March, 1890, Mac’s Crossing, Colorado

“Her cooking’s a hell of a lot better than yours, that’s for damn sure.”

Robert MacAllister, owner and operator of the Lazy A ranch, stared at his foreman and shook his head.

“Did I ask for a review of my cooking? Get back to work.”

“I’m just saying, Rob, that you wanna make sure you don’t run her off. A man’s gotta eat, and her offerings are ten times more appetizing than what you’ve been serving us for the past month.”

“I’m not gonna run her off.”

“Well, the last two left.”

“Meaning?” Rob narrowed his eyes at Cody. Even though the Lazy A owner was younger than his foreman by ten years, he was larger than him, and more stubborn.

“I’m just saying…”

“Yes, I hear what you’re saying. You’re saying I ran the cooks off, which is a load of manure, and you know it. Both of them left ‘cause they got married and moved up north.”

“Well, maybe you should have married one of them. Both of them were easy on the eye. Both of them never burned the biscuits. They were both looking for husbands.”

“Never mind the fact that neither of them appealed to me. Listen, Cody, quit trying to run my personal life and get out there and run my ranch. I’m sure I can find a foreman willing to do your job without running his mouth.”

“Fine, fine. All I’m saying is you need to get in that house and make nice with her. Dinner last night sure was tasty.”

Rob stared at Cody as he walked toward his horse. Damn man was a fool, saying that he needed to marry to keep a decent cook at the Lazy A. The new cook wasn’t going anywhere for a while. She was a young widow with three children.

When Dawn Richardson had come to Rob, she’d practically begged him for the job. Of course he knew it was because James MacIntosh was buying up land, and she’d seen the writing on the wall.

MacIntosh was barely paying market value for land, and Dawn knew that the money he gave her for her small spread wouldn’t last long. And she didn’t want to leave Mac’s Crossing.

Rob had been more than a little surprised when she’d shown up on his doorstep. Her boys, aged fifteen, fourteen and thirteen, were willing to work on the ranch after school. Rob had been hesitant at first. A widow with three children was not something he’d expected to take on. But after she’d cooked him dinner, he’d readily agreed.

The boys were bedded down in the bunkhouse with the hands, and Dawn was staying in the main house with him. No one seemed to think the arrangement was strange. As a matter of fact, Vanessa, his sister-in-law, thought it was fantastic. Rob knew that before long, she’d be trying to play matchmaker.

Not that Rob might not be amiable to the idea. At thirty-four, Dawn was three years older than Rob, but she was a very pretty woman. Medium-height with full curves from child-bearing, she’d barely been eighteen when she’d married Hank Richardson, and barely nineteen when she’d given birth to Frank, her first son. Anthony and Mark had followed in short order, and everyone in the Crossing thought the family was happy.

But Rob had always wondered. He’d known Dawn since they were young, and after her marriage, he had watched the sparkle go out of her eyes. Some of the local residents said Hank treated Dawn as nothing more than a servant, to cook and clean and bear his children. When Hank had died from pneumonia, Dawn had shown little emotion at the burial.

When she’d showed up looking for work, the sparkle had been gone from her completely. As a matter of fact, Rob thought she’d looked weary, and worn-out. But she’d been here a week, and already the hands were getting fatter, and his house had lost its layer of dust.

He stepped into the kitchen and watched as she primed the pump handle for water. Sunlight from the open window glistened on her auburn hair. Having her around the house might not be such a bad thing.

Rob cleared his throat and she turned toward him slowly.

“Mr. MacAllister. I hope breakfast was to your liking.”

“Dawn, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Rob?”

“It wouldn’t be proper, not with you being my boss and all.”

“Yeah, well your boss don’t like to be called Mr. MacAllister. Try that for one of my brothers who work in town. Around here, I’m just Rob.”

She nodded, but no smile appeared on her lips.

“How are things going?”

“Fine, fine,” she said. “I did notice that there was a few things we need from your brother’s store. I can tell you, if you like.”

