Texas Lily

by Patricia Rice

  "I can't dismiss a man without giving him a chance, Mr. Clark. Even drunk, he's showed more sense than some sober men I could name. If Colonel Martin could use him, I don't see why I can't."

  He took a deep breath. "He ain't even white, Lily. You'll give me permission to call you Lily?" When she didn't reply, Ollie hurried on. "He's half-Indian, half-Mexican. You'd be better off hiring one of your father's slaves. At least they listen when you whip them. Cade's more likely to turn and kill you. He's done it before. You've got to get him out of here."

  Ollie was speaking sense from his own point of view. Beneath his placid exterior. Cade undoubtedly had a violent temper. Lily had seen evidence of that already. And Ralph had told her he'd been in prison for killing another man. So Ollie was speaking the truth, but only one side of the truth. Lily knew all about that kind of lie.

  "I'll give Cade his chance, Mr. Clark. Jim would want it that way." Lily watched gleefully as she used this two-edged sword to make Clark squirm. How many times had she resentfully heard those words when the men wouldn't listen to her?

  Clark scowled and rose. "Jim wouldn't have taken on a drunken Indian. I'll set about finding you a decent man to help out. You'll be needing him soon enough." He gave the child on the floor another glance, one of puzzlement, but he didn't ask the question that obviously was on his mind.

  And Lily didn't answer it. Sweetly, she held out her hand and offered her best Southern-belle smile. "I'm so grateful for your concern, Mr. Clark. Please do come and visit sometime. Perhaps you could bring Miss Bridgewater. I'd be happy for the company."

  The name of the young girl whom the town gossip had Clark courting only brought a milder frown to his handsome face. "That's mighty kind of you, Mrs. Brown. I hope you hear from Jim soon."

  Lily watched him go with a sigh of relief and a small sense of triumph. She didn't know why Ollie Clark was suddenly so all-fired concerned with her welfare, but surely she had set him properly in his place.

  Now, if she could only say the same for her new foreman...

  Chapter 4

  "I ain't workin' for no blamed red Indian! Pardon me, ma'am, but I didn't come all the way to Texas to take orders from the likes of him."

  Lily straightened her aching back and sat up, brushing a dirt-encrusted hand across her perspiring forehead as she looked up at the lanky hired hand. "And what did the blamed red Indian tell you to do this time?" she asked a trifle impatiently.

  The man scowled. "He said I was to fix the paddock fence instead of riding out like I always do. I ain't no carpenter."

  This wasn't the first time Lily had had to field such a complaint, and she could see it wouldn't be the last. Cade had no patience with the hands' inflated opinions of themselves. Tact wasn't his strong point, either. He gave an order and walked away. The men weren't used to that. Jim had been as much their friend as their boss. They were used to giving opinions and arguing and having someone listen. Cade wasn't Jim.

  But Cade was all she had, and she couldn't fault his decisions so far, although she could certainly fault his highhanded manner of dealing with people, including herself. Keeping her resentment to herself, Lily replied with as much patience as she could muster, "I told Cade I wanted the paddock mended today. I assume he chose the best man for the job. If there's a better, just let me know, and I'll pass that information on to him. We're having peach cobbler for dinner. You can't quit a place that serves the best cobbler in the territory, can you?"

  She ought to despise herself for using the feminine wiles she had once despised her sisters for wielding, but she would use whatever worked to keep this ranch running. If men were fool enough to fall for a pretty expression and a "please," then it was their own danged fault. She hid her grimace behind a beseeching smile as the man grumbled and then nodded respectfully before wandering off to do what he had been told to do in the first place. It was akin to dealing with half a dozen eight-year-olds.

  Lily stood and stretched and admired the neat rows of her vegetable garden. She had already harvested a cellar full of cabbage, sweet potatoes, and turnips. The corn was drying and almost ready to grind. There would be plenty enough to eat for the winter. She really ought to assign one of the men the task of hoeing out the garden, but they considered it woman's work and never took the time to get right down into the soil and pull up the weeds that smothered a plant. Besides, she found a certain amount of satisfaction in handling this one chore herself.

