For the Roses

hear Catherine say anything nice about another man since he was thinking about becoming interested in her in the future.

'Oh, Travis, you're just adorable when you tease like that.'

Cole and Harrison shared a look of exasperation. Harrison thought the young woman had taken coyness to a new height. She was extremely transparent. Cole wasn't as kind in his opinion. He thought Catherine was acting like a desperate, husband-hunting old maid.

Travis thought she was about the sweetest little thing in Blue Belle.

Catherine wasn't finished flirting, but Mary Rose was finished listening. She couldn't stomach sitting in the parlor any longer. She wanted to go home and get some comfort and some care. If the cuts on her forehead and her mouth hadn't stopped bleeding on their own, she figured she'd be dead by now for all the attention she was getting. Probably no one would even notice she'd died, at least not until they ran out of cobbler. She knew she was feeling sorry for herself. That was all right. She might even decide to wallow in self-pity for the rest of the day.

Sitting in the chair had made her stiff. She stood up and almost lost her balance. She staggered forward, straightened up, and then turned to look in the kitchen to see if anyone noticed. They hadn't. She wasn't surprised, of course, for everyone was still fully occupied gobbling down cobbler.

She went outside and saw the horses were tied to the fence. Douglas came riding up just as she stepped off of the porch.

'You look a sight, Mary Rose.'

'Is it any wonder? I was attacked, Douglas. When I think of all…'

He stopped her before she could really get into her list of ills. 'Now, now, no use complaining.'

Her brother dismounted and started toward the porch. 'Where is everyone?'

'Inside, having some of Mrs. Morrison's mighty fine cobbler. I wouldn't know, of course. No one offered me any.'

'There you go again. Complaining won't make you feel better.'

He reached her side and awkwardly patted her on her shoulder.

'Yes, it will,' she assured him. 'I like to complain.'

'I know.' He sounded resigned.

Then he smiled at her. His amusement set her off again. What in heaven's name did she have to do to get a little sympathy around here?

'When I think about all I've been through today, I…'

'Where were you going all by yourself?'

'Home,' she answered. 'And don't you dare try to stop me.'

It finally dawned on him that she really was feeling miserable. She looked close to tears. 'All right,' he soothed. 'We'll go home. You wait right here. I'll go get the others. We'll all ride together. I'll hurry, I promise.'

She pretended to agree so he would leave her alone. She knew what was going to happen. Douglas 's promise was sincere, but once he got into Mrs. Morrison's kitchen, he was going to forget all about taking her anywhere.

Men. They were all so incredibly easy to sway. Pat them on their heads, give them something to eat, and they'll follow you anywhere. Add a smile and a few stupid compliments, and they'll immediately forget all about their other responsibilities.

Like a sister dying on the front porch, she thought to herself.

By God, someone was going to comfort her, even if she had to go all the way to Hammond and hire a complete stranger to be sympathetic.

It took her a long while to get comfortable in the saddle. Then she started for home. She forced herself to brush off her bad mood. She didn't feel all that bad. Mary Rose was a big believer in measuring each awful incident with something else awful that had happened in her life. Each painful and or humiliating trauma was immediately categorized in her mind as being as bad as, or not as bad as, or worse than something else. And as bad as being attacked by Bickley was, it still wasn't as bad as the bee attack. To date, nothing had even come close.

She'd almost died from the bee stings, at least Adam told her she'd been standing at heaven's door. She didn't have any recollection of being that ill. She just remembered the pain. She hadn't complained, even when her brothers begged her to.

'Mary Rose, slow down and wait for us.'

Douglas shouted the order. She did as he demanded, but when he reached her side and she noticed he was wearing several crumbs of cobbler at the corner of his mouth, she gave him a hard frown and then ignored him.

'Can she ride on her own?' Harrison asked her brother from behind.

'She's trying,' Mary Rose answered.

'Would you feel better if you rode with me?' Cole shouted the question.

'I doubt it. My backside is killing me. You've obviously forgotten what happened.'

'And you're gonna remind me, right?'

She almost smiled. She stopped herself in time. She didn't want any of her brothers to catch on to her game. It would ruin all the fun for her if they realized that one of the reasons she complained was because they hated it so.

'I was brutally kicked and…'

'No use going over it, Mary Rose.'

Cole reached her side and took her into his lap. 'There. Now you'll feel better.'

She might have agreed if he hadn't sounded so damned cheerful. He was acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. All the men were, even the showoff, Harrison. She decided to make Cole miserable and immediately started complaining again. Her brother really was trapped with her. She could whine all she wanted, and he couldn't do anything about it. Usually, the minute she started listing her grievances, everyone would leave. She'd figured that out years ago. And that was exactly why she'd begun her game. Whenever she wanted privacy, she would start complaining, then sit back and watch her brothers trip all over themselves in their haste to get away from her. Her ploy was effective, and when something worked, one didn't mess with it.

Her goal now was to get back on her horse and be left alone. She needed privacy so she could think about Harrison 's bizarre behavior. In the blink of an eye, his entire personality had changed. It was as though he'd been caught up in some sort of a spell. What in heaven's name had happened to the gentle man she'd liked so much? She was going to have to sort it all out in her mind before she could look at him again without getting angry.

Cole didn't want to let her ride on her own, but he soon got tired of listening to her. He gave her to Douglas. He didn't even last five minutes. Then Travis got stuck with her.

Three down and one to go, she thought a bit smugly.

'Listen, Mary Rose, you're making my teeth hurt listening to you,' Travis muttered. 'Why don't you wait until we get home and then sit down and write a long letter to your mama. You can tell her all about how poorly you're feeling.'

'No, I can't,' she replied. 'Mama doesn't want to hear it. She told me it wasn't proper for a young lady to complain, even when she enjoys it so.'

Travis laughed. 'You used to write and tell on us, didn't you?'

'I was very young then,' she defended. 'Mama made me stop. She said I wasn't being loyal to my brothers and that I shouldn't ever tattletale. Mama would be sympathetic if she could see me now. Why, I was punched and…'

' Harrison, you want to take a turn?' Travis shouted.

'Never mind,' Mary Rose whispered. 'I'm finished complaining.'

Travis didn't believe her. He all but tossed her into Harrison 's lap. She let out a loud groan when she landed on his hard thighs.

He told her to lean against him. Once she had adjusted to his steel-like frame, she finally relaxed just a little. She kept her gaze directed on the trail ahead and thought about the tender way he was holding her in his arms.

Her mind began to wander. She suddenly realized she must look a fright. What an odd thing to think about