The Rancher Takes a Cook (11 page)

“If you run into trouble, Son, just fire a
shot and we’ll come a’runnin.” These had been Monty’s parting words
before sending him off for the day’s work. He hadn’t found any
trouble yet but hadn’t seen any cattle either. Edward was finally
getting used to the solitude on the range, although he got tired of
talkin’ to his horse sometimes.

Up ahead, a cow bellowed from a patch of
trees. The underbrush was thick around the trees, so she was
hidden, but the insistent bawling sounded like she was upset. The
cow’s long horns were probably stuck and needed a bit of help to
get loose. Edward was learning to respect these crazy longhorns.
He’d have to come up on her quietly so she didn’t get riled. No
matter what, he had to stay mounted on his horse. Jacob had drilled
that rule into him until he heard it in his sleep. “A cowboy on
foot is helpless. You’ll lose every time around these longhorns,
and you’ll probably die in the process. Never, ever get off your
horse for any reason.”

As Edward entered the trees, a cow appeared
through the branches. Sure enough, her horns were caught in the
brush. From the trampled bushes and muddy ground around her, she’d
been there a while, too. He opened the sheaf that held his hunting
knife and prepared to cut the vines restraining the cow. As he rode
closer, the cow became almost frantic and started thrashing about.
He backed his horse toward the edge of the trees, hoping to give
her room to calm down.

Her flaying must have loosened the vines,
though, for she finally twisted herself free. But instead of
turning to run away from him, the half-crazed animal charged
straight ahead, bellowing like an angry bull. Edward’s horse spun
underneath him as it prepared to outrun the frantic cow, but Edward
wasn’t prepared for the sudden change of direction. As his horse
bolted forward, there was nothing but air beneath him until his
back hit the ground with a thud. He rolled over onto his knees,
gasping as he tried to suck in the air that had been knocked out of
him.

Just when his lungs began to work again, he
became conscious of a raging cow charging about fifteen feet away.
One glance told him she was preparing to take out on him all her
frustration at being caught in the brush for hours or days. The
sharp tips of her dangerous horns would probably be the death of
him today.

Edward lunged to his feet and sprinted
toward the tree line, but the cow had the advantage of momentum.
When she was about five feet away, Edward closed his eyes, but
never stopped running. And then a whoosh clapped through the air. A
ghostly scream from the cow. The ground shook beneath him. Edward
didn’t stop to look back until he made it to the other side of a
stout tree. The sight that greeted him when he turned made his jaw
drop.

Jacob sat atop his horse with a tight rope
stretched between his saddle horn and the wild cow, now lying prone
on the ground with a rope around her belly and front legs. The cow
looked to be in shock and was breathing heavily.

“Get on your horse!” Jacob yelled, never
taking his eyes from the longhorn. Edward scrambled away from the
tree and jogged toward his horse grazing about fifty yards
away.

Once he was securely mounted, Edward called,
“Okay, I’m on.”

“Draw your rifle and aim at this cow, but
stay where you are. I’m gonna ride forward to loosen the rope, but
if she charges again, you shoot.”

His hands shook as he drew his Winchester
and rested the stock in the crook of his shoulder. The men shot
often when they hunted, but he’d never needed the rifle for
protection before. He’d do whatever was necessary to defend Jacob,
though.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he called.

Keeping his eyes on the cow, Jacob eased his
horse forward, loosening the rope. The animal continued to lay on
the ground, breathing hard but no longer bellowing. When Jacob’s
horse was within five feet of the cow, he pulled out his hunting
knife and cut the rope then backed his horse away from the animal.
When he had backed about ten feet, he turned Marshall and jogged
away from the cow, waving for Edward to do the same.

When they were a respectable distance away,
Jacob stopped. “I don’t think she knows she’s free. She’s not hurt
or she’d be bawlin’. Just scared and thinks she’s still tied
up.”

At last the animal started to struggle
again, loosening the short rope, and scrambled to her feet. After
standing unsteadily for a moment, she took a tentative step then
trotted off in the opposite direction.

Edward let out a breath and Jacob finally
looked at him. “You all right?”

