“There’s no reason you can’t get to know people while you’re there,” Jared told Steve. “You can help Mrs. Spencer with her shopping and running errands.”
Steve wasn’t so overcome by Laurie’s beauty that he was ready to be part of what he would call female doings. Much to Jared’s surprise, Laurie caught that immediately.
“I don’t think there’ll be much need for shopping or errands. I’ll be eating here, and I don’t need new clothes to clean and wash. I expect it’ll be time to go to bed when we get home, so you probably won’t have to chop wood, either.”
Steve looked relieved. “I don’t mind chopping wood, ma’am. You can’t go to sleep in a cold house.”
“We’ll see.” Laurie turned to Jared. “When do you want me to start?”
Steve didn’t wait for Jared to answer. “Tomorrow.”
Jared laughed. “We ought to give Mrs. Spencer a few days to make any arrangements she might need before starting. After all, she’ll be here virtually all the time.”
“I won’t need more than a day or two,” Laurie said. “Since we’re going to be partners, I would like you to call me Laurie.”
“How about I call you Miss Laurie?” Steve asked. “My mother would haunt me if I was to call a lady by her first name.”
“Miss Laurie will be fine. I’d hate to be the cause of a haunting. I’m told it’s bad for sleeping.”
Jared was relieved to discover Laurie had a sense of humor. He knew undertaking this partnership was a big step for her, but if she could laugh, it would be easier on all of them. Well, maybe not for him. The attraction had been strong from the beginning, but now that he knew he would be seeing her each day, it had leapt to the front of his mind. He had to remember this was a business arrangement. If she even guessed at some of the thoughts in his head, she’d back out.
“I promise you’ll have the money when you need it,” Laurie said, “but Norman can’t know anything about it. No one can.”
“I’ll write down the terms of our agreement so we’ll have a firm contract,” Jared told Laurie. “Do you want to show it to a lawyer?”
“No. The only lawyer in Cactus Corner is Norman’s father-in-law. I don’t want him to know anything about it. There are other people I trust.”
“When do you want to go to the bank to transfer the money?”
She looked uncomfortable. “The money isn’t in Norman’s bank, but it’s somewhere safe. I’ll give it to you when it’s time to buy the Herefords.”
Now it was his turn to be uneasy. He had no reason to believe she had lied about the money, but he wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable until it was deposited in his account. This whole situation was a little too cloak-and-dagger for his peace of mind.
“While I write up our agreement, you and Steve can talk about traveling back and forth.”
There wasn’t a lot to put in the agreement and it wasn’t complicated, but Jared had difficulty keeping his mind on what he was doing. Knowing Laurie was in the next room, knowing that she would be in the next or the same room for the foreseeable future, played havoc with his concentration. He had to start over twice before he completed a copy without a mistake. He was almost as bad as Steve, and he didn’t have youth or inexperience as an excuse.
He was a very sensual man and had been with more than his share of women over the years, but none had affected him as Laurie had. She was like a physical force pulling him toward her. He knew she was aware of this. He just didn’t know how she felt about it. He would have to be careful. Until he got the money in his hands, she could back out of the deal and there was nothing he could do about it.
When Jared reentered the parlor, Steve was asking if he could handle the reins. “I wouldn’t feel right being driven by a lady.”
“As long as you don’t turn me into a ditch, we can share the driving. I’m not fond of horses, but I like to handle the reins myself.”
“Do you have your own horse?”
“Yes, but he’s kept at the livery stable. They harness him and bring the buggy to the house.”
“I can do that for you,” Steve said. “No use wasting money.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to work out such details.” Jared handed the agreement to Laurie. “See if that’s satisfactory. You don’t have to decide now. You can bring it with any changes you want when you come to work.”
Laurie read quickly. “It looks fine just as it is, but I’ll keep it a little longer in case I think of something else.” She rose. “I should be going. I won’t fix breakfast on my first day. I’ll need time to settle in first.”
“That’s up to you,” Jared said. “If you need more time before you start, let me know. By rights, you don’t need to start until you give me the money.” He had struggled with himself over whether to say that, but honesty won out over lust.
“I thought about that, but a full-time housekeeper wouldn’t cost you nearly as much as my share of the ranch is worth. I’ll start in two days.”
He tried not to show his relief, but Steve wasn’t so circumspect.
“Hot damn!” he exclaimed. “Now I won’t have to starve.”
Laurie laughed softly, and Jared thought his insides would melt.
“You haven’t sampled my cooking yet,” she told Steve.
“Anybody as beautiful as you has to be a great cook.”
It delighted Jared to see Laurie blush at things he felt but wouldn’t dare say.
“We’ll see. Now I’d better be getting home. I have a lot to do in two days.”
Jared didn’t know what that might be, but he hoped nothing would cause her to change her mind. He wasn’t sure he could stand the disappointment.
***
“You did what?” Sibyl exclaimed.
Naomi was in complete agreement with her cousin. “You can’t possibly do anything that crazy. You have to sit down immediately and write him saying you’ve changed your mind.”