  She glanced toward the house, where Roy studied his lessons and Juanita kept an eye on Serena. Cade had been with them a month now, and Lily had made no more progress in dealing with the man than she had at the first. The only way she could reach him was through the child.

  There were days when she wanted to hold a gun to Cade's head and force him to listen to her. Instead, she had learned to make him come inside and wait while she dressed Serena and discussed the topics on her mind. Cade seldom gave any evidence of having heard, but at least she'd had her say. And upon occasion, like today with the paddock, he did give some indication that he had listened.

  She looked up to see the object of her musing approaching. Seldom did Cade come back to the ranch before dinner, and if he did, it wasn't to consult Lily. Quelling any indication of resentment, Lily watched her hired foreman as he crossed the yard in her direction.

  His wardrobe apparently consisted of two chambray shirts—one with a torn pocket and the other with a dark stain on the sleeve—and two pairs of old denims. As he walked, his muscles strained at the worn seams, and Lily often caught herself holding her breath, waiting for a thread to surrender to the pressure. She had never before noticed a man the way she did this one, and she hoped her cheeks weren't red as Cade halted at a respectful distance.

  "I want to get rid of Williams," he announced as if the decision had been made and Lily was simply the beneficiary of his judgment.

  "He's a tad lazy, but he gets the job done eventually. What's he done to deserve dismissal?”

  Knuckles at his hips, Cade observed that the woman who paid him was trying to disguise a load of irritation. She swatted at a loose strand of yellow hair flying in her face and added another smear of dirt to her brow. He'd had time to grow accustomed to her height—he rather appreciated being able to look her in the eye when she started one of her diatribes—but he was having trouble dealing with the idea of all that fragile slenderness doing the work of a man. He didn't have the white man's prejudice about allowing women to work, but a woman who wielded a gun and a horse like a man was another prospect entirely.

  "He's insolent and disobedient and a troublemaker. I wish to make an example of him." Cade didn't like explaining his decisions, particularly to a woman, but he acknowledged her right to know.

  "He's worked for Jim for years. Jim never had any trouble with him." The devil made her say that. True, Jim had never complained about Williams's behavior, but Lily had always found the man annoying. He had a way of sneaking up behind a person and listening when he had no right, and she had never liked the way he looked at her as if she were a piece of beefsteak instead of his boss.

  She wouldn't be sorry to see the man gone, but she had to question the reason.

  Cade merely looked at her.

  Lily refused to be intimidated by his silence. "Look, if we're going to get along, you'll have to learn to talk to me. I can't just dismiss a man because you don't like him. I don't like him either; but I haven't got a good excuse to send him away. If you have one, say so."

  Cade almost smiled. She was growing more frustrated by the minute; he could tell from the way she pulled at her braided hair, tugging the straying strands behind her ear as if they were recalcitrant animals. He liked the way the blue of her eyes matched the color of the soaring skies. He liked the way she treated him as just one more of the stupid men she so blatantly despised. He didn't like having his decisions questioned. But he had already noted that the less he talked, the more she did. If he didn’t want to be jawed to death, he had to answer.
/>
  "I'm not Jim." He waited, as if this would explain all.

  Lily wiped her hands on her denims and contemplated the broad-shouldered man blocking the sun. She had to tilt her head to read his expression. It was an odd feeling, looking up to a man. She tucked her hair behind her ear again.

  "You're not Jim," she repeated, trying to understand his meaning, or at least drag it out of him. "The men shouldn't expect you to be Jim. If Williams doesn't like you, he has the option to quit. Your not liking him isn't the same thing. I didn't hire him because I like him. I hired him to do a job. Is he doing his job?"

  Cade crossed his arms over his chest. "No."

