Not the Marrying Kind (8 page)

For some reason, that thought brought
another smile to her face.

She liked Joshua Barron, she realized. And
as their first day together wore on, she liked him even more. He
struck her as open, honest, and definitely hard-working. He didn’t
talk much about himself, she noted, but she considered that a plus
rather than a minus. In her experience, limited though it was, most
men thought too highly of themselves and wasted a lot of words
trying to convince others of their importance. Instead, he seemed
more interested in
her
and her opinions.

Yes, she liked Joshua Barron. With his help,
she’d beat Pa at whatever little game he was playing.

* * * *

“How’s everything going with Barron?” Kat’s
father asked a few days later. “Any problems?”

“No problems at all. We work well together,”
she said.

Truer words had never been spoken, and it
was a huge relief to Kat that she had no need to lie. Although
Joshua Barron might not have the quickness and agility of a man
with two good legs, it didn’t matter. Come to think of it, old
Mike, their previous foreman, had barely been able to get around
the ranch the last few months. Hiring Joshua had been a wise
decision, actually. Of course, she no longer had a half-dozen
capable ranch hands to count on, so running the ranch would still
be a difficult task.

Her mother came in to the room, smiled at
her, then gestured toward the stairs. “It’s Thursday, don’t forget.
You’d better get washed up and put on something a bit more
suitable, honey. Reverend Kendrick will be here at seven, you
know.”

“Yes, Mama, I know.”

“By the way, Lucille is upstairs. She’s
waiting for you in your room.”

Lucille McIntyre lived with her parents a
few miles south of the Rocking P. Although she and Kat were close
in age, they had little in common, yet they’d forged a bond of
friendship over the years simply by virtue of the fact they lived
within shouting distance of each other. In a place like the
Colorado Territory, friendships were based more on geographical
factors than on shared interests.

Her real friends had been the ranch hands,
the old foreman, Mike Morrissey, and most of all, of course, her
brother, Robb. Not a day went by that she didn’t miss him and
wonder again why the good Lord had taken him away. But she wasn’t
supposed to question God’s will, just accept it.

She wasn’t supposed to question Mama’s will
either, but that didn’t stop her. She cocked her head and peered at
her mother. “What’s Lucille doing here?”

“I invited her, honey.” Mama stepped
forward, linked her arm with her daughter’s and proceeded to march
Kat toward the stairway. “I know you get tired of listening to me
harping about things,” she said with a teasing smile, “so I thought
Lucille would be the perfect one to help you learn how to become
more of a lady.”

“Mama, I don’t—”

A sharp look cut off any protest. “Sooner or
later, Katherine, you’ll have to accept the inevitable. You’re
going to need a husband, and Reverend Kendrick is the best prospect
you’re going to find.” The woman’s sigh lingered in the air as they
climbed the stairs. “Goodness knows, honey, you’ve spent so much
time roping and wrangling, the other fellows in town don’t even
think of you as a female. You’re fortunate Reverend Kendrick is
willing to have you for a bride, otherwise you’d end up a miserable
old maid, all shriveled up and unhappy.”

Being shriveled and unhappy sounded
preferable to being Mrs. Virgil Kendrick. Mama, of course, wouldn’t
see it that way. Kat kept her mouth shut.

Lucille smiled when Kat stepped into the
room. “Hello, Katherine. It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah, well, we might as well get this over
with,” she muttered, taking her place beside the pretty,
dark-haired girl.

Mama smiled her most beneficent smile and,
with a cheerful wave, disappeared from the room.

As if on cue, Lucille rose to her feet and
started making
tsk-tsking
sounds.

She shook her head. “Really, Kat, you should
at least try to act like a lady.” Disapproval showed in her brown
eyes. “Sitting all hunched forward with your elbows on your knees
is definitely not ladylike.”

Kat stiffened. She drew back, folded her
arms over her chest, and huffed out a breath. “Look, Lucille,
you’re supposed to be my best friend. I can’t believe you’re
turning against me this way.”

“It’s for your own good. I realize trying to
make a woman out of you is akin to that old adage of turning a
sow’s ear into a silk purse, but you have to grow up, Kat, and you
have to face the facts.”

