by Merry Farmer
That was it. With a sharp nod, he turned and scrambled out through the door. It banged shut behind him.
“Well, I’ll be a turkey’s tail feather,” Eden cursed under her breath. She sank her weight to one hip and shook her head. That was it? That was all the explanation he had to offer?
She wasn’t going to stand around and take that. With a burst of energy, she rushed back into the bedroom. It would be worse if Luke abandoned her the day after their wedding without a care. At least he had looked troubled about it. That would keep her from slapping him into next Sunday when she caught up with him.
She splashed water from the pitcher on a side table into its matching bowl, soaked a cloth, and went to work washing up as fast as she could. Her mind bustled with calculations. It couldn’t take that long to get everyone organized for a cattle drive. They’d seen the cattle themselves waiting in the field the day before. Chances were that the whole operation was ready to set out. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to jump into action with no time to spare. She said a quick prayer to do what she needed to do in time.
It was a good thing she’d unpacked and put everything away just so the day before. She threw open the middle drawer of the bureau and pulled out the narrow, split skirt she used to wear when riding with her brothers and tossed it on the bed along with a simple blouse, a chemise, and drawers. There was no time for a corset on the open range, and in truth, she was tired of wearing one just to fit in.
She dressed in less than a minute, then dropped to a crouch and reached under the bed. Good thing Luke had been too busy with everything going on in the bed to question if she’d hidden anything under it. She slid out the long, heavy, flat case that had been at the bottom of her trunk and moved it to the jumbled and bunched bedcovers on top of the bed.
With a quick glance around to make extra sure no one was watching, she flipped open the case. A grin spread across her face at the sight of her old friend, her Winchester Model 1873 repeating rifle, with its twenty-four inch octagonal barrel that she’d had inscribed last year.
“Hello, you beauty,” she hummed to it, lifting it out of the case, kissing the casing.
With swift, sure hands, she clicked it open, checked the magazine. Everything was still clean as a whistle. There were plenty of bullets in her case, but rather than load the rifle, she transferred a couple of boxes to the hidden pockets in her skirt. She set the Winchester down for a minute while she drew her gun belt—with its pair of Colt Peacemakers—out and fastened it around her waist. It felt good to have that weight across her hips again.
The last thing she did before snatching up her Winchester and rushing out the door was to braid her hair. She could brush it later. Right now, time was all that mattered. Time and the fact that there was no way she was going to let her new husband leave her alone in the Hen House for a couple of weeks right after marrying her.
Luke shook his head as he marched into the paddock where his horse stood waiting along with the others. Travis and the boys were deep into preparations for the drive. Franklin Haskell sat atop his horse—where he was most mobile—overseeing everything and answering questions. It was uncanny how every last thing he’d ever been told about women suddenly made sense all at once. They were sweeter than honey and could make a man lose his head. They were the most frustrating creatures God ever invented, but a man couldn’t live without one.
But more than everything else, he suddenly understood how a woman could be a man’s sweetest source of joy and his most acute source of pain. As much as he’d wanted to stay and spend the day with Eden—getting to know her, hearing her stories, and sharing his—he had a job to do.
“Told you you should have waited until after the drive to send for that wife of yours,” Mason Montrose ribbed him as Luke reached to help him saddle the horses.
“Shut up,” Luke growled. “Franklin wouldn’t have let me lead this drive if I hadn’t sent for her when I did.”
“What makes you say that?” There was humor in Mason’s voice.
Luke took it as teasing. Worse than teasing, laughing. He scrunched his face into a defensive frown and shot his friend a sour look. He was surprised to find Mason grinning at him with nothing more than friendly ribbing and a touch of genuine concern.
Still, Luke went ahead and said, “I know what you all think of me.”
Mason’s expression twitched to confusion as he threw a saddle blanket over Cody’s horse, Buford. “What do we think of you?”
Luke grunted. He fetched Travis’s saddle from the rack and walked it across to Archer, Travis’s horse. He would have let the question drop, but as he tightened the buckles, he noticed Mason standing and staring at him with crossed arms.
