make hats?” Delsey asked from the kitchen. She came into the living room, stirring something she was making in a bowl. “Could you make me one?” she asked. “I’m forever going in and out to take trash, and my head gets cold even when I put on a coat.”
“Sure. You can have this one when it’s finished.” She held it up. It was green and gold and tan.
“I like that!”
She laughed. “Thanks.”
“I’ll just finish getting this cake ready to go in the oven. Apple pound cake, Mr. Ren, with vanilla frosting.”
“Something to look forward to tonight,” he said, and smiled at her.
“It’ll be ready by then.” She went back into the kitchen.
“I thought you’d be squeamish,” Ren remarked as Merrie’s attention went back to the screen.
“I like cattle,” she said sheepishly. “I don’t know much about them. There are ranches all around the house where Sari and I grew up. Most of the people in Jacobs County either run cattle or work on ranches.”
“Sari?”
She laughed softly. “Her name is really Isabel, but only Paul calls her that. To the rest of us, she’s Sari.”
“Are you like her?”
“Oh, no,” she replied. “Sari’s redheaded and has really blue eyes. Mine are sort of a washed-out version of hers. And she’s very smart. She graduated in the top of her class from college and law school.”
He cocked his head and studied her. She was pretty and sweet. Smart? He didn’t care if a woman was smart or not. He liked Merrie. Even though he really didn’t want to.
He got to his feet, slapping his work gloves into his hand. “You can come back for spring roundup,” he mused. “I’ll take you out and you can see the process firsthand.”
“You’d do that for me?” she exclaimed, her face radiating joy. “Oh, I’d love to see it!”
He smiled faintly. “Okay.” He turned toward the kitchen. “Delsey, I’ll be back late tonight. Fred and I have to ride out to the line cabins and check on the men.”
“All right. It’s going to snow kittens and you’re already sniffling. Don’t stand out in the cold.”
“Stop worrying,” he muttered. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine,” she shot back. “You sound stuffed up.”
“I’m going now,” he replied. “See you later.”
“Okay. Go kill yourself and see if I care!” she called back.
He just laughed. He glanced at Merrie, tipped his hat and went out the door. It was really coming down outside. Snow seemed to come often in autumn here in Wyoming. Merrie wondered if the weather was always like that.
* * *
MERRIE WAS ON TIME for supper. She and Delsey ate a nice stew with biscuits, then Merrie went up to her room to sketch some more. She’d gone to bed when she heard Ren’s footsteps come up the stairs. Odd how slow they sounded. His step was always quick and confident. Probably he was just tired, she thought. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
The next morning, she was on time for breakfast, but Ren wasn’t sitting at the table, as he usually was.
Delsey frowned as she put things on the table. “Not like him to be late. I’m going up to check on him.”
“I hope he’s all right,” Merrie said.
“Warned him about being out in that snow when he was already feeling bad. He never listens.” She was still muttering as she went out the door and up the staircase.
Delsey was back very soon. She went directly to the phone in the living room, picked it up and dialed.
She told someone Ren’s symptoms, then nodded. “Yes, I’ll have Tubbs drive him right into town. Thanks, Sylvia.”
She hung up. Then she called down to the bunkhouse, asked for Tubbs and had him come up to the house.
“Ren’s sick?” Merrie asked, worriedly.
“Yes. He sounds as if he’s breathing water,” Delsey said worriedly. “He almost never gets sick, but there’s that virus that was going around, and he won’t take care of himself. Out in the freezing cold and wind for hours...” She stopped. “Go eat, child. He’ll be all right. He’s tough.”
Merrie managed a smile. She felt sad. When Ren walked in the door, the house came to life. It was an odd thing to feel about a man she barely knew and didn’t really like. But he seemed to fill the house up with color just by being in it.
* * *
MINUTES LATER, DELSEY propped him up with her shoulder and helped him walk down the staircase. His face was a pasty white, and he looked terrible. When he coughed, the congestion was audible.
“I’m all right,” he was protesting.
“You’re not all right. Merrie, can you hold on to him for me while I see if Tubbs is out there? I think I hear the truck...”
“Of course.” Merrie took Delsey’s place under Ren’s arm and felt the hard muscular body closer than she ever had before. He was warm and strong, and smelled of fir trees. She liked the feeling she got, being near him like this. It was something she’d never experienced.
Ren liked the softness of her young body. He liked the feel of her. He liked it too much, he thought to himself. He moved restlessly. He felt really sick.
“It’s okay,” Merrie said softly. “The doctor will give you something, and you’ll get better.”
“I’ve got work to do...!”
“It will get done when it gets done,” she said firmly. “You can’t work if you’re dead, now, can you?”
He looked down into her soft pale blue eyes. “Pest,” he muttered.
She grinned up at him. “Certifiable.”
He managed a laugh, but it made him cough.
Delsey motioned to them. “Tubbs is right outside. Come on, Mr. Ren.” She looked out the door. “Tubbs, come help, he’s heavy!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Tubbs came shooting in the door, grinned at Merrie and took Ren under the arm. “Come on, boss man. You can’t die. We’ll all have to go looking for work and we’ll never find anybody else who’ll yell at us and threaten to soak our blankets in vinegar.”
“Tubbs...” Ren began irritably.
“On the other hand, if you die, I want that nice watch you have, the
