She slowed the horse to a trot and then down to a walk. When she got within talking distance, Lilly asked, “Jacob, would you go back to the ranch and tell one of the men at the bunkhouse that the west fence is down?”
“Lilly says our cows went out the hole,” Daisy said from behind her.
He studied Lilly’s face and then asked a question of his own. “And what are you two going to do?”
Lilly sat up straighter in the saddle. “Go make sure no more of my cows get out.” She turned the reins on her horse but he stepped forward and grabbed the halter.
“Why don’t I go look at the fence? It might be safer if you two told Sam or one of the other men to come help me,” he suggested, looking pointedly at Daisy and raising his eyebrows.
For a brief moment Jacob thought Lilly was going to refuse. Then she glanced over her shoulder and sighed. “You’re right. I’ll send Caleb or Cook out to help you if Sam isn’t near the bunkhouse.”
He released his hold on the bridle. She turned the horse toward home. Jacob walked to where his own horse was tied and mounted. Within a few minutes he found where the fence had been knocked down.
Jacob dismounted and began repairing the fence. His horse neighed, alerting him that someone was arriving. He stopped notching the logs into place and looked over his shoulder.
Sam slid off his horse with a grunt. “Looks like you about got that fixed.”
“About,” Jacob agreed as he lowered the log in his hand into place.
Sam kneeled and examined the cow prints. “Looks like about three head of cows got out.” He stood.
Jacob wiped the sweat from his brow. “Need help tracking them?” He watched the older man’s face. Cold eyes returned his gaze.
“Don’t reckon I do. This is ranch business and you are not a ranch hand.” He pulled himself into the saddle and turned the horse around.
Jacob watched as he took the horse back a ways and then turned him to run toward the fence. Its hooves cleared the fence with no trouble. Sam stopped and leaned in the saddle to look down at the ground. Without a word of thanks for fixing the fence, Sam carried on about the ranch business as if Jacob wasn’t there.
He’d met men like Sam before. Sam was older, probably in his early forties. He liked everyone to know where they stood. Working with different men all the time, Sam had to let them know he was the boss. Jacob knew he’d have to earn the older man’s respect. He picked up his horse’s reins and climbed aboard.
Sam had one thing right about Jacob and that was that he worked for the Pony Express, not the Johnson ranch. He wheeled the horse around and headed back to the barn. There were still two more horses to move before dinnertime.
When he arrived at the barn, Lilly motioned for him to come to the house. He slid from his horse’s back and walked to her. Jacob assumed she wanted to know about her fence.
She surprised him by saying, “Jacob, I’ve decided that Daisy and I should have dinner in town tonight and was wondering if you’d like to go with us.” Lilly rested a skirt-covered hip against the porch rail.
“Isn’t it kind of late in the day to go to town?” he asked.
Lilly answered with a grin. “No, I thought we’d go to Orange Grove. It’s only five miles away and is kind of small but has a great boardinghouse that serves a nice dinner.”
Jacob had heard of Orange Grove but hadn’t been there. “How soon do you want to go?” he asked, checking his watch. He’d hoped to move the two horses to the pasture and he had a rider arriving within the hour.
“As soon as your rider comes through.” She smiled, obviously pleased that he hadn’t said no.
Jacob nodded. “I’ll hitch up the wagon.” He decided to wait until morning to move the other two horses.
Just as he turned to go back to the barn her voice stopped him. “No, we’ll take the horses. That will be faster.”
Why was she in such a big hurry to get to town? She’d said she wanted dinner but Jacob felt there was more to it. He nodded. “I’ll be ready to go as soon as Bob exchanges horses.”
“Thank you.” Lilly returned to the house.
* * *
Lilly showed Daisy her paper advertisement. “What do you think of this?” she asked. Lilly hadn’t liked being forced to stay at the house while the men fixed her fence and looked for her cows. As the owner of the ranch, Lilly felt she needed to have the freedom to work on it. Daisy was still too young to wag all over the pastures. She braced herself for the argument she knew Daisy would start once she realized Lilly planned to hire a nanny, and that the woman’s main job was to take care of her.
