Patty's Gamble

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  He finished the coffee and watched as the ranch hands ate. They must have been tired, but they were laughing and talking. Greg couldn’t make out everything they were saying, but he was sure the words “Patty” and “best thing that ever happened” floated along the air. The ranch hands were officially won over. Their years of being with him had earned him very little loyalty.

  He waited until they had left the tables before he made his way to the bunkhouse. Marv usually had leftovers. If Greg was careful, he’d be able to get some without being caught. The whole thing was ridiculous, of course. He owned this ranch, and yet, he felt as if he was a little boy who could get in trouble for stealing something to eat. And he paid for the food for goodness sakes!

  Just as he made it to the plate on the cook stove where Marv had placed the leftovers to give the pigs, Marv showed up. “What’re you doing?” Marv asked, stepping between Greg and the plate.

  “You know very well what I’m doing,” Greg replied. “I’m getting some food.”

  “You have all the food you need in your house.”

  “Last time I checked, this is my ranch, and I can eat out here if I want to.”

  “And last time I checked, your pa hired me to feed the ranch hands, not the owner of the ranch.”

  Greg glowered at him, but Marv didn’t budge from his spot between him and the plate. This was definitely turning into a contest of wills. “Fine. Then you all can do my part of the job while I go into town and get something to eat,” he snapped.

  Before Marv could answer, he stormed to the barn. It wasn’t until he had saddled up his horse that he remembered he gave all his money to John Meyer. Groaning, he decided he’d get off the property anyway. Might as well make everyone think he was going to town to eat, even if he wasn’t.

  He didn’t understand how one woman could have such a foothold on his property. Patty hadn’t been there for even a week, and she’d already gotten everyone to do her bidding. She was clever. He granted her that. He wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow arranged it so that the man she was supposed to marry intentionally lost his game to John Meyer. Heck, maybe she even worked out something with John himself. He wouldn’t put such sneakiness past her.

  A half hour of riding led him to Mitch’s property. He hadn’t intended to come here, but it seemed it was where he needed to be. Maybe Mitch would understand what he was going through. Mitch had always been his friend. Greg might have been Boaz’s age, but for some reason, Greg and Mitch had a lot more in common. Maybe it was because Boaz couldn’t seem to function well unless he had a woman in his life. Hannah was his whole world. Then she died, and he fell apart. While getting his children back was a good thing, Greg suspected Boaz needed a wife so he could be complete again. Word was, Boaz finally got one again. Too bad it wasn’t Patty.

  “I was beginning to think you were dead,” Mitch called out.

  Greg looked at the barn and saw Mitch wave to him from the doorway. He trotted over to Mitch then got off the horse. “No, I’m not dead, though my life is over.”

  Mitch chuckled. “I heard about your marriage.”

  “Stop laughing. It’s not funny.”

  “I know, but I can’t help it.”

  “What is it with her?” Greg asked. “Why does she keep after me when there are tons of men she could have?”

  Mitch shrugged. “She must see something in you she can’t find anywhere else.”

  “I have to get rid of her.”

  “I don’t see how that’s possible now that you’re married to her.”

  “It was stupid. I’ve gone through the whole thing a million times in my head and can think of several different ways I could have gotten out of it. And you know what the worst part is? I’m starting to believe she tricked me into it. I don’t think her pa was ever in any danger of losing his ranch.”

  “Probably not.”

  Greg patted his horse’s neck and shook his head. “I wish there was some way out of the marriage.”

  “I know you didn’t want this, but since it’s happened, why don’t you take advantage of it? You have someone who’ll cook good meals, do your laundry, clean your house, and,” Mitch shot him a pointed look, “keep you company in bed. That’s not a bad arrangement when you think of it.”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  “Yours, of course.”

  “It doesn’t sound like it.”

  “Since the deed is done, you might as well get the best out of it,” Mitch argued. “Once the vows are said, that’s it.”

  “I know I can’t get out of the marriage. As much as I’d love to get an annulment, she’d lie and say I already deflowered her. The most I can hope for is that she’ll live with her pa. Got any ideas on what I can do to make her do that?” Greg asked, hoping his friend would think of something he didn’t.

  But after a few seconds, Mitch shook his head. “I can’t think of anything. From what Heather says, Patty will be with you until the end of time.”

  Greg grimaced. “Just my luck.”

  “That’s why you might as well get the benefits out of marriage.”

  Greg had no interest in doing that. Mitch had wanted to get married, but Greg sometimes wondered if Mitch should have taken such a risk. “Aren’t you ever worried that Heather’s going to wake up one day and run off for a more exciting life?”

  “No. I’m all the excitement she needs.”

  Catching the teasing tone in Mitch’s voice, Greg rolled his eyes. “Be serious. Lewistown doesn’t have much to it. What if sixteen years from now, she decides she’s had enough and goes to a bigger city?”

  “She’s not going to do that.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  Mitch paused. “Because I know her, and I know she loves me and the life we have here.”

