Argosy Junction Read Online Free PDF

whole gender role—”
    She nodded. “Exactly. But Dad needed the boys, Mom needed Carrie, and Patience was too young so there was just me. I can’t work the sheep, but I can lead men to good hunting areas.”
    “Why not the sheep? I’d think it’d be—”
    Lane cut him off. “I’m allergic to them.”
    “To sheep?” He looked at her in amazement. “No way!”
    “Yep. Ironic isn’t it? The daughter of the biggest sheep ranch in the United States and the largest Scottish Blackface Sheep ranch in the world is allergic to sheep. I can’t even wear or knit a wool sweater.”
    To Matt’s credit, he did try not to laugh. It really wasn’t funny to the woman who had to live with such an inconvenient allergy, but seriously, who wouldn’t laugh? He stifled a chortle and apologized. “I’m sorry—”
    “Don’t be. Sheep are stupid animals. I prefer horses anyway.
    “So, riding around the ranch in a dress with bike shorts underneath isn’t really that big of a deal, but Dad decided it made more sense for me to wear jeans as the ranch guide.”
    “Smart man.” Matt felt obligated to say something. The whole thing sounded like a country-western version of the Stepford Wives .
    “I think he knew what he was doing. I’d seen him hide irritation or annoyance at some of the self-righteous attitudes. And then someone saw me in my jeans.”
    “Horrors!” Matt fanned himself as though he’d had the vapors. “Sinner.”
    A pained expression on Lane’s face made him regret it immediately. “That’s the sad part. They did think those things, and it wasn’t in jest. Josiah Gideon drove out here to see for himself—”
    “I’ll bet he did.”
    Blushing, Lane continued. “Anyway, when he saw me in jeans, helping an old guy get up on a horse, he lost it. Read me the riot act. I couldn’t figure out what the deal was. Even with all the pressure and the conformity, no one overrode another husband or father’s authority. Everyone was under authority. The Brethren are big on authority. But Josiah acted like someone had usurped his authority over me !”
    Her pause was telling. Matt knew instinctively that Josiah had intended to marry Lane and took the sight of her in jeans as a personal affront. The idea, to his mind however, was preposterous. Lane couldn’t have been more than a young teen at the time and the only jeans he’d seen that he considered objectionable were of the low slung, showing hips and belly variety—oddly shaped things that were so tight the woman’s backside looked like a misshapen loaf of bread.
    Lane continued telling her story of the kangaroo court-like hearing that her father endured for her sake at the hands of their old church. She explained that Josiah had asked for permission to marry Lane when she turned sixteen. Warren had said no. Lane was too young even to consider it, and he’d never answer for his daughter. She was the one who had to live with her husband so when the time was right, she would decide. What Warren didn’t tell Josiah, was that he didn’t trust Josiah Gideon. Anger seemed to boil under the surface and Warren was sure the young man’s wife would eventually endure the worst of that anger. Warren didn’t want it to be his daughter.
    “My mom wept for weeks. The boys and I lost all of our friends; things got worse and worse until finally, Dad made a decision. I still remember his face when he sat down at the table after dinner one night and told us he was never going back to church.”
    “I can’t say as I blame him.” Matt wondered what took the man so long.
    “I immediately said I wasn’t going back either. That raised a ruckus.”
    Matt’s questioning look sent Lane down a rabbit trail. “Women of the Brethren don’t make decisions like that for themselves. We do as we’re told. Well, they do. I’m no longer a Christian, and we’re apostate, so now I’m allowed to decide if I want to take a trip to Spokane or order a new saddle with my own money.