Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) (11 page)

Aundy had never been fond of the domestic arts, as her mother called them. She was a good cook, could maintain order in a home, and perform all the duties flawlessly, but now that she had a farm of her own, she knew without a doubt she’d much rather be outside than in the house. Her spirit felt free out in the warm sunshine and clean air.

Maybe too free, she thought as she glanced at Garrett out of the corner of her eye. Reminding herself she was a new widow with no plans to be committed to another man, she straightened her spine and lifted her head. She would not allow her imagination or her longings to get the best of her.

“Here we are,” Garrett said, stopping the buggy at the end of her walk. Before she could get out, he was at her side, placing his hands to her waist and swinging her to the ground. His hand engulfed hers and she felt a charge of something powerful work its way from her fingers up her arm at his touch. Pulling her hand free while she still had the ability to do so, she hurried up the step and opened the door. Garrett followed behind, carrying her purchases from town. Setting them on the kitchen table, he tipped his hat to her and walked out the door without another word.

Aundy sank down on a kitchen chair, wondering what she was going to do about her farm, her lack of employees, and her feelings for handsome Garrett Nash.

Chapter Seven

“I don’t care what you think, I ain’t leaving til I talk to her,” a raspy voiced yelled from outside the front of the house.

Aundy dropped the book J.B. had given her to read about farming practices and hurried to open the door. Dent stood blocking the steps to a grizzled man, dressed in overalls so dirty it looked like he’d rolled around in a pigpen. Taking a breath, Aundy decided he smelled like it, too.

“You her?” he asked, raising his narrowed gaze to Aundy and spitting a stream of tobacco on the grass next to the front walk where he stood.

“I’m Mrs. Erickson,” Aundy said, pulling the door shut behind her. There was no way on earth she wanted the dirty, smelly man in her clean house. She took a step forward and Dent backed up a step so he was standing directly in front of her.

“Mrs. Erickson,” the man mimicked, waving a grime-encrusted hand in the air. “Ain’t she all prissy and proper?”

“Marvin, if you think you need to speak to her, fine. Speak. But you’ll keep a civil tongue in your head,” Dent warned, trying to keep between the man and Aundy.

“I’ll be fine, Dent,” Aundy whispered, stepping beside him, trying to act much braver than she was feeling. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”

“I’m certain it ain’t gonna be a pleasure to either one of us, gal. My name’s Marvin Tooley. Live over yonder,” the man said as he stabbed his finger in the direction of the farm both Garrett and Erik had mentioned. No wonder they’d warned her to stay away from the crotchety man.  “I come to see if you and I could strike a deal.”

“What sort of deal?” Aundy asked. It had been three weeks since her hands quit and she and Dent hadn’t been able to find anyone willing to work for a woman. Even though Dent would be doing the supervising, word had gotten around town she was running the Erikson place. She’d been reading the book J.B. gave her trying to decide the best course of action. She was strongly considering selling her cattle to try to relieve some of Dent’s burden.

“I think it would be a right smart idea for us to get hitched,” Marvin said, spitting another stream of tobacco.

 Aundy had to fight to keep from wrinkling her nose in disgust. She was certain she’d misheard the man. “My apologies. I don’t believe I heard you correctly. Could you please repeat your statement?”

“I said I want us to get hitched,” Marvin said, taking a step forward while Aundy backed up behind Dent. Maybe she should have let him run the man off without speaking to him. If Marvin Tooley was the last man on the planet and the only way to keep from falling into a black abyss was to marry him, Aundy would gather her skirts and jump into the dark void without looking back.

“No,” Aundy said, shaking her head. “No, Mr. Tooley. I won’t marry you. The only reason you ask is that you want my farm. The answer is no.”

“Figured you’d see it that way,” Marvin said, scratching his rotund belly. “Then I’ll make you an offer. I’ll buy your place, fair and square. Everything on it, and I’ll even let Dent and the boys keep working here, just to prove my generous nature.”

Marvin threw out a figure that made Aundy laugh.

Dent and Marvin both turned to look at her in surprise.

