“You’ve done wonders with the house,” Nate said. “I never realized before how much this place needed something. Pa hasn’t even seen it yet.”
“He’ll just say, ‘I told you so.’” Lucy smiled and took Nate’s hand.
He gave her a surprised glance, then laced his fingers through hers. A warm glow spread through Lucy’s stomach. She prayed every day for the relationship between them to blossom and flourish. It looked as though God was answering that prayer.
“You checked on your coins lately?” he asked, still holding her hand.
She nodded. “This morning when I went to the cellar I checked them. Still there.”
“I thought Pa would have heard something from Watson. It can’t be that hard to track down something that rare.”
“Maybe they were in a private collection.”
They reached the front door, and he opened it for her. A bit of milk sloshed over the rim of the bucket, and he steadied it. “We can ask Pa when we get there. At least the fellow is gone from town.”
“He’ll be back. I’m glad Fanny isn’t pining for him anymore.”
“You two had a chat at dinner on Sunday?”
She took the bucket from him and poured the milk into the butter churn. “She is still pining for the fiancé who left and never came back.”
“Love does that.” A tender expression emerged on his face when he added, “So I’m told.”
She had hesitated to say anything to him about her cousin’s warning since his father had hired Rolf, but he really needed to know. They’d gone to town on Monday and he’d worked in the field until late yesterday. She hadn’t found a time to bring it up without the children.
He was staring at her. “Is something wrong?”
“Fanny told me she overheard Rolf tell a man he was going to search the Stanton cabin.”
His lips flattened. “For the coins?”
“I would assume so.”
“I had a feeling he was trying to get his hands on them.”
She nodded. “I thought so too, but it’s possible he just wants to see them so he can identify them properly. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t trust him.”
“Neither do I. I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
She turned away and put the lid on the churn. The lantern was lit so she knew the children were up. “Eileen, want to churn the butter?” she called.
Her little sister came running into the kitchen. Nate lifted down the churn for her and set it on the floor by her feet. Lucy watched the little girl begin to churn. She would wear out soon, and Lucy would take over, but it was good experience for Eileen. When Lucy glanced up, she caught an expression of tenderness on Nate’s face as he watched Eileen work at the churn that was nearly as big as she was.
He was a good man.
TWENTY-FOUR
Lucy adjusted her bonnet to guard her face from the harsh Texas sun and followed Nate outside after lunch. He helped her hitch the horse to the buggy. “Are you sure you know how to get to the main house?”
“Don’t worry, Nate. We’ll be fine.”
“Sorry.” He grinned and put an arm around her. “I can’t help but worry when you’re out by yourself.”
The hug he gave her felt like one he’d give Eileen, and it irritated her. She wanted him to cradle her in his arms and kiss her, really kiss her. Not that light peck on the cheek he’d taken to giving her every night. How did a woman go about letting a man know she was ready for more than he was offering? Lucy gave a tiny sigh. She’d been thinking about that blue moon.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She pulled away and climbed into the buggy without his assistance. She stared into his perplexed gaze and stretched out her arms. “Could you hand Eileen up to me?”
He stared at her a moment, then shrugged. He scooped up Eileen and handed her to Lucy. “You girls be careful. Don’t forget there’s a rifle under the seat if you need it.”
“I remember.” She stared straight ahead and slapped the reins against the mare’s back. “Dinner will be at six. Try not to be late.”
Nate reached up and grabbed the reins. “Lucy, what’s wrong? Did I do something?”
Shame twisted in her gut. It wasn’t his fault she was feeling so blue and rejected. He was doing everything he could to make this work. How was he to know she was ready for a deeper relationship? She bit her lip and raised her gaze to his. “We’ll talk in the blue moon.”
Amusement filled his eyes. “Keep thinking about it.”
He slapped the mare’s hindquarters and she set off at a trot. As she guided the horse, Lucy stewed about what to say to him. Half the time she didn’t know what she wanted, so how was he supposed to know? Ever since the night at the river two weeks ago, she’d realized she was about ready for a real marriage.
