A Healing Love For The Broken Cowboy (Historical Western Romance)

by Cassidy Hanton

  He was still grappling with his feelings for Isabelle and his loyalty to Amy. There was still something inside of him that clung to the notion that letting himself feel for Isabelle was a betrayal of the woman he had pledged his life to.

  But something Isabelle had said while they had picnicked out by the pond had stuck with him. As long as he kept Amy in his heart, she would never truly be gone. He thought it seemed such an obvious thought but it was one he had not really considered before. At least, not in terms of how it related to finding romance again.

  Isabelle believed that Amy would want him to be happy and to find love again. Although Harvey did not necessarily disagree with the sentiment but he still felt so conflicted about it. Isabelle challenged Harvey in so many different ways. Made him feel so many different things. And made his head spin with thoughts he’d never had before.

  He honestly did not know what it was he felt for Isabelle but he knew that it was powerful. It shook him to his very core. The thing about it was though, he kind of liked it. He liked the way she made him feel. The way she made him look at the world around him. He liked that she challenged him and made him think.

  Harvey thought that Isabelle was a lot like Amy in a lot of ways. At least, he thought she shared a lot of the same qualities as his late wife. They both had that fiery, independent spirit about them. They were both intelligent and were not afraid to speak their minds. He admired that about the both of them.

  Unlike a lot of the men in Stephill, he wasn’t threatened by a strong, opinionated woman. In fact, he preferred a woman who had a mind of her own. A woman who was not afraid to speak her piece and was not shy about sharing her opinions.

  He brushed the horse down, lost in thought. And when the voice came from behind, it was so unexpected, it gave him a start. He managed not to show it though and turned with a smile on his face.

  “Thought you might be hungry,” Isabelle said.

  “Famished,” he replied.

  She held up a basket with a smile on her face. “Thought it might be nice to picnic,” she said. “It is a lovely day out today.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” he said.

  “Great. There’s a shady little patch under the tree around back of the house,” she replied. “I’ll go lay everything out if you want to bring Charley out to join us?”

  “That’d be mighty fine,” he replied. “I’ll just go get myself cleaned up and get the little fella.”

  “All right then.”

  Harvey took the horse out to the paddock as Isabelle walked around to the back of the house. He closed things up and then went into the house and washed up and put on a fresh shirt before going into the back room where he found Chenoa sitting on the ground with Charley.

  “Clean shirt,” Chenoa observed with a grin. “Isabelle must be here.”

  Harvey chuckled. “She brought a picnic lunch actually,” he replied. “Why don’t you join us?”

  She shook her head. “She did not come here to picnic with me.”

  “I don’t think she’d mind −”

  Chenoa gave him a withering look. “She did not come here to picnic with me,” she repeated. “Now go. You and Charley go picnic with her while I rest for a while.”

  He gave her a smile and nodded. “If you’re sure.”

  She arched her eyebrow at him. “You do not need a chaperone,” she said. “If you feel you do, perhaps you are not old enough to be courting a lady.”

  Harvey’s guffaw of laughter was so loud and so sudden, it startled Charley who looked up at him with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open in a perfect “O”. Chenoa simply smiled at him.

  “Well, don’t let me keep you from a nap,” Harvey said.

  “Believe me, you won’t.”

  Harvey picked Charley up and carried him through the house, stepping through the back door and down the stairs to the grass. Isabelle looked up at them and smiled as they sat down on the blanket beneath the large tree that provided the house with plenty of shade during the summer.

  Isabelle took Charley from him and gave him a gentle squeeze and planted a kiss on his forehead.

  “And how are you today, sweetheart?” she cooed. “How is my little angel today?”

  Harvey smiled as he watched her interacting with Charley. He loved that she seemed to genuinely care about and enjoy being with his son as much as she did.

  For not being a mother herself, Isabelle certainly took to it like a duck took to water. She had such an easy going nature and seemed like a natural with a child. He thought Amy would have been much the same way had she been given the chance to raise Charley.

  It was a thought that pierced his heart with a sliver of melancholy. But seeing his son so happy playing with Isabelle − and her being so happy playing with him − did much to assuage the sadness that always accompanied thoughts of Amy.

  “I was admiring how beautiful it is out back here,” she said.

  “I never really thought of it that way,” he replied. “But you’re right − it is beautiful out here.”

  “That is why you have to stop and smell the roses every once in a while,” she chirped.

  Harvey looked across the vast acreage of land spread out before him. He looked at the rolling hills that bordered his property, the fields furrowed and planted with crops, and the paddocks for breaking horses, and the vibrant colors that bloomed all around. Isabelle had a soft smile upon her lips and an almost awestruck look in her eye as she looked out at the land beyond.

