Dusk fell, and Jake rode Butternut out to the fields nearest the cut fence. He led the horse into the trees and looped the reins over a branch, leaving the animal enough slack to graze, then flipped out his bedroll. He positioned himself to where he could see the fence, but still remain hidden beneath the shelter of the trees. Cookie made sure he’d had a hot dinner before he left, and he had some biscuits in his bag. Now all he had to do was be patient.
The night was still. He could hear crickets chirping, distant frogs croaking, and the whiffling sound of Butternut searching for tender blades of grass. There were no shouting cowboys or feisty females to contend with—it was just him and his thoughts. Exactly how he liked it.
“Don’t ya just love nights like this?” Susie stretched out on the ground beside him, her bare toes sticking up toward the sky. “Look at all those stars, bright and twinkly up there. They look like they’re made of bits of metal or glass, don’t ya think? And millions of ’em. I can’t even count that high.”
Jake passed a hand down his face. “It’s one thing when you appear during daylight hours and I can see what I’m looking at. But in the dark? You’re lucky the moon’s shining as bright as it is—I could have clobbered you over the head with my rifle before I realized it was you.”
“Sorry about that. It’s just real hard to announce I’m coming without startling you anyways. I mean, if I was standing clear over there and I yelled out, ‘Yoo-hoo,’ you still woulda jumped, right?”
“Guess so,” he replied.
“So ya see, I’m kinda stuck no matter what I do.” She leaned back on her hands and looked up into the leaves overhead. “I bet this is real nice on hot days. Come in here under the shade, take a nap maybe.”
“There’s no time for napping on a ranch. What are you doing here, anyway?”
She turned to look at him. “You’re the kind who needs lots of encouragement, so that’s what I’m here for—to encourage you. You’re doin’ a great job.” She reached over and slugged his shoulder. “Keep up the good work.”
He snorted. “So just exactly what am I doing that deserves all this praise?”
“You’re holding your own. You’re saying what you mean. Very proud of you. You used to be scared of your own shadow, and now look at you.”
“Scared of your shadow?” he asked, and she chortled.
“See that? You’re a funny guy when you loosen up. Keep it up, Jake. Speak your mind. The world needs to hear all that stuff you’ve got rattling around in that brain of yours.”
“I speak my mind. Once in a while. I’m just not one of those loudmouths who thinks everyone in the room needs to hear them.”
“And I’m glad of it. I couldn’t be an angel to one of them—I’d likely splash ’em in the face with a bucket of cold water. No, I’m not tellin’ you to be like that. I’m tellin’ you to say what’s right. Won’t always make you popular, but it will make you the man you’re supposed to become.”
“I guess I do keep my opinions to myself a bit too much,” Jake admitted. “I just didn’t think people would want to hear them.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong, cowboy.” Susie crossed one dirty foot over the other. “Every person born on this earth came with a voice that needs to be heard. Some get smushed down, some smush themselves down, and others sing right out. And there are those others who bluster and bellow until that’s all anybody can hear. Be one who finds their note and sings it true. Don’t have to do it loud—just doing it at all is three-quarters of the battle.” She clambered to her feet. “I gotta go. You’ve got your rifle?”
“Sure do. That’s what I was going to whack you with, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” She didn’t sound concerned at all. “Keep it handy, but I don’t think you’ll need it tonight.” Well, that sort of answered his question about whether she was keeping an eye on the fence situation. If she didn’t think he’d need it that night, maybe she knew what night he would need it. He’d have to ask her some specific questions next time she popped up. He wished he could predict when that might be.
“Hey,” he said. “Before you go, just wanted to thank you for warning me about Regina. I don’t know how you knew she was in danger, but I appreciate it.”
She gave him an annoyed look. “I’m an angel. That’s how I know things. Seems to me we’ve had this conversation before. But you’re welcome, even if you can’t remember who I am. Maybe you’ve had a few too many cows kick you in the head. I’ll try to be more patient.”
She took a few steps back and faded into the darkness.
It wasn’t hard for him to keep his eyes open because his brain was in a muddle and wouldn’t settle down. First off, there was the matter of this angel who kept appearing at odd times. Was she even real? It would be pretty easy to believe that he was just having hallucinations—he’d go find a doctor and get it fixed. But a hallucination couldn’t have warned him about Regina.
He laughed at himself. Ariadne had been in that wagon too and was in every bit as much danger, and yet, he’d only been thinking about Regina. If that wasn’t a sign of something, he didn’t know what it was. Yes, he had some feelings for her. No, he didn’t know exactly what they were. He was stuck somewhere between wanting to kiss her and wanting to throw a lasso around her shoulders until she promised to behave. He didn’t think his mother would like that, though, so he’d best not dwell on the idea too much because it was mighty tempting.
