A Blessed Song for Their Love by Olivia Haywood
Chapter Twenty-One
The mare neighed as Thomas pulled the foal out onto the fresh bed of hay in the stall. “There we are girl,” he soothed the mare as the foal kicked and its way into the world. “You have a lovely young lad.”
Thomas was there for every birthing of the cattle and horses. He wanted to make absolutely sure that nothing went wrong, no matter the hour of day.
“Another successful birthing?” Arthur called over the stall doors.
Thomas stood and wiped his brow on his sleeve. “That makes three successful births this month. If we carry on at this pace, we will be in the pink before we know it,” he said happily.
The ranch was thriving since they took the deal from Elroy Higgs. All the buildings had been repaired and several corrals had been added to accommodate the horses that were used for breeding.
“There’s a young man at the house looking for you. He says that Higgs mentioned to him we need some help around the ranch. I left him with Rosaline. Bunea was over for tea so they are seeing to him.”
Thomas pulled open the stall door and cleaned his hands with a rag. “What do you make of him?”
“Seems decent enough, has a nice polite manner about him. There’s something about his manner that I’m not too certain of, but if Higgs suggested him then he must be alright. His build speaks of hard work, but I’ll let you make your own judgement when you see him.”
“No time like the present then.” Thomas threw the rag aside and followed his father out of the stables.
They chatted about the ranch and all the progress that had been made in the past few months as they walked towards the house.
“So you think this chap will be equal to the task?” Thomas asked his father.
“Higgs has held up his side of the deal and done everything he said he would. I don’t see why he would send a young man with references if he wasn’t everything he made himself out to be, but still...”
Thomas shot his father a questioning look.
“I’ll let you be the judge,” Arthur said as they entered the kitchen.
Rosaline was sitting across from a young man with a cup of tea in her hands. She was laughing at something he said.
The hairs on the back of Thomas’ neck stood up as he took in the scene.
The young man was tall and handsome. His skin was tanned over his bulging biceps. Thomas could see why his father had said that the man’s build spoke of hard work. His square jaw was cleanly shaved and his eyes were an ice blue, and he cut a fetching picture sitting across from Rosaline with his mop of blonde hair.
Thomas nodded a greeting and pulled out a chair next to his wife. He felt the urge to be as close to her as possible.
“Ian Summers,” the man stuck his hand over the table and greeted Thomas. “Pleased to meet you.”
Thomas shook his hand. Ian’s voice was warm and friendly enough, but something about his manner set his teeth on edge. He told himself that he was being unnecessarily protective because of Rosaline. There wasn’t anything else about the man’s behavior that was out of place.
He shifted closer to Rosaline. “I hear you have references from Higgs?”
“Yes Sir,” Ian pushed a folded piece of paper towards Thomas. “I think you will find that everything is in order.”
Thomas bristled at the man’s overly confident smile. He unfolded the papers and tilted them to the side as Rosaline read over his shoulder. “It seems like everything is in order. It says here you’ve worked on ranches all your life?”
“Yes Sir, born and raised amongst the cattle and horses. I was milking cows before I could walk.”
Rosaline laughed softly at his joke.
“I highly doubt that,” Thomas said bluntly.
“It was a joke, Sir.”
Thomas pushed the letters back towards Ian. “How soon can you start?”
“Straight away, Sir. I have lodgings in town.”
Thomas nodded and pushed himself out of the chair. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning then.”
“Thank you, Sir. You won’t regret this decision. I can promise you that,” He said over-enthusiastically. Walking over to the door he retrieved his hat from the hook and tipped it at Rosaline before leaving. “Good day ma’am. See you in the morning.”
“Have a good day Ian,” Rosaline said kindly as he left.
“I’ll show you a few of the corrals on your way out,” Arthur offered and followed him out.
Thomas turned briskly to leave but stopped and looked down at Rosaline as she caught his hand.
“Did I do something wrong?”
His heart softened as he saw the innocence in her eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said tenderly and resisted the urge to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. They had become closer since the evening of the dance when he had kissed her, but he still wasn’t sure of her feelings for him and didn’t want to do anything that would frighten her away.
“What’s wrong then? Do you not like Ian? We had a nice conversation while we were waiting.”
“There’s just something in his manner that I don’t quite like. I don’t want you and Robbie spending too much time with him until we know him better.”
