Caring for the Cowboy Page 2

  Hattie blushed. “Thank you.”

  “Let me see …” He took a bite of pie, chewed, then waved his fork around. “I want a woman who’s not afraid to speak up about things she’s fired up about. You know, like when you were teaching Coop how to read?”

  “Trying to,” Cooper corrected.

  Baxter nodded as he took another bite. Cooper had a terrible time reading – the letters got all mixed up. Hattie did her best to help him when she first came to town – in fact, Baxter was the one that got Cooper to agree to let Hattie tutor him. But despite his statement and what the learned folks called “word blindness,” Coop was making progress. “Beautiful, smart … and funny. That’s important in a wife. Though not funnier than me.”

  Hattie laughed. “No one’s as funny as you, Baxter.”

  He took another bite of pie, chewed and quickly swallowed. “Oh, and a decent cook. We can’t forget that. Then all the regular stuff.”

  “Like what?” Hattie asked with a smile.

  “Clean, sew, you know, women stuff.”

  “Speaking of which, I forgot the coffee.” She went to the stove, poured them each a cup and returned to her chair. “Well, whoever you marry, I can’t wait to meet her. I’m sure she and I will be good friends.”

  “You’d have the chance to be best friends if Baxter would take my offer,” said Cooper.

  Baxter took a sip of coffee. “I’m not changing my mind, Coop.”

  “Stranger things have happened.” Cooper looked Baxter in the eye, smiled, then stuck a forkful of pie into his mouth.

  Baxter had some more coffee and didn’t reply. So long as he kept his mouth full of pie, he wouldn’t have to talk at all. Then he and his pride could leave intact.

  Chapter 2

  Maja gathered wood and started a fire in the small stove. It was barely big enough to cook on, but she’d make do. She unpacked a small pot and set to work.

  They had just enough for another meal, then one of them would have to make a trip to town. If Pa was sober enough, he’d go. If not, she’d have to. By her estimation they should be a few miles from Creede. The closer the better as far as she was concerned. If Pa went he’d take Bo, but Pa never let her ride him – probably because he feared she’d leave and never come back.

  Not that she hadn’t thought of it. But where would she go? She had no money, no trade. She could sew only enough to mend things, and any fool could clean. Her cooking could be better, but how much skill did you need to cook over an open fire? Her mother had taught her a few things when she was alive, but that was long ago. Maja hadn’t been in a decent kitchen since.

  Now that she was eighteen, would her father try to marry her off, or keep her as his personal pack mule and slave? That’s really all she was at this point. She suspected that if she became too much bother, he’d abandon her on the side of some road. She shuddered and poked at the fire. Not that being free of her no-good pa would be bad – her life was miserable. But things could get worse …

  “Whatcha makin’, girl?” Pa asked as he staggered to the stove. “Smells like dirt.” He looked around the cabin, then at her. “Oh, it’s you.” He laughed and went to the table.

  Maja bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. Bad enough he made her dress like a boy, but his cruel jabs about her appearance only showed he didn’t care about her. All he cared about was his whiskey. Ten years ago he gambled away most of their possessions coming west from Massachusetts, then took to the bottle and never looked back. And woe to those that tried to make him. Her mother died trying. Maja wouldn’t make the same mistake.

  She made a soup with a few vegetables she had tucked into Pa’s saddlebag and a bit of salt pork. It’d have to do. She wished they had some coffee left, but they’d used it up yesterday. She might be going to town sooner than later.

  “Bring me my supper, Maja Mae,” her father slurred from the table. “Smells terrible, but I’ll eat it.”

  She frowned as she spooned soup into a tin cup and brought it to him. He said nothing as usual when she served him, just started slurping it up. It made her cringe – he had the manners of a goat.

  She served herself, went to the cot and sat. She’d aired the mattress and brought it inside earlier to make the bed. Pa would sleep on the cot while she slept on the floor. She sipped her soup and did her best to remember what it was like to have a house, a real home, dresses, a family that loved her. Pa had loved her once, didn’t he?

