by Linda Bridey
“Yes, ma’am. Women in that situation tend to feel that they can talk freely about their men. I always left before anyone came out and I never divulged names or talked about any of it around my mother or her friends. I kept it completely confidential and inside my brain.”
“Small as it is,” Rick interjected.
“Shut up, Mountie. Anyway, that’s what women want, among other things,” Joe said.
Darryl said, “Yeah, they want some musclebound fella that can lift all kinds of heavy stuff.”
“Not always, my fine young friend,” Joe protested. “That was Elliot’s problem for the longest time. He was sensitive about his glasses and that he’s not some hulking brute; he’s strong, but he doesn’t look like Luke. I finally made him see that muscles do not make the man. Abby fell madly in love with him because of the very first thing he did; he listened. He still does. No one else can make sense of her sometimes, but he can. They wrote for quite a little while and do you know what else he did for her? Made her laugh. They had this game they played with a penny. You know, a penny for your thoughts? They sent that penny back and forth across the country in every letter, Darryl. They still have that penny, too. They put it in the frame with their wedding picture.”
“It’s very romantic,” Lacey said. “I haven’t said anything because Joe’s right. When I first came here, I don’t think it would have mattered what he looked like. He helped me and Jamie vouched for him, so I was confident that he would be honest and fun. That he’s a handsome devil was just the icing on the cake.”
Joe laughed a little bashfully. Lacey was the only one who could make him feel like that. “Thank you, honey. So Darryl, don’t get hung up on looks. Many times, they are the last thing a woman worries about. If the man treats her like dirt, hurts her, doesn’t pay attention to her or expects her to just be a slave, she is not going to fall in love with him no matter what he looks like. All right. Enough of that. My class on the female mind is over.”
Randall said, “It was a very good class, sir, and echoes many of the sentiments I myself have had over the years. Bravo.”
Joe grinned. “I consider that very high praise, Randy, coming from a gentleman such as yourself.”
Randall inclined his head slightly in response.
Joe flicked a glance at Rick. Since Gina and their kids weren’t there, Joe surmised that the deputy was there to see him on business. He couldn’t tell if what Rick had to impart was good or bad, however, which was typical of Rick. The man could keep secrets better than anyone Joe had ever come across.
Rick said, “Well, now that our tutorial is over, I have something to share with you all.” Once he had their attention, Rick said, “Brook and Reckless’ babies were born yesterday.”
“Babies? As in ‘two’?” Eddie asked.
“Yep. Twin boys,” Rick said with a grin.
“Hot damn!” Joe laughed. “My very brave brave now has himself two little very brave braves. How’s Brook doin’? Everything go all right?”
“Yep. All is well. Mike and Squirrel helped deliver them. I was there the whole time,” Rick said.
Lacey asked, “Was Reckless with Brook or did he stay outside the tipi?”
“He was right there with her. Scared to death, but he was there. You should have heard him once they were both born, though. Came running out of that tipi and picked me up like I weighed nothing. I was very honored to be able to share it with them.”
Lacey said, “Deena, you should go with Gina, me, and Emily to see them. We can work on that dress another day.”
Deena had no idea what to say. On one hand, this was her first full day of work and she didn’t want Eddie to be angry with her, but on the other, Lacey was Joe’s wife and Joe was Eddie’s boss. She looked at Eddie, who looked at Joe.
Joe looked at his wife, who smiled hopefully at him. There was very little he could refuse Lacey. “All right. Here’s what we’ll do. Everyone get the essential work done and those who want to go see the new babies can go. Those who don’t can stay and finish up. Sound fair? Good.”
Lacey squeezed his arm in gratitude and he laughed. Deena watched them together and smiled. It was obvious how much in love they were and she wanted that kind of relationship with Eddie. Remembering their agreement about keeping things professional while they were working, Deena only glanced at Eddie a couple of times. She didn’t want anyone noticing her watching him too much. It was important to her that no one would think he was giving her preferential treatment and she didn’t know if he wanted anyone to know about them yet.
That’s why it startled her when she felt Eddie take her hand under the table and squeeze it. She felt a blush creep up her neck and she became warm just from that simple touch. Smiling at something Lacey was saying, she let her eyes settle briefly on Eddie. His smile alone had always made her feel good, but the fact that it was directed at her deeply affected her. Deena briefly returned it and then dropped her eyes back to her plate again.
Soon after Rick’s announcement, breakfast ended and Deena went to start working with Leo. Eddie followed her. “Deena, I need to see you a minute,” he said in a no nonsense tone.
A couple of the other grooms snickered as they walked by because this was the voice Eddie used when he wasn’t happy about something. She glanced at them and then back at Eddie.
“C’mon. I don’t have all day here,” Eddie said with a frown.
Deena followed him to his office and sat in a chair as he shut the door a little forcefully. Then he locked it and smiled at her.
“How’d I do?” he asked.
“What?”
“Do you think they bought it?” he asked and sat on the corner of his desk nearest her.
Deena laughed. “You were acting?”
“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you without them knowin’ it was about something personal,” he said.
“You fooled me, so I’m sure you did them, too. I really thought I’d done something wrong,” Deena said.
