That was what he had said. As if it was a definite thing. She shivered and ran her hands up and down her arms. She lay back on the mattress and closed her eyes, remembering. Then she sat up with a jolt, and groaned as she dropped her head in her hands. The entire time Rusty had been here, she’d been wearing only her nightgown!
Three days later, Rachel returned to work. The black eye had turned a reddish-yellow color, and her sore muscles had healed. Everyone accepted Rusty’s story about her falling out of the wagon and striking her face on the wheel.
Since Rusty had already spoken with the young man who’d been snuggling with his daughter, he convinced Rachel to talk to Amelia about the importance of a girl’s reputation, and other female things. What started out as an awkward conversation soon became a gabfest, leaving Rachel feeling very good about Amelia. She was a smart girl, with a good head on her shoulders. They also talked about school, and Amelia admitted she could use some more education.
“Mrs. Stevens, would you grant me the honor of your company at the Grange Hall social this Saturday evening?” Rusty leaned against the cookhouse doorframe watching Rachel as she finished washing the pots from supper.
“My, so formal.” She laughed as she continued to scrub.
He pushed away from the doorframe and moved to prop himself against the sink. “It’s been a long time since I asked a lady out on a date. I might be out of practice.”
If anyone was out of practice, it was her. She’d rebuffed the few men who had shown an interest in her since Billy’s death. With no desire or intention to ever marry again, there seemed to be no point in encouraging them.
Then why did she have this strong urge to say ‘yes’ to this man?
Rachel used the back of her hand to push the damp curls off her forehead. “What about Will and Amelia?”
He frowned. “What about them?”
“I’ve never been to a Grange dance. Do they allow children?”
“I’m not sure about that, but I’m in favor of Amelia staying here with Will and just you and I go. It’s a ‘date,’ remember.”
A date. That inferred courting. She glanced up at Rusty, then quickly back down again to continue scrubbing. What was the purpose of this ‘date?’ She’d told him something of Billy and her marriage, but she knew very little about him, except for his broken engagement and the daughter he wasn’t sure he’d fathered.
She’d lived in the Guthrie area since she was fifteen years old. Just about everyone she encountered every day, she’d known for years. It was even through Uncle Jesse that she got her job working for Big Bob, who was his client.
“Why did you leave Kansas to work here in Oklahoma?”
He regarded her with raised eyebrows and that lazy smile that set her heart to thumping. “Where did that come from? Does your acceptance to my invitation depend on the answer to that question?”
“No. I only asked because I realize I don’t know very much about you.”
“Honey, I’m inviting you to a dance, not asking you to marry me.” He appeared as surprised by his statement as she was. They stared at each other, the word hanging between them like a harbinger.
Rachel swallowed and attempted a smile. “Yes. Of course. How silly of me.” She forced a smile, hoping it hid her flaming cheeks. “I will go to the dance. It sounds very nice.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven,” he mumbled, and fled the room.
***
Damnation. What the hell made him say something so stupid? The last thing he wanted to do was put that word out there.
Lefty Collins, one of the older cowboys on the ranch, walked up to him. “Hey, boss, Big Bob’s been looking for you. Last I seen him he was headed that-a-way.” He jerked his thumb toward the barn.
“Thanks.” Rusty turned on his heel and headed in that direction.
Big Bob’s frame filled the doorway of the barn as he leaned against it, watching one of the younger cowboys breaking in a new horse. Besides all the cattle they ran, Big Bob enjoyed buying horses that needed taming. He’d bought, trained, and sold a number of them over the years, adding to his already full coffers.
Now with the years catching up with him, he told Rusty the time had come to allow the younger men to take on that task. “There’s no fool like an old fool,” he’d quoted at him when they had their first meeting in Kansas.
Big Bob had visited the ranch of an old friend in Kansas where Rusty worked as foreman. Anxious to move to a bigger spread for more money, Rusty approached Big Bob about a job with him, never dreaming he’d snag the foreman’s spot.
The prior foreman had been injured in an accident with an angry stallion, and decided to retire, after thirty years of breaking horses. The man Big Bob had in charge didn’t have what it took to gain the respect of the men.
The two ranch owners had worked it out for Rusty to stay until his job in Kansas had been filled. It had been a good move for him. The added income was squirreled away for his future, putting him one step closer to the dream of his own spread.
“Lefty said you wanted to see me?”