  They were all things he took for granted. Things that had meant little to nothing to him for so long. They were little more than features of his land no more noticeable to him than the furniture in his house.

  But Isabelle breathed a new life into the world around him. She had an almost childlike wonder at everything still. Because of her, he saw the world − his land − in a whole new way. The colors were more vibrant and beautiful.

  He took the time to stop and savor the different, rich aromas in the air around him, relishing their depth and complexity. Being able to see the world around them through her eyes, with a different vision, was a blessing. It was like he was seeing it for the first time and it gave him an appreciation he didn’t have before.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Isabelle looked at him, confusion painted upon her face. “For what?”

  “For helping me to see everything with new eyes,” he replied. “You really are helping me rekindle my love for the land.”

  Isabelle’s smile was shy and she looked away, her cheeks flaring bright red. She looked down at Charley and tickled him under the chin, making him giggle and gurgle happily.

  “I am not sure what to say to that,” she said softly. “I am not doing anything special. I am just being me.”

  “Well believe me when I say I haven’t seen my land in the way I see it right now in a very long time,” he told her.

  “I am − glad for that,” she said. “Your land is beautiful and should be appreciated.”

  A moment of silence descended between them and Harvey began to dish out the food she had brought along. He dished out their food and they both dug in, the quiet between them comfortable. And Harvey relished it.

  Aside from Chenoa − which was different anyway − Isabelle was the first woman since Amy that he allowed himself to feel comfortable around. The first woman he had opened up to and shared intimate details of his life with.

  And she never judged him for it. Never judged him for his thoughts or how he was feeling. It made him feel safe − something else he had not felt since Amy.

  As he watched the sunshine that filtered through the branches of the tree above dapple her skin, her beauty was breathtaking, that much was for sure. But there was so much more to Isabelle than just her physical beauty.

  And he found that he could not get enough of her. That the more he learned about her, the more he wanted to get to know. Day in and day out, she dominated his thoughts. He caught himself thinking about her at the most in
opportune times.

  His thoughts about her were surprising in their frequency and vibrancy. He literally had a physical reaction to being near her. It was like standing too close to a stove − it was a comfortable warmth but he knew if he stood too close, he would get burned.

  And yet, as he looked at her, looked at the way she cared for his son, and thought about how he made her feel, he thought it was a risk well worth taking.

  Chapter Thirty

  “I would like to thank the both of you for all of your help in getting the company back up on its feet,” Mark said. “And I need to give my sister a special word of thanks for kicking me in the backside when I needed it most.”

  Isabelle giggled. “Kicking you in the backside has always been one of my favorite pastimes.”

  They all shared a laugh together as the last of the dishes were laid out for them. Mark had hired a woman to come in and prepare a lavish feast for them to celebrate the reopening of his distillery. It reminded her of what her parents used to do on Christmas and filled Isabelle with a sense of nostalgia. She wondered if Mark remembered it too.

  “Will there be anything else, sir?” the woman said after setting the last of the dishes on the table.

  “No, thank you so much, Mrs. Eberson,” Mark replied. “Would you and your husband care to stay for dinner?”

  The older woman gave him a smile. “Oh thank you but we should be gettin’ on home.”

  “All right then,” he said. “Thank you for putting together such an amazing spread.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  She turned and left, through the back door to where her husband waited with the wagon. Isabelle listened to it trundling off and then turned back to her brother who looked proud as a peacock and happier than a clam. He gave them all a wide smile.

  “I want to thank you too for sharing this moment with me,” Mark said. “This is truly special for me.”

  Isabelle stood with her brother, Chenoa, and Harvey around the table in the dining room. Wolf lounged near the fireplace, warming himself and occasionally lifting his head if he thought there was a chance of having some food tossed his way. Charley sat in a locked high chair at the table, cooing and giggling to himself.

  “I was able to salvage some of my stock,” Mark said. “Enough that I’ll be able to fulfill the orders I have pending. Most of them anyway.”

  “That’s great news,” Harvey said.

  Mark poured out four glasses of his apple champagne for them and everybody picked one up. Mark raised his glass and gave them all a smile.

  “So thank you,” Mark said. “I mean it when I say I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

  They clinked their glasses together and took a drink before settling down at the table. Isabelle inhaled the aroma of the food laid out and felt her mouth watering.

  “This looks and smells utterly amazing,” she said.

  “Well dig in then, little sis.”

  They all descended on the feast at once and like the others, Isabelle helped herself to the herb roasted duck, black pepper trout, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, asparagus that had been sauteed in butter and seasonings, and fresh cornbread.

