After breakfast she went to check on her new horse. She found a brush and started grooming her, checking to make sure that no burrs had gotten caught in her long black tail. She didn't know if she'd been fed, so she took a couple of flakes of hay and a measure of mash and put them in her stall.
She'd filled up her water bucket when Rip came walking up. It was funny how you could tell who someone was by the sound of their footsteps.
He took the bucket from her and set it in the stall. "That's a nice mare he's given you. Any idea why?"
"No," she answered, "He's your friend, right? Why do you think he gave her to me?"
He took off his hat and scratched his head. "With Travis you can never tell. He may be trying to bribe you or impress you. He's a good guy but a real womanizer, so watch yourself."
"Are you trying to warn me he might be trying to take advantage of me? That's okay because I might be using him, you know. I was a child bride who was abused by her husband, I'm not in a hurry to get involved with anyone. I need space to clear my head and decide what I want. I went to school to become a paralegal, but it feels like that's behind me now. Being here has been good medicine for me. I don't have nightmares anymore, but I still don't feel very trusting. Travis isn't acting like he wants anything from me, and that suits me just fine."
"Well, you don't know with that one. He's said he doesn't want to get married, but I've never seen him gift a horse to a woman he just met. I think you've made an impression and good luck if you have." He gave her a cheeky smile and lifted his hat to her.
Not all the horses had been loaded in the trailers. Travis and Rip were having a contest, seeing who could slide a horse the furthest. When that contest ended undecided, Travis and a couple of his crew started showing off their cutting skills.
She sat on the corral rail, fascinated. It was fun watching cowboys work the cattle in the field, but seeing this was something special.
Travis was on his favorite horse, and she watched as horse and rider worked together. No matter where the steer went, Travis was on it, it was like watching a strange pas de deux and she could not take her eyes off it.
Laramie and Teeter came to watch, too. For a few moments their eyes were on Travis then turned to her.
"Hey, Teeter," Laramie said, "I hear someone got a new horse. Can't be her birthday, that's already come and gone. You got any ideas? "
"Can't say as I do, but maybe it has something to do with a certain Texas cowboy who came to visit? I hear it's a real nice horse," Teeter answered.
"Okay, guys, cut it out," said Anicka, "Yes, I fucked Travis Wheatley, but that can't be why he gave it to me. I'm starting to feel guilty, like I've done something bad, but I haven't. He insisted and it's hard to tell him no." She sighed and looked down at her feet, "I'm beginning to feel like I should give her back, but I don't want to, I've never had a horse of my own."
"Well, how do you feel about him?" Laramie could be persistent.
"Well, I like him, no doubt about that. And he's good in bed, the sex last night was wonderful. Most of all I don't feel like he's trying to push me into anything—or is he?"
"Well," said Laramie, "He must be twice your age and sometimes even confirmed bachelors change their ways. Who knows, maybe he's at a point in his life where he's starting to want kids and a family. Think you're ready for that?"
"Hey," Anicka countered, "I was married, remember? I thought I was ready for the wife and kids stuff, but I married an asshole. He hit me and I was out of there." She decided not to mention that she had been pregnant. "If Travis is smart enough to give me space, then maybe I could see a life with him, but Rip warned me that he's a womanizer and that's not a desirable trait in a husband."
"Speak of the devil," said Teeter and Anicka saw Travis riding up to them on his sorrel.
"Well, hello Arkansas, Laramie. How are you ladies doing?"
"Don't call me Arkansas," said Teeter, obviously hot under the collar. Travis liked to tease, and he didn't discriminate when it came to who he picked on.
"We're fine," answered Laramie, "C'mon Teeter, let's leave these lovebirds alone."
Traitors, thought Anicka, angry that they had left her alone with Travis. Anything that she had decided to say to him vanished from her mind.
"Well, Miss Amy, I was hoping we'd gave some time alone, but it seems that's not going to happen. Rip give you any grief about putting your horse in the barn?"
"No, he didn't but he had a few choice words to say about you. Evidently you're not to be trusted." She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face as she said this.
"Well, he may be right. I'm single and I enjoy it. I don't really care what people think about me as long as they buy my horses. I have a good life."
"I thought I was going to have one. You know girls like me dream of getting married, having kids, having a home to call their own. I want that someday, I'd like to grow old with someone, Travis, I don't think that's such a bad life." She looked him in the eyes, why had she not noticed how blue his eyes were? They stood out against his tanned skin.
"No, it's not when it's what you want, you just need to be ready for it. You need some time to be a kid, it's too bad your chose the wrong man, but it happens." If there was sympathy in his blue eyes she didn't seem to mind it.
"I wish things had been different, I didn't mind marrying young. I wish I'd listened to my mom, though, she told me not to marry him. Now I'm in Montana hiding from him, I don't know why I'm so scared of him, but I am."
"If a man beats a woman, he's not so far from being the one to kill her. It happens, you know. You're safe here, you have a whole ranch full of cowboys who're going to look out for you. He could disappear off the face of the earth here and no one would know." He had an uncomfortable look on his face as he said this, and she wondered what he knew that she didn't.
"Well, I'll see you at supper," she said, "Gator's fixing burgers, all sorts of them. And he's making potato salad and a relish plate to go with them. You probably won't need to eat for a day, I've seen the beef patties he's been fixing."
"That sounds good. Think you might want to sit with me at dinner? There's not going to be time for anything else," he gave her a wicked grin.
