Letter Perfect ( Book #1) (21 page)

“That’s just assisting a friend.”

“It’s a matter of perspective. Those tasks are her work, and I know she appreciates how you and Laney help shoulder her burdens. With Cullen’s health as tenuous as it is, when you and Laney help with tasks, Kelly’s load is lightened. Part of ranching is helping neighbors. I think you underestimated the importance of my asking you to lend a hand over at the O’Sullivans’.”

“Josh, you don’t understand. Laney and I have a delightful time over there. If anything, Mrs. O’Sullivan has taken us under her wing. Just a breath ago, you praised practicality—well, the embarrassing fact is, Laney and I don’t have the vaguest notion about how to do the practical, everyday things most women do. Mrs. O’Sullivan is teaching us, and the value of what she’s sharing with us cannot be imagined.”

Josh grinned. “I’m glad she’s teaching you those things. But, Ruth, don’t you see? If you value her lessons, why shouldn’t Laney and I find great worth in your teaching her to read?”

“But it’s such a simple thing.”

Josh shook his head. “What you’ve done for her is nothing short of astonishing. Never once, in all of her years of schooling, did anyone call her clever or tell her she would succeed. You build her up and boost her confidence. Whatever you need to work with her—just let me know, and I’ll obtain it. She actually believes you’re going to have her reading.”

“As well she should. Josh, she can read. Truly, she can. Maybe not complicated treatises, but Laney can sound out words.”

Josh broke into an enormous smile. “See? To my way of reckoning, between the lessons you’re giving her and the help you’re extending to the O’Sullivans, you are pulling your weight around the Broken P. I want you to stop searching for a backbreaking chore and recognize the value of what you are doing.”

“It’s precious little.”

“I disagree.”

“Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s a good thing your father does the books for the ranch. Your idea of accounting doesn’t add up.”

“What doesn’t add up?” McCain rapped out from the parlor entryway.

“Ruth and I were discussing her desire to help around here.”

McCain snorted. “Girl, this is a man’s world. Laney understands how it is—you don’t see her wanting to rope calves. After a hard day’s work, a man wants to come home to a warm welcome and a cool drink.”

Ruth flashed Josh a look.

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’ve told Ruth that pitching in at the O’Sullivans’ is important.”

“Of course it is.” McCain sauntered over to his customary chair, but he didn’t sit down. “Laney and you represent the Broken P when you go out. Relations with neighbors are important. They just bought two of our mustangs, and twice a year, they buy half a steer. One hand washes the other.”

“See?” Josh gave her an I-told-you-so look.

McCain’s brows furrowed. “Is this about money? Do you need me to buy you something?”

“No. Oh, not at all.” Ruth shook her head. “You’ve already been remarkably generous. Laney and I haven’t finished sewing up all the material you bought for us.”

McCain finally eased into the chair. “If you need something, you only have to ask.”

“I appreciate the offer; it’s most kind of you. But I do have funds available to me.” Ruth felt confident the eighty dollars she’d brought with her would see her through quite adequately until her mother’s estate settled.

“The Broken P accounts are all paid up,” McCain said slowly. “Our credit is good, but we run a lean operation. You should know that.”

Ruth looked from father to son. “I’m sure with all of the hard work you men put into this ranch, you’ve been good stewards of what the Lord entrusted to you.”

“It’s not the Bible that’s keeping the profit line. Brains, sweat, and blood are what it takes.” McCain drummed the fingers of his right hand on the arm of the chair. “Was there anything else you wanted to know about the finances?”

“Dad, you came in on the tail end of the conversation. Ruth’s concern was that she contributed, not that there would be any hitches in the bookkeeping.”

“Humpf.”

Ruth figured she was better off to keep silent. Clearly Josh was right when he said his father’s pride stung that he couldn’t labor about the place and he needed to feel good about managing the finances. Unable to concoct anything diplomatic, she decided to escape to her room. “Well, then, I think I’ll retire.”

She took three steps, then jerked back. “Ouch!”

“What’s wrong?” Josh asked.

Spying a needle on the carpet, Ruth stooped to pick it up. “I just found that needle I was missing.”

“Are you okay?” Josh reached to take the needle from her.

“Of course I am. Thank you.” She stuck the needle through her sleeve. “Good night, gentlemen.”

As she mounted the stairs, Ruth overheard McCain tell his son, “I’ve never known a woman so bent on hurting herself. Did you know the first day we went to town, she fell off the boardwalk and about got herself killed?”

Unwilling to eavesdrop and hear more about her flaws, Ruth trudged upstairs.

“I’ve been thinking,” Ruth said as she wandered back and forth in the parlor.

Josh eyed her with trepidation. Couldn’t she ever just sit down and be placid? After stepping on the needle last night, she ought to hold a tad more caution.

“I noticed a sad lack of something vital around here.” Ruth’s skirts swished as she turned back around.

Go peek in the mirror, Ruth. You’re vital. Look at you—you can’t even
stand still,
Josh thought.

“What are we missing?” Laney continued to crochet a lacy edging around a pillowslip.

“Nothing,” Josh said repressively. “We’ve gotten along just fine. I can’t think of a thing we lack.”

Pulling to a halt, Ruth gave him an icy look.
No wonder she got
kicked out of ladies’ academies. The girl doesn’t have a scrap of charm or womanly
wiles
.

“I’m sure once you hear my plan, you’ll agree it’s something I should set to at once.” Ruth started toward the far side of the parlor once again. She stopped at the shelf and gestured toward it. “Josh, how many of these books have you read?”

He smothered a smile. She’d distracted herself. “All of them. You’re welcome to borrow whatever you’d like, Ruth.”

She studied the spines of the dozen or so books, then gave him a woebegone look. “You don’t have one on physics.”

“Do you need a physician?” McCain gave Ruth a guarded look.

Her cheeks flushed to the same color as the stagecoach she’d ridden in on. “I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, I’m in the pink of health, sir. I was referring to the subject of the science of modern physics.”

“Humph.” Dad levered himself out of his chair. “It’d be a waste of space. Boring, useless information.
Farmer’s Almanac, Animal
Husbandry
—those have a place on a ranch. No use wasting time with fancy numbers that don’t change the water table or the head count of the livestock.” He sauntered over to the humidor and took out a cigar.

“Oh, Daddy,” Laney sighed. “Those smell so awful.”

He rolled the cigar between his hands. “You never complained about Alan’s smoking.”

“His cigarettes didn’t stink even half as much as your cigars. Why don’t you roll yourself a cigarette like you used to make for him?”

“They don’t last long enough to give me thinking time.” He stooped over and kissed Laney’s brow. “I’ll go outside with it.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

After he left, Ruth turned back toward the books. “I disagree with your father. There must be several practical applications for physics on a ranch.”

Josh nodded. He agreed, but he also wanted to let her ramble on. As long as she stayed distracted, she wouldn’t try to pitch whatever harebrained scheme she’d planned to spring on him.

“Knowledge is never wasted,” Ruth continued.

“Ruth’s read a lot.” Laney tied a knot and clipped the fragile crochet thread. “She’s quite clever, Josh.”

“You’re clever, too,” Ruth said. “Look at what a thing of beauty you’ve made. Wouldn’t you like a book of different patterns to crochet and stitch?”

“Why, yes.”

“That’s a nice idea, Ruth.” Grinning, Josh rested his ankle on the opposite knee. Ruth never stopped thinking, but her mind wandered. Her conversation resembled a spray of buckshot—and in this instance, he’d encourage that flaw because he didn’t want to have to dissuade her from whatever else she’d set her mind to. “The next time someone goes to town, we could get a book for Laney.”

Laney’s jaw dropped. “You’re doing this so I’ll read!”

“You were my inspiration,” Ruth declared as she headed back to the settee. Her skirts billowed out with a complete lack of control as she half-flopped down. Belatedly smoothing them into a modicum of order, she smiled at Laney. “Truly, Laney, watching you made all my thoughts fall into line.”