  She watched him as he continued to slurp and mumble to himself. Sometimes she heard him say her mother’s name, other times hers. She could never make out the rest, so she didn’t know what he was telling himself. But it wasn’t good, she knew, because occasionally he’d glare at her, then turn away as soon as he caught her looking at him.

  Maja finished her soup, gave what was left in the pot to Pa, then went outside to take care of the horse.

  “It’s about time you got here.”

  She nearly jumped out of her skin. That crazy woman was back!

  Myrtle stepped around a tree and smiled. “Lovely evening, isn’t it?”

  Maja glanced at the shack and back. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

  “Why, I’ve come to see you, of course. We have a lot to talk about before tomorrow.”

  “We have nothing to talk about.” She glanced at the shack again. “Please, go away!”

  “Is that any way to speak to your guardian angel?” Myrtle said, her hand to her chest. “I dare say, but you’ve got to improve your manners, child.”

  Maja gaped at her a moment. “Manners? You come here unannounced, sneaking around. Who are you?”

  “I already told you who I am. Is that your horse?” She headed for Bo.

  “Stay away from him!” Maja yelped. With her luck the woman was going to steal him. Then Pa would beat her for it, or just because.

  “What a noble steed.” Myrtle gave old Bo a pat. The horse was anything but noble, but at least he got them around. Well, he got her father around.

  “What do you want?” Maja pleaded.

  “Oh, it’s not what I want, dear. It’s what you want.”

  Maja stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Love, of course,” Myrtle said.

  Maja gaped. Myrtle had obviously gone around the bend some time ago. “That’s nonsense.”

  “Heavens, no. Your father is the one speaking nonsense. Always talking to himself …”

  Maja swallowed hard. “Go away. No one wants you here.”

  “You are frightened. But you needn’t be frightened of me, child – I’m really quite harmless. Besides, what guardian angel would harm the one they’re assigned to protect?”

  Maja shut her eyes tight. This again? She looked at the old woman. “Do you live near here?”

  “Oh heavens, no, I’m from Bristol.”

  Maja stared at her. Bristol was part of England, wasn’t it? “What are you doing in Colorado?”

  “I came to help you.” Myrtle gave Bo another friendly pat.

  Maja smacked her forehead. She was getting nowhere with this woman.

  “I can see that you need some convincing,” Myrtle said. “Very well. Tomorrow you will go to town. Your father will be far too inebriated to go himself. When you return, he will have left you a present.”

  Maja laughed. “Pa, leave me a present?” Now she knew the woman was crazy. “Please, there’s nothing for you here. I have no money to give you. I don’t even have any food.”

  “See? I told you you’d need to go to town.”

  Maja sighed. She was getting nowhere. But wait a minute… “So you know where you are?”

  “Of course I do. I’m right here talking to you.”

  Maja shut her eyes again. “No, I mean you know where town is?”

  “Certainly – it’s a little over two miles up the road. Creede is such a lovely little place. They have a pretty tea shop there, you know. You must try it.”

  “I don’t care about tea. I just
want you to go away.”

  “Oh, but I never go away. Most of the time you can’t see me. In fact, you’re the only one that can see me or hear me at any time.”

  Maja leaned against Bo with a heavy sigh. “Fine, you’re my guardian angel. Now please go.”

  “If you wish. But remember tomorrow and your present.” Myrtle looked sympathetic. “Do you love your father, child?”

  Maja swallowed hard. “He’s my Pa.”

  “Yes, but do you love him?”

  “Of course I do … but …”

  “What?”

  Maja shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

  Myrtle smiled tenderly. “You poor dear, you lost both your parents. I dare say you’ll be much better off with the gift your father is leaving you.”

  “What gift? You talk in riddles.” Maja untied Bo and headed for the trail to the creek so she could water him before she went to bed.

  “Remember what I told you!” Myrtle called after her.

  Maja spun on her. “Keep your voice down – he’ll hear you!”