Maybe Mason wasn’t laughing at him, but Luke wasn’t going to take being stared at and judged lying down. He straightened. “You all think I’m only good at leading saloon fights and card games, that I’m too much of a fool to take on any real responsibility.”
Mason chuckled and shook his head. “No, Cody’s the fool who can’t handle responsibility.” He headed for the rack of saddles, slapping Luke’s arm as he went. “You just can’t handle your liquor.”
Luke wasn’t sure if that was friendly teasing or an insult. Either way, he turned to Mason, intent on defending himself.
He stopped cold at the vision of Eden marching into the yard beside the corral. His jaw dropped at the sight of her—slim skirt that kicked like trousers when she walked, her dusty travel jacket, a belt with two revolvers on her hips, and a well-worn Winchester slung over her shoulder. All those heady, carnal feelings he’d had in her arms last night slammed back into him like riding a horse plumb into a wall.
“Luke Chance,” she hollered, searching around. Luke jerked straight, and when she saw him, her eyes narrowed. She stomped toward him, demanding, “What makes you think you can traipse out of here without me the day after marrying me?”
Hot and cold rushed through Luke at once. Mason nearly dropped the saddle he’d hefted into his arms, and his eyes went wide. Across the corral, Cody and Travis, Billy and Lawson stopped what they were doing and gaped. Franklin turned his horse so he could see what was going on too.
Luke gave Travis’s saddle strap one last tug, then quick-stepped over to his wife. “What are you doing here?” he whispered.
“We just got married.” She didn’t bother to keep her voice down. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Luke ran a hand through his hair. He noticed Travis leaving what he was doing to march toward them, and Franklin nudging his horse to join them. Just what he needed, the men he was trying to prove something to witnessing him getting dressed down by his wife.
“I’ve got a job to do, Eden,” Luke rushed on, trying to get things taken care of before anyone else got involved.
“I understand that, sweetheart,” she said, far more gentle than he expected. “But I’ve got a job too—that of being your wife.”
“Which means you stay at home and cook and clean and make things pretty, right?” His brow shot up in desperate pleading as both Travis and Franklin reached them.
“Morning, gentlemen.” Eden greeted the two with a winning smile.
“Mrs. Chance.” Franklin touched the brim of his hat. “At least, I assume you’re Mrs. Chance.”
“I am, and proud of it,” Eden answered before Luke had a chance to explain.
That last bit left him tingling with affection and at a complete loss of how to handle things. “Eden just came to see us off,” he fumbled.
She didn’t contradict him, but neither did she agree. “I was actually hoping I might come along with you boys.”
Luke flinched. “Come along with us? On the drive?”
“Yep.” Eden nodded.
Franklin and Travis exchanged uncertain looks. “You ever been on a cattle drive before, ma’am?” Travis asked.
“Nope,” Eden answered.
She shifted her Winchester to her other shoulder, sweeping one side of
her jacket back and cocking her hips so that her revolver stood out. Heaven help him, she was wearing a Colt Peacemaker. Two of them. Luke swallowed. Who had he married anyhow?
“Mighty fine weapons you’ve got there, Mrs. Chance,” Travis went on. “I take it you’ve used them before.”
“Yes, I have,” Eden answered with a smile.
The air itself paused to hear what else she would say about it, but Eden remained mum.
Franklin cleared his throat. “Mrs. Chance, do you really want to spend two or three weeks away from civilization, sleeping on the rough ground at night, eating out of a tin can, and dealing with a bunch of messy, smelly, ill-mannered…” He paused, glanced at his men, who had gathered to watch the scene, grinned, and finished with, “Cattle?”
Eden clearly caught what he’s meant to say. Her grin matched Franklin’s as she said, “Yep.”
“Why?” Travis asked, crossing his arms.
Eden looked at him as though he were dense. “Because I just got married, and I want to be with my husband. What’s so unusual about that?”
