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“I can’t believe you went through with the marriage when they were so ill-behaved.”
“I guess you should hear the whole story of my marriage,” Susan said, taking a bite of her chicken before continuing. “I came here to marry David’s brother, but he was killed in a shoot-out in Hell’s Half Acre before I arrived.”
“What is Hell’s Half Acre?” Sydney asked, confused.
“It’s the bad part of town south of the railroad station where you came into town,” Lewis said. “You should never go there. It’s not safe. Why even Butch Cassidy has been spotted there.”
“I was there today! I got frightened and turned to walk back toward the railroad station, and I didn’t stop until I was in an area that didn’t look so run down,” Sydney said, feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. “As you were saying, Susan?”
“Yes, so my fiancé was killed, so David met me at the station, telling me what happened but offering to marry me instead. He told me he was a widower with four children. I insisted on having supper with the family so I could see how his children behaved before I would agree, not wanting to be saddled with children just like my brothers and sisters. So, David paid Albert and Lewis to behave, hoping I’d marry him if they weren’t as ill-behaved as normal.”
Sydney’s jaw dropped, and she turned to look at David, pointing with her fork. “You did that?”
David just smirked at her, raising one shoulder in a shrug.
“He did that,” Susan said. “Within minutes of the wedding being over, the boys were acting as they usually did though, and I knew. I was so furious with the man, but I’d already spoken my words, and I wasn’t about to go home. Not with the demon horde waiting there for me.”
“That’s terrible!” Sydney couldn’t believe these two were still married, and they had six children.
Lewis grinned at her. “We tried to behave…sometimes.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about this. I mean, the story is funny, but how can I trust any of you?”
Alice smiled. “Susan and I will always tell you the truth. Don’t worry about the others.”
Sydney sat back in her chair, carefully cutting a bite of chicken from the breast she’d selected. Everyone stared at her as she took her first bite. “Oh, it’s good!”
“Do you always eat fried chicken with a knife and fork?” Susan asked, helping Sydney to understand what the looks were about.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had fried chicken,” Sydney said. “My mother has never liked chicken, so it was never served.”
Alice grinned. “Your mother is the sort who probably would eat it with a knife and fork. Most people just pick it up and bite in, though. It’s one of those foods that is fine to eat with your fingers.”
Sydney picked up the chicken for her second bite and just bit right into it. “You’re right. It tastes much better this way! I wonder if I would like spinach if I ate it with my fingers.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Alice said, making a face.
After supper, Sydney stood and offered to help with the dishes, but Susan refused. “You just got here! Why don’t you go for a nice walk? I’m sure Lewis wouldn’t mind accompanying you. There are wild animals around, so it doesn’t make sense to go alone.”
Despite the fact that she knew Susan was trying to get her to marry her second stepson, Sydney agreed. “That sounds enjoyable. Perhaps he can tell me about the ranch.”
Lewis got to his feet and offered Sydney his arm, ignoring the giggles of his younger siblings. “Yes, let’s go for a walk.”
As soon as they were out of the house, Lewis started talking about the operations of the ranch. “We run some cattle, but we’ve never had a huge number here. Albert is the cattle rancher in the family. Pa breeds and trains horses. If a local rancher needs a horse broken, he’ll bring it to Pa, but the majority of his work is done on the horses we breed here on the ranch. I oversee the breeding, and Pa does the training. My younger brothers, the twins, are learning to train them as well as Pa. Takes some of the work off Pa’s shoulders.”
“Do you enjoy breeding horses?” Back east the question would have been considered indelicate. Here? It seemed to come out of her mouth naturally.
“I do. We have one of the best studs around, and we’re always buying mares. I actually ride out to different ranches around, seeing what the quality of their mares is, and I bring a lot home. That’s my part in the whole thing. Then I choose which mares are bred when. I’ve got my eye on another stud, but we’re trying to decide if it’s worth the price.”
“That sounds interesting. When you ride out to places, do you go on a horse or on a bicycle?” she asked.
He looked at her for a moment. “A horse. A horse breeder who goes everywhere on a bicycle would be frowned on, don’t you think?”
“Probably. I just happen to love riding my bicycle, and I wondered if you rode too.” It occurred to her that it would be a wonderful courting activity, riding bicycles together. There were even bicycles built for two they could share the work of pedaling on. It sounded like a great deal of fun to her.
Lewis leaned against a fence, both of his forearms against the wood. “I’ve never tried. I don’t have a problem with bicycles, but horses are more convenient around here.”
“I can understand that. How do you feel about women who wear bloomers and ride bicycles?” she asked. If it was something that bothered him, there would be no reason to set her cap for him. None at all.
