A Western Heart (Choc Lit) Read online

  Thomas stared at Nate. ‘So what do you want from the ranchers hereabouts?’

  ‘Their help with seeing that Wyoming doesn’t miss out while Omaha booms.’

  ‘And just how can they do that?’

  ‘The railroad runs from the east to the west of Wyoming Territory. There are miles and miles of grass-covered prairie land, stretching out as far as the eye can see. We’ve got thriving cattle ranches right across the Territory, and they’re gettin’ bigger and bigger every day as their cows grow fat on Wyoming grass. Why, even Texas cows are driven up to graze on our open range. The way I see it, we should have a meatpackin’ house in Wyoming and ship out our own beef. Wyoming cattlemen will benefit; Wyoming Territory will benefit.’

  Thomas glanced at Nate, his eyes thoughtful. ‘And you say the railroad companies have got these ice-filled boxcars?’

  ‘Nope, not yet, they haven’t – but they soon will have. They’re holdin’ out as long as they can as they’ve heavily invested in stock cars and animal pens which’ll no longer be needed once cattle is shipped out as dressed beef. But they’ll not be able to hold out much longer. The cattlemen won’t let them.’

  Thomas drummed his fingers on the table. ‘You’re here for a few days,’ he said at last, ‘and I know you’ve already set up a meeting in town on Tuesday where you’re gonna be talking to the ranch owners from hereabouts. But when we go into Hope tomorrow, you’ll have a chance to meet with some of the neighbours ahead of Tuesday, and I’d sure be interested in hearin’ their initial thoughts.’

  Nate raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re talkin’about goin’ to church tomorrow?’

  Thomas shook his head. ‘Nope, we’re goin’ to a picnic. It’s become a local tradition among the people of Hope to celebrate the arrival of summer with a picnic on the edge of town not far from the river. It’s a social occasion, of course, and not about doin’ business. Here in Wyoming we say that if business is transacted on a Sunday, you’ll lose it in the coming week. But I’m sure it wouldn’t go amiss to introduce you to one or two of the ranch owners there.’

  ‘I’d be real grateful, sir.’

  Thomas nodded. ‘I’ll be particularly interested in hearing what Charles Hyde has to say as we’re expectin’ our two ranches to be workin’ closely together in the future, and also Silas Poole. He’s a sharp one, but he’s got a real nose for what’s gonna benefit him.’

  Nate nodded. ‘I’ve got his name on my list. I gather he’s an important rancher in these parts.’

  ‘He is. But I reckon we’d better leave off talkin’ about business – I can see the way my wife is lookin’ at me. My last word on the subject is to warn you to keep your eyes peeled when you talk to Silas. He owns a big spread north-west of Hope, but he’s not a man who’s liked and trusted, for all he’s mighty successful. But as I said, we’d better leave any more discussion till tomorrow. I expect the women would rather talk about the clothes they’re plannin’ on wearing to the picnic than listen to us talkin’ about business. Isn’t that so, Cora?’

  ‘Why ask me?’ Cora retorted sharply. ‘Ma and Rose will be wearing clothes, too.’

  ‘Well, that sure is a relief,’ her father said cheerfully. ‘I wouldn’t want our guest to think the ladies in these parts were given to improper behaviour.’

  ‘Pa!’ Rose exclaimed. She glanced at her mother’s shocked face, and burst out laughing.

  Nate grinned at her, then turned to Thomas. ‘Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if I had a look round the ranch buildings tomorrow mornin’ before we leave for town.’

  Thomas looked at him, surprised. ‘I can’t see why not.’

  ‘I used to run a ranch with my brother in the Rock Springs area. That’s a few years ago now, but I’d be mighty interested in having a look at how things are done here.’

  ‘I’ll show you around,’ Rose said quickly. ‘You won’t need me, Ma, will you? Everything’s done now, isn’t it?’

  ‘Jesse will show Mr Galloway round the place, Rose,’ Thomas said firmly. ‘He’d be better able to answer any questions. You and Cora will both help your ma with packing up the picnic tomorrow morning.’ Thomas rose to his feet. ‘Now, shall we take up my wife’s suggestion and have a whiskey in my office, Galloway?’