Doubting her thoughts were ever half that orderly, Josh still admired Ruth’s concept. Ruth’s practical way of coaxing Laney to read pleased him, so Josh figured, at least this once, her neverceasing habit of hatching up plans had proven to be beneficial. “I’m sure you and Ruth could share a book.”

Ruth beamed at him. “Exactly! That’s what books are for— sharing.”

Josh nodded.

“I’m so glad you see it my way.” Ruth hopped up again. “I’ve already started a list of my favorite books.” She pulled two sheets of crumpled paper from her sleeve.

Is there anything more she could possibly pull from her sleeves? A hanky or
a fan is normal—but a knife and sheets of paper? This woman never ceases to
amaze me
.

Ruth messed with the papers, trying to smooth them out. “You can tell me what your favorites are, so I can add them.”

Josh chuckled. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ruth, but it’ll be a while before Laney might want to tackle them, and I’m sure many won’t be to her liking. We hold vastly different interests.”

“But we want to have a wide assortment. Having a good selection is essential to success.” Ruth slipped the papers into his hands.

“Josh’s books are too hard. I’m sure yours will be, too,” Laney whispered.

“We’re going to have a variety,” Ruth reassured her. “My list includes many of the more basic books I enjoyed as I started to read, not just more recent selections.”

Josh glanced down at the first sheet of paper and nearly choked. Four columns snaked down the page in itty-bitty print. Ink blots marred several of the words. When he flipped it over to see if the second sheet was equally crammed, Josh discovered the back of that first sheet also bore top-to-bottom columns. “You must have two hundred books listed here.”

“Three hundred twenty-three,” Ruth provided. “I know it’s just a start—” “A start!” He stared at her. “Variety is one thing, excess is another.”

“That list is far from excessive. If you bother to look, you’ll notice some of the books are important references, such as a dictionary.”

“A dictionary!” He’d praised her last night for working with Laney and told her he’d get the materials she required to do the job, but he hadn’t thought she’d take matters to such an extreme. “Ruth—”

“Don’t worry. The dictionary and the books with dots beside them are ones I still own. Books are like old friends to me. Bernadette—she was our housekeeper back home—and I packed them. They’ll arrive by boat through Sacramento.”

Josh studied the list with a mixture of surprise and dismay. She’d included everything from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales to Hawthorne and Thoreau.
Jane Eyre
was scribed beside
Robinson
Crusoe
. The assortment rated as nothing less than astonishing, but much of it would be far beyond Laney’s abilities for a long while yet. How could he talk sense into Ruth without crushing his sister?

Why didn’t she come to me privately?
The answer flitted through his mind immediately.
Because she’s Ruth. Ruth told me of her tendency to speak
when she ought to hold her tongue
.

Beaming at him, Ruth gushed, “As you can see, my books will provide a nice, albeit small, foundation. I’m open to any additions or suggestions.”

“I’ve never thought of books as being like friends,” Laney marveled softly. “I considered them to be … well … enemies.”

“Oh, but you’ll never be lonely or bored again when you love books!” Ruth moved beside Laney and patted her shoulder. She was always in motion, so it strained Josh’s imagination to picture her sitting quietly, reading. “The minute I take a book from the shelf and open it, I can travel anywhere, become a different person, and experience so much! You will, too.”

“Truly?”

The hope in Laney’s eyes made Josh relent. “I tell you what— I’ll either knock together a bookshelf or see about buying one in town.”

“Oh, thank you!” Ruth clasped her hands together in front of her bosom. “I appreciate your support, and I’ll count on you to let me know what else I need to order.”

Staring back down at her list, Josh muttered, “This looks like plenty to me.”

“Dickens’
A Tale of Two Cities
came out last year. I haven’t read it, have you?”

“Can’t say as I have.”

“Then we’ll have to add that title to the list. I enjoyed his
Oliver
Twist
more than
David Copperfield,
but both stories were entertaining. It won’t do to fill the shelves entirely with books we’ve both read. Part of the fun is discovering new authors.”