Chapter One – Hotter Than Hot
San Joaquin Valley, California, 1882
Note: This original Andi Carter story opens a week or two after Macy (Thick as Thieves) has left the Circle C ranch. Andi’s birthday was originally in September (and not May) when I first wrote the Andi stories years ago, so she is almost fourteen when this alternate version of the story opens. Enjoy multiple points of view in this version!
A blast of hot summer air struck Andrea Carter directly in the face as she left the relative coolness of the house. She had been looking forward to a nice afternoon ride, but the thought of climbing onto a horse and galloping around under the fierce California sun made her reconsider.
“It’s too hot to ride,” she muttered in disappointment. “I should have ridden early this morning, before I got saddled with all those chores Mother found for me.” She pulled the stampede string forward, bringing the black felt riding hat onto her head. It afforded some protection from the glaring sun, but none from the heat.
The yard was deserted. A few ranch hands lounged, repairing their tack, brushing their horses, and in general trying to find a cool spot to rest. They gave her a half-hearted wave.
“Hot, ain’t it, Miss Andi?” one of the more energetic of the men remarked.
Andi returned the wave. She was too drained to reply.
“Betcha it’s a hundred and ten in the shade,” came another comment. The young cowhand removed his hat and swiped a bandana across his sweaty brow.
Andi watched with interest as the man left his spot on the bunkhouse porch, made his way to the pump and trough, and plunged his scarf into the water. He squeezed out a generous portion of water, then tied the wet cloth around his neck.
“That’s a mite better and should last at least two minutes.” He grinned and returned to the porch.
“Why don’t you dunk your whole head in, Flint?” Andi strolled over to the trough and gazed into the now-still water. It was mighty tempting.
“That ain’t a bad idea, gal.” Flint returned to the trough and stood beside Andi. He took off his hat and regarded his boss’s sister with a sly grin. “I will if you will,” he challenged.
Andi’s mouth dropped open. “You serious, Flint?”
One never knew when this youngest cowboy was teasing or in earnest. He was the only one of Chad’s hands nearest her own age. It was refreshing to be called “gal” or “kid” or sometimes just plain “Andi” rather than “Miss Andi,” like the older ranch hands addressed her.
Even old Sid McCoy, the Circle C foreman, who had known Andi since she was a baby, was always careful to call her “Miss.” It made her feel old and prissy.
“Ain’t never been more serious in my life, ” Flint said. “How ’bout it?”
Andi paused. Her heart skipped a beat. Big brother Chad would probably not approve of her casual interaction with his ranch hands. But . . . boy howdy! It was so hot!
And Chad was nowhere around.
Before she changed her mind, Andi removed her hat. She dropped it to the dusty ground and placed both hands on the sides of the watering trough. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Flint, yer forgettin’ yerself,” Wyatt, a longtime cowhand, warned from the porch. “This ain’t the right time to be foolin’ around.”
“It’ll only take a second.” Flint placed his own hands on the opposite side of the trough. “I’m so hot, you could fry eggs on my head.” He grinned at Andi. “We’ll see who can stay under the longest. One, two, three . . .”
At exactly the same moment, Andi and Flint plunged their heads deep into the tepid water of the Carter horse trough. The shock of the cool water on her burning head coursed through Andi’s body like an icy river, and she shivered.
It feels so good!
She wondered how long Flint would be able to stay under. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before she would be forced to come up for air. Ten seconds more, she encouraged herself. Maybe fifteen. I can do it! Her lungs felt like bursting. I can best Flint. Just a few more seconds—
A rude jerk yanked Andi from the water and thrust her back into the heat of the afternoon. She whirled in surprise to see Flint’s wet head drying in the sun. He looked sheepish.
No wonder. The Circle C foreman, Sid McCoy, stood glaring his disapproval. He let Andi go and whirled on Flint. He spoke calmly, but his eyes looked hard as gray steel. “You appear to have plenty of energy for tomfoolery this afternoon, mister. You will find some dozen miles of fence that need checkin’ in the northeast section. Gather up your gear and head out.”
Flint’s jaw dropped. “Now? In this heat?”
Sid nodded. “Now.”
Flint took the hint. He slicked back his hair and jammed his hat on his head. “Sure thing, boss.” He turned to Andi and winked. “It was a tie, I reckon.”
“I reckon.” Andi swiped a dripping tangle of hair from her face. She didn’t smile. Riding a fence line in this heat was the worst possible job on the ranch. The look on Flint’s face showed he was of the same mind. She watched him shuffle slowly toward the corral to saddle his horse.
“Well, Miss Carter,” Sid confronted her. “How would you like me to explain this to your brother?”
“Any way you like,” Andi answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “That’s awfully mean to make Flint ride fence on a day like this.” She glanced at the corral. “What’s the harm in a dunking? It’s hot, and I’ve seen Chad do it countless times.”
Sid waggled a finger in Andi’s face. “It’s no concern of yours how I deal with the men, young lady.” His expression softened. “You know, Miss Andi, you’re getting too old to be playing these foolish games. One of these days you’re—”
“You sound like my mother.” Andi pulled on one of her long, dark braids. Water streamed down in rivers.
Sid took Andi by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Your family’s been good to me. Your pa hired me when my wife died, and me with a three-year-old little girl too.” He scratched at the whiskers on his chin. “I believe it was a few years before you were born.”
This was an old story. Andi wished with all her heart that Sid had allowed his little girl to grow up on the ranch. She would have been only a few years older than Andi.
But no, Sid had sent his daughter away to school as soon as she was old enough to leave her father. A rough cabin is no way to raise a girl-child, he’d insisted.
