A lazy chuckle escaped Dan. “Gary hates your guts. If I know Mrs. Liscomb, she’ll take one look at your face and faint dead away. Amanda is practically engaged to Corby Wilson, who also hates your guts, and Andy Kilburn is a fool. Why would you want to work for them?”
Broc sighed. “It really is too complicated to explain in the short time before we reach the ranch.”
“Maybe it’s so complicated you don’t understand it yourself.”
“That’s part of the reason I want the job. Something is wrong here, and I want to find out what it is.”
Dan regarded him thoughtfully. It was early evening, but the moon was bright and millions of stars filled the cloudless sky. Broc figured Dan could read his expression fairly well. He just hoped his uncertainty didn’t show too clearly.
“You think my boss is involved in whatever it is?” Dan asked.
“I know he’d like to get his hands on the Lazy T, but I don’t know how far he’d go to do that.”
“He’s not a crook.”
“There are lots of ways to get control of a spread without doing anything illegal.”
“And you think you can figure it out?”
“It’s not what I want to be doing, but I let my temper get out of hand a few days ago, and I got into some trouble.”
“Anything to do with your face?”
Broc nodded.
“How’d it happen?”
“The judge gave me a job to do so I could avoid spending time in jail. It’s beginning to look like I can’t do that job without figuring out what’s going on.”
“I’m sorry about your face,” Dan said. “I figure you used to be right good-looking before. Must be hard now.”
Broc forced a laugh. “I don’t have to look at myself, at least not very often.” He sobered quickly. “It’s only hard when people recoil.”
“I expect you get that a lot.”
Broc was relieved Dan wasn’t one to waste time trying to soothe his sensibilities or reassure him with useless platitudes. They’d reached the lane leading to the Liscomb ranch, so Broc pulled up his horse. He glanced at the ranch house in the distance and back at Dan. “Wish me luck.”
Dan shook his head. “If I really wanted to wish you luck, I’d hope they’d refuse to hire you and you’d come to work with me.”
“I doubt Carruthers would have me now.”
“If he wouldn’t, Sandoval would. They both believe Mrs. Liscomb is wasting the best grazing land in the county. They can’t wait for her to fail and sell up.”
Broc wondered how much longer they were willing to wait.
Dan offered his hand. Broc took it, liked the firm grasp that didn’t try to impress him by its strength, but did impress him with its genuineness.
“Let me know if I can do anything to help.” Dan said. “I’d hate to see a man go to jail because of a wound he got in the war.”
“I hate for you to have to ask Corby about working more nights, but I don’t see any other solution if we have to do without Gary’s money.”
Amanda’s mother had repeated herself so many times during the evening, Amanda was beginning to believe working would be easier than staying at home. Her mother had largely ignored the complicated piece of embroidery she’d been working on for months. Amanda squinted over a repair she was making to one of Eddie’s shirts. They both needed more light than the single lamp provided, but her mother insisted they use expensive oil rather than the cheaper kerosene.
“Don’t worry about that yet,” Amanda said to her mother. “I’ll talk to Gary when I see him tomorrow. I’m sure he will have cooled off by then and be ready to move back.”
“I don’t want him to move back,” Eddie said.
“He’s your brother,” their mother said. “Of course you want him back.”
“No, I don’t,” Eddie insisted. “He’s mean.”
Eddie had said that so frequently Amanda had started to wonder if she’d missed something important in the way Gary treated his brother. She’d assumed it was natural when brothers didn’t get along, but now she was beginning to wonder if Gary had been too rough.
“Gary is never mean,” their mother said. “He’s just firm.”
Amanda tried to ignore her mother’s argument with Eddie. She was so tired at the end of the day that she didn’t want to deal with anything, just go to bed and rest up for the next day. Not that she’d gotten much rest the last few nights with dreams of being in Broc’s arms causing her to wake up embarrassingly warm. Her thoughts once she was awake were just as vivid as they had been in her dreams. She was relieved when Leo’s entry caused her mother and brother to break off their argument.
“What brings you to the house at this hour?” her mother asked. It was her frequently stated opinion that cowhands should only enter the house to eat.
“It’s Andy,” Leo said. “He’s threatening to quit.”
While Amanda was worried about how the ranch would survive with only one cowhand, it would be a relief not to have to deal with Andy’s immaturity. “Why? Does he want more money?”
“He said Sandoval offered him a job. Said he wouldn’t have to do any work until his shoulder was completely healed.”
Andy had complained when she’d made him saddle up and ride with them that afternoon. She’d said his shoulder didn’t affect his eyesight. He could look for the lost cattle.
“I’m not sure Andy will really quit,” Leo said. “He’s mad at you for making him work while his shoulder is hurting, but he’s more afraid of Sandoval’s men treating him like Carruthers’s men do.”
“What ingratitude,” her mother exclaimed. “We gave him a job when no one else would. Now he decides to leave us when we need him so much.”
“What about you?” Amanda asked Leo. “Are you planning to leave, too?”
“No, ma’am.”
