Idle Hands ~ Chapter 7

Ben struggled to remember what it was that made him dislike Hoss's new lady friend. It wasn't a general thing it was something in particular. She was from a good family, seemed pleasant enough, seemed to have a lot of regard for Hoss. What was it then. It came to him late that night in bed. When they were at the restaurant she was laughing at something Joe had said, the waitress asked her if she would like more coffee and she waved her away with a slight flick of her hand without acknowledging her. It was as simple as that. But not so simple.

Ben could not abide rudeness. He hated anyone being rude to waiting staff as he had to do that job when Adam was small and knew how hard they worked.

But as well as that it was as if her mask had slipped for just a moment. If someone could be that rude to waiting staff they would eventually show themselves to be rude to everyone else. Yeah that was it. Ben nodded to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. That was it in a nutshell.

He then thought of the other ladies in his sons lives. He remembered taking an instant liking to shy, timid little Annie. She was perfect for Joe as she seemed to talk sense to him behind the scenes.

Samantha, he had worried about. She had worked at his ranch under false pretences. That made him slightly wary of her but there was nobody but herself and her Pa in her life and she was trying to survive on very little money. His concerns turned out to be completely unfounded, she was so caring of Adam sometimes Ben found himself feeling slightly envious of his oldest son. He frowned up at the darkness. That stubborn mule headed boy.

"Children today don't know when they have a good thing. " Ben told himself.

"Letting weeks go by, his wife alone in their house, Adam sleeping in a shack, what was he thinking. Ben pulled the covers up over his shoulders grumbling away to himself.

~o~

That following Saturday, Hoss and Angela pulled up beside the lake. The water, a deep blue shimmered gently in the breeze. Angela's life was so full on in San Francisco, she barely stopped to look at beautiful things. But now fresh in her mind was that foal Hoss had helped to birth the night before. They were about to go out for the evening when he was called to the ranch on an emergency. Angela said she didn't mind and actually watched the birth and helped dry the new foal off, something she never thought she would ever do. They had missed the theatre performance and ended the evening drinking coffee in Bens front room talking about everything from politics to family life. In the dim lamp light Hoss looked tired and serious. She couldn't help but be in awe of his knowledge, his control as he brought that foal through the birthing process.

Now as she looked out at the shimmering lake she promised herself that she would find something to be good at. She would find her purpose in life. She dismissed Hoss as an ignorant dirty ranch hand but he knew things, he had skills. It made her wonder what she knew.

~o~

They had a lovely picnic by the lake. Hoss stuck a flower in her hair and told her she was Queen of the May. She would not tell her brother that, she decided, she didn't want her brother to laugh at that. She was coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that she didn't want her brother to laugh at Hoss.

" I shouldn't tell you this Miss Angela but I think you're very special." Hoss told her sincerely.

"Hoss that's beautiful, why should you not tell me," she asked taking his hand.

"Well ol, Adam, he tells me I do wear my heart on my sleeve an I shouldn't be so forward with my feelings."

"You do whatever you want Hoss after all, I'm not courting Adam now am I."

Her smile was beautiful. Hoss could gaze at her all day. He leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

Angela had been dreading that first kiss.

She had deemed it a necessary evil, something she had to gear herself up for. She was fiercely competitive when it came to herself and her brother. She had to win and so would do such things. What she hadn't expected was that his kiss was actually a pleasant sensation. She was set up to be critical of it but for such a big ranch worker he was surprisingly gentle and tender. What unnerved her even more was that she found herself responding to him kissing him back with as much need and desire as he had for her.

~o~

By the time Hoss dropped her back to her house Angela was lost in thought.

"You alright miss Angela, I didn't upset ye none did I?," Hoss asked.

"No Hoss, I'm just a little tired," she smiled.

Hoss smiled back as he got down and went round to her side of the carriage. He put her down on the curb as if she weighed no more than a feather.

The truth was Hoss did upset her.

She was unnerved by how he compared to Lance, her beau back home. The big oaf ranch worker made her feel feminine, he treated her with more respect than she was used to. She would be glad to have this over and she could tell her brother once and for all that she had won. She would be glad to have this over.

~o~

A gentle smile tugged at the sides of Hoss's mouth as he held on to Angela's beautiful face in his mind. Her laugh was precious it filled his head like sweet music. Last night as he birthed that foal she had looked so beautiful sitting by the barn door, her hair falling slightly loose. And today when he kissed her, his stomach clenched tight and he had felt slightly weak. He had kissed girls before of course but this was different, he never wanted it to end, he had to stop himself. She made him feel so special and wanted. Since Adam and Joe had moved on and gotten married Hoss had felt lonely. It wasn't a definite conscious feeling. There had been an ever growing need, a lack of warmth in his life that could only be filed by someone who cares deeply for him. Angela was fulfilling that need, she was that warmth he had been so without.

~o~

"Well, how did it go," her brother teased.

"Did you birth any more foals or did he bring you to milk the cows," Vernon laughed.

"No, we went on a picnic," she said, putting her gloves down on the table.

"Well what happened," he asked, taking a deep sniff of the powders from the apothecary.

"Haven't you had enough of that. You're half asleep," she told him irritably.

"Oh, what's this, what's this, has he dumped you before you have had the opportunity to dump him." He smiled.

"No of course not. All is going according to plan," she said not daring to meet his gaze.

"Or is it...you hold some regard for him," he smiled as he came to stand next to her.

"Don't be absurd Vernon, it's just been a long day," she told him feeling flustered all of a sudden.

The truth was, Hoss's innocent, loving regard for her had penetrated that cold unfeeling heart of hers and made her look at her own life. He made her uncomfortable.