“How do you manage to make three ingredients taste like a feast?” Smithy asked at dinner that night, huddled around the back of the chip wagon. Emily beamed with pride. She hadn’t been sure how her first meal would go over, but it was a rousing success, possibly just because of how low the expectations had been beforehand.
One after the other, the men came up and heartily thanked her for such a good meal, and then set out again on the road. By sunrise, they would reach Lucas’ land, and she’d get a good look at the place she’d be calling home for possibly the rest of her life.
Slowly but surely, she was getting a sense of the men’s personalities. Smithy was the nicest of the bunch. He was a stocky fellow with a friendly smile. Wyatt was the sneakiest, with beady little eyes that reminded her of a rat. Jack seemed like the tall and silent type.
She worried he was a bit like her father. Lastly, brothers Sawyer and Frank were like a professional comedy duo, as far as Emily was concerned.
And then there was Lucas. Even after a night of riding and a terrible day’s sleep, he looked impossibly handsome and seemed to have endless patience for not only her but all the men and their constant questions.
She still had a lot of worries about how they were all going to work together, but she never once felt anxious about Lucas’ abilities or wisdom. If there was anyone who could rally such a motley crew and build a booming business out of empty land, it was him.
“How’d you meet them all?” Emily asked once they were back on the road. Even though they’d ridden together for hours the night before, she still felt a bit timid around him. She desperately wanted him to think she was capable of such an adventure, but it was unnerving to think about what a giant risk she’d just taken. The further away they got from Bellevue and the Black Dog, the more real it all became.
“Oh, picked them all up here and there. You know how it is.”
She very much did not know how it was, but she didn’t want to press the matter. If he wanted to explain further, he would.
In the silence, her mind wandered back to the Black Dog, and she wondered how mad her father must be to have found her missing. Was he out searching the woods and roads around the ranch now, or would he heed her note and simply let her be? She turned around and looked at the dark road behind them. It was empty. No sign of anyone or anything.
“I think you’ll like the town once we get there. It even has a college that accepts women. It was founded by an abolitionist, or so I’m told. There’s a church around every corner, and there are plenty of ways for you to get involved if you’re interested.”
“Oh!” Emily replied. She hadn’t given a single thought to what the nearby town might be like. She’d been thinking about her future life only in the context of the ranch and nothing else.
“There’s a farm nearby. I think they have a daughter around your age. Maybe you could strike up a friendship.”
Immediately, an unexpected pang of jealousy struck Emily. She’d always been the only woman around, and she didn’t know what it would be like to see Lucas talk to another girl. She pushed the feeling down, feeling silly. She’d always dreamed of having a sister or a female friend. That was far more important than worrying that Lucas might like this farmer’s daughter more than her.
Besides, he’d said it himself. He wasn’t interested in marriage. In fact, she’d practically said the same. Still, she wondered if there might be a farmer’s son to befriend as well. What would Lucas think of that?
“That would be…that would be amazing,” she replied, still trying to wrap her head around such a concept. “What do friends…I mean, what would we do together?”
It sounded like a stupid question, but Lucas reacted very kindly and didn’t let on if he did think it was ridiculous. She’d quite literally never had a friend (unless Lucas counted), so she had no idea what such a relationship might be like.
“All kinds of things. You could play games together, read, go to church, trade recipes. I can’t pretend to know exactly what women do together in their spare time, but you’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. I’ve talked to you plenty, and I promise that no one is going to think you’re strange.”
“Why would they think I’m strange?” she asked, genuinely confused.
“Well, sometimes if folks don’t get to talk to many people, it can make them a little…never mind. Forget I said anything. You’re going to get along like a house on fire, I’m sure of it. Sometimes, if I’ve been on the road for too long, I forget how to speak to people, but it comes back pretty quickly.”
“Ah, that explains a lot,” Emily said teasingly. He laughed and pushed her side playfully, making her head rush with excitement.
The rest of the ride passed by peacefully. Any awkwardness that had reared its ugly head between Emily and Lucas completely dissipated. They talked easily, sharing stories from their time apart. Emily told Lucas all about Joan Boot, and he admitted that he’d had a run-in with her at a saloon once.
“You saw her? Did you talk to her?” Emily asked in shock.
“That I did. She was dressed as a man. Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it until she mentioned her husband. Said he was the third one that month, but very much her favorite.”
Emily laughed heartily. “I’m fascinated by her, but I don’t want you thinking I admire her or anything. I have no criminal aspirations. I guess I…I just wish I had an ounce of her bravery.”
