Chief Cook and Bottle Washer (20 page)

Emma turned to look into his face, as he
neared her. She looked so distraught. He wanted to comfort her,
tell her everything would be alright, and make it right for her.
The last thing on his mind was arguing with her.

A hand reached out to caress the softness of
her cheek, and pull her closer. He saw those brown eyes grow warm
again, with the same heat that poured through every muscle in his
body. It was as though his hand had touched something much deeper
than her cheek. As though he had touched her soul with his caring
and she understood without words.

The moment was so magical, so mind boggling
that all thoughts of the outside world spun away into the clouds,
as he felt his body leaning closer, his head bending slowly, his
lips pursing just above her.

But just as he would have kissed her, Jim
rode up fast and furious.

"Boss–sorry for the interrupt, but we got a
fire on the south ridge. It's moving pretty fast and if the wind
picks up we'll be in trouble." Jim was out of breath and from the
looks of his clothes had been battling the fire for a while.

"Emma, can you make it back by yourself?"
Deke asked as he saddled up, all thoughts of emotions erased as
though they had never been. His face hard and relentless on the
hill above them.

"Yes, but I'm not going back, I'm coming with
you." She said so matter-of-factly he almost dropped his reins as
he spun in the saddle to look at her.

"Don't be ridiculous, we'll manage. You get
back to the house."

"Not on your life." Emma mounted and wasted
no time in following Jim ahead of Deke.

"Emma, for God's sake go home. This is no
place for a woman," Deke demanded reining his horse beside her.
"I'll have enough to worry about as it is. What more can go wrong
this summer."

"I will not go to the house. I'm as cowboy as
you are Deke Travers. This place is my home too now and Sammie Jo's
and if it's burning I'm not going to sit idle and watch when I'm
healthy enough to get out there and lend a hand. I'm going to help.
Now let go of my reins and let's get this fire under control," Emma
demanded frowning.

Jim let out a roar of approval and they all
galloped over the hill towards the grassfire. Emma kept up with
them as though born to ride.

The drought had brought more than just a
water problem. The grass was pure tinder. Deke had concentrated so
keenly on the water going bad, and moving the cattle, he hadn't
considered other dangers lurking. He should have had his head on
straight, he fussed at himself silently.

Half the men were already there, fighting it
with all their might, while the others came barreling in. First one
then three, then five. Clint and Jake were on the west side, using
old blankets from their bedrolls to shovels from the old chuck
wagon. Rusty wasn't to be found. Deke thanked his lucky stars his
dad wasn't here. At least he wouldn't have to worry about him
too.

Emma got down from her mount and grabbed a
shovel that someone had laid in a clearing after exhaustion had
taken its toll. Some of the men could barely beat the flames down.
It was spreading quickly. Deke could feel the crackle of tinder
beneath his boots and knew they would have to work fast and furious
to get this under control.

Some of the neighbors happened by, seeing the
smoke and immediately got to work helping. A fire could mean
disaster for an entire community.

Deke set a backfire and continued to do
battle, as Emma worked right along side of him. Never in all his
life had he ever felt so proud of a woman. He never experienced
such a feeling of desire kindled with respect and admiration for a
woman. A woman that would stand by his side despite the odds and
work hard. Soot covered her face, her clothes, but she was
unmindful. At this moment, with soot on her cheeks and sweat
dripping from her forehead, and her t-shirt nearly black, she was
undoubtedly the most beautiful woman Deke had ever seen in his
life.

When she became too exhausted to help, she
immediately went to giving the men water from her own mount that
Deke had packed. She patched wounds, and delivered shovels that
Clint had brought. Denver showed up with Rusty who was nursing a
goose egg size lump on his head. Emma washed his wound and made him
sit down while the others battled the blaze. It was a long, hard
fight, but grass fires were a danger to everyone in the community
and if they didn't keep fighting it till it was out it would
spread.

Denver barked as the men worked vigorously.
Doing his part, he barked at every new flame and before nightfall,
the fire was nearly out. Deke posted several men around the fire
and cautioned them to alarm the others if it began to break out
again. Fires often backdrafted and kept going. It wasn't safe yet,
but at least a minimal crew could handle it.

