A Western Heart

by Liz Harris

  How did she truly feel about Will?

  When she was little, her ma had given her a cloth doll, which she’d called Martha. She’d taken Martha everywhere with her, even when she no longer played with dolls, as just knowing that Martha was near made her feel safe. Increasingly, as she’d grown older, she’d left Martha at home, knowing that Will had been there to protect her. Had she replaced Martha with Will? Did her feelings for him spring from her desire to feel safe and nothing more?

  Was it also possible that the jealousy she felt for Cora – the jealousy she’d have felt towards anyone who grew to have the same closeness with Will as she’d always had – was deceiving her about the way she felt for him?

  Or did she genuinely feel something real strong for Will – for what he was, not for what he stood for – something that had been there for a long time, but she just hadn’t seen it?

  And what about Nate?

  It was agonisingly difficult to know what she felt about them both. The first time she’d responded to a man in a way that had hit her body hard had been to Nate, not Will. And at the start of the picnic, she’d chosen to be with Nate. But when she thought back to the beginning of the square dance that afternoon, with Will’s words ringing in her ears she’d certainly been conscious of his body in a way she’d never been before, and something deep within her had stirred.

  But if she imagined herself touching Nate, imagined Nate touching her, running his hands down the length of her body …

  She turned on to her other side, her cheeks burning.

  What would Cora think of her if she knew the sinful thoughts that were running through her mind?

  Cora! Her eyes opened wide. It was only towards the end of the picnic, when she’d realised that Cora and Will were increasingly together, that she’d rather forgotten about Nate in a wave of sudden jealousy.

  And now, looking back, when Cora had danced with Nate, he clearly hadn’t had the same effect on Cora as he’d had on her that first time she’d touched him. Every time she’d glanced at Cora during the dance, her eyes had been on Will. On Will alone.

  Her heart missed a beat.

  Until that moment, she hadn’t given any thought to the way Cora might feel. But Cora was no longer a child. Should she worry about her sister with Will?

  When she’d watched Will at the branding the day before, she’d seen him talking and laughing with Cora and they’d seemed completely at ease with each other. In fact, she’d been a little surprised at how comfortable they were together. Although Cora had known Will all her life, Will had never spent much time with her, always being out with Rose whenever he wasn’t helping on his ranch. He’d certainly never been so close to Cora that he’d ever look on her as a sister, and nor would she look on him in a brotherly way.

  And now she thought about it, it wasn’t just that they’d been talking together – it was the way Cora had been watching Will while Mattie had been watching Sam. Cora’s eyes had followed Will everywhere. And then again at the picnic. It was Cora who’d stood at Will’s side all the time that Rose was talking and dancing with Nate. And Will hadn’t gone over to talk to the menfolk like he usually did – he’d chosen to remain with Cora.

  Was it possible that Cora had feelings for Will – the sort of feelings that Will was looking to find in a wife? And could Will be finding he had such feelings for Cora? Was that one of the reasons why he hadn’t yet asked her to marry him?

  Ice-cold fingers tightened their grip on her heart.

  Just as she’d missed seeing Will become a man, she’d missed seeing her sister grow into a woman, a woman that a man could desire. A woman that Will might desire. And who might desire him.

  The image of Cora and Will smiling at each other that afternoon filled her mind, and she could see nothing else.

  Her body tense, she stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide open, and waited for cold dawn to break.

  Chapter Eight

  The mid-morning air sang with the murmur of bees and the flutter of the cottonwood leaves that were stirring in the light breeze.

  Cora and Mattie rode as near to the river as they could and then slipped down from their saddles. Guiding their horses between the sage-green cottonwoods bordering the river and the silvery gold willows, whose leaf-heavy boughs hung low over the glinting surface of the water, they made their way along the path in the direction of a small cabin that stood back from the water’s edge, almost hidden among the trees.

  Reaching the stretch of water in front of the cabin, they dropped their reins to the ground and stood back as the horses lowered their mouths and began to drink deeply from the clear water that trickled over and around clusters of pebbles that shone white in the sun.

  ‘They’ll be fine for a while,’ Cora said, and she turned towards the log cabin and started walking. ‘Come on, let’s look inside Jonah’s Cabin. It’s an age since we’ve been here. I don’t know why we stopped coming. We used to come all the time.’