“I understand. More than you know,” Lucas replied cryptically. “But don’t go thinking you’re not as brave as she is. You just left behind everything you know to run away with a bunch of unknown men. There are some women your age who don’t even leave the house without a chaperone, let alone live with wild strangers.”
“Wild? You don’t seem all that wild to me,” Emily noted. “Everyone said please and thank you when I served dinner. From what I know of the world, that sounds pretty civilized.”
Lucas swallowed, and she wondered if there was something he wasn’t telling her.
“It wasn’t until later that I even knew I’d been talking to Joan Boot. She said her name was Finley Mott.”
“Is that so?” Emily asked, always happy to talk more about the enigmatic Joan Boot. “Do you think I should change my name?”
“It’s something to consider since there might be people coming after you.”
“Well, I don’t know if I want to change ‘Emily.’ I quite like it, and…and it was my mother’s name. Dropping my father’s last name, on the other hand…I don’t see anything wrong with that. I hardly ever left the ranch, and even I know at least three Joneses we weren’t even related to. What do you think I should pick?”
“I think you should go with something common. At the same time, it’s got to feel right to you. Mean something, maybe, or at least sound like a name that fits. Brown, for your hair, maybe?”
“We can do better than that! Let’s think now…Emily Stella, or Emily Park? Or Emily Lee…no, that doesn’t sound right. Hopkins? Flannagan? Appleby?”
“Buck. Emily Buck. Maybe…I don’t know, but there’s something—”
“That’s it! I love it. Emily Buck,” she repeated, feeling the way the vowels and consonants fit in her mouth. She did love it. It was a strong name that told people she was a force to be reckoned with. At the same time, was there anything more graceful than a buck? Strong and elegant all at the same time.
“Perfect. It’s all set. Emily Buck. Now, you can’t change your mind again for at least six months. That’s how often Joan changes her name.”
“How is it that she goes through more husbands than names?” Emily asked, bursting into laughter. Lucas joined in, throwing a hand up into the air.
“I don’t know! Only she can explain that to you, and she’s the kind of woman that could disappear at any moment. She might never be seen again. Might live out the rest of her days in a cabin far, far away in the mountains.”
Nothing about living in such an isolated location by herself seemed appealing to Emily, but even so, she felt a bit of pride knowing that she was now living a life that could allow for such a decision. If she wanted to disappear, she could. She’d done it once already, after all.
Exhaustion struck many times throughout the long night, but as soon as the sun started to rise, she perked right up again. Normally, she would already have been awake for at least an hour anyway, preparing food for the day and baking bread.
“You see that big oak tree there?” Lucas asked at one point, gesturing off in the distance to the left.
Emily followed his gaze. Her eyes landed on the same oak tree, so large it towered over everything else in the vicinity and looked like it was from an illustration in a storybook.
“I see it. It’s an extraordinary tree. Why are we looking at it, besides the fact that it looks almost purposefully carved and placed there by an artist?”
Lucas smiled, and the tired bags under his eyes temporarily disappeared. She wished she could make him smile like that all the time.
“That’s my tree. From that tree to the hill in the distance…that’s our ranch. Two hundred acres of land just for us.”
Emily’s jaw dropped open as she looked back at the landscape that stretched out before them. She’d always thought the Black Dog was on a beautiful piece of land (and at a thousand acres, it was a much larger ranch), but it was nothing compared to the exquisite picture she was currently looking at.
The land sloped up into a small clearing where Emily could perfectly picture a house. The dot of a cabin in the distance grew closer. It must have been the small hut where she would be spending most of her days cooking inside. A fine mist lay over everything, glowing in the early morning light, and a fast-flowing stream sparkled down the middle of the lot that she could see.
“We’re home, boys!” Lucas shouted back toward the men riding behind them. A chorus of cheers rang out, making the tired horses pick up speed. The promise of rest and a stable future lay in the distance, and the utter perfection of the vista made it feel like God was watching over them. Emily was in just the place she was meant to be.
“There’s that farm I was talking about,” Lucas said, pointing out the other side of the road. “They grow corn, mainly.”
Emily couldn’t believe she’d missed it earlier. There, to the left of the road, lay miles and miles of almost ripe corn, rippling in the breeze. The color shone brighter than any California gold could have, she was sure of it.
As they passed another cluster of trees, a farmhouse came into view. It was red brick, and Emily guessed it probably had at least five bedrooms. The white gables hung down over a large porch, and Emily immediately imagined having long conversations with her soon-to-be friend right there, talking later into the night than her father ever would have allowed.
