McLintock
By angellwings
Chapter Three
When the cart finally came to a stop in town Macy was livid. "I don't understand why you didn't drop me at Stella's first. Her turn off is on the way to town."
"We told you," Nick sighed. "We've got to pick something up for Mr. Birnbaum at the general store and then we'll stop at Ms. Malone's on the way back."
"Well, that makes no sense. I don't see why I can't visit with Stella while you run errands for Toby," Macy huffed.
"But that would deny us the pleasure of your company, Ms. Misa," Kevin smirked.
The three brothers hopped off the cart and waited for Macy to do the same. She leaned over the side and starred warily at the muddy path. She shook her head at them. "No, I'm staying right here."
Joe gave Kevin a meaningful look. How was he supposed to sneak away to Stella if Macy was still in the cart?
"Right here?" Kevin asked. "In the cart where all manner of men could come across you? Men who, believe it or not, are not as nice as me?"
Macy's eyes widened fearfully for a moment. "I'm not helpless. I can take care of myself."
"Not in those clothes you can't," Kevin told her.
"Yes, I can," Macy protested.
"I bet you can't even stay upright in all this mud in those pretty little heeled shoes of yours."
"Bet?" Macy asked him curiously. "What are we betting?"
Kevin regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. "An hour and a half of Kevin-free time."
Her eyes narrowed. "Four hours."
"Two."
"Three and a half."
Kevin sighed. "Three."
Macy beamed at him. "Deal!"
She stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Now, wait a minute. We haven't talked about what I get if you can't do it."
"I can do it," Macy said with a determined glare.
"We'll see about that," Kevin said with a lopsided grin.
"Fine, what would you like?" Macy asked him. "And don't push it, Mr. Lane."
"If you can't do it you have to help me around the ranch for three hours tomorrow. Alone," Kevin smirked.
"Alone?" Macy asked worriedly.
"I will keep my hands to myself. I give you my word," Kevin promised.
"I'm not sure if I can trust your word."
"If there's one thing you can trust, Ms. Misa, it's Kevin's word," Nick assured her.
She considered this for a moment before nodding and reaching out to shake Kevin's hand. "Fine, deal. Now help me down."
"Oh no, you've got to do that on your own," Kevin said with a grin.
"The bet was that I couldn't walk through the mud. That's all," Macy said knowingly.
He smiled and chuckled as he reached out to help her down. "Fair point."
She accepted his helping hand and winced as her beautiful shoes sunk into the mud. "Mother is going to kill me."
"Oh, so does that mean you give up?" Kevin said as he quirked an eyebrow at her.
"No," She said firmly. "That does not mean I give up."
"Then get to walkin', girlie," Kevin said as he motioned down the road.
"Don't call me girlie. I hate that."
He was surprised to find that she was completely serious. She looked angry and disappointed that he'd called her that. His brow furrowed. "Sorry, really."
"It's okay," She told him. "Just don't do it again. Ever."
"I won't," He answered. "Your next step, Miss?"
She closed her eyes and lifted her other foot. She squealed softly as it squished in the mud.
"You're really going to have to walk faster than that. We'll never make it to the general store in time to make it back for dinner this way," Kevin teased.
Nick laughed. "Your shoes are already ruined. You might as well finish them off."
"Oh gosh," Macy said as she closed her eyes tight. "You're right. You're completely right."
She took a deep breath and took three quick steps in a row. She hiked her dress up passed her knees and walked faster. Still not daring to run. Kevin couldn't help but laugh at the picture she made. She didn't look anything like the lady she pretended to be.
Her pace quickened and Kevin thought about warning her to slow down. If she went any faster she would fall. In the end, though, he decided to let her do what she felt worked for her and if she fell…that was her problem. She broke out into a light run and then a few strides later suddenly disappeared from view. Nick and Kevin burst out laughing as they caught sight of her feet sticking up from the mud.
Kevin took a deep breath and collected himself. "You alright, Ms. Misa?"
"No," She pouted as they approached. "I'm covered in mud, my clothes are ruined, and I lost the bet. I'm not alright."
"If it makes you feel any better," Nick said with a smirk. "You look great."
She glared at him. "You're just as bad as him. It's a good thing we're headed to the general store. They have clothes there, and I am not wearing these things the rest of the day."
Kevin and Nick helped her stand and kept her steady as she continued to slip in the mud.
"Damn, useless shoes. Why do I wear these things? They're ridiculous and uncomfortable," Macy cursed as they reached the wooded stoop of the store.