“I can assure you, Mr. Tooley, I may be a woman, but my father didn’t raise me to be a stupid one. The house is worth more than that by itself. If you’re trying to insult me, you have more than accomplished the job,” Aundy said, taking a step forward, no longer afraid of the man. “I’ll say this once and you can tell it to whomever you like, but my farm isn’t for sale. Not today, not tomorrow, not next month, not ever. I’m not interested in your deal or proposal and I won’t be, so please don’t offer again. Furthermore, my hands are not property. They are trusted friends so don’t speak of them in such a manner. I’m sure you can find your way off my land. Good day.”

Aundy turned and marched back in the house, shutting the door firmly behind her before going to the kitchen and making herself a bracing cup of tea. She was sitting there sipping it when a knock sounded on the kitchen door before Dent stuck his head inside, grinning broadly.

“Well, Missy. You sure set ol’ Marvin on his ear. He lit out of here so mad, I’m fairly certain a layer or two of dirt may have steamed right off him,” Dent said, letting out a chuckle as he sat down at the table and took the plate of cookies Aundy held out to him. She got up and poured him a glass of milk before resuming her seat.

“I didn’t intend to make an enemy, but I’d die before I married someone like Marvin Tooley and there is no way I’m letting him get his hands on Erik’s farm,” Aundy said, feeling her anger stir again at the thought of what Marvin Tooley suggested. It was terribly insulting that he would think she’d be interested in tying herself to a filthy old man like him.

“Truth to tell, Marvin doesn’t have any friends and he likes it that way.  Heard he had a nice little family a long time ago, but something happened to them and he wasn’t ever the same after it.”

“That’s terrible,” Aundy said, helping herself to a cookie from the plate near Dent and dipping it in her tea before taking a bite. “I should have been kinder, but he caught me off guard.”

“As fair warning, you ought to know he won’t be the last. I heard some talk last time I was in town that there’s a young widow out here and some fellers think they could take advantage of you.”

“I’d like to see them try,” Aundy said, glad Garrett had continued her shooting lessons. She was proficient with Erik’s revolver and as soon as she got the cast off her arm, she planned to become equally as skilled at handling his rifle. A little gun that would fit in her reticule caught her eye at one of the stores the last time she and Nora went to town. With the information Dent just shared, she didn’t think it would be a bad idea to look at purchasing it or something similar.

“Just be careful, Missy. Some of the men around here aren’t what they seem,” Dent said, finishing his milk and taking another cookie. Aundy had been able to use her arm enough to do a few things, like baking recently, which had endeared her to the hands who hadn’t abandoned her and the farm.  Her treats had gone a long way in soothing any ruffled feathers that a woman had taken over the farm. She’d also made an effort to get to know them and liked the men who stayed behind to work for her.

“Dent, what would you think if I decided to sell the cattle? Do you think it’s the best decision?” Aundy asked, looking at her foreman, wanting his opinion on the matter that was weighing so heavily on her mind.

Instead of answering immediately, Dent brushed the crumbs from his cookies off the table into his hand and carried them to the sink. He leaned against it for a moment before answering her question. “As much as I hate to say it, there is no way we’re going to make it with so few hands and so much work to do. If you sold the cattle, it would definitely ease the burden or you could think about renting out one of the sections of ground. Garrett would rent the one that borders their farm. If you did that, we might be able to make things work. A few more hands would sure make a big difference, but if we didn’t have the cattle to look after, we could get along okay.”

“That’s what I thought,” Aundy said, resigned to selling Erik’s Shorthorns. She knew from his letters how proud he was of his herd, but she needed to save the farm and if selling the cattle would accomplish it, then so be it. “I’ll speak with Garrett about finding a buyer. He said he knew someone in Umatilla who might be interested.”

“That’s a sound plan, Missy. Don’t worry about it overmuch. Erik would be proud of how hard you’re trying to keep things going,” Dent said, smiling at her as he put on his hat and walked out the back door.

She certainly hoped what she was planning wouldn’t have Erik turning over in his grave. From the information she’d read and from what J.B. told her, she had more in mind than just selling the cattle. 

Due to her gender, she'd gotten the farm into an unexpected bind. Creative thinking might be the only way out of the mess she unknowingly created.  They were far behind on the farm work because the hands had been taking care of the cows as they calved. Now that the calving was mostly finished, Dent was splitting the work between the cattle and fields.

Garrett had been good to send over extra help, but he had his own place to run and Aundy gently and kindly told him he had to stop sending over his men because he needed them at Nash’s Folly. He’d argued with her, but she clamped her lips, straightened her spine and refused to discuss the matter further.

