A week had passed, and Anna noticed a significant improvement in her physique. Her muscles, which ached for the better part of the past week, now carried her through the daily tasks with increasing ease. Her arms had developed a toned and defined look, which she found pleasing.
She enjoyed spending time with Belle's daughters, Jill and Sally, and had agreed to extra pay for helping with house cleaning during her downtime, often alongside Lucy. Although she had time to relax, Anna wasn't quite sure how to unwind at the ranch. Moreover, she relished the conversations with Lucy, learning about her life.
Later that day, Anna decided to teach Lucy how to mount a horse. Lucy, who had a longstanding fear of horses due to a childhood incident nearly resulting in her being trampled, managed to sit atop Juniper with Anna's assistance. It was during this time that Anna inquired about Belle's social life. Lucy's response was nonchalant: "Lots of men come through here."
This revelation about Belle's ranch, combined with learning about cattle ranching from Duke, intrigued Anna. She caught herself thinking about Duke again and mentally chided herself.
Anna was in the back garden when the doorbell rang at the main house. A blonde, tall, and wiry man stepped over the threshold. Curious, Anna approached to assist with his luggage, reaching him before Lucy emerged from the front door.
Grasping his bag firmly, she introduced herself with a slight bow, "Hello, I am Anna, maid and ranch hand. And you are?"
"Pleased to meet you, I am Sebastian Stan. I've been corresponding with Belle and have moved here from Chicago to explore a potential marriage with her."
Anna's pulse quickened as she nearly dropped his bag. "I... Yes. How did you two meet?"
"We started writing letters after I responded to her ad seeking a husband. I'm here to see if things will work out."
Anna couldn't help but find the situation eerily similar to her brother Walter's. Was she being paranoid, or was there something more sinister at play? She questioned her own motivations and the secrecy surrounding her investigation.
Resolving to learn more, Anna followed Lucy and Sebastian into the main room where Belle waited. Whispering to Lucy, she asked, "Is this what happened with my brother? Did he ever arrive, did he get this far?"
Belle took charge, leading Sebastian by the arm. Anna served them tea, then retreated to the kitchen as Lucy went to the garden.
As Anna set down the tea, Sebastian, with his long legs crossed, complimented Belle on their correspondence. Belle, fluttering her eyelashes and giggling, invited him upstairs to show him his room, winking suggestively.
Blushing, Sebastian expressed his surprise. Belle, in turn, reassured him, suggesting they had all the time in the world to get to know each other.
"Interesting," thought Anna as she went out to the garden. There, she found the girls engaged in a game of 'coyote,' competing to see who could catch chickens more effectively. Sally, triumphantly holding a docile chicken, explained their game to Anna.
Another week passed, and Anna examined her arms and legs, noticing a definite increase in muscle tone. Her muscles had ached for most of the past days, but gradually she was doing the work with less and less difficulty. Her arms looked toned and defined, and she liked how it looked.
She enjoyed spending time with Jill and Sally, Belle's daughters. She had arranged for extra pay during her downtime, sometimes cleaning the house with Lucy. She had the time but didn't really know how to relax around there. Plus, she enjoyed talking with Lucy, hearing about her life.
Later that day, she showed Lucy how to get on a horse. Lucy was apparently scared of horses and had never ridden one. Lucy had admitted to a bad experience as a child, having nearly been trampled. But with some of Anna's guidance, she managed to sit, with help, atop Juniper. It was then that Anna asked Lucy about Belle's social life, and Lucy had shrugged and replied, "Lots of men come through here."
How intriguing. So many new things to learn about Belle's ranch... and learning about the cattle ranching business from Duke.
There she was, thinking about Duke again. Get a grip, girl.
Anna was in the back garden when it happened. The doorbell rang at the main house, and a man stepped over the threshold. Anna peeked around the shed to see what was going on. He was blonde, tall, and wiry. Anna came around to take his bags, beating Lucy to the task as Lucy emerged from the front door.
Clutching the bag in both hands, she bowed slightly. "Hello, I am Anna, maid and ranch hand. And you are?"
"Pleased to meet you, I am Sebastian Stan. I have been in touch with your mistress, Belle. I've just moved here from Chicago to arrange a marriage with her."
Anna nearly dropped his bag as her stomach twisted into knots and her pulse quickened. "I... Yes. How did you two meet?"
"Actually, we have been writing letters to each other for quite some time. I responded to an ad she put out looking for a husband. I'm seeing if it's going to work out."
