by Linda Bridey
His voice startled Jamie and she woke up suddenly. “Dean. Oh. What time is it?”
Dean chuckled. “Morning.”
She pushed up off Luke and brushed her hair from her face. “We slept here all night? Oh, boy. Sorry about that.”
“It’s ok. Tessa and I got home and you were both asleep and we just left you there,” Dean said. “Luke snores.”
Luke sat up and put his feet on the floor as Jamie moved further away. “I do not.”
“Yes, you do,” Dean insisted. “Like a freight train.”
“Well, if he does, I never heard it. Oh! The twins,” Jamie said and stood up.
Dean said, “They’re fine. Tessa’s finishing feeding them. Thanks for watching them and Mikey for us last night. We needed a night out.”
Jamie smiled. “I’m glad you had fun.”
“Yep. We did,” Dean said and got a smile on his face that spoke volumes. “I got coffee going. Go change you two, and then come get some.”
Luke watched him walk out to the kitchen and then he and Jamie laughed softly together. Impulsively, Luke placed a kiss on Jamie’s lips.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Because you fell asleep last night without me getting to kiss you goodnight,” Luke answered.
“You are a sweet man, Luke Samuels,” Jamie said. Her eyes shone with happiness. “Ok, well, I’ll meet you back here for coffee.” She pressed a quick kiss against his mouth before leaving the room.
Luke watched her go and then went out to the kitchen. “I’ll be back, boss. Wait, I actually have a question for you first.”
“Shoot,” Dean said as he poured coffee in a mug and sat down.
“I want to ask Jamie to marry me, but I need a ring.” Luke became nervous and shuffled his feet. “See I gave Charlene my grandmother’s ring but she gave it back after, well, you know. I don’t know if I should give Jamie the same ring or a new one.”
Dean thought about that. His situation had been different. Two different women equaled two different rings, in his mind. What did one do if an engagement ring that was a family heirloom was given back and one was getting engaged again?
Tessa heard Luke’s question as she came into the kitchen. “I think the best thing would be to get her a different ring and then give your grandmother’s ring to your son, should you have one, to give to his fiancée someday.”
Luke nodded. “Thanks. I had no idea what to do. Before I propose, I want her to meet my parents.”
“Of course,” Dean said. “I’m sure Aunt Pricilla and Uncle John will love her.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Luke said. “Ok. I’m gonna go get ready for work.”
A few minutes after he left, Jamie came into the kitchen. She’d changed and freshened up and looked very pretty in her paisley dress.
“Just the person we wanted to talk to,” Dean said, and indicated that Jamie should sit down.
“Ok. What about?” she asked.
Tessa gave her some coffee and sat down, too. “You know that we have enjoyed having you here.”
Jamie thought, Here it comes. I’ve worn out my welcome. Where will I go?
She nodded and waited.
Dean wondered at the frightened expression that came over Jamie’s face. “You’re great with the kids and have helped out a lot around here. We really appreciate it. Tessa said you wanted to start looking for work.”
Jamie said, “Yes. I need an income.”
Tessa smiled at her and covered her hand with her own. “We want you to work for us as our housekeeper and to help with the children.”
Jamie was so stunned that she couldn’t say anything. Her mouth opened and shut a couple of times and Dean laughed.
“You want to hire me?” Jamie said. “I thought you were going to tell me I needed to find somewhere else to go.”
Tessa was shocked. “Oh no! We would never say that. Where on earth would you go?”
“That’s right. No Jamie, we’d love for you to come work for us. You need a job and we need you. I’d say that was a good deal, huh?” Dean said.
He told her the job paid $14.00 per week, and Jamie thought it was very generous. “You’ll also get room and board, same as the ranch hands.”
Jamie sat quietly. She felt like she was in a dream.
