Little Cowgirl on His Doorstep (Mills & Boon Cherish) (Cadence Creek Cowboys - Book 3)

by Alward, Donna

  Callum reached over and took her hand. “It doesn’t always make sense,” he said, squeezing her fingers. “One moment people you care about are there, and the next…they just aren’t anymore. Trying to figure it out will only make you crazy. You just have to find a way to go on.”

  The tightness in his voice told her he might just have some experience in that department, but she didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to get too close to Callum. It would only muddy the waters.

  “I have to go on,” she said, blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes. “For Nell. I’m all she’s got.” She’s all I’ve got, too, Avery thought, but she kept silent about that.

  She looked down and realized that she’d twined her fingers with Callum’s, her pale, slender fingers dwarfed by his rough, workingman hands. Embarrassed and with a strange lightness in her stomach, she pulled her hand away.

  He didn’t contradict her. Despite the cautious sharing that had happened over the meal, despite the assurance that he claimed Nell as his daughter, she knew that if he were truly committed, he would have said something like she’s got me, too.

  But he didn’t. He didn’t say anything.

  It made Avery feel more alone than she had in a very long time.

  “There’s pie for dessert,” he offered, but the invitation sounded forced and a lot like a consolation prize.

  “None for me, thanks,” she said, eager now to escape. “I’m still on Ontario time. It’s after eleven back home. I’ll help you clean up and then I think I’ll go to bed. Nell will be up early.”

  He pushed his chair away from the table. “You don’t need to clean up, you’re company. Go. I’ll look after this.”

  “You’re sure?” she asked.

  “Go,” he repeated, and she felt her cheeks flame. He couldn’t be clearer about wanting to keep his distance, could he?

  It was going to be a long two weeks.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BY 8:00 A.M. Avery was ready to go back to bed. Her eyes burned and her lashes felt gritty each time she blinked. She didn’t know if it was the strange place or what, but Nell had been up every three hours during the night. Now Avery had been up since six, and the coffeepot was down to half.

  She hadn’t seen Callum at all. When Nell began crying at six, she’d heard him go out the front door. No doubt he was regretting asking them to stay.

  Now Nell was sound asleep, her little face peaceful as she lay in Avery’s arms. “Little monkey,” Avery murmured, half exasperated and half with affection. The baby had to be exhausted. If Avery hadn’t slept, neither had Nell. And neither, probably, had Callum.

  Sitting in the big armchair in his living room, Avery let her eyes drift closed. If she could just sneak a few minutes…

  The sound of boots being stomped and the slam of the door jolted her awake. When she jumped, so did Nell, and then her tiny face crumpled up and a pitiful wail echoed through the room.

  Avery sighed.

  “Sorry,” Callum offered. “I didn’t know you’d be sleeping.”

  She bit back the sharp retort sitting on her lips and looked over her shoulder at him. Truthfully he hadn’t made that much noise, it was just that it sounded so abrupt in the early morning silence. There was nothing to compete with it—no traffic, no planes overhead, no people on the sidewalk or even a softly playing radio.

  Avery couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard this much silence. She looked up and realized he looked as tired as she felt.

  “Did you sleep at all?” she asked.

  “Not much,” he admitted.

  “She’s not usually this fussy. I don’t know what came over her last night. I mean, she’s not sleeping through the night and she’s been waking a little more often lately, but last night was…”

  She sighed again. “Sorry” was all she could think to say.

  “It’s okay. I had to get up and do the milking anyway.”

  The barn was probably ten times more peaceful than the house.

  Nell settled down and her lids started drooping again. “Let me try to put her on the bed,” Avery said. “I’ll be right back.”

  The baby settled into the soft covers instantly and Avery placed a pillow on either side of her just in case Nell managed what she hadn’t yet—rolling. When she went back to the kitchen Callum was pouring a fresh cup of coffee into his travel mug.

  “Have you had breakfast?” she asked.

  “Not yet. What would you like?”