  ‘I don’t mind if I do, Mr McKinley,’ Nate said. He pushed his chair back and stood up.

  ‘Since it looks as if we might be doin’ business, and we sure as hell are about to down a whiskey or two together, I reckon you could call me Thomas now, don’t you?’ Thomas said, moving away from the table.

  Cora looked up at Nate, a smile hovering on her lips. But he was staring across the table at Rose. Her smile faded, and she glanced quickly at her sister. Rose was staring back up at Nate, her lips slightly parted.

  ‘If you’ll excuse me, ladies,’ Nate said, the suddenness of his movement taking them by surprise. He gave them both a slight nod, then turned to Julia. ‘Like I said before, Mrs McKinley, that sure was a fine meal, and it’s been a real enjoyable evening.’ His dark eyes returned fleetingly to Rose, then he turned away from the table and went quickly after Thomas.

  Rose stood up. ‘You know, I feel real tired now. I think I’ll go to bed. ’Night, Ma. ’Night, Cora.’ She smiled at them both, picked up a kerosene lamp from one of the side tables and went through the dining room to the living area and out into the hall.

  ‘I’m tired, too. Goodnight, Ma,’ Cora said. ‘If I go quickly, I can use the light from Rose’s lamp.’ And jumping up, she followed her sister.

  Reaching the hall, she saw Rose standing at the foot of the stairs, one hand on the banister, the other holding the lamp, staring towards the door that led to their pa’s office. The muffled sounds of men’s voices and laughter came from behind the closed door.

  Edging back into the living area, Cora moved closer to the panelled wall and stood there motionless, hidden in shadow, watching her sister. She was still standing there when Rose started to make her way slowly up the stairs.

  Stepping out from the shadows, Cora felt excitement welling up inside her.

  Strong and determined was how Rose had described her earlier that day when they’d gotten back from Hyde Ranch, and as someone who didn’t join in as much as she should. Well, Rose should think back to what Ma always used to say when they were little children and Rose would run and complain to her that Cora wouldn’t stand up for herself. Still waters run deep, Ma would say, and she’d advise Rose never to forget that.

  But Rose clearly had forgotten it.

  Rose had shown her that she’d forgotten it over and over again in the way that she’d kept on ignoring her and Mattie over the years and had never really talked to them. It was as if they weren’t worth confiding in, as if they were children who were too young to have womanly feelings or to understand such feelings.

  Well, she’d be real surprised to know just how womanly Mattie’s feelings for the new cowman were and how much she was hoping he’d soon start courting her. And she’d be even more surprised to know that she, Cora, had feelings for someone, too. And that someone was Will.

  Rose didn’t deserve Will. She didn’t love him in the way Will deserved to be loved. Sure, she was fond of him, but only in the way that Mattie was fond of Will – as a brother. But she clearly didn’t feel sisterly about Nate Galloway. Not at all. When had she ever looked at Will in the way she’d looked at Nate? Never. Not so much as once.

  Will deserved better than that.

  And Mattie thought so, too.

  Mattie knew how she’d grown to feel about Will, and she’d often said how hunky-dory it would be if they were sisters, and not just real good friends. And Mattie had also pointed out that no one at either ranch would mind if Will wed Cora and not Rose, as the two ranches would still be united one day and that was the important thing.

  Nope, Mattie didn’t want Will to wed Rose, who had never been sisterly or even that friendly towards her and Mattie could be counted on to do her best to make sure that Rose never beca
me Mrs Hyde.

  Cora’s eyes returned to the place at the foot of the stairs where Rose had earlier stood and stared towards the door that hid Mr Galloway from her sight, and a smile flickered across her lips.

  It didn’t actually look as if much help was going to be needed, she thought in satisfaction. Things seemed to be working out on their own, with Rose having feelings for Mr Galloway that made her go red in the face, and with Mr Galloway having eyes only for Rose. And after the good time she’d had with Will at his ranch that morning, talking and laughing with him before Rose arrived, it was just possible that she was going to end up having the thing she most wanted in life – or rather, the person.

  She went slowly across the dimly lit hall to the stairs and gripped the wooden banister rail.