"Beats me. I much prefer you in those boots you wore earlier today," Kevin told her honestly. "They seem to suit you better."
She smiled softly at him. "Thanks."
The door to the store was pushed open and a woman rushed the trio.
"My goodness, Ms. Macy, what in the Lord's holy fire happened to you?" Mrs. Malone asked curiously as she took the girl from Nick and Kevin and led her to a chair.
"I fell," Macy said simply with a blush.
"I can see that, and I also saw you hoppin' through the mud back there. What were you thinking?" Mrs. Malone asked. "Your mother would tan your hide if she saw that."
"I—I—you're not going to tell her, are you? We were just goofing around, Mrs. Malone," Macy begged.
"We?" Mrs. Malone asked as she turned toward Nick and Kevin. "So, the two of you encouraged this?"
Nick quickly pointed to Kevin. "He did it. It was all him."
Kevin's eyes widened. "Wha—No, I didn't—I mean I did, but—"
"It was me, Mrs. Malone," Macy said with a chuckle. "It was all me. Kevin had nothing to do with it."
"Hm," Mrs. Malone said with a glare trained on the boys. "Let's just get you some new clothes, deary."
Nick and Kevin picked up the bundles of supplies Mr. Birnbaum had sent them after and then sat down to wait patiently on Macy. She came back out dressed more casually in a white skirt and a pink floral blouse. Macy fluffed the shoulders as she walked into the store. She'd taken her hair down and it fell across her shoulders.
Kevin stared at her for a long moment. He much preferred this to that fancy skirt and jacket set she was wearing earlier. She caught his stare and blushed lightly. She looked away and turned toward the counter.
"Mrs. Malone, do you have any hair ribbons?"
Kevin approached and stood beside of her at the counter. "You don't need hair ribbons. Leave it down."
"I couldn't do that," Macy said with a shake of her head.
"I don't think any one here is going to mind," Kevin smirked.
She bit her bottom lip. "Um, fine." She looked back up at Mrs. Malone. "How about boots? And real boots, please."
Kevin and Nick laughed lightly before Mrs. Malone silenced them with a glare. Mrs. Malone paused for a moment.
"Wait a minute," She said thoughtfully. "Do I know you two?"
"Of course not," Nick said quickly. "We're new."
"You both favor this young man who's trying to court my Stella," Mrs. Malone told them suspiciously.
"Your who?" Kevin asked as he feigned ignorance.
"Stella," Macy told them. "You know, my friend you were supposed to take me to visit?"
"Oh," Kevin nodded. "Right. I don't think I've ever met Stel—Ms. Malone. Have you, Nick?"
"Nick?" Mrs. Malone asked. "Joseph has a brother named Nick. I've never met him, but he's mentioned him."
"Joseph?" Macy asked. "Wait a minute." Macy glanced around the room. "Where's Joe?"
"They have a brother named Joe?" Mrs. Malone asked.
"Yes," Macy answered.
"Well, would you look at the time?" Nick said as he cleared his throat. "If we want to make it back for dinner we'd better go."
Kevin leaned toward him and whispered, "Provided Joe's back with the cart."
"Why was this a good plan again?" Nick asked.
"It wasn't."
"So," Macy said with a glare. "Is Joe this Joseph Mrs. Malone is asking about?"
"Joseph Lucas to be exact," Mrs. Malone.
"Lucas," Macy said with wide surprised eyes. "Stella's being courted by a Lucas?"
"And young Ben," Mrs. Malone said proudly. "They've both been after her for years."
Kevin's eyes widened, and he and Nick exchanged troubling looks. Both Ben and Joe were after Stella? This would not result in anything good.
"She never said anything when she came to join me at school," Macy pouted.
The door to the store opened and the boys' eyes widened at the man who stood in the door.
"Oh!" Mrs. Malone said in surprise. "Mr. Lucas, maybe you can solve something for us. Your son is sweet on my Stella isn't he?"
Mr. Lucas laughed and pretended not to notice the two young men in the room. "We've talked about this before, Ms. Lucy."
"Joseph is the one that's after Stella, correct? And you have three other boys?"
Mr. Lucas glanced quickly at Nick and Kevin before answering, "Yes, Nick, Kevin, and Frankie."
Macy's brow furrowed and she motioned to Nick and Kevin. "Their names are Nick and Kevin."
"Really?" Mr. Lucas asked as he reached out to shake their hands. "Well, what a coincidence. You boys live around here?"
Kevin and Nick smirked at Tom Lucas before Nick answered, "We work on the Misa's ranch, sir."