She hadn’t talked to Garrett since then and missed his friendly smile and deep voice. Refusing to examine the reasons why his absence made her sad and lonesome, she decided to clear her head.

Going out to the barn, she caught one of the hands coming out the door and asked him to saddle Bell. She’d ridden the horse several times, but Dent was worried she’d fall off and hurt her arm, so he’d only allowed her to ride under close supervision.

Wanting to feel the warm spring breeze on her face and think about what she needed to do, Aundy ignored the voice in her head telling her to be cautious and instead settled her full skirt over the back of Bell and rode off toward one of the pastures. She knew Dent would have a fit if he found out she’d gone off by herself, but Aundy loved riding.

Growing up in the city, she’d never envisioned herself on a horse, let alone riding it astride, but she found it both exhilarating and calming. Bell seemed to like being out in the fresh air as well, shaking her head and taking a few dancing steps.

“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it, Bell?”

Bell nodded her head and Aundy smiled. She loved the farm, the rolling fields that would soon be bursting with wheat, the green pastures, and the open sky. The animals brought her much joy, except for the chickens. She disliked the chickens and had a deep-seated fear of them flogging her, but she tamped it down and dutifully gathered the eggs every day.

The little rooster, Napoleon, had given her a wide berth since she knocked him senseless with her cast, but she didn’t trust him. Convinced he was plotting his next move, she kept an eye on him the entire time she gathered eggs.  As soon as she brought her sister to the farm, Aundy decided gathering eggs would become Ilsa’s responsibility.

Smiling at the thought of her lovely, feminine sister carefully plucking an egg from a nest, Aundy couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled inside her from spilling over her lips.

“What’s so funny?”

Aundy gasped and spun around in the saddle, yanking Bell to a stop. Bell sidestepped and jerked her head, but obeyed Aundy’s command. She looked across the fence to see Garrett watching her, a smile on his handsome face as he leaned on the saddle horn, his hat tipped back and his eyes glowing like liquid metal.

“You startled me,” Aundy said, wondering why Erik’s closest neighbor had to be one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen, with an easy-going personality and engaging smile. It would be so much easier to deal with one who was short, homely and cranky, like Marvin Tooley.

“Sorry, Aundy,” Garrett said, rubbing his hand along Jester’s neck. He’d been out riding, checking the fence line, and was surprised to see Aundy on Bell. He knew Dent was teaching her to ride, but didn’t realize she’d taken to it so quickly. When he saw the smile on her sweet lips break into a laugh, the sound penetrated his heart so deeply, he felt the need to rub his hand across his chest to release the ache. “Something must have made you laugh.”

“It did,” she said, turning Bell around so she was heading the same direction as Garrett. They rode side by side on either side of the fence. “I’m not particularly fond of gathering the eggs and one little rooster has declared me a sworn enemy. What made me laugh was picturing my sister gathering the eggs.”

“She doesn’t like chickens?”

“She’s never seen a chicken. At least before it was ready to be fried or baked,” Aundy said, thinking whoever married Ilsa would have to be wealthy enough to hire a cook. While Ilsa received the same training from their mother that Aundy did, she abhorred cooking, especially anything that had once been alive. The girl much preferred to sit and sew than anything else. With her dislike of noise, dust and smells, life on the farm was going to be an even bigger adjustment for her than it was for Aundy. “My sister is not fond of the outdoors.”

“Really? I assumed sisters would be alike. Is she tall like you?” Garrett asked, picturing a younger version of Aundy, a tall girl with freckles on her nose and blond hair in braids.

“Goodness, no,” Aundy said, laughing again. “My sister looks like a girl should. Petite, ladylike, delicate. She’s perfect.”

“She can’t be perfect,” Garrett said with a teasing smile. “You just said she isn’t like you.”

“Mr. Nash,” Aundy said, her cheeks turning pink at his words.

“What people view as perfect back in the big city might not be as perfect out here on a farm. Someone not afraid to learn something new, to get their hands dirty, to do what needs done without complaint, I call that close to perfect,” Garrett said, admiring again his spirited neighbor.

She’d never once complained about anything and had made great strides the last few weeks learning about farming. His dad thought she was smart and clever. He tried to block what else his father said from his mind because the comments about “hanging on to a gal like that” echoed his own sentiments on the subject.