  With all of them going into Hope the following day for the picnic, she and Mattie would have the perfect opportunity to start getting her together with Will, and she’d make sure that they made the most of it.

  With a gleeful laugh, she ran lightly up the stairs. She couldn’t wait for the morning to come.

  Chapter Four

  ‘I’m surprised you’re planning on wearing your best dress today,’ Cora said, glancing up from lacing Rose into the new white satin corset that her sister had slipped on over her camisole. ‘You said you were gonna wear your yellow cotton dress. It’s a picnic on the grass, not a wedding or anything like that.’

  ‘I changed my mind. Will likes me in this dress and that’s all that matters.’

  ‘Since when have you done anything just because Will likes it?’ Cora asked sharply. ‘It’s always been what Rose wants that matters.’

  Rose turned to look at Cora. ‘What’s wrong with you today, Cora? You’ve been sounding real funny since yesterday. Have I done something to upset you? Is this still about me comin’ early for you yesterday?’

  ‘Nothing’s the matter,’ Cora said lightly. ‘I was funnin’, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, it don’t seem funny to me.’

  ‘If you’d turn round and stand still, I could pull your laces tighter.’

  Rose stared at Cora’s face for a moment, then, her hands on her hips, she turned back to face the mirror.

  Cora finished lacing the corset and helped Rose slip her muslin petticoats over her corset, and then her dress on top of them. When she’d done up the tiny pearl buttons at the back of the dress, she stood aside so Rose could see the final effect in the mirror.

  ‘Having a full skirt pulled in at the middle makes my waist look real small,’ Rose said, surveying the pale blue lawn dress, covered with small sprigs of white flowers, that dropped to just above her toes. She ran her hand down one of the long smooth sleeves, edged at her wrists with bands of white lace that matched the small piece of lace gathered at her throat. ‘Yes, he’s gonna like this,’ she said in satisfaction.

  ‘And which he are you talking about?’ Cora asked, meeting Rose’s eyes in the mirror.

  Rose turned to her, opening her hazel-brown eyes wide. ‘Why Will, of course. Who else would I mean?’ She glanced down at Cora’s green dress. ‘You look real nice, Cora. I’ve always thought green’s the best colour for you – it makes your eyes look even greener than they are. You look real pretty.’

  Cora blushed. ‘You are in a good mood today,’ she said. ‘Any particular reason?’

  ‘Not that I know of,’ she said breezily. ‘Maybe I’m just grateful that you helped me get into my dress.’

  She smiled at Cora, then turned back to the mirror again, leaned forward and arranged her bangs evenly along her forehead. Pulling a few coils out of the hair she’d swept into a pile on top of her head, she let them fall in soft curls around her face, then bit her lips to redden them, pinched some colour into her cheeks and turned to Cora.

  ‘I’ll put your hair up for you, and then you must do your lips. You want to look your best, don’t you? You never know who’ll be there.’

  Lingering by one of the picnic tables, a glass of lemonade in her hand, Cora watched Will as he stood nearby with his father. Turning her head slightly, she saw Rose on the far side of the picnic area, talking and laughing with Nate Galloway. Looking back at Will, she saw that his eyes, too, kept straying to Rose and Nate, and from the expression on his face, he wasn’t too happy about what he was seeing.

  She was just wondering whether to ask Mattie to think of a way of getting her pa to go somewhere else so that she could move in and talk to Will, when Charles Hyde was called away to join a group of the neighbouring cattle owners and Will was left on his own.

  But he wouldn’t be alone for long, she thought – she wasn’t the only woman in Hope who’d like to walk out with Will. From the time he’d developed the kind of looks and the way about him that made a woman feel strange in her stomach, Rose had been the envy of just about everyone in her class.

  In fact, Rose seemed to be about the only unmarried woman thereabouts who didn’t go weak at the knees when Will stared at her with those blue, blue eyes. She’d never seen Will for what he’d become and she still treated him as a girl would treat her brother. Will would be so much happier with someone else, she was sure, someone who would love him as he should be loved – and that someone was gonna be her.

  She turned swiftly to where Mattie was sitting with her ma, and gave her an imperceptible nod. They exchanged quick smiles. Mattie said something to her mother, jumped up, brushed the grass from her skirt with her hand and hurried across to Will before he either moved away or someone else took the place left by his father.

