Mrs. Little Joe (Romancing the Ponderosa Book 1)

Chapter 7

The next day Hannah watches me as I go about doing my chores. She leans with her back against the fence, head slightly cocked to the right, left hand resting on her cheek, watching me crawl around on the ground trying to fix a wagon wheel. Peeking out from underneath the wagon, I look at the pretty picture she makes standing there like that, her light blue skirt swishing around her ankles. She has all of her waist length hair down, letting it blow gently in the breeze. She catches me looking at her and smiles. I grin back.

"What's the matter, never seen a man work before?" I joke as I crawl out from underneath the wagon.

"No, quite the contrary." She steps away from the fence. "I've never seen men do anything but work, work till they're so tired they can fall asleep standing. But the type of work you're doing is so different from what I'm used to seeing, that I can't help but find it fascinating."

"Fascinating? I wouldn't call fixing a wagon wheel fascinating." I walk over to get a drink of water from the bucket. She follows me and leans with her shoulder against the barn wall. "Just what type of work are you used to seeing?"

"Mining."

"What's wrong with mining?" I drop the dipper back into the bucket.

"Oh, you know, men going down into the earth digging for something that they think will make them rich because they think riches will make them happy. But in the end all they get is either death or a crucial health ailment." She reaches over and twirls the dipper around in the bucket, bringing it up full. It looks like she's going to take a drink, but then with a grin, she dumps it over my head.

"Hey! What'd ya do that for?" I shake the water out of my eyes. She lets out a laugh and skips out of reach.

"Oh I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders with a huge grin. "I guess I just sorta figured you were probably hot after all that hard work, is all."

"Well, let's just see how you feel about gettin' cooled off!" I take off after her as she lets out a shriek and runs around the wagon, both of us laughing. I chase her towards the water trough and once she's there, I grab her around the waist. I pick her up to throw her in, but she grabs onto my arm and the front of my shirt.

"No! Little Joe!" She screams. "Please, don't! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, yes I will!" I laugh as her nails dig into my arm. "You got me wet now it's your turn."

"What in tarnation is going on out here?" Pa asks, walking over from the house. "Joseph, what are you doing to that poor girl?"

"Oh, I was just... um...goin' to dunk her in the water trough." I sheepishly set her on the ground. Pa's right eyebrow goes up as a small smile plays at his lips.

"And just why were you going to dunk her in the water trough?" He asks as Hannah quietly slips behind me.

"Well, ya see, she dumped a dipper full of water on my head, so I figured it was only fair if I got her all wet, too." Pa's eyes watch something behind me and he starts to smile but stops.

"Logical. I'm glad to see you're using your head, Little Joe." He nods with sarcasm. I just give him a little sassy smile back, knowing that he's really thinking what an immature kid I'm acting like.

All of a sudden I feel a shove from behind and with the way I'm standing, I lose my balance. With a splash I fall into the water trough. Once the water's out of my eyes, I see Hannah practically bent in half with laughter and Pa laughing just as hard.

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." I slowly stand up, cupping water in hands, throwing it at Hannah. She laughs even harder as she steps out of reach. Reaching down I cup more water, this time throwing it at Pa.