  Lily wondered what he would do if she walked up to him, grabbed his finger, and bit it—hard. She had a mad desire to jerk a reaction out of this stoic giant somehow, but obviously logic wouldn’t do it. Sighing, she shoved her hands in her pockets. "All right, have it your way. I don't know where you'll find someone to replace him; we're shorthanded as it is, but that's your job, isn't it?"

  She gave him a challenging look that said more than her words. Cade shrugged at the added responsibility; he had been prepared to take it anyway. Hearing Serena's cries of recognition from the house, he offered the explanation she had sought.

  "I sent him back to finish his work last night. He got drunk instead. He's sleeping it off in the bunkhouse right now. I'll take care of him."

  He strode off in Serena's direction, leaving Lily to stare after him in astonishment. Why in hell couldn't he have said that in the first place?

  Irritation at her ornery foreman dissipated under the demands of the remainder of the day. Later, when it was time to wash for the evening meal, Lily felt as if she were already two days behind. After scrubbing in the washbowl and donning a clean cotton shirt from her husband's drawers, she went in search of Serena to give her a bath before feeding her. The noise of a wagon pulling up distracted her.

  Having escorted a hungover Williams off the ranch and inspected the repairs in the paddock, Cade was in the yard when the wagon arrived. He didn't recognize the horse or equipage, but he recognized one of the two men on the seat, and he grimaced in distaste. Ollie Clark had visited with Mrs. Brown a few too many times during this past month. The lady wasn't even officially a widow, and already the vultures were circling.

  Rather uncomfortable with the direction of that thought, Cade turned for the side door of the dogtrot. The lady's excited cries of "Daddy!" filtered through from the front porch even as he reached for the door.

  Lily flung herself into the arms of the tall man coming up the dusty walk. He looked older and grayer, but he was still the father she had always adored. Brushing a recalcitrant wavy lock from his eyes, Ephraim gathered Lily into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

  "It's been a long time, little mite. After I got your letter, I thought it was time to come and see you. Have you had word of Jim yet?"

  Lily shook her head against her father’s shoulder, and he stroked her hair as he had when she was a child. Catching her waist, Ephraim led her up the stairs to the house. It was only then that he took in her unladylike attire.

  "Lily Porter Brown! What on earth is this getup you're wearing?"

  "Don't start, Daddy," Lily warned, pulling away as she reached for the door. Ollie beat her to it, making a small bow as he held it open for her. She gave him an irritated look and stepped inside. She didn't need an audience for this reunion, but Ollie was making it obvious that he meant to stay.

  "I knew Jim would be too lax with you. I bet you've run roughshod over him all these years. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Lily Porter. Your mama taught you better."

  "Mama died when I was ten. She didn't have time to teach me better." Seeing a sleepy Serena stumble out of bed, Lily bent to pick her up, discovering Cade by the side door at the same time as the men beside her.

  She felt both men stiffen as her tall foreman stepped forward, but ignoring their testiness, she brushed Serena's fair hair out of her face, pressed a kiss against her forehead, and handed her over to Cade. "She just got up. I haven't had time to bathe or feed her yet."

  Then remembering her manners, Lily introduced him. "Daddy, this is Cade, my foreman. Cade, my father, Ephraim Porter." She stepped aside so the men might shake hands, but neither made an effort to do so. Frowning, she watched Cade nod his head stiffly, then turn to her.

  "You have company. I'll see to Serena." He didn't even bother to take proper leave of her guests before stalking out, carrying the child with him.

  "Who in hell is that and where are your servants, Lily? What kind of place is this that Jim has brought you to? You ought to have some chaperone, someone to deal with the likes of that..."

  "I've been tellin' Lily that for some time now, sir. Maybe you can make her see sense. Cade's a drunken Indian and a cold-blooded killer. She shouldn't have no truck with the likes of that. It's Jim's fault for not allowin' slaves and hirin' an overseer like everyone else does."

  Lily put her hands on her hips and glared at Ollie. "As law-abiding Mexican citizens, we're not supposed to have slaves. That's half the problem we're having with the Mexican government right now: people like you think you can make your own laws. And I happen to agree with Jim. Slaves are a poor form of labor."