Very strange... Similar to Walter.
Maybe my brother did move on, and he's the next one. Have I been paranoid this whole time? Am I weirdly jealous that there's a new guy here? What am I even doing here? Keeping secrets from my family about what I am doing, maybe I am no better than my brother who, for all I know, just bolted.
Or, maybe he was Belle's next victim. She could hardly dare think of her brother as a victim.
I have to go find out what they are saying.
She stashed his bag by the stairs, then followed Lucy as she led Sebastian into the main room to meet with Belle in person.
Whispering in Lucy's ear, "Is this what happened with my brother? Did he ever arrive, did he get this far?"
"I'll take it from here, girls," said Belle, as she took Sebastian Stan by the arm and sat down. Anna brought them tea as Lucy went outside to hang the washing in the garden.
She set the tea down on the table beside Stan, who sat with his long legs crossed. "From your correspondence, I was enthusiastic to meet you," he smiled. A thick mustache danced on his upper lip.
"It's been so lonely on the farm. Nobody else came to see me because of the advertisement. You're the first man who has responded to come here. I have longed for you since our correspondence became serious." Belle fluttered her eyelashes and giggled. "Come with me, upstairs. I will show you your room."
She winked at him.
He blushed. "Oh my."
"Anna, would you mind cleaning up here?"
Anna smiled and nodded, taking the tea tray and slowly making her way back to the kitchen. Sebastian followed Belle upstairs.
To her surprise, she overheard Belle upstairs calling to her. "Actually, Anna, can you make up the guest bed?"
"Ma'am?" Anna heard the disappointed tone in Stan's voice.
"Surely I need to get to know you first. We've got all the time in the world," Belle laughed.
"Interesting..." thought Anna as she went out into the garden. She found the girls outside chasing each other through the chicken enclosure.
"What are you doing in there?" she called.
The girls stopped the chase and turned to her. One of them, Sally, had a plump chicken in her arms. It wasn't struggling, in fact, it had resigned to its capture and was clucking softly. "We're playing coyote— seeing who's the better chicken catcher!" Sally explained.
"I'm not very good," said Jill.
"Well, you are smaller and younger; you will get better in time. It's only natural," Anna reassured her, then bent down and winked. "For now, it's probably best to let those chickens go."
Sally's arms unfurled, and the chicken slid-plopped down in an elegant touchdown with the ground.
"The real coyote is waiting," a voice announced, causing the three girls to let out small shouts. The children giggled as Anna looked around, trying to suppress her startle. Duke stepped out from behind a tree, a broad smile on his face.
"Sorry about that!" he said, his devious smirk indicating he was anything but sorry. He probably loved every moment of that.
"Ready for the stakeout?" His grin faded, his expression turning more serious. "We've got something ahead of us." He tipped his hat to her. Looping her arm in his, he jested, "My lady." She rolled her eyes at the notion. He was such a cowboy.
Was he showing off for her? There was no time to think about that now. There was work to be done, no time for distractions. She noted that his arm was much larger than hers, strong and well-defined. She hated the feelings that seemed to creep up and stir her, totally contrary to her otherwise focused and important thoughts.
My dang feelings need to get in line with the program. My brother needs me. But these cows need me right now, apparently.
As they walked, the clicking of his boots and the clucking of the chickens became symbols of farm life, filling her with a sense of purpose. We are on the ranch, this is great, I am living the life I dreamed of. Well, minus the missing brother, and the fact that it's much harder than I thought it would be. But she calmed again as the sweet smell of wet straw came, bringing her great satisfaction. Falling for someone is a distraction I don't need. Marriage, I don't need either. I'll not give myself away to the whims and control of any man.
They mounted their horses and rode into town, where Duke led her to the sheriff's office. They strode up the steps to the office, and he held the door open for her.
"Good lord. A woman in pants and boots? What is this, a joke?" a man with a large bushy beard topped with a broad mustache asked.
"Sheriff Jones," Duke greeted with a nod. "This is Anna, from White Gorge. She's the new ranch hand up at Belle's homestead."
"Belle always was a strange one," he murmured.
"We have come because we have some missing cattle and suspect there's been foul play up on the ridge. The fence was cut with tools, so it can't be an accident. Some cattle rustlers are stalking the town's outskirts, looking for weak spots to steal head of cattle."
"Oh my. Thanks for the update. What kind of numbers are we dealing with here?"