The recent rains had left the ground muddy. Lucy tried to keep the buggy in the driest areas, but she still got bogged down several times. Eileen fell asleep, and Lucy breathed a sigh. Now she could concentrate on where she was going and on her own thoughts. She rounded a curve and hit a deep patch of mud. The mare whinnied and thrashed in the mud, flinging up bits of muck onto Lucy’s dress.
“Whoa!” Lucy pulled on the reins and clambered down. The mud sucked at her boots, and she almost fell as she made her way to the horse’s head. She patted her and tried to back the horse out of the mud. The horse reared in terror, and Lucy scrambled back. She lost her balance and sat awkwardly in the mud. Struggling to get up, she fell forward. Near tears, she tried to get on all fours, but the mud held her.
She might have to send Eileen for help. She could see the smoke from the main house from here. Then a horse whinnied behind her. She turned and looked up into the smiling face of a man she vaguely recognized as the foreman at the O’Brien ranch.
He tipped his hat. “Morning, Lucy.”
“That’s missus,” she corrected.
His grin widened. “Whatever you say, ma’am. You need some help? Looks like you’re in a bit of a predicament.”
His smirk raised Lucy’s ire, but she was in no position to refuse help. “I would appreciate it,” she said coldly.
“Say that like you mean it, and I might see my way clear to helping you.” He put his hands on his hips, and his white teeth flashed.
“Sir, give me your hand!” She wasn’t about to play games with him.
His eyes widened, and he stepped forward and offered his hand. She gripped it with her mud-covered one, and he hauled her inelegantly to her feet. Before she could thank him and release his hand, he gave a tug and jerked her into his arms.
“Now I’ll take my appreciation.” He bent his head.
Lucy didn’t take time to think, she just walloped him upside the head with a glob of mud she’d inadvertently clutched in her other hand. It hit him in the eye, and he let out a yelp. He was so startled, he let loose of her, and she sprang to the buggy and wrested the rifle from under the seat.
“I won’t hesitate to use this on a coyote like you. I appreciate your help, but not enough to offer more than a handshake and a thank-you. Now mosey on down the road. My father-in-law is expecting me, and his men would be rather put out to find you’d manhandled me.”
The foreman’s face suffused with red, and he narrowed his eyes. “I was just helping you out of the mud. It’s your word against mine.” He tipped his hat. “I’ll be seeing you around, Miss Lucy.”
“That’s missus!” she shouted after him as he vaulted to his horse and wheeled angrily away.
LUCY SNAPPED THE whip over the mare’s head. “Giddyup!” She flipped her filthy skirt around her legs and hunched forward. She couldn’t wait to get out of this mud-encased dress. The horse and buggy cantered into the yard. Lucy pulled hard on the reins to halt the horses, then she flung herself from the buggy and scooped up Eileen. Several ranch hands gaped as she hurried to the house. She was wet and scared, but she was determined not to let that bully cow her.
Henry, his spectacles perched on his nose, looked up from where he sat by the window with a book in his hand. His bushy eyebrows rose when he saw her condition and he stood. “Lucy, what’s happened to you?”
“My buggy got bogged down in the mud.” He didn’t need to worry about the man. She would take care of her own battles.
“My dear girl, you must get out of those wet clothes.” He went to the hall. “Percy, fetch the trunk with Mrs. Stanton’s things in it.” He turned back to Lucy. “I kept some of my wife’s nicer things since they were all I had of her. You’re about the same size. I think they’ll fit.”
“Oh, I couldn’t wear them. An old pair of dungarees and a shirt will do until I get home.”
“Absolutely not!” He gestured for her to sit. “Percy will bring the trunk, and you can take whatever you like.”
“Your cushion will be soiled if I sit. I’ll clean up in the kitchen.” She hated to feel like she was asking for anything. She took Eileen’s hand.
He followed them into the kitchen. Eileen climbed into a chair. Henry watched Lucy sluice water over her exposed skin. Flecks of mud fell to the floor and she grimaced. “I’ll get it.” She crouched and began to pick up the bits of debris.
