"So how long you worked here, Rusty?" she asked the young man who dried the dishes and put them up while she washed. He didn't have to ask where everything went, so she knew he had done this particular chore before.
"Three years this past winter." He told her.
"Do you like it here?"
"Oh yes ma'am. The boss is always fair and he's hardly ever grouchy. Well, except for just before he asked you to marry. But us men folk think it was because he was so nervous about it."
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, every time we talked about you to him, he'd get kind of antsy. But now that you are married, he's settled out and happy again."
"Really?" She wondered about that.
"Yeah, women do things to men. I should know. Debbie Taylor has had me in knots for a while now."
"Debbie Taylor, who is she?"
"The preacher's daughter. She's a pretty little thing, got red head, like fire, and freckles all over her face, but she's just so pretty to me. Her dad don't much like me so it's hard to court her. He thinks I'm nothing but a no-account cowboy. But he's wrong. I got some plans of my own."
"Do you like her?"
"No ma'am. I love her. I'm going to marry her someday."
Trudy smiled, "Really, well that sounds wonderful. I wish you luck."
"Yeah, if my sisters, and her father would leave us alone, we'd be very happy." Rusty admitted.
"You know what I think?"
"What's that?"
"I think sometimes trouble pops up to see just how much you care about a person. If you truly love her, don't give up." Trudy told him.
He stared, "Thank you ma'am, that's the first encouraging words I've heard."
Trudy chuckled. "Tell me something, who cooked for you before I came."
"A little of everyone. Mostly the boss and George, Chico can handle the meat outside but inside the kitchen he is lost."
She laughed.
"We never had food as good as you cook though."
"Thank you, I enjoy cooking."
***
"I see you got her some dresses." George waited until Lance settled on a hay stack. George seem to study him a moment, noting the fact that he had settled down now, he wasn't nervous or pacing. He was smiling and George saw the immediate happiness inside Lance these days. Of course, Lance hadn't a clue.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy talking her into it though, let me tell you. She's so afraid she owes me. I told her to consider it a wedding present, then that made her feel bad because she couldn't give me anything."
"Ain't nothing wrong with being poor. You know I've known a few women like her before. They work hard and have such good hearts. But the only thing that really astonished me about them was that they were happier than some of the richest women I ever knew. She's like that, it seems. She laughs a lot."
"She can cry too."
"Uh-oh, what happened."
Lance shook his head, "It's not what you're thinking. I stopped and picked her some flowers and when I gave them to her, she cried. Said no one gave her flowers before. I couldn't imagine it. I mean she's such a beauty not to have had many callers and opportunities to marry."