"Don't know what you mean by dirty work. He told me you were right friendly, so I wanted to come down here an' meet you," Brendan said, trying to seem calm. He moved his hand a few inches to the right until his fingers touched his horse's bridle, then he pulled his horse in front of himself. The girl wouldn't shoot a horse.
"And I don't know what you mean by trespassin'! I'm sure Mr. Steelgrave wouldn't like it if he knew you squatters were gettin' so uppity."
He scowled a little, upset that this had gone so differently from how he had imagined it would go...and from how Billy had hinted that it would go. But it still didn't click in his mind that Billy might have stretched the truth...or completely turned it on its head.
"Oh, so Billy told you that? And you just believed him?" Clara snapped, though in fairness if the man was new he probably would believe Billy with that baby face angelic face of his. He was a perfect example of not judging someone by their looks.
The man was clever though, he suddenly manuvered himself so he was using his horse as a shield, banking that she wouldn't shoot an innocent animal. Well, he was correct on that assessment, that was not in Clara. In truth, despite her fierce words thus far, it was highly unlikely she would pull the trigger on this Evergreen hand unless he went for his own weapon or lunged for hers.
As for his squatters assertion she felt she needed to set him straight on that too, "That's also a lie. We are not squatters, we bought this land fair and square from the original owners. Mr. Steelgrave has never nor will he ever own a square foot of this property."
"So would you like to hear my side of the story then? Especially about Billy?" she suddenly offered, even if he didn't believe her at least she would have tried.
"Yeah, I believed him," Brendan said shortly, peering at Clara over his horse's saddle. It seemed like maybe he had been wrong to believe Billy, though. But he couldn't think about that right now. He had to focus on not getting shot.
He felt his jaw drop as Clara stoutly defended her family's right to the farm. It almost made his head hurt. Who was he supposed to believe? Billy, who had showed every sign of being friendly but had let him come down here by himself? Or Clara, who was supposed to be friendly but was certainly not?
But she did offer to tell him the story from her point of view. Brendan didn't want to hear a sob story from a girl - he was sure it was a sob story - but she was the one with the gun.
"Eh...sure, why not? Go ahead an' tell your side. Just maybe...put the gun away?" He rose up on his toes so she could see all of his face over his horse's back, revealing a charming, pleading smile.
Eh...sure, why not? Go ahead an' tell your side. Just maybe...put the gun away?"
Well, Clara figured she wouldn't be able to hit the man anyway like this, what with a whole horse in the way, and she did not shoot innocent animals. He also did have a nice smile. But she would not drop her guard completely, he still could be a varmint. He worked for the Steelgraves didn't he?
"Fine, I will lower it but you step out so I can see you better and whatever you do - DO NOT - go for your gun or make a lunge for me," Clara agreed to his request but with certain stipulations.
Gun lowered, she then started her side of the story.
"I first met Billy and another jasper, ugly bald ruffian when I was swimming in the lake. I had thought, wrongly of course, I was enjoying myself in privacy. I had my clothing and this Dragoon Colt piled up on shore. Along came those two ....well, I certainly cannot call them 'gentlemen'. They told me to get out of the water. I refused and told them such a thing was not proper. Billy admitted he had a desire to see me ...naked. Again I would not compromise myself in such a fashion and refused point blank. So he took all of my clothing and my Papa's gun - thinking it all a big joke, then they rode off and left me out there like that.
So there .....that is your friend, Billy. Now you come along like I am supposed to be happy to see another Evergreen .....hooligan?"
Brendan nodded, resting his arms on his horse's back so she could see his hands. The way this girl talked, it was bound to be a long story. It wasn't as long as he thought she would make it, but the words she used! Ruffian, desire, compromise, and hooligan. Honestly, she sounded she was trying to play schoolteacher, which annoyed him a little, but he tried to focus on the humor of the story. And it wasn't hard.
And there was the mention of swimming. His eyes lit up a little, but he didn't interrupt her since she still had her gun in hand. As the story unfolded, he grinned, then chuckled. At first he propped his chin on his hand and dug his fingers into his cheek, trying not to laugh. But when Clara got to the part where Billy and Greer had ridden off with her clothes, he couldn't help it anymore.
He burst out laughing, even though she was obviously still upset about the incident. "I would'a loved to have seen that!"
He stopped laughing abruptly as he realized she might take his words the wrong way. "Them ridin' off with your clothes, I mean, ma'am. Miss." He wasn't sure what to call her. Her height and size made her a miss, but the way she talked made her a ma'am.