  ‘We grew up, maybe,’ Mattie suggested, hurrying after her.

  Cora laughed. ‘I guess we did.’ She paused in front of the cabin and stared at it. ‘Maybe we should start coming here again when we want to get away from everyone, like we’ve done today,’ she said, and she went up to the front door made of hand-sawn planks of wood that had been planed smooth, pushed it open and led the way inside.

  Walking around the cabin, she opened each of the doors that led from the kitchen-living area to the two bedrooms and store room, and looked inside each room. Then she unbolted the back door and peered up the narrow path leading to the privy. Shutting the door, she slid the iron bolt closed again and turned back into the room.

  ‘It needs a bit of a sweep everywhere, but otherwise it’s okay,’ she said, throwing herself into one of the two rocking chairs that flanked a large stone fireplace.

  ‘I sure am glad you persuaded your pa to bring you with him today, Mattie,’ she went on, rocking her chair backwards and forwards. ‘And I’m real glad we decided to come out here – we’d never have been able to talk in private if we’d stayed at the ranch, not with Silas Poole and Mr Galloway there as well.’

  ‘I’m pleased, too. And not just ’cos it’s Monday, and anything’s better than helping Ma with the washing,’ Mattie said with a smile, sitting down in the rocker opposite Cora. She shivered and pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders. ‘Next time we come, we could bring some wood for the potbelly stove. I know it’s summer, but it sure is chilly in here.’

  ‘We can easily get wood – there are plenty of trees around here.’ Cora glanced around the room. ‘I wouldn’t want to live here, but I reckon a person could be quite comfortable here for a short time.’

  ‘I guess so.’ Mattie paused. ‘You said you were wanting to talk, and I’m wondering what you might be wanting to talk about. It wouldn’t be my brother, would it?’ She looked across at Cora and giggled.

  ‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Cora said, a slight blush spreading across her face. ‘But since you’ve started us talking about Will, I was surprised not to see him this morning. I thought he’d come over with you and your pa today as he’d want to talk about Mr Galloway’s plans and about the meeting in town tomorrow afternoon, especially as Silas Poole said he’d join them.’

  ‘He was going to come, but the Big Circle horses are arriving today and they’re not sure when. Either Will or Pa had to stay at the ranch with Abe to supervise the horses being settled in, and it was decided Pa would come over this morning. I reckon Will would’ve liked to have come with us today, though,’ she added with a knowing smile. ‘He seemed real keen on you at the picnic.’

  Cora beamed at her friend. ‘D’you think so? I sure hope you’re right. He’s mighty nice.’

  ‘Just nice?’ Mattie raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Well, maybe a bit more than that.’

  They both giggled.

  ‘What d’you think of Mr Galloway, then?’ Mattie asked, rocking her chair again. ‘I saw you dancing with him.’
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  ‘I don’t think about him at all – you know I think about Will all the time. Nope, Rose is welcome to Mr Galloway. She can have him and I’ll have Will,’ she said firmly.

  ‘And that’s what I want, too, and I’m not funning, Cora. You’d be my sister if you wed Will. I’d much rather have you for a sister than stuck-up Rose.’

  ‘That would be perfect. You and me, we’re like sisters already, aren’t we? You’re more of a sister to me than Rose has ever been, and that’s the truth.’

  ‘Sure it is. And why shouldn’t Will marry you rather than Rose? Like I said before, if you wed Will, it would bring the ranches together, just like him marrying Rose would, and that’s all our folks really want, isn’t it?’ Mattie grinned at her. ‘We’ll just have to hope it happens.’

  Cora stopped rocking, sat forward in her chair and stared at Mattie. ‘Maybe we should do more than just hope.’

  Mattie frowned slightly. She stared at Cora, and then a nervous smile flickered across her lips. ‘What are you thinking?’

  Cora sat back. ‘I’m thinking we did more than just hope on Saturday that I’d get to talk to Will and that you’d be able to talk to Sam. We planned for me to stay over at your ranch, not to trim the dresses, but to go and watch the boys in the morning, knowing they’d be branding, and hoping we’d have a chance to talk to them, and we did. That was planning, not hoping.’