Of course, kissing her was mighty tempting too.
Behind him, Butternut chomped on the grass, content as he could be.
Did horses go through this with their women? Jake didn’t think so. They just picked their mates and went on with their lives. There was none of this quarreling or game playing. People should be more like horses. The whole world would be easier.
The night passed quickly as Jake worked through these thoughts in his mind. As the first fingers of dawn touched the sky, he saw a shadowy figure against the fence line, and he grabbed his rifle. After a moment, though, he made out the distinctive silhouette of KC Murray, who was riding along the fence and looking for any sign of trouble. Jake gave a nod even though KC couldn’t see him. He appreciated knowing there was some backup available.
When the sky was light enough for him to see without stumbling, he gathered up his things and headed back to the bunkhouse. A nap was in order, and then the day’s work. He was eager to get back to his normal routine—a routine that didn’t involve pretty blonde women, either twelve years old or more mature. Both sorts were causing him trouble he didn’t need.
***
“There we go.” Regina nodded with satisfaction. The walls of the shop looked nice—quite a lot nicer than she’d thought they would when they first started painting. Because they’d never done it before, she’d expected the end result to be sloppy, but everything had dried smoothly, and the large room was fresh and bright.
“Now we need a carpenter,” Ariadne said. “I think the counter should go here, and this wall should be shelves from floor to ceiling to hold all the tea.”
“I agree. And with all the construction going on in town, we should be able to find a carpenter fairly easily.” Regina looked down at her dress and grimaced. “I’m glad I wasn’t too overly fond of this gown. It’s never going to be the same.”
“We knew when we started this project that our dresses wouldn’t be the same.” Ariadne looked as though she’d missed the wall a few times and had painted herself instead. “Let’s get cleaned up and go looking for a carpenter.”
“That’s a good idea. We can’t do much else until we have those things built, and they need to be done before our furniture arrives.”
The sisters had enjoyed their meal with Beatrice and Arthur Jameson very much. Beatrice had sent them home with a few leftovers, which had made a very nice breakfast, and now with the painting done, Regina felt very pleased with how things were going. Jake Honeycutt was only crossing her mind once every ten minutes now as opposed to once every thirty seconds, and that too was progress.
They washed up and put on fresh dresses, then headed out to look for a likely carpenter. They saw several men up on ladders pounding gingerbread trim onto the eaves of one building, and a few others working on a porch in front of another, but they were all concentrating on their tasks, and Regina suddenly found herself too shy to interrupt any of them.
“Let’s go to the mercantile and ask Toria if she knows of anyone,” she suggested.
“All right. I’d rather not interrupt them anymore than you would,” Ariadne replied.
They crossed the street and entered the mercantile. Mortimer Jackson was behind the counter this time, but he told them they’d find Toria in the back at the fabric counter.
She was wrestling a heavy bolt of cloth back into place when they found her, and Regina grabbed the end of it and helped her hoist it onto the shelf. “You should be more careful,” Regina whispered, glancing around. “Doing things like this isn’t good for the baby.” She’d noticed that the shopkeeper was expecting on their first visit in, but she wasn’t sure if it was culturally appropriate to mention it or not, so she hadn’t said anything.
Toria blushed. “I know, but I don’t want to be pampered,” she replied. “I need to be able to do my work.”
“There are ways to delegate the heavy things and to keep the easy things for yourself,” Regina told her. “Now, we have a question for you, and it doesn’t require any lifting at all.”
“Oh, good.” Toria sat down on the stool next to the fabric table. “I hope I have the answer.”
“I’m sure you will. We need to hire a carpenter to build some shelves and a counter in our shop.”
“We were going to ask the men working along Main Street, but they all seemed pretty busy,” Ariadne added. “And we’re not very brave.”
Toria laughed. “I think you’re plenty brave, but talking to strangers is difficult. We do have several skilled men in town, and a few might be able to come over after their regular working hours, but I’d actually hire Jake Honeycutt if I were you.”
“Jake Honeycutt?” Regina echoed.
“That’s right. He does excellent work, and he’s always willing to go where he’s needed on his days off from the ranch. Plus, you know him already, so that makes it even more perfect.”
Regina pressed her lips together.
“Is something the matter?” Toria asked.
“They aren’t sure if they’re friends,” Ariadne said.
Regina wished it was that simple. “We’ve had a few . . . minor angry words between us,” she said at last.
