Jonathon smiled. “I spent the better part of this morning searching for you a birthday gift. Nothing jumped out at me until I saw Lady. You know a lady in mourning is hard to shop for.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she informed him.
“I wanted to.”
“Thank you, Jonathon. When’s your birthday?”
“I’m not telling,” he smiled.
“That is not fair,” she informed him.
“Sorry.”
“If you don’t tell me I’ll have to pick a day myself,” she shrugged.
“June thirteenth.”
“Thank you.”
“You know the biggest reason I bought her for you?” Jonathon said a moment later.
“Why?”
“You two connected. I bought Raven because we immediately took to each other. I think horse and owner should be a team.”
“Oh, well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Alexandria,” Jonathon answered with a smile.
“Rusty informed me that he knows of man in Jasper looking to sell some cattle. He said Tristan mentioned it the other day when their paths crossed in town. What do you think? Would it be a good move to replace some of the cattle we’ve lost?” Alexandria posed her question and watched him closely as he considered it.
“Perhaps, especially if we can find a couple of hands, which I might have. They are supposed to come out tomorrow for an interview. They had stopped by the livery just before I came and Mr. McAllister was able to tell me where to track them down. I wanted to meet them here on your turf and be there when they meet you.”
“You want to see firsthand their reaction to working for a woman?” Alexandria asked in understanding.
“Exactly; any hint that they’ll be a problem and they’re gone.”
“Maybe they’ll work out. I know we could use the extra hands.”
“We could. If they work out what do you say to us taking a look at these cattle?”
“I think we should,” she nodded.
“We should probably move quickly. Do you think we could contact the man through Tristan and be there all by Friday night?”
“Maybe,” she nodded.
“If this goes well tomorrow we’ll plan on it.”
“Want to join us for dinner?” Alexandria offered as they rode into the yard.
“Sure, sounds nice,” Jonathon agreed. He dismounted and reached for Alexandria.
“There you are…”
Alexandria looked up to see her mother, staring wide-eyed at her from the doorway, her words dead on her lips. Until this moment, her mother and father hadn’t known that she was working as a cowhand in men’s clothing.
“Mom!” Alexandria’s own eyes widened.
Jonathon summed up the situation in a moment. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Cannon,” he greeted as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Stewart. What a sensible choice of clothing, Alexandria, forgive my surprise.” Shirley had recovered.
“I should have told you,” Alexandria said as she mounted the porch steps.
“You’re an adult and I respect the fact that you’re taking on ranching on your own, you don’t have to explain anything. I would suggest, however, that you tread on the side of caution.”
“I have been, Mom, and I haven’t exactly been on my own. Jonathon has been a great help,” she explained. “Are you coming?” she turned to Jonathon. He nodded and followed her.
“Your dad should be here any time now,” her mother told her as they entered the house. “He had to go to town and I asked him to drop me off here.”
“Stay for dinner?” Alexandria invited.
“I think we will. Michael is joining Carolyn and her family for dinner tonight. They finally set a date,” her mother filled her in.
“When are they getting married?”
“July eight.”
“So soon?”
“Yep.”
“Carolyn, she’s the pastor’s daughter, right?” Jonathon asked the ladies.
“Yes, their one and only,” Anna answered from where she was setting the table. “She’s a vast improvement over the girl he was seeing.”
“Something smells good,” Clay commented as he entered the kitchen. His eyes fell on Alexandria, still dressed for work, and he blanched.
“Don’t you think that Alexandria made a sensible choice of clothing for working on the range?” Shirley’s voice carried an undertone that sounded suspiciously like a warning.
“Yes, yes of course, most sensible,” he said before kissing Alexandria on the cheek. “A bit surprising but sensible.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Alexandria whispered around tears.
“Nothing to thank me for, sweetheart,” he assured her.
“I’m glad you two stopped by, it saves Jonathon and me a trip to see you,” Alexandria said as she tried to compose herself.
“Why did you need to see us?” her father asked as they sat down at the table.
“You know that several head of cattle have disappeared, well, Tristan told Rusty about a gentleman in