  ‘That’s true.’

  ‘And we didn’t just hope at the picnic yesterday – we waited for the right moment and then we struck.’ She flicked her wrist sharply in imitation of a snake. ‘We planned it so I’d be able to join in your conversation with Will, and then you’d leave. And again it worked.’

  Mattie grinned at her. ‘It sure did – Will certainly noticed you. I seen the way he looked at you, and he looked real happy when he was dancing with you. D’you wanna come and stay again? Is that it?’

  A smile spread across Cora’s face. ‘I’ve another idea. Everyone’s pushing Will and Rose together, but I reckon we should push Rose and Mr Galloway together.’

  Mattie’s eyes opened wide. ‘You think she’s got feelings for Mr Galloway and not Will?’

  ‘I reckon she has. I don’t know if she realises the way she feels about Mr Galloway, but I saw her face when she held his hand that first time they met, and I saw how she looked when they were talking together before the dancing began, and how he looked at her, and I think we should help them see the feelings they have for each other. It’d be a kindness.’

  Mattie put her hand to her mouth and bit her lower lip. ‘How will we do that?’

  ‘All we’ve gotta do is get them somewhere by themselves. If we can do that, I’m sure they’ll declare their feelings. And when she knows that he feels the same about her – and I’m pretty sure he does – I seen the front of his pants when they were dancing … ’

  ‘Cora!’ Mattie exclaimed.

  ‘Take that look off your face, Mattie Hyde. I’m not saying Rose would act improper – she wouldn’t – but the way she feels about him, and the way he feels about her, if we can get them together where they can talk, I’ll wager she and Will won’t be announcing any engagement.’

  ‘That’s easier to say than to do. How would we get them somewhere by themselves? It’s Monday now. Our fathers are talking to Mr Galloway and Silas Poole at your ranch right this minute, and we’re all gonna have lunch together there when we get back. And with the ranchers’ meeting in town tomorrow, Mr Galloway won’t have a minute by himself.’

  Cora nodded. ‘That’s true enough.’

  ‘And then on Wednesday the cattlemen are meeting by themselves to chew over what was said at the meeting, and you told me he’s gonna go back into town on Thursday to meet up with the ranchers again to hear their thoughts.’

  ‘That’s right, so we’ve gotta act fast. We’ve gotta come up with a plan before we go back to the ranch this morning – he’ll be leaving us on Friday to go to the cattle ranches further away. I know he’ll be back in a couple of weeks, but that could be too late – Rose and Will might have announced their wedding by then. Nope, we’ve gotta come up with a plan right now to get him and Rose alone, and the only day we can get them together is Wednesday. So let’s think.’

  ‘Just sitting here thinking is like poking holes in the air with our fingers,’ Mattie said a few minutes later, breaking into the heavy silence that had fallen. ‘I can’t think of anything.’

  ‘Nor me. My mind’s empty.’

  ‘We need a place where they can meet, where no one will see them and where they won’t be disturbed …’ Mattie began. ‘What about somewhere in town?’

  Cora shook her head. ‘It can’t be anywhere in town as someone would surely see them there.’

  ‘I guess you’re right.’

  ‘What’s wrong with us!’ Cora exclaimed, sitting upright. ‘Why, there’s an obvious place for them to meet.’

  ‘There is?’

  ‘Sure.’ Cora gestured around her with her hands. ‘Here. In Jonah’s Cabin. It’s far enough from the ranch for no one to come unless they’d got a reason to, but it’s easy enough to get here. It’s the obvious place.’

  A smile spread across Mattie’s face. ‘You’re right. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. So all we have to do is come up with a reason to get them both here at the same time. Maybe you can secretly tell Rose tomorrow evening that Mr Galloway wants to meet her here on Wednesday morning, and then tell Mr Galloway the same about Rose.’

  Cora vigorously shook her head. ‘That wouldn’t work. Knowing Rose, she’d go straight to Mr Galloway and ask him why he wanted to meet her at the cabin the next day. She’d never keep quiet about it and then come here alone on Wednesday morning like that, however much she likes him. It’d sound like something improper, and she wouldn’t behave like that. Nope, we’ve got to get ’em here without either knowing the other’s coming.’

