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  “You can’t,” Hinson said, very much as if he was forbidding her and expected her to obey.

  “I’m afraid that’s out of your control.”

  His glance turned angry. “Your father had a contract to deliver fifty beeves a month to me for the Indians on the reservation. There’s been trouble the last two times. You have to deliver or the contract will be taken away.”

  “You’ll receive your deliveries.”

  “I doubt it,” he said with so much mockery in his voice Abby wanted to slap him. “No man will do business with a woman.”

  She didn’t know what kind of women the men at Fort Lookout were accustomed to dealing with, but they must be completely lacking in courage as well as common sense. She knew lots of women who owned stores and other businesses who had proved they were as capable as men. The males at Fort Lookout were in for a rude shock if they expected the Pierce sisters to defer to their every wish.

  “Do you know who’s delivering the beef this month?” Abby asked. It would be a relief to find out so she could talk to the rancher and get that settled in her mind.

  “No, I don’t, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  “I’ll keep working while you talk.” She had decided the store, as well as their living quarters, needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. She and two of the enlisted men were in the process of removing everything from the tables and shelves, then scrubbing them thoroughly before putting everything back in neat and carefully organized piles. She’d get to the walls and floors next.

  “I don’t know if you’re aware of this,” Hinson said, “but Ray Baucom and his partners used to hold the beef contract. One of his partners died a few months back. Before he could get reorganized, your father put in a bid and won the contract. I think you ought to give it back to Ray.”

  Abby told herself she had to stop being prejudiced because of the way western men groomed themselves. It was a harsh land, so she supposed they had to dress rough. But even though Hinson had shaved some time in the last month and didn’t smell so strong she had to step away from him, there was something about him that smelled rotten.

  “Why would I want to do that?” she asked.

  “This is rough country,” Hinson said. “It’s full of rustlers, murderers, and desperate men who have little to lose. A herd of cattle is an irresistible temptation. It was all Baucom and his partners could do to get enough beef through to keep the Indians from going on the warpath. You’d never be able to get fifty beeves to the reservation.”

  “It would seem pointless to give Mr. Baucom and his partners a contract they’ve never been able to fulfill. In fact, I would think it might be illegal.”

  “It wasn’t illegal because they were the only ones who bid on it”

  “Then you should be thankful my father won the contract. Now you have a chance of getting your whole allotment.”

  “The last herd was rustled.”

  “Colonel McGregor told me the Indians found it” She could tell her refusal to back down was making him angry. He didn’t seem nearly so eager to sweet-talk her.

  “The Indians have been known to steal some of their own beef before.”

  “Why should they steal what’s already theirs?”

  He appeared to be trying to control his irritation. “There are a lot of things that won’t make sense to an Easterner. It’s all the more difficult because you’re a female.”

  Now it was Abby’s turn to struggle to keep her temper under control. “What is it that I, being an Easterner and a female, won’t understand?”

  “Men won’t work for a woman. You won’t get anybody to sell you beef.”

  Abby believed ranchers would get over any reluctance to deal with a woman as long as they got paid.

  “What else?” Abby asked.

  “Your whole herd will be stolen before it gets to the reservation.”

  “Why will mine be stolen and not Baucom’s?”

  “There’s not much law out here. If you’re not strong enough to hold your beef, or take it back from anyone who steals it, you lose out.”

  “I gather you believe Baucom and his partners are strong enough to go after anybody who tries to steal their beef.”

  “Yes.”

  “But not strong enough to keep all the beef they contracted to deliver, just the ones the rustlers let them keep.” Hinson’s face turned red. “It doesn’t seem as if they’re particularly strong at all. I think I’ll hold on to the contract.”

  “Your father stole that contract from Baucom when his back was turned, and I want him to have it back.”

  “I haven’t had time to read the contract, but I’m sure it only runs for a year. He’ll be able to submit a bid when it comes up for renewal.”

  “That contract ought to be Baucom’s,” Hinson nearly shouted. “Your father knew he couldn’t deliver what he promised.”

  “How many deliveries are left on the contract?”

  ”Ten.”

  “Did he deliver on the first one?”

  “No. Rustlers ran off every head.”

  “Did he recover any?”

  “He was dead by then. Spicer got some men together, but they couldn’t find the herd.”

  “Why didn’t he ask Colonel McGregor to help? I’m sure he’s just as interested in seeing the Indians get their beef as anybody else.”

  “He did, but the colonel has a lot of territory to cover and not enough men.”

  If Bryce could afford to offer as many as a dozen men to work in the store, Abby was sure he would have sent even more after the missing beef.

  “Well, Mr. Hinson, I appreciate your concern for me and for the Indians. I don’t understand why you want to give the contract to a man who didn’t deliver what he promised, but I’ve been here little more than a day. I have no intention of making decisions of such importance until I know more about all the issues you’ve mentioned.”

  “I can understand your concern, little lady,” Hinson said more calmly. “I know it must be a lot for you to try to run this store. It’ll probably take months before you get everything figured out. I’m only trying to make things easier for you. If you’d just release the contract, you could get on with your cleaning and straightening.”