“Better yet, why don’t you just ride in with me right now? The hands will be eating beans and cornbread in the field. It won’t take but about two hours to get there, get the stuff and get back. You’ll still have time to cook dinner, and that way you’ll make sure you get everything you need.”

“If you’re sure, Mr.… Rob.”

“Course I’m sure. I wouldn’t have made the offer if I wasn’t.”

He watched her untie her apron, fold it neatly and put it on the counter.

“I’m ready when you are, then.”

“Give me a minute to hitch up the wagon.”

She nodded and he started out the door. He wished there was a way to make her smile. If she was going to live with him, he wanted her to be happy. It would make things more pleasant for the rest of them.

From the open window, Dawn watched Rob as he walked toward the barn. He was really such a nice man, so different than Hank who had yelled about everything. She’d been on pins and needles the entire week she’d been here, waiting for him to throw a fit about the house not being clean enough, or the meal not being on time.

Hank had been so demanding. At first they’d been so happy, but after Frank was born, things had changed. He’d barely given her time to heal when he was claiming his husbandly rights again. When she’d gotten pregnant again, Doctor Walters had told her she needed to take it easy, but Hank wouldn’t have it. He told her that she would continue to work just as she always did, and that the house better not suffer and the food better be on time.

She cringed when she remembered his words: “My mother always did it, and so will you. If not, I’m sure we can find a way to get you to work proper.”

She’d thought that he’d meant to beat her, but his first ‘punishment’ showed that’s not what he’d meant. One night when dinner was not to his liking, he’d made her sleep in the cellar, saying she could stay there until she ‘learned to serve him like a woman should’.

It had only taken two more nights of sleeping on the floor in that dark room for her to make sure that everything was done to his liking, even if it meant leaving the bed after she’d ‘behaved like a proper wife’.

Hank had made sure to claim his husbandly rights every night, like clockwork. After the boys were in bed, he’d tell her to go lie down, or raise her skirts and bend over the table. She’d always been thankful that after Mark was born, she hadn’t conceived again. The doctor had told her he wasn’t sure her body would be able to handle too many more babies.

Every night, as he’d rutted on her, she’d clenched her fists and prayed not to have another child. And God had answered her prayers. At least here she didn’t have to worry about that. Rob MacAllister had been nothing but nice to her, even if he had been a bit leery at first.

She’d practically begged Rob for the job, telling him about the offer she’d had from James MacIntosh and offering cowhand services for the boys, too. The boys had readily agreed and she was happy that she’d heard them laughing with the other hands.

Hank had not treated the boys the way he’d treated her, but he made sure they knew that women were servants, to be used as a man saw fit. When he wasn’t around, she’d tried to explain to them that wasn’t the way things were, and she’d hoped that she’d done a good job.

She was sure that Anthony and Mark knew it, but Frank was a different story. Frank was a great deal like his father.

She went to her room and picked up a bonnet to wear on the ride into town. It made her a bit nervous to be so close to Rob, but she didn’t have any other choice. She would have preferred for him to just pick up the supplies and bring them back, but she didn’t dare go against him if he wanted her to go.

There was no way she was gong to rock the boat and do something that would make him take away her job. If that happened she and the boys had nowhere to go. When the boys were all old enough to go out on their own, she’d see about moving somewhere else, maybe out west where everything seemed to be so busy.

She put on her hat and went to the front porch to wait. When Rob pulled up seconds later, she started to climb up into the wagon, stopping when he told her to wait.

He got off and offered her his hand. At first she’d been shocked. Then she’d nodded as he helped her into the wagon. Hank hadn’t helped her do anything for the past fifteen years. Having a man offer to help her made her wary of what he wanted.

Whatever it was, she planned to let him know that she was a cook and housekeeper, and nothing more. If he wanted anything else he could just take himself to one of those fancy houses in Denver, or take matters into his own hands.

As far as she was concerned, that part of her life was over.

“So, we have rice and flour and beans. We got sugar. We got coffee. And we got salt. We got seeds for potatoes, carrots, and other fine vegetables. Anything else?”