"If you're lucky," she replied then retreated to the kitchen where Gator asked why she seemed so out of breath.
She didn't sit next to him at dinner. She felt conspicuous and it was uncomfortable, she felt like everyone knew about her. She may as well be wearing a sign that said, "I fucked Travis Wheatley and he gave me a horse."
If she'd hoped to escape his attention she was disappointed. All thru dinner she was quiet and subdued and every time she looked up he was staring at her. If she wanted to escape those blue eyes of his that seemed to miss nothing she was disappointed.
"What's wrong with you?" whispered Laramie, "You ought to at least smile at him. The girls on his team keep trying to get his attention but he only has eyes for you. Ryan is a good guy, but Travis is a real catch, don't let him slip through your fingers."
"Shut up Laramie," she muttered and went back to her food. To keep herself busy she had promised Gator that she'd help clean up the mess after dinner. There would be paper plates and aluminum cans to pick up and sort. There was already a sizable number of cans that were sitting in a bag that and would be taken to the recycling plant the next day. John Dutton's garbage bill would increase for the month but he wouldn't care. Having Travis and his team here was good for business.
Sundown came and the teams loaded up their gear and their horses, then took their places in the trucks. She didn't offer to help, but there was little for her to do anyway. Instead, she watched as Travis and John Dutton talked, Travis keeping an eye on his crew. And an eye on her, too.
She hung back as much as she could, but she had to admit there was something about Travis that drew her in. He was dressed in blue jeans and a blue chambray shirt and had left the first few buttons undone. A pale gray hat sat on his dark head, and she had to admit the man was sexy and knew it. Someone said something to him, and he held up a finger, like he was telling someone, "I'll be with you in a moment."
He was at her side in three strides an took her in his arms and kissed her, literally sweeping her off her feet.
"I'll be back for the branding," he told her, "Try and behave yourself in the meantime." He kissed her on the forehead and went to his truck.
It might have been all right if someone hadn't applauded, even worse someone else wolf whistled. It had to be his crew, no one from the bunkhouse would have dared. She wanted to sink into the ground, but she stood still, trying to maintain what dignity she could.
Oh, god, what have I done? She thought, then realized it wasn't what she had done, it was all him. Travis had showed her off and no one had ever done something like that to her. It wasn't so bad, she told herself sternly, but was it?
Wait, Rip had told her that Travis was a womanizer, and he certainly liked to show off. Maybe that was it, just Travis being Travis, only at her expense.
She had no time to brood over what happened because Rip and Mr. Dutton decided to move the cattle to the upper pastures. The spring had turned warm, and a hot summer was sure to follow. The pastures hadn't been grazed in a couple of years, so the grass was thick and lush.
Gator was getting the chuck wagon ready, and she went with him when he went shopping for supplies. She didn't know what it was like to feed the Duttons but Gator bought large quantities of eggs, bacon, ground beef, corn, vegetables, and potatoes that she was sure could feed an army. She was surprised to learn that he would make one or two trips into town while they were gone, the hands would be hungry and go through the food he brought in no time.
He allowed her some time to buy things for herself. She purchased insect repellant, and spray because she didn't want to get eaten alive by bugs. She purchased a fifty-pound bag of kibble for the puppy, alone with flea medicine. Ticks and mosquitos were plentiful, Gator warned her, so she needed to make sure her dog was kept clear of bugs. Dogs, like people, could contract lime disease.
Candy was turning into a good livestock guardian dog. She had a deeper, more intimidating bark than the cattle dogs, and she weighed fifty-five pounds now. She wouldn't be able to fight off a pack of coyotes, but when she barked at night she was letting them know that this was her turf, and these were her cattle. Her barking had warned off intruders more than once and it made Anicka feel good that her dog was proving useful.
The hands were packing the tents and the cots that would be their home during the summer. It all seemed like a big mess at first, but Anicka was amazed at how chaos quickly turned into the workings of a well-oiled machine.
At last came the day that they were ready to leave. Rip and John Dutton were in the lead and the rest of the hands followed behind them. The chuck and equipment wagons were pulled by mules, which she had never seen before. She'd heard that mules could be good workers, but they would only pull so much and would stop at the end of the day and could not be convinced to go forward.
Kayce came riding up, Tate following him on a sturdy pony. He saw her and smiled, "Looks like you're going to experience your first camp," he told her, "Just wait until you see it, you'll love it. We haven't done this in a few years, and I've missed it. I brought Tate along to get him out of his mother's hair, she'll be coming to visit in about a week or so."
"I've never seen anything like this, I've never seen so many big trees. Texas during the summer is dry and brown, the people who leased our pastures would pull their cattle out and find somewhere with green grass. Fire's always a danger, too."
"Well, forest fires as a risk here, too. Everything starts to get dry and if we have a lightning storm we're in danger of catching fire. It's looking pretty good so I wouldn't worry much about fires. Just wait until Gator cooks the first dinner, your food will taste better than you could imagine."
Having Kayce so close made her nervous, but nothing had happened between them since that one time in the barn. She liked him, he was handsome, he was fun, but his being married put a wall between them and that was fine with her. She wished she could talk to him about Ryan and Travis and get a male perspective on what was going on. Travis was gone, but Ryan was here, and she didn't know how she should react to him. Maybe time would take care of it, but she was not so sure.
She would have to work with Ryan, but she was determined to keep it professional. She could put aside what had happened between them because taking care of the cattle was what was important, not their petty differences.