  The conversation was light and spirited as they ate and the room was filled with lots of laughter. The camaraderie and affection between them all made Isabelle’s heart swell with emotion.

  She was genuinely happy and could barely contain herself. And when she cut a glance over at Harvey and found him looking back at her, she felt that warm, familiar flutter in her belly. She gave him a shy smile and quickly looked away.

  Isabelle tore off a piece of duck and tossed it to Wolf, who snagged it before it hit the ground. The big dog chewed happily and looked back to her for more. Isabelle laughed and could not help but oblige him with another piece.

  “Wolf’s gonna get fat if you keep feedin’ him like that,” Mark chuckled.

  “He’s a good boy,” Isabelle argued. “He deserves it.”

  “Can’t argue that,” Harvey added. “That dog has her back in all things. That kinda loyalty’s not easy to find.”

  “It is if you’re always bribin’ the dog with food,” Mark laughed. “That’s why Wolf likes her better than he likes me now.”

  Isabelle joined their laughter and took a sip of her drink. Chenoa had slipped Charley out of his high chair and was holding him in her lap. She just watched the little boy bouncing happily in Chenoa’s lap, giggling and gurgling.

  There was a pattern to his noise-making, almost as if he was on the verge of speaking his first word and Isabelle held her breath. She cut a glance at Harvey and saw that he had noticed as well. His eyes were on Charley and he seemed to be holding his breath, waiting to hear his son speak his first word.

  But then Charley made a raspberry sound and the moment passed. Like clouds passing over the face of the sun, Isabelle couldn’t help but see the flash of disappointment cross Harvey’s face. She felt a pang of sadness for him. She knew what it meant to him and she so desperately wanted Harvey to hear his son speak his first word.

  “Do not worry,” Chenoa said as if noting Harvey’s disappointment. “He will speak when he has something to say.”

  “He’s kinda taking after his old man,” Mark said. “The strong, silent type.”

  Harvey grinned but Isabelle could see that it did not quite reach his eyes. She knew he worried about Charley. About his growth and development. Isabelle wished she could say something that would reassure him, that would make him believe that Charley would be fine. He just needed to have a little bit of faith.

  She saw the intelligence in his son’s eyes. When she looked at him, she could see that he was figuring things out in his mind. He was putting things together. Isabelle was certain that Charley would be speaking before long. It was just as Chenoa said − he’d speak when he had something to say. But Harvey was so concerned about his son’s silence, he was not in a place to hear it. He would see though. She knew it.

  Charley squealed as he played with the creamed corn in his bowl − more of it seeming to be ending up on his face than in his mouth. It was adorable and made Isabelle smile.

  Thankfully the tension drained from Harvey’s face and that smile that put a flutter in her heart returned. They all talked for a while longer, the good feelings filling the room. The conversation tapered off slowly as the evening wound down.

  “I should probably take Charley home,” Chenoa said as she got to her feet. “I need to put him to bed.”

  “Oh Chenoa before you go, I just wanted to thank you again for volunteering to go out and talk to the tribes,” Mark said. “The sooner we can get this mess all figured out, the better.”

  “Agreed,” Harvey added.

  “No need to thank me,” Chenoa replied. “I would like to be sure my people are doing nothing wrong.”

  “When will you leave?” Mark asked.

  “A few days,” she said. “Maybe a week.”

  “Is it safe?” Isabelle wondered aloud.

  Chenoa put her hand on Isabelle’s and squeezed it gently, a gentle smile upon her lips.

  “It is safe,” she said. “I will be fine.”

  “Good. That’s good,” Isabelle said.

  Isabelle stood along with the others as Chenoa stood and turned to Mark, favoring him with a warm smile.

  “Thank you for including me tonight,” she said.

  He waved her off. “You’re family, Chenoa. Wouldn’t have been right without you.”

  Chenoa’s smile was soft and surprisingly shy. Isabelle knew she was not the most sentimental woman and tended to guard her emotions. But she could see that Chenoa was well pleased to be considered part of their family.

  “Thank you. And congratulations,” she said. “Here is to success for your company for many, many generations.”

  “Thank you,” he replied.

  Carrying a cooing and fussing child in her arms, Chenoa left to take him home. Isabelle began to gather the plates but Mark stopped he
r, flashing her a smile and a meaningful look over at Harvey who had knelt down beside Wolf, scratching behind the big dog’s ears − while slipping him pieces of the roasted duck when he thought nobody was looking. It made Isabelle smile.

  “I’ll take care of these,” he said pointedly. “You go entertain our guest.”