When Tessa saw Jamie’s eyes fill with tears, she squeezed her hand and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting anything like that. I’ve never made that much money in my life,” Jamie said. “I’ll take the job. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
Dean grasped her shoulder and shook it a little. “Sure you will. You get to babysit whenever we want to go out.”
“Gladly,” Jamie said. “When do I start?”
Dean said, “You already started the day after you got here, so we owe you back wages.”
Jamie shook her head. “No, you don’t. I was just a guest helping out, that’s all.”
Tessa said, “Yes, a guest who spent a great deal of time helping. If you don’t agree to take the back pay, we’ll give the job to someone else,” she teased.
“Ok, I’ll take it,” Jamie said with a huge smile. “Thank you so much!” She got up from the table and ran out the door. She had to tell Luke right away.
Tessa chuckled. “Where do you suppose she’s going?”
“To tell Hercules. That’s her nickname for him,” Dean said and took a sip of coffee. “I’m just glad we’re doing well enough to pay her that amount. She does good work. It’s hard to find good help sometimes. God bless Claire for helping us to find some other ways to diversify and get better prices for the steer.”
“Yes, my little sister is quite talented at things like that,” Tessa said.
“Well, I’m glad things seem to be working out for everyone,” he said with a smile.
Jamie ran as fast as she could to Luke’s bunkhouse and knocked on the door. No sooner did he open it than she hugged him.
He said, “What’s that about? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Guess what? You’ll never guess what! It’s incredible! Wonderful!” she enthused.
“Jamie, take a breath. What are you talking about?” Luke asked.
She squeezed him tighter and Luke grunted. He was surprised at how strong she was. Then she broke apart from him and did a little jig around the bunkhouse. Luke had to laugh at her. He had no idea what she was so happy about but it must be something very good for her to act like that.
Jamie came back to him and said, “I just got a job!”
Luke smiled. “That’s great! Where?”
“Here! Here! Tessa and Dean just hired me to be their housekeeper and nanny! And they’re paying me $14.00 a week! And I get room and board! Can you believe it? We’ll be able to build our house in no time!” Jamie said.
Luke was very happy on one hand, but her assumption that she was going to help pay for their house was another matter. “Jamie, you’re right; that’s wonderful, but I got things covered as far as the house goes.”
Jamie stopped and frowned at him. “What do you mean? Do you already have the money?”
“No. Not yet. Remember I said that I had to save up some more?” Luke said.
“Ok. Well, two incomes will get us there quicker than one, right? So what’s the problem?” she asked.
Luke said, “I don’t expect for you to pay for it.”
“Do you expect me to live with you?”
“Of course.”
“Do you expect for me to eat there?”
“Yes.”
Jamie’s foot began tapping and she put a hand on her hip.
Luke knew that when a woman tapped her foot and put her hands on her hips nothing good ever came of it. “Jamie, don’t get mad.”
“Too late. I’ve been supporting myself for much of my life. Even when Bobby and I were married, I worked and we used both our paychecks to keep our household going and keep food on the table. So if you’re going to tell me
it’s not the woman’s place to help with money issues, don’t!” she said. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am happy for you,” Luke said. “I guess when it comes to stuff like that I’m a little old fashioned.”
She made a dismissive hand gesture. “Men. So stuck in the past. No wonder women can’t get anywhere. I have to go to work,” she said, and turned on her heel and left the bunkhouse.
Marcus passed her. “Hi, Jamie.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said crossly and kept walking.
Marcus looked from her to where Luke stood in the doorway of his place. He smiled as he got closer to Luke and said, “What did you do to her?”
Luke said, “She’s mad because I won’t let her put money towards building the house.”
Marcus chuckled. “I just had that argument with my wife not too long ago.”
“Who won?”
“She thinks she did. I intended to let her use some of her dowry to help put an addition on the house all along. I just put up a fuss because I knew she’d try to use sex as a weapon to get me to change my mind,” Marcus said frankly.
Luke just gaped at him.
