“You’re a lot smaller than me. You need to stay warm.” James helped her up into the wagon and the next thing Lyla knew, they were on their way to the ranch, going as fast as they dared.
The storm had caused damage to the woods and the trees. As they passed through, Lyla spotted a bird circling its nest with worried chirps. A dog howled somewhere, and Lyla heard the shriek of the remaining wind whistling through the trees.
Small branches and clusters of leaves littered the path. Dusk was falling and it was getting hard to see, but James didn’t seem worried. He guided the horses professionally down the darkening road.
“Do you get a lot of storms like this here?” Lyla asked, trying to make conversation. They hadn’t really talked since the awkward moment in front of the fire, and Lyla was eager to clear the air.
“I suppose we do. You get used to it, after a while. At least there wasn’t a tornado; that’s when things get really bad. Are you warm enough?”
Lyla nodded. “Do you want your coat back? I don’t want you to get too cold.”
James chuckled, a laugh almost warm enough to chase the cold away. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Lyla nodded and clamped her teeth together to keep them from chattering. She was certainly not fine, but James was doing everything he could, so it was no use complaining.
She pulled James’ coat closed in the front and hunkered her head and shoulders forward. She recognized enough landmarks to know they would be back in the warmth of the cabin soon.
---*---
By the time they burst through the cabin door, Lyla wasn’t sure what parts of her body she could feel anymore. She felt as if she were inside a shell that she couldn’t control. She shook uncontrollably and felt soaked to the skin.
Bonnie came rushing over to them as soon as they stepped into the cabin.
“Oh, you poor dears. I’ve been so worried!”
“Get her first. It looks like she’s about to faint.” James’ voice was far away, and Lyla wondered for a moment who he was talking about.
When she realized he was talking about her, she felt her cheeks tingle with color. She hated being the weakling that had to be taken care of, but it didn’t seem she had much choice at the moment.
Bonnie began peeling off her wet layers until she was down to her dress.
“Why don’t you come sit in front of the fire, and I’ll go get you a dress from your things to change into?” Bonnie asked.
Lyla nodded numbly, barely able to feel her chin moving up and down. Her teeth chattered noisily, and she clamped her mouth shut to prevent the sound.
Sitting down in front of the fire, she felt her skin tingle as the warmth hit her. It felt so refreshing to breathe the hot air that she gulped it in as if were the best thing on earth.
“Why are you so cold?” The familiar voice made her smile. Joey was standing there, a curious look on his face.
“Being wet in the wind can make you pretty cold,” Lyla managed to explain through her chattering teeth.
James joined her in the parlor and sat down nearby. As soon as Joey saw him, he ran over and climbed up into his lap, ignoring James’ protests that he was going to get wet.
Lyla smiled at their show of affection. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that Joey was James’s real son.
She had never seen anyone be such a natural father to someone who wasn’t theirs.
She felt a different kind of warmth in her heart. Joey wouldn’t have a good home in the city. Maybe she didn’t have people who loved her or a home to go back to, but here, Joey had found one.
He was most obviously loved and adored here, and who was she to break that up?
“Did you see any wolves?” Joey’s eyes were big in his curious little face.
“Why would we see wolves?” James asked with a quirky grin.
“Because maybe they were running from the storm and you saw them.” Joey made gestures in front of him, as if it were a ludicrous thing that James didn’t understand his logic.
“No, we didn’t see any wolves, but I am sure one day you will see some with your very own eyes.”
Joey’s face fell. “Can you tell me a story about when you saw wolves, then?”
“Hmmm, let me think. I’m not sure Lyla would like that kind of story.”
Joey looked over at Lyla with a pleading look. “Would you like that kind of story, Lyla?”
Lyla giggled. “I think that sounds like a wonderfully exciting story to hear.”
James groaned and shot her a look that suggested he wanted her to save him from the situation.
Lyla shrugged; she wasn’t sure anything she could have said would have made Joey change his mind about the story he wanted to hear.
“Okay, okay. So, one time, several years ago, I was hunting in the woods…”
Bonnie rushed back into the room and wrapped a blanket around Lyla’s shoulders, then wrapped another one around James’ shoulders.