  ‘How do we do that?’

  Cora stared thoughtfully at Mattie. ‘You know what,’ she said slowly. ‘I reckon the answer is Sam.’

  ‘Sam!’ Mattie exclaimed in surprise.

  Cora nodded. ‘Sure. He could pass a message to Mr Galloway after the ranchers’ meeting, asking him to come here Wednesday morning. Yeah,’ she said, excitement building in her eyes. ‘That’s what we’ll do. And we’ll pretend the message comes from Mr Poole. It’s the sorta thing Mr Poole would do.’

  ‘And what about Rose? Who’ll we ask her to meet?’

  ‘The only person she’d ever come out here alone to meet is Will.’ She beamed at Mattie. ‘Rose will come here to meet Will, and Mr Galloway will come to meet Silas Poole. But the only people they’ll find will be each other.’

  ‘Who’s gonna tell Rose that Will wants to meet her?’

  ‘Why, you, Mattie,’ Cora said with a laugh.

  ‘What’ll I say?’ Mattie asked anxiously.

  ‘Just tell her that Will wants to see her somewhere where they can talk undisturbed, I guess. That sort of thing. She’ll believe you ’cos she must have noticed that Will’s troubled about Mr Galloway. Of course, it means you’ll have to come over tomorrow and make sure you bump into Rose when she’s by herself. Why don’t you tell your ma we wanna do some cooking together?’

  ‘She’d never believe it – she knows we both hate cooking. As it’s ironing day tomorrow, she’d only think I was trying to get out of doin’ that. And as I’ve missed helping with the washing today …’

  ‘Well, what about saying I urgently need help with a dress I’m making?’

  ‘She’s more likely to believe that. She knows how awful you are at sewing. Everyone in town knows you only go to sewing-bees so you can get the others there to do your sewing for you,’ Mattie said with a giggle. ‘Yup, I’ll tell Ma you need my help with some needlework.’

  ‘Come over as soon as you can after breakfast and stay as long as you can. At some point, you’ll be able to catch Rose by herself and pass on the message from Will.’

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bsp; They looked at each other and laughed.

  Cora stood up and stretched. ‘I guess we oughta go back now,’ she said. ‘It’ll be lunch soon. When we’re at lunch, you can say in a real casual way that you’ve been helping me to cut up pattern-pieces of newspaper in the shape of the dress I’m gonna make. You pa will be there, and he’ll hear that and then he’ll back you up when you tell your ma you need to come over here tomorrow.’

  ‘You think of everything, Cora,’ Mattie said, her tone of voice admiring. She stood up, and hesitated. ‘When Rose and Mr Galloway are together, and you and Will are affianced, you’ll help me with my folks and Sam, won’t you? I can tell Sam’s real keen on me, and I sure am keen on him.’

  Cora hugged her. ‘Of course I will, Mattie. I wanna see you as happy as I’ll be.’

  ‘I hope they’re okay about Sam. I’m afear’d that Pa will be real mad with me as Sam doesn’t have a spread of his own.’

  ‘But he doesn’t have to stay a cowman, does he? Abe’s getting real old. Maybe Sam can be your ranch foreman when Abe stops working. That’d make your folks think well of him. Jesse runs just about everything at our ranch, just like Abe does at yours, and you can tell everyone really respects them.’

  ‘They’ve just gotta keep Sam long enough for him to show them how good he is on a ranch. He’s got a real way with the cows, and you should see him breaking in the horses. He used to ride rodeo, that’s why. Maybe the Big Circle horses will need breaking in. If they do, I’ll ask Will if Sam can do some of them. It’s been a mighty good year for us so if Will and Pa see how good Sam is, maybe they’ll keep him on over the winter.’

  Cora opened the front door. ‘So that’s decided. Sam’s gonna find Mr Galloway after the meeting tomorrow and tell him Silas Poole wants to meet him here on Wednesday morning. You must tell Sam how to get to Jonah’s Cabin from McKinley’s so he can pass that on to Mr Galloway. You can do that, can’t you?’

  Mattie nodded. ‘Sure thing.’