The Rancher’s Spirited Bride

by Chloe Carley

  “Well, now that they’re here, I don’t want to wait that long to go but I guess I could ride back with you, if your business isn’t going to take too long? I’m sure Ma will be ready to see her guests leave sooner than later. I could ride back to town with them?”

  Carl nodded and then scratched his chin. “I’ll meet you at the mercantile once you’re finished giving that man a tour of town.”

  “His name is Mark.”

  Carl told her softly, “I know his name.” He continued to meet her eyes, wishing he had the authority to command her to stop using the man’s given name. He didn’t like hearing it from her lips one bit and he hated even more that jealousy was now his constant companion.

  Carl had been watching Sara Jane for so many years, and knew her very well. He didn’t like this newcomer sniffing around her, not one bit. Carl had already stated his intentions to Sara Jane, and he inwardly sighed, knowing he had no one but himself to blame for not having acted upon them.

  In his mind, Sara Jane was already spoken for. By him. The thought that her affections might be swayed by some fancy fella from back East bothered him more than he cared to openly admit. He’d been trying to give Sara Jane time to adjust to the fact that she was destined to be his wife, but it appeared that he’d almost waited too long.

  She was the brightest, smartest, feistiest woman in the territory. He loved her smile and her gumption and there was no way some schoolteacher could ever challenge her or put the light of competition in her eyes. Not like Carl could. Oh, he knew he could make her madder than a wet hen in the blink of an eye, but he also knew there was a sweet side of Sara Jane; he just hadn’t figured out how to bring out more often. He needed to fix that. Starting now. Jealousy was a great motivator.

  “I’ll see you in town later?” The minute the words left his mouth, he hated the fact that he’d ended them with a question. And yet, Sara Jane didn’t take well to being ordered about and he wanted her to want to spend time with him. Just him. He watched her carefully, silently willing her to give her consent and ease the ache and doubt churning within his gut. When she nodded and gave him a crooked smile, he felt the tight band around his chest lessen slightly.

  “Fine.” Sara Jane left the barn, a strange warmth inside of her at the thought of spending a little time with Carl without cattle to wrangle or calves to pull out of mud holes. Yesterday was one of the first times when they’d had a conversation and it hadn’t ended with her being vexed with him. She’d liked being able to just talk to him without feeling like she needed to defend herself all the time.

  Carl had said he wanted to court her and, if this was how he meant to go about it, she was eager to see where it would all end. She quickly made her way to her bedroom and donned the same dress as the day before. She only had three dresses since she much preferred trousers and saw no harm in appearing in the same outfit as the day before. It might be frowned upon by other women in the town, but Sara Jane had long since stopped letting their opinions matter to her. If they couldn’t accept her for who she truly was, then she had no use for them, or their negative comments designed to try and bring her back in line with their ideas of how a young lady should act and dress. Call her a rebel, but Sara Jane was happy just like she was.

  She exited her bedroom and found Ma doing her best to remain polite as Cecilia openly criticized Rio Arriba and the lifestyle everyone who lived there loved. The newcomer had just made an enemy and didn’t even realize it. Cecelia was the epitome of everything Pearl detested in a gently reared woman–judgmental, snobbish, and way too full of her own importance. As the wife of the area’s richest and largest landowner, her ma could easily have acted as if she were better than everyone else, more important than other women, and insisted that her opinion was the only one that mattered–but Pearl Lawson was the polar opposite. She gave generously to everyone, always put others before herself, and was the best listener Sara Jane had ever met. Cecelia was barking up the wrong tree if she thought there were any similarities between herself and Pearl.

  “There is simply dirt everywhere. Why that town hasn’t taken steps to correct that I just cannot fathom. Do they truly enjoy sleeping and eating in filth? And that place they call a boarding house? Why, there was a layer of dust on practically everything. Why someone couldn’t take the time to ensure the place was clean for their guests, I just don’t understand.”

  Mrs. Pedersen looked completely scandalized as Sara Jane entered the room and gave Mrs. Lawry a narrow-eyed glare. “Are you implying that the folks who live here are like pigs?”

  Cecilia was so taken aback by Sara Jane’s return and her change of attire, she turned around so quickly she almost fell off the chair she was sitting on. “My goodness,” she exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart dramatically. “You scared me. And now you are dressed more appropriately. Why you would willingly wear such shameful clothing as you had on before … well, you must show your parents more respect. You don’t want to be an embarrassment to them, now do you?”

  Sara Jane clenched her hands into fists and held onto her temper. “Ma’am, I dress not only for my own comfort, but because dresses are just impractical out in the fields and pastures.”

  “Sara Jane’s right,” her ma spoke up. “We are very proud of our children and respect their contributions to the ranch and the Rio Arriba community. Now, I hate to be rude, but I have some other things that require my attention today. Mrs. Pedersen, as always it was a pleasure. Please come and visit again. Alone. When you can stay longer and aren’t entertaining guests.”

