A Man to Call My Own

Chapter 22

MARIAN GREETED THE NEW day with a nice feeling of optimism. The sun was brightly shining. The smell of fresh-baked biscuits had floated upstairs. She liked the house she'd be living in and the room she'd been given. It was fairly large, with a lot of windows offering soft breezes. A corner room, with one side overlooking the bunkhouse, the stable, and the garden behind the house, the other offering a clear, unobstructed view as far as the eye could see.

She just might take up painting again, if she could find the supplies for it in Trenton. There was certainly room for an easel, and there was lots of light. She'd given up that enjoyable pastime several years ago, after she'd wanted to hang her best painting in the parlor at home, and her father had laughed at the idea, then proceeded to join Amanda in belittling her talent. She hadn't picked up a brush since.

But only her sister was around to scoff at her efforts now, and, she hoped, not for too much longer. Whether Amanda got what she desired and was allowed to return home with Kathleens blessings to marry whomever she wanted, or whether she accepted the first offer of marriage she got here and dragged a new husband back home with her, Marian suspected it would be soon, since Amanda never dallied once she decided on a course of action. Which accounted for a good chunk of Marian's optimism.

Marian knew that the time for her to stop altering her natural appearance and start living a normal life was at hand. It was cause for excitement. She was so tired of pretending and tired, too, of having to insult men just so they'd avoid her. She'd burned all her bridges at home and had every eligible male there despising her. But she could have a fresh start here, if Amanda would just leave sooner rather than later.

There was only one man here who despised her so far, and she hoped she could keep it at that. That he happened to be the only man who had ever set her pulse to racing was too bad. But the rest of her optimism had to do with him. He might understand if given a full explanation. They might be able to start anew, with no further pretenses in the way—as long as Amanda didn't decide to use him as a means to get home.

That he was currently fascinated by Amanda wasn't the monumental stumbling block it seemed to be.

Most young men were fascinated by her until she revealed her true nature. Chad didn't seem to be completely under Amanda's spell yet, not if he could twice turn his attention toward her last night at dinner. He'd even teased her, or so he'd said. So maybe she hadn't done such a good job of making him despise her after all.

All wishful thinking on Marian's part as she dressed to go downstairs. But still, her optimism was riding high, hi feet, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd been in such a good mood.

She'd probably been more worried about her reception here than she'd realized. After all, Kathleen was Mortimer's sister. She could have been just like him. But she wasn't. Not at all. And all Marian's fears had been put to rest with the warm welcome she'd received.

The large dining room was empty when she reached it. She found the kitchen, but only Consuela the cook was there. A big, hefty woman in her middle years who obviously enjoyed eating what she cooked, Consuela was of Mexican descent, but had been born and raised in Texas, so she spoke in the same lazy drawl Marian had been hearing ever since she arrived.

Consuela shoved a heaping plate of food in Marian's hands without comment, more food than she could possibly eat at one sitting. Still she sat down at the worktable there and tried to make a dent in it.

"Am I late?"

The cook shrugged. "Depends what you have in mind to do. If you want to eat with Red, you'll have to get up at the crack of dawn. Work starts early around here, and this is a working ranch. But we have no formal mealtimes. I feed Red when she gets up, again when she comes in around midday—if she comes in. She doesn't always. And again just after dusk. Food is available anytime, though, so just come help yourself when you get hungry."

The woman looked a little embarrassed after saying all that. Marian guessed she wasn't used to talking so much, or of having anyone other than Kathleen or her daughter Rita invade her kitchen.

Marian smiled. "Thank you. I'll try to get up earlier, so I can eat with my aunt. I think I'd enjoy that."

The woman smiled back. Marian had a feeling she'd said the right thing and had just been accepted by a member of the household.

Amanda was still sleeping, of course. Twelve hours a day in bed was normal for her, whether she was asleep for all twelve of them or not. Beauty rest, she called it. Marian figured that Stuart had left for home earlier and that Spencer had either left or was a late sleeper owing to the hours he kept as the owner of a saloon. Chad, apparently, was back doing whatever it was he did for Kathleen, so she didn't expect to see him today.

She wandered outside after breakfast. The day was already getting hot, but it was a dry warmth, and there was a nice breeze swirling about the ranch to keep it from getting too uncomfortable—yet.

A dust cloud on the horizon indicated someone was riding toward the ranch. She hoped it was Kathleen, but as the horse got closer, she saw it was one of the cowhands. She waited by the stable, but he didn't ride that way. Instead he rode directly toward the bunkhouse nearby. He did notice her and tip his hat, even offered a friendly smile in passing.