“Right. Prepare myself for the inevitable,”
she repeated dully. Suddenly the thought of Joshua Barron flickered
through her mind. Several times, as they’d worked together in
recent days, she’d caught him looking at her. Well, not just
looking,
but, raking his eyes over her with a long, slow,
sultry gaze that made her breath catch in her throat. He’d licked
his lips a time or two, which Kat took as a possible sign of
interest. Her heart thumped with a crazy beat.

Marriage might not be so awful with a
handsome, virile-looking man like Joshua. Of course, a real man
would want a real woman, so maybe she should pay attention and
listen to what Lucille had to say. She now saw the wisdom in her
mother’s decision to enlist Lucille’s help. After all, who would be
better-suited to teach Kat the basics of femininity than the
prettiest, most popular girl in Sunset? Of course, there were only
a few girls in the whole Colorado Territory, so maybe Lucille’s
beauty wasn’t exactly legendary, but still, she knew more about
ruffles and lace and fancy frills than any other girl for miles
around. Plus, the McIntyre family owned the mercantile in Sunset,
so Lucille had easy access to soaps, beauty creams, and
sweet-smelling
eau de toilette
.

“I’m not sure where to begin.” Lucille took
a few steps back, then indicated that Kat should also get to her
feet. “Turn around, slowly. Let’s see what we’ve got to work
with.”

Kat obliged and held her breath as she moved
about in an unhurried circle. The expression on Lucille’s face was
anything but encouraging.

“I don’t know,” the girl said, shaking her
head and looking away. “It’s not going to be easy.”

With sagging spirits, Kat sank onto her bed
again, shoulders hunched again, head down.

“I suppose it’s hopeless.
I’m
hopeless,” she amended.

“No, of course you’re not.” Lucille had the
good grace to rush to Kat’s side, even though her words held little
conviction. “Maybe we’re going about this from the wrong direction,
that’s all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t we take a more positive approach
and focus on what you already know about being a woman?”

“I don’t know anything!”

“Yes, you do. Grooming, for example. You do
know the importance of cleanliness.” Lucille smiled, obviously
pleased to have found a good quality within Kat, one worthy of a
compliment.

“Of course. Cleanliness is next to
godliness. Mama’s stressed that fact from the time I was toddling
around.” Kat truly enjoyed bathing. Even though Pa complained that
she wasted too much water, she looked forward to scrubbing the dirt
from her body at the end of each long day. She delighted in washing
and rinsing her hair, too. The scent of the sweet-smelling shampoo
her mother concocted from imported coconut oil always brightened
Kat’s mood. Just the thought of it put her in a more hopeful frame
of mind. “I need a bath now,” she said, glancing down at her
mud-splattered trousers and rough chambray shirt. “While I’m in the
tub, maybe you could go through my wardrobe and pick out something
suitable, something feminine.” Of course, Joshua would not be there
to see her fancied up. Only Virgil Kendrick. “On second thought,
just grab whatever you find.”

Her bath did refresh her, both in body and
in mind. Afterward, wrapped in a light, cotton robe, Kat sat at her
dressing table, staring at her reflection in the mirror as she
slowly pulled a comb through her long, wet tresses. She wished she
could leave her hair down, but Pa said a proper young lady should
always keep her
crowning glory
neatly pinned upon her head.
Something about loose, unbound locks being too tempting for a good
man to resist. Remembering the previous Thursday and how she’d let
her hair spill down across her shoulders, Kat cringed. The last
thing she wanted to do was tempt the virtuous reverend.

“Help me with my hair, will you, please,
Lucille?”

“What do you want me to do with it?”

“Pin it up, anyway you can. And what did you
find for me to wear?” Nothing
too
attractive or
too
feminine, she hoped. Of course, she didn’t have too many garments
that fit that description.

“I’m afraid I didn’t find much,” Lucille
said. Standing before the open doors of the wardrobe, she pulled
out a few simple dresses. “Nothing but gingham and calico, but I
suppose simplicity is the best approach. If you’re going to be a
minister’s wife, it won’t do to be too showy. People would frown on
too much finery.”

Kat whirled around. “I’m not going to marry
that man, for goodness’ sake. Where did you get an idea like
that?”

