Patty's Gamble

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Heather leaned toward them. “Patty, if you really want Greg to act like a husband, then do something about it. Don’t sit idly by while he’s running out of the room.”

  “And what do you suggest I do?” Patty asked. “Lasso and tie him to the bed?”

  “Why not?”

  “Oh, be serious. Patty can’t do that,” Eva argued.

  “Sure, she can,” Heather argued. “If anyone can lasso any moving thing, it’s Patty. She can make Greg stay in the house with her. She doesn’t have to tie him to a bed, but she can make it so that he has to spend time with her and get to know her. And who knows? Maybe if he’s on the run and she catches him, he might be impressed and see her in a new light.”

  “But that’s not ladylike,” Patty replied. “You know that horrid woman at church wouldn’t like me doing something like that. She’s always telling me I act too much like a man for my own good. She’s the one who gave me the idea to let him rescue me and it worked.” That was actually the one good piece of advice Evelyn gave her. “He married me to save me from John Meyer.”

  “Who’s John Meyer?” Eva asked.

  “Just the worst piece of scum in Lewistown,” Heather muttered. “Patty, you’re asking for trouble by arranging something with John.”

  “Everything’s fine,” Patty assured her. “I paid him the amount due to him. He’s gone his way.”

  “I don’t know.” Heather crossed her arms. “He’s a sly fox. You can’t trust him.”

  Patty waved off her argument. “The mayor was there to help arrange the whole thing.” And that being the case, she saw no reason to be concerned.

  “You better hope Greg doesn’t find out he was tricked into marrying you,” Heather commented, not seeming convinced that everything really was alright.

  “He won’t unless you two say something.”

  “We’re not going to say anything. Besides, how can we if we don’t know the details of the arrangement you made?” Then after a pause, she added, “You and Greg will be a good match once he realizes you’re perfect for him, though you need to be honest about who you are in order for him to see it.”

  Patty shook her head. Heather meant well, but there was no way Greg could like the side of her that would rather be out on a horse doing ranch work than stuck inside cooking meals. She rose to her feet. “I better go. I want to be sure one of his ranch hands secures all the stalls.”

  Lyle hadn’t the other evening, and the only reason she caught it was because she went to see her horse. She would have confronted him except something told her she was better off not letting him know she was watching him.

  “You think one of his ranch hands isn’t doing his job?” Heather asked.

  Shrugging, she said, “It’s a hunch. Nothing more. I won’t say anything unless I find out for sure. Thank you for lending me a caring ear.” Turning to Eva, she added, “And it was nice to meet you.”

  Eva returned the sentiment and Patty returned to her horse. At first, she got on it like she would if she was wearing pants then realized she had put a side saddle on it. Groaning, she changed her position and spread her skirt around her. As much as she hated it, she’d have to bear with it. Offering another wave at the women, she headed back home. Heather might be onto something. Patty could very well lasso Greg so he had to talk to her. But she still found it hard to believe he wanted to get to know the real her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You’re going to talk to me whether you like it or not,” Patty insisted, her hands on her hips before Greg could leave the house the next morning.

  Greg stared at her. The sunlight filtering in through the doorway as she blocked his exit made her hair shine in a most attractive fashion. She was just as beautiful as she’d been at supper the other day. Even now he could vividly recall the curve of her breasts and leg from when she showed him those parts of her body “unintentionally”.

  Had he not taken care of himself, he didn’t think he’d be able to resist her right now. But since he had, he was able to resist the charming way her big brown eyes stared up at him. She pulled out something from behind her, and he lowered his gaze. He couldn’t believe it. What was she doing with a lasso?

  He shook his head. “I’m not spending the day with you. I’m going to go out there and help my poor ranch hands who’ve been taking turns sleeping outside, watching for whoever’s been stealing my cattle.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re staying right here with me.”

  Even if something in her tone sparked his interest, he refused to bow down and cater to her. His father would have bent to the will of his mother at her every whim, but he wasn’t his father. “I don’t think so, Patty.”

  He picked her up and set her behind him. Then, without a glance back, he stepped onto the porch. He heard her warn him that she was going to lasso him if he went down the porch steps, but he paid her no mind and started down them anyway. He didn’t make it to the second one when the rope went around his chest and tightened. He spun around to glare at her and almost tripped on the steps.

  “You can’t be serious,” he said, much too bewildered to snap at her.

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life,” she replied and jerked him forward.

  He tried to steady himself but only tumbled forward, almost falling flat on his face.

  Not far away, he heard some chuckling from his ranch hands. With a grimace, he looked behind him and saw that Archie and Randy were clapping and whistling.

  “Way to go, Patty!” Archie called out. “Don’t let him out until he comes to his senses.”

  “We got it all covered out here,” Randy added, laughing.

  “You two better hope you still have jobs when I’m free of this…this…” He glanced at the lasso that had secured his arms in place and grumbled. What good was it to try to threaten them when he was apprehended by a woman? The ranch hands would never let him live this down.

  “Are you coming in willingly, or should I drag you?” Patty asked, ignoring the ranch hands.

