“What’s the matter?” Rowena’s heart stuttered. “What’s wrong with the baby?”
“No, it’s not that,” Margaret said, waving her hand. “He told me that I’d sometimes have a hard time thinking, that it’s common for expectant mothers to forget things. How did I miss the problem of space?”
“We missed it too,” Wynonna said, coming up behind her. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“But you’ve all had other things to worry about, like courting and helping Fiona with the meals, and Zeke with his recovery. The party was my responsibility, and I should have realized.”
Margaret looked to be on the brink of tears, which was unlike her, and Rowena didn’t know what to do. There was only one person who would, and thankfully, he was walking toward the house at that very moment. Rowena caught sight of Wade’s broad shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief.
She opened the front door and met him on the porch, summarizing the situation.
“My poor wife,” he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. “Of course we’ll find a way to fix the problem, but that doesn’t mean she’ll stop feelin’ bad for it. I tell you what, Miss Rowena, I never realized how much a woman goes through to bring a child into this world, and you can bet that I’ll never take it for granted again.”
When he entered the house, Margaret burst into full-on tears and threw herself in his arms, and everyone who’d been in the house to lend a hand slipped outside to allow the couple a moment alone.
“We could hold the party outside,” Helen suggested. “There’s plenty of clear space here between the buildings, and if we brought out all the lanterns, I bet it would look beautiful.”
“It would be easy to carry out some tables for the food,” Fiona added. “With all the men we have here, it would be done in a matter of minutes.”
Rowena nodded, looking around. She could definitely see the possibilities.
“What about the music, though?” Cora asked. “We can’t bring the piano outside—that’s not very logical.”
The piano had been brought out to the ranch twenty-five years before by the original owner, and the wagon ride had been hard on it. Taking it anywhere seemed like a risky proposition, even if it was just to the porch.
“We could keep the piano inside and just leave the door open so people could still hear it,” Rowena replied.
Zeke and Jack arrived just then, a little early for dancing lessons, but obviously not disappointed to have a few extra minutes to spend with their sweethearts. “We could definitely move the party outside,” Jack agreed after they suggested it. “Sully hasn’t complained of any stiffness in his left thumb lately, so the sky should be clear. His predictions come true more often than not.”
“And the evening temperature should be pleasant,” Zeke added.
Wynonna glanced at the house. “Do I dare tap on the door and tell them? Or do you think Margaret’s still crying?”
“If she’s still crying, this idea might help her stop,” Jack pointed out, and Wynonna nodded.
“It’s worth the risk.” She climbed the porch stairs and knocked. Rowena couldn’t tell what all was going on from where she stood, but she saw Wynonna speaking to someone, and then that someone—she could see now that it was Margaret—threw her arms around Wynonna, nearly knocking her off balance.
Zeke grinned. “Looks like the answer is yes. We’ll have a party after all.”
“You almost sound like you’re looking forward to it,” Helen said teasingly.
“I admit, I’ve gone back and forth a bit in my mind, but then I realized, if having a dance means that I get to hold you in my arms for a whole evening, that’s a good thing.”
“Rules of propriety state that you need to change partners from time to time to avoid exclusivity,” Cora said, sounding as though she was reading aloud from a newspaper advice column.
“But we are exclusive. That’s what being engaged is all about.” Zeke reached out for Helen’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
Rowena watched Helen’s face soften. It was amazing what love could do for people, and she was so happy for her friends and their exciting futures. She glanced around, looking for Billy. Where was he? He’d better hurry or he’d be late for the lesson—the other men were starting to trickle across the yard toward the house, but she didn’t see him. Ah, there he was, clear at the back. Thank goodness. She’d begun to worry that he’d changed his mind.
Rowena couldn’t help but chuckle as the men entered the house. They looked like they were being led to the gallows. Even Billy seemed nervous, even though he had no reason to be—he wouldn’t lack for a partner ever again if she had her way.
Once everyone had assembled, Margaret clapped a few times to get their attention. Rowena smiled—her friend reminded her of a schoolteacher standing in front of a class of unruly students.
“Thank you for coming, gentlemen,” Margaret began. “This is our last official class before tomorrow’s dance, but afterwards, we might hold a few more. I’ll be watching you tomorrow to see what skills are still needed.”
Big Mike shook his head. “Might as well plan on teaching us everything that comes to mind, Miss Margaret. Every time I think I’m doing better, I come off looking like a grizzly bear.”
Fiona, standing next to Rowena, let out a little snort, making Rowena wonder what had happened. She’d have to ask later.
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that, Mike, but I’m more than happy to help however I can. Now, let’s get started. Every dance begins with choosing your partner. First, you approach the young lady with a smile on your face, and then you greet her courteously. Next, you ask if you might have the next dance. Unless she’s already been asked, she’ll likely tell you yes, and you thank her. If she does tell you no, thank her anyway. She might suggest a later dance, and that’s always a good sign. If she doesn’t, chances are, she’s not interested.” Margaret paused. “But she should still accept—this is just a dance, not a marriage proposal.”
“Hear, hear!” Tenny called out. “You should see the way some gals act when you ask ’em. Like you’ve sprouted an extra set of whiskers or somethin’.”