“Lucy, please.” At the pained look on his face, she stood. “You’re not a servant here. You’re my daughter. I don’t want you acting like you’re here on suffrage.”
Tears welled in Lucy’s eyes. She’d always been so used to carrying her own weight, of trying not to be a bother, that it came hard to accept what he was offering. “Thank you, Pa.”
Henry colored with pleasure. He knelt beside Eileen’s chair. “And I’d like you to call me Grandpa, if you’d like, Eileen.”
The little girl stared into the older man’s face. She put a small hand on each side of his face. “I like you. You can be my grandpa.”
Henry kissed her, then fished for his handkerchief. “You’ve made me very happy by joining our family, Lucy. I know it hasn’t been easy for you. My Nate can be like a penned bull when he feels he’s being forced into something. But I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You two are a good match.” His voice was full of satisfaction.
“I hope you’re right,” Lucy said quietly.
Percy came in dragging a chest behind him. He dropped it with a thump in front of Lucy. “Took me forever to find this, Boss. It was in the attic.”
Henry reached over and opened the chest. Inside, shimmering silk dresses caught the sunlight.
Lucy gasped at the glorious array of color and texture. “These are far too grand to wear to cook in.” She fingered a pale pink fabric.
“Nonsense, they’ve been tucked away too long. You heard Percy. They were in the attic not doing a body any good.” He pulled out the dress she had touched. “This will look lovely on you. You might as well surprise Nate when he comes.”
Lucy didn’t have time to argue. “I must get busy. Thank you, Pa. I’ll try to be careful of it.” Holding it away from her soiled dress, she hurried to the spare bedroom. Water stood in the pitcher, so she slipped out of her soiled dress, washed, and stepped into the clean dress. It was only as she began to button up the tiny seed pearls on the bodice that she realized it was the same dress Nate’s mother had worn in the picture in the box in his room.
She slid her hands over the smooth fabric. Would it bother him to see her in this dress? Maybe she should choose another. She bit her lip. There wasn’t time to change. She would barely be ready for the men as it was if she didn’t get started on supper. No, she would just have to wear this one.
Her boots were too muddy to put back on, so she would just stick them on the porch to dry. She could knock off the hardened mud before she went home. In her stockings she padded to the kitchen, depositing her boots on the porch along the way.
Percy stood amid the pots and pans waiting for her. Together they whipped together chicken and dumplings and apple pie using canned apples from the larder.
Percy tasted the stew. “You sure know how to cook, Miss Lucy. It does a body good to eat someone else’s cooking for a change.”
She smiled. At least this was one wifely duty she knew how to do. She spent the rest of the afternoon making biscuits and pies. Just before six the door banged, and she heard the sound of men’s voices. She could make out Nate’s voice amidst the babble, and her heart leapt.
“I’ll set the table.” Percy grabbed a handful of plates and dinnerware and rushed off to the table.
Lucy picked up the pot of dumplings and followed him. The men’s voices stilled when she entered the dining room. Her gaze picked out Nate from the group of cowboys. She didn’t see his father. His laughter died when he saw her, and she couldn’t read his expression. Was he dismayed to see her in it?
“Is that my mother’s dress?” he asked, his voice soft.
“My—my dress was soiled. I fell in the mud when the buggy got stuck.”
“The bad man yelled at her.” Eileen slipped her hand in Nate’s.
He glanced at Lucy, then knelt beside the little girl. “What bad man, sweetheart?”
Lucy hadn’t wanted Nate to know until she was ready to explain it to him—alone.
“Lucy hit him with some mud. He was mad.” Eileen spoke in a confiding tone as Nate lifted her into his arms.
“Lucy, what’s this all about?” Still carrying Eileen, Nate stepped next to Lucy. “Did someone threaten you?”
“A man stopped to help me get out of the mud. I don’t know his name, but he’s the foreman at the O’Brien ranch.”
