After Anna helped Maria set the table she sat down with Joe.
Joe took her hand and smiled, "I thought we'd start off with a little blessing. Do you mind?"
"N-no, not at all." She replied a bit surprised.
He blessed their meal and slowly let go of her hand.
He glanced at her with a slight smile, "I want to talk to you after supper, so try not to go to sleep on me?"
She looked at him, studying him a moment. There was a lot to like about Joe, for one, he was such a clean man, He always cleaned up before supper, and she got in the same habit herself. He also believed in God, and that was quite special to her, for she did too. "So, what do you want to talk about, I mean, is it important?"
"Yeah, it's real important." He answered but didn't go into detail.
"About those men?" She questioned.
"No, about us." His glance went all over her with interest.
She blushed, "Oh." Her face flushed from the way he was looking at her.
He saw she had tensed up and he wanted her to relax. "So, tell me, what happened to Susan's horse?"
He often changed her directions of thought. "We're not sure. She said she thought it had the colic, but it got worse and died. If I remember correctly, that horse was still just a filly. Funny thing was, last week I saw her and there was nothing wrong with the horse. The Vet will probably figure it out. Do you have a horse to sell her?"
"Yeah, Frisco, she's a pretty good filly and very healthy. If you see her, tell her I'll take fifty for her. I don't really like selling horses to her though."
"Oh, any special reason?"
Joe looked off, through the window for a moment, "Nothing I can prove, but it wasn't that long ago another one of her horses died, rather mysteriously."
"You may see her before I do. She seems to drop around the livery a lot." Anna told him. "She thought you'd be there. Why I don't know, I told her you had a ranch to run. She sees you there tomorrow she might think I'm lying."
"You sound a bit aggravated with her."
"Do I?" she let out a muffled sound. Guilt riddled her again. She was aggravated with Susan thinking Joe hung around the livery as though he had nothing better to do. "Aside from the fact that I don't like her much, she called Sally a nag. She was standing there talking about her horse dying and then referred to Sally as a nag. Sally is a sweet old horse, and I love her to death, and no one is gonna talk about her like that."
"You've gotten kind of sweet on that horse, haven't you?" He chuckled.
"She's a good horse. Dependable, and gentle. She wouldn't win any blue ribbons or races, but she's a very good horse."
"Oh, well, I guess Susan's gonna have to learn some manners then."
"How come you never paid her much mind?" Anna asked out of the blue.
"Who, Susan?"
"Yeah, Susan." She rolled her eyes a bit. "She's sweet on you as if you didn't know, and she's beautiful. She dresses like a lady, and aside from being a bit uppity, she's alright, I guess."
"Well for one, she's too high strung. Got a bad temper. And she gossips. That's what bothers me about her. I guess I'm a bit different than most men in one way, I don't judge a woman by her looks."
"That's the truth. You never did." Anna agreed. "But she's had a crush on you a long time, and y'all are about the same age. Which she reminds me of endlessly."
"You want the truth?" He folded his napkin and looked at her.
"Yeah… I'd prefer it."
"She's one of the ones that said I shouldn't be hanging around with a kid like you all the time!"
"How long ago was that?"
"Fifteen years ago."
"You mean when we first met?"
"Yeah I told her no one was going to hurt you while I was around. A boy or man picking on a girl is not right."
"He was mad because I won the horse race." She chuckled.
"I know, I heard all about it, from her. It made me mad then, and still does. She gossips about everyone, and only half of it is true. She said you shouldn't have been racing a boy. That you were a complete tomboy and that's why everyone picked on you in school. That you deserved what you got. I thought that a bit mean hearted. And mean hearted women are not something I enjoy being with."
Anna thought about that a minute. She supposed most had a right to think that, but it wasn't exactly true. "I wasn't really a tomboy, I don't think, I mean, yeah, I climbed trees, and rode horses all the time and caught a lot of fish, but it wasn't a contest to me, it was just fun. Most everyone had brothers and sisters to play games with and learn from. My sister was too old to play games with, and most the girls and me didn't get along too well. I'll admit I was never one for frills. All they wanted to talk about was their new dresses and going to parties all the time. Most of the time they didn't bother inviting me to their parties as I wasn't interested. I guess I deserved to be left out from their circles as I wasn't interested in the same things. They started flirting with boys before they were ten years old even. And the boys picked on me because they thought I acted like a boy. I always challenged them. Something I never understood was why boys always tried to act like little men, and girls like older girls. I mean all I wanted to do was have fun."
Joe smiled, "Yeah, I remember that. I know, two weeks later Boyd pushed you in the mud pond over at Leonard's and when you came up muddier than a pig, everyone started laughing. But I saw him push you, and when everyone left, he and I had it out. You see he was making it look like you were just clumsy, but I knew better."
