Chapter Two #2
Cody straightened up, keeping his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You pay no mind to Mr. Carter. You listen here, and you listen good: We are all living on this ranch. We all contribute. Would you like it if Ruby came along after you got chickens all corralled and set them loose again?”
Logan didn’t answer immediately, but he dropped his gaze to his boots. Ruby, meanwhile, crossed her own arms over herself, still clutching the spoon, and looked triumphantly at Logan.
“I asked you a question, and I expect an answer,” Cody said, raising his voice a little.
“I shouldn’t like it,” Logan mumbled finally.
“I expect not,” Cody agreed. “Now, go and get to scrubbing. And take your boots off so you don’t track more dirt in.”
Ruby watched Logan go. Cody waited until Logan was out of the room before addressing her. “And I expect more from you.”
“More?” Ruby responded, her eyes going wide. She stared back at Cody, and it was all he could do to not drop his gaze.
He had a hard time looking her full in the face; when he did, it was like a younger version of his wife was staring back at him.
She had the same green eyes and a shock of red curls that refused to stay pinned back.
The only difference was that Ruby was shooting up like a weed, her head nearly at Cody’s shoulder. Her mother had been a diminutive woman.
“What more do you think I can do?” she continued, winding herself up.
Privately, Cody suspected that she was so tall because a small body couldn’t contain her whirlwind of a temper.
“I already do the cooking and the cleaning, and the mending too! I’m run nearly off my feet, and you think I should be doing more? ”
“I know you’ve had a lot to contend with ever since… your mother,” Cody said. “But you need to set a better example for Logan. I don’t have the time to be minding someone your age. Is that clear?”
Ruby didn’t say anything for a moment, just stared levelly at Cody. He braced himself inwardly, feeling a battle of wills coming on. To his surprise, Ruby nodded, unfolding her arms. “Yes, Pa,” she replied evenly.
“Good girl,” he said. “Now, fetch me some water—I’m as parched as a lizard on a rock.”
Rather than enter the house, he took up a perch on an old stool on the porch and propped his feet up on an upturned fruit crate. Ruby reappeared and handed him a ceramic cup with water in it, which he accepted gratefully.
Ruby, meanwhile, leaned against the railing on the porch, folding and unfolding her arms over herself again. Cody watched her over the rim of his cup; with two children in the house, he had a good sense for when something was happening.
“So,” she said with great casualness, “did you speak to Arthur today?”
Cody finished his pull on the water and set it on his leg. “I speak to Arthur every day,” he replied. He pulled his hat off with his other hand and used it to fan himself. Summer had come early to Colorado, nearly skipping spring entirely.
Nodding, Ruby looked down at the porch, digging one toe into the boards. “And did he… say anything? About… things?”
“He did,” Cody answered slowly. He crossed one leg over the other and took another drink. “I suspect that you’ve put him up to something again,” he said, tilting his head down and regarding Ruby through upturned eyes.
“Me?” Ruby asked, all innocently, with wide eyes and a fluttering hand near her heart.
“You,” Cody confirmed. “I haven’t forgotten that mischief this past winter with—what was her name, the schoolmistress?”
“Miss Andrews?” Ruby supplied.
“Yes,” Cody said. “I place the blame squarely on you for that bit of awkwardness.” He emphasized his point by pointing at her with his nearly empty cup.
Ruby’s face turned mutinous. “I thought you’d be a good match?” When Cody gave her a baleful look, she insisted, “I did!”
“Ruby,” Cody sighed, “I’m not a good match for anyone, seeing as I’m not looking to make a match.”
“Pa,” Ruby said with surprising fire in her voice.
“You might not want a woman about the house, but has it occurred to you that I might? How many women do you see on the ranch? I’m all on my lonesome out here,” she continued, placing her fists on her hips.
“I have no one to turn to when I need advice or help! I don’t know how to be a woman grown—there’s no one to tell me when it’s time to put my hair up, or how to speak to boys, or—”
“You don’t need to be speaking to any young men at your age,” Cody interjected automatically.
“Pa. How old do you think I am?” Ruby asked.
Cody opened his mouth, then closed it quickly to do some hasty math.
She has to be at least twelve… No, she’s got to be fourteen summers by now.
He didn’t reply, but the lines around his mouth grew deeper.
Most of his memories of Ruby were of chasing after her, her red plaits flying out behind her.
She used to play rough-and-tumble with some of the neighbor boys, but at some point, she’d stopped doing that.
She’d gone into the kitchen after Logan had been born, and—
Oh, Cody realized. He regarded her with a new eye, struggling to look her in the face again. “Well. I could see where a helpmeet might be useful,” he allowed.
“I want the chance to live my life, not to be Logan’s mother,” she said plainly, and Cody hid his flinch under the guise of clearing his throat.
“We all have our parts to play,” he answered unhelpfully.
Exasperated, Ruby threw up her arms and groaned.
Sighing, Cody rose to his feet, putting his hat back on as he did so. “Look, we can… see about getting some help around the house, maybe a governess or something to mind Logan, keep you all from behaving like wild animals.”
Ruby regarded him dubiously, tossing her head a little. “Who?”
“Well, I don’t rightly know just this—”
“I want to pick her,” Ruby interrupted. “I’ll be spending the most time with her, so I should get to pick her.”
Unwilling to continue arguing, Cody rubbed at the back of his neck for a moment. “Fine,” he agreed grudgingly. “Just make sure she’s not someone who will shrink from work. No soft-handed town ladies.”
“I promise, Pa,” Ruby agreed. She took his cup back from him and nearly skipped back into the house.
Cody watched her go, a sinking feeling lodging in his gut. Why do I feel like I’ve just agreed to something I’m going to regret?