  Myrtle laughed. “No, he won’t – watch. Hellooooooooo!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

  Maja looked at the cabin in panic. Had Pa heard? She listened intently, but there was nothing.

  “See? I told you?” Myrtle said brightly.

  Maja did the only thing she could think of and began to lead Bo away, then stopped short. What if Myrtle went into the shack? “Oh no!” She turned around … and Myrtle was gone. Again.

  Maja looked at Bo, poked his neck, then poked herself in the chest. “You’re real. I’m real.” She looked at the cabin and back. “But what about Myrtle?” She shook her head and led Bo down the trail.

  Baxter counted his money, stuck it in his pocket and grabbed his coat and hat. He had exactly one hundred dollars, enough to not only send for a mail-order bride, but to buy himself a new suit of clothes. Lord knew he needed one – he didn’t’ want to meet his future bride in his work clothes, which had once been his Sunday best. Cowpunching was honest, hard work, but no matter whom you worked for, it never paid a lot.

  He saddled his horse Jake and set off, wondering what Cooper and Gavin were doing today. He’d left Cooper’s last night with his pride stinging, still feeling like he was being offered pity work. It just didn’t set well. Was he that jealous of Gavin? Was he that proud? Sure, he wanted to have more built up for himself by now, but it wasn’t easy in his line of work. It was also the main reason he hadn’t taken a wife yet.

  It didn’t help that the last time he tried, he got cheated out of his money, same as Cooper. In fact, quite a few men got swindled when that woman posing as a matchmaker sashayed into Creede. It left a sour taste in his mouth that was still there. Then Cooper met Hattie, fell in love (albeit with a little help) and look at him now.

  “Yeah, just look at Coop,” he muttered. “What are the chances of me marrying a gal with a lot of money?” But it didn’t matter that much – he was happy with his life. Or maybe that was the problem, that he didn’t need a lot. Not that he didn’t want things – he just didn’t need much to be happy.

  He was a few miles from town when he saw a riderless chestnut horse standing in the middle of the road. “What in tarnation?” He stopped Jake, dismounted and spotted a man on the other side of the sorry-looking animal. “You need any help, Mister?”

  The man mumbled something but Baxter couldn’t make out what. He took Jake by the reins and got closer. “Everything all right?” He looked over the horse, which was in even worse shape than he’d thought at first glance. The chestnut looked at him as if pleading for him to put it out of its misery. “Mister, I asked if everything …”

  Clang!

  Baxter weaved a bit as he got a good look at his assailant. The man was as rough-looking as his horse, but the cast-iron frying pan in his hands was all too solid.

  The man cackled, raised it over his head and hit Baxter again.

  Maja took one look at the outskirts of Creede and gulped. She loved and hated new places - loved them for the distraction they brought, hated them because of the distraction she brought. She wasn’t exactly easy on the eyes, with her grubby clothes, grimy face and hands, and chopped-off hair. People stared at first, then whispered and pointed, followed by looks of pity and scorn. If she’d had a choice, she’d avoid all humanity rather than face that.

  She pulled her coat tighter, took a deep breath and started walking again.

  Pa was still asleep when she left, and if she didn’t get some supplies he’d be angry … well, angrier. She would’ve woken him, but better to let a sleeping dog lie. Besides, he’d be in a better mood if he woke up to a steaming cup of coffee, some fried eggs and potatoes. They didn’t have much money, so she’d have to be careful. She wished she knew how long they’d be in the area, but with Pa’s moods it was always hit or miss. At least the crazy woman from yesterday wasn’t sleeping on the doorstep this morning and hadn’t stolen Bo.

  Bo was another concern, the poor thing. Maybe she could buy him some oats. Grazing on nothing but prairie grass was bad enough, but the area around Creede was rough terrain – more rocks than fodder. She knew there were ranches in the area – they’d passed one a couple of miles before reaching the shack – but that land had been cleared to create pastures. She just hoped she had enough to get Bo the grain he needed.