  No one had ever dared patronize Abby in such an insulting manner. It was all she could do not to throw her pail of dirty water in his face. “I don’t think you understand, Mr. Hinson. The discussion is over. Good day.”

  He looked as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Apparently no woman had ever refused to do what he wanted.

  “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  “You won’t talk to me about this for at least a month.”

  His temper snapped. “You’ll talk to me before then whether you want to or not. The next shipment is due in a week. When it doesn’t arrive, I will be down on you like a swarm of bees. And if the Indians leave their reservation and steal from the ranchers, you’ll have Colonel McGregor to deal with.”

  “Thank you for the warning,” she said and turned her back on him.

  “You are a stupid and hardheaded woman,” Hinson shouted. “I’ve tried to talk some sense into you, but you’re too dumb to know what’s good for you. I’m not having my position here wrecked by some tenderfoot female. The first time you fail to deliver, I’ll snatch that contract from you so fast you won’t know what hit you. If you’d take my advice, you’d head back East where people like you don’t put sensible men in danger.”

  “That man is a liar,” Zeb said after Hinson slammed out. “Spicer never said a word to the colonel. Neither did Hinson. The colonel only heard about it when some of the Indians left the reservation to find the herd themselves.”

  “What happened?”

  “They found it, all right. They found the rustlers, too. The only reason we didn’t have every white man for fifty miles around clamoring for us to murder the Indians who left the reservation is, they had enough sense to bring the rustlers to the fort. A few of them h
ad bullets in them, but they were still alive.”

  “What did Bryce—I mean Colonel McGregor—do?”

  “Shipped them off to Boulder Gap to let the law there deal with them.”

  “Do you think anybody will try to steal the herd this timer’

  “Seems half the people out here are stealing cows from the ranchers, gold from the miners, or land from the Indians.”

  “What do you think of Hinson?”

  “I think he’d as soon steal from his mother as the Indians. Everybody knows he don’t give the Indians what’s promised. If he does, it’s spoiled, broken, or the wrong thing.”

  “And Baucom?”

  “He says rustlers kept stealing his cows, but he seems to have plenty of money just the same.”

  “Do you think Baucom and Hinson are working together?”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. Baucom was plenty mad when your pa won that beef contract. He swore he’d get it back one way or the other.”

  Chapter Five

  “We came to see how you’re doing,” Pamela announced as she burst into the trading post followed by her father. “Daddy said I couldn’t come by myself.”

  Abby looked up from where she’d been sorting through stock that had been piled randomly in one corner. She’d already decided she needed more shelves so that she and Moriah could see what they had and the customers could find what they wanted.

  “You should have warned me you were coming,” she said to Bryce. “I don’t normally greet visitors sitting on the floor.”

  “We can fix that easily enough,” he said.

  He extended both hands in the obvious expectation that she would let him help her up. She wasn’t sure of the etiquette that prevailed on isolated army posts, but this would have been considered a familiar gesture in St. Louis. However, greeting a guest while sitting on the floor was probably even worse, so she cast aside her doubts and let him help her to her feet.

  Help wasn’t the right word. Lift was. Bryce wasn’t merely big and tall. He was strong. Having her hands in his firm grasp made Abby keenly aware of herself as a woman, but she was determined she wouldn’t let herself be carried away again by a handsome face and impressive strength … or a warm smile. She’d let herself be fooled by a man’s outward appearance in St. Louis, and she had almost ended up in jail.

  “It looks as if you’ve made some good progress,” Bryce said.

  “Only on the surface,” Abby said. “I don’t know how Father managed to make any money with everything in such disorder.”

  “He seemed to know what everybody wanted and where to find it. I remember people saying as soon as they walked in the door he would start pulling down things for their order.”

  “It will take a while before Moriah and I know our customers that well, but we hope to compensate by being more organized. As soon as I’m able, I’ll have shelves built on all the walls. It’s hard to keep things organized when they’re stacked on tables or piled in the corner.”

  She was talking too much. She was sure Bryce didn’t want to hear about her plans. Most likely he wouldn’t have come if Pamela hadn’t dragged him. If he was interested at all—except in trying to convince them to return to St. Louis—he probably wanted only to make sure she could supply the needs of his soldiers and their families.

  “Let me know when you’re ready for the shelves,” Bryce said. “I’ve got a couple of men who’re very good carpenters, but they’ll each cost you thirty-five cents a day.”

  “I don’t know that I can pay them. Bill Spicer handed over almost no money from the last few weeks.”

  “I imagine he drank up a good bit of it.”

  “He said he left the store unattended because people would write down what they took and pay for it later.”

  “That’s a bigger lie than I thought even Spicer would try to pull off. Your father gave credit, but he would never have allowed such a practice.”

  “Why would Spicer do it?”

  “I imagine he expected the lease to lapse and someone else to take over. He was just taking care of himself while he could.”

  “He’s a thief.”