“I got what I wanted and so did she, in more ways than one,” Marcus said and nudged Luke with an elbow.
Luke finally shut his mouth and said, “So how do I do that in this situation?”
“It wouldn’t work for this. Sex is not going to change her mind about this. Besides, what’s the big deal if she wants to help?” Marcus said.
Luke frowned. “I’m supposed to pay for it.”
Marcus put an elbow against the doorframe and said, “How soon do you plan on having kids?”
“Soon as possible,” Luke said.
“Ok, so say that Jamie gets pregnant soon after you’re married. You’ve got nine months to buy the materials and get that sucker up. You’ve got a lot of help to do it, but still. Good quality supplies aren’t cheap,” Marcus said.
“I’m aware of that. I’ve already done some pricing. You’re not the only one who has a brain in their head,” Luke said.
“Ok, well, I know what you get paid. Even if you saved every penny of your salary, which is not really possible, it’s going to take you longer to have enough money to buy the materials, and build the size house you want than it is to grow a baby,” Marcus said. “So it seems to me that you might want to rethink that whole money thing.”
“Why are you so modern thinking?” Luke said.
“I am on some things and some things, I’m not. My thoughts on money really stem from Lakota culture. Pooling resources goes towards the greater good. There’s a lot of barter and trade that goes on. Some women help increase the family budget by making beautiful dresses to sell or trade for something else. Some make jewelry and so on.
“White culture is more focused on hard currency, but it’s really the same type of thing. Jamie’s money and your money would go to the same place and make it easier to raise children who have everything they need, and maybe have money to send them to college if they want to go,” Marcus said. “Just think about it. Now come on. Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Luke spent the morning mucking stalls. Some people didn’t like that job, but it didn’t bother him. It was mindless work that let his brain concentrate on other things. He kept doing calculations in his head regarding how much it was going to take to build a house and furnish it. They had to have furniture, too. Plus, he was going to buy an engagement ring so there went money that he’d originally intended to put into building the house.
He’d thought about getting a loan, but he was uneasy about his property being taken if he couldn’t repay it. So that option was out. He didn’t know what Dean was going to pay Jamie, but knowing Dean like he did, he knew it wouldn’t be peanuts. Marcus’ words about the greater good kept coming back to him.
His pa had always taught him that a man takes care of his family, and that included being a good provider. He knew his father had felt guilty at first when they’d lost the farm. John Samuels had felt like a failure as a man, but Luke and his mother had reassured him that that wasn’t the case. Then his pa had gotten hired at the feed mill and started making more money than he’d ever made farming. His mother had told him that things worked out as they were meant to and his father’s thinking had changed.
By lunchtime, Luke knew what he had to do. He went in search of Jamie and found her in Dean and Tessa’s kitchen.
“Hi,” he said hesitantly.
“Hi,” she said. “How are you?”
Luke smiled. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“If you’re still mad at me or not.”
Jamie looked at him steadily and then sat down at the table and indicated that he should sit opposite her.
Luke felt a little uncomfortable sitting down in Dean’s kitchen during work hours but then figured it was all right because it was lunch time.
“Luke, I’m sorry about earlier. I’ve just been taking care of myself for so long that it’s second nature to me,” Jamie said. “I’m used to paying my own way. So are you, right?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah.”
“So I’m independent and I’m not used to being told what I can and can’t do,” Jamie said. She tried to get her point across. She didn’t want to fight with Luke.
Luke said, “I can understand that. I need to know something. Let’s say I didn’t budge on this. Is that a deal breaker?”
“You mean about us getting married?” Jamie asked.
Luke nodded.
Jamie didn’t answer right away and Luke began to get nervous. Jamie ran over her options in her mind. She’d just landed a good job and had the prospect of marrying a good man. He might be a little old fashioned about some things, but she supposed she could live with that and maybe work on some compromises.
“No.”