Daisy took the paper and twisted it. She looked at the letters and then to Lilly. “What does it say?”
“‘Nanny wanted,’” Lilly answered as she took the paper from her sister. “‘Must be dependable, trustworthy and like children. Apply at the Johnson ranch.’”
The little girl tilted her head sideways. “You want a nanny? What’s a nanny?” Daisy wrinkled her nose as if the word smelled funny.
“A nanny is a woman who comes to your house and helps out,” Lilly answered as she folded the paper and put it in her purse.
Daisy’s eyes narrowed. “How does she help out?”
Lilly waved her hand. “Oh, she cooks, cleans the house and does laundry. That kind of stuff.” She raised her head to find Daisy standing in front of her with her little arms crossed over her chest.
“Are you getting her so she can watch me?”
“Yes, she will be here to help me keep an eye on you, too.” Lilly gathered her small handbag and walked around Daisy toward the door. “Jacob will be here in a moment to collect us. Come along.” She didn’t give Daisy time to protest as she opened the front door.
“I don’t want a nanny,” Daisy declared as she followed.
Lilly sighed. “Well, like it or not you and I need one.”
“Well, I don’t like it,” Daisy wailed. She stomped her little boot-covered foot.
Jacob strolled up to the house pulling two horses behind him. “What don’t you like?” he asked.
Daisy’s lower lip pooched out. “Lilly is going to get me a nanny.”
Lilly watched his reaction. To his credit Jacob didn’t miss a beat. “Do you know what a nanny is?”
He handed Lilly the reins to his horse. A little surprised, she took them. Then he walked to where Daisy still stood on the porch. Jacob picked her up and carried her to his horse.
Daisy’s arms went around his neck. “It’s a lady who watches me. Lilly said she’s a lady who will help out around the house, but I know Lilly just wants to go ride her horse and leave me at home,” she answered.
Jacob placed her in the saddle. “I’ve heard that most nannies like to play and have tea parties.” He took the reins from Lilly’s hands and swung into the saddle behind Daisy.
Daisy tilted her head to look back at him. “You have?”
“Uh-huh.” He put both arms around her small waist and waited for Lilly to mount.
Lilly managed to get on the horse and keep the skirt wrapped around her legs so that she would be decent. She noticed that Jacob hadn’t looked her way until he was sure she was situated comfortably on the horse.
When he did glance her way Jacob said, “I wondered how you were going to ride in a dress.”
Daisy spoke up. “It’s not a dress, it’s a skirt.” The sass was back in her voice.
Jacob ignored Daisy’s rude behavior and smiled at Lilly. He motioned for her to lead the way. Lilly did as he indicated, happy to be away from her fussy sister for a few moments. She listened as their conversation continued.
“Mr. Jacob, tell Lilly not to get a nanny.”
Since she was in front of them Lilly couldn’t see Jacob’s face when he answered, “I can’t do that, Daisy.”
“Why not?”
A long pause filled the air and just when Lilly had decided Jacob wasn’t going to answer Daisy, he said, “Well, it’s like this, I’m not Lilly’s boss and neither are you. I’m sure that your sister is doing what she thinks is best. You talking ugly to her isn’t going to make her change her mind.”
Lilly heard the stubborn, sassy tone as Daisy said, “I don’t think it’s best.”
Jacob chuckled but Lilly didn’t hear his normal warmth. “Maybe not but I don’t think you’re being very nice to your sister or respecting her wishes.” A long pause filled the afternoon air around them. Even the birds seemed to be holding their songs as they waited to see what Daisy would say to his reproach.
She glanced over her shoulder at them. Daisy faced forward with a frown on her face. Jacob held her loosely in his arms. He gently kicked the horse and brought it alongside hers.
Daisy looked at Lilly. “I’m sorry, Lilly,” she said in a low voice.
