Distraction by Tess Oliver Page A

died.” I definitely did not need
to go into the unusual details of my mother’s death and
fortunately, Libby did not ask.
    “I love them as if they were my own. My husband died
just a year after we were married, and I never married again. I
came here to Tanner Ranch to teach Caroline some of the ways of
ranch living and I never left.”
    My fingers tips were raw and we’d hardly made a
difference in the pile. “I have to say, Libby, this seems like an
enormous amount of potatoes. Are you expecting company?”
    “Oh, these aren’t all for supper,” she laughed. “Not
that I haven’t seen Cade and Jackson shovel in mounds of mashed
potatoes after a long day of chores. I’m in charge of bringing
potatoes for the town social tomorrow night. In fact, you’ll have
to come along. Samuel and Charlotte will be there, and there’s
always good music and food.”
    “Does Cade not attend social events?” I asked.
    “He occasionally makes an appearance.” She smiled at
me over the mound. “And when he does show, there is always a big
commotion among the single females. And that, of course, causes a
commotion among the single males.” She sipped her tea loudly and
placed the cup down. “I just wish that boy would settle down with
one girl before he gets into troub—” She stopped short. “Never mind
about that. Let’s try those waist overalls on you and see if we can
get you up on a horse.” She stood, removed her apron, and dropped
it over the back of the chair. “I don’t know about you, but my
hands need a rest.”
    The waist overalls were a pair of trousers made out
of the same faded blue fabric the men on the ranch wore. It seemed
both durable and soft. Or, at least it had been worn soft by wear.
I rubbed my hand over the pants. Flat silver buttons that had no
button holes held together the thick seams running along the waist.
The knees had been patched more than once.
    “These belonged to Cade when he was a boy. Even the
strong denim fabric couldn’t keep that boy from wearing a hole in
the knees. If I had back every hour I spent patching that boy’s
pants, I’d be a young woman.”
    I ran my fingers over the sturdy blue fabric and
smiled. Her complaints about Cade were always edged with pure
admiration. I glanced up at her. “You don’t think he’ll mind if I
wear them?”
    She laughed. “Of course not. It’s not like he could
wear them anymore. Go ahead and try ‘em on. I found this shirt
too.” She held up a white, long sleeved shirt that was simply cut
with three buttons on a small opening at the neckline. “Not very
flattering, I’m afraid, but it’s warm, and you don’t want to ride
in those pretty dresses of yours.” She glanced down at my black
lace-up boots. I’d taken them off to pull on the trousers. They
were the only item of my own clothing that remained. “Those will be
fine to wear. I was going to see if Charlotte had an old pair, but
I think her feet are much bigger than yours.”
    I undressed and slid the waist overalls up over my
legs. They felt completely foreign as the fabric hugged my legs.
They were a bit constricting, snug in the bottom, and seemed
slightly immoral, but Libby looked on so enthusiastically, I held
my tongue.
    As I rolled the shirt down over my skin, Libby’s hand
reached out and stopped the hem from being lowered. “Those stitches
are ready to come out, and you don’t want to have those pulling on
you while you are riding a horse. I’ll get out my sewing kit. I
have a tiny pair of scissors I can use to cut them out.” Her eyes
lifted. “Unless you want to wait for the doctor. I’m so pushy
sometimes I even surprise myself.”
    “No, I wouldn’t mind at all if you cut them out. It
would save the doctor a trip.”
    Libby took my hand and led me to a rectangular piece
of glass hanging over the wardrobe of drawers in her room. “Come
look in the mirror. You look like a real cowgirl.”
    I gasped as I stood in front of the glass and
realized it