Of course, it would be a long time before the ranch could boast a home like that, but the property was begging for a home just as beautiful.
“It’s all so perfect. You couldn’t have picked better,” she told Lucas, congratulating him on such a fine piece of land.
“If you think it’s worthy, that’s all that matters.” He flashed her a smile, more tired this time. Despite the bags under his eyes reappearing, he seemed as if her compliment really meant the world to him.
She had the sudden urge to ask him why he’d recruited her, in particular, to come work as his cook, but she stopped herself. They’d almost arrived, and soon, it would be time for everyone to get out and get down to work setting up tents and so forth.
There was plenty that she wanted to get done before having a small rest, not the least of which was feeding everyone after such a long journey. The sandwiches she’d whipped together for a midnight meal felt like they’d never happened at all.
Emily also had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t like the answer even if she did ask. As outspoken and cheery as he was, there was a darkness to Lucas that no amount of light could ever penetrate.
Though she trusted him deeply and innately, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he only hired her on because he knew she’d work for no money in exchange for freedom. It would be months before they’d be able to make a sale, so Lucas surely had to be careful about where he was putting his money.
What she wanted to hear was that despite the fact that he knew hundreds of cooks capable of the job, she was the only one worthy in his mind. She wanted to know that there was something special about her, not just that she could do and would come easily.
All these nagging worries stepped into the background as soon as they properly arrived. Mayhem took over as the men unpacked and started setting up a kind of campsite, and Emily got down to making them all some food.
“Do you think I could have a bit of money to go over to the neighbors and ask about buying some butter off of them? Just to cover the next day or so before I can go into town and get proper supplies,” Emily asked, eager to meet whoever lived in the farmhouse. After successfully pulling together another satisfactory meal from almost nothing, Emily was worried that the next one probably wouldn’t be up to snuff.
It wasn’t just that they needed the butter, however. This was Emily’s first taste of freedom, and she felt like a butterfly who had finally broken out of her cocoon.
“I doubt they’ll let you give it to them, but here’s five cents. Say hello for me, and don’t forget to rest when you get the chance.”
Lucas handed her a coin and sent her on her way. Emily practically skipped off down the hill, moving quickly through the thick grasses that someone would have to cut down eventually.
It took longer than she thought it would to get down to the road again and up to the farmhouse. She was out of breath by the time she got there, and she took a moment to straighten up her appearance. After two days on the road, she could only imagine what she looked like.
In the hot, late summer sun, she didn’t need her sweater anymore, but the stained dress underneath wasn’t quite as presentable. A brief moment of embarrassment came over her, thinking about Lucas seeing her in such a state. He looked so handsome no matter what, bags under his eyes or not.
She knocked on the front door, pushing the thought out of her mind. There was hardly time to think about how clean the white paint was before the door flew open, revealing a young woman around about Emily’s age. She was shorter, with yellow-blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun, just the way her father always wished Emily’s hair would look. It was slicked back so extremely it made her skin look uncannily taut, giving her look an unintentional severity.
“Where did you come from?” the girl asked. Emily saw that there was flour on her sleeves, and she wondered what was being baked.
“Hello! My name is Emily. I’ve come with the party across the way there. Lucas Taylor just bought the land to start a ranch, and I’ve come to be the cook.”
“Oh, I see. Well, welcome. I’m Sarah Carr.” Her face softened, warmth flooding into her eyes. “Are you Lucas’ wife then? Or sister, maybe?”
“No, no, I’m…I’m just the cook. I was wondering if I could buy some butter from you. We’ve only just arrived, and I’m not sure when I’ll have time to go to town yet. If you could spare some, I can give you five cents.”
Sarah didn’t move or even acknowledge Emily’s request. “Is there another woman there with you?”
“No, it’s just me,” Emily replied self-consciously. For some reason, she’d assumed that out on the road, there wouldn’t be as much judgment over such matters as there was in Bellevue, but she was beginning to realize she was dead wrong.
For a tense moment, she thought Sarah might chase her off the front porch with a rifle, but her poker face soon broke into a delighted smirk.
“A woman traveling and starting a ranch with a bunch of unmarried men…my father will be absolutely scandalized! I can’t thank you enough for bringing some excitement around here. Of course, you can have some butter, but you don’t need to pay me. Come on through to the kitchen, and I’ll put some in a pail for you!”
“Thank you, that’s very kind. So, you’re not married either, then?” Emily asked, already thrilled to have stumbled upon what she was sure was about to be a brilliant friendship. Sarah led her through the house back toward the kitchen, while Emily did her best not to snoop.