Lilly smiled at her little sister. “It’s all right. Just don’t make a habit of it.” Her gaze met Jacob’s smiling one.
He offered Daisy a quick hug. “That’s from Lilly. She can’t reach you right now but I’m sure she’d like to give you that hug.”
Daisy giggled. “Your whiskers tickle.”
Jacob laughed. “So tell me about this Orange Grove. I’ve never heard of it before.”
“It’s a small town. Has a boardinghouse, a small general store and a church that I like to attend,” Lilly answered.
“That’s it?” he asked.
Lilly nodded. “There is a nice group of people that live there, too. I’m hoping one of the ladies needs a job and can come to the ranch.”
A little while later, they entered the small town. Orange trees surrounded the outside edge, explaining the name. Lilly pointed her nose into the air and sniffed, the fragrance of oranges taunting her with a hint of what the area would smell like when the fruit was fully ripened and ready for the harvesters.
Lilly guided her horse down the street to the boardinghouse. “I think we should eat first and then I’ll take my sign to the general store.” She stopped in front of a two-story house and slid from her horse. Green shutters cased each side of two sets of double windows, with a wooden door in the center. A covered porch ran the length of the house and four cane-bottom rocking chairs invited the weary traveler to sit a spell. Whitewashed pickets and a rail added a bit of charm and if one didn’t look too closely they wouldn’t notice that the pickets were rough-hewn and not quite straight.
Every time Lilly saw this house she longed for smooth planks on the outside of her own ranch house instead of rough logs, but smooth planks had been a luxury they couldn’t afford when her parents had built their home.
She stepped around her horse and lifted her arms. Jacob handed Daisy down to her. The town was quiet, just as she’d expected it to be. This late in the day, everyone was home having their dinner or working in their orchards.
“This seems like a nice quiet town,” Jacob said as he tied the two horses to the hitching posts.
Daisy took his hand in hers. “It is. Lilly said we can have strawberry pie if we eat all our dinner.” She took Lilly’s hand in her other hand. “Isn’t that right, Lilly?”
Lilly swung Daisy’s hand gently. “I said you can have strawberry pie. Jacob can have whatever he wants.”
The little girl released their hands and hurried up the front walk. She stopped at the door and waited for them. Lilly stepped around her sister and entered the boardinghouse.
Thankfully the dining room wasn’t very full, which to Lilly’s way of thinking meant they’d be eating in no time. She looked forward to savoring someone else’s cooking for a change.
“Lilly!”
She turned at the sound of her name. “Hello, Marge.” The two women hugged.
“Come on in and have a seat,” Marge said as she scooped Daisy up into her arms. “Girl, you are growing up so fast. Pretty soon I won’t be able to carry you.”
“I’ll be five soon,” Daisy said with a proud grin.
Marge was an older woman who had always been there for Lilly and Daisy once their father had passed on. She and her husband owned the boardinghouse. “I know you will.” She set down Daisy and indicated that they all sit at the square table in front of her.
“What brings you into town?” Marge asked once they were seated. Her gaze raked over Jacob and her eyes asked for introductions.
Lilly spread her skirt around her legs and then answered. “I’m looking for some help out at the ranch.”
“What kind of help?” Marge handed them both sheets of paper with food and prices listed on them.
Daisy took the paper and frowned. “Lilly is looking for a nanny for me,” she sadly told Marge.
“Is that right?”
The little girl answered, “Uh-huh.”
Lilly decided to take the conversation back. “Marge, I’d like for you to meet Jacob Young. He’s the new stock tender for the Pony Express out at my place.”
The older woman leaned back and studied his face. “Well, how do you do, Mr. Young?”
He laughed. “Please, call me Jacob. Everyone else does.”
Daisy giggled. “I call him Mr. Jacob.” She patted the paper.
“Nice to meet you, Jacob. What would you like to drink?”
He looked at the menu in his hand and said, “I’d like a cup of coffee.”
“Lilly?” Marge turned to her.