Edward nodded, still a bit shaken from his
near-death experience. “I’m all right. You saved my life,
though.”

Jacob grinned at him. “I reckon someone had
to, since ya went and got yourself in a fix. C’mon, let’s get back
to the herd for now.”

Edward shook his head in wonder as they
rode. “How’d you throw that cow with just one rope? I thought it
took two men to throw a full-grown cow.”

“Yep, it does when you rope their horns and
back legs. That’s the way we normally do it because it’s easier on
the cow. The only way to throw a cow by yourself is to land a
blocker loop over the hump. The top of the loop settles over the
withers, and the bottom catches the front legs while they run and
usually makes ’em take a tumble. It’s a hard throw and pretty rough
on the cow, so a good cowpuncher doesn’t use it unless he has
to.”

“I reckon you had to this time, huh?” Edward
shot him a grin.

“Yep, your sister woulda skinned me alive if
I brought you home all bloody and full o’ holes. She probably
wouldn’t let me eat for a week, and that’s something I couldn’t
abide.” At the mention of Anna, Jacob added with a serious tone,
“What d’ya say we keep this to ourselves and not tell your sister?
There was no harm done, and I’d hate to make her worry.”

“Yeah, she already worries enough for both
of us.” Edward scowled. “She’s worse than a mama hen
sometimes.”

Jacob laughed. “Well it appears from your
little incident today that you need someone to worry about you
every now and then.”

* * *

That night the boys were extra noisy at
dinner. Juan had given her a recipe for pork carnitas, and Anna had
spent all afternoon making them. She’d worked hard to get the
seasoning just right while not cooking the meat so long it became
tough. Their praise now justified the effort.

In between bites, several of the Mexicans
were swapping stories about crazy longhorns they’d encountered over
the years. Anna listened with amazement at the tales the men told.
Some of them seemed a bit far-fetched, like the time Juan watched a
cow stomp a cougar to death to protect her young calf. She glanced
at Jacob, expecting to see the usual twinkle in his blue eyes as
the men teased Juan about his wild account. Instead, Jacob’s jaw
was tight and he seemed to be eyeing Edward with an expression Anna
couldn’t read.

Just then one of the men spoke to Edward,
“You know a bit about loco cows yourself now, Little Brother,
don’tcha?”

Before Edward could answer, Jacob responded
in a deep voice that came out almost in a growl. “Let the boy eat,
Paco. Can’t you see he’s still growing?”

The man who’d asked the question looked at
Jacob in surprise, but he didn’t question the boss when he’d been
given an order. And Jacob’s words had definitely sounded like an
order.

Anna glanced back and forth between Edward,
whose red face was focused on the beans he was busy pushing around
his plate, and Jacob, who also seemed quite interested in the pork
he was loading into a fried tortilla. She had the sinking suspicion
something had happened, or almost happened, to put Edward in
danger—and she
would
find out what. Anna knew better than to
question either man in front of the whole crew, but the moment she
got Edward or Jacob alone, she’d have the truth. Every detail of
it.

* * *

As Jacob finished his last apple tart, he
chanced one more peek at the stony look in Anna’s eyes and the firm
set to her jaw. Yep, she was mad. And she hadn’t even heard the
story yet. He let out an internal sigh. Apple tarts were usually
one of his favorites, but he couldn’t taste the flavor this time
with those pretty brown eyes shooting daggers at him.

As the men stood and headed toward the
bunkhouse, Jacob rose with a mental groan. Edward glanced at him
with a question in his eyes.

“Go on out to the bunkhouse with the rest of
the men. I’ll see you in the morning.”
And I’ll handle your
sister.

While the room cleared, Jacob stood near his
chair, shifting from one foot to the other. Anna stomped back and
forth from the dining room to the kitchen, carrying dirty dishes.
For a moment it crossed his mind to help her, but she looked mad
enough to throttle anything that got in her way. He needed to find
a way to calm her down. And she didn’t even know what had happened
yet.

She didn’t stop, just kept charging around
the table, stacking dirty plates on her arm. Jacob finally walked
up behind her.

“Anna.”