***
The days on the ranch passed quietly and happily. Ian Summers was working hard and doing a good job, there was just something about him that set Thomas’ teeth on edge whenever the young man joked with Rosaline. It wasn’t that Rosaline was flirting back with him or even paying him any attention. The hairs on the back of his neck just bristled whenever she laughed at one of his jokes.
“Where would you like this ma’am?” Ian asked Rosaline. He was carrying a fresh pail for milk.
“You can just set it down near the full one,” Rosaline gestured. “I’m going to carry on milking in a moment.” She wiped her hands on her apron and shifted on her milking stool.
Ian placed the pail next to her on the ground. “Shoot, ma’am,” he drawled in his thick cowboy accent. “A pretty lady such as yourself shouldn't be milking the cows. You should be lavishing on a couch reading a book or drinking tea and eating cakes,” he teased.
“Ian Summers, stop your prattle and go about your work and how many times must I tell you to stop calling me ma’am? You make me feel like I’m ancient,” she laughed. “Call me Rosaline.
Thomas clenched his jaw tightly as he observed the interaction from across the barn as he busied himself with stacking the hay.
“Well if you insist, Rosaline,” Ian teased. “I’ve never been on a first name basis with such a pretty lady before. It’s nice, I’ll admit.” He crossed his arms and leant against the stall Rosaline was working in, crossing his leather cowboy boots at the ankles.
“I’m a married lady Mr. Summers. I’m not sure how proper it is that you keep saying how pretty I am,” she said a little more sternly, but still smiled.
“Naw,” Ian complained. “What happened to the first name basis? I thought I was Ian, not Mr. Summers. We are going in the wrong direction here.”
Rosaline nodded and pushed herself up from her knees. “Good, I hope that puts you in your place Mr. Summers.” She wagged a finger in his face. “I’m not that kind of lady, I’m a faithful married woman,” she scolded playfully before looking up at Thomas and smiling.
His heart umped in his chest at her acknowledgement of his presence but did little to cool his temper towards Ian.
Ian raised his hands in mock surrender. “Fair enough, fair enough. I was just teasing, just teasing.” He backed away. “I can see when my advances are not wanted. I’ll just mosey on with my work again.”
“Good,” Rosaline laughed and placed her hands on her hips as he left the barn.
Thomas tensed out of anger and threw a bale of hay onto the stack a little harder than he intended to. He cursed when the stack toppled over from the impact.
Rosaline walked over and gently placed a hand on his arm. “Thomas,” she said gently.
He yanked his arm away without thinking. “What is it?”
Rosaline took a step back from him.
Thomas immediately felt a pang of guilt when he saw the frightened expression on her face. He ran his hand over his face and let out a deep breath, trying to expel all of the anger that was compressing his chest.
“I’ll just get back to the milking,” she said and turned away from him.
“Rosaline wait, please, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” he apologized tiredly.
“I wasn’t flirting with him, Thomas. I’m married. I would never do that. It’s just polite fun.”
“From your side anyway.” He clenched his jaw tightly until he could feel the tiny veins pursing on his neck. “Maybe he needs to go, he works on my nerves. We have as much help as we need in any case.”
“Thomas please don’t do that. Ian is a good man, I know you don’t like him very much, but I’d hate to see someone lose their job just because they have a friendship with me,” she pleaded. “If it bothers you that much I won’t encourage any more friendship with him.” She took a step towards him and placed a hand on his arm.
He felt his muscles relax under the touch of her soft skin.
“There is something good in Ian. I know you can’t see it right now, but there is. He’s a bit arrogant and more flirtatious than what’s good for him, I’ll admit, but there is some good in him,” she smiled gently. “Please give him another chance, I’ll be less friendly with him from now on. Just don’t send him packing.”
Thomas stared into her eyes for a moment and saw the honesty in what she was saying. He believed that she was just joking around with him. Placing his hand over hers he gave it a quick squeeze. “Fair enough,” he conceded. “Ian may stay. There is still something about him that I don’t like, but I’ll trust your judgement on this matter.”
“That’s all I ask,” Rosaline beamed then added more seriously. Thomas, you know that I take my marriage vows seriously. I will always fulfill my role towards you and never do anything to hurt you or this family.”
He held onto her hand for a moment longer before smiling and letting it go. “Thank you for that,” he said. “And I can promise you that I will always do the same. I will never intentionally hurt you, Rosaline.”
She turned to leave and let out a mock sigh. “Good Thomas Stratton!” She scolded. “Or you will be the one that gets a telling off!”
He watched her dress sway as she walked away and smiled to himself.