Read Online The Rancher Takes a Cook by Misty M. Beller - Free Book Online

draped across the mare’s rump.
    The silence was stiff between them, and at
last he made an effort toward a truce.
    “How do you like ’Dita?” he asked, nodding
toward the Appaloosa mare.
    Anna’s shoulders relaxed, and some of the
tension left her face. “She’s wonderful.” She reached down to rub
the mare’s neck. “She’s so responsive to the touch and loves to
move out as much as I do.”
    He bit back a grin. It seemed he’d found a
topic she was enthusiastic about. He nodded. “She’s the horse I
grew up riding. She taught me how to cut calves, and we had more
than a couple good runs. She’s a fast one for sure.”
    Anna cut him a sideways look, a mischievous
gleam in her eye. “This is usually the spot where we get to
canter.”
    A grin tickled his jaw. “Well don’t let me
hold you back.” But she was off before he finished speaking. Jacob
gave Marshall his head and a hard squeeze, and the gelding
responded with a forward leap, as eager to catch the mare as Jacob
was. He allowed the grin to break loose.
    Anna held Bandita to a steady canter, and he
soon caught up. They stayed in an even lope until the herd of
longhorn came into sight. Reining the horses back to a walk, Anna
let out an exhilarated breath. “Boy, that felt good.”
    This captivating woman drew him despite the
call of his work. But the other cowboys had already stopped to gawk
at them with curious stares.
    “Thank you for the escort, Mr. O’Brien. I’ll
bid you good day now.”
    “Mr. O’Brien is my pa. Ya might as well call
me Jacob like everyone else does.”
    She hesitated, her eyes clouding so he
couldn’t read her expression. Was she too uppity to use his
Christian name? She’d need to get over that, because on the ranch
common sense ruled. They had more to worry about than whether or
not it was proper for her to use his first name.
    Finally, a weak smile touched her lips. “I
suppose it wouldn’t hurt. It will make things less confusing, to be
sure.” And with that she squeezed Bandita into a jog, calling over
her shoulder, “Goodbye, Jacob.”
    He couldn’t help but sit there and gaze
after her. This woman was so different than anyone he’d ever met.
She was a mixture of caring and spunk, innocence and strength. He
didn’t know quite what to think of her. He’d been so careful not to
get himself wrapped up with anything that would detract from his
work on the ranch. And if anything could be a distraction, a female
would be.
    * * *
    At church the next Sunday, Anna sat in her
usual seat between Aunt Lola and Edward. The only difference was
Jacob’s rich tenor voice that wafted to her from the older woman’s
other side as they sang the opening hymn:
    When peace like a river attendeth my
soul,
    When sorrows like sea billows roll,
    Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to
say,
    “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
    The words washed through Anna like a rain as
she added her clear alto harmony. Throughout the sermon, she kept
going back to the words of the hymn. It is well with my soul, no
matter what. Lord, please teach me to trust in You, so I can say in
any circumstance it is well with my soul.
    After the service, Anna stood under a pecan
tree in the church yard with her little clan of cowboys. Mr.
O’Brien and Aunt Lola greeted an older couple from one of the
ranches north of town. Juan recounted a story for Edward from a
church he’d attended in Mexico. A hand touched Anna’s arm. Turning,
she expected Aunt Lola’s wrinkled smile, but instead found a wide
grin on the face of a little blonde slip of a woman, just a few
years older than Anna.
    “Hello,” the woman began in a bubbly voice.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I just had to introduce myself. I’m
Virginia Wallace. We live on the farm just past the Double Rocking
B. I’ve seen you at church the last couple o’ weeks and have been
dyin’ to meet you.”
    “I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Wallace. I’m
Anna Stewart.”
    “Oh, call me