  "So is a murdering Indian—"

  Ollie's tirade was halted by Ephraim's interruption. "Let's not argue. I've had words with Jim over this before, and there's no sense trying to change his mind. It's disrespectful to talk of him when he can't defend himself."

  Relieved, Lily turned her back on Ollie to study her father's tired face. "You've had a long journey. Let me make up a room for you so you can wash and rest. Juanita can keep our dinner warm until you're ready to eat." Selfishly, she made it clear that Mr. Clark wasn't being invited. He might be the best-looking man in town and always solicitous of her well-being, but he was an opinionated ass.

  After preparing the loft over the main cabin for her father and sending Ollie away, Lily went in search of Cade. His rudeness was as inexcusable as her father's. She had no intention of living between two warring factions if her father had come to stay, which she very much expected he had.

  She found Cade sitting on the front step of the cabin he had taken as his own, feeding Serena pieces of pecans from his hand. At Lily's approach, he put the remainder of the pecans in the child's lap and stood, brushing his hands off against his denims.

  "If you won't be needing me, I'd like time to find another place for Serena. I'll pay rent."

  Lily stared at the overgrown idiot with astonishment. God had simply given him too much of everything except brains. She was too aware that her eyes only came level with the spectacular breadth of Cade's shoulders. If she allowed herself to look, she could see the smooth copper of his skin beneath the open V of his shirt, but she forced herself to meet those obsidian eyes instead.

  "My father has already run one plantation into the ground. I don't intend to give him a chance to destroy another. You're the foreman, I'm the boss, and he's only a guest. I just ask that you be polite to him. I dislike argument."

  At last she had drawn a reaction from him: Cade's eyebrows rose a hair. Lily enjoyed the satisfaction at finally getting through to him.

  "He'll not like it," Cade warned.

  "He didn't like Jim, either, but that didn't stop me." With that retort, Lily spun around and returned to the house.

  There were a lot worse things in life than what her father didn't like. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but she had learned it well.

  Chapter 5

  "I want you to come home with me, Lily. I think I've seen and heard enough these last days to convince me this isn't any place for a woman alone. The work isn't suitable for a lady, there's still Indians close enough to be dangerous, and from all I hear, there's war in the air. They're saying the Mexicans are holding American prisoners and planning to shoot them. There's going to be repercussions, just you wait and see."

  "Daddy, I'm not leav
ing. This is Roy's inheritance. This will all belong to him one day. I have to hang on to it any way I can. And you talk as if Jim isn't ever coming back. He could turn up tomorrow. What would he think if I had already hightailed it back home?"

  "He'd think you were a sensible woman." Ephraim set his coffee mug down on the table and glared.

  "I'm not going, Daddy, and that's final. I don't belong back there anymore. I never did. This is my home and I'm staying." Lily stood up and carried her plate to the sink. Jim had installed the pump in here several years ago, before he built the kitchen, and she was proud to have it. It wasn't the same as having slaves to haul and carry for her, but she preferred it just the same. She liked having something of her own, and this house was hers.

  "Not by yourself, you can't. Hell, honey, you're the only woman within twenty miles, far as I can see. These men aren't made of stone. You've gotta have someone here to protect you. It's been over two months since Jim disappeared. You have to start facing facts. If you're too stubborn to leave, you'll need to start looking for a decent man. That Ollie Clark seems like a fine, upstanding young fellow. He owns that store back in town, don't he?"

  Lily sighed and ran her fingers over her temple, where a throb was building. She loved her father, but he was beginning to get on her nerves. The fact that Ollie owned a store had impressed him. In her father's eyes, that would make any man fine and upstanding. Maybe he was right, but she had no intention of putting herself in a man's power again. Jim had been a good man, but he had never wanted to hear her opinions. Now she had the opportunity to do things her way, and she fully intended to take advantage of it. The labor-intensive cotton would be the first to go.