was washed. Her nails were polished. And it was barely two o'clock.
With an air of resigned indifference, Diana changed into a pair of slacks and sturdy shoes. Minutes later she was buttoning her jacket and stepping out of the door. The sun had climbed its blue ladder until it rested nearly overhead preparing for its downward slide to the west. The breeze was gentle, carrying a wild mingling of smells, from horses to sheep to cattle to the fragrant pines and the scent of hay. But the odours were unfamiliar to Diana and she couldn't pick one from the other.
The house had no lawn, just a continuance of the yellow grasses that covered the hills. There were no hedges, no flowering bushes, no shade trees except for the pines behind the house and a scrubby-looking pine-type tree in the front. The white paint that Lije had bought to re-do thebuildings was in the storeroom in the house. There had been too many other things that needed to be done before spring, so the painting had been set aside.
First Diana strolled towards the fenced pasture where some horses had gathered. For a while she leaned against the wooden rails watching the shaggy-coated animals as they quietly grazed. A distant, smaller enclosure held a lone horse which Diana knew from the conversations between Lije and Jim was his stallion Malpais. At this distance, he looked solid black in colour, although Lije had said he was a bay with black points.
The yearlings in the corral where Diana was became curious about this human who made no move towards them and began moving ell masse in her direction. Before they could reach her Diana stepped away. She couldn't treat them like overgrown dogs the way Lije and Jim Two Pony did.
A movement near the barn drew her attention. Jim Two Pony was arranging some gear in the back end of the pick-up before walking back into the barn. Diana hesitated. Lije was out somewhere on the range and wouldn't be back until dusk. Here was her opportunity to have a private conversation with this man who seemed so determined to ignore her presence.
Resolutely her feet carded her towards the dark confines of the barn illuminated only by the sunlight filtering through the dusty windows and the open door. Diana knew that Jim Two Pony had to have heard her steps, but he didn't glance up when her silhouette blocked the doorway.
'Hello, Jim,' she said with determined brightness.
'Hello,' was his clipped reply as he walked over and took a saddle from its rack near the door.
'Is Lije around?' Diana asked, knowing that if it was up to Jim the conversation had just ended.
'Nope.' He walked to the door, the saddle carried effortlessly over his shoulder and Diana following a few steps behind.
'Do you know where he is?' she persisted.
'Nope.'
'It's a nice day, isn't it? The sun really feels good.' Diana stubbornly refused to give up.
'Yes.' Cold, dark eyes flicked over her.
'How much longer before spring comes?' There was the barest glimmer of a twinkle in her eye as she silently dared Jim Two Pony to find a one-word reply to that.
'Soon.'
Diana pressed her lips together. 'Why don't you like me, Jim?' she asked, hoping her bluntness would shock him into revealing the truth.
'You are very beautiful,' he replied without blinking an eye.
'Is that the reason why you don't like me?' Diana asked grimly.
'Beauty is as beauty does.' His bland composure wasn't the least bit ruffled.
'What you're really saying is that you don't think I'm right for Lije. That eventhough we both love each other very much, I don't belong here.' Her chin tilted upwards, letting the light breeze flow over her face and catch at the silken fineness of her pale hair.
'When I first came to this ranch after Lije's mother died, she had tried to grow roses by the house. They withered away. They could not exist without her pampering and care.' The offhand way Jim was talking would have led a stranger to believe he was recounting a story instead of answering Diana's question.
Yet
With an air of resigned indifference, Diana changed into a pair of slacks and sturdy shoes. Minutes later she was buttoning her jacket and stepping out of the door. The sun had climbed its blue ladder until it rested nearly overhead preparing for its downward slide to the west. The breeze was gentle, carrying a wild mingling of smells, from horses to sheep to cattle to the fragrant pines and the scent of hay. But the odours were unfamiliar to Diana and she couldn't pick one from the other.
The house had no lawn, just a continuance of the yellow grasses that covered the hills. There were no hedges, no flowering bushes, no shade trees except for the pines behind the house and a scrubby-looking pine-type tree in the front. The white paint that Lije had bought to re-do thebuildings was in the storeroom in the house. There had been too many other things that needed to be done before spring, so the painting had been set aside.
First Diana strolled towards the fenced pasture where some horses had gathered. For a while she leaned against the wooden rails watching the shaggy-coated animals as they quietly grazed. A distant, smaller enclosure held a lone horse which Diana knew from the conversations between Lije and Jim was his stallion Malpais. At this distance, he looked solid black in colour, although Lije had said he was a bay with black points.
The yearlings in the corral where Diana was became curious about this human who made no move towards them and began moving ell masse in her direction. Before they could reach her Diana stepped away. She couldn't treat them like overgrown dogs the way Lije and Jim Two Pony did.
A movement near the barn drew her attention. Jim Two Pony was arranging some gear in the back end of the pick-up before walking back into the barn. Diana hesitated. Lije was out somewhere on the range and wouldn't be back until dusk. Here was her opportunity to have a private conversation with this man who seemed so determined to ignore her presence.
Resolutely her feet carded her towards the dark confines of the barn illuminated only by the sunlight filtering through the dusty windows and the open door. Diana knew that Jim Two Pony had to have heard her steps, but he didn't glance up when her silhouette blocked the doorway.
'Hello, Jim,' she said with determined brightness.
'Hello,' was his clipped reply as he walked over and took a saddle from its rack near the door.
'Is Lije around?' Diana asked, knowing that if it was up to Jim the conversation had just ended.
'Nope.' He walked to the door, the saddle carried effortlessly over his shoulder and Diana following a few steps behind.
'Do you know where he is?' she persisted.
'Nope.'
'It's a nice day, isn't it? The sun really feels good.' Diana stubbornly refused to give up.
'Yes.' Cold, dark eyes flicked over her.
'How much longer before spring comes?' There was the barest glimmer of a twinkle in her eye as she silently dared Jim Two Pony to find a one-word reply to that.
'Soon.'
Diana pressed her lips together. 'Why don't you like me, Jim?' she asked, hoping her bluntness would shock him into revealing the truth.
'You are very beautiful,' he replied without blinking an eye.
'Is that the reason why you don't like me?' Diana asked grimly.
'Beauty is as beauty does.' His bland composure wasn't the least bit ruffled.
'What you're really saying is that you don't think I'm right for Lije. That eventhough we both love each other very much, I don't belong here.' Her chin tilted upwards, letting the light breeze flow over her face and catch at the silken fineness of her pale hair.
'When I first came to this ranch after Lije's mother died, she had tried to grow roses by the house. They withered away. They could not exist without her pampering and care.' The offhand way Jim was talking would have led a stranger to believe he was recounting a story instead of answering Diana's question.
Yet
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