Page 11 of Wrangling Her Heart
“I don’t know what you mean. I eat at the table.” Tillie huffed. “Let’s go, Rex, before the storm hits.”
“You should have Rex take you hunting. You’ll be more appreciative of a full belly if’in you know where your dinner comes from.”
Rex suppressed a chuckle as Tillie struggled to maintain her composure, swatting away the overpowering odor of dead raccoon and Petunia. He needed to rescue Tillie before she fainted away. Waving towards the barn, he called his friend. “Come on, Pet. You can help me saddle the horses. I’ll need three of them.”
“But I’ve got my horse.”
“Yeah, but her brother is coming.”
“Sure thing, Rex,” she responded, grabbing a saddle, and heading towards the horses.
As Petunia rustled around the stable, preparing the horses for the ride to the pasture, Rex turned his attention back to Tillie. She stood awkwardly by the stable entrance, clearly uncomfortable moving any closer to Petunia.
Petunia saddled Daisy, one of the calm mares, and handed the reins to Rex. “I’ll get your horse,” she said, disappearing back inside the barn.
“Let’s get you on her,” Rex offered, handing the reins toTillie.
“What’s her name?”
“Daisy. She won’t give you any trouble.”Why did his voice sound like he was coming down with a sore throat?He made a note to find Ma’s tonic and take a sip later.
Crouching down, he securely held the stirrup in place as she placed her foot in it. She gripped onto his broad, muscular shoulders for support as he guided her up and onto the sturdy back of the horse.
As her hand lightly grazed his shoulder, his eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn’t help but hold his breath. The softness of her touch, the gentle pressure of her fingers against his shirt, sent tingles of warmth radiating through his body. He stood up and reached for her hip, gripping it firmly to help her onto the horse. The closeness between them was overwhelming, and he needed to move away, to take a deep breath and steady himself.
Just as she was settled, he swung onto his own horse and George emerged from the house with a small knapsack.
“That’s for Sawyer.” George handed the bag to Rex, who put it in the saddlebag. Noticing Petunia standing by the large doors, George’s eyes opened wide at the raccoon on top of her head. “Who’s that?”
Rex motioned with his hand. “This here’s Petunia. She’s Baxter’s sister-in-law.”
“That makes us kin too.” She gave George a toothy grin. “We’s kin.”
George grumbled something unintelligible under his breath before climbing onto the empty saddle. Rex moved alongside him. “I don’t care who you are, or if you are related to Sawyer, you won’t be rude to that girl. Got it?”
Grunting in response, George eyed Petunia warily as theyrode out to the pasture. Tillie kept a wide berth from her brother, her eyes darting nervously between him and Petunia, who seemed unfazed by George’s presence.
Rex led the way to the west pasture. Petunia rode next to him with easy confidence, her raccoon hat bobbing with each step her horse took. He looked over his shoulder to see Tillie, still perched atop Daisy, relaxing slightly as the landscape stretched out before them. Her handkerchief remained pressed against her nose.
“Rex, how many acres does this ranch cover?” George called from his own horse, breaking the momentary silence with the question.
“We own around six hundred acres.” Rex shifted uncomfortably and took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper in check as George bombarded him with question after question about the ranch’s operations. He couldn’t help but glance over at Tillie, wishing they could have a moment alone together. However, George was determined to gather every piece of information he could, his pen scribbling furiously on a notepad as Rex answered each inquiry through clenched teeth.
“I thought the Homestead Act was only 160 acres,” George responded smugly.
Rex wrapped the reins around his hand once more. “Ain’t no law saying you can’t buy land.”
“George, isn’t it beautiful here? Everything is still so green, even though it is November.”
“It is rather picturesque, Matilda. How much did the ranch bring in last year?”
Rex rubbed the back of his neck. “Can’t rightly say that is any of your business, but we do alright.”
“Thieving a problem?”
“Thieving?”
“You know. Cattle rustlers, horse thieves, folks like that?”