“I haven’t changed my mind, and I’m not going to,” Laurie insisted. “I thought about this a long time.”
“You couldn’t have,” Sibyl said. “Noah’s only been dead two weeks.”
“I thought about this long before Noah died. Not this exactly, but doing something to escape his control.”
“But you have escaped his control,” Naomi reminded her.
“Norman is even worse. I told you what he said.”
“He’ll change his mind after a while,” Sibyl said. “You know it’s all about power. Once he feels you’ll do what he wants, he’ll forget you and start thinking about something else.”
“I don’t want him to think I’ll do what he wants,” Laurie protested. “All my life I’ve done what somebody else wanted—first my parents and then Noah. I’m not going to add Norman to the list, and I want everybody to know it.”
“There must be some other way,” Naomi said.
“I’m not going to work in the mercantile. I refuse to work with my father.”
“You could work in the millinery shop with Mae Oliver or in the bakery with Polly Drummond.”
“I don’t like to sew, and I don’t bake better than any other woman in town.”
“If you insist on working, there must be something you’d like to do.”
“Nothing that would get me a partnership.” She bit her tongue. She hadn’t meant to say that. Neither Sibyl nor Naomi knew about the money.
Both cousins pinned her down with their gazes. “What partnership?” Sibyl asked.
“Jared is going to give me a partnership in the ranch for working for him.”
“When did working as a housekeeper start being worth a partnership?”
“When I made deal with Jared that said it would,” Laurie answered back. “I knew you wouldn’t like it, but I’m telling you because I want you to know. I’m going to need your support once everybody in town hears about it.”
“But I’ll agree with them,” Naomi said.
“Me, too,” Sibyl added. “How could we not?
”
“Because I’m your cousin,” Laurie replied. “Because I’ve been miserably unhappy for years. Because I want to be in control of my life. Because I want to have something of my own that Norman doesn’t give me just because he’s gotten tired of torturing me and is looking for another victim.”
“You can’t be getting much of a partnership just for cooking and cleaning,” Naomi said.
“It doesn’t have to be that much,” Laurie said, “as long as it’s something Norman can’t control.”
“I’m sure if you talk to Mae—”
“I don’t want to talk to Mae or anybody else in Cactus Corner. I’m tired of being surrounded by people who think they know more about what’s best for me than I do. I even considered moving to Tucson.”
“That’s out of the question,” Naomi declared, “but I’d like that better than your being at Jared Smith’s ranch all day. You can imagine what people are going to think.”
“Yes, and I’ll think less of them for it. I’ve done nothing in my whole life to warrant such suspicions.”
“It’s human nature,” Sibyl said. “You’re a beautiful woman, and Jared Smith is a mature, virile man. Two such people shouldn’t be alone all day.”
“We won’t be alone. He has a fifteen-year-old nephew who’ll stay with me so he can drive me back and forth.”
“That’s something else I don’t like. Do you think it’s safe?” Naomi asked.
“He’s fifteen. He’s only a boy.”
“A boy who’s only a few years away from being a man,” Sibyl pointed out.
“He’s still a boy. The only other solution was to have me move out to the ranch.”
Laurie was glad she said that. Her cousins were so horrified over that possibility that they objected less to Steve staying in her house. She was tired of trying to convince her cousins to approve of something she knew they never would. She knew they were worried about her, but she didn’t intend to let that hold her back. The moment she put her signature on that agreement, a great weight had been lifted from her. She no longer had to worry that someone would find the money and force her to tell where she got it. She didn’t have to worry what Norman did or didn’t do. She would finally have something of her own that neither Norman nor her father could take from her. There would be purpose in her days, new people in her life, new things to learn.
She would finally feel like a person instead of a possession.
“You’re determined to do this, aren’t you?” Naomi asked.
“Yes.”
“And nothing we say is going to change your mind?” Sibyl asked.
“Nothing.”
The two cousins looked at each other and sighed. “I don’t know that I can defend you,” Naomi said, “but I’ll try.”
“I can’t in good conscience,” Sibyl said, “but I know what it’s like to live under Norman’s thumb. If you can do this without a scandal, I’ll stand by you. You still have to face your parents and Norman,” she warned.
“I know, but I want to hold off until I’ve worked a few days so I can show them there’s nothing they have to worry about. So you can’t tell anybody yet.”
“I won’t lie to Colby,” Naomi said.
“Then it’s good he’s away on a trip. Besides, I know he’d support me.”
“Not until he’d been out to that ranch and met every man who works there.”
“I hope he will,” Laurie said. “His assurances would do more to convince people than anything I can say.”
“Nothing is going to make people understand why you’re doing this or how it should earn you a partnership in that ranch, no matter how small it is.”
“Then I guess they’ll just not understand.”
Laurie’s arguments hadn’t swayed her cousins, but she could count on their support. It would be more difficult to explain the partnership. She couldn’t tell anybody about the money. It had been a long time, but if the army found out, they might arrest her. And if they arrested her, they’d have to arrest Norman, her father, and probably several other men. And what about Naomi killing that soldier? Once they found out about the stolen payroll, no one would believe she’d done it in self-defense.