Lyla listened to James’ deep voice and watched the flames in the fireplace dance and play with each other.
Soon, her eyes began to droop, and she faded into a comfortable sleep, lost to the world. At least for a little while.
---*---
“But her dress, isn’t it still wet?” James’ worried voice made its way into Lyla’s groggy head.
It took her a moment to realize she had fallen asleep in front of the fire, and that James was talking about her.
She kept her eyes closed and tried not to move. If she woke up right now, they might think she had been listening, but if she kept pretending to sleep, she really would be listening. While she considered the dilemma and tried to decide to think of what to do, James and Bonnie continued talking.
“Such a poor, sweet girl, you know. It doesn’t seem she had a very happy life.”
“I’d bet you’re right. It’s a shame. She’s a lovely young woman. She deserves to be happy. I wish I knew how to help her.” James’ words sounded so heartfelt, Lyla almost sat up and thanked him, but instead, she forced herself to stay still.
She felt as if she was going to burst from the urge to move her legs and rearrange herself in the chair, and begged silently for them to leave so she could move without letting them know she had heard them.
“We should just cover her up with another blanket and let her get some rest. I think she needs it.”
“Okay, fine, but if she needs anything in the night, let me know. I’m going to go and get Joey to bed and tuck him in. I think he’s waiting for me.” James’s voice faded as he spoke, and Lyla heard his footsteps going down the hall.
A few minutes later, she felt a soft, fluffy blanket being laid on top of her, then tucked around her.
She relaxed into its enveloping warmth and let her thoughts wander.
These people weren’t so bad. They were actually kind and loving, just like she would have imagined real family to be.
She fought the urge to cry. She wished she could have a family like this, but all of her family was gone. She had no one left, and even when she’d had a family, it had never been like this.
She let her mind fill with Joey’s innocent face, Bonnie’s kind face and James’ serious face.
They were people that would only be in her life for a little while, but she knew already that she would be responsible for changing their lives forever. Whatever decision she made would define their future.
The crackling of the fire filled the room with its homey, comforting sound and the heat in the blankets was like a warm embrace. Lyla could no longer feel the cold wetness she had experienced only hours earlier.
A small smile danced on her lips as she let herself calm down. Bonnie was right: she needed some rest.
Chapter 20
The next morning, James was the first one up. He had gotten up twice in the night to stoke the fire to make sure Lyla wouldn’t be cold sleeping in the parlor. He had carefully removed her shoes and wrapped her feet in a warm blanket, placing a pillow benea
th them.
Now, as he went into the parlor, he paused for a moment. She looked so peaceful, even happy, curled in a cocoon of blankets. It made him feel a glow inside him to watch her sleep.
The lines on her face that were usually tense and nervous were relaxed, and a small smile played on her lips as if she were dreaming of something happy. It made James happy to see her so calm.
Suddenly, she began to stir and stretch, making James uncomfortable. His first reaction was to flee back to his room, but she had already seen him.
He didn’t want her to think he was just standing there, watching her sleep.
“James? Did I really sleep here all night?”
“Yeah, you fell asleep last night, and we didn’t want to wake you up. Did you sleep okay?” he asked, perching on the edge of a chair near her.
Lyla nodded and sat up, wrapping the blanket she had been covered with around herself and looking in a puzzled way at the blanket encasing her feet. “How… the fire is still burning from last night?” she finally said.
“No, I got up to keep it going a few times.” James felt amused as her cheeks blushed a bright red when she inspected her feet again. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t any trouble.”
If there was one thing he had learned about Lyla, it was that she was always worried that she was being a hassle or a burden to others.
“Good morning, you two,” Bonnie chirped as she joined them in the parlor.
It was rare when James ever got up before his mother, and he was not used to seeing her like this. Her hair was disheveled and unprepared for the day. She had a tired puffy look to her eyes and looked as if another couple hours of sleep would do her well.
“I’ll get breakfast going,” Bonnie said, disappearing into the kitchen.
The unexpected sound of horses on the road approaching the ranch drew James’ attention.
He walked across the parlor in a few long strides and threw open the door. The wagon was driven by two familiar figures, Merrick and Karen.
