A Lady for Luke

by Donna K. Weaver

  “Orange slices?” Luke asked, his eyes scanning the strands.

  “I’d ordered a case of oranges,” Marshall said coming to stand next to Doris and putting his arm around her shoulders. “They froze, and I was afraid we’d have to throw them out, but Mrs. Hauser dried the slices to use them in tea. Judith had the idea to add them as decorations.”

  “Do you have any of the slices left over?” Luke asked, looking at Judith.

  “Quite a few. Why?” she asked.

  “Because there are a few families I’d like to give Christmas trees to.”

  Judith glanced at her sister-in-law, and it was as though they shared a mind, both of their faces lighting up at the same time.

  “I was speaking with Reverend Pearce yesterday,” Doris said, “and he mentioned a list of families who are struggling. They can afford the basics but nothing extra.” She looked at her new stepdaughters. “You mustn’t speak of this to anyone outside of the family. Wouldn’t it be a lovely surprise?”

  “Oh, yes.” Florence clutched her hand. “We know which of the scholars don’t eat well at lunch.”

  “Well, it sounds like we have an extra holiday assignment,” Luke said softly to Judith. “I hope I haven’t added to your burdens.”

  She glanced up into his soft warm eyes. The way he was watching her made her want very much not to disappoint him.

  “I can do it if I have help. Are you offering?”

  Luke chuckled. “I guess I should since it’s my idea. Looks like we’d best get to work on another list.”

  6

  “It’s obviously not a pack of wolves, Abe, and now we’re sure it’s not wild dogs either. Look at him.” Luke prodded the large dog’s body. “He’s too fleshed to be attacking out of hunger. What kind of breed is that?”

  “I’m sure it’s got some Bullenbeisser in it,” the sheriff said, nudging the animal.

  “I’ve never heard of it.” Luke’s feet were going numb from the cold, so he began to dance around to keep the blood flowing.

  “It’s a kind of bulldog they breed in Germany. Get the significance of the name?” Abe shook his head. “I don’t like this.”

  “Well, I sure don’t like it. I’ve lost six head of cattle since the beginning of the month,” Luke said. “It’s almost as though my herd’s been targeted.”

  Charles turned to stare at him, his expression troubled. “That animal’s a crossbreed. From the way Tom McBride described the attack, it’s well-trained. You haven’t had any words with anyone, have you?”

  “You mean someone who might want to get even with me by running me out of business? No. The only man I’m in competition with is my brother-in-law, and we get along fine.” Luke turned to his foreman and said, “I’d like to take this carcass back. It’s cold enough it won’t rot.”

  Tom seemed glad to have something to do and signaled a couple of the cowhands to help lift the beast.

  Luke wrapped the scarf around his mouth again and mounted his horse. While no one else in the area had reported attacks like the ones he’d been experiencing, it seemed clear he was being targeted, but he couldn’t imagine why.

  The men were silent as they headed back toward the ranch. When Charles would normally have branched off to head into town with the sheriff, he signaled for Luke to stop.

  “What is it?” he asked, pulling up.

  “Do you mind,’ Charles asked, “if we get Jim Harkins out here to take a photograph of that dog?”

  “You want to put it in the paper?” Luke asked, surprised.

  “That wasn’t what I had in mind, but it’s not a bad idea.” Charles tilted his head, considering. “The notice would have everyone in the area looking around for animals like this in case there’s more than the one. But what I was thinking was to send a copy to an acquaintance of mine. He was also a Pinkerton agent, but his father breeds dogs. I’d like to get his thoughts on it. That beast Tom brought down is out of place around here.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you,” Luke said. “It’s important to protect my herd, but there’s also the danger that it could have attacked people. I hope we got the only one.”

  “As a precaution,” Charles said, “I’ll make sure Jim knows it’s a rush. Hopefully, he can get out here before Christmas.”

  “The sooner the better.” Luke urged his horse forward and said over his shoulder, “If we don’t get this settled, I won’t have a herd left by spring.”

  It was an exaggeration, of course, but winter was always tough on a herd. This year looked especially so. The additional losses from these attack dogs would only make it worse.

