Harrison smiled. 'She went inside to get Adam. He'll make us take her.'
Cole laughed. He obviously didn't believe him. A minute later, Mary Rose came rushing outside. She spotted the newspaper on the floor and hurried to pick it up.
'May I please go with you and Eleanor into town? I have some errands to do.'
Harrison and Cole told her no at the very same time.
She became flustered over the abrupt refusal. She reminded Harrison of an absentminded angel. She wore a dark blue dress with a pale yellow apron. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head.
The curls didn't want to stay put, however, and several strands had already fallen down to float around her face.
Cole thought she looked all worn out and told her so.
She ignored his criticism. 'Please let me go with you. I won't make you wait on me. I swear I won't.'
'Two women are too much for Cole and Harrison to look after, Mary Rose. You should stay home today,' Adam suggested from the doorway.
'Two women?' Cole asked his brother. He was already frowning, for he knew where this was headed.
Harrison smiled. 'I told you so,' he taunted.
Mary Rose didn't want to give up. She obviously thought she still had a good chance of being included because she was taking her apron off and trying to tuck the hair back in her pins at the same time.
She sure looked pretty today. Harrison tried not to stare too long at her. Cole was bound to notice. Harrison had kept as far away from Mary Rose as possible while he was recovering. It hadn't been easy. She wanted to hover over him to make certain he was healing properly. His only defense was to pretend to be asleep whenever she came into the bunkhouse. He wondered why she didn't think it was strange for him to sleep day and night. She didn't though, and he counted that as a blessing.
'Adam, I can't let Eleanor go into Morrison's store alone. None of us will ever be allowed inside again if she acts up. Please reconsider. I won't get into any trouble.'
Adam looked at Cole. He shrugged. 'There are strangers in town. Two women might be too much to handle. What if he has another fainting spell? He still looks sickly.'
'You get to ride with Eleanor in the wagon,' Harrison promised in retaliation.
Cole shook his head. Harrison turned to Adam. 'Mary Rose is perfectly capable of looking after herself as long as she thinks before she acts.'
'She wasn't thinking when she charged after Bickley, was she?' Adam asked. He shook his head while he thought about the result of her actions. 'We're lucky she didn't get killed.'
'Yes, we are,' Harrison agreed. 'She's a very beautiful woman. Men are prone to do stupid things when they see a pretty face. We can't predict how these strangers will react. Therefore,' he concluded, 'Mary Rose and Eleanor should stay home.'
He thought he had presented
Mary Rose hurried to get ready. Eleanor was already upstairs changing her dress. Harrison couldn't imagine why she needed to put on a fresh one. She hadn't done a damned thing to get the gown she'd been wearing dirty.
Adam waited until both women were out of sight and then came out onto the porch and sat down next to Harrison.
'I don't know if I'm using good sense or just giving in to desperation. A few hours of peace and quiet is a powerful lure.'
'Eleanor's driving you crazy too, isn't she?' Cole asked.
Adam reluctantly nodded. 'She's pleasant to me. I shouldn't complain, but…'
'She has the household in an uproar,' Harrison concluded.
'Yes,' Adam agreed.
'She isn't stupid, just mean,' Cole said. He paused to smile. 'I kind of appreciate that quality in a woman,' he admitted.
'Which one? Stupid or mean?' Harrison asked just to goad him.
'Mean, of course. Eleanor isn't going to bite the hand that lets her stay.'
'I wish she'd stop causing so much trouble.' Adam sounded weary and bewildered.
'You're going to have to do something about her,' Cole told his brother.
'Like what?'
Harrison stood up. 'Let me take a swing at her. Cole, you're going to have to help.'
'I don't like to hit a woman. Fact is, I never have. It doesn't seem right.'
'I didn't mean literally.' Harrison caught Cole's grin and realized he was jesting.
'Mary Rose says Eleanor's afraid,' Adam remarked. 'I've spent quite a lot of time with the woman and I guess I agree.'
'And that's why the two of you have been so patient with her. It isn't working,' Harrison said.
'Tell us something we don't know, City Boy.'
'Cole, quit baiting him. He's trying to help. Did you have a particular plan in mind, Harrison?'
'Yes. A little terror tactic.'
Eleanor's shout of anger floated down to the porch. Cole closed his eyes in reaction. Adam clenched his jaw.
'God, she's got a shrill voice,' Cole muttered. 'Does she have to scream all the time?'
Harrison didn't believe Cole's question needed an answer. He told the brothers the plan and waited to hear their arguments.
There weren't any. 'So I get to be the savior,' Cole remarked. 'What about Mary Rose? She won't go along with this.'
'We wait until we're on our way back from town. Travis and Douglas will ride with Mary Rose ahead… way ahead,' Harrison said.
'Why can't I be the one to dump her out on the ridge?' Cole asked. 'I'm better at being mean.'
'Because I don't want her to hate you. She can hate me,' Harrison explained.
'Then you have to ride with her in the wagon. I'll go get it hitched up,' Cole said.
Mary Rose came downstairs a few minutes later, but Eleanor didn't come down for another half hour.
Harrison waited in the front hall with Mary Rose. Adam had gone into the kitchen to help prepare their supper.
Eleanor finally presented herself. She was wearing one of Mary Rose's dresses. Harrison remembered it because Mary Rose had looked so pretty in its particular shade of blue.
Mary Rose looked startled when she saw what her houseguest was wearing. She didn't say anything about it, however, and Harrison decided to let it go, for now.
Eleanor didn't look half bad wearing the dress. If he didn't dislike her behavior so thoroughly, he would have taken the time to appreciate the fact that she was a fine-looking woman. She had pretty hair. It was short and very curly. He didn't know if she had a nice smile though, because he'd never seen her smile. Her lips were always puckered with disgust, as though she had just swallowed a dose of castor oil.
'Are you ready to leave, Eleanor? Cole's waiting out front.'
'Is there a restaurant in town? I'll probably want to refresh myself with a spot of tea and some biscuits before we head back. I'll need additional funds, Mary Rose. Be a dear and give me more money.'
'The only eating establishment is the saloon, and we can't go in there.'
'How uncivilized. Why can't we go inside?'
'Because it isn't proper. Shall we go?'
Harrison held the screen door open for the women. Eleanor went outside first but came to an abrupt stop. Mary Rose bumped into her.
Eleanor had spotted the wagon at the end of the path and was now shaking her head. Cole was on his way back to the barn to get the other horses.
Eleanor shouted to him. 'You, there. Fetch the buggy. The wagon won't do.'
Cole stopped in his tracks. And then he slowly turned around to look at Eleanor. His expression showed how furious he was.
