Tamping down his amusement, he said, “Never mind. I’ll walk you back.”
Despite their disagreement, she allowed him to tuck her arm into his as they strolled back. The moon had climbed over the tops of the trees while they’d been out. Rachel in the moonlight was a vision of loveliness. Even with her stained work dress and disheveled hair.
As they reached her front door, he turned her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What about Amelia?”
“I think she is better off here with you. She can continue to work with Mac and the new cook. She enjoys that. And you’re her father. She needs you, even though she doesn’t think so.”
“And Will?”
“I haven’t told him yet.” She stared off in the distance, the pain of a parent denying her chil
d something he wanted evident on her face. “He will be upset. But I don’t want him to have this life. I want him to go to college.”
Rusty sighed and released her. “You’re his mother, but honey, you’re going to have a problem with that boy. He loves the ranch, loves the life. I know he’s young, but I can see it’s in his blood.”
She tightened her lips. “Yes. I’m his mother, and I want what’s best for him.”
“For him? Or for you? I get the feeling you think he can make up for something you missed out on and now regret.”
“It doesn’t matter. Will is my son, and my problem.” She pointed her finger at his chest. “You have your own daughter to be concerned about. Be sure she gets to school every day.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned and managed to get a slight smile out of her before she opened the door and entered the house, closing the door softly, leaving him frustrated and not sure what to do next.
Chapter Twelve
The bell over the pharmacy door chimed, giving notice that a customer had entered the store. Rusty caught Michael’s eye as the pharmacist spoke with an older woman at the counter. Michael nodded briefly and returned to his conversation.
Rusty wandered the store, filled with shelves of medicine and other items for sale. Neatly arranged stacks of paper, a cup full of pencils, artfully arranged hair ribbons and jars of candy gave the store a sense of tidiness. He studied one shelf with bottles of Papine, Cannabis, nerve tonic pills, and something called Sugar Lead with the warning poison on it.
Michael wished his customer a good day and walked from behind the counter to Rusty. “What brings you here today? And when is the wedding?”
Rusty pushed the brim of his hat back with his thumb and shrugged. “I’m sorry to say I’m getting nowhere with your very stubborn sister. Did you know she left her job at the ranch and is now cooking for the Café?”
“Yes, I know. My sister Ellie was in the other day and she told me Rachel is staying at Mrs. Beamer’s boardinghouse where Ellie has her room.” Michael tightened his lips and shook his head. “Rachel’s been the cook for Big Bob since Billy died years ago.”
“She fed me some nonsense about wanting to be in town closer to the school so Will wouldn’t miss any days when the bad weather hit.”
“What did Big Bob say about it?”
“Actually, Big Bob and his wife have left Oklahoma and set up housekeeping in Arizona Territory. Mrs. Richardson’s doctor suggested the air might be better for her arthritis there.”
“And the ranch?”
“I worked out an arrangement with Big Bob to buy the place.”
Michael let out a low whistle. “Congratulations. That’s quite a spread.”
“I know. I still can’t figure out why I was so lucky. I imagine it’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. It will require a heck of a lot of hard work to get it paid off. I had to let some of the men go because I needed a leaner payroll in order to make payments to Big Bob. I want it to be free and clear as soon as possible.”
“From what I’ve seen, you are certainly up to the challenge.”
“Yeah, too bad I don’t seem to be up to the challenge of convincing your sister to marry me.” He’d made numerous visits to the café since Rachel moved out two weeks ago. She was always too busy to talk to him, and refused outright his invitations to go to supper, or even for a walk after she finished work. He’d spent more time than he could afford to running back and forth between the ranch and town.
The harder she fought him, the more determined he became to win her over. Now that he was living in the big house, all he could think about was having her and Will there with him. He and Amelia had reached an arrangement of sorts. If it hadn’t been for her love of cooking and helping Mac, they might have had more problems. He had opted to let just Amelia and Mac take over the cooking. Another way to trim the budget. Amelia was happy.
And he was miserable.
“I haven’t forgotten how you sullied my sister.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest.