Crumpets & Cowpies: (Sweet Historical Western Romance) (Baker City Brides Book 1)

by Shanna Hatfield

  Unsure if Jemma would ever welcome him to her side of the bed, he thought they worked well together in all other aspects of their marriage.

  Jemma had turned the cabin into a cozy, inviting haven with the furniture he hauled home from Baker City as well as some of her paintings, a handful of small rugs, and a few pieces of frippery.

  She kept everything from the socks in his drawer to the stack of plates in the cupboard neat and orderly. He always had a filling, hot meal to eat for breakfast and supper, since he often didn’t come in off the range for lunch or took that meal with the hands at the bunkhouse. Even if he didn’t always appreciate the food she cooked, she put in the effort.

  Energized when they matched wits, he’d begun to think she enjoyed their sparring matches as much as he did. She’d stopped looking wounded or affronted by his words weeks ago.

  Jemma wouldn’t have been his choice for a wife because he never intended to marry in the first place. However, since he had to take one, he figured she suited him about as well as anyone could have. She didn’t chatter all the time or make unreasonable demands. She asked intelligent questions, could converse on almost any topic, and went about her work with diligence and efficiency.

  Even with eyes red from crying and flour on her face, his wife’s outward beauty made his gut tighten and longing wash over him in overpowering waves.

  When she started dressing in the plainer cotton dresses she purchased from Maggie, he hoped it would alter her appeal. If anything, he found her even more attractive without the preposterous bustle blocking the view of her skirts swishing across her backside.

  Mindful of how right she felt in his arms, how much he enjoyed hearing her laugh, seeing her smile, watching her eyes spark with fire, he considered what a good mother she was to Jack and Lily. The children were disciplined when they needed it, yet she never raised her voice in anger.

  She poured out her love to them in so many little ways — a touch, a word of encouragement, a kind smile. Despite their losses, being uprooted from their home, and forced to live in a place vastly different from what they were accustomed, the children adjusted smoothly. That was thanks to Jemma.

  Although he had dreaded making room in his life for the children and Jemma, Thane wondered how he ever existed before them. His life felt so much fuller and complete now that they’d joined him on the ranch.

  Scrupulously studying the woman who continued to sniffle and wipe away tears, he leaned back in his chair with a cocky grin, hoping to either tease her out of her sorrows or make her mad enough she forgot about them.

  “You certainly are a poor excuse for a wife and mother. Constantly harping and nagging. I’ve never seen such a bad cook, either. And did I catch you yelling at Rigsly this morning? Animal abuse, too? I don’t know about you, Jem. Maybe I should haul you into town and let you fend for yourself. If you can’t learn to make American biscuits and cook my steak without burning it, I think the deal is off.”

  Startled by his words, Jemma stared at him, trying to decide if he was sincere or teasing. When she noticed his grin, the corners of her mouth lifted in response. “If you’d be so kind as to bring in one of my trunks from the barn, I’ll pack and leave posthaste.”

  Thane reached out and grabbed her around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. “Nah. I think you’d better stay. I’m just starting to get you trained.”

  Lost in the look in his eyes, Jemma couldn’t form a response. She could barely think at all.

  Thane dropped his head until their lips were just a few inches apart. Not moving any closer, he gave her a long, tender glance and waited.

  In agony, she wanted his kiss so badly her mouth watered and lips tingled. Emboldened by the wanting in his eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down the remainder of the distance. Engulfed by the charged currents sparking between them, she closed her eyes. His lips brushed hers as the door banged open and Jack ran inside.

  Thane jerked his head up and looked at the boy.

  “Is Lily here?” Jack asked, out of breath as he stood in the open door.

  “No. Isn’t she at the bunkhouse with you?” Thane jumped to his feet, still holding Jemma by her waist. She popped his shoulder with her hand and he set her down then ran out the door with Jack as she followed close behind him.

  “Where did you last see her?”

  “We were all sitting down to eat supper and Lily said she had to use the outhouse. Sam told her to go ahead then hurry right back. She ran out, but was gone an awful long time, even for Lily. I went to check on her, but the outhouse door was open. I looked in the barn. Lily likes to play with the kittens the barn cat had even though you told her to leave them alone, Auntie Jemma.”

  Thane ran to the outhouse, to make sure Lily wasn’t there. As he turned around, Jemma peered over his shoulder.

  “She couldn’t fall in, down the… in the hole could she?”

  Thane took her hand in his and tugged her away from the privy. “No. Come on, we’ll find her. She’s probably playing with the kittens or something.”

  Jack, accompanied by Salt and Pepper, followed them as they rushed across the ranch yard, calling Lily’s name.

  Thane glanced at the boy. “Son, run into the bunkhouse and ask them all to help us look.”

  Jack took off and Thane hurried inside the barn. “Check all the stalls while I climb up to the loft to see if she somehow got up there.”

  A quick look around the barn showed Lily wasn’t there.

  Fear unlike any Jemma had known slithered up her spine, threatening to choke the air right out of her. Panic or hysterics wouldn’t help find her beloved girl, so she ran outside, continuing to call Lily’s name.

  Thane joined her as they looked through the shed where he kept his wagons and equipment. The hands joined them, searching every building, every place they could think of for a child to hide.

  As the evening shadows lengthened with the approaching night, Jemma grabbed Thane’s arm, desperate to find Lily. “Where could she be? What if some wild animal grabbed her or a snake bit her or…”

  Gently shaking her, Thane took her in his arms. “Stop it, Jem. She’s fine. She just wandered a little farther away from the house than she should have. We’ll find her.”

  Blindly nodding her head and blinking back tears, she followed Thane as he ran out toward a recently constructed pen where he’d pastured a few of his bulls. Rigsly barked out a warning, causing them to run faster. They both came to a halt as they topped the rise.

  In the midst of the pen, Lily stood with a quirt in her hand, flicking it at the bulls and yelling, “get up there!” just like she’d seen the ranch hands do. Rigsly sat at the fence, barking fiercely, as if he was trying to tell the child she was in danger.

  Thane clapped a hand over her mouth before Jemma could scream at Lily to run out of the pen. “Stay quiet. We don’t need the bulls any more worked up than they already are. Go get Sam and the boys.”

  Jemma picked up her skirts and spun around, sprinting back toward the bunkhouse while Thane eased over the fence. Concerned about the dog getting in the middle of things, he motioned for the canine to sit down.

  “Hush up, Rigs. You’re a good dog, but you need to be quiet now.”

  Rigsly stopped barking and anxiously sat by the fence, moving his front paws like he wanted to jump in and help.

  Slowly walking into the pen, Thane kept one eye on the milling animals and the other on his tiny niece.

  Details he normally wouldn’t notice stood out to him with vibrant clarity: the ripe smell of fresh manure, the aroma of the sagebrush on the evening breeze, the scent of Jemma’s fragrance clinging to his clothes from holding her earlier.

  Fear, sharp and bitter, lingered on his tongue as he inched his way toward Lily. Strawberry-blonde curls encircled her head like a fiery halo as the setting sun glowed around her. Her voice carried to him, a sound of pure childish delight, as she giggled and snapped the quirt again.

  Parti
cles of dust floated in the air in the golden orange beams of light filtering into the pen. Thane took in the dusty red hides of the beasts, intermixed with once-white splotches on their faces. Individual blades of grass bent beneath his booted feet as he worked his way across the pen.

  With her back to him, Lily wasn’t aware of his approach until he stood right behind her.

  “Lily, honey,” Thane bent down and whispered in her ear. “We’re going to play a game. We’re going to see if we can run faster than the bulls to the fence. When I pick you up, you put your arms around my neck and hang on as tight as you can, okay?”

  “Okay!” Lily spun around and encircled his neck with her little arms, still holding the quirt. Thane held her against his chest with one solid arm. He rose and turned, then started running for all he was worth. The bulls grunted and gave chase. Pounding hooves vibrated behind him along with the snorting sounds the animals made as they raced to catch him.

  “They’re getting closer, Uncle Thane.” Lily laughed, thinking it a grand game.

  With a final burst of speed, Thane clutched Lily tightly as he leaped up and cleared the pole fence seconds before one of the bulls plowed into it, making him glad the hands reinforced the fence like he asked. As he hit the ground on the other side, he rolled, using his body to cushion Lily before sitting up, placing the child on her feet.

  Carefully rubbing his hands over her head, along her arms and over her back, he couldn’t feel anything broken. She wiggled and grinned, bouncing on her toes in excitement. “That was fun. Let’s do it again!”

  She grabbed his hand and tugged in the direction of the fence. Before she could take another step, Jemma swept her into her arms and rained kisses along her cheeks and neck, holding her so tightly Lily squirmed against her.

  Overwrought, Jemma dropped to her knees in the dust and held Lily’s little face in her hands, unable to think about how close her niece and husband had come to being trampled by the bulls.

  “Lillian Jane Jordan. Don’t you ever, ever do something like that again.”

  Lily’s lip puckered and tears glistened in her eyes. “What did I do bad, Auntie Jemma?”

  “You mustn’t ever climb in with the animals, poppet. They could trample you to death. Do you understand, Lily? It’s dangerous and you could have been gravely injured.”

  “I don’t want to be dead!” Lily wailed, burying her face against Jemma. “I don’t want hurted!”

  The hands gathered around them, looking from Thane to Jemma. Thane got to his feet and rolled his shoulders to make sure he hadn’t loosened too many of his bolts and hinges when he landed. Everything seemed to be in working order.

  “I’m sorry, Uncle Thane. It’s my fault,” Jack said, looking up at him with sorrowful eyes.

  “It’s not your fault, son.” Thane hunkered down by the boy, keeping a grunt of pain from escaping by clenching his jaw. Apparently, he landed on his hip harder than he thought.

  “It is my fault. I should have gone with her and made sure she came back.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Jack. I would have done the same thing if we’d been there. You can’t take the blame for something your sister did. She knew she was supposed to come right back to the table, not wander around outside.”

  Relieved, Jack hugged his uncle, upset by the whole ordeal. He and the hands arrived in time to watch Thane clear the fence with Lily held tightly in his arms.

  Thane straightened and gave Jack’s back a reassuring pat then walked over to where Jemma and Lily sat crying in the dirt.

  “Lily, honey, your aunt is correct. You shouldn’t have been out here. I want you to promise me you’ll never, ever climb in a pen with animals again.” Thane tipped up the little chin and looked into his niece’s eyes. “Do you promise?”

  Lily nodded her head, still snuffling. “I promise.”

  “Good girl.” Thane picked her up and hugged her close. His knees wobbled at thoughts of what could have happened to the little girl. She and her brother had become so precious to him, he couldn’t bear for anything to happen to either of them.

  “Am I still in trouble?” Lily’s lip stuck out and tears threatened to again spill from her eyes.

  “Yes, you’re in trouble for not minding Sam when he told you to come back. You won’t get any dessert tonight and you can’t play with your dolly before bed.”

  Lily’s lip curled into a full-fledged pout, although she didn’t cry. “Can I finish my supper?”

  “Yes, honey. You go on with Jack and you both finish your supper.”

  Undaunted, she grabbed Jack’s hand and started skipping back toward the bunkhouse. “Come on, Jack. I’m hungry.”

  Thane drew Jemma to her feet and shook his head, watching the children run down the path toward the ranch yard with the hands.

  “‘And though she be but little, she is fierce.’ That quote has a whole new meaning for me now.”

  Dazed, Jemma couldn’t believe Thane stood beside her quoting Shakespeare. Too distressed by Lily’s actions to think clearly, she struggled to imagine how Thane knew Shakespeare’s works, forgetting his mother had been a schoolteacher.

  The depths of her husband’s intellect and heart constantly surprised her. Because of his rough appearance at their initial meeting, she’d judged everything from Thane’s level of intelligence to his emotional capacity based on that first impression.

  The process of knowing Thane Jordan was akin to peeling back the layers of a never-ending surprise. It made her think of a gift she received as a child — a ball of tissue that held numerous gifts. As she unrolled the tissue, each new layer revealed something more wondrous than the previous layer, with a promise of something else exciting awaiting discovery.

  Much like she experienced with her husband.

  Suddenly, the full force of what transpired in the past few moments hit her. Unable to breathe, Jemma swayed on her feet.

  “Don’t you dare faint, Jem. For a woman who promised she wasn’t a swooner, you’ve sure put that theory to the test.” Thane wrapped his arms around her and held her upright as she leaned into his chest. “No one got hurt and everything is fine. What’s eatin’ at you now?”

  A shaky gulp of air filled her lungs as Jemma tipped her head back so she could look at Thane, take in every nuance of his beloved face. Vertical worry lines etched between his brows, while time spent in the sun and laughing created crinkles at the corners at his eyes. She observed the mole on his cheek, the scruffy stubble on his chin, the outline of his lips, and the light glowing in his normally cool blue eyes.

  Shaken, she placed a hand on his cheek. If something had happened to Lily or Thane, she would have been inconsolable because she owned a ferocious love for them both.

  “I’m just so glad you and Lily are fine. What if we hadn’t found her when we did? What if Rigsly hadn’t been barking? What if you hadn’t made it out of the pen? What if…”

  Thane lifted her off the ground and pressed his lips to hers, effectively silencing her fears. Driven, demanding kisses poured out his passion along with a soothing balm to her soul. She slipped her arms around his neck and held on, returning his ardor.

  If he didn’t stop, he’d carry her to the house, bolt the door, and break the promise he’d stupidly made that day at the cottage.

  Slowly lifting his head, he kissed her temple then slid her down to her feet.

  “What if you don’t worry about the what ifs and be happy that all is well?” Thane gave her a gentle smile then looped her hand around his arm. “Let’s go see if Sam made enough supper to feed us, since you burned mine beyond recognition. I think I saw Pepper burying his steak. It’s pretty bad when the dogs won’t eat it.”

  His teasing brought out her smile since Jemma knew it was his way of putting her at ease.

  After that kiss, though, she didn’t think anything would ever be fine again, especially not when Thane refused to break his vow of remaining her husband in name only.

  As they walked bac
k to the bunkhouse, she studied him out of the corner of her eye. There was no doubt her husband was strong and capable, but watching him run across the pasture and leap over the fence created an entirely new level of admiration in her for his physical abilities.

  “I can’t believe you jumped over the fence.” The look she gave him carried a sense of awe.

  “To tell you the truth, I can’t believe it, either.” Thane grinned at her as he held open the bunkhouse door. “Evidently, desperation can give your feet wings.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The sound of riders approaching drew Jemma’s excited gaze out the kitchen window as Maggie and Tully dismounted in front of the cabin. Tully took the reins of the horses and strode toward the barn while Maggie hurried down the walk.

  With a final glance at the tea she’d prepared, Jemma smoothed her hands down her skirt, patted her hair, then rushed to open the door.

  Maggie smiled as she stepped across the porch and inside the warmth of the cabin.

  “I am so very pleased you were able to visit today, Maggie,” Jemma said, taking the woman’s coat and hanging it on a peg by the door. Maggie unwound a scarf from around her head and neck, hanging it on her coat then removing her gloves and stuffing them into her coat pockets. Dressed in a riding skirt with a frilly lace-trimmed blouse, she glanced at Jemma’s striped silk gown and sighed.

  Although it was too late to worry about it now, she wished she’d dressed in something nicer and brought the buckboard Tully had offered to drive.

  “Thank you for inviting me to tea. I’ve never attended a real English tea before, so you’ll have to excuse my ignorance if I pick up the wrong spoon or something.” Maggie gave Jemma’s hand a squeeze as they walked into the sitting area in front of the fireplace.

  “It’s just tea, not dinner with the queen.” Jemma grinned at her friend, thrilled to have a female visitor. Tully had been out to the ranch numerous times, but this was the first time Maggie had visited. The woman was busy with her dress shop and Jemma felt honored she’d take an afternoon off to visit.