Page 314 of Conveniently Wed
“I don’t think it would be in anyone’s best interest for me to conduct the interviews. With my lack of agricultural knowledge and the obvious problem of having a woman in charge, I thought it might be best to have Dent do the hiring.”
“Maybe, but whoever you hire will have to come to terms with the fact they are working for a woman at some point. Why don’t you and Dent interview them together?”
Aundy nodded her head, giving it some thought. She’d talk to Dent and see what he wanted to do. All of it depended on someone being interested in working for them. If they couldn’tget anyone willing to work for her, she didn’t know what they’d do. Running cattle and farming was extremely hard work and required many hands to make it successful.
“If you have trouble finding some help, you could always sell the cattle. That would lessen the load and the men you have could handle the farming part of the operation.” Garrett tried to think of ways to make things easier on Aundy and her crew.
A few of the men at Aundy’s place would rather work with cattle than the land, but the ones who stayed on were good hands who’d do what needed to be done. “You could also think about renting out some of the ground to someone else. On the other hand, you could run more cattle and put the wheat ground into pasture or plant seed to cut for hay. If you run more cattle, you’d have to have a way to feed them.”
“What would you do, if you were in this situation?” Aundy asked, looking at Garrett with her beautiful blue eyes moist and intent.
He turned his gaze to the road and had to swallow twice before he answered her. His thoughts lingered on her inviting lips. “I’d see what kind of response comes from the advertisement. If that doesn’t go well, I’d probably sell the cattle. The price is good this year and then you wouldn’t have to worry about their feed and care.”
Garrett took in the determined look on her face. While his gaze rested on her, he couldn’t help but notice the freckles dotting her nose, or the pink hue the pleasant afternoon brought to her cheeks.
Lovely. She was absolutely lovely. Although he greatly appreciated her outward appearance, he also respected her intelligence, fortitude, and gentle spirit.
“I’ll take that into consideration.” She smiled at him with such tenderness, he leaned toward her, wanting to kiss thoserosy lips of hers in the worst way. Her eyes widened and he caught himself before he did something he’d later regret.
“If you decide you do want to sell the cattle, I’d be happy to help you find a buyer that will give you a good price. There’s a man in Umatilla who raises Shorthorns. He might be interested in expanding his herd.”
“Thank you. If I decide to sell the cattle, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Aundy was relieved they were nearly to the house. She didn’t know how much more time she could spend in Garrett’s presence without losing all her common sense.
For some reason, she got the distinct idea he almost kissed her a moment ago, but that was impossible. Someone as handsome, generous, and fun as Garrett Nash wouldn’t want anything to do with her. He needed a beautiful, charming wife content to sit in the house and be domestic.
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’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 commit to another man, she straightened her spine along with her resolve and lifted her head. She would not allow her imagination or her longings to get the best of her.
“Here we are.” Garrett stopped 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.
While she still possessed the ability to do so, she pulled her hand free. She hurried up the porch steps and opened the door.Garrett followed behind her, carrying her purchases from town. He set them on the kitchen table, tipped his hat to her, and walked out the door without another word.
Aundy sank onto a kitchen chair, wondering what she was going to do about her farm, her lack of employees, and her feelings for Garrett Nash.
7
“Idon’t care what you think, I ain’t leaving til I talk to her,” a raspy voice 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 blocked the steps to a grizzled man dressed in overalls so dirty it looked like he’d rolled around in a pigpen. When she drew in a breath, Aundy decided he smelled like it, too.
“You her?” the man asked. He raised a narrowed gaze to her and spit a stream of tobacco on the grass next to the front walk.
“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 stood 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 felt. “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 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 neighbor. “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?”