Still no response or any sign she’d heard
him. Jacob gingerly touched her shoulder. Her muscles were solid
tension beneath his fingers. He turned her to face him, then took
the stack of dirty plates from her hands and placed them on the
table. When he moved back to face her, the hurt in Anna’s eyes made
his chest ache.

Jacob stroked a finger down her temple,
pushing an errant strand of hair behind her perfectly-shaped ear.
She shivered as his fingers moved over her skin, and he had to
fight the urge to wrap her in his arms and press his lips to hers.
Jacob’s eyes moved to those beautiful lips. They probably tasted
like the apple tart she’d just eaten.

“Jacob.” Her voice broke through his
thoughts.

“Yes.”

“Will you tell me what happened with
Edward?”

He looked in her eyes again, read the fear
and uncertainty there, then let out a long breath and ran a hand
through his unruly hair. “All right. Come sit down in the kitchen
and I’ll tell you everything.”

And he did. Jacob didn’t spend a lot of time
on the dangerous parts, and he focused on the fact that Edward was
unhurt, but he did tell her everything. When he finished the story,
Anna paced to the kitchen window and stood very still, staring out
into the darkness. He couldn’t gauge what she was thinking. She
just stood there staring, but he held his tongue. She needed time
to process this, to work it out in her mind.

At last, she turned to face him. “I’m glad
you were there.”

Jacob nodded and slipped over next to her.
“I am too. I hadn’t planned to be there. I was riding bog and saw a
group of fresh tracks going away from the herd. After I had trailed
them for a ways, I heard that crazy cow bellowing and headed toward
the noise.” Jacob focused a penetrating gaze on Anna. “It was God
looking out for Edward, Anna. If I hadn’t been there, God would’ve
used something else to keep him safe.”

Her chin quivered a bit as she soaked in his
words. “I know.” Her voice was so quiet he almost missed it.

When she looked up at him again with those
luminous brown eyes, he couldn’t stop himself. He pulled Anna into
his arms and gently kneaded circles in her back, wishing he could
rub away the pain and fear in those windows to her soul. Anna clung
to him as if she never wanted to let go. And the feeling was
mutual.

At last, she seemed to gather her strength
and stepped back shyly. “Thanks for telling me. I need to finish
clearing the table.”

Jacob nodded, not sure what else to say. She
disappeared through the doorway to the dining room. Letting out a
long breath, he turned toward the back door. He needed some
air.

As October progressed into November and the
weather began to cool, things seemed to slow down a bit around the
ranch. With no more work in the garden and all the wild fruits and
berries gone until spring, Anna spent more time helping Aunt Lola
with the housework, but the older woman wouldn’t let her do
much.

“Now, Anna, if you make me slow down, my
bones will get old. I’ve given you the kitchen and the washin’, but
the rest of the cleanin’ is mine to do. You’re tryin’ to make me
die before my time, ye are.”

So Anna contented herself with her domain in
the kitchen and dining room, as well as the laundry and a few of
the heavier chores Aunt Lola would relinquish. The bit of free time
left to her was usually spent reading or exploring the surrounding
countryside on Bandita. Her favorite ride was still to the banks of
the Guadalupe, where she would often go with a book or to spend
quiet time with the Lord.

* * *

“You’re going to ride all the way to the
Wallaces’ by yourself?”

Anna kept her focus on the eggs she cracked
for breakfast, but her lips twitched at the protective tone in
Jacob’s voice. He sat in the kitchen drinking coffee on this cold
mid-November morning, his brow wrinkled and mouth pursed. He was
such a good man.

“Theirs is the next farm over, right? I
didn’t see them at church on Sunday, and Mrs. Thomas said the
doctor’s put Ginny on bed rest.” She flashed him her best pleading
smile. “That has to be awfully hard with a farm to manage and a
three-year-old running around. I was hoping you could give me
directions?”

She tried to appear nonchalant but caught
herself holding her breath. Anna had so enjoyed getting to know
Ginny at Sunday services, and this was her chance to be there for
her friend in a time of need.

Jacob was quiet as she whipped the hotcake
batter. At last, he sighed. “It’s not hard to find. Just head west
and follow the tree line until it ends. Ride to the top of the hill
there, and you’ll see their house in the distance.”