Patty's Gamble Read online

  Patty couldn’t help but be curious, but she knew it was best if she let the matter alone. As Archie headed out of the barn, he turned back to her and asked, “Do I want to know how much you heard me tell Randy a few minutes ago?”

  “Oh, I heard all of it.”

  “That’s what I figured.” He hesitated then pressed, “What do you think? You know, about showing that reluctant husband of yours some leg, a little cleavage and such? You up for it?”

  “I’ll try anything if it means I can have him, Archie. But will it really work?”

  “He might not come around right away, but I guarantee you, he’ll get all hot and bothered, and men can’t go through that without eventually wanting to do something about it.”

  “Something like what?”

  After a moment, he winked at her. “In nine months, Greg could be a father.”

  His meaning dawned on her and she gasped. But then she giggled, ignoring the heat rising up in her face. It was in line with what her father had said, so it had to be true. Men really did want to make love, but some were far more stubborn than others. And Greg just happened to be one of them. But she knew as soon as she got Greg in bed, she’d finally have him, and all the nonsense about wanting to send her right back to her pa would finally stop.

  “I’ll give it all I got, Archie. Thanks for the tip!” she said then made sure no one was around before she hurried out of the barn, excited to try something that might work.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A few days passed, and Patty bit her lower lip as she thought over her plan. Was this really going to work? Was it a good idea? Or was she making a mistake? She sighed as she glanced around the house.

  Greg had made it a point of leaving things spread throughout the place. He’d left his coffee grounds on the worktable, his dirty socks on the kitchen floor, and his cup of coffee on the kitchen table. Upstairs, he’d littered the entire hallway with his dirty clothes, and he’d tracked some dirt into the parlor. He’d even read a paper, tore parts of it up and threw it around the room.

  If he thought that was a huge mess, he had another thing coming. She had had to deal with far worse from stray cats one time. This was nothing she couldn’t handle. Without a word of complaint, she cleaned everything up and neatly put them away. When Greg entered the house in the evenings and saw all his messiness had been for nothing, he hadn’t seemed pleased.

  And in as little as a week, he stopped doing it altogether and reverted back to his clean ways. The poor man really had no idea what to do to get rid of her, and while she found it humorous, she couldn’t help but wonder when he’d give up the nonsense and simply admit he wanted to be with her.

  Now, as Patty waited for him in the kitchen, she took a deep breath. He’d be home soon. It was time to eat dinner, and he had finally given up the notion of trying to eat with the ranch hands. On this particular night, she made mashed potatoes and ham. She even made an apple pie. She currently had the meal set on the table with two glasses of lemonade. She unfastened a button on her shirtwaist, not sure if two or three was the best way to do it. Finally, she opted to unbutton three of them since it couldn’t hurt to do an extra one.

  The front door opened, and Patty turned from the kitchen table so she could run over to Greg. “How was your day, my love?” she asked, clasping her hands together and offering her sweetest smile.

  He put the hat on the hook then stopped in mid-turn when he saw her. His gaze lowered, and she was glad she had opted for undoing three buttons instead of two. Pushing her arms together, she exposed more cleavage. She closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek.

  He jerked back.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” she said. “I made apple pie tonight, and it tastes real good, if I do say so myself.” And that was a feat considering she didn’t have help this time.

  He grimaced before he trudged to the kitchen. “Well, it’s not like I have any choice but to eat here. You pretty much banned me from my own meals out there.” He gestured to the bunkhouse then plunked down in the chair as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

  Undeterred by his persistent bad mood, she followed him. “You shouldn’t let that bother you. I assure you the meals I make are much better for you. And they taste better, too.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion.”

  “No, it’s not,” she argued as she leaned forward, giving him a generous view of her breasts.

  As she hoped, his gaze went exactly where she wanted it. When she was done pouring his coffee, she picked the cloth napkin off the table and spread it out on his lap. Though she hadn’t meant to brush his erection, she figured she’d pretend she did and let her hand linger there, intentionally stroking him a bit with her fingers.

  She glanced at Greg, and though his expression didn’t tell her one way or another if he liked it, he didn’t push her hand away. And she took that as a positive sign. But she couldn’t linger too long without being too obvious.

  She stood up and massaged his shoulders. “You should come in sometime during the day and let me help you relax.” She pressed her breasts against his back and kissed his neck.

  Something in him snapped to attention because he shooed her away. “I don’t need to be relaxed. I’m plenty relaxed as it is.”

  Her eyebrows rose at the tension in his voice. But instead of making a comment, she went to her seat. “Of course, dear. Whatever you say.”

  He sighed but poked his fork into the ham.

  “Oops. Silly me.” She stood up and went to the pitcher of water. “It’s so hot outside. I bet you need something better than lemonade to quench your thirst.”

  As she grabbed the pitcher from the worktable, she let out a shriek then giggled. “I thought I saw a spider,” she told him when she saw his bewildered expression. “But it was only a shadow.”

  Greg rolled his eyes.