“Maybe you did,” Gallagher retorted, and all the men laughed.
Margaret shook her head with a smile. “A properly brought-up young lady will treat you kindly even if she has to turn you down. She doesn’t want to give you false hope, but she also doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“I’m not sure I’ve met too many of those properly brought-up young ladies, then,” Abel replied. “There seems to be something a little snide in the females of the species that overtakes them sometimes.”
“I agree,” Fiona said, raising her voice to be heard over the men’s murmurs of assent. “I’ve seen plenty of girls turn up their noses at perfectly nice men because they thought they were superior to them. The whole thing’s ridiculous, if you ask me.”
“Hear, hear!” Tenny said again. “It seems to me that all this folderol is gettin’ too complicated, and we should just be able to say what we’re thinking and be on our way. Plain speaking—that’s what works best for me.” He turned to face the other side of the room. “Miss Cora, what say we dispense with some of this fancy floop-de-doo and cut straight to the heart of the matter? I’d like to start courting you officially beginning Monday morning at eight o’clock. What do you say?”
All eyes in the room turned to Cora. Her eyes had gone wide, and her mouth opened and closed a few times. She looked like a pretty blond fish. “I . . . I suppose that would be all right,” she said at last, and the men gave a cheer.
“Congratulations, the two of you,” Margaret said after the chaos in the room had settled down. “Now, you do realize the dance is tomorrow night, correct? If you want to be ready, we need to move forward with our lesson.”
It took a few more good-natured nudges, but soon, everyone was listening, and then Margaret asked the girls to demonstrate some basic waltz steps. Then it was time to try i
t with the men. Rowena’s first partner, of course, was Billy, and she melted into his arms like butter on a hot day. He didn’t seem sure what to do with that, though, and held her as stiff as a poker.
“It’s all right,” she whispered. “It’s just me, you know.”
“I know, but there are people watchin’.” He glanced around, clearly on edge.
“If they are, it’s to cheer you on or to get pointers for when it’s their turn.” Rowena touched his chin and turned his face back to hers. “Just focus on me. I’m not the best dancer in the world, but I’m probably nicer to look at than . . . let’s say . . . Sully.”
Billy laughed, which was her goal. “All right, show me what to do.”
Once they’d repeated the waltz pattern a few times, Billy’s shoulders relaxed, and his steps became more natural. He was still a bit awkward, but the difference was noticeable.
Rowena then danced with Abel, and then Frisco. Frisco seemed to know what he was doing, at least to a certain extent, but Abel was hopeless, and she was so glad to pass him off to someone else.
“Thank you, everyone. I’ll send you on your way now because I know you have to be up early. I would like to ask your help around three o’clock, though—because of our lack of space, we’re going to hold the party outside, and I’ll need some tables moved around and so forth,” Margaret said.
The men nodded, then headed off across the compound to the bunkhouse. Fiona looked ready to leave for the cabin she was sharing with Helen and Cora, but Rowena stopped her.
“No one can go anywhere until we talk a few things over,” she said. “Make yourselves comfortable, ladies.”
They sat down on the furniture Wade had just moved back to its rightful place and gave Rowena their attention.
“First off, what happened between you and Mike, Fiona? His comment was clearly directed at you, and you were clearly responding to him.”
Fiona shook her head. “It was the silliest thing, really. He came into the kitchen this morning and said he wanted to talk to me. His intention, once I finally figured it out, was to ask me to the party, but he mumbled something about how all the men know that I don’t want to get married, so none of them would ever ask me, and so he’d do me the favor. And then I replied with something equally waspish. He and I just don’t mix.”
“Or maybe you mix a little too well,” Margaret commented.
Fiona shook her head. “No, not even the tiniest bit. If Mike wants a mail-order bride, he’ll have to find himself a new one because it won’t be me.”
Rowena didn’t reply to that, and neither did the other girls. They could all see it plainly even if Fiona couldn’t, and they’d just wait it out. It would happen sooner or later.
“And now what’s this about Tenny and Cora?” she said instead.
“I . . . I honestly don’t know,” Cora replied. “I had no idea he was going to say that. Or that he even wanted to.”
“You haven’t been spending time together?” Helen asked.
“No, not at all! We’ve only spoken to each other here and there, and never about anything important. I’m not even sure that I like him. I only said we could court because everyone was staring at me, and I never do well when people are staring at me.” Cora’s lip started to tremble. “I don’t know what to do. It was such a mistake.”
Rowena put her arm around Cora’s shoulders. “If you haven’t spent any time together, you can’t know for sure that it was a mistake. Get to know him before you decide that.”
“He’s so . . . so rough and uncultured,” Cora went on. “He’s not at all like the sort of man I’ve always dreamed about.”
“Most of the men out here are rough and uncultured,” Margaret pointed out. “It’s part of being a cowboy—you live on the land, you work with animals, and you communicate with nature. That doesn’t leave a lot of room or time for the finer things of life. But look how nicely they clean up.”
Cora nodded, sniffing. “I guess you’re right. I should at least talk to him a little bit. But what if we just can’t get along?”