  Sara Jane bit her lip as Ma’s request for the snide Cecilia to remain in town was fully understood. “Good day.” The look upon Cecelia’s face was confused disbelief when Pearl blatantly ignored her as she prepared to leave the room. She even went as far as to walk an additional three feet and step around the empty armchair to avoid having to deal with the woman.

  After Ma left Sara Jane to bundle the other two women back out to their wagon, Cecelia blessedly decided to withhold her many criticisms. “Climb on up and I’ll be right back,” Sara Jane informed them, setting a step stool on the ground next to the buckboard. She was taking a serious dislike to Mark’s mother and felt guilty for her horrible thoughts.

  Mark exited the barn before she could reach it, accompanied by Carl and her brothers. Carl was leading Shiloh, having taken the liberty of saddling her up. He transferred her reins to Sara Jane’s hand, his palm running over hers briefly, sending a tingling sensation up her arm. She gave him a sharp look, only to find him staring at his hand strangely as well.

  “What’s this?”

  Carl smiled down at her. “I thought maybe you’d enjoy riding Shiloh home later. You can tether her to the back of the wagon on the ride in.”

  Sara Jane smiled and then frowned and shook her head, giving the reins back. “I can’t.”

  Carl appeared confused and gave the reins back again. “Why not?”

  Sara Jane gestured to her attire. “This is why. I refuse to ride side saddle and these skirts are dangerous to ride in astride. I thought you would be bringing the wagon to town.”

  Carl shook his head slowly. “Never even crossed my mind.”

  Sara Jane’s longing to take her horse for a long ride across the wide-open land was so strong she could almost taste it.

  “Sara Jane,” Carl said, “You want to ride; I know you do.” When she nodded, he continued, “So, go grab some clothes to change into before we leave town.”

  “What?” Sara Jane stared at him.

  Carl nodded. “I’m sure the Pederson’s would let you change clothes in their backroom. Or the girls over at the bro…uh, boarding house. We can ride out of town the back way and you won’t have to worry about anyone seeing you other than just a few of your friends.”

  Sara Jane’s mind quickly started spinning with possibilities and she grinned. “Thank you.” She tossed the reins back to him and turned toward the house, hollering to him as she ran for the door, “Get my sa
ddle bags.”

  “On it,” Carl hollered back with a soft chuckle.

  “Where’s she going? Miss Lawson, where are you going?” Mark Lawry called after her.

  She turned, still moving backward, and smiled. “I’ll be right back. I forgot something. Mrs. Pedersen, I’m coming with you so don’t leave just yet.”

  She raced up to her bedroom, grabbed the clothing she’d just removed, rolled it into a tight ball and grabbed her boots. Racing down the stairs, she reached Shiloh and Carl just as he finished securing her bags onto her saddle. He opened the closest one and she stuffed her clothing inside. Carl took her boots and put them in the other side. “That’s better.”

  Sara Jane nodded, unable to look away as joy and something else filled her chest. Carl had provided her something she’d wanted but not known how to accomplish and a part of her wanted to hug him in thanks. Somehow, Carl had known that she was just going through the motions where Mark and Ma were concerned.

  She truly didn’t mind showing the schoolteacher around town, or even spending some time getting to know him better. He was handsome, and polished in a way none of the men in Rio Arriba could even fake, and had seen parts of the world she’d only dreamed of. And yet, she didn’t get that same warm feeling around him that she did with Carl.

  And that’s been the problem all along. None of the young men who have come calling stirred you inside.

  Sara Jane fiddled with the reins for a moment, her thoughts swirling around like a dust devil on a windy day. Mark didn’t know her, but Carl did. Carl was aggravating at times, but he knew exactly how to ease her mind and put joy in her heart. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and then bit the inside of her bottom lip when she saw him looking right back at her.

  There was something in his eyes she wanted to explore and question, but now wasn’t the time or the place. The urge to hug him was still there, but sensing many sets of eyes on her, she refrained and settled for a softly spoken, “Thank you.”

  Carl’s eyes softened and he nodded once before taking a step back. “I’ll tie her to the back of the wagon.”

  Sara Jane shook away the sensation of being willingly trapped by his gaze and focused on the present matter at hand. “Ready to go back to town?”

  Mark smiled and stepped closer to her, crowding her space and drawing a frown from Carl. “Yes. You have a lovely home and I look forward to seeing more of the ranch. Your brothers told me about it, and it sounds like an amazing place to have grown up.”

  “It was. Well … ” Sara Jane felt decidedly uncomfortable standing there. Her brothers had come forward and Carl had returned from tying Shiloh’s reins to the wagon. All of them were staring at Mark, who couldn’t seem to look anywhere but at her.

  Sara Jane found herself instantly comparing how Mark made her feel to how she’d felt just moments earlier when she discovered Carl watching her. The two experiences were so vastly different, she found herself getting annoyed with Mark. She wasn’t ready to analyze her thoughts about Carl, not right now with an avid audience, including the man himself standing just a few feet away. She saw Carl take a step in their direction; his jaw clenched tight as his stare bore a hole in Mark’s back.