  “Do I have a choice?” he snapped.

  “Sure. If you come in willingly, it won’t hurt.”

  “Let me guess. You got a whip, too?”

  “No. I just meant that it’s not pleasant when cattle have to be dragged across the land, and I don’t think it’d be pleasant to drag you across the kitchen floor in a similar manner.”

  At the threat, he smirked. “You’re not strong enough.”

  Her eyebrows rose at the challenge. To his surprise, she yanked on the rope. He stumbled and fell on his behind. Archie and Randy’s laughter grew louder as she proceeded to drag him across the floor. He struggled to grab something or dig the heels of his boots in the floor to stop her, but she was too quick.

  “I’ll walk!” he screamed, more annoyed at himself for underestimating her strength than for being humiliated in front of his men.

  She nodded in satisfaction and waited for him to stand up.

  With a heavy sigh, he asked, “Where do you want me?”

  She motioned to the kitchen chair by the table.

  He trudged forward, feeling more like a man going off to war than going to sit in his kitchen. As soon as he settled into the chair, she tied him down.

  “You can’t keep me prisoner in my own home,” he snapped, struggling against the rope. Dang but the woman knew how to tie a good knot!

  “You’re not leaving this house until you give me a fair chance.”

  “A fair chance?”

  “Yes. Ever since you married me, you’ve done everything you can to push me away. When we were sixteen, you used to look for ways to talk to me. And then something happened—something I had no control over—and you changed. I know you love me. No matter how much you protest, I know you want to be with me. If I have to keep you tied up in this house so I can find out why you refuse to acknowledge it, then I will.”

  “I have no desire to be married.”

  “Why?”

  He groaned. The la
st thing he felt like doing was talking about this. But she stood a few feet away from him, hands on her hips, a determined look on her face that told him she wasn’t going to give up until she got what she wanted. And that was a bad thing because it meant he was doomed.

  Then he heard a rattle. He grew still. He’d know that sound anywhere. It was a rattlesnake. And if he guessed right, it was behind him. Making sure he didn’t move, he made eye contact with Patty, wondering if she heard it as well. By the way her eyes widened, he knew she had. He fully expected her to run up the stairs in a squeamish womanly fashion, but she didn’t. Instead, she quietly stepped toward the door.

  Well, great. So she was going to leave him in here to die. It wasn’t enough she had him roped to a chair. She had to make him an easy target for the snake, too.

  But she didn’t slip out of the house. She reached for the rifle near the door. She couldn’t be serious! Did she really think she could kill a snake? He glanced at the thing as it slithered over to his foot.

  She lifted the rifle and aimed it at the snake. By now, sweat beaded his forehead, and he swallowed. She was going to shoot his foot off. He just knew it! If the snake wasn’t so close to him, he would have told her not to shoot until the thing was safely away from him. But he couldn’t say anything in case the thing bit him. Either way, this wasn’t going to be pleasant. She cocked the gun, and he squeezed his eyes shut tight. He couldn’t watch.

  The shot rang through the air, and he waited for the pain to shoot from his foot up to his leg. But nothing happened. Cautious, he opened his eyes and saw her put the gun back in its original place on the wall. What?

  He looked at his feet and saw that the snake was lying dead in a pool of its own blood. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened. He hadn’t gotten his foot blown off!

  Before he had time to contemplate his good fortune, she came over to him and untied him from the chair. “I need your help finding out if there are any more snakes in the house.”

  “How do you think that thing got in here?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it was in here all along.”

  Alright, the notion that a rattler had been in his house for days bothered him. And he didn’t frighten easily. “You really think that thing’s been in this house that long?”

  “I don’t know. The best thing we can do is search this house from top to bottom and make sure there are no eggs or other rattlers somewhere.”

  “We?” he emphasized, sure that she would quickly clarify that she meant ‘him’.

  To his surprise, she nodded. “If we both do it, the job will go quicker. And you might notice something I don’t or I’ll notice something you don’t. Either way, my pa always said two people doing the same job makes things more efficient. We need to get some gloves and a bag before we start looking though. I’ll go get what we need from the shed.”

  “Wait.” He grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t leave yet. He gave her a good look. She didn’t seem at all scared by the prospect. “Did you do something like this before?”

  “Twice. Once was when we had mice in the house. Another time, we had a snake.”

  “But this is a rattlesnake.”

  “That’s why I’ll be extra careful. You need to grab them from behind, but you need to be quick.”

  “You handled a rattler before?”

  “Three times. But that was always out in the fields. One I caught and the other two I shot, just like I shot that one a moment ago.” She gestured to the dead snake.

  “What on earth were you doing running after rattlers?”

  Her lips curled up, and she laughed. “I didn’t run after them. I was out with my pa, spending the night in the field.”

  “You spent the night outdoors?”

  “We do when we have cattle we want to sell at Grass Range or when we do business in Great Falls. Well, I should say did. Now that I’m married to you, I won’t be going with him and the ranch hands anymore.”

  “But isn’t it dangerous?”