  By the time Luke rode into the barn, he was beginning to wonder if he’d ever get warm again. He took care of his horse and made sure he had food before heading to the house. It wasn’t until he was leaving the barn that he recognized a Circle B sleigh. It was the one Judith usually used. Drat it. He’d forgotten she was supposed to come today. Luke broke into a run. Now he’d kept her waiting.

  As soon as he entered the house, Frances reached for his coat. “You’d best hurry. She was just talking about leaving.”

  “Did you ask her to stay for supper?” he asked, pulling off his scarf and handing it to her.

  “Of course, I did, but it’s getting late. She said she wanted to be home before dark.” Frances gave a meaningful glance at the window. “Uh, it’s too late for that now.”

  Luke straightened his shirt and strode to the parlor where he found Judith looking at the Christmas tree. She glanced over her shoulder, her expression cold.

  “I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” he said. “Tom brought down a dog that killed one of my cows. That’s half a dozen of them now. We had the sheriff out to look at it.”

  Judith had turned to face him, her expression full of concern. “Marshall mentioned the trouble with wolves or a wild dog pack. He’s been worried they might attack his herd too.”

  “Attack is the key word. It was an attack dog.” Luke indicated she should sit.

  With a stunned expression, she sank to the sofa next to her bag where she usually kept her society paperwork.

  “Are you at liberty to tell me more?” she asked, her voice subdued.

  Luke explained how he’d been forced to put more men on watch because of the attacks on his herd. When he described the dog, she frowned.

  “Do you know something about animals like these?”

  “Not from personal experience, but my father was friends with men who were into dogfights. On more than one occasion, my mother and I were forced to leave the table when the men would begin describing the events. On one occasion, I wanted to prove I wasn’t merely a weak female and stayed longer than I should have.” Judith shuddered, her face having gone pale.

  “You don’t have to say more.” Luke reached over and covered her hand with his.

  “No, I’m fine. It’s a thoroughly despicable pastime.” She turned her hand under his and clasped it, as though for strength. “One of the men talked about the German Bullenbeisser breed you mentioned. He said he was breeding them with Pit Bulls which he said were noted for not letting go of their prey. As I was leaving, he said something about using these new animals as attack dogs.”

  Luke leaned back on the sofa but didn’t release her hand. He liked the idea he was offering support to this rigidly independent woman.

  “You wouldn’t happen to remember the man’s name, would you?”

  “Philip Russo. Have you ever heard of him?” she asked.

  “No.” Luke groaned in frustration. “I just don’t understand why someone would come after me. It can’t be cheap to hire someone with these animals. If there’d been a train wreck or something and the animal had gotten loose, it might explain why it was in this part of the country.”

  “But I haven’t heard of any train wrecks since I’ve been here.” Judith shifted but didn’t move her hand, which was turning warm in his. Luke wondered if he should release it, but she gave no indication she wanted him to. S
o, he didn’t.

  “No train wrecks.”

  “Well, hopefully, there’s only the one animal. Your men killed it. Perhaps the attacks will stop now.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ears,” Luke said with all the fervency he had inside. He’d always worked hard to be a good neighbor, and it troubled him he might have become a target for some kind of vendetta.

  “I’ll keep praying for you,” Judith said, her voice soft.

  He blinked. “You’ve been praying for me?”

  She fiddled with the corner of her bag and avoided looking at him. Luke reached over to place a gentle finger under her chin. She didn’t resist when he lifted it until she finally met his gaze. Her rich brown eyes watched him, open and vulnerable. His attention was drawn to her mouth, and he wondered what it would be like to kiss her. Unlike the handful of times the random thought had hit him before, Luke didn’t want to push it aside.

  But that would be taking advantage of her trust. Regretfully, he dropped his hand.

  “It’s nice to have another sister to pray for me.” Luke leaned back. “I’ve already taken too much of your time today, for which I humbly apologize again. Let’s go over that list, and you can tell me who you want me to bully about getting their tasks done.”

  7

  Judith clenched her teeth. It took every ounce of restraint in her body to keep from slapping him to put some sense into that stubborn head of his. She took her time removing the papers from her bag to calm her shaking hands.