The smile encouraged her to approach him and introduce herself before he disappeared inside the bunkhouse. She wasn't usually so bold, but she was going to be living here and didn't want to seclude herself from the other people who lived on the ranch.

"Good morning," she called out as the cowhand was dismounting. "I'm Marian Laton."

He glanced her way again, waited for her to reach him. "Lonny Judson, ma'am. I'm Red's foreman-or soon will be. Chad's been teaching me the job."

He was a nice-looking young man in his mid-twenties with blond hair and green eyes. He sported a short, full beard a few shades darker than his hair. He probably thought it made him look older and thus more likely to succeed in the job he was being groomed for. It didn't, but then the few cowhands she'd seen yesterday when they arrived were much younger, more her age, so it probably didn't matter.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lonny. Will my aunt be coming home for lunch, do you know?"

"Doubtful, ma'am. A few head of cattle went missing during the night. She's been out scouring the range for them all morning."

Marian was disappointed. She'd been hoping to have a nice long talk with her aunt, to get to know her better.

"Is that a normal occurrence, for cattle to just wander off?"

"Yes, ma'am, though they usually don't go too far— unless they get helped."

"Helped?"

"Rustled."

"Rustled?"

He chuckled. "I'm sorry. I don't meet too many Easterners who might not understand some of the words we use out here. Rustling refers to the theft of cattle, especially when brands are changed to try to hide the fact. Men have been known to start ranches with rustled cattle, though most of the rustling these days is done for quick profit, with the cattle being herded south and sold across the border in Mexico."

Marian frowned. "Do my aunt's cattle get stolen often?"

"No, her herd isn't big enough to be the target of that kind of operation, not like Kinkaid's spread. She notices when just a single cow is missing, and goes looking for it. Big ranches like the one Chad's father owns have too many cattle for anyone to notice a hundred missing here and there, so rustlers tend to concentrate their efforts on those."

"It is illegal, right?"

He grinned at her. "Yes, ma'am, just not as harshly dealt with as horse stealing. It all depends on the rancher. Red ignores the loss, if she thinks a cow has been stolen to feed some hungry family. But if she catches any real rustlers whittling away at her herd, she escorts them to the sheriff pronto. It's not a killing offense, but it can earn a man a good chunk of time in prison, so most cattle rustlers are either desperate for food or hardened outlaws."

"Well, thank you for the information, Mr. Judson, I do appreciate it."

"Just Lonny, please. We're not formal out here."

"Lonny, then. I do worry about my aunt missing lunch, though. Do you think—"

"We have our own cook out on the range," he cut in. "She'll come by for some grub before the day is out. No need to worry about her, but if you'd like to come out to the range to find her, I can saddle you a horse."

"No, I—well, I'd like to, yes, but I haven't learned to ride yet."

"Carl's already headed out with the chuck wagon, or you could have ridden with him. You could ride double with me, I reckon. The herd isn't that far off today."

Marian smiled brilliantly. "I'd love to, thank you."

He blushed at her smile. "Just give me a few minutes to change clothes. I'm still damp after taking a spill in the river, when I thought to check the other side of it for tracks of the missing cattle. Been feeling the sniffles coming on, or I would have just let the sun continue to dry me off." He looked up at the cloudless, big blue sky. "And you won't have to stay out on the range all day. You'll be able to ride back with Carl. He don't stay out long after he serves up lunch."

"That will do nicely."

He nodded. "Better fetch a wide-brimmed hat, then, and some long sleeves. I don't want to be responsible for you getting sunburned."

"Sleeves I can manage, but I don't think my bonnets have the kind of brim you're talking about. Will a parasol do?"

He started to chuckle. "Well, it probably would, but it's also likely to get the boys laughing so hard, they won't get any more work done. We just don't see ladies riding on horses with parasols around here. One of the women in the house should have a hat you can borrow. I'll pick you up out front the house in five minutes."

Marian agreed and rushed off to get protection from the sun. Consuela did have a hat she could borrow. She'd seen it on a peg by the back door in the kitchen earlier. It was a few sizes too big for her, but it would do for today.

She was looking forward to the outing, was even feeling a little excited as she hurriedly changed her blouse, thinking she might run into Chad out on the range. It would be a nice distraction, since she had nothing else to occupy her time until she figured out what she could do to keep busy on a working ranch. She wanted to talk to her aunt about that, too.