Laney stared at the wanted poster on the wall in Tucker’s Mercantile. The man in the sketch looked older and thinner than she remembered, but there was no denying the cold eyes staring back at her. Memories she’d thought were long buried assaulted her. Laney shivered. Pa was back.
“Afternoon, Laney.”
She jumped as Mr. Tucker entered from the back room. Dragging her gaze from the poster, Laney stepped up to the counter, trying to pretend nonchalance.
Tucker nodded toward the wall. “Thought he looked an awful lot like yer pa, even if he is goin’ by the name Hiram Jones.”
“Yeah, it’s him.” Laney lifted her shoulders in an it-don’t-bother-me-none shrug.
Tucker raised his gray, bushy brows. “You just mind yerself and be careful. Ya hear?”
“I can take care of myself.” Laney lifted her chin. Why did everyone think she needed to be protected?
Tucker let out an unpleasant snort. “Yer barely big enough to look over this counter without standing on your tippy toes, gal. What makes you think you can hold yer own against someone as big and mean as yer pa?”
Laney pulled back her sheepskin coat and revealed the gun belt hanging from her boyishly small hips, over her new wool skirt. “I’d say this just about evens the odds, wouldn’t you?”
The old man’s eyes narrowed. “Now see here. Does yer family know yer totin’ a Colt?”
Letting the coat drop back into place, Laney met Tucker’s gaze head-on. “No. And don’t you go blabbing either. You’ll just make Tarah worry, and she doesn’t need to be doing that in her condition.”
“I ain’t makin’ no promises, missy, so don’t try to bully me. If I feel the need to spill yer little secret, I will.”
Laney glared at the old codger. Tucker wasn’t one to back down from a fight. Even though he’d become a Christian years ago, he was still as formidable as ever.
“Have it your way, then.” She rose up on her toes and leaned her elbows on the tall counter. “Anthony said you wanted to see me.”
Tucker nodded. “That’s right. I got a proposition fer you.”
Laney’s eyes widened, and she inwardly retreated. Was Mr. Tucker losing his mind? “Mr. Tucker, maybe you should think about this some more before you—”
The storekeeper shook his head. “Nope. Got my mind made up. Yer just what I been lookin’ fer.”
Stepping away from the counter, Laney glowered. “I like you fine, Tucker. You’re a real hard worker and nice enough when you take a notion to be, but I ain’t marrying up with a man old enough to be my pa’s uncle!”
Brows knit together, Mr. Tucker turned red beneath his scraggly whiskers. “Are you goin’ soft in the head? I ain’t askin’ you to marry up with me, gal!”
Mortified, Laney lowered her gaze as heat suffused her cheeks. “What other proposition did you have in mind?”
“What are you two yelling at each other about?”
Neither Mr. Tucker nor Laney had heard the bell above the door signaling Luke’s entrance into the mercantile.
Laney stared at the floor. “Nothing,” she muttered.
“Just a misunderstanding,” Mr. Tucker confirmed.
Laney could have kissed the old coot for sparing her more humiliation in front of Luke.
“I was just telling Laney here that I got a proposition fer her.”
“What proposition?” Luke asked. His eyes narrowed, and Laney knew instinctively he had made the same assumption she had. The thought warmed her.
“A business proposition.”
Laney’s ears perked up. “What’d you have in mind?”
“How’d you like to work for me, sewing dresses for the store?”
“And split my profit?”
“’Course.”
Laney’s brow furrowed. “Why would I want to do that? I get to keep all my money when I drum up my own business.”
“Yeah, but how much business do you drum up?”
Laney drew herself up to her full height. “I got myself ten orders at the dance last week.”
“Party dresses?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, that ain’t what I’m talkin’ about, missy. So how’s about you closin’ yer trap and hearin’ me out?”
Smarting under the reprimand, Laney sized him up for a minute. Mr. Tucker wouldn’t suggest something that wouldn’t benefit her. He was like a grand old uncle. “I’m listening.”
Luke shifted his weight and leaned against the counter. Laney felt his nearness as keenly as if he had embraced her. She cleared her throat and tried to concentrate on Mr. Tucker’s voice.
“Now them hoity-toity ladies movin’ to Harper from the cities come in here all the time lookin’ fer ready-made dresses. I’m losin’ business if they order from them books.” He leaned forward and pointed a gnarled finger toward her face. “If you and me was to partner up, we’d both stand to make a profit.”
“I understand that, Mr. Tucker, but why shouldn’t I just get my business straight from them?”
He sent her a scowl fierce enough to intimidate a grizzly. Laney’s eyes grew wide, and she stepped back. “It ain’t right for you to take my idea and go lookin’ fer business after I’m the one that brought it up in the first place. Ain’t living with that preacher all these years taught you nothin’, gal?”
Luke chuckled. “He has a point.”
Laney turned the full force of her glare upon him, then focused her attention once more on Mr. Tucker.
Luke was right; Tucker did have a point. Still, she could have kicked herself for not thinking of advertising for her own business in the first place. “All right. Let’s hear your terms.”
