but with all that makeup on, it was hard to tell.

  “Now what’s a strange young lady doing standing outside my house on such a hot afternoon? The sun will surely destroy your fair complexion.” She frowned but her green eyes danced with mischief.

  “I…uh… Do you happen to have a spare room, ma’am? I was brought here by a man…” She gestured at the street but her guide was nowhere to be seen. Rosie shifted her bag to her other arm and held out her right hand. “My name is Rosie. Rosie Duggan.”

  The woman opened her mouth and let out a belly laugh that made her blonde curls shake. “I’m sure you are, sweeting, and I’m Queen Cleopatra! Sure I have room for a young lady like yourself. Come on in and let’s get ya settled afore folks round here start pestering ya.” She pointed behind Rosie and whispered, “Don’t turn round honey. Ya don’t wanna give them randy varmints anymore reason ta get excited than y’already have.”

  With that, she ushered Rosie into a shadowy hallway that smelled of stale bacon and tobacco smoke and bolted the door behind them.

  * * * *

  Joshua lifted his head from the paperwork spread over the long kitchen table. He’d been going through some figures for his father, trying to work out where they could cut costs, but his heart hadn’t been in it. Over and over again, he heard Rosie’s last words to him and his heart broke anew… I don’t ever want to see you again.

  He tried to find some salvation in the memory, some trace of affection on her face as she’d looked at him, but there had been nothing there, nothing to offer him hope. Just sadness and a coldness—a distance he had never seen before. As he’d tried to work out the figures, the numbers had seemed to dance across the pages before him, taunting him for his inability to make the woman he loved happy. He’d been about to give up when a commotion erupted outside. He pushed to his feet and hurried into the main room of the ranch and peered out of the window.

  Kenan Duggan was trying to push past his brothers Billy and Christopher, and yelling at them as they refused to let go of his arms. Kenan’s face was bright red and his hat had fallen off and now rolled around on the ground in front of him. What could be wrong?

  Rosie!

  Joshua flung open the door and ran onto the porch. “What is it?”

  “You!” Kenan shouted. “It’s all your fault. You spent so long dallying and leading my sister a merry dance that she’s upped and left. That poor girl had a broken heart and all because of you.” He made a fresh attempt to get past the Hampton brothers but they held him fast, which couldn’t have been easy, as he was a big man. He clenched his fists repeatedly and Joshua knew exactly what Kenan would do to him if he got away from Billy and Christopher.

  Joshua walked toward Kenan and held his hands up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kenan. What do you mean she’s upped and left? Rosie’s gone?” Panic filled his chest and he raked his hands through his hair. “Where has she gone?”

  “I don’t know.” Kenan’s face crumpled f
or a moment before he regained control. “She took a few things and went while we were sleeping. I thought at first that she might have come here, but then judging by the state of her after you left last night, I doubt that she’d ever want to see your face again. But I’d hoped that you might have some idea, that she gave you some clue about where she was headed.”

  Joshua shook his head. “I had no idea that she’d run off. None at all. She said nothing last night that would suggest that she intended leaving.”

  “What’s going on here, Joshua?” Billy asked as he let go of Kenan’s arm but remained close to him, eyeing him cautiously.

  Joshua looked at his younger brother. Apart from his parents, he wasn’t sure that his family knew about his feelings for Rosie. He’d kept his mouth shut, trying to find the right time to tell them all. His gut churned as he realized that he might never get that chance now. Why had he waited? Why had he been such a cowardly, hesitant fool?

  “I’m in love with Rosie Duggan and I want to marry her.”

  “What?” Kenan frowned at him and Billy and Christopher paused for a moment then began slapping him on the back and congratulating him.

  “I love her, Kenan, and last night I asked her to be my wife.”

  “You did? At last! Then why in the hell has she run off?” Kenan took his Stetson from Christopher and brushed the dust off it. “Surely, you two should be celebrating not—”

  “She turned me down.”

  “Why in the hell would she do that?” Kenan stared from one Hampton brother to another. “It’s clear that she loves you, too. So why would she reject you?”

  “She had her reasons.” Joshua hung his head. He was too ashamed to say them out loud here, in front of Rosie’s brother and his own. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. “Kenan, I love Rosie with all of my heart and I’ll search high and low for her. I’ll find her, I swear. If it takes the rest of my life.”