“Angry enough to keep him from building you some shelves?” Toria asked.
“Angry enough that I’m not sure I want to see him again,” Regina replied.
“Except that she does,” Ariadne contradicted.
Regina leaned against the fabric counter, suddenly tired. “I do not. He’s stubborn and rude and I don’t care for his behavior.”
Toria’s eyes widened. “Jake Honeycutt was rude? Oh, I need to hear this story. Jake is never rude.”
“Well, he was to me.” Regina told her the story, and by the time she finished, Toria had tears of laughter in her eyes.
“Oh, Regina, you certainly didn’t make that easy for him,” she said.
“What? Are you taking his side?”
“I’m afraid I have to. Of course, I wasn’t there, but the way you just told the story, I’d have to take up with Jake.”
“But women are supposed to stick together.”
“Women can stick together all they like, but when one of them is wrong, the other women should help them see that.” Toria gave her a gentle smile. “You don’t know these mountains the way Jake does. In fact, you know so very little about living in the west altogether. Don’t you think it’s wise to learn from people who have experience?”
Regina felt altogether sulky. “I suppose,” she said, her voice low.
“And she already promised Beatrice Jameson that she’d never try to drive out there again,” Ariadne said.
“Oh, that’s good. Yes, we’ve had some sad history in our town, and it would be a shame if you didn’t learn from our sorrows.” Toria stood up and wrapped her arm around Regina’s shoulders. “I know it’s hard to move past an altercation, and you don’t have to hire Jake if you don’t want to. I think he’s the best for the job, but there are likely several men here in town who could help.”
“Thank you, Toria. I’ll probably talk to him,” Regina said, not feeling very excited about the prospect, but knowing she wanted quality work—and also knowing that she needed to move past all this. Her grudge was quite ridiculous, especially considering that he’d save her life.
“I’m glad to hear it. Now, I have twenty yards of muslin to cut, so I’d best get to it.”
The sisters left her measuring and snipping and walked outside into the sunshine.
“Why is it that everything we try to do leads us right back to Jake Honeycutt? It’s as though he’s the only man in town, but I see plenty others walking around in front of me.” Regina waved her hands in frustration. “Look—there’s one right over there.”
Ariadne laughed. “I think you’re ignoring some clear signs from fate.”
“Fate wants me dependent on that man for the rest of my life?”
“No, not exactly . . .”
Regina turned to face her sister. “Just what exactly are you saying?’
“I’m saying that maybe you and Jake Honeycutt . . .”
“I don’t have patience for this, Ariadne. If you have something to say, I do wish you’d just say it.”
Ariadne shrugged. “I think maybe you and Jake are destined for each other.”
Regina laughed. “Destined? I don’t think so. In the first place, I don’t believe in that—what if I was destined to a man who was killed in an accident? Would I never be able to marry, or would my destiny change?”
“I don’t know,” Ariadne said, looking a bit deflated.
“And in the second place, why would I be destined to marry a man who annoys me so very much? Wouldn’t the fates want us to be happy with our designated mates?”
“Again, I don’t know. But don’t you think it’s strange how he keeps showing up?”
“Yes! That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time! But that doesn’t mean it’s destiny. It could just be a long string of coincidences, and those are much easier to believe in than destiny.”
They walked down the street, trying to decide what they should do next. Regina didn’t know where Jake’s ranch was located even if she did want to hire him.
As they approached the telegraph office, they saw Arthur outside speaking with a young boy on horseback. “Hello, Arthur,” Regina called out.
“Oh, hello, ladies. I was just giving Willie here a telegram to take out to the Circle K.” Arthur nodded to the boy. “Off you go, then.”
“Wait!” Regina called out, her heart pounding, and the boy looked at her curiously. “Isn’t the Circle K where Jake Honeycutt works?”
“That’s right, ma’am,” the boy replied.
Gracious. For all her fancy talking about how she didn’t believe in destiny . . . She’d been thinking that she didn’t have a way of contacting Jake, and now the very way she needed had practically been catapulted into her lap. She glanced over at Ariadne, who had a smug look on her face.
“Willie, would you please take a message for me as well?” She dug in her bag for a coin. “Would you please tell Jake Honeycutt that the ladies from the tea shop would like to speak with him?”
The boy accepted the coin with a broad grin. “Yes, ma’am!”
“Thank you.” Regina watched as the boy rode away.
“He’s a good boy,” Arthur said. “He takes all his responsibilities very seriously—your message will get through.” He too wore a knowing smile, and Regina wanted to disappear. Why was her business the talk of everyone in Creede?