“I’ll tell you what,” she continued without stopping to take a breath. Her social invitation had been declined, but she apparently had no intention of being turned down a second time. “I’ll have one of my hands ride over later today with appropriate riding attire.” She stepped back and visually inspected Emily’s figure. “Such a tiny thing,” she said with a shake of the head, as if Emily’s small stature posed a problem. “But I’m sure I’ll find something to fit you.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Emily said. “But I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” Mrs. Buttonwood gave Emily her own playful punch in the arm. “We rancher wives have to stick together.” With that, she turned to her horse and mounted. “I hope we can plan that little get-together soon,” she called from astride her saddle. “The others are dying to meet you.” With a wave of her hand, she rode off, and the tension immediately left the air.

“Unprecedented heights?” Chase said, his eyes warm with humor, and for the first time since landing in Haywire, Emily couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

By the end of the day, Emily’s mind was awhirl with the many sights she’d witnessed. Since she’d refused to mount a horse, Chase had made her walk to the roping pasture. It couldn’t have been more than a quarter of a mile away from the main house. Even in her city shoes, the walk had offered no hardship, but one of the cowhands had chastised Chase for making his bride walk so far.

Emily thought it the strangest thing. The cowhands seemed to think nothing of sitting in a saddle for hours at a time but balked at having to walk even a short distance on foot.

Before witnessing the men at work, she’d had no idea that running a ranch required so much in the way of sweat and guts. Never again would she take a piece of meat on her plate for granted.

At first glance, the arid ground had looked dull and lifeless. What a false impression that had been! Under Chase’s patient tutelage, she now knew that the land teemed with life, and the battle of survival against the forces of nature was in constant play.

Still, nothing had changed her mind about the ranch. She still hated the relentless dust and sickening smell. But given Chase’s passion, she now understood why he would do anything to keep from losing the ranch. Why he would even endure their strange marriage.

The sun had dipped low in the sky by the time Emily returned to her room to catch her breath and freshen up for supper. There she found the housekeeper.

Peggy Sue jumped when Emily entered the room, and her face flared red. “Oh, I’m s-sorry,” she stammered and quickly moved away from the full-length mirror. The wedding gown she’d been holding up to herself was now bunched in her arms. “I…I was just about to hang this up.”