  Smiling to herself as she watched Mattie sidle up to Will, Cora strolled over to a place behind them. Idly standing there sipping her lemonade, she surreptitiously strained to hear what Mattie was saying to her brother, while at the same time watching Rose and Nate.

  ‘You havin’ a good time, Will?’ Mattie asked.

  He glanced down at her in mild surprise. ‘Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?’

  Mattie shrugged her shoulders. ‘No reason.’

  Will indicated the people laughing and talking around them, and the trestle tables laden with plates of food. ‘It’s a mighty fine picnic, and it gets bigger and better every year. We’ve never had flags and a band before, and we’ve even got firecrackers this year. Any stranger riding into town today would think they’d got the date wrong and that this was the Fourth of July. What with all the food you womenfolk have made, and being surrounded by friends and neighbours, it’d be hard not to have a good time. So what made you ask, Mattie? And don’t say no reason again,’ he added dryly.

  ‘I was just wondering.’ She paused. ‘Have you quarrelled with Rose?’ she asked, making sure to keep her tone of voice casual.

  He looked at her sharply. ‘What makes you ask that?’

  She shrugged her shoulders. ‘I suppose it’s just that whenever I’ve seen her today, she’s been talking to that Mr Galloway – the man staying at McKinley Ranch – and they sure look like they’re getting on well.’

  He frowned. ‘Are you trying to tell me something, Mattie?’

  She shook her head. ‘Nope. But I haven’t seen you speak to Rose at all today, and with you and her being as close as you are, it seemed a bit funny to me – that’s all.’

  ‘There’s still a lot of the day left. There’s plenty of food waiting to be eaten, and we’ve not even started the dancing yet, so you can rest your mind – I’ll be talking and dancing with Rose before the picnic’s over.’ He turned slightly to face her. ‘But since we’re on our own now, I’d like a word with you about something that’s starting to bother me.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Mattie’s face was suddenly wary.

  ‘It’s the way you’ve begun to hang around the cowmen, and one cowman in particular.’

  ‘I’m always friendly with the people who work for us. That’s how Ma and Pa said we oughta be.’

  ‘You know what I mean,’ he said with a wry smile. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at the new ranch hand, and it’s what I see in yo
ur eyes that worries me.’

  ‘Sam’s real easy to talk to,’ she said, her voice defensive.

  ‘I’m sure he is. Look, I’m gonna be blunt with you, Mattie. It’s not you talking to him I worry about – it’s what happens when the talking stops.’

  She went red. ‘He’s just a friend. Aren’t I allowed to have any friends? Apart from Cora, that is.’

  ‘He’s a hired hand – he’ll move on come winter. Don’t be forgetting that. He’ll be somewhere else next year, and we won’t know or care where that somewhere else is. That’s the way it is with hired help.’

  ‘You’re telling me off for looking at Sam. Are you planning to tell Cora off for looking at you? Not that I mind her looking at you if she wants, though I sure don’t know why she’d want to.’

  Will stared at her in surprise. He opened his mouth to speak. ‘What’re you … ’

  ‘Did I hear my name just now? What are you two talking about, looking so serious?’ Cora asked, coming up to them, carrying a plate with some slices of pie on it. ‘D’you want a piece of pie, Will?’

  Shaking his head, he put his hand on his stomach. ‘I couldn’t eat another mouthful, Cora, but it was mighty kind of you to think of me.’

  She offered the plate to Mattie, who shook her head.

  ‘We were talking about me, Cora,’ she said. ‘Or rather, Will was doing the talking and I was doing the listening. What’s more, he was talking like he thinks I’m still a baby,’ Mattie said, glaring at her brother. ‘Here, give me the plate of pie and I’ll see if anyone wants some – you stay and talk to Will. You’re not his sister so he can’t speak to you like you’re two years old.’ She took the plate from Cora, turned abruptly and went over to a group of her friends.

  ‘Don’t think we’ve finished talkin’, Mattie, ’cos we haven’t,’ he called after her, and he turned back to Cora and grinned. ‘You’ll be sure to stop me if I start talking to you as if you’re anything less than your seventeen years, won’t you?’