  “Oh, I’ll cook it. Good heavens, I don’t intend for you to wait on me. If you don’t mind, that is.”

  “If you cook better than me it’s not a problem at all,” he added, stirring milk into his coffee.

  She passed by him and opened the fridge, surprised by this new equanimity, wondering if they were both so tired it simply took too much energy to be awkward. “Eggs, then? How do you like them?”

  “I’m not fussy,” he answered.

  “Great.” She took out eggs, butter and a package of sliced ham she found in the deli drawer. There were mushrooms and peppers in the crisper and she took those out, too, and a hunk of cheddar. “Omelets work for you?”

  “Perfect.”

  She found a bowl and began cracking and whisking eggs together with a fork. While she put the vegetables to sauté, Callum got out plates and put bread in the toaster.

  “You like cooking, huh,” he commented.

  She put the veggies in a bowl and poured half the egg batter into the hot pan. “Yeah, I do.”

  “So why cakes?”

  She grinned. “Come on, cake? Everyone loves cake. I mean, I like cooking, period, but I really love working with the icing and coming up with pretty decorations and stuff.”

  “Like that show, Cake Boss?”

  She laughed again, amazed that Mr. Reclusive even had cable let alone had heard of the popular show. “No, nothing as fancy as that. They do some crazy stuff on there. And wedding cakes definitely aren’t my specialty, at least not yet. I leave that to my boss, Denise. Right now I’m practicing on using more molding chocolate and fondant to add touches. And experimenting with flavors. I’m really good at the cupcakes. A unique flavor, a swirl of buttercream…”

  She broke off, realizing Callum was just standing there looking at her. “I get carried away.” She felt a blush heat her cheeks as she turned back to the stove.

  “You’re doing something you love. Nothing wrong with that. Too many people find themselves in careers they hate. Maybe we have something in common after all.”

  “You?”

  She turned around in surprise, but he just shrugged. “The military wasn’t for me. I wasn’t as good at taking orders as I should have been. I kind of like to do my own thing. Farming suits me down to the ground.”

  He sounded as if he meant it.

  “But it’s so…” She looked down at his jeans.

  “Dirty?” he supplied dryly.

  A smile crept up her cheek. “Well, yeah.”

  “Nothing wrong with honest dirt,” he answered. “First thing in the morning, when I go out to do the milking, I get to watch the sun rise over the prairie.” Suddenly he grinned. “You could have done that this morning, too, you were up early enough.”

  The sight of Callum smiling made her catch her breath. This was a glimpse of the man she’d met ever so briefly the year before. It wasn’t just the smile, either. Little crinkles appeared at the tanned corners of his eyes and they seemed to light up, sparkling at her from the other side of the kitchen. They were deep-set and nearly black when he frowned, but the morning light picked up bits of warm chocolate and caramel.

  She spent far too long analyzing the varied depths and realized with some embarrassment that she’d been staring. The omelet was ready to be flipped so she grabbed the spatula and turned it over, thankful that her back was to him now. “You can put the toast down,” she said softly. “This is almost done.”

  When his was ready she slid it onto a waiting plate and began t
he same process for the next. By the time it was done Callum had a plate with eight slices of buttered toast on it and had poured her a glass of apple juice.

  “Who on earth are you feeding?” she asked, staring at all the bread.

  He just reached for the jam. “I’m a good eater.” He angled her a glance and then put his attention back to his plate. “You could stand to eat a bit, too.”

  He thought she was too thin? She was conscious about her figure, of course she was. And she did test all her new recipes to make sure they were up to snuff. But never had anyone accused her of being too thin.

  “I eat,” she answered. “And speaking of, if Nell and I are going to be here for the next while, it’s only fair that I help out. I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality. I thought I’d take a run into town later and pick up a few things, if you don’t mind me borrowing your truck. I’ll look after the meals while I’m here, how does that sound?”

  He shrugged. “It sounds better than my cooking, that’s for sure.”

  Satisfied, she sat back. The last thing she wanted to be was a freeloader. He’d already thought that she was after child support. She didn’t mean to be a leech as well.

  Besides, she felt she had something to prove.

  When the meal was over she went to work clearing away the dishes while Callum disappeared into a third bedroom that he’d converted into a mini-office. By the time the frying pan was washed, Nell was up again.

  Avery closed her eyes and sighed. She wasn’t going to catch a break all day, was she?

  By ten o’clock she was ready to pull out her hair. Nell wasn’t content to do anything, so Avery finally decided to take her outside for a walk around the property. The previous owner had planted some rosebushes that were still blooming, their scent sweet in the air. They examined those, then discovered a bird’s nest in some scrub brush, and then, to Avery’s surprise, came upon Callum’s vegetable garden.

  It wasn’t large, but the plants looked green and healthy. She could make out the tall tomato plants, cucumber vines, tangled peas and pert beans. Some of the beans were long and fat and ready to be picked, and the peas were just starting to fill out their pods.

  Callum was squatted down in the middle of it all, pulling weeds away from the beans.

  “Nice garden,” she called to him.

  He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up, tipping back his ball cap. “It’s coming. Beans are just about ripe, peas’ll be along anytime.”

  “You really do like the outdoors, don’t you?” She shifted Nell on her arm.

  “I couldn’t do this if I didn’t. Come on in and have a look.”

  “But the fence…” Callum had protected the garden from any animals who might enjoy nibbling on his harvest by constructing a fence of wood stakes and chicken wire.

  He held out a hand. “It’s not too high. Step over sideways.” He brushed his hands on his jeans. “Here, I’ll take Nell.”

  She handed over the baby, her heart taking a surprise bump as she saw him holding his daughter for the first time. Once Nell was in the crook of his arm, he held out his hand again, presumably to help her over.

  She took it and her heart bumped again at the feeling of his fingers tightening over hers. She swung one leg over the wire and then her second, giving a little hop at the end. Callum’s dry chuckle teased her ears and she found herself smiling.

  “Your legs are longer than mine,” she chided. She was going to put out her hands to take Nell back but decided not to. Nell was happy and Callum looked comfortable.

  “The grand tour,” he said, pointing. “Potatoes, then onions there. Then peas, beans, carrots, lettuce and spinach, and cucumbers and tomatoes at the far end.”

  He squatted down and plucked a weed, tossing it into a bucket. “One of the things I missed when I was in the forces was having a garden. We always had one at home.”

  “And home was where?” she asked, realizing she really didn’t know a lot about him.

  “Lower mainland of B.C., not far from Abbotsford. That’s where my uncle had his farm.”

  “And you have a sister, you said?”

  He nodded as they walked slowly past the rows of green vegetables. “My baby sister, Taylor, who’s twenty-five. And a brother, Jack, who’s twenty-eight.”

  “Are you close?”

  Callum avoided looking at her and bent to pull out another weed, Nell still securely on his arm. “Not as close as we used to be. I was gone a lot with the forces, and ended up settling here while they still live close to Vancouver.”

  Avery felt sad for him. Whatever had caused the change, he’d also isolated himself from his family because of it. She frowned. “You still have a chance to connect again,” she said.

  Callum looked at her then, as if he understood what she didn’t say: that she wouldn’t ever have that chance with Crystal.

  “You’re right, of course,” he replied. “And I suppose at some point I’m going to have to tell them they’re an aunt and uncle.”

  Nell picked that moment to fuss, so Avery held out her arms. “I should get her in out of the sun. Her skin’s so tender and I don’t want her to burn. Maybe I can take a cucumber and tomato with me and put them in the fridge for our lunch?”

  “Good idea.” He plucked one of each off the vines and once she was safely over the fence, handed them to her.

  It had felt remarkably normal, talking with him in the sun. She’d liked talking to him, touching his hand, seeing Nell on his arm.

  Liked it perhaps a little too much.

