Page 66 of Unwilling Wolf

The hideously-mottled rooster screeched. Right outside her window. The proximity of the grating noise could only mean Lenny was already up and feeding the chickens. “Oh great,” she muttered. She’d slept in late. Eliza quickly got out of bed and washed at the washbasin in front of her mirror.

Garret wasn’t kind to her all the time. Or most of the time, for that matter, but the man had not once forgotten to fill her washbasin with fresh water every day. She could easily take care of it herself, but somehow, it seemed romantic that he filled it. In his way, he was taking care of her. He’d started to do little things for her that meant more than he probably understood. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating because it felt like he was leading her on, but his mannerisms were also touching. In some dark crevice of his hardened heart, he obviously cared.

She braided her hair and pinned it into a low bun, letting the natural waves pull some curls out to tickle the sides of her face. Finally, she looked rested and fresh-faced, and was grateful for a good night’s sleep. Last night, she’d fallen asleep waiting for the sound of the wolf howls, but there were none, so she’d slept like a log.

She met Lenny in the barn with a couple pieces of cornbread from the day before. They relaxed on hay bales and set into breakfast. After they had fluffed crumbs from their laps for the chickens to clean up, Eliza led the horses and mules out to the corral one by one while Lenny milked the cows. Macey and Bossy’s calves were half-grown and tended to mill about wherever they pleased.

Today, the little bulls seemed inclined to play-fight near the corral. Those two half-tamed brutes would be a handful when they were older.

Mucking out the horses’ stalls brought back the work she’d done around Roy’s homestead when she was younger. Similar to these chores, but on a smaller scale. Roy’s small ranch wasn’t nearly as grandiose as the Lazy S. It had been home though, and she found herself longing to see it again. A couple of days there after years of homesickness didn’t seem nearly enough. She wondered where Garret’s friends were keeping him. She even sent up a little prayer that Roy was okay, and would remember her when she saw him next. She hoped the wolf inside of him wasn’t tearing up his heart too much.

After the women finished most of the animals’ upkeep, Eliza started saddling Buck. Lenny studied her curiously but didn’t ask, just brought her mare in and began to saddle her too.

“Why do you ride with a saddle?” Eliza asked the girl. “I’ve seen you ride her bareback with ease.”

Lenny grinned and put her saddle back in its place with the others. “Sometimes people, they don’t like to be reminded of who I am.”

She snorted. “I like who you are just fine.”

Lenny held onto her mare’s mane and hopped on in a graceful arch of motion.

Eliza hiked her foot into Buck’s stirrup and hefted herself into the saddle, adjusted, then had to reposition her skirts. “I envy you. You can wear pants and no one gives you grief for it.”

A devilish glint appeared in Lenny’s eyes. “Sometimes I pretend to not be able to speak English around people. If they think I don’t understand, no one bothers me about wearing dresses or acting like a lady. I get to wear pants, and carry a gun, and sleep without clothes. And if anyone asks me to do something I don’t want to, I just act like I don’t understand them.”

At the mention of sleeping without clothes, Eliza ceased fiddling with the stirrups. “You don’t sleep in a nightdress?” How scandalous! But also, how deliciously naughty would it feel to sleep naked? She would have to try it.

Lenny beheld her knowingly. “Maybe you should pretend you don’t know English sometimes, too. Where are we going, Boss Lady?”

“Ugh, what an atrocious nickname. Call me Eliza. I want to visit Roy’s place today.”

Lenny looked slightly concerned, but nodded. “Should be safe enough, but I’m going to grab the pistols just in case. Maybe we can do some shooting practice while we are there.”

They rode there in silence, but it wasn’t the melancholy kind. It was quiet because they were racing. Buck was losing some of that weight of being a pasture ornament, and he seemed to enjoy the wind more lately, running beside Lenny’s paint horse.

When they arrived at Roy’s homestead, Eliza asked for a moment alone in his home. Lenny agreed, and went to tying up the horses.

The small cabin looked just the same as when she’d left, although it seemed some rodent had left little droppings on the table.

“Roy?” she asked softly, knowing he would never know about this conversation. “I wonder if you knew what you were doing when you charged Garret with marrying me.”

The house was silent, so she could say whatever she wanted.

“Sometimes I want to thank you, and sometimes I want to ask Burke where you are so I can shoot you myself. I hope someday we get to talk again, and you can tell me why.” She smiled absently. “I would bet my new boots you’ll say you asked him to marry me because it’s what you thought I would want.” She kicked at a loose nail in the floorboard. “Well, Roy, you would be right.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Why did you make me skin the rabbit?” Eliza asked.

She had been curious about Lenny’s reason for days, and the ride from Roy’s homestead to the Lazy S wasn’t a long one. She and Lenny needed to take advantage of their time together before prying ears surrounded them once again.

“Garret doesn’t need a weak woman.” Well, that was an unexpected turn to this conversation. “It’s not a bad thing to be a soft woman, Eliza. You should be tender when he needs it, but he would never respect a weak woman.” Lenny looked at her as if to gauge whether she understood. “No one wanted his marriage to Anna Jennings to happen. Garret, least of all of us. But I think he would’ve done it to save our territory. She would have done her best to put us beneath her though. Garret needs a woman to work beside him. Not one he has to drag behind him. He wouldn’t respect you if you didn’t try. The effort you have been willing to put in? It matters to a man like him, even if he doesn’t always show it.”

“Some days, he certainly doesn’t show it. Most of the time I can’t honestly say whether he likes me or loathes me.”

“He is a hard man,” Lenny agreed, “but it’s worth the trouble to get yourself under his protection.”

“Is Cookie your man?” After the words were out, she immediately wished she could take them back. It was far too bold a question at such an early stage in their friendship.

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