  Maybe things really were that simple for Mitch. Maybe Heather would stay. Or maybe he’d wake up one day and find a letter telling him she had left and wasn’t coming back. “I hope you’re right,” Greg finally said.

  “Why are you so worried she’ll leave?”

  Instead of answering him, Greg got back on his horse. As he shifted in the saddle, his stomach growled, reminding him he had more pressing matters to worry about than Mitch and Heather.

  “We’re about to have brunch,” Mitch said. “Why don’t you stick around and join us?”

  “You didn’t already have breakfast?”

  “With my mother waking up later, we wait for her before eating a large meal. Get on down from that horse and get something to eat before you leave.”

  Greg would rather eat here than try to sneak in food at his place. Granted, this was a very short-term solution to his problem, but he would think better on a full stomach. “You talked me into it. I’ll keep you company during brunch.” He slid back off the horse, tied the reins to the post, and followed Mitch into the house.

  Chapter Ten

  “He already left?” Patty asked Archie Sunday morning when she got to the barn.

  “I’m sorry, Patty,” Archie said as he helped her onto the wagon. “If it’s any consolation, all of us think what he did was wrong.” He nodded toward a couple of the other ranch hands who were getting ready for church.

  “He’s only trying to prove a point,” she replied.

  “Well, there’s no excuse for leaving you here by yourself while he ran off to church,” Archie said, hopping in beside her while the others climbed in the back. “Think of how hypocritical it is. How can he sit there in the pew and sing hymns when he knows full well he didn’t do his husbandly duty and take you?” He snapped the reins so the horses moved forward. “You know, we could always hang him upside down in the barn for this,” he added, gesturing to the other ranch hands.

  “We’d be more than happy to do it,” Randy called out. “Greg might own the place, but we’ll teach him what’s right and what’s wrong.”

  As tempting as it was, she couldn’t see doing that to him. Yes, this particular action was clearly wrong. E
ven if he wasn’t happy with her, he should at least do the decent thing and take her to church. But there was a reason he did it. It had to be more than just not wanting to get married. There had to be something behind it.

  “Archie,” she began, “you were here when Greg’s mother left, weren’t you?”

  He nodded. “I just started here.”

  “What do you know about that time?”

  “Not much really. Hey, Randy,” he glanced over his shoulder, “what do you remember about Greg’s ma and her leaving?”

  Randy snorted. “That woman wasn’t sick. I don’t care what anyone says. Bill—that was Greg’s pa—insisted she was, but I don’t think he fooled anyone.”

  “You can’t blame him though,” Marv said. “He adored her. He did everything he could for her, but she didn’t appreciate any of it.”

  “He was a fool,” Randy argued. “Didn’t see what a spoiled brat she was.”

  “Love is blind,” Marv said. “You can’t blame him.”

  “Love isn’t that blind. She was downright impossible. Nothing pleased her.”

  “So far, she’s sounding an awful lot like Greg,” Archie commented, shooting Patty a sympathetic smile. “Like I said, we’ll hang Greg upside down or slip something extra spicy in his food.”

  Patty chuckled at the image of Greg’s eyes bugging out as soon as he put the spicy food into his mouth. “If you do that, make sure I’m there with a pitcher of water so he has to come over to me.”

  The men laughed. “Will do,” Archie said.

  Patty grinned then turned toward Randy and Marv. “I didn’t know any of this about Greg’s mother.”

  “That’s because none of us talk about it,” Marv told her. Then in a softer voice, he added, “Out of respect to Bill and Greg.”

  She could understand that. Something that painful wasn’t something Greg or his pa would want others to know. The ranch hands knew only because they’d witnessed it firsthand. Seeing Greg’s parents at church, Patty assumed everything was fine. Yes, his mother sometimes didn’t come to church, but her pa always said she wasn’t feeling well. Judging from what Randy and Marv said, it seemed there was much more to it than that.

  “Do you think Greg knew what his mother was really like?” she asked.

  “His pa did everything he could to hide the truth from him,” Randy replied. “I doubt he understood what she was like until she left.”

  “That must have been hard on him,” she whispered.

  “He had to become a man overnight,” Marv said. “His pa couldn’t focus on the ranch work anymore, so Greg had to take over.”

  How sad. It’d always struck her as odd that he’d gone from the laughing boy to the brooding man so suddenly. And now she knew why. The ranch hands weren’t coming out and saying it, but she understood Greg’s pa gave up on life when his wife left. Maybe that was why Greg fought marriage so hard. Maybe he worried she’d get up one day and decide this life wasn’t for her. If he didn’t let her in, there was no way she could hurt him.

  But how could she assure him that she wouldn’t leave like his mother did? She couldn’t just come right out and say it. That would betray the ranch hands’ confidence. They trusted her with this knowledge. And she was glad they felt comfortable enough with her to be honest about Greg’s past.

  Archie slowed the horses. Patty turned her gaze to the road ahead, surprised when she saw Greg waiting for them on his horse not too far ahead of them. As soon as Greg headed in their direction, Archie pulled the wagon to a stop.

  “You don’t think he’s going to forbid Patty to go to church, do you?” Randy asked.

  “Let him try,” Archie replied with a snort. “We’ll drag him back to the barn and hang him upside down.”

  The others chuckled, and though Patty tried not to, she couldn’t hide her laughter. “Oh, there won’t be any need for that,” she replied.

  When Greg reached them, his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” Archie quickly replied with another chuckle.

  Though Greg sighed, he ignored Archie and looked at Patty. “I’ll take you to church.”

  “No need to do that,” Randy said. “We’re on our way there.”

  “You can’t do that,” he argued. “I’m her husband. I have to take her.”

  “Why? Worried about what others will say if you don’t show up with her?” Archie asked.

  Greg didn’t answer which only proved he was right.

  “I don’t mind riding with you,” Patty told Greg, “if I know you’ll be taking me home.”

  Archie placed his hand on her arm and stopped her before she could get out of the wagon. “Don’t you dare. We’re taking you. Whatever the good folk at the church think, they’ll think.”

  “And it serves you right for the way you’ve been treating her,” Randy added.

  Greg’s jaw clenched and he set his piercing gaze in her direction. “Are you trying to ruin my life?”

  “Of course not,” she said. “I’m going to be a blessing to you.”

  He started to roll his eyes but then stopped, probably because they were all watching him. In a carefully controlled voice, he said, “There’s no need to involve the church folk in this mess.”

  “I agree. All we need is senseless gossip.” Especially from that horrible Evelyn. As pious as Evelyn pretended to be, she did substantial damage with that tongue of hers. “I’ll go with Greg.”

  Greg relaxed and brought his horse up to the wagon so she could get on it. She sat sideways on the horse since it allowed her to slip her arms around Greg’s waist. He hadn’t chosen to use a saddle fit for two people, and that gave her the perfect opportunity to be close to him.

  “What do you know?” Marv commented with a laugh. “She might know what she’s doing after all.”

  Surprised, she glanced over at the ranch hands who seemed amused. So being this close to Greg was a good move on her part.

  “All of you need to mind your own business,” Greg snapped at the ranch hands then led the horse into a canter.

  Had she been a novice at riding, the sudden movement would have startled her. But in this case, it only gave her the opportunity to hold him tighter, which she did. He groaned, but she sensed it didn’t all stem from frustration. If she was right, there was a spark of desire in it.

  “I don’t mind if we always go to church like this,” she told him.

  “Next time we’ll take the buggy.”

  “There’s no need. This is much more comfortable.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Sure, it is.” She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Why go through all the hassle of getting a buggy ready when you can just saddle up a horse and be on your way?”

  Though he sighed, he didn’t say anything.

  She enjoyed the ride to the church immensely. When she was sixteen, she had dreamed of being with him on a horse and riding through the fields.

  “Don’t get used to this,” Greg muttered.

  “Used to what?”

  “Used to this.”

  Patty shook her head. Why couldn’t he be more specific? Did he really think she was a mind reader? “What are you talking about? Riding a horse?”

  “Riding a horse with me.”

  “Well, if you had waited for me this morning, I would have gotten in the buggy.”

  “Why do you insist on making me miserable?”

  She laughed. “I’m not trying to make you miserable.”

  “Could’ve fooled me.”

  “There was a time when you wouldn’t have minded it if we were riding a horse together,” she said. “In fact, you probably would have suggested it.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “Not so long ago I don’t remember it.” She studied his expression, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “You remember it, too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said it was a long time ago.”

  “I’m only riding with you so
everyone doesn’t needle me about leaving you behind. I thought about not going to church today, but that will only create gossip I don’t feel like dealing with.” He glanced at her and frowned. “You put me in a difficult position.”

  “If you had been smart enough to go to that square dance when we were sixteen, this wouldn’t be necessary.”

  “I had more important things to do.”

  She noted the bitterness in his voice. She wondered if that was because of his mother. “Well, fortunately for you, I was willing to wait for you.”

  His jaw dropped. “Fortunately for me?”

  “Yes. Now that you don’t have more important things to do, we can be together.”

  He grunted, but she noted that his arm was still wrapped protectively around her waist. Despite his words, he did want her. There were some things he couldn’t fake, no matter how hard he tried.

  They arrived at the church where everyone was gathered before the service, collecting food to eat from the potluck they had every week.

  “Oh my,” Patty mumbled, “I forgot to fix something.”

  Greg stopped the horse and, though he let out a long sigh, helped her down.

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” she replied and kissed his cheek. If he wanted to play the happy couple, she could oblige.

  Before he could respond, she hurried off to find Heather in the crowd, but Evelyn jumped in front of her. With an inward groan, Patty smiled.

  “Evelyn, isn’t it a pleasant day?” she asked in the nicest tone she could muster.

  “That depends.”

  Though Patty knew what was coming, she forced out, “On what?”

  “On how appropriate your behavior is. Isn’t it in bad taste to be so intimate with a man in public?” Evelyn asked Patty, narrowing her eyes.

  “I was only riding a horse.”

  “Sitting on a man’s lap with your arms around his waist? There was more to what you were doing than simply riding a horse.”