Dawn shook her head at Josh MacAllister, Rob’s brother who operated the Lazy A General Store in Mac’s Crossing.

“How about some taffy? It’s delicious, and it just arrived yesterday.”

“No, thank you, Mr. MacAllister.” Hank would never allow her to purchase things he saw as ‘frivolous’.

“Sure,” Rob said from behind her. “Give us a good mess of it. Sounds delicious.”

“Oh it is,” Josh said. “I sampled it myself.”

He reached into a barrel and pulled out a piece, offering it to Dawn.

“Try it.”

“No, thank you.”

“Go on, try it. You’ll love it.” Josh offered her the piece again.

She lowered her head and took the piece of candy, carefully unwrapping it before putting it into her mouth.

The sweet concoction dazzled her tongue and she murmured that it was ‘tasty’.

“Yes, it is,” Josh said, tossing a piece toward his older brother.

“Yum,” Rob said around the mouthful. He reached into the barrel and Josh slapped his hand away.

“You got a whole sack full coming. You can eat from there.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather eat yours. It tastes better.”

It took Dawn a few minutes to realize that they were teasing with each other. It had been quite some time since she’d heard someone say something as a joke.

“How about some new material? Make you a new dress or two?”

“No, thank you, Mr. MacAllister,” Dawn replied. “I think we have all we need.”

“It’s Josh. And I just got that shipment in, too. You’d get to pick from the cream of the crop. I just put it out this morning.”

“Thank you, but no.” Even though Rob had agreed to pay her fifteen dollars a week, plus room and board, she didn’t plan on spending any of the money. She wanted to save it for when the boys were out on their own, and she could move away from her horrible memories of Hank.

“Suit yourself,” Josh said with a smile. “I’ll get Jeremy to load up your stuff, Rob. Won’t take but a few minutes.”

“Sure,” Rob said. “Hey, Dawn, come here.”

She turned toward him. He stood near the material, touching the fabric as if to get a feel for it.

“Let’s get you some of this, my treat.”

“No, thank you, Rob,” she said. “It wouldn’t be proper of me to accept a gift from my employer.”

“You’d turn down a gift? Listen, with as happy as my hands have been since you got here I’d be more than thrilled to buy you some cloth for new dresses. It would be my pleasure.”

“I don’t think…”

“Hey, Josh. Give us some of this. And some of this one, too. You can sew, right?”

“Of course I can sew. But I don’t need two new dresses. I’m fine with what I have.”

She fidgeted under Rob’s glance. The look he gave her made her very uncomfortable.

“But if you like, I can make you some new shirts.”

“I’ll take them,” Rob replied. “But only if you do some for the boys, and a few new dresses for yourself, too.”

She bit her lip, afraid to anger him if she refused again. “All right.”

“Good. Pick out the material.”

She bent to her task, choosing blue and brown material for the boys before selecting the material that Rob had chosen for her dress. She jumped when Rob’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Give her the red one, too.”

“For red shirts?” She turned her gaze to him.

“And a red dress. Make sure we have enough of each one, Josh.”

“Will do, big brother.”

“I’ll need a measuring tape, some thread and needles. Do you have scissors?”

“Of course,” Rob replied. He yelled at Josh to add the items she’d mentioned to the list.

“I’m going to go outside and make sure we have everything loaded on the wagon.” She hurried from the building, ignoring his protest that she didn’t need to do that. Once outside she took in deep lungfuls of air. She didn’t want him to be nice to her. She just wanted to do her job and be left alone. She’d have to find some way to repay him

“She’s pretty skittish,” Josh said to Rob once Dawn had hurried outside. “Do you think Richardson beat on her?”

“No, it doesn’t seem that way, not physically anyway. But he definitely browbeat her. I might try and get some information out of the boys and see what’s what. She hardly opens her mouth, and she never smiles.”

“That’s a shame,” Josh said. “I remember thinking she was rather pretty when I was a kid.”

“She still is. She just needs a push in the right direction again.”