“No. Sorry,” Eddie said. “I just wanted to tell you what a good time I had last night.”
“Me, too. I had a lot of fun,” Deena said.
“Good. So that means that you’d like there to be a next time?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“All right. Would you like to go dancin’ tomorrow night?” he asked.
Deena laughed. “You said you were going to ask again.”
“Yes, I did.”
“My answer this time is yes,” she said.
“Pick you up at seven?”
“Seven it is,” she said. “So, boss, am I allowed to ask for a good morning kiss?”
Eddie nodded. “Yes, you most certainly are.”
Deena rose from her chair and stood in front of him. Eddie’s eyes travelled over her hair, which she wore in a thick braid, her beautiful dark eyes, and settled on her pretty, pink mouth. Deena moved closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. Eddie put his hands on her waist and urged her forward before settling his mouth over hers.
The slow, gentle kiss he gave her made Deena’s knees almost give out. She’d always thought that kind of thing didn’t really exist, that it was simply a myth. But she was experiencing it for herself, and Deena realized that in certain circumstances, those kinds of feelings were real.
Eddie regretted that they had to get to work. He slowly ended their kiss even though he wanted more. “Mmm, that was very nice, but you’d better get to work before I attack you and someone wonders why we’re in here so long.”
Deena giggled and said, “Yes, boss.”
She opened the door and Eddie followed her to it.
“Remember what I said,” he said sternly as she walked away.
Deena just nodded, not trusting herself not to laugh.
Eddie shut the office door and leaned against it before laughing softly.
Chapter Fourteen
“Damn it! The poor kid. I’m right in line behind Reckless. I say we hang him,” Joe was incensed after R
ick filled him in on Minx’s situation. “Where is she right now?”
“She’s still in jail. Jack has been staying with her at night. She’s going to help us catch this guy. They’re supposed to meet tonight,” Rick said.
“I see. Is she going to be able to handle it?” Joe was very concerned for the girl he’d known since she was ten or so.
Rick said, “She’s very adamant about doing it.”
“That’s admirable of her, but I don’t like her having to see him again.”
“She’s brave. If it wasn’t necessary, we wouldn’t do it. We’ll be right there, too, so she won’t be alone.”
Joe nodded and then frowned in perplexity. “There’re a few things I don’t understand. Why didn’t Minx just take the loot and hide it in her tipi? Why have to come back for it?”
Rick smiled a little. “It would be hard to hide something like that in the tipi she shares with her parents. Especially because Eagle Woman cleans and washes their sleeping robes on a regular basis. It would be found quickly and then how would Minx explain where it came from?”
“I didn’t think about that,” Joe said.
“That’s why I’m the deputy and you’re not,” Rick said.
Joe smiled. “I guess so. Let me know how things go tonight.”
“Don’t worry, Tex. I will.”
Joe frowned as Rick left his office. “I hate bein’ called that. I oughta skin Ben for startin’ it.”
*****
Eddie was out in the west pasture looking at fence that seemed loose when he saw Joe on his way to the first barn. He called to Joe and waved him over. When Joe neared him, Eddie saw that he looked a little rattled.
“What’s the matter?” Eddie asked.
Joe rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that the man was agitated about something. “Don’t worry about it. Mayor stuff.” When Joe said that, it meant that he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh. Ok.” Eddie rarely pushed when Joe said that. “I want to get your opinion about something.”
“Ok. Go ahead.”
“Well, Deena and I went out to dinner last night,” Eddie said.
Joe smiled. “That’s great. How’d it go?”
Eddie’s smile said it all. “I should have listened to you, Joe. She’s fun, smart, and beautiful. She’s sweet and feisty. But I’ve got a problem.”
“It doesn’t sound like you have a problem,” Joe said.
“Joe, I’m her boss. We work together,” Eddie said.
“Lacey and I work together.”
Eddie shook his head. “That’s as equals, Joe. If we get more and more involved and then I have to come down on her for somethin’, how’s that gonna work?”
Joe pondered that. “Yeah, I see your point. What does Deena say?”
“She thinks if we just act professional during work, that it’ll be fine, but will it really?”
Joe looked Eddie in the eye and asked, “Eddie, how serious do you think this is with Deena? Is she just a fun time to you or are you interested in more?”
Eddie’s gaze never wavered as he said, “I want to ask her pa for permission to court her.”
Joe laughed and whacked Eddie on the arm. “See? I am never wrong about these things! I knew it! I’m very happy for you, Eddie.”
“Thanks,” Eddie said rubbing his arm. “That still doesn’t solve the work issue. I don’t want the other employees to get the idea that I’m going easy on her or anything.”
Joe said, “Then don’t. When she does something wrong, correct her. If she’s not doing her job, tell her about it. You really are not gonna be able to treat her any different. If she’s ok with that, I wouldn’t worry. It doesn’t bother me any as long as it doesn’t interfere with anything around here.” He frowned briefly as if thinking about something else, then grinned again. “Good luck with her pa. I have no doubt he’ll give you permission.”
“I hope so. I’ve never asked to court anyone before. I’ve had fathers warn me about mistreatin’ their daughters, but I’ve never wanted to be serious like this before,” Eddie said.