"In fact," Kevin said as he took a step toward Macy. "This is Mr. Misa's daughter, Macy."
Tom Lucas tipped his hat at the young woman. "I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure of meeting, Ms. Misa. Your father's a fine rancher."
Macy smiled at him. "Thank you, sir. But…these aren't your boys?"
Tom Lucas laughed. "No, Nick and Kevin are actually in the city taking care of a few things for me. I understand the confusion though, Miss."
"Oh, well. Thank you for clearing things up, Mr. Lucas. I'm sorry to have bothered you," Macy apologized with an embarrassed blush.
Mr. Lucas chuckled, "No problem at all, Ms. Misa. Tell your father I hope to see him at my card game this weekend. I plan on outsmarting him this time. Now, Mrs. Malone…do you have any of those licorice candies left? I've had a craving for them ever since we ran out of them at the house."
"Of course, sir. Right this way," Mrs. Malone said as she led him over to the back corner of the store.
Macy cleared her throat, "Okay, so you're not Lucases. Sorry about that."
"No problem," Nick told her. "It was only logical for you to suspect that. You don't know us, and we do share their names."
"Y-yeah," Kevin said with a wince. His voice had just gone up an octave. Nick glared at him and silently begged him to shut his mouth. "Maybe we should go. Don't want to be late for dinner."
"Wait!" Macy exclaimed as she motioned to her feet. "I don't have shoes."
"Oh my goodness," Mrs. Malone exclaimed as she turned away from Mr. Lucas. "I almost forgot. Come on, Ms. Macy, we'll get you some boots."
The women left the room and Mr. Lucas approached the boys quickly. "What are you doing in town?"
"Joe wanted to see Stella and we needed to distract Macy," Kevin answered with a sigh.
"You're lucky it's been raining and more people aren't out on the streets. You would have let the cat out of the bag," Tom told them.
"Mr. Misa knows," Kevin told them.
"What?" Nick asked. "What did you say? Did you tell him?"
"No," Kevin told him. "He just knew."
Tom Lucas laughed. "Misa's not an idiot. He probably knew who you were right away. Make sure none of the other hands know though. They won't take kindly to the three of you working for a rival ranch. Neither will young Macy, I imagine."
Kevin's brow furrowed. "I hadn't thought about that."
"Yet another reason why you should stay away from her," Nick told him with a shake of his head.
Tom Lucas grinned. "Is Kevin having a problem with that?"
Nick huffed. "He kissed her."
"Oh, so he's sweet on her. Well, good for you, son. If you want her. Go get her," Mr. Lucas told him with a wink. A few seconds later Macy and Mrs. Malone came out from the back.
"There you go, Miss. Tell your ma to come see me when she gets back," Lucy Malone said as she ushered Macy and the boys out the door.
"Again," Macy said as they walked back toward where the cart was supposed to be parked. "Sorry about the whole accusing you of lying to me thing."
Kevin looked away from her and Nick cleared his throat.
"Not a problem, just forget about it," Nick told her.
"Let's talk about the fact that you, Ms. Misa, lost the bet," Kevin said as he changed the subject. "And owe me three hours of ranch chores."
She glared at him and lifted her skirt as they stepped onto the muddy road. "When would you like me to start tomorrow?"
"Well, I could make you get up when we get up," Kevin smirked. "But I'll be nice. Let's say after lunch. Meet me out in the back corner of the pasture."
"What are we going to be doing?" Macy asked worriedly.
He chuckled. "Nothing glamorous that's for sure. Make sure you wear a hat. We'll be out there during the hottest part of the day, and we wouldn't want you to get sun burnt."
Nick looked up hesitantly and sighed in relief when he saw both Joe and the cart waiting on them. Kevin and Nick threw their bundles in the back of the cart and Kevin took the reins from Joe.
"Hey! Why can't I drive?" Joe whined.
"Just get in the back with Nick," Kevin told him.
"Wha—with Nick? You're going to make me sit in the back?" Nick asked.
"I'm driving and I think after all Ms. Misa's been through she deserves to sit in the front, don't you?" Kevin asked his brother pointedly.
Nick groaned. "I guess I agree."
Macy smirked as Nick reluctantly helped her into the cart. Once she was seated she addressed both Nick and Kevin, "Thank you."
"I don't get a thank you?" Joe asked.
Macy quirked an eyebrow at him, "Considering I have no idea where you've been for the last hour, No."
Nick and Kevin laughed as the horses took off back toward the ranch. Macy stared at Stella's turn off mournfully. She would just have to visit with her friend tomorrow. She had a lot to tell her.