Something about the way he shifted his weight, and didn’t meet her gaze, told Amanda he wasn’t as certain as his words indicated. If he quit, it would be impossible to run the ranch. She’d been racking her brains to figure out how she could get more time in the saddle until Andy was fully recovered. It would take several days before Gary cooled off enough for her to talk to him. How was she going to work more at the saloon at the same time she worked more at the ranch?
Her mother turned to her. “You will just have to hire someone else. You can go into town early tomorrow.” She assumed the attitude of a martyr. “I can fix Eddie something for lunch.”
The pleading glance Eddie sent her way caused Amanda to stifle a laugh.
“I can—” The sound of someone knocking at the door stopped her.
“I’ll see who it is.” Eddie jumped up from his seat and ran to the door. He peeked out the door, then ran back into the house before letting the visitor in. “It’s Broc.”
From the way he acted, Amanda would have thought his best friend had arrived. From the way Amanda’s body went rigid, then flushed hot, she’d have thought her worst nightmare had arrived. In a sense, it had.
“What is he doing here?” Her mother dropped her embroidery in her lap. The bright colors of the silk threads contrasted sharply with her cream-colored silk gown, which had been made for her before the war.
“I expect he’ll tell us.” Amanda’s voice came out as a thread, not surprising given that she felt barely able to breathe. She heard the front door close.
“He can have nothing to tell us,” her mother insisted.
“He must have. Otherwise why would he be here?”
“I don’t want him—” Her mother broke off when Broc entered the room.
“Good eve ning.”
Amanda thought he looked as uncomfortable as she felt.
“If you’ve come to ask for money, you’re wasting your time,” her mother said. “We don’t owe anybody any money, and I wouldn’t give it to you if we did.”
“That’s not why I’m here,” Broc said.
“Has the bull gotten out again?” Eddie asked.
“Why are you here?” Amanda asked.
“I’ve come to offer to work for you,” he said. “To be your foreman.”
Amanda could hardly have been more surprised if he’d—well, she didn’t know what would have surprised her more.
“How did you know Andy was threatening to quit?” Leo asked.
“I didn’t.”
“I can appreciate your feeling responsible for causing Gary to leave his home,” her mother said, “but it’s unnecessary for you to feel you need to take his place until he returns.”
“I don’t feel the least responsible for Gary,” Broc said. “He’s spoiled, self-centered, and impressed with glitter over substance.”
“How dare you speak of my son in that manner.” Her mother was so incensed, she half rose from her chair.
“It’s easy to speak the truth. It’s lies that take work.”
“I want you to leave this house at once.”
Amanda ignored her mother’s outburst. “Why do you want to work for us?”
“He’s probably going to try to steal our bull to pay off this ridiculous debt.” Aware no one was listening, her mother settled back in her chair.
“If he wanted to do that, why did he bring it back, twice?” Eddie asked.
The answer was too obvious to deserve a response.
“I’m embarrassed to have to explain,” Broc said, “but I let my temper run away with me. Carruthers offered me a job, but I turned him down. When he thought I intended to ask you for a job, he told me he wouldn’t allow me to work for you.”
“He’s done that before,” Amanda said.
“I told him I had already taken a job as your foreman. Now I’m here to ask you to help me out of this lie. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I can’t control my temper lately.”
Amanda put a stop to her imagining—even hoping—that he’d come back because of her.
“I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation, but I don’t see how you can expect us to help you out of it,” her mother said.
“You need another cowhand,” Leo reminded her.
“Gary will be back soon,” her mother said. “He will take care of everything.”
“He never did,” Leo responded, “so I don’t see any reason why he would start now.”
“What do you mean?” her mother asked.
“He was always sending me in one direction and himself in another. Half the time he didn’t do what he said. The other half he left for the saloon early. That’s all he ever thought about. Hell, Andy did more work than he did, and Andy’s the laziest man I’ve ever been around.”
“I’m sure you mean well,” her mother said in a voice that contradicted her words, “but you don’t have sufficient experience to judge my son.” She kept glancing nervously at Leo and Broc’s boots, apparently afraid they were getting dirt on her prized Aubusson carpet.
Leo didn’t back down. “It don’t take experience to know when someone’s slacking off. Even a kid like Eddie can see it.”
“Gary’s work isn’t the issue here,” Amanda said, in an attempt to end an argument that was causing her mother to become increasingly agitated. “Mr. Kincaid has offered to ride for us, and we’re in need of a cowhand. I can’t pay you much,” Amanda said to Broc, “probably only a little more than we were paying Andy.”
“I’m not worried about the pay,” Broc said. “I just want the job.”
Probably he’d stay just long enough to save face, then go. Unless she could find a reason to make him stay. What was wrong with her? She was acting like a schoolgirl over a man she barely knew. She’d never known herself to behave so irresponsibly. Maybe the best thing would be for her to hire Broc and work with him as much as she could. After a few days, she was bound to realize he was just an ordinary man, not some demigod who was going to solve all her problems and make love to her until she was weak in the knees.
Just thinking about her latest dream caused heat to flame to her cheeks. She hoped no one could see her embarrassment in the dim light coming from the single lamp.
“It’s not really a matter of money,” her mother said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you working for us.”
“Why?” Eddie asked. “I like him. I like him better than Gary.”