“You’ll do just fine. You’re a good man and Tom already knows that, I’m sure,” Joe said.
“About Tom. He’s got around eighty acres of land over there,” Eddie said.
“Ok.”
“We need more room to plant hay. What if we rent some land from him to grow hay on?” Eddie asked. “He’s already got quite a bit of hay planted and some corn. If he has a good crop this year, we could just buy from him and then see what kind of deal we could work out for next growin’ season.”
“That’s why you’re in charge, Eddie. You always find solutions to problems. Ask him about it. It sounds like a good idea to me. Make sure you offer him just above fair market price. If we could grow more of our own hay, that would save us actually buying more land. He could oversee it for us,” Joe said.
“His barn needs some repairs to it,” Eddie said. “I’m not gonna mention that to him for now, though. I don’t want to hurt his pride. If we can make a deal, I’ll say it’s included in being compensated for acting as an overseer.”
“Great. You know what you’re doing there. Well, let me know how it all goes. I gotta get to town,” Joe said. “Don’t forget about going to see the two new braves.”
Eddie chuckled as Joe left.
Chapter Fifteen
Deena knocked on Eddie’s office door and said, “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said with a smile. “C’mon in. Close the door.”
She perched on a chair and said, “I don’t have to go today to see Reckless’ babies. I don’t really know him, so I’ll stay so someone else can go if they want. I’ll keep cleaning stalls or something.”
“This isn’t up for discussion. Joe wants everyone to go, so we’ll go,” Eddie said.
Deena was confused by this. “Why would he want everyone to go? He didn’t say everyone should go, just those who wanted to go.”
Eddie grinned and said, “Joe can be a confusing boss sometimes. I know him better than anyone except Lacey, but even she doesn’t always understand his managing style.”
“But you do?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s more of a curse than a blessing, really. Trust me,” Eddie said. “When Joe says things like he did this morning, he means that everyone better get their most important work done so they can go to see these new babies.”
“But what if they don’t want to?” Deena asked.
Eddie cocked his head at her and said, “If they want a job they will.”
“So he would make me go even if I don’t want to?”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” Deena was even more perplexed.
Eddie sighed. “Joe quickly adopts people. Like me for instance. His father hired me and Joe and I became friends. His father hated me. Of course, August hates everyone, but Joe and I hit it off right away. Joe and I formed an alliance against his father. Once Joe was able to give his father the boot, Joe made me head groom and then foreman.
“Joe’s mother committed suicide when he was maybe twenty-two or thereabouts. August drove her to it, really. She was the one person in Joe’s life who he cared about above all others and when she died, so did a piece of Joe. Joe had no other family to speak of, so he started adopting people. Over time, he’s made his own family.”
Deena thought about the way Joe acted with people; his generosity, the way he kidded everyone, and how he knew the people in his life so well and what Eddie said made sense to her. “So you would be like a brother to him?”
“That’s right. Luke Samuels, too. Randall is sort of a father figure to him. Randall’s been with Joe since he was sixteen. He came with Joe’s family when they moved here from Texas. I think Randall felt bad for Joe and his mother and knew they needed someone steady in their lives.
“Black Fox has become like an older brother to Joe. Joe thinks of a lot of the Lakota kids as nephews or nieces, but he has a special place in his heart for Rec
kless. I don’t know why, but he does. He was really happy when Jake hired him as a bouncer. He won’t tolerate anyone putting Reckless down any, so don’t do it around him.”
Deena nodded. “All right. I understand what you’re saying, but I still don’t see what this has to do with me.”
“He’s adopted you, too, now, and in his mind, if you’re Joe’s family, you’re Reckless’ now, too. And like most families when they have new babies born, he feels that everyone should go see them. I told you, it’s a curse that I know all this about Joe. So why don’t you want to go?” Eddie asked.
“Because I don’t know them and I don’t know anything about the Lakota,” Deena said. “It makes me nervous.”
“It’ll be ok. We don’t have to stay long or anything. I think you’ll get a kick out of it, actually. You just stay with me and it’ll be fine, ok?” Eddie said.
“Ok. I’ll go finish up so we can go,” Deena said.
Eddie kissed her cheek and they left the office together.
*****
“You have a visitor,” Jack told Minx.
Minx sat cross-legged on her cell floor playing with the cards Jack had given her. He’d taught her how to play solitaire and the repetition of the game relaxed her. “So?”
“Don’t you want to know who?” Jack asked.
“No.” She didn’t bother raising her head to see who it was. She didn’t care so why pretend she did?
Jack looked over at Joe and shrugged. “Maybe she’ll talk to you. Good luck.”
Joe looked down at the pretty maiden and sighed. To see the girl who was always full of such life and spunk sitting listlessly on the floor that way hurt him. He didn’t speak. Instead, he sat down on the floor cross-legged outside the cell and waited.
Minx had noticed that someone had sat on the floor, but didn’t bother looking over at them. Eventually it started to annoy her that the person didn’t speak, that they just sat there staring at her. She tried to ignore her irritation and keep playing her game, but it bothered her too much and she snuck a glance to her right. She couldn’t quite tell who it was.