She listened carefully and had to admit she would save the funds to buy her soddy and start a herd much quicker if she accepted the proposal.
“Throw in the dress goods and I might consider it.”
Tucker stared at her as though she had lost her mind. “You expect me to provide the dress goods and split the profits fifty-fifty?”
Laney shrugged. “I have to do all the work. Seems fair to me.”
Tucker squinted at her as if considering. “All right,” he grumbled. “But it sounds like highway robbery to me.”
Elated, Laney nodded, trying not to glow with victory. She’d never expected Tucker to give in so easily. “And I broke the handle on my shears last week, so I’ll need a new pair.”
Tucker gave her a wry grin. “You can pay for those, can’t you?”
Luke chuckled. “Seems to me that’s the least you can do, Laney.”
Grudgingly Laney handed over the money. “All right. You willin’ to put all this in writing?”
Laney winced as Mr. Tucker’s mouth turned down in indignation. “What do you take me fer? Some thief? We got a witness right here.” He jerked his thumb toward Luke.
“That’s not what I mean. I want to show Mr. Garner proof of a steady income so I can get my soddy. I won’t have room to work at Anthony and Tarah’s with all those kids running around.”
Appeased, Mr. Tucker nodded. “Reckon I can do that.”
Twenty minutes later, with signed proof of a steady income, Laney strode from the mercantile and headed for her horse.
Luke followed. “Congratulations. Looks like you’re getting what you wanted.”
“Looks that way.” Then why did she feel so empty when she gazed at the familiar freckled face staring back at her? “How about you? You told your ma and pa about your plans?”
Luke’s jaw tightened. “Not yet.”
“It’ll be all right, Luke. You have a right to be your own man. Your pa will understand that.”
A short laugh lifted his shoulders. “But you can’t understand it?”
“I just don’t see why you’d want to leave your family. If you’d stay here and help me start my herd…”
“Your herd?”
“Well, it would be ours. Yours and mine. If you’d stop being so stubborn about letting me share it with you.”
Luke smiled at her. “I have money saved. I could help you buy the soddy and start the herd.”
Hope lifted Laney’s drooping spirits.
“But that’s not the point. I want to go west and be my own man.”
“But, Luke, if you stay here and we got mar—” Laney stopped. She would not beg.
Luke’s brow arched. “If we got married?” He reached for her hand, sending warmth through her belly. Luke’s gaze searched hers, drawing Laney in until she was certain. “Don’t go put that money down on the soddy, Laney. Marry me. Come west and let’s build a life together. Don’t you see how good it would be between us?”
Looking into Luke’s emerald green eyes and remembering the warmth of his kisses, Laney almost relented. But reason prevailed. She snatched her hand away. “I can’t do it, Luke. I just can’t.” Quickly she mounted her horse. She stared down at him. “You got your plans, and I got mine. They just don’t match up, that’s all.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she whipped her horse around and headed off toward Mr. Garner’s property. She knew if she stayed any longer, she would fall into Luke’s arms and never leave them. But Harper was home. Tarah and Anthony and their brood were home. How could she give them up? No. This way was for the best. Luke would go to Oregon and fulfill his dreams, and she would stay here and fulfill hers.
It was for the best….
Luke drove in the last stake for the new fence and stepped back to wipe the sweat from his brow. “There,” he said, taking the proffered canteen from his pa. “If that doesn’t keep Ol’ Angus in his own pasture, nothing will.”
He took a swig of the tepid water, wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, and screwed the lid back on the canteen.
Pa leaned his weight against the newly repaired fence. “I thought I’d go ahead and buy a new bull next year in Abilene.” He stared at the bull with a troubled expression. “Ol’ Angus has just about worn out his usefulness, and he’s getting meaner than a grizzly from what I can tell. I’m worried he’ll get loose and gore a young’un walking home from school.”
Luke nodded, clenching his teeth to refrain from mentioning that he’d been suggesting that very thing for the past year. The aging bull had knocked this same fence down twice in the past six months trying to get at a passing rider or someone walking through the north field. If Pa had listened in the first place, they wouldn’t have had to waste time making the repairs.
“Reckon you already knew that about Ol’ Angus, huh?”
Luke stared off into the blue horizon. “I reckon.” What else could he say?
“I should have listened to you.” Pa kept his own gaze fixed beyond the brown field.
Luke knew what the admission had cost his pa. He remained silent, sensing there was more to this conversation than Ol’ Angus’s foul temper.
Pa cleared his throat. “I know I’ve been pretty hard on you, son. There were times when I could have taken your advice and should have but didn’t. I guess my pride got the best of me. It’s not easy to admit my son might know more than I do about ranching.” A chuckle rumbled his chest, and he coughed, then pulled out his handkerchief and blew his nose.
“You taking a cold, Pa?”
“Must be. But don’t go telling your ma, or she’ll have me sitting in front of the fire sipping hot tea and all wrapped up in a quilt.”