  Alright. So pretending to be afraid of big, bad spiders didn’t work. Maybe he wasn’t one of those men who felt the need to rescue women from every little thing. And really, she didn’t fancy acting afraid of something so small anyway.

  Going with Archie’s idea, she lifted the hem of her skirt and frowned. “I thought I had a tear in my bloomers.”

  She glanced at Greg and saw that his attention had turned back to her. And not only that, but he seemed much more interested in what she was doing than when she was skittish because of a spider.

  “Hmm,” she said as she made a show of lifting her petticoats.

  In all honesty, she detested these things. They were much too constricting. But they were part of the “feminine” attire women were told to wear, so she bore with it. And judging by the way Greg seemed to have forgotten all about his food, she figured she was on the right track. There was something to wearing skirts, she supposed.

  “How funny,” she mused. “I don’t see a tear at all.” She lifted the bloomers in an attempt to show some leg—as Archie had suggested—and glanced over at Greg. He still hadn’t gone back to his food.

  As much as she hated to lose his attention, especially when it was the kind of attention she wanted, she let the garments fall back in place. She picked up the pitcher full of water and brought it to Greg.

  “Want some?” she asked, once again leaning forward so he could catch a glimpse of her breasts.

  Gasping, he threw the napkin on the table and bolted up, knocking his chair back so it fell to the floor. “Stop it.”

  “Stop what?” she asked innocently. “Offering you water?”

  “No. Yes. No. I mean, stop the way you’re doing it.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t think there was a wrong way to offer water.”

  “You know very well what I’m talking about,” he snapped.

  She followed him to the door and tried to prevent him from opening it, but he was too quick and flung it open before she had time to blink. The man could really move when he wanted to! If she wasn’t so disappointed he was leaving, she would have been
impressed.

  “Oh come on, Greg,” she argued, stepping in front of him. “All I’m doing is serving you supper.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re trying to seduce me.”

  She gasped, hoping she sounded appropriated shocked. “I am not! I’m a lady. Why, I wear a shirtwaist, a skirt, a chemise, bloomers, and petticoats, stockings—”

  “I don’t care about your clothes.”

  “I could take them off if you’d like,” she offered with a hopeful smile.

  He glowered at her then grabbed his hat from the hook by the door. He shoved it on his head. “Get out of my way before I toss you out of here.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Don’t test me.”

  Though she didn’t believe for a minute he’d really toss her out, she could tell he was serious, so she moved aside to let him pass.

  Grumbling, he trudged down the porch steps. She sighed and closed the door. That didn’t go nearly as well as she’d hoped. But she did have his attention. For ten whole minutes, he’d been focused on her, and he didn’t look the least bit unhappy about it.

  She wondered where she messed up. He let her touch his penis for goodness’ sakes. So she had been doing something right. But he wouldn’t stick around as long next time. Now, he would be on guard against her feminine wiles.

  “I’m going to win, Greg Wilson, if it’s the last thing I do,” she muttered before she shut the door.

  She was out of ideas. She’d tried everything her pa, Evelyn, and Archie recommended. Now it was time to seek out Heather’s help. God willing, Heather would have an idea that she hadn’t tried yet.

  ***

  When Patty reached Heather’s house, she saw that her friend was talking to a woman she hadn’t seen before. Maybe this was the woman Boaz married. Herb had mentioned it, but she hadn’t paid much attention since she was busy gathering eggs for Greg’s breakfast. Now, as she got off her horse, she took a good look at the woman and thought Boaz did pretty well. And judging by the woman’s smile, Patty ventured she was very happy with her new marriage.

  “Patty, I want you to meet Eva,” Heather called out. “Eva just married Boaz.” Looking at Eva, she added, “Patty just got married, too. She married Greg Wilson.”

  Patty tied the horse’s reins to the post and rolled her eyes. “I’d hardly call what Greg and I have a marriage.”

  “Why? What’s wrong? Is Greg not happy?”

  “That’s an understatement,” she grumbled and headed for the porch, her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve cooked and cleaned for him. I even brought him a newspaper and tried to rub his back.” Not that he stuck around long enough for her to actually touch his back. As soon as she’d come at him with the paper, he bolted for the door. With a sigh, she asked, “But does he appreciate any of it? No! With the way he’s acting, you’d swear I just ruined his life.” She paused for a moment and smiled at Eva. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too,” Eva replied, her smile assuring Patty that she took no offense to her rude behavior, something Patty was grateful for since she had enough troubles weighing her down as it was.

  “I just don’t understand Greg.” Patty plopped in the rocking chair across from them and crossed her arms. “I thought men were pretty simple to figure out. As long as their bellies are full and they’re not tripping over things in their house, they should be satisfied. At least my pa’s an easy man to please. He’s happy for the littlest thing anyone does for him. And look at Mitch.” She gestured to Heather. “He was smiling and talking about you nonstop when he married you. I swear, he’d never been that happy before. But will Greg see what a blessing I am? Of course not. And why? Because he’s stupid.”

  “Oh, you don’t think he’s stupid,” Heather replied. “A little misguided perhaps but not stupid.”

  Lowering her voice so Hannah wouldn’t overhear, she said, “I went to his bed wearing nothing, and he didn’t do anything.”