“Edward, you will not speak of your brother in that manner.”
“It don’t matter if I say it or not,” Eddie argued. “I do like him better than Gary, and you can’t make me feel different.”
“Why would you feel uncomfortable with him working here?” Amanda asked her mother. She was certain she knew one reason, but she wanted to see what her mother would say.
“It was kind of him to return the bull,” her mother said, “but his insistence that we owe that woman money has forced me to question his honesty. I could never be certain he wouldn’t do something that…might be involved in something that could cause…I don’t know,” her mother finished lamely as she averted her face. “I don’t know what a dishonest person might do.”
“I don’t think you can accuse him of being dishonest,” Amanda said. “He returned the bull twice and never even asked for thanks.”
“I know, but—”
“If you don’t hire him, I’m quitting.”
Leo’s declaration fell into the pool of their conversation like a large rock. The splash hit everyone in the room.
“I can’t do everything by myself,” Leo explained. “There’d be too much even if Gary came back. Besides,” he added, appearing a little uncomfortable, “I ain’t looking forward to facing Carruthers’s men by myself.”
“Do you think you could stand up to those men?” Amanda asked Broc.
“I’m sure I can stand up to them,” Broc said with what she suspected was a trace of a smile, “but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”
“I bet you could shoot their whiskers off,” Eddie said.
“I won’t have any shooting,” their mother said.
No one paid that statement any attention.
“I can’t say that I can do all of Andy and Gary’s work,” Broc said to Amanda, “but I can give it a try.”
“I’ll help,” Eddie offered eagerly. “I got three horses.”
Amanda made a snap decision. Avoiding her mother’s gaze, she turned to Broc. “From now on Mother will do the cooking. I’ll be in the saddle with you all day.”
Chapter Nine
When the door closed behind Broc and Leo, Amanda braced herself. From time to time her mother had had to do things she didn’t want to do, but no one had ever made the decision for her.
“Does she have to do all the cooking?” Eddie asked. “I’ll starve.”
“No, you won’t. Mother is a good cook.”
“Thank you for that compliment,” her mother said, her lips folded in an expression Amanda recognized as one which meant she was prepared to dig in her heels, “but I doubt you believe it.”
“I remember when you did all the cooking,” Amanda said. “Papa always said he liked your pot roast.”
“I like pot roast,” Eddie said. “Why don’t we ever have any?”
“That’s not the issue,” their mother said.
“It ought to be,” Eddie insisted. “If I got to eat your cooking, I ought to like it.”
“I will not be cooking. It’s more than my nerves can stand now to keep this house clean. My mother’s house was never like this when I was a girl.”
Something snapped in Amanda. She wasn’t sure whether it was the when I was a girl phrase which always preceded a complaint, or whether it was her mother’s refusal to realize that the world had changed and she had to change, too, if she wanted the family to survive.
“Nothing is like it was when you were a girl,” Amanda told her mother, “and it never will be again. If you don’t change, if all of us don’t change, we’ll go under.”
“I will not compromise my standards,” her mother declared.
&nbs
p; “I’m not asking you to compromise anything,” Amanda said. “I’m just asking you to realize that what it’s going to take for us to survive has changed. We live in Texas, not Mississippi.”
“No one is more aware of that than I,” her mother stated. “I never forgave your father for bringing us to this awful place.”
“Papa made a good living for us.”
“By running a saloon and a diner.” Her mother held her scented handkerchief to her nose as though to eradicate a bad smell. “My mother would have turned over in her grave if she had any idea what I’ve been reduced to.”
Amanda had a very different memory of the woman who’d been her grandmother. According to her grandfather, she had been instrumental in building the success that had allowed their daughter to grow up with privilege.
“I don’t think Grandmother was made of such weak stuff,” Amanda said. “I remember her as a forceful woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t let anything stand in the way of her getting it.”
Her mother looked uncomfortable. “My mother had to do some things that shouldn’t have been required of a lady.”
“When did the definition of a lady come to mean a woman who was incapable of doing anything, whose purpose was merely decoration?”
“I’m not a mere decoration,” her mother declared, “and I’m capable of many things.”
“I know that, and now is the time to put those capabilities to use. I’m capable of riding a horse for much of the day, of working with cows. It’s not what I thought I would be doing, but it’s work that needs to be done. I might even learn to like it.”
“When I asked your father to buy this ranch, I never envisioned having my own daughter act as a ranch hand or sing in a saloon. I wanted more for my children.”
“The only way I’m going to be able to stop working in the saloon is to make this ranch a success. That means we can’t keep losing cows. It means we have to find the ones we have lost. It means we have to keep the bull from getting out. It also means I have to keep working in the saloon. The only way I can do all of that is for you to do all the cooking.”
Her mother opened her mouth to object.
“It’s either that, or we lose the ranch,” Amanda told her. “Then you’ll have to do a lot more than cook.” Amanda looked around at a room decorated with furnishings her mother had brought from Mississippi at great cost and trouble. “Are you willing to see Carruthers living in this house? I’m sure his wife would enjoy the way you’ve decorated it. She hasn’t stopped badgering her husband to refurbish her entire house since the day you invited her to lunch.”
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