“Oh my. Looks like another MacAllister brother could be tying the knot pretty soon.” Josh laughed, then sidestepped the fist his brother swung in his direction.

“Lands sake, not you too,” Rob said. “I’ve already heard today that I needed to get married, and frankly, I don’t need to hear it again. I don’t see you taking on a wife.”

“I might. I just haven’t found the right time to be popping the question yet.”

“Yeah, well decide about that yourself and I’ll decide about mine myself. Until then, just leave me the hell alone.”

Josh laughed and patted his brother on the back. “I’ll order a wedding dress or two, ready-made, just in case.”

“Yeah, for your own bride.” Rob fished another piece of candy out of the barrel. “Mind your own business.”

Rob stepped out of the store and watched as Dawn supervised the loading of the wagon.

“You making her do all the work?” He turned toward the female voice behind him, and smiled at his sister-in-law, Vanessa. She wore a beautiful green dress that befitted her place in town as wife of the bank president.

“She wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re still getting our feet wet with each other.”

“I see,” Vanessa replied. “Well, she and I might need to have a conversation about letting you uphold your half of the work. Loading a wagon is not something a woman should be doing.”

“She’s not loading,” Rob replied. “She’s supervising. I would never make her load a wagon. Geeze, do you think so little of me?”

“Of course not, Robert. You’re my favorite brother-in-law.” She patted his cheek and he grinned.

“Right. I have a feeling you say that to all four of us at one time or another.”

“Once or twice,” Vanessa said with a grin. She moved past him toward the wagon.

“You must be Dawn. Hello, I’m Vanessa MacAllister.”

Rob watched the two women nod at each other, and he noticed the way that Dawn looked at Vanessa’s dress. He couldn’t tell if it was envy, or just interest. He decided on the later, and was gratified to see that she actually smiled at Vanessa, although the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

He decided to take the bull by the horns.

“Say, Vanessa, why don’t you and Win come for dinner Saturday night? We’ve got a hog curing over at the butcher’s that will make a great meal.”

“Why that sounds like fun,” Vanessa said. “I’m sure Win would love to come. Shall we say five? Can I bring anything?”

“No, thank you, Mrs. MacAllister,” Dawn said, not batting an eye. “I can do everything.”

“Nonsense,” Vanessa replied with a laugh. “I’ll bring something like potatoes, or corn, or something. And you really should call me Vanessa.”

Dawn nodded but didn’t reply.

“Well, good. We’ll have a great time and I’m looking forward to meeting your sons,” Vanessa said. “See you then.”

She kissed Rob on the cheek and moved toward the bank.

“I hope that’s all right,” Rob said once she was gone.

“Of course, Mr., er Rob. You’re the boss.”

“Good deal. I want to stop at the butcher’s and pick up our meat. Then we’ll head home. How does that sound to you?”

“Fine.”

He nodded and helped her into the wagon. This time she didn’t draw away from him, but let him hand her up. As they drove down the street, he wondered what it would take to break through the wall she’d built around herself.

“Frank, Anthony, Mark, you make sure you thank Mr. MacAllister for the cloth he bought today. I’m going to be making new shirts for everyone, so you’ll have to be available for fittings.”

She was happy to see all three of her boys nod their agreement. The younger boys’ moods had improved significantly since the family’s move to the Lazy A.

Frank was the only one who concerned her. Maybe with any luck, they’d learn how men were supposed to act by being around the hands here. Of course who was to say that the men here were any better than Hank? Before she’d married him he’d been gentle and kind, never lifting a finger toward her, or letting an unkind word pass through his lips. After they were married, though, he’d not had anything nice to say about her.

She’d just finished feeding the ten hands, plus the boys, Rob and herself. They’d all praised the meal, and it did her heart good to hear it. In the morning, she would wash out the material they’d brought and hang it out to dry. That meant by the next day, she could start sewing. She’d make Rob’s clothing first, then the boy’s, and then a dress for herself.

Maybe if she worked hard enough she could have Rob’s shirt done by the time his brother came for dinner on Saturday. She probably needed to measure him pretty quick, though.