  “You what?” Eva asked, her eyes wide.

  “I gave him what every man dreams of,” Patty replied, shooting her a meaningful look. “And what did he do? He left the room. Now, go on and tell me that’s not stupid.”

  Heather bit her lower lip. “Well, it doesn’t take much to encourage a man.”

  “Exactly. And honestly, I don’t know how I could have been more encouraging than that.” Patty leaned back in her chair, feeling as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything, but nothing’s worked. The fool keeps going on and on about how he’ll figure a way out of the marriage.”

  Heather reached out and clasped Patty’s hand, something that did comfort Patty despite her circumstances. “You haven’t tried the most important thing of all,” Heather whispered. “You haven’t been yourself.”

  “If being myself would work, he would have married me a long time ago.”

  “I don’t recall you being anything but the person you think he wants you to be.”

  “A man doesn’t want a woman who can lasso cattle better than he can. Don’t get me wrong. Greg manages very well on the ranch, but there are some things he could do much better. Like breaking his horse? I could have handled that one, but he paid Boaz to do it. And why? Because he’s a man and I’m a woman. Greg expects me to be feminine at all times.”

  “Patty,” Eva began, shifting in her chair, “just because a man wants to be married, it doesn’t mean he wants a wife.”

  “What?” Patty asked, trying to figure out how that was possible.

  “Boaz only wanted to marry me so he could have a mother for his children. He sleeps in the parlor, and I sleep in the bedroom.”

  Heather turned to Eva. “Was that his idea?”

  “Well,” Eva began, “at first it was mine because I didn’t want to be with him right away. Then when I was ready, I found out he planned for us to sleep in separate rooms all along.”

  “When I married Mitch, I thought he wouldn’t want to be with me right away because we rushed through everything.”

  “So he slept on the couch?” Patty asked, fully expecting her friend to say yes.

  “No,” she slowly replied. “He slept in the same room with me.”

  “And?”

  “And…it went as you’d expect it to.”

  “But it didn’t happen that way for me,” Patty pointed out, not hiding her disappointment. Why did Heather have to have everything so easy? “And it’s not happening that way for Eva. You know what I think? I think some men don’t know a good thing when they have it.”

  “Or they’re too afraid to accept it when they do,” Eva added then blushed. “I understand why, though. Since Boaz’s first wife died in childbirth, he’s afraid I’ll suffer the same fate.”

  Heather pressed her hand to her heart. “You weren’t here before he straightened his life out. He’s been through so much, and he took her death hard.”

  Patty couldn’t argue Heather’s point. It was true. Boaz used to be a mess. She hardly recognized him these days. All the changes he made had definitely been for the better.

  “I figured that,” Eva told Heather. “It’s why I’m not so upset about it. Sure, I’d like to have something like you and Mitch do, but I realize the situation is different.” After a pause, she added, “I think it’d help Patty to know she’s not the only one going through this. I know I feel better knowing I’m not the only wife who doesn’t have a normal marriage.”

  “I feel better too, Eva,” Patty agreed. And she did. “It’s nice to know not every woman has it easy. I’m sorry, Heather, but it’s not fair to watch Mitch fall all over himself to impress you. You have him wrapped around your finger. I honestly don’t think there’s anything he wouldn’t do for you.”

  Heather glanced between them and shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “There’s nothing you can say,” Patty replied. “We’re glad you don’t have t
o go through what we do. It’s horrible. Eva,” she looked at her, “the notion that you’re going to die in childbirth might be possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. Most women survive it just fine.”

  “I know that,” Eva said, “but I don’t think Boaz can be logical when it comes to this.”

  “I know it doesn’t seem like it,” Heather began, “but Boaz is trying to protect you.”

  “I realize that. It’s the only reason why I don’t try to knock some sense into him.”

  Patty giggled at the image of a wisp of a woman like Eva smacking Boaz with her purse to knock some sense into him. “I wouldn’t mind doing that to Greg, and I would if I didn’t want to kiss him so much. So tell me, Heather. What secrets do you have for us? What can we do to nudge our men in the right direction?”

  Heather twirled her hair around her finger. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you do if you want Mitch to join you in bed?”

  Heather’s face went beet red, but she said, “It doesn’t take much to get him interested. A touch in certain places, a lingering kiss, telling him I’ll be in bed waiting for him… He’s not hard to encourage like Greg is.”

  Patty rocked back and forth, tapping the edge of the chair’s arm with her fingers. “I wonder if I can get close enough to Greg to try the touching and kissing thing.” Granted, he’d let her touch his erection, but it wasn’t like she had made it a bold caress. “I think if I told him I’d be in bed, he’d run out of the house.”

  Eva chuckled then quickly cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Patty. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

  “Oh, I know it sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous! No man in his right mind would refuse to take a woman up on the offer to be intimate. That’s why there’s something wrong with Greg up here.” She tapped her head. “I just wish there was some medicine I could give him to cure him of his stupidity.”

  “Alas, no such thing exists,” Eva said with a shake of her head.