She smiled. “I’ll have a glass of water and Daisy will have milk.” Lilly liked Marge and knew that by stopping here for dinner, Marge would make sure everyone knew she was looking for a nanny for Daisy.
“Be right back with those drinks. You folks take your time looking over the menu.” She left them alone to decide what to eat.
Jacob scanned the paper and then laid it down. “How’s the meat loaf here?” he asked.
“It’s good. I like the roast beef with mashed potatoes,” Lilly answered absently, looking to see if Marge had added anything new.
“I always get a chicken leg,” Daisy said, mimicking Jacob and laying her paper off to the side.
Marge returned with their drinks and took their orders. “This nanny you are looking for, Lilly, do you want a young woman or an older one?”
“Age doesn’t matter. I just need someone who is trustworthy and dependable.” Lilly looked to Daisy, who was slurping her milk from a spoon.
Daisy looked up and added, “And likes children. I’m a children.”
Jacob’s warm laughter spewed from his lips.
Marge laughed, too.
Daisy grinned in confusion.
And Lilly felt a warmth begin in her stomach that seemed to travel to her heart. She told herself to ignore it. Jacob wasn’t handsome, he wasn’t smart and his laughter didn’t thrill her down to her toes. Lilly reprimanded herself for lying. Jacob was handsome, smart and his laugh, well it made her feel happy. Happier than she’d been in years.
Chapter Eleven
Lilly stared at the woman in front of her in disbelief. “So, it’s your opinion that children should be kept separate from adult company except on special occasions?”
“That’s exactly right. A child should have expectations to live up to. If they desire to be in the company of adults, they should work to achieve that purpose. It gives them something to look forward to, a goal to attain. It educates them as well as teaches them discipline.”
“But she’s my sister, Mrs. Crump. I can’t imagine closing her off in a room the biggest part of the day and visiting her only at certain times.”
The woman actually frowned at Lilly as if Lilly could benefit from the same kind of treatment. She sighed. Who knew hiring a nanny could be so difficult. This
was the second woman she’d talked to; the first lady had wheezed and coughed her way through their talk, occasionally sipping from a small, flat container. She called the homemade concoction “the recipe,” but from the smell, Lilly wondered if a little corn mash wasn’t the main ingredient.
And even now a third woman sat in her parlor, waiting for a chance to speak to Lilly about the job. Her three boys were having a high old time climbing on Lilly’s porch rails to see which one could jump the farthest.
“Mrs. Crump, thank you so much for coming this morning. I appreciate the effort, but I have ideas that differ from yours and I’m afraid it just wouldn’t work. I have a bag of goodies for you. I know the ride out here was an inconvenience and I hope this will make up for it. There are a few jars of apple butter and homemade soup from last year’s garden and a loaf of fresh baked bread.”
She handed over the paper bag, a moment of pride stealing through her at how pretty it looked. Very seldom did Lilly get to indulge her feminine talents, but last night she’d braided stands of welt together for handles and added a pretty bow. For the final touch, she cut out a bluebird from an old copy of the almanac and pasted it on the front.
It worked like a charm. All three ladies loved the gift and showed no signs of upset at not being hired as Daisy’s nanny. Once the yard finally cleared of wagons, she heaved a sigh of relief and headed across the yard to the barn. She could hear squeals and laughter and figured Daisy and Jacob were in the paddock behind the barn. Instead of going through the barn, she decided to walk around it, knowing that Jacob was teaching Daisy to ride.
As she continued on, her thoughts turned to the fact that finding a nanny for Daisy was proving to be harder than she’d anticipated. She slowed her steps. Was there no one she could trust to watch her little sister so that she could run her ranch? With each step her aggravation grew. Lilly loved Daisy, but also needed to be available to work the ranch. She couldn’t depend on Sam and the men to fix every little problem. Lilly didn’t want to ask Jacob to help with the ranch, he might get used to it and see himself as a partial owner. No, that wouldn’t do. But, could she trust Jacob to help her care for their sister?
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