Her question was a dare. Travis and Franklin, and the rest of the ranch hands, squirmed and shifted, rubbing their necks and chins and whatever else they could to delay answering her. Luke only smiled, something warm and pulsing growing in his chest. He’d never met a woman like Eden before—never met anyone so fearless and bold…and possibly a little bit crazy. And she was his by God’s grace.
“I’m not going anywhere unless Eden comes with me,” he blurted, surprised that he meant it so vehemently. The other men stared at him. “You don’t realize half of what this woman is capable of,” he went on. “Neither do I, if truth be told, but I sure do want to find out.”
Lawson leaned over and whispered something to Cody at the edge of the scene. Cody snorted. Billy and Oscar—one of Mrs. Piedmont’s men who was coming along to help out—exchanged glances that said they just wanted to see what would happen next.
Travis glanced to Mason, then at Franklin with a shrug. “It’s up to you, boss.”
Luke darted a glance to Eden to see what she thought of that. She stood her ground, a confident grin on her pretty face, as if her inclusion on the drive was a foregone conclusion.
Franklin studied her. His expression twitched from an unreadable frown to an amused grin. “I’m newly married myself,” he said. “And I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I had to leave Corva for weeks on end.”
“Corva’s a gem among women.” Eden nodded. “She was always one of my favorites at Hurst Home, always helping the other girls out. She offered to paint my portrait once, but for…various reasons, I declined.” The shifty look that popped to Eden’s face sent Luke’s thoughts racing. He didn’t have time to give it much thought, though. Eden went on with, “Tell Corva I say hello next time you see her.”
Atop his horse, Franklin looked as though he’d been given a prize for valor. He nodded to Eden and said, “I will. I’m sure she’ll want to catch up with you once you get back.”
It was all Luke could do not to laugh out loud. So that’s what she meant about being friendly to get out of sticky situations. Eden had to be the most clever woman he’d ever met, on top of the most beautiful. She’d worked magic around Franklin Haskell, knowing exactly what to say to get what she wanted.
“I appreciate that, sir.” She nodded respectfully to him, knowing she’d won. “And I promise to keep a sharp eye on your messy, smelly, ill-mannered cattle in the meantime.”
Luke chuckled, heart light. At least, it was light until they started moving, figuring out which spare horse they could bring along for Eden. All that cleverness of his wife’s could easily be directed at him any moment. He was going to have to watch himself where she was concerned. But then, that was another thing he’d always heard about women that he suspected he was about to find out was true. Men thought they wore the pants in their marriages, but women were the ones who sewed those pants, and they could make them as tight as they wanted.
Chapter 6
Eight hours later, Luke’s heart wasn’t so light. In fact, he felt as though a fifty-pound buzzard had crept up on his shoulder and was staring down at his every move.
“Watch the left flank,” Travis called across the milling herd of cattle as they rounded a bend where a slope met the stream a few miles outside of Paradise Ranch.
Luke sat straighter in the saddle, glad at least that he felt as one with Marshall, his gelding. He spotted a pair of cows that looked more interested in investigating the slope than continuing on with the others. Instinct kicked in, and he nudged Marshall to investigate.
“No, no!”
A numb prickle crawled down Luke’s spine at Travis’s correcting shout. What had he done wrong? Anxious and frustrated, he turned Marshall toward Travis, who was now riding through the ambling herd to reach Luke.
“What?” Luke called when Travis got close enough. “I was just going to stop those two from getting away.”
He glanced over his shoulder. Not only were the two cows still straying, Eden had paused atop her horse to watch him. Her face was shaded by the wide brim of her hat, so he couldn’t tell what she thought.
Travis rode close, evidently keeping his reply to himself until he could deliver it face-to-face. Perfect. Luke grunted. His wife was about to witness him being reprimanded when he was supposed to be proving how competent he was. Just what he needed.
“You’re trail boss,” Travis said when he was only a couple feet from Luke. His horse danced, but Travis kept it under control. “Your job is not to herd the cattle, it’s to herd the men.”
“Yeah?” Luke tried to sound casual, but his mind raced to drink in the lesson, and his muscles clenched with the need to perform well.
Travis nodded. “So, as leader, you can’t do every job yourself. You see what needs to be done, who is available to do it, and you delegate to them.”
“Right.” Luke lifted to search over the dusty herd and the men from Paradise Ranch who were driving it. Cody and Mike were up at the front, pacing the cattle, Mike taking his turn driving the chuck wagon. Billy and Mason were over on the right flank. Lawson and Oscar rode drag, bringing up the rear. That left him and Travis…and Eden.
As if she could sense the conclusion he came to before he came to it, Eden smiled.
“She wanted to come,” Travis said, seeing that she was the closest one to where action was needed too. He shrugged. “So far, she’s pulled her weight. Why not put her to work doing something other than cooking?”
Luke gaped. “You want me to order my wife to bring back two straying cows?”
“Why not?” Travis nodded, a grin making its way into his eyes. “A good leader can train anyone to do any job.” He was close enough to reach out and thump Luke’s arm. “Go to it.”
Travis rode off, and Luke nudged Marshall to move on. Eden must have sensed some of what the conversation had been about. She had already walked her horse along the flank toward the spot where the two cows were drifting further and further up the slope. Following them was one thing, but Luke had never seen a woman herd a cow.
He had, however, seen plenty of women herd a pack of unruly children. There was only one way to find out if that instinct stretched across the animal kingdom. Although, if he made a mash of teaching Eden how to manage cattle, he’d be reminded of it every day when he looked in her pretty face.
“No way to find out but to try,” he murmured to himself, then kicked Marshall into action. “Hey, Eden!”
She pulled on her mount’s reins to turn him toward Luke. “Hey, what?”
“Travis wants me to show you how to keep unruly cows from wandering off.”
“Travis wants that?” A grin twitched her lips.
Luke frowned. “Yeah. That a problem?”
Eden shrugged. “Don’t you want to show me how to rein in some cows, trail boss?”
Luke’s mouth sagged open. “What’s the difference?”
She chuckled. “There’s a world of
difference, sweetheart. You’ve got just as much backbone as Travis Montrose does.”
“I’ve—” Luke frowned and shook his head. His plucky wife was driving at something, but right then there wasn’t time to work it out. The pair of cows decided to make a break for it.
Luke pushed the strange conversation aside and nudged Marshall, nodding to Eden, then ahead at the cows. She spurred her horse after him, and in no time, the two of them were riding wide of the herd.
“Cows aren’t the brightest creatures God made,” he explained as he showed Eden what to do. “They prefer to be in a mass. They like being guided. They get all itchy and confused when they stray.”
“Kind of like a man?” Eden teased with a wink.
It was probably a jab at him, but Luke laughed anyhow. “If you’d like. All they need is a little gentle encouragement to head back to the path they’re supposed to be on.”
“Exactly like a man,” Eden laughed. “Show me how?”
It shouldn’t have, but that simple question puffed Luke’s chest with pride. Sprightly as Eden was, she was asking for his instruction. He knew full well what he was doing and the best way to get it done, so as soon as she was shadowing him, he demonstrated the best way to guide and holler and coax nervous cows away from their escape plan and back into the bulk of the herd. Sure enough, as soon as they sensed their buddies around them, the cows gentled and their steps relaxed into the plodding lope of the rest of the herd.
“That wasn’t so hard.” Eden drew her horse up alongside his. Her chest rose and fell beautifully as she panted from exertion and concentration. Out in the sun, the dusting of freckles across her cheeks seemed more pronounced and downright…kissable. “You’re right, it just takes some calling and nudging, and they go right back to where they want to be.”
“In a situation like this, yes.” Luke nodded, working hard to focus on the job instead of all the other things they could be doing. “If they end up in a full-on stampede or if there’s some other danger, it’s a whole different problem to solve.”