“From your mother,” Lucille said. “From the
way she talked, I thought it was all settled.”

“No, it’s not settled. I refuse to marry
him.” Kat grabbed the comb again and hastily began pinning up her
hair.

“But your mother said—”

“She’s wrong!” Kat cried out, slamming the
comb onto the dressing table. At once she regretted her outburst.
For all she knew, Mama might be close by, or if not Mama, there was
always Emily Sue to worry about. The little brat was always hiding,
eavesdropping, and coming up with new schemes to bribe her
unfortunate victims. When she thought again of her little sister’s
careless remarks to the ladies at church, Kat turned beet-red.

“Calm down,” Lucille urged, keeping her
voice low. “How are you going to get out of it?”

Kat cast a wary look over her shoulder. No
sign of Mama or Emily Sue. She sighed. Might as well tell Lucille
the truth. The whole truth. For some reason, Kat hadn’t wanted to
say anything about Joshua Barron. She didn’t want to talk about her
hopes of running the Rocking P with his help, and she wouldn’t dare
utter a word about this crazy new idea coming into her head about
maybe
setting her cap
for the man, as they called it.

No, she didn’t want to say a word about
Joshua Barron. Kat wanted to keep him all to herself. She didn’t
want Lucille asking a lot of questions…or worse, still, getting any
ideas of her own about the man.

“It’s a long story,” she began, weighing
each word carefully. “To keep it short, Pa and I made an agreement.
He’s hired a new foreman to take Mike’s place, and he’s giving me a
chance to prove that I’m capable of running the ranch.”

“What happens if you can’t handle it?”

“I have to marry Reverend Kendrick.” When
she glanced into the mirror, she saw Lucille’s reflection staring
back, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. “But I won’t fail. I can’t.” Kat
swallowed hard, nearly choking on all the doubts that now filled
her head and heart. Even with Joshua’s help, her responsibilities
at the Rocking P were overwhelming. Her determination would be
stronger, she vowed.

Lucille tapped a neatly-manicured finger
against her chin. “On the other hand, what if you succeed?” She
came over, picked up the comb, and quickly set to work arranging
artful curls. “What happens then?”

“Life will go on just as it always has.”

“No, Kat, it won’t. Your folks are moving
into Sunset. I heard them talking to my parents about it. Your
father’s made up his mind.” She hesitated. “He’s already found a
house in town. Seems he’s also made up his mind that you’re going
to marry Reverend Kendrick.”

Kat shrugged. “They can move to town if they
want. I’m not going with them. I’m staying right here on the
Rocking P.” She lifted her gaze to the mirror, her eyes meeting
Lucille’s. “This is my home, and I’m not leaving it.”

Lucille put down the comb. “But you can’t
stay here on your own. Be sensible about this.”

“I’ll hire a housekeeper. And a cook.” Once
the government paid for the beef, she’d be able to employ the help
she needed. Joshua would move into the bunkhouse, and…oh, my!
Joshua staying in the bunkhouse? The thought unnerved her.

The heat shooting through her nearly knocked
Kat from the bench. A strange excitement tickled her toes and stole
through her body, making her limbs go suddenly loose and limp.
Every inch of her skin tingled.

At once, she saw the fallacy in her thinking
and knew beyond any doubt that Emily’s claims of sabotage and
trickery must be true. Pa would never allow Kat to remain at the
Rocking P—alone—with a foreman and a crew of rowdy ranch hands. A
single woman at the mercy of a half-dozen roughneck cowboys? No way
in hell.

Her hands clenched into fists. Her muscles
stiffened. Let Pa conspire against her all he wanted. It wouldn’t
work. Somehow, she’d pull this off, by God! She looked at Lucille,
noticed the puzzled expression on the girl’s face, and realized her
friend had been talking. Lucille seemed to be waiting for an answer
to some question.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?” She did her
best to push aside her unsettling thoughts.

“Never mind.” Lucille waved her hand. “I was
pointing out how ridiculous this whole idea is, but I know you’re
not going to listen,” she said as she returned to the wardrobe and
flung the doors open again. “You can’t possibly succeed, Kat. You
might as well face that fact.”

There it was again. One more voice speaking
out against her. “You can’t be sure.”