As Clara was wrapping up her reasons why she was so angry with Billy and the ugly hand, she noticed he was smiling? What was there to smile about? By the time she finished, the man was actually laughing! The girl was furious.
"And just what is so funny? " she demanded, ready to level her pistol up again.
"I would'a loved to have seen that!"
"Seen what? You mean me without any...."Clara was too shocked to finish that thought, besides it was not appropriate.
"Them ridin' off with your clothes, I mean, ma'am. Miss."
"So you believe that stealing the clothing of a young lady and also her gun leaving her not only naked in the middle of nowhere but also unarmed and defenseless should some wild animal or savage Indian come upon her is something comical? You are no gentleman.! Besides it being a criminal act, it is also an appalling way to treat a lady," she strongly pointed out.
"I can assure you my father was not amused when he found out nor the local authorities," she added.
"I...uh..." Brendan tried to get a word in edgewise, but failed. Clara's way of speaking in long sentences made his head spin. Every time he thought she was going to finish up a sentence, there came another phrase or clause. Not that he knew what those were.
He grabbed at about the only part of her speech he'd understood. You're no gentleman! He understood the bit about the authorities, though, and realized that this girl was not someone he wanted to mess with. She had gotten her gun back from Billy and Greer, somehow.
"I didn't never make any claim of bein' a gentleman," he said, crossing his arms sullenly. "But I ain't a criminal."
And she had mentioned her father, too. Where was he? He was hesitant to ask. What if that triggered her to point her gun at him again? There was no telling what this girl would do; he only knew that she would do it with lots of words.
I didn't never make any claim of bein' a gentleman," the cowpoke, crossing his arms sullenly. "But I ain't a criminal."
"I did not call you a criminal, I merely stated what they did to me was a criminal act. The sheriff informed Billy that they both would end up in jail and no doubt in court later if he did not return my clothing and father's gun to me," Clara pointed out.
"And I am certainly glad you do not claim to be a gentleman, it would be a lie," she added with a smirk.
"I will say this much, you fit in quite well with the rest of that lawless flea bitten Evergreen rabble."
Pity too as he was actually quite handsome. But then so was Billy. Sadly looks did not make the man, character counted for far more.
Brendan glanced back at the hill again to see if Billy and Greer were still there, watching him. They were probably dying of laughter.
He looked down at his shirt and brushed off his shirtsleeves. "I don't got fleas," he said, sticking out his lower lip. "Look, Clara - I mean, Miss Redmond, I may not be a gentleman, but that ain't no call to insult me. I'm new 'round here, and I don't know anything about the Evergreen Ranch except that it pays good."
Ordinarily he wouldn't have cared about what a slip of a girl thought about him, but this time he did. It shouldn't have mattered to him, but it did. He couldn't stand the fact that this girl had gotten the jump on him, and he couldn't stand knowing that Billy and Greer had set him up.
"And seein' as I ain't welcome here, I'll take my lawless flea-bitten carcass outta here."
He grabbed the saddle pommel with both hands and was about to pull himself into the saddle when he had an idea. He paused and pushed his hat back all the way so she could see his face. He knew he didn't look trustworthy - especially since she knew he was an Evergreen hand - but he'd make one last effort to charm her.
"Unless you want to take me up on the offer to help with the washing?"
"I was not asserting you had actual fleas, you take things too literal. But I was indeed attempting to insult you as you deserve it for associating with that congress of louts," Clara pointed out. She then listened to his argument as to why he accepted employment with the Steelgraves. She also couldn't help herself.
"And that would be pays 'well' not pays 'good'," she corrected his grammar.
He was now preparing to mount up and leave, "And seein' as I ain't welcome here, I'll take my lawless flea-bitten carcass outta here."
"Count yourself fortunate that I only attempted to insult you instead of shooting you," the girl smirked.
But then he paused in saddling up, a smile came over his (admittedly handsome) features as he declared, "Unless you want to take me up on the offer to help with the washing?"
Clara actually smiled at that absurdity before sternly informing him, "I believe I am quite capable of managing the laundry in this family which I have done since the passing of my mother."
She still had the gun in her hand of course but was not pointing it at him anymore as she stepped further out from the washline. And it was right at that instant that a shot rang out in the distance. There was a sound snapping above her head almost like a bee's buzz but it was gone in a flash. Clara paused. What the devil was that?
What exactly happened hadn't quite dawned upon the girl yet but then she had never actually been shot at before.