“Childress.” Nate’s expression darkened like a lowering storm cloud. “Did he touch you?”
Before Lucy could answer, Eileen piped up again. “Uh-huh. But Lucy got the gun.”
“Lucy? What did he do?”
The entire roomful of men seemed to be holding their breaths. Lucy sighed. “He thought I ought to show a bit of appreciation for his help.”
“I see. What kind of appreciation?” Nate’s voice was dangerous, and Lucy shivered.
“A—a kiss was what he had in mind.”
Nate ground his teeth together. “Jed, come with me. We’re riding to the O’Brien ranch.”
Lucy laid a hand on his arm. “Please, Nate, I handled it. I warned him off with the gun.”
“A man like that will be back.” He shook off her hand. “Come on, Jed.”
“Not Jed!” Lucy cried out when her brother moved to go with him.
Nate paused, then nodded. “You’re right. It might be dangerous.”
Dangerous! Lucy’s heart clenched. She couldn’t bear it if something happened to Nate. It was all her fault. She should have told Eileen not to say anything, but she hadn’t realized the little girl had seen so much. She had been sleeping when the man rode up.
“What about dinner?” she called.
“Keep it warm.”
She knew better than to berate him this time. She began to pray that God would keep him safe.
NATE’S MUSCLES WERE strung as tight as a tanning rawhide. His hands gripped the reins, and he urged his horse faster along the muddy road to the O’Brien ranch.
Part of his anger was rage at himself. He never should have allowed Lucy to go out by herself. This was still very unsettled territory. Even O’Brien had only moved into this area last year. Indians still roamed, burning out the occasional settler. He needed to remember he was a family man now. His wife and her family depended on him to make proper decisions. This afternoon’s had obviously been a bad one.
Several ranch hands milled around the corral as he stopped at the hitching post. He dismounted and tied his horse, then motioned for his men to stay where they were while he went to the door. He pounded on it with his fist. Only silence answered his knock. He pounded again, then took a deep breath. He had to stay calm and present his case to O’Brien in a reasonable fashion.
There was still no answer at the door, so he strode to the corral and watched two men working to saddle break a young mare. Peering throug
h the dust and commotion, he finally spied O’Brien leaning against the fence by the barn, watching the action in the corral. Clenching his fists, Nate made his way to O’Brien’s side.
O’Brien jerked his head up in surprise when he saw Nate. “Nate. Margaret isn’t here.”
“I didn’t come to see Margaret.” Nate held out his hand. “I got some business with one of your hands.”
The man regarded him with a sober gaze. “Serious business, looks like.”
“Martin Childress manhandled my wife today.”
O’Brien’s mouth pressed into a straight line and his nostrils flared. “That so? Care to tell me about it?”
“Where can I find him?”
O’Brien cocked an eyebrow. “I fired him this morning.”
Nate gritted his teeth. “Got any idea where he is?”
“Town, most likely. Check the saloon.”
“I’ll check there. I can’t have my wife tormented.”
“Congratulations on your marriage, by the way. I heard you got hitched, and she’s a pretty little thing.” O’Brien grinned and held out his hand.
Nate shook it. “Thanks. I’m a lucky man.” And as he walked back to his horse and mounted, he realized how true that was. How many other wives would have drawn a gun on a man like Childress? And it wasn’t just her fire and spirit that drew him or her exquisite beauty. It was something else, something that was all Lucy. Her fierce caring for her brother and sister, her determination to learn everything she needed to know to be a good rancher’s wife, her moral backbone.
It had thrown him to see her in his mother’s dress. He’d fingered that picture until it was about worn out. Until he’d seen her in Ma’s dress, he hadn’t realized how tiny his mother must have been too. No wonder Pa wasn’t afraid that Lucy wouldn’t make a good rancher’s wife. He was always talking about how Ma had loved the ranch and how the men had adored and protected her.
Lucy had that way about her too. She drew people to her as naturally as bees to flowers. He glowered at the thought of how Childress had dared to touch her. Digging his knees into his horse’s side, he headed to town.