“Then you call it off.” Rowena gave Cora a hug, then let her go. “I only chatted with Tenny a little bit on our trip to town the other day, but it was enough to show me that he’s a good man. Yes, he’s a little rough around the edges, but I’ve decided I like that better than a man who’s perfectly polished all the time. It’s more interesting.”
“Yes, now that you’ve found your handsome cowboy,” Cora said, a grin overtaking her features.
“I found him, but I don’t know yet if I’m keeping him,” Rowena replied, her cheeks growing warm. “We’ve just barely started having real conversations. One step at a time.”
The girls chattered a moment longer until Cora and Fiona felt better about their situations, and then everyone headed off to their beds. Rowena couldn’t help but chuckle as she climbed under her blankets. “I keep remembering Cora’s face when Tenny asked her to court. I’ve never seen anyone so startled in all my life.”
“It was pretty funny,” Wynonna replied. “I guess Margaret hasn’t covered proper ways to go about that yet.”
“Have you spoken with Tenny very often? Do you think he’d be a good match for Cora?”
Wynonna shook her head. “I don’t know him much at all, but I do think she should give him a chance. Wade wouldn’t keep anyone around who wasn’t decent, so it will just be a matter of their personalities. She’s so quiet and timid—it will be interesting to see what comes of this.”
As Rowena drifted off to sleep, she had the thought that it would be interesting to see what came of any of it. None of the girls were being courted by the sorts of men they’d always dreamed about—nothing had gone according to their expectations in weeks. But then again, sometimes reality was far better than one’s expectations of it.
***
“Gentlemen, we have ourselves a situation,” Billy said once they reached the bunkhouse. “It seems our good friend Jack here wants to make a marriage proposal, but it need to be special, and he’s comin’ up short of ideas. You have any thoughts?”
Wes blinked. “You’re comin’ to us for ideas? How desperate are you, Jack?”
“Pretty desperate,” Jack admitted with a chuckle. “And the longer I wait, the more special it has to be—she’s expectin’ somethin’ pretty elaborate by now.”
Sully pulled out his pocket knife and his latest carving. “So, let’s think about this for a minute. What’s the most romantic proposal any of you have ever heard of?”
“My pa just took my ma by the hand, led her up to the front of the chapel after church, and asked the preacher to marry them,” Frisco said. “That’s sorta the opposite of romantic if you ask me, so better not do that.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jack replied.
“My brother wrote a letter to his sweetheart asking her to marry him on a certain day, and he’d come pick her up and they’d go to the church together. Well, she didn’t get the letter, and when he showed up, she was in the middle of doing laundry and looked a sight. But she changed her dress and went with him, so that turned out all right,” Benedict said.
Billy chuckled. “I was hopin’ to hear some good ideas, men, not stories about things that shoulda gone up in smoke.” He turned to Sully. “Come on, old man—you’ve always got some romantic notion or another going on because of those books you read. Don’t you have anything to add to this conversation?”
“Turns out, I do,” Sully replied.
“If it has anything to do with swinging on jungle vines, I’ll have to say no,” Jack told him.
“There’s nothing wrong with swinging on jungle vines. It’s the best way for Renaldo to get around now that a crocodile has chomped off his leg,” Sully retorted. “But my idea is actually simpler and will probably give you more of the outcome you’re lookin’ for.”
“Well?” Jack leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “What is it?”
“Just trust me,” Sully said. �
�But be ready to leave here first thing in the morning.”
Chapter Ten
“Is this over here where you wanted it, Miss Margaret?” Billy called out, resting the end of the dining room table on the grass.
Margaret shielded her eyes from the sun. “Yes, Billy—that’s perfect. Thank you.”
He gave her a nod, then went to fetch the next table. He was glad they’d figured out how to have all the space they’d need, but moving furniture was hard work for someone who was more used to moving cows.
Wynonna crossed the yard, her arms full of tablecloths. “Billy, have you seen Jack? I can’t find him anywhere.” She paused. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him all day.”
Billy shrugged. “Seems like Sully had him helping with something.”
“Oh. Well, when you see him, could you send him my way?”
“Sure thing, Miss Wynonna.”
Billy left her spreading cloths on the tables that had been carried out and continued on his way. There were eight tables in the bunkhouse dining room, and he felt like he’d already carried every one of them and more. He was ready for this night to be over—but then again, that would make it time to put everything away again. No way around it.
He was cheered up considerably when Rowena came in search of him a few minutes later. “We need someone tall to help us hang the lanterns,” she said.
“Well, I think you’re in luck because not only am I tall, but I have long arms,” he said. “So long that I can reach out and grab you.” He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close, burying his nose in her hair. It always smelled like sunflowers.
She rested her head on his shoulder and let him hold her. Having her close patched over a hole of loneliness he hadn’t realized was there until it was gone. He’d known it would be nice to get married—that’s why he’d sent for a bride, after all—but he hadn’t realized just how nice it would be, how a woman could come into his life and in what seemed like minutes, completely turn everything on its head and make it so much better.
After a moment, she said, “So, about those lanterns . . .”
A Rancher for Rowena Page 8