  “Nobody doubts that, but you’ll have a hard time proving it I advise you to chalk it up to experience and forget it. Even if you could prove Spicer stole from the store, there’ll be nothing to recover.”

  That was what she’d expected, but she wasn’t happy to have her suspicions confirmed.

  “You’d be well advised to look for a buyer. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to—”

  “Do you think my sister and I would be doing all this work if we intended to sell the store? You’ve been very kind to us, but your constant effort to get rid of us is beginning to make me angry.”

  “I haven’t been trying to get rid of you,” Bryce said. “I admire your courage and determination. I was just giving you the advice I believe is in your best interest.”

  “Thank you, but my sister and I will decide what’s in our best interest.” She was irritated at herself for being even the slightest bit attracted to a man who was doing his best to make her think she was incapable of running a store. She would have been livid at anyone else, but she seemed to have an irrational attraction to this man. The sooner he got his appointment back East the better.

  “Where’s Pamela?” Bryce asked, breaking the strained silence. “I have to be going.”

  “I expect she’s gone to see what Moriah’s doing,” Abby said, leading the way from the store to the living quarters.

  Moriah had made good use of the three enlisted men at her disposal. The room had been scrubbed from floor to ceiling, removing thick layers of smoke, grease, and dirt. Once the walls were whitewashed, the room wouldn’t be so gloomy. Abby hoped to find a way to cut out a window to let in more light. Even clean, the room gave her the feeling of being in a cave.

  “I’m helping,” Pamela said to her father. She was pushing a wet cloth over the top of the table.

  “I’m sure they appreciate it,” her father said, “but it’s time for us to go. I have to get back to work.”

  “Can’t I stay?”

  “Not today. They still have a lot of work to do.”

  “I can help.”

  “You have your own work. Remember your lessons?”

  Pamela made a face. “Do I have to do them?”

  “You know you do. Now say good-bye.”

  “You can help us cook dinner,” Abby said to Pamela.

  “That’s not necessary,” Bryce said.

  “Of course it is. It’s all decided.”

  After he left, Abby realized he hadn’t protested a second time. In fact, he looked relieved. She wondered if it was just the food, or whether he might actually enjoy their company. They weren’t the most brilliant conversationalists, but it had to be a change from talking to a seven-year-old and discussing military matters all day. And while she and her sister were no beauties, they weren’t ugly. He had to like looking at them better than at Zeb.

  Abby told herself to stop imagining things. If Bryce was still trying to get them to go back to St. Louis, he couldn’t be that enthralled with their company.

  Abby’s day was completed by the appearance of Ray Baucom in the late afternoon. She was tired, dirty, and disheveled. She was short of temper, angry that Spicer had stolen the proceeds of the last months and indignant that Hinson thought she was incapable of managing the store. She tried to convince Baucom to come back me next day, but he said he was the one responsible for the beef shipment and needed to talk to her. He was the third person to whom Abby had taken an instant dislike.

  “What do you mean you’re responsible for the beef shipment? You lost that contract,” Abby said, too tired and angry to mince words. Moriah had found some of their father’s recordbooks. The stock on the books didn’t match what was on the shelves, and there was no income to account for it.

  “I was bending the truth a little so you’d let me in,” Baucom said.

  Abby felt a surge of ange
r. “I’ve already had to endure Mr. Hinson’s lecture on why I can’t possibly manage to live up to my contract and that I ought to turn it over to you. I don’t need you telling me the same thing.”

  “I don’t want it back,” Baucom said. “I was glad when your father won it.”

  Abby stopped scrubbing and looked at Baucom. “I was told you were furious when my father got the contract, that you swore to get it back one way or the other.”

  “I may have said something like that,” Baucom said, looking slightly embarrassed. “I was very angry at the time, but I’ve had time to reconsider.”

  “And just what caused you to change your mind?” Abby didn’t know whether to believe him or not. He certainly seemed sincere, but she couldn’t understand why everyone else would tell her just the opposite.

  “The contract looks like a good way to make money. You buy beef at a low price and sell it to the government at a contracted price, regardless of whether it’s above current market price or not. And it always was. The government needs the beef no matter what.”

  “So what made you decide you didn’t want to be rich?”

  Baucom laughed. “I wasn’t getting rich. Rustlers and Indians attacked so often, I had trouble finding cowhands to work for me. I rarely delivered more than half of my contract. I decided it would be easier to grow the beef and sell it to you.”

  The fact that everything Baucom said was calculated to make Abby think she couldn’t deliver on the contract caused her to distrust the man. But he was telling her what others had already said, and that made her think he might be telling the truth. But Bryce was trying to convince her to go back to St. Louis, and Hinson was a woman-hater.

  “I’ll do what I can to help you, short of taking on the contract,” Baucom said. “I know it’s got to be difficult for you, coming in here like this.”

  At least he didn’t say the job was too difficult for a woman. That was a handful of points in his favor. “I might take advantage of your offer,” Abby said.

  “I know every rancher within two hundred miles,” Baucom said. “I’ll be glad to recommend you to any of them.”