The Matchmaker's Match

{Chapter} 14

{Chapter 14}

They were all back at work early the next morning, and Adam was stuck with riding drag again. He had a feeling that Mark suspected that he had something to do with the bluish-purple bruise on Alex Harrison’s jaw, and insisted on punishing him for it. As if eating dust all day wasn’t bad enough, he was stuck with working with Brant Alexander. The man hardly said a word, and his piercing eyes tended to hide what expressions would have spoken. He was a strange man, and one that Adam had learned not to trust. He kept his eye on Brant, and watched his every move. The way his eyes darted back and forth, the way he occasionally sneaked a glance at Adam, and the way his hands nervously twitched where they rested on the pommel of his saddle. Oh, yes. Every fiber of Brant Alexander screamed guilty. Whether the man was involved with Joel’s death or not, he had a nervous way that most criminals possessed.

The day passed with the same old routine of roping, pushing, and shoving the lazy cattle onward. Adam didn’t understand how they made twenty-five miles a day at the slow rate that the older cows were going. With each moment of eating dust and shoving cattle, Adam grew to hate the job of tail riding more and more. Making camp that night was stiff and uneasy, as all of the cowboys came to the realization that they were now in Indian country. Though this little strip of Oklahoma above Texas was neutral, the MC outfit still knew of the slight possibility of an encounter with the Choctaws

　

After supper that evening, the sun was just beginning to set at the sky was turning shades of pink, purple, and bright blue as a gentle breeze flowed through the barren land. Since crossing the Texas/Oklahoma state line, Adam had begun to miss Texas more than he did on his out-of-state trips while chasing those murderers.

He watched as Katie did her job of washing the dishes, carefully scrubbing each individual dish until it shone as much as tin could shine. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a tight chignon, but a few curls had come loose here and there, giving her a worn look. She looked so tired already. She didn’t belong out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of dusty cowboys and cleaning up after them. She belonged back in Texas, matchmaking innocent, unsuspecting people and putting them together for all eternity. But she was stuck here doing the dishes alone.

Why does she have to do them alone?

Adam stood and walked over to where she knelt on the ground beside the washtub and knelt down next to her.

“Need some help?” he asked.

Katie looked at him strangely. “This is woman’s work, Adam.”

“No it’s not. I’ve been doing my own dishes for years now” Adam insisted.

Katie looked over at the campfire where the cowboys gathered. “What about them?”

Adam smiled as all the cowboys were caught up in a game of “kangaroo court”. “They won’t notice. Besides, what are they gonna do?”

“Make the rest of the drive horrible for you.”

Adam sighed, took a dishtowel from where it was draped over her shoulder, and made a funny face at her. “This is my ‘I don’t care’ face.”

Katie laughed and handed him a wet dish. “Have it your way. You’ve always been stubborn.”

“Thank you. I’ll agree that it’s one of my finer qualities” Adam smiled as he dried a dish.

“I never said it was a quality,” Katie reminded him.

“But you know it is.”

“To a certain extent.”