Ellen returned to visit every summer, but by the time Andi was old enough to look at her as a potential playmate, Sid’s daughter had attached herself to Melinda instead.
She sighed. Young ladies, both of them.
“I mourned when your pa lost his life in that terrible accident at roundup time those eight years back. I’ve watched your brothers grow up into fine young men. Why! Justin’s a first-rate lawyer, and Chad and Mitch have made this ranch prosper into one of the best spreads in this part of California. Your sister Melinda is one of the nicest and purtiest girls around, and your mother is the most respected woman from here to San Francisco.”
Andi shrugged. “So?” She knew all this.
Sid sighed. “Miss Andi, you’ve got a family reputation to uphold. I’ve never once seen Melinda challenge your brothers’ hired hands to roping contests or”—he indicated the trough—“head-ducking contests, or any of the other crazy notions that get into your head.
“And another thing. You’re too pretty to go around lookin’ like one of them no-account Hollisters. Your family’s got more money than anybody else in these parts. You could dress up occasionally. You ain’t a little girl anymore. You’re gettin’ t’ be nigh on a young lady, and a young lady has got to start actin’ like one.”
Andi frowned. “Did my mother pay you to tell me this?”
Sid burst out laughing. “Nope.” He waved his hand at her. “Jus’ look at yourself. The boss’s old overalls—”
“They’re not!”
“That raggedy old shirt.” He lifted one of Andi’s drenched braids. “Look at this. Young ladies do not wear their hair in pigtails.”
“Why not?”
Sid took a deep breath. “You’re like my own daughter, Miss Andi, and I’d tell Ellen the same thing if she was here right now instead of finishing her last year at school in St. Louis. Girls goin’ on fourteen need t’ start lookin’ and actin’ like young ladies. They need to brush and comb their hair all purty to catch a beau.”
“I’m not interested in catching a beau.”
“It don’t hurt none to practice occasionally.” He shrugged. “If my Ellen was here, folks would be hard-pressed to tell who’s the cowhand’s daughter and who’s the rancher’s daughter. Ellen’s learned all kinds of things at that fancy school of hers. She writes to me all the time. I read her letters and imagine—”
“Oh, Sid! Stop it!” Andi burst out. “You talk worse than old Mrs. Evans and the other busybodies in town.”
Sid scowled. “Don’t you insult me by comparing me to those peahens.”
“Then quit riding me about growing up.”
“I was only saying that you maybe need to spend less time hanging around this crude bunch of cowboys and more time at tea parties and other proper activities for ladies. Like Melinda.”
“But how else am I going to learn how to rope and brand calves and flush out strays and—”
“I’m sorry, Miss Andi.” Sid cut her off. He tipped his hat, as if he had just remembered something important. “I forgot myself for a minute. It ain’t my place to tell you these things. That’s your ma’s job, or maybe Mr. Justin’s. I’m just an old cowhand who misses his only child more than he cares to admit.”
He backed up a few steps. “Sometimes I slip and forget, and treat you like you was my Ellen. Forgive me, Miss Carter.”
Andi’s heart softened. “It’s all right. I’m just a little touchy with this subject lately. And really. I didn’t mean anything with Flint at the water trough. I’m sorry if I was bothering the men.” She pointed toward the barn. “I was on my way to the barn to see Taffy. I reckon I’d best get going.”
Sid nodded and patted her cheek. “Go along with you now. I don’t reckon we need to bother your brother with this.” He winked. “Ellen will be coming out for her usual two-week visit in another month or so. She always likes visitin’ with Melinda and the rest of your family.”
Andi smiled. She was glad Sid had changed the subject. If he started bringing complaints to Chad about her hanging around with the cowhands, her days were numbered.
Mother had already spoken with Andi about the very same thing. She tried to make her daughter understand it wasn’t possible to hang around and be considered “one of the hands” any longer. If the men treated her like one of their own, she would eventually get hurt. If they remembered she was not only a girl, but one of the family, the men would get hurt trying to keep her out of danger.
No, Mother insisted more than once, tagging along behind the ranch hands most definitely had to stop.
Andi sighed and turned back to the barn. She was as hot as ever and in a rotten mood. Nothing was simple these days. The summer was rushing by faster than a runaway locomotive. Before she knew what was happening, she’d find herself back in school.
She turned to look one more time at the cool water then glanced up at the sound of a buggy rolling past. Melinda! Andi’s sister was dressed in a light-weight summer gown. On her head perched a pretty straw hat. She looked fresh and cool.
“Hey, Melinda,” Andi called. “Where are you going?”
Melinda pulled the horse to a stop alongside her younger sister. “I’m heading into town. Mrs. Lawrence promised that my new hat would be finished this afternoon, and I want it for Sunday.”
“Into town?” Andi’s eyes lit up. “May I come along?”
She hadn’t seen her friend Bethany for weeks. Perhaps they could sit out in the shade under the Pigotts’ huge oak tree and sip on iced lemonade. Certainly, Mother would agree to such a lady-like activity.
Melinda smiled. “Yes, of course, as soon as—”
“Thanks.” Andi swung herself into the two-seated buggy alongside her sister, but Melinda did not jiggle the reins and urge Pal to giddup. Instead, she sat quietly, as if waiting for something.
“What’s the matter?” Andi asked.
“You didn’t let me finish. You can ride to town with me if you change your clothes first. You know Mother never allows you off the ranch in overalls.”
Andi looked down at herself and sighed. Melinda’s right, she thought, and for once I agree with her. A lightweight cotton dress and summer slippers would be much cooler than what she had on right now.
She jumped down from the buggy and took off for the ranch house at a run. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t leave without me.”
“Don’t forget your hat!” Melinda yelled at Andi’s back. “It’s a long ride into town in the open.”