  Avery was just thinking about taking that run into town when a puff of dust rose up from the dirt lane. She looked out the window to see two huge trucks pulling up, each towing a wagon of hay. They pulled up beside the barn and Avery was fascinated as the drivers hopped out—tall, rangy men in jeans, like Callum, and both wearing broad-brimmed Stetsons.

  She really was in cowboy country, wasn’t she?

  A bigger surprise was when the passenger-side door on one of the trucks opened up and a woman got out. Avery’s heart began to race. Nell pulled a chunk of her hair but she couldn’t even bother to disentangle the tiny fingers from the strands. Instead she watched Callum come out of the barn and shake hands with the men. He spoke to the woman, too, and they all turned and looked her way.

  Avery stepped back from the window.

  When she peeked through the curtains again she could see the woman coming toward the house.

  Okay. This was not a disaster. After all, Avery wasn’t the one who was supposed to be all paranoid about the grapevine; that was Callum. She was a guest, that was all. She scrambled to come up with possible answers to the predictable questions when there was a tap on the door.

  She had to answer it. It would look stupid if she didn’t.

  Nell was still on her hip when she opened the door and pasted on a smile. “Hi,” she said, giving Nell a bounce to adjust her weight better.

  “Hi, you’re Avery, right? I’m Clara, Tyson Diamond’s wife.”

  Clara Diamond was pretty in an unassuming sort of way—beautiful blond curls that ended at her shoulders, an easy smile and big blue eyes that exuded friendliness. Avery stepped aside. “Come on in.”

  “I hope you don’t mind. Ty and Sam said they were coming out here this morning to bring Callum a load of hay and I asked if I could come along for the ride. Molly—that’s their mom—offered to watch our daughter for an hour or two. It’s quite something to be able to step away for an hour or two. Just a drive with Ty is something special, you know? A chance to talk without interruption.” She grinned. “I’ll take whatever couple-time I can get, especially this time of year.”

  Avery nodded, not knowing what else to do. It was clear as could be that Clara was besotted with her husband. “I’m sure alone time is a precious commodity,” she answered, thinking she sounded silly. How would she know? Avery had never even really been in love before. She believed in it but wasn’t sure she’d ever find it for hersel
f. Especially now. Being a single mom put a big kink in a girl’s social life.

  “Anyway, Callum mentioned he had guests and that you might like some company while they unload the hay. And who have we here?” She reached out and touched Nell’s cheek with a finger. “Oh, my, aren’t you precious. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  Avery found herself warming to the woman. After all, she was refreshingly friendly and anyone who made a fuss of Nell was automatically moved up a few steps in her book. “This is Janell.”

  “She’s adorable.” Clara looked back at Avery. “Pardon me for being nosy, but are you and Callum…”

  Avery shook her head quickly. “Oh, no. Callum is…an old friend of my sister’s. Nell and I are heading back to Ontario soon.”

  “Your sister?” Clara’s brows puckered. “Wow. Okay. It’s just that, well, for a minute there I was going to say that Nell was the picture of Callum, with those big eyes and dark curls.”

  Avery had to turn away for a moment as her emotions surged. Someone else besides her and Callum could see the resemblance.

  “Do you want a cup of coffee or anything?” she asked, walking toward the kitchen. “I’m afraid I don’t have much else to offer at the moment. Nell and I were just going to take a trip to town.”

  “Just water’s fine,” Clara answered.

  When she returned, Clara was still standing in the small foyer. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Avery said, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Diamond. Come on in and sit down. I’m afraid I didn’t get much sleep last night and I’m not firing on all cylinders this morning.”

  Clara took the glass of water and sat in a chair. “First time teething?”

  Avery looked up with a start. “Teething?”

  “You didn’t know?” Clara grinned. “Not sleeping so great at night? Drooling a lot and chewing?”

  “Well, yes, but…how did you know?”

  “The rosy cheeks were a dead giveaway. Honestly when Susanna was around four and a half months we had the first two teeth come all at once. Not fun.”