  “Haven’t you ever spent the night outdoors?”

  “Of course, I have, but I’m a man,” he said. “Men are supposed to go out and do that kind of thing. And they’re supposed to catch the vermin and shoot at rattlers.”

  “Oh.” Her smile faltered. “I suppose it’s not the kind of thing men want in a wife.” Letting out a long sigh, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Greg, but I can’t be that kind of person. I’ve tried to be good and stay indoors as much as possible unless I need to hang up laundry. But you might as well know the truth. Ever since I was a girl, I took care of horses, rounded up cattle, repaired fences, and helped when the animals gave birth. And I have slept outside quite a bit.”

  “And you like doing all that?”

  “I love it. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me to resist throwing on a pair of pants and pitching in to help out there.”

  He stared at her, still unable to believe what he was hearing. “If you felt this way while you were growing up, why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  “We were at school,” she said. “All the other girls talked about sewing and cooking. And when you and I talked, it was about our lessons and the other students.”

  Now that he thought about it, she was right. She probably had no idea he would have rather talked about the chores on the ranch. He hadn’t introduced such topics, thinking she’d find such talk boring.

  “Anyway, none of this matters right now,” she said. “If there are more snakes in the house, we might not get so lucky next time. I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried out the door, and all he could do was watch her, his mind reeling from everything he’d just learned. Why didn’t he find out about this sooner? If he’d known she had embraced life on the ranch with so much enthusiasm, everything would have been different.

  Chapter Fifteen

  By the time Patty returned, she had everything they needed. “Do you want to start in the attic or the basement?”

  Greg watched her as she slipped on a pair of gloves. They were too big for her since they were made for men, but she didn’t seem to mind. “Um…the basement, I guess,” he finally said, still in awe of everything he was learning about her.

  She picked up one of the sticks and a bag then turned her expectant gaze to him.

  Oh right. His gloves. He quickly put them on and retrieved his stick and bag.

  “I don’t make it a habit of killing things, not even rattlesnakes,” she said as she went to the chair where the dead rattlesnake was on its back. “But once in a while, it’s a necessary evil. I don’t think this little guy would have let me take him outside.” She picked it up and, without even flinching, took it outside and flung it on the grass. Shutting the door, she returned to him. “Ready?”

  Like an idiot, all he could do was nod.

  But she didn’t seem disturbed by his inability to speak. She just headed for the door that led to the basement. And he followed. Even as he joined her in searching through every nook and cranny in the dim room lit only by a single window, he had to pause every few moments to make sure she wasn’t huddled in a corner, frightened or ready to bolt for the stairs. Each time he saw her, she was either inspecting every crack or on her knees peering around old junk. Good grief. The dirt didn’t even bother her. His mother would never have allowed a speck of the stuff to land on her.

  The rest of their search did turn up a couple of mice in the attic, and Greg suspected the mice had been what had lured the snake into the house. Patty wasted no time in helping him put all the mice in their bags.

  “I think we’re done,” she said, closing her bag once they returned to the kitchen. “Let’s take these outside.”

  “I’ll do that,” he offered, taking her bag. “You should change your clothes and wash up.”

  “Oh.” She glanced at her shirtwaist and skirt. “I didn’t realize I was such a mess.”

  “Do you like being messy?” he asked, smiling despite himself.


  “You don’t think that’s very feminine, do you?”

  He shrugged. “A feminine woman isn’t something every man wants.”

  “Does that include you?”

  “I’m partial to a woman who isn’t afraid to mess up her hair as she looks for creepy crawlies in the house.”

  She touched her hair then glanced at him, as if wondering if he was telling her the truth or not. “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “And if I would rather spend time on a horse instead of being inside cooking and cleaning, you’d like that, too?”

  “The house doesn’t get that dirty when you spend most of your time outdoors,” he said. “As for cooking, that’s what Marv’s for.”

  She studied him, still not seeming convinced.

  He took a step toward her. Really, she was beautiful. She’d always been beautiful. But at this moment, with her hair disheveled and her clothes dirty, she was especially so. With one hand, he cupped the side of her face and lifted it so he could kiss her. To his pleasure, she wrapped her arms around him and responded to him. In the past, he had imagined what it’d be like to kiss her. At one time, he’d almost done it. But this was much better than anything he imagined. She was soft and warm. And better yet, she wasn’t afraid to get dirty.

  “Would you rather be outside doing the things a man does?” he softly asked when their kiss ended.

  “To be honest, yes.”

  “So all this time when you’ve been doing all the household chores, you didn’t want to be doing them?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “And the curtains, rugs and little trinkets you decorated the house with?”

  “Oh, those I did like. The house was much too bare without them.”

  Noting her matter-of-fact tone, he laughed and stepped away from her. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t look so bad with the changes you made.”

  “Not so bad?” she asked, a slight smile on her lips.

  “I’ll admit it’s nice to have a woman’s touch.” After a moment, he gestured to the bags in his hand. “I’m guessing you’d like to clean up and put on a pair of pants so you can get out to the field.”