“I’m coming over here after your first day of work,” Naomi informed her, “and I expect to hear every detail of what happened.”
“I’ll be here, too,” Sibyl said.
“How will you get away from Norman?”
“You let me worry about that.”
Laurie had always been jealous that Norman gave Sibyl more freedom than Noah had given her. “Okay. Just promise you won’t tell anyone until I’m ready.”
“As long as I think you’re safe,” was as far as Naomi would go.
That was all Laurie needed. Now she just had to make sure everything worked out the way she planned.
***
This was the third time Laurie had driven up to Jared’s ranch, but today was different. On one hand, she was doing something that would draw the disapproval of everyone she knew. On the other, she was taking the first step toward establishing her independence. Yet it was more than that. She was going to be in a close relationship with a man she found attractive, and who found her attractive. She didn’t intend for it to stray beyond professional boundaries, but just having the freedom to form such an association was a heady experience. For the first time in four years, she felt like a beautiful woman.
By everyone’s standards except Norman’s, she was not dressed provocatively. At the moment she was covered from head to toe in a thick coat to protect her from the cold, and a grossly unattractive hat to keep her head warm and her hair on top of her head. Underneath she wore a simple gray skirt and a wool blouse with long sleeves and a high collar. It might be warm in the kitchen, but she expected the rest of the house to be cold.
She wasn’t surprised when Jared came out to meet her. She’d expected to see Steve, too, but Jared was alone. He looked at the box in the boot of the buggy.
“What have you got there?”
“Things to clean with, some seasoning for cooking, and few things for the kitchen.”
“We should have everything you need.”
He held out his hand to help her down from the buggy. She’d been aware of his strength before, but today she was aware of more than strength. A kind of nervous excitement traveled through his hand into hers, instantly communicating with the rest of her body. The shock caused her to stumble. Jared caught her.
“Are you all right?”
Of course she wasn’t. She was practically in the embrace of a man she barely knew. “I guess I’m stiff from the cold. It’s a long ride.”
“Are you okay now? Let’s get you inside.”
“You can release me. There’s nothing wrong. I just stumbled.”
Jared practically jumped back from her. “I’ll carry the box.”
Laurie hoped this awkward beginning wasn’t a harbinger of the rest of the day. She followed Jared into the house. He put the box down inside the door.
“Where you do want to begin?” He looked as uncomfortable as she felt.
“Why don’t you show me the house?” They stood in a wide hallway that ran from the front to the back of the house.
“There’s not much to see. It’s a small place. You’ve seen the parlor. We rarely have visitors, so I use it as my office. Across the hall is the kitchen. I’ll save that for last. The two bedrooms are in the back.” He opened the door to a large and neat room. “This is my room. Steve’s is across the hall.”
Seeing Jared’s bedroom had a strange effect on her. The room was plainly furnished with a large wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a chair, and a table with a shaving stand.
“That bed was left by the previous owner. I’d never have hauled anything that size from Texas.”
A huge bed covered by a handmade quilt dominated the room. The thought of Jared asleep in the bed—did he wear long underwear or did he sleep naked?—caused her stomach to clench. Appalled at the di
rection of her thoughts, she turned her attention to the windows. “You need curtains and some pictures on the wall.”
“I’m never in this room except to sleep. You really don’t have to clean it. I can take care of it myself.”
“I said I’d clean the house, and that’s what I’ll do. Your job is to make sure the Herefords prove to be a good investment.”
He smiled. “I can see you’re going to be a demanding business partner. I’m going to sell off the longhorns while I build the Hereford herd. There won’t be much profit right away, but we won’t starve.”
“What will I live on?”
“You’re a full partner. You’ll get a share of everything I sell starting today.”
“But I haven’t given you the money.”
“Because I don’t need it yet. The partnership started the minute you signed the contract. Of course, either of us can back out until I get the money and buy the Herefords.”
That’s how it worked in the mercantile, but she hadn’t known if ranches were the same.
“Steve’s room is a mess. I’ll have him straighten it up for you.”
“I’ll do that. I never had any brothers or sisters. It’ll give me a chance to see what I missed.”
Jared opened the door to a room that was smaller than Jared’s bedroom and as disorderly as his was organized. “Is this something you regret missing?”
Laurie laughed. “It’s not so terrible. It’s not like there’s a half a dozen of him.”
Jared shivered. “I love my nephew, but I cringe at the thought of even one more like him.”
“Don’t you hope to marry and have children?” The question was ordinary enough, but under the circumstances it felt too personal. Fortunately Jared didn’t appear to mind.
“I’ve been in the army for the last seven years so I haven’t had a chance to do anything about it, but I do hope to have a family. However, I will not spoil my children as badly as Steve’s mother spoiled him. He was an only child.”
Laurie had washed, folded, and put away Noah’s clothes, but doing that didn’t have the same impact as the thought of handling the clothes of a teenage boy who was as sexually vibrant as Noah had been quiescent. “Maybe you could ask him to pick up his clothes.”
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