“That’s strike one,” Colt said, his voice so quiet that Jane almost didn’t hear it. “I see anything like that again, and I write you up. This is a ranch where a woman can work or visit without having to fight off my ranch hands. Respect comes first. Your romantic life is the least of my concerns.”
Colt released Ross’s shoulder, and the smaller cowboy headed out of the kitchen without a backward glance.
“You embarrassed him,” Jane said.
“He needed to hear it,” Colt said curtly. “I’m not apologizing for how I run my own ranch.”
“Fair enough.”
“You okay?” he asked.
“He was annoying me, but I was this close to getting my message across,” she said.
“Okay. Well, if that kind of thing happens again while you’re here, you tell me and I’ll do more than give warnings.”
She nodded, because she was relieved that Colt had stepped in. Normally when a woman was wrangling two toddlers, it was an effective deterrent to any men in the area. But without the toddlers with her, she felt oddly exposed—she might even look available. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“You want a hand in here?” Colt asked. “I figured I could help you clean up. It would go faster with the two of us.”
“Sure,” Jane said. “Thanks.”
Colt disappeared out that swinging kitchen door again, and Jane did feel better for his presence in the canteen. Colt was strong, confident and he seemed to have a firm hand on the running of this place. Maybe she could learn a few things from him for when she was running her own business, too. Except she wouldn’t have a muscular cowboy on hand to fend off unwanted admirers for long. She’d have to find a way to discourage them that was easier than this. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to fend off unwanted advances in the workplace, although when she’d been a maid she had been able to tell them that she’d be fired if she got socially involved with clients.
Colt came back through the swinging doors carrying a tray stacked with dirty dishes. He placed them on an island, and then brought a pile to the counter next to her.
“I’ve been thinking of putting my wedding ring back on,” Jane said, accepting the plates with a nod of thanks.
“Yeah?” Colt said.
“It might discourage some of those guys if they assume I’m married,” she said.
“It might,” he agreed. “How come you haven’t done it yet?”
Jane felt some heat rise in her face, and she turned her attention to rinsing the plates for a moment before she said, “Because it would be hard.”
“Wearing Josh’s ring?” Colt asked quietly. “The memories?”
“It would be a reminder of the husband I lost,” she admitted. “But it would also be a reminder of a hard time. When I finally took that ring off two years ago it felt like a weight being lifted from my shoulders. I don’t want you to think I didn’t love Josh with my whole heart, because I did. But loving him was a lot of work, too. Standing by him. Supporting him from afar... All of it. It was work.”
“Don’t put the ring back on for us,” Colt said. “I won’t let anyone else bother you. Besides, I hired a cook this afternoon. He starts tomorrow.”
Jane gave him a curious look. “That quickly?”
“I needed a cook,” he said with a shrug.
Jane rinsed a plate and put it into the dishwasher. Colt joined her at the sink. They worked together for a few minutes in silence, loading up the plates and cups.
“I’m sorry marriage wasn’t easier for you,” Colt said, dropping a handful of cutlery into the appropriate slot.
“The problem wasn’t Josh,” she said. “I have to be honest about that. Josh was a good man dealing with some tough stuff.”
“Well, I don’t think the problem would have been you, either,” he replied.
She shot him a small smile. “The problem was life, Colt. That’s what marriage is—it’s hard work. It takes a lot of energy and dedication, and I wouldn’t undo a moment of my marriage to Josh. It was hard in a lot of ways, and it left me exhausted, but I loved him. And he gave me my beautiful girls. I just...don’t want to do it again.”
Was it terrible that after three years of marriage, she had already slipped out of the romantic honeymoon stage of things?
She looked down at her left hand in the suds—no rings. When she’d taken off her wedding ring after a year of mourning, she’d felt like herself again. Freer, calmer, lighter. Maybe it would seem heartless to anyone else looking in, but she didn’t want to have to put that wedding ring back on. Maybe there would be another way to discourage unwanted advances—something she hadn’t thought of yet. There was a lot of Biblical advice to married women, but not a whole lot for the single woman who wanted to stay that way.
Provide for me, Father, she prayed in her heart. And for my girls. Show me how to be single again.
Colt pulled open the passenger-side door of his truck for Jane, then headed around to the driver’s side. The cleaning up hadn’t taken too long with both of them working at it, and he’d enjoyed it more than he normally enjoyed cleaning up massive loads of dishes. There was something about Jane that made even the most mundane stuff into something special. It wasn’t “fun” exactly, but he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing, all the same. It was a small price to pay for a bit of time with her—something Ross had tried for, too.
He was still pretty upset with Ross, though. Colt had stopped outside the kitchen door and heard everything. If she’d shown any interest in Ross, Colt would have backed off and left the two of them alone to talk, but she hadn’t. And if he was forced to get really
