Hannah POV
Shortly after Cookie left, I heard the hands coming back from getting the steers. Cookie had shared with me that they had gone to the south forty to get the young steers so they could be branded. Without a brand, a rancher had no way to prove they were his herd. I looked out the window and watched as the men worked together to get the young cattle into the corral. The younger of the hands, Bo I think Cookie said was his name, closed up the corral. I decided that I would take out water in just a little while. This August heat was awful, definitely different than St Louis.
I busied myself the remainder of the afternoon by tidying up the house. The amount of dust on the window sills, the mantle and the pantry shelves led me to believe that Robert was definitely a bachelor. The man probably didn’t know what a dust cloth was and if he did, he had no inclination to do anything with it. I stopped my cleaning three times so that I could take the men water. I d
Jamie POVStomping back into the bunkhouse, the others jerked their heads to look at me as I continued to walk over to the table where they were sitting, “What has you so pissed off already this morning,” Bo smirked at me. “Have trouble finding relief in the outhouse?”I glared at him and spat out, “Hell no. That damn Beecham! UGH!” I slammed my hand down on the table in frustration. “Sorry Bo. It’s not your fault. That man just knows how to push me.” I took a deep breath as I pulled my cowboy hat off my head and placed it on my knee. I r
Hannah POVBetsy directed me to a door on the left side of the small post office building. I entered and sat in one of the chairs in the small space. Betsy was a sweet lady with graying hair. She was short, with a plump middle and round face to match. When she smiled, her brown eyes sparkled with flecks of gold. I imagined she was a truly beautiful woman in her younger days. I wondered if she had ever found love.“So, Hannah, I don’t mean to be forward. Well, actually, that is a lie. I am going to be out right nosy. What happened to your face?” Betsy asked me. I could tell this was a woman that didn’t mess around.“I tripped last night and fell onto the table, it was nothing. I just lost my balance,” I told her, hoping she believed my lie.“Dear, you can’t fool me. I can see the slight outline of a hand print. And now that I am sitting next to you, I can see the bruises on your neck. Now, are you going
Jamie POV Hannah cried for what seemed like hours but it was probably only a few moments, then she leaned back, sniffled and said, “I’m sorry, Jamie. I shouldn’t have cried on your shoulder.” “Hey, we are friends and friends provide comfort when needed, okay. Think nothing of it,” I told her gently, trying to keep my voice steady. I was seething inside at how he had hurt her. From the very beginning, he had treated her as property. I was trying my best not to react to her words, but it was so difficult. If I didn’t have a reason to kill him before, I did now. That asshole was going to regret every one of his actions. Taking another deep breath, she continued, “after he slapped me several times, he began to drag me by my hair to the bedroom, telling me what he was going to do to me. I screamed once when he threw me on the bed and that is when he choked me. He told me not to bother screaming because you and the boys wouldn’t come to rescue me. Then he…” “Wait a minute, let me clear s
Hannah POVThe boys, I was so fond of the ranch hands I just couldn’t help but call them boys, were so nice to help unload the wagon when Jamie and I returned to the ranch. To be honest, the majority of it was mine and went into the house. As I began to unpack the crates, I was pleased to find out that Mr. Perkins had gotten me everything on my list. I now had three boiling pots, of varying sizes, two flat frying pans, several cooking utensils and knives, a rolling pin, and several pie and cake pans. I placed each of the items on the bottom pantry shelf. This way, they were accessible but allowed my canned goods to be on the higher shelves. The truth is, I had failed miserably at every attempt of Mrs. Sheffield to teach me to cook. I tried, but my meals never tasted as good as they should. I was hopeful that with Cookie's help, I might master the kitchen.I was happy to have a variety of canned vegetables in my kitchen. Someone’s
Jamie POV Thank God Walt whistled when he did or I would have kissed her. I wanted to. She wanted me to. We both knew we couldn’t. Both knew we shouldn’t. As I made my way back to the bunkhouse, I decided I needed to go for a swim in the creek. I met Walt’s eyes and said, “thanks. I’m gonna go take a swim in the creek. Can you keep watch on the house?” “That’s what I was doing. I thought some fool was going to make a mess of an already precarious situation, that’s why I interrupted. Go take care of business. I’ll watch the house,” Walt smirked at me, giving me shit for my almost lack of good sense. The creek was about a ten-minute walk from the barn and I knew the walk would do me good. I turned and quickly headed in that direction, knowing I had to put as much distance between myself and that beautiful woman I left standing just inside the door of her house. As soon as I could see the creek in the moonlight, I began unbuttoning my shirt. I made my way to the
Hannah POVI watched as Jamie tried to decide where to start. I could see his mind turning over what and how much to tell me. Finally, after what seemed like hours but, in reality, was only a few moments, he looked at me and smiled, “Remember that I promised that I would tell you everything I could, but only if it didn’t put you in harm’s way. There may be parts that I leave out because if you know and Beecham finds out, you will be in danger. He will use you against me, I mean us and the sheriff. Do you still trust that we will keep you as safe as we can and that if we don’t tell you something it’s to keep you safe?”I didn’t speak because I was afraid he would never tell me and I was dying to find out what really happened. The things that Robert told me just didn’t add up. All I could do was nod my head, so I did.“Right then. You told me that Beecham said that Weston stole another man’s woman.
Jamie POV I awoke a few hours later, knowing that I had another long day in the saddle. It would be worth it if we could get the information we needed on Beecham. I groaned, thinking about getting up after so little sleep. After I said good night to Hannah, we took the horses to the barn and rubbed them down for the night. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and groaned as I rolled out of bed. I got dressed quickly and made my way out of my room. I saw that Cookie was already up and had returned from collecting a few eggs from the hen house. He pointed at the coffee and said, “It’s just about ready.” “Thanks, Cookie. I’m going to visit the outhouse and then I will go and bring Hannah over. Hopefully she is awake. I don’t want to startle her, but I would feel better leaving knowing she was already here with you,” I replied as I strode for the door. After I took care of my morning business in the outhouse, I knocked on the door of the main house. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps fro
Hannah POV As I laid down to sleep on Friday evening, my mind went back to everything that had happened that day. It started out to be an ordinary day, a ride to town with Jamie. If the truth be told, I would have much rather been on a horse than sitting in the wagon. I have come to love riding a horse. I felt free as the wind blew past me, it was a nice feeling to be almost one with the animal. Although, if I had to ride in a wagon, Jamie was a pleasure to sit beside. Every sway of the wagon had us brushing against each other. I knew he was affected by it just as I was. I knew that once Beecham was punished for his crimes against the Weston’s, it wouldn’t be long before Jamie and I would be together. The attraction between us was growing and I had no desire to fight it. I spent every minute I could with him over the past few days and when I wasn’t with him, I was thinking about him. I was shocked that my letter had been delivered so qui