"I wondered why he stopped picking on me. You fought him. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Too proud. I had a loose tooth after that fight. Sure, you were just a kid, but he had no right treating you like that."
"Well, I knew you saved me from a lot of embarrassing things, that I didn't know about." She stared. "You want to hear something kind of funny?"
"What?" he smiled seeing the tension easing around her now.
"George used to court Mary."
"Your sister?" Joe looked shocked.
"Yeah, they courted a short while. I didn't know it either until he told me. I think he was kind of sweet on her."
"What happened?"
"Mary is too refined for him, and he found that out quickly. She loves to dance, and George didn't at the time, he also had some habits she didn’t care for. Tobacco and beer. But he wasn't a drunk or anything. Mary had a set of rules she went by when it came to boys. And they had to tow the line."
"I can't imagine them together." Joe told her.
"Why not?"
"Mary was pretty, smart, and a good person, but she also was a bit bossy around men. She'd have made a fine schoolmarm."
Anna chuckled. "Never thought about it, but she used to boss me around when I was little. I loved Mary, but there was a lot of difference in age, and she was more like a second mother to me than a sister. Age seems to be a real factor in my life."
The way she said that had Joe thinking of the conversation he had with her dad.
"What's her husband like?"
"Henry Thompson," Anna shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'll give him his due he's nice looking and all, but he's a dude as far as I can tell. He's a college man, went to school up north. He studies cows from books."
"Well, it is a new theory. There are things to learn about animals in books."
"I was talking to George at lunch about Mary and he said I should give Henry another chance. All people are different. I guess he's right. I sure am." She remarked. "There's no telling what he thinks of me."
When they finished eating, she got up to help Maria, but he pulled her away and into the front room.
"We need to talk." He told her.
"About what?" She asked innocently.
"About us."
"I thought we had been talking." She uttered.
"Not about us!" he told her.
She turned away, "So, talk." She muttered the tension returning.
"I don't want a divorce. And I don't want you even thinking about one. Do you understand?" He said rather forcefully.
She faced him now, a bit shocked. "Are you sure about this?"
He came closer, his eyes pinning her, "Very. Promise me you won't seek a divorce."
She sighed, "But why? Don't you want to be free of me?"
He started to come closer, but one of his hands came rushing in, "We got a problem over in the North Pasture, come quick." Burt Harkins told him.
"Can't George handle it?"
"George has already gone to bed, that's why I came to you, boss."
"Alright Burt." He turned to Anna, "Promise me?"
"I promise," she nodded.
"I better go see what's going on." He told her and rushed out. But he looked back at her, "I'll hold you to that promise."
She nodded.
***
When Joe left, Anna went in the kitchen to see if she could help. Maria had cooked chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and butter beans, with cornbread and butter. Anna smelled it and smiled. "Supper was so good. You cook so well. When Pettigrew gets back, I want you to teach me how to cook some of your Mexican dishes. I'm gonna be home all day tomorrow, so we'll have to try one."
"Alright," Maria chuckled. "But why are you home tomorrow?"
"There were some suspicious looking men at the livery today and Joe wants me home, he's going to help George."
"Bad men?"
"I don't know, just not the normal customers." Anna told her.
"Garcia came in today, he took some horse over to Sherman for an auction. He said the bank had been robbed there the day before. Do you think it could be the same men?" Maria asked.
"I don't know, but I'll tell Joe about it when he comes in." Anna told her.
"Good."
Anna stayed up a long time, but it got dark and Joe still hadn't returned. She curled up in a chair and went to sleep, the sofa was just too soft, and she was still tired from yesterday's work.
Joe came in later and saw her and took her upstairs.
When he laid her on her bed, her eyes popped open. "Hey."
"Hey, you fell asleep on the sofa." He told her.
"Oh, I was trying to stay awake until you got back. Maria told me something and I needed to let you know."
He came to sit on the edge of her bed. "She said Garcia took some horses for auction up in Sherman yesterday for you?"
"Yeah, he did, so?"
"Well, the bank was robbed the day before in Sherman and everyone was talking about it at the auction."
"The bank?"
She could tell he was considering the connection of the strangers in town with what she'd told him.
"I got to thinking maybe those men… But it is a long shot, Sherman's a long ways away."
"That's true, but good grief. Then if that's them, they are on the run, and could do mischief here. Thanks for telling me. I might take an extra hand with me tomorrow. I appreciate you letting me know."
He started to leave and hesitated, turning to look at her. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
She moaned a little in her throat and the kiss deepened for a moment. When he pulled away, she looked thoroughly kissed.
"What was that for?" She barely whispered.
"Luck, I might need it tomorrow." He grinned, and started to move away, but she grabbed his arm.
"Be careful, Joe," she murmured.
"Night darlin'." He smiled and left.