The Rancher's Rules Read Online Free PDF Page B

catching up on the local gossip. A group of three older women stopped talking and turned all their attention on Rafe and Annie when that bell announced their arrival through the door.
    Rafe just ignored them and led Annie farther into the store toward the counter, where a woman stood tallying figures on a notepad. She looked up as they approached. “Rafe Stanton!” The store’s middle-aged clerk seemed genuinely pleased to see him. “How are you today?”
    “Fine, just fine,” Rafe replied, clearly not thrilled with formalities, but nonetheless happy to see the woman. “Claire Johansson, Annie Walters. Annie, Claire.”
    “Well, Annie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Claire smiled and her whole face lit up. Annie felt instantly at ease with the older woman. “What can I do for you both today?”
    Rafe jumped right in, so as not to give Annie a chance to refuse what he already had planned for her. “Annie here needs some clothes,” Rafe started, then continued with a little embellishment, “She travelled quite a distance to get here and most of her things were ruined on the trip. Isn’t that right, Annie?” Rafe turned to her and raised an eyebrow, just daring her to deny his story. It did sound better than saying that she didn’t own even one dress, which of course was the case for her.
    Annie looked at Rafe with equal parts gratitude, aggravation and humiliation. “Yes, ma’am, that’s a fact. I do need some new things.” Annie quickly looked from Claire to the floor.
    “I was hoping,” Rafe resumed, “that I could leave Annie in your capable hands to choose her clothes and any other necessaries, while I head on over to the lumber mill and then see to a few other small errands.” Rafe looked confidently at Claire, just knowing she would like nothing better than to have a young woman to ‘mother’ for a bit. Rafe knew that Claire had several daughters who had all married and left home a few years ago now, and Claire made it no secret that she missed them terribly.
    “Why I’d be happy to help Annie choose her clothes!” Claire sounded thrilled and she turned to Annie. “We just got some lovely new things in the other day, too.”
    “It’s settled then,” Rafe said, smiling at Annie in a way that said he knew she was mad at him, but he also knew she wouldn’t argue with him in front of Claire Johansson. “And maybe you might do something with her hair, too, Claire?”
    Claire clasped her hands together with restrained glee, while Annie shot Rafe a look that was meant to drop him dead where he stood. Rafe smiled back. Annie swore that he’d smiled more in the past five minutes than he had since she’d met him. He was enjoying making her squirm.
    “I’ll settle up when I get back,” he shot over his shoulder on his way out the door.
    Claire took Annie’s hand and starting leading her deeper into the store. “Follow me, dear,” she said cheerfully. “I think we should start with the dresses first and they’re all in the back here.”
    * * * * *
    By the time they had finished, Annie had a pile of clothes on the counter the size of which she had never owned in her life, at least not all at once like this and certainly not brand new. Claire insisted that Rafe would want her to have everything a young woman today would need. It seemed like an awful lot to Annie, but Claire assured her that the things she was getting were only the basic necessities and nothing more.
    The pile consisted of two simple dresses for everyday with one apron to protect them, one set of undergarments, one nightgown, one robe, and one pair of stockings. Annie was wearing a new dress also, a dress just a bit fancier than the other two and meant for wearing to Sunday services and weddings and such. Claire insisted she should wear it now because, according to Claire, most ladies liked to wear their Sunday best when they came to town. She also had on another set of new undergarments and new stockings. The new boots on