Luke grinned. His pa carried on, but everyone knew he loved Ma’s attention. Marrying late in life, Luke’s stepmother, Cassidy, had years of nurturing to catch up on, and she babied anyone who would allow it. Luke could scarcely remember a time when she hadn’t been a part of their lives. His memories of his own ma were misty, and except for the daguerreotype sitting on Tarah’s mantel, he wouldn’t remember her at all. Cassidy had filled that empty space long ago, and he couldn’t love her more if she truly were his mother.
Pa sneezed, drawing Luke’s focus back to the present. “I reckon we oughtta head back to the house. Ma’ll tan my hide if I let you catch pneumonia.”
“In a minute.” Pa turned to face him. “I want to talk to you about something.”
At Pa’s serious tone, a gnawing sensation nearly overwhelmed Luke’s stomach. Had he somehow caught wind of Luke’s plans to move west? Luke knew it was time to come clean, but he dreaded the conversation. “What is it, Pa?”
“I’ve decided it’s time you start taking on more responsibility around the ranch. I’ve never had a manager before, but I’m offering you the position, son.”
“Manager? You have a foreman.”
Pa shook his head. “I need someone to oversee the ins and outs of the ranching—not just to watch over the hands—do the hiring and firing, accounts, keep track of the buying and selling. That sort of thing.”
“But you do that.”
“I have. And now I’m ready to hand it over. Sam never was interested in ranching, and of course Jack is headed for college in a couple of years. Will might enjoy ranching, but you’ll get the lion’s share when I’m gone. Thought you might like a chance to put some of your ideas into practice without me standing over you telling you no all the time. You can run the ranch any way you see fit.”
Luke tried to make sense of Pa’s words, but he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the truth of the matter. “But if I take over for you, what are you going to do?”
Pa chortled, then coughed again. “Don’t worry, I’ll be around, getting in the way. I’m just ready to hand over the responsibility.” He peered closer at Luke, his brow creased. “I thought this would be good news. Am I wrong?”
Just say it. You can’t take on a position like this and then up and quit come spring. Pa deserves to know the truth so he can make other plans.
“The fact is, Pa…” Luke cleared his throat, then braced himself for whatever reaction Pa would give. “The fact is that I got other plans.”
“What kind of plans?” He sounded hurt, confused, and worried all at the same time.
Luke nearly relented, but he knew he couldn’t. The thought of running the St. John ranch for the rest of his life left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had to make it on his own.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I love the ranch; you know that. I’ll do whatever I can to help—until I move west in the spring.”
Pa drew in a long, slow breath, the kind he always drew when trying to maintain control. “When did you decide this?”
“I’ve always planned to, but lately it’s all I can think about.” Despite the intensity of the moment, Luke’s excitement rose. “I’ve been saving every penny to start my own herd.” Luke’s plans spilled from his lips like water over a fall. When he stopped and glanced at his pa, the man’s eyes were moist, but a smile lifted his lips.
“I see you’ve thought this through.” Pa clapped him on the shoulder and strode toward his gray mare. “Let’s get back. I promised your ma we’d be back in plenty of time to clean up and get to church.” With a sad smile, he mounted the horse.
Luke’s stomach clenched. He climbed into Rusty’s saddle and urged the roan forward. “Pa, I could stay on until Will’s old enough to take over.” He heard his voice but couldn’t quite believe he’d made the offer.
“I appreciate that, son. But it’ll be a few years yet before your little brother is old enough to break a horse, much less run a ranch. But that’s my concern, not yours. I won’t have it said I held back any of my children from their dreams. Sam’s a doctor, Jack’s going to practice law, your sister is married with a brood of her own, and they’re a happy bunch.” He gave a short laugh. “Even little Laney is doing just what she’s been bragging she’d do for the past five years. She’s got herself that little soddy and plans to start a herd of her own in a couple of years.”
Pain stabbed at Luke’s heart. Laney had made herself pretty scarce the past three weeks. He’d heard from Tarah and other female members of his family that she was sewing her fingers to the bone and happy as a pig in slop to be doing it in her own home. It stung his pride to know she was so happy without him. “So I heard,” he said, trying to keep his voice even.
“Don’t you think your happiness is just as important to me? If you want to go off and make it on your own like I did when I came here to Kansas, I won’t be the one to try and stop you.”
Relief flowed over Luke like a cool summer shower. “You’re not mad?”
“Nope. I just assumed because you have ranching in your blood like me that you’d be content to stay on and take over for me. I should have asked you what you wanted instead of taking it for granted. I’m sorry you found it so hard to share your dreams with me, son. Cassidy is right. I can be mighty thickheaded at times.”
“You’re not the only one.”
Riding back to the house next to his pa, Luke felt a kinship like he’d never felt before, even though they’d worked side by side for as long as Luke could remember. His insides quivered with excitement now that the last barrier to his dream had been knocked over. Only one thing would have made everything perfect: if Laney would share the dream with him; but she had made her choice and had found happiness in fulfilling her own plans. He had to accept that and move on without her. But how did one function when he felt incomplete—as though he were only half a man?