  It was plain that Carl didn’t like Mark, nor did he like the attention Mark was paying her. Carl’s declaration echoed in her mind and she felt a little surge of excitement that maybe he was finally going to make good on his promise. That sparked a kernel of irritation with Carl because it seemed he was only willing to act when he thought Sara Jane might be entertaining the attentions of someone else.

  Could Carl be jealous? I know if he was looking at another girl or spending time with her, I’d be more than a little jealous. I’d want to tear her hair out.

  That thought was a startling revelation and she knew she’d need some time to process the depth of her emotions where Carl was concerned. But right now, she had an overeager man vying for her attention and doing so in a way that was liable to draw not only Carl’s, but her brother’s, anger. Mark Lawry and his mother needed to go back to town.

  Sara Jane took two steps to the side and then addressed everyone. “We should get going. Carl, I’ll meet you at the mercantile later.”

  “You can count on it. I look forward to our ride back,” he told her.

  Mark frowned and reached to put a hand on Sara Jane’s shoulder, but she saw his movement and backed away. With thoughts of Carl on her mind, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more advances from Mark.

  Why couldn’t it be Carl vying to secure my affection and attention?

  She’d originally thought to explore the possibility of a friendship with the handsome schoolteacher, but he seemed to be asking for more. She’d made an error in judgment. She didn’t want Mark’s attention, she wanted Carl’s.

  She turned on her heel and climbed up into the wagon. She kept her eyes straight ahead while Mark climbed into the back to sit beside his ma, giving him no chance of trying to change their seating arrangement. A moment later, Mrs. Pedersen started the wagon moving and moments later they were all headed back to town. Sara Jane kept her head facing forward, ensuring that she didn’t have to make small talk with Mark. His actions had been those of a suitor, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She’d just met the man the day before.

  Besides, she already had Carl claiming that he loved her and wanted to marry her at some point. She definitely didn’t need another man trying to court her. No, that just couldn’t happen. And most assuredly, not a man whose mother hated everything about this place Sara Jane loved so dearly. She didn’t know what Mark’s game was, but she’d find out soon enough and make sure he knew that she might offer him friendship, but that was it. She wasn’t open or amenable to anything else.

  Chapter 7

  Mark was enamored by the lovely Sara Jane. After returning to town, he’d taken his mother over to the boarding house, where they had spent the night before. His mother had complained mightily, but Mark had turned a deaf ear. All she’d done since arriving in Santa Fe was complain about one thing or another. If it wasn’t the way the people were dressed, it was the unrefined accommodations. She complained about everything!

  He’d hoped that arriving in Rio Arriba would help her settle into the notion that this was going to be their new home. A place where she could make some new friends and he could hopefully put down some roots. Unfortunately, his mother was just as contrary as ever, complaining about everything and looking down her nose at everyone they met. There was no way she would make any meaningful friendships in her current frame of mind.

  He was tired of it and he’d been looking forward to spending a few hours with a woman who knew her place. Sara Jane appeared to be such a woman, albeit he was baffled why she’d choose to wear men’s clothing when women’s clothing showed off her attributes much more nicely. After seeing where she lived, and meeting her brothers and the other ranch hands, he figured she might just need an excuse to spend more time in town, thereby giving her more opportunity to dress and act like a young lady. Mark intended to provide her that excuse.

  Sara Jane had helped him navigate the social hierarchy of Rio Arriba. She’d walked him up and down the main street, stopping into each business and introducing him to many people. She’d allowed him to mostly direct the flow of conversation at each stop, choosing to stand quietly until he was ready to move on. He’d been concerned that she might be a little wild for what he was looking for in a wife, and he was happy to find out he’d misjudged her.

  They were now headed back to the mercantile, having met the postmaster, the sheriff, the doctor, the saloon owners, and many others who called Rio Arriba home. “You have a lovely town.”

  “Thank you. I like it. You seemed to fit in well with everyone we met today. I’m not so sure your mother will do the same,” Sara Jane told him bluntly. They had left her at the boarding house so that she could rest.

  Mark didn’t appreciate this woman criticizing his mother, but he coul
dn’t take issue with what she’d said, just that she’d chosen to actually say it aloud. Choosing to pick another time to start correcting her outspokenness, he argued in his mother’s defense. “Mother will learn how to get along with everyone. She may make a few enemies along the way, but she thrives on a little angst in her life.”

  “Really? That doesn’t sound at all like a pleasant way to live,” Sara Jane told him. “For the most part, we all try to live by the Good Book and follow the Golden Rule.”

  “That’s admirable.” They had reached the mercantile and Mark found he was reluctant to part ways with the lovely young woman. “Sara Jane, may I call you by your first name?”

  “Okay,” she agreed after a moment’s hesitation.

  “I enjoyed spending time with you today. I wonder if I might prevail upon you to sit with my mother and me during the Sunday church service tomorrow?”

  Sara Jane looked shocked for a moment and then she slowly nodded and replied, “Well, I guess that might be okay since it’s your first Sunday and all. Normally, I sit with my family in the first two rows. All of the ranch hands on the Lazy L sit together for Sunday services.”