James left the door ajar and hurried out to talk to Merrick. He hoped there was no news from the sheriff’s office.
“What’s going on? Who’s at the jailhouse? Is something wrong?” The questions flew out of James’ mouth as soon as they came to his mind.
“Calm down. Everything’s fine. Does something have to be wrong for a body to come and visit?” Merrick laughed. “Daniel promised to let us know if anything happened back at the jailhouse, but honestly, everything’s been pretty quiet. Karen and I figured we would stop by and say hello.”
“Oh, well, it’s nice of you to stop by. We actually got caught in the storm yesterday… so we just woke up and we are all a sight. What about you two?”
Merrick hopped down from the wagon in one swift jump. “We were hiding in our storm cellar until we were pretty sure that there wouldn’t be a tornado.”
James motioned toward the cabin. “Come on in and have some breakfast with us. I know that you two probably have been up for hours, but we just got started.” James shook his head. “How is it that you always manage to be up so early? Don’t you ever sleep in?”
Merrick laughed. “Of course I sleep in, just not as much as you.”
James held the door open for his friends and waited while they said hello to Lyla. He was surprised how well Lyla and Karen had taken to each other.
While Karen was friendly, she wasn’t really someone to get especially friendly with others so quickly. She and Lyla were hugging each other as if they had known each other for years but hadn’t seen each other in equally as long.
“Come on, I’d bet with your lack of sleep, you would like some coffee,” James said, taking Merrick to the kitchen and leaving the women in the parlor.
He motioned to a chair and then sat down across from Merrick.
“How’s it been going? You’ve not really been down at the office much. I hate to say it, but we miss you.” Merrick took a big drink of the steaming hot coffee Bonnie had handed him moments before.
“You know why I haven’t been in much, and it’s only temporary. It’s only about two weeks until the next stagecoach comes to town.” The reality of how little time was left hit James as he said the words.
He had nearly forgotten what his goal was, having Lyla here. It had come to seem as if she was just a nice person having a visit on his ranch.
She fit just a little too well into his life. James’s eyes wandered over to where Lyla and Karen were laughing about something together.
His heart ached just a little when he thought of her leaving. What was wrong with him? Getting attached to people who would be leaving his life no matter what he did?
“So, you think she’s coming around? Is she gonna leave the kid?”
“I don’t know, I almost feel like it’s not even about that anymore.” James spoke in low tones so that only Merrick could hear him.
“What do you mean? I thought this was all about the kid and keeping him here with you?”
“It was—I mean, is. I don’t know. She’s a good woman, I don’t want to make her leave the boy. I would really like it if she would stay, too.” The words slipped out of his mouth.
“Oh, man, you’re falling for her!” Merrick said the words matter-of-factly.
“I don’t know about—”
“Don’t lie to yourself, James. I know what it looks like. Ask her to marry you. You won’t forgive yourself if you don’t.” Merrick glanced over at Karen. “I speak from experience.”
“I don’t think she’d want to marry me. She has some views on marriage that I don’t know if I can change.”
“I think that if you’re honest with her, she would stay here with you. She looks much happier than the day that she showed up.”
“You think so?” James tried not to look at Lyla again.
“I’m pretty sure of myself, James, I think you should risk it. Put yourself out there and be honest. That’s the only way you’ll know.”
James nodded in agreement, but he was still unsure. Could he really be in love with Lyla?
---*---
“We’ll see you guys at church next week!” Karen called over her shoulder as she and Merrick drove away.
James, Bonnie, Lyla, and Joey all waved until the wagon was out of sight.
“Karen is so nice. Merrick is a lucky guy,” Lyla commented, shaking her head back and forth.
“What were the two of you talking about?” James asked, curious to know what had kept them occupied all through breakfast.
“She was telling me all about their wedding plans. They sound pretty excited.” Lyla smiled, as if she’d kept something back.
“Are you sure that’s all?” James asked suspiciously.
Bonnie and Joey had walked ahead and were talking about something else.
“Of course, I’m sure.” Lyla giggled, and James joined in. “You know, when she invited me to her wedding again, I almost said yes. I don’t know what this place is doing to me.”
A Treasure Brought by Fate: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 15