“No, no. About a year ago, my father was doing his best to find me a suitor, but they were all jagged-toothed dimwits. Then, my mother passed away, and he kind of forgot about the whole thing. Or, he got scared I’d get married and leave him to his own devices. My cooking isn’t nearly as good as my mother’s was, but at least I keep him fed,” Sarah explained.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your mother.” She didn’t mention that she’d lost her own mother, deciding that it was better to leave the focus on Sarah.
“Thank you. She was in a lot of pain for quite some time, so I think it was almost a relief for her. It’s been quite lonesome out here since she passed, so I’m very glad to have another woman within a half-day’s ride. I ought to send you back with some milk, too. We have about twenty cows because my father decided growing corn wasn’t enough, even though we’re hardly dairy farmers. Hand me your pail.”
Sarah held out her hand for Emily’s pail and started filling it with butter. If she didn’t have six men to feed, she would’ve told her to stop, but if Sarah wanted to be generous, Emily wasn’t about to stop her.
Looking around, Emily took in the luxury of the kitchen. It was twice as large as the cabin she’d grown up cooking in, and far better equipped.
“I’d give you some of the scones I baked today, but I’m afraid they weren’t very good, and I don’t want to poison you so soon into our friendship.”
Emily laughed to herself, feeling like she’d won some sort of lottery. Who knew that just two days away from the Black Dog was the sister she never knew she had? Emily reminded herself not to get her hopes up, however. She’d barely been there half a day and barely knew Sarah. That being said, she barely knew the men she’d just agreed to live with either.
“Here.” Sarah gave her back the small pail of butter and shoved a jug of milk in her hands as well.
“Thank you! Honestly, I…this is very generous. I know I already offered money, but let me bake for you sometime. As I said, I’m the cook. Scones can be tough, but I have a trick.”
“Oh, would you teach it to me? I need all the help I can get, and the company would be nice too. Get home safely, Emily with no last name.”
“Buck! My last name is Buck. Very nice to meet you too, Sarah Carr.”
Sarah showed her out through the back door, and Emily set back on the somewhat tedious journey back up to the camp. As thick as the brush was that she was walking through, the trip was well worth it. Now, she not only had a friend, but she had enough milk and butter to get them through till she was able to explore the town, and it hadn’t even cost a cent.
The camp was coming along well by the time she got back, though tiredness from the trip had slowed the men down somewhat. They all needed a good night’s sleep before building started in earnest the next day. Lucas set up a roaring fire and arranged log seating for them all around it, and Emily cooked up a feast of potatoes and dried sausages that she’d been saving for their arrival.
Sitting around that fire and catching Lucas’ eye as the light danced across his handsome face was all the certainty Emily needed to know that she’d made the right decision.
“So, what was the neighbor like?” Jack asked. It was uncharacteristic of him to say anything at all, which told Emily he’d probably been working up the courage to ask her for some time.
“Oh, she’s sweet and funny. Sarah’s her name. I think it’s just her and her father. Her mother passed away some months ago,” Emily explained.
“She pretty?” Wyatt asked. Lucas told him to shut it, but Emily didn’t mind the question. It was to be expected from such a group of men.
“She is…and no one’s courting her at the moment, though I don’t think she’d be too impressed by the likes of you, Wyatt. I assume that not living in a tent is probably a prerequisite for any potential husband of hers.”
“What’s the farm like?” Lucas interjected, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from Sarah’s attractiveness.
“Lovely! The house is well-appointed. She said they have about twenty dairy cows, too, but they hardly know what they’re doing with them.”
“Is that right?” Sawyer piped up. “Maybe they wouldn’t mind if one or two of them disappeared. This is good milk. I could wake up to a glass of this milk every morning.”
The comment immediately put a damper on the evening. Lucas stood up quickly and snatched Sawyer’s almost empty bowl out of his hands. Everyone else froze, wondering what was about to happen. It was a strange comment, to be sure, and Emily didn’t know what to make of it.
“I told you, Sawyer Jenkins. Things are different now. If you want a dairy cow, I’ll give you money, and you can ask about purchasing one. We’re setting about to make a respectable ranch here, and I don’t want any trouble. You hear me?” Lucas’ deep voice boomed around the circle, instilling both fear and comfort into Emily.
What did he mean by “things are different now”? It was a strange thing to say. An eerie feeling welled up in Emily’s stomach, and she reminded herself that she knew nothing about these men. She had to watch her back.
That being said, there was one thing she did know for sure. Lucas would also be watching out for her too.