"I don't think there are too many of them, based on the number of cattle gone. And the fact that they struck at dusk, during a storm no less, means they are operating discreetly, avoiding detection. They're taking advantage of the difficulties in visibility, utilizing stealth, so probably not a big gang... We are planning a stakeout tonight."
"Well, sir. Sounds like you've got things under control, then," the sheriff leaned back in his chair.
"Sir, I want you to join us. We need more folks patrolling on the other sides of town. You should alert the other ranchers and..."
"Ah, pish posh. I haven't heard any other reports of missing cattle today from anyone else."
"Maybe we were the first attacked. Do we really want to wait until more are gone?" Duke pressed, but without result.
Anna shuffled uneasily. This guy was lazier than an old dog in the sun, alright. She decided it was time to speak up. "Sir, with all due respect. I am new to your town, I haven't got much experience..."
He gave her a sleepy look up and down. "Mhmm."
"And you probably aren't used to listening to a woman."
"That's right. None to mention one not in a dress—"
She fought the anger boiling up inside her. Through gritted teeth, she said, "But I can say that Duke here does know, and he's been in this community a lot longer, and if you want to protect the prosperity of these people, you ought to listen to him. Or else I'm going to have to ride around and alert them myself. An outsider."
"Be my guest if you want to..." Anna shot him a look so stern he stopped mid-sentence. Duke looked at her, shocked, and then flashed a tentative grin held in with effort.
"They don't know me, and it would be much better coming from their sheriff. He would get all the credit, surely, for saving their livelihood and being so astute as to give them early warning. It might be embarrassing if the town has to look to a girl to protect cattle while we have a perfectly healthy Sheriff," Anna said, pausing for it to sink in.
He shuffled in his chair, then finally tilted himself upright with a squeak and creak of the poor chair beneath him. "Ah, alright."
He turned to Duke. "This one certainly is a charmer. I don't know where Belle found her."
Anna felt the anger again bubbling up. She crossed her arms.
The Sheriff said he would alert the other farmers and send some people to watch the town's periphery. "Tell them to reinforce their properties and tell us if you see anything."
Duke turned to Anna and said, "We should run some traps, and camp out tonight with guns and guard it."
She nodded. This was getting serious.
"That was mighty impressive, Lady Anna," he said, allowing his grin to broaden and brighten his face. It looked much softer when he smiled.
They stopped at Duke's ranch to gather supplies for the night: food, warm bedrolls, fire-starting kindling, pistols, and the all-important dog, Rhubarb. By the time they reached the edge of the stakeout location, Anna was exhausted. It had been a longer ride than she had expected.
The area was bright and beautiful, with dusk setting the sun into a golden nimbus over the vegetation and landscape stretching before them. They stood side by side on their horses, ears twitching. She tried to appear strong, hiding her tiredness, staying straight in the saddle, although her body ached and her legs shook from the long ride. She suspected they would feel noodle-numb upon dismounting.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, sending a tender warmth through her. "It's okay, we can dismount and camp here. No big fires, though; we don't want to scare them off."
He was so understanding. The idea of being with Duke under only the stars for light was both distracting and appealing.
He slid off his horse and then helped her down from hers. As expected, her legs shook, and her knees felt weak. But his presence somehow gave her strength. He was someone she could trust and feel safe with by her side.
The area was on a bluff, high enough to offer a view of all the pastures around, on both their properties. The ledge of the hill provided a perfect little camping spot, partially under the cover of rock, complete with a fire pit. "So, you've camped here before?" she asked, smirking at him. It was useful, but also oddly romantic.
"Ah, once in a while," he replied.
"Ever bring any girls here?" she blurted out, her heart pounding with shock.
It had just slipped out. She hadn't expected herself to say that. Her hands flew to her hot cheeks, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Ah shucks. Naw, well, maybe once for a picnic, but that would've been long ago," he answered, not catching her eye and instead focusing on grabbing handfuls of kindling for the fire.
Rhubarb, with ears alert as if on patrol, paced around to protect the perimeter.
And in that moment, she realized something. She had not yet asked him about his life before the ranch. She knew little about him. Where had he come from? Besides knowing he'd once been married, what else was there to his story?
Duke undid the saddlebags on the horses and began setting up the bedrolls and lighting a small fire, partially covering it with rocks to mask the light that rustlers might see.
The sunset was brilliant, the clouds sparse, marking a sweet and soft end to a fair-weather day. They watched from the ridge as darkness descended, keeping an eye out for any signs of unusual movement.