  She started down the street, searching for a mercantile or dry-goods store. Half the town looked to be under construction. Had there been a fire? She’d passed through towns that had burned, and this one resembled those.

  She caught sight of a sign – Crowther’s Dry Goods. She ignored the usual curious looks from the townsfolk, wiped her hands on her dirty trousers and went inside.

  “Good morning, can I hel – oh!”

  Maja sighed. She was used to that too. She went to the counter where a pretty dark-haired girl stared open-mouthed at her. She learned a long time ago it was best to just hand shopkeepers a list. She pulled hers out of her coat pocket and slapped it on the counter.

  The girl stared at it a moment, then at her, wrinkled her nose, then studied the paper. “I presume you have money?”

  Maja sighed again and put her money on the counter too.

  “Very well – this will only take a moment.” The girl picked up the list and began gathering the items, ignoring Maja.

  Considering her appearance and hygiene, Maja couldn’t blame her. If only it wasn’t too cold to bathe in a stream or creek like the one near the shack. She could wash what she could when Pa wasn’t around. Heaven knew she was long overdue for a good scrub. She began to admire a display of hair ribbons and reached out to examine one more closely.

  “Stop!” the girl cried. “Please don’t touch them. I’ll never be able to sell them if you get them dirty.”

  Maja gritted her teeth and lowered her hand. When would she learn? It was the same wherever she went. She shook her head and went to look at a stack of books, careful to keep her hands at her sides.

  Soon the girl had found everything on her list and wrapped it all in brown paper. Maja paid her and left the store without a word. She headed down the main street, looking for a feed store to get some grain for Bo. Considering the size of Creede, it was just a matter of finding it. At least she still had some money left.

  This part of Creede was rough-hewn, obviously it had been a boom town, yet there was a certain excitement in the air with all the hammering and sawing. The smell of new lumber made her long for a house of her own. But when would that happen? Probably never. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. No sense feeling sorry for herself – this was her lot and there wasn’t much she could do about it.

  Then she saw the tea shop Myrtle had mentioned, and a chill ran up her spine. For a moment, she couldn’t think or breathe, it was so beautiful. The old woman knew far too much about her and she was beginning to wonder if she was some old acquaintance of her father’s. She approached it slowly, just as a woman opened the door and
stepped outside, bringing with her the most wonderful smell.

  The woman looked at her … looked through her … and walked away.

  Maja licked her lips as her heart sank. She’d never be allowed inside such a place, never. She took a deep breath and continued down the street.

  Chapter 3

  After buying grain for Bo, Maja headed back to the shack and her father. She contemplated what to tell him when she returned. He was most likely awake by now and angry as a bear she was gone. She’d hoped to return before he woke, but the man at the feed store was busy with other customers who knew him personally, and they visited with each other for a good spell before finally getting down to business. No one noticed her, which suited her until she realized how much time had passed.

  She walked as fast as she could, stopping only to catch her breath. Sometimes she wished she had died along with her mother. Always, she wished she was braver. When it came down to it, she wished for a lot of things.

  She climbed the trail to the cabin and gasped when she saw Bo saddled and bridled. Pa was definitely awake. She swallowed hard, squared her shoulders, marched into the hovel and … “What in the …?”

  A strange man was lying on the cot, trussed and gagged!

  Maja quickly scanned the cabin, but there was no sign of Pa. “Pa?” she rasped, then slowly approached the cot and peered at the occupant. He had a black eye and a gash on one side of his forehead and was very unconscious. Had he tried to rob her father? If so, where was Pa? He hadn’t gone to fetch the law – Bo was right outside.

  She went out and called for Pa, making a complete circle around the cabin. Then she realized there might be more than one outlaw snooping around. For all she knew, Myrtle was with them! “Why that sneaky old crow,” she said quietly. “And here I thought she was just plain crazy.”

  She crept down to the stream, but there was no sign of her father there either. Where could he be? Had someone murdered her father and dumped him somewhere? But there was no sign of a struggle. What was going on?