Luke’s big shoulders sagged with relief and Jamie realized how anxious he’d been about her answer. She watched those deep brown eyes crinkle a little as he smiled, and felt her stomach a funny little dance. He really is scrumptious, she thought.
He reached for her hand and she gave it to him. “Jamie, I guess I’m kind of a work in progress. I’ve been thinking and if it means that we can build our home sooner, than I guess we should pool our resources,” he said, using the term that Marcus had used that morning.
“Really?” she said and released his hand. She jumped up and ran around and sat on his lap and planted a kiss on his mouth.
Luke cupped the back of her head and kept her there. Jamie happily wound her arms around his neck and pressed her body against him. Luke began to feel very warm as they kissed and he slid his hands up her back. Feeling Luke’s hands on her was driving Jamie crazy, but she remembered where they were and began pulling away.
Luke looked into her eyes and said, “Are you using sex as a weapon?”
Jamie laughed so hard that she couldn’t breathe. She laid her head on Luke’s shoulder and Luke held her as she laughed. He laughed with her and she looked at Luke and laughed again. When they stopped laughing they were breathless, and Jamie had to wipe tears from her face.
“Where did that come from?” she asked.
Luke said, “It was something Marcus said, that’s all.”
“No. I’m not using sex as a weapon right now. When I am, you’ll know it,” Jamie teased.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Luke said.
Jamie chuckled. “Most men don’t. So Marcus figured it out. I’m not surprised. Can you imagine what his and Claire’s babies are going to be like because they’re both so smart?”
Luke said, “Scary are what they’re going to be and Marcus and Claire better get ready because they’re gonna run them ragged.”
Jamie slid off his lap. “You’d better go get lunch or your break will be over and you’ll still be hungry.”
Luke stood up and said, “Yeah, but what I’m really hungry for isn’t on Jack’s menu,” and left.
Jamie laughed a
s she watched him walk away.
Chapter Ten
“They’re going to hate me!” Jamie said, as Tessa helped her dress for dinner with Luke’s parents.
“No, they won’t,” Tessa said.
Jamie turned away from the mirror and said, “I’m not the kind of woman that men like Luke bring home to meet their parents. I’m no angel.”
Tessa said, “Jamie, they’re going to see you for the bright, vivacious woman that you are. And they’ll also see that you make Luke happy. I think he makes you happy, too.”
Jamie said, “Tessa, I can’t tell you how happy I am that I answered that ad. I never dreamed that I would meet someone like Luke. Now I know how you must have felt when you met Dean.”
Tessa’s smile was dreamy as she said, “I’ll admit that I was attracted to him from the first day we met. He was like a dream, with those vivid blue eyes and blond hair. Oh, and let’s not forget his fine physique.”
“Yes, Dean is quite a catch,” Jamie agreed.
“And of course, I fell in love with Sadie and Jack right away, too. I can’t believe how grown up they are now. Sadie’s married and having a baby and Jack is running our cookhouse. It was his idea to build it and he said since it was his idea that he should run it. He and Dean argued about it, which isn’t like them. They almost always agree on things. But that’s how Dean knew that Jack was serious. He wouldn’t back down on the subject,” Tessa told her.
Jamie said, “Dean doesn’t impress me as the kind of man to mess around with.”
“He isn’t about some things, but he’s usually very fair. I’m afraid that sometimes his work ethic is his enemy in some ways,” Tessa said. “However without that work ethic, the ranch would have died. Marcus wasn’t old enough to run it and Seth wasn’t interested in the day to day operation, so that left Dean.”
“Luke said that they were all pretty young when they took over,” Jamie said.
Tessa nodded. “Luke has a lot of that same work ethic. It’s one of the reasons that Dean jumped at the chance to have him work here. He’s always been impressed with Luke.”
Jamie smiled and felt pride in Luke. “I can see that in Luke. I just don’t want to embarrass him tonight. This is such an important night. When Bobby and I got married, I already knew his parents so it was different than this.”