  She wasn’t often sure what was in Luke’s thoughts, but a second ago she’d had no doubt. Having been engaged before, she knew what it looked like when a man wanted to kiss her. For a second, she’d been sure he was going to, and her body had started to tremble in anticipation. But then he hadn’t.

  Why did he insist on calling her his sister? She was not his sister. No decent man would look at his sister the way he just had. For a second, she let herself imagine what it would have been like to have taken control of the situation herself and pulled his face to hers to kiss him.

  He never would have looked at her that way again. And rightly so. No lady would behave in such a way.

  Judith wished it were proper for a lady to broach such a topic with a man. Once again, she found herself sympathizing with Frances’s sentiments. It was unfair that men could be obvious in showing their interest in a woman, but if a woman did the same thing, she was considered fast. Judith gave a mental sigh.

  “Some cowboy poetry will be the best lead-in to the Christmas program,” she said, keeping her voice devoid of emotion. Society prevented her from broaching the subject, so she mustn’t allow Luke to see the effect he had on her. “I’m not acquainted with any of the men who write it, so I’m hoping you’ll help with that. It would be especially nice if they had something to share with a message to fit the feel of the holiday and being with families.”

  Judith had received a letter from her mother earlier. While she sounded as though she was making the most of her new life, there’d been a melancholy tone to the words. It would be the first Christmas Judith had spent without her mother. Unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Are you missing someone?” Luke asked, his voice soft and tentative.

  “My mother.” Judith pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.

  “Now that you mention it, I’m surprised she didn’t come with you to live here with Marshall.”

  “Mother fled even farther away from New York than I did. Her mother is from England and returned there when my grandfather died. We tried to support each other when the accusations against my father began, but when the police came to the house and arrested him—” The familiar stab of shame hit her, and Judith’s throat tightened.

  “It’s all right. You don’t have to talk about it.”

  But Judith suddenly had a desperate need to speak of it to someone. When she’d first arrived in Wyoming, the pain had still been too strong, and she hadn’t talked of it with Marshall. With the passing of each day, it’d become harder to speak the words and easier to push them deep inside her. She’d thought if she were strong enough, she could force herself to forget what had happened altogether.

  “My mother traveled to England to be with her mother and asked me to accompany her,” Judith said with a sniff. “But Grandmother had remarried a man with a title. Rather than bring attention to the scandal, my mother must rusticate at his country estate. She is content with solitude, but I need more people around me. I was afraid I’d go mad surrounded only by my mother and servants. I didn’t understand that, by staying in my childhood home, I’d be abandoned by my fiancé and shunned by the people I’d thought were my friends.” She was crying now.

  “Ah, Judith.” Luke set aside the papers and put his arm around her shoulders. She turned into his chest. When her pent-up emotions were spent, Luke patted her shoulder. “Have you talked to Marshall about this?”

  “No.” Judith turned away from him and delicately blew her nose.

  “Why?”

  She shifted to face him. “He doesn’t understand what it was like, and he’s always been thick-skinned. It’s why he was able to leave home and never look back.”

  “I’ve known your brother a long time, and I can guarantee you he’s looked back. Many times. Same as I have.” Luke ran his hand over her back once more and moved it to his lap. “Look, we didn’t start off on the right foot—”

  “That was my fault, and I must apologize.” Judith wiped at her eyes again. “I was so ill mannered when we first met ... when I met everyone. I was so used to the disdain and condescension back home I assumed everyone here would treat me the same. It was foolish of me.”

  “Once again, I understand.” Luke covered her hand with his. “I was angry when I first got here. You can ask Tom. I’d loved my mother dearly, and it’s only recently I was able to forgive her for marrying again. To be honest, I resented Lancaster from the beginning. I was already holding a grudge against the man, even before he started treating me so poorly.”

  “How old were you when your mother remarried?”

  “Nine.”

  “You were a child, Luke.” Judith took his hand in both of hers. “He was the adult and should have worked to earn your respect if not your love. I don’t understand how a man who could love his wife so much could treat her son the way he did you.”

  “Ever since the girls came to live with me, I’ve been wondering