“Is…is all that land part of the ranch?” Emily asked.

“Sure enough is,” Big-Foot Harry said with a nod. “All the way past them there hills. It’s what we Texans call a braggin’ ranch. ’Course the boss don’t believe in braggin’ none. Gotta respect a man like that. Know what I mean?”

Emily wasn’t at all sure what he meant, but since he seemed to expect an answer, she nodded anyway. It seemed strange to respect someone for simply not bragging.

Oh, how she missed the lush, green lawns of Boston and the nearness of neighbors. Before her world had come crashing down, the nights had been filled with parties, theater, and concerts. She’d had her choice of beaus, and everyone had predicted a bright future for her. In Boston terms, that meant a suitable marriage. Never had she imagined anything like her current bleak circumstances.

“What do people do here to pass the time?”

Big-Foot Henry cast a puzzled look her way. “Do?”

“You know, for entertainment.”

“Well now, let’s see. We tell stories, and Kansas Pete plays the fiddle. Sometimes, we just sit around a campfire and watch the stars do their thing.”

Emily studied him with curiosity. If watching the stars was his idea of excitement, she would sooner twiddle her thumbs. “Doesn’t sound very exciting.”

“If it’s excitement you want, I reckon you came to the right place. The cattle provide about all the excitement a body can take.” He continued, “Once a year, the town holds a rodeo. That gives us a chance to show off our ridin’ and bulldoggin’ skills. Do you have anythin’ like that where you come from?”

His question gave her pause. “You mean do we have bricklaying contests? Or banker competitions to see who can turn down the most loans?”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I guarantee you won’t see any bankers at our events.”

She laughed too. “Have you lived here in Haywire all your life?”

“Not yet, ma’am, but that’s the plan.” He arched an eyebrow. “I have to say… I never thought I’d see the day that the boss would commit holy matrimony. Certainly not to a lady such as yourself.”

Seated primly on the horsehair seat, her face shaded by her feathered hat, Emily blinked the dust out of her eyes. “We married by accident,” she said.

“Is that so?” Big-Foot Harry made a funny sound with his mouth. “Never heard of such a thing. Marryin’ by accident, I mean.”

“The stampede caused a lot of confusion.”

“Guess that explains it then,” he said with a shrug. “Confusion and weddin’s just seem to go together. Fisher and his crazy cattle sure have caused a lot of bedlam in this town. Would you believe the fool man fenced his property with smooth wire? Plain wire’s fine for sheep, but bobbed wired is the only thing that will hold in cattle.”

He spit out a stream of tobacco. “Everyone has the right to be a fool, but if you ask me, Fisher’s abusin’ the privilege.” As an afterthought, he added, “First time I heard his cattle causin’ an accidental weddin’ though…”