She turned to the boys, who sat at the table while she washed dishes.

“How did things go today?”

“Fine, Ma, real fine,” Frank said. “We had a good time making sure all the cattle and horses were fed.”

“Did you finish all your schoolwork?”

“Yes,” Tony replied. “And I hate school.”

“Me too,” Mark said. “I don’t wanna go anymore.”

“Nonsense,” Dawn replied. “Learning will help you get far in the world today. And it’s just until three.”

“She’s right,” Rob said from the doorway. “My parents made sure all of us went to school, and you will too. But what are the three of you doing sitting around while your mother does all the work?”

“She’s doing women’s work,” Frank said. “Men don’t wash dishes, women do.”

Rob laughed. “Well, what if there’s not a woman around? Would you let the dishes pile up?”

“Until Ma came back, yeah,” Frank said. “Pa always said that’s what women was for. I would think you would know that at your age.”

Dawn wheeled on her son. “Don’t be fresh.”

“I ain’t. I’m just saying…”

“I know what you’re saying,” Rob cut in. “But this is my house. Your mother may be the housekeeper and cook, but she’s not a nursemaid. She’s been working hard all day, just like the three of you, and I’m not going to watch you sit around and twiddle your thumbs while she washes all these dishes by herself.”

He walked to the cabinet and Dawn watched in horror as he handed each boy a dishtowel, and kept one for himself.

“Now, we’re going to dry the dishes and put them up.”

“That’s not necessary,” Dawn said quickly. “I can do it.”

“It is necessary, Dawn,” Rob said. “You do all these yourself and you’ll be here half the night. There’s no reason why the boys and I can’t help, is there?”

He turned to them with raised eyebrows.

Dawn watched the look of disbelief on her boys’ faces. One by one they turned to her for confirmation.

“Go on,” she said. “Do as Mr. MacAllister says.”

“I ain’t doing what a woman should be doing,” Frank said. “Pa always said…”

“Your pa was wrong,” Rob said. “There isn’t anything wrong with a man doing a dish or two. I’ve done lots of them. And a woman’s not a servant just ’cause she’s a woman.”

Dawn turned toward the sink after the boy’s mouths dropped open. There was no way she was going against what Rob said. He was the man of the house here, and what he said was law.

“Go on, do as he says,” she whispered.

Tony and Mark both took up a dish, wiping at it cautiously as if afraid it would bite. Frank stood at the table and shook his head.

“I ain’t doing no women’s work. Ma does the dishes and the cooking and the cleaning, not me. And she needs to hurry up and finish so I can have my pie.”

“Fine,” Rob replied. “Then you can just go to the bunkhouse without any of that good pie your mother made.”

“Hell no,” Frank said. “That’s for us. The hands done got theirs.”

“You need to watch your mouth,” Rob replied. “Don’t be using foul language in my house. And you should say the hands already have theirs. And in my house, young men respect their mothers enough to help when asked.”

“Ma’s the maid, not me.”

Dawn fought back tears.

“Fine,” Rob said. “You either apologize to your mother for disrespecting her, or you can leave my house. It’s your choice.”

“I ain’t doing nothing but telling the truth,” Frank said, his voice rising. “Pa always said woman was made to serve man.”

“Your father was wrong,” Rob said, his voice level. “Now, apologize to your mother for your mouth. Then, you can help with the dishes, or you can leave.”

“Mr. MacAllister. Rob.” Dawn put her hand on his arm. “It’s all right.”

“No, it’s not. I won’t allow that disrespectful attitude in my home.”

“Fine, I’ll go to the bunkhouse with the other men. You sissies coming with me?”

Frank turned to Anthony and Mark, who both stood rock still, towels and plates in hand. Anthony started to move, then turned toward the cabinet, put his dish up and picked up another one. Mark followed suit.

“Babies.” Frank slammed out the back door and Dawn shot Rob a look that said she was sorry.

“Let’s get busy,” Rob said with a smile. “Then we can have some pie.”