Drained and exhausted, the rest of the men
drifted back to the ranch house. Neighbors patted neighbors on the
back and smiled wearily for a job well done with a community
effort. It was over, one field was destroyed but the rest looked
good. Clint and Rusty still had enough energy to laugh and joke all
the way home. Jake was his usual quiet self.

Cal had coffee waiting and Sammie Jo greeted
everyone with hugs and kisses. Jake particularly took his time
hugging the baby and kissing her till she giggled.

"Dada," she shouted at Deke as he strolled
through the kitchen door and headed straight for the sink. He was
the last to come inside and it looked as if Sammie Jo had her eyes
trained on the door for the sight of him.

He'd never appreciated being welcomed home,
quite so much as when he looked into the happy little face that
seemed to adore him. He rolled his sleeves up and washed his hands,
then half turned to the baby and smiled, "Hi sweetheart."

Sammie Jo giggled and reached for him.

Deke picked her up out of the highchair and
kissed her, then tickled her under the chin and held her for a few
minutes.

Cal had managed a plate full of sandwiches,
but the men didn't balk about no hot food. Instead they all sat
down after washing up and ate it clean.

The apple pie was finished with a
flourish.

"Sorry I wasn't much help, boys," Cal
fidgeted nervously as everyone was about to leave the table. The
look on his face was apologetic.

Emma turned abruptly about, "Not much help?
Why, you took a load off my mind. No one would know what to do
without you Cal. Especially me. You took care of Sammie Jo, you
fixed supper."

"Yeah, while you were out putting out the
fire." Cal shook his head.

"So, we traded places for a while, so what?
Honestly Cal, if no one else appreciates you, I do. In fact, I'm
not sure what I'd do without you."

"Get outta here. Don't kid me."

"Kid you?" Emma frowned and came close to
him, her hands still wet from the dishwater. "Taking care of that
baby is a job. I should know. And you do it beautifully. And never,
I mean never let anyone tell you any differently."

"Yes, ma'am." Cal half smiled up at her as
she pointed a fistful of dishwater at him. "It's nice to be
appreciated."

"And don't you forget it." Emma smiled. "Now,
I'm going to clean up, and put the baby to bed. I think I'll turn
in early. Thanks��for the ride, Deke."

"Yeah, not exactly what I had in mind at the
time, but we'll get to it." He promised with a wink.

Cal watched as Emma took the baby to her
room. "Now there goes one hell of a woman, son."

Deke nodded and glanced down the hallway,
"Yeah, that's a fact."

"So did the two of you have a good time
today, I mean before the fire?"

"She seemed to enjoy it."

His father was hinting at something else and
Deke could guess what it was, but he didn't want to talk about it.
He felt elated and frustrated at the same time. He was pretty sure
how he felt about Emma, but he hadn't managed to convey it to her
yet.

Something was bothering Emma, and he needed
to know what it was. He wanted to solve all her problems. But that
wouldn't happen till she opened up.

"Dad, Sammie Jo's grandparents want to see
her."

"So–what's the problem. They could come here,
and see her," Cal insisted.

"But Emma doesn't want them to see her."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. But she was frantic when I
suggested it."

"That doesn't make any sense." Cal seemed to
study the situation then added, "Why don't you invite them here. I
mean, maybe she's just afraid to invite them, since this is where
she works and all. Women can be funny about those kind of things.
But the baby needs a family." Cal's voice drifted off.

"You think I should?"

"If you can find out who and where they live,
sure. She'd probably thank you in the long run."

"I'll go talk to her."

"Yeah, you do that," Cal said patting him on
the back. "I'm going to turn in, that little rascal can wear a full
grown man out."

"I believe it." Deke said with a chuckle as
he strolled toward Emma's room.

He knocked.

"Come in."

"Emma. I just wanted to thank you for the
help today. I never seen a woman work so hard."

"This ranch is where I live and work. If it
burned I wouldn't have a home or a job. It was just as important to
me, as it was to you. Almost–I mean." She blushed.

"Thanks, anyway," he said and came to stand
very close to her. His head dipped and his lips brushed hers
lightly. He wanted nothing more than to curl his arms around her
and hold her till daylight, but he knew better.

"Emma, what was Joel's last name?"

"Collins, why?" She scrambled away from
him.

"I just wondered. Sam Collin's boy?"

"Yes, you know them?"

"No, but I've heard of them of course. Owns
the biggest spread in the eastern part of the state. Sammie Jo
doesn't even carry his name, does she?"

"No. Like I said he left before she was born.
He doesn't deserve that or anything else."

"Emma–I think you should invite the
grandparents out here."

"No," she practically screamed, pulling out
of his reach. She put Sammie Jo in the playpen and moved to get her
own gown out of the drawer.

"Think about it Emma. You said you were
afraid they would take her away from you. And now I can understand
why. They've got enough money. But you are the mother. They can't
do that unless there is a very good reason. I see no good reason.
You are a great mother, you love her, take care of her, provide for
her. How could they be a threat?"

Emma backed away from his nearing presence.
"She nearly broke her arm, because of my neglect. If I were as good
a mother as you say, it would never have happened."

"But that was an accident. Look," he came
closer taking her shoulders in his big hands and looking down into
her angry face. "Everyone on this ranch would vouch for you if it
came to that. But you are living in fear. A fear that might never
occur. It's not right. Face it Emma. Deal with these people. Have
you ever met them?"

"N-no, but–"

"You're a bigger person than that Emma. I
know you are. I want to help you but I can't unless you let me.
Face this, maybe it won't be as bad as you think." Deke
prodded.

"I can't take the chance. I can't lose her.
She's all I have."

"Is she? What about this . . ." he bent the
distance to reclaim her trembling lips. Cold met hot and for a
moment Emma went limp and responsive in his arms.

Deke groaned, needing to touch, be close,
love. Love? God, he was in love with her! Why hadn't he seen it?
The realization only made him want her more.

"Dada," Sammie Jo cried out, as Emma quickly
shoved Deke away and wiped her mouth.

"No darling, he's not Dada. You can call him
Uncle Deke, you can call him Mr. Travers, but you certainly can't
call him Dada." Emma responded, looking at the baby with tears
shimmering in her eyes. She glanced at Deke once more, "Please,
promise me you won't interfere in this."

"I can't promise Emma–I care a little to
damned much . . ."

He strode out of the room and down the
hallway. His anger following him all the way. He loved her, but she
was so stubborn, and so wrong about this. She wasn't facing
reality. Sammie Jo was hers, no one in their right mind would even
try to take her away from her. So what was really bothering
her?

Deke fretted for a long while. Then he did as
he always did when someone he loved was in trouble–he interfered.
He took action.

He'd track down the grandparents and invite
them to the ranch, all the while bragging on what a great job Emma
was doing with the child. He'd make it sound so good they wouldn't
dare try anything. And he'd put Emma's fears to rest once and for
all. Then he'd deal with his own problem–being in love with
Emma.

"Emma, I'd like to talk to you, if you can
spare a minute," Deke's voice held no warmth. "You know we have a
drier."

"I know, I just like the smell of hanging
them outside. Besides, once it gets cold I'll be using it. So what
can I do for you bossman?" She stopped and turned to face him,
unaware of how close he stood. Something about Deke Travers made
Emma go to mush just being around him.

"You're not going to like this." Deke began,
moving away.

"Oh?"

"I got a hold of Sammie Jo's grandparents.
They're coming."

"You did what?" her voice rose with each word
as she whirled on him. Fear gripped her stomach, like acid. "But
you promised." She neared him, wanting to pound something, wanting
to shout, to curse.

"No, I didn't promise. I couldn't. I wasn't
thinking of you, Emma. I was thinking of the baby. But you've got
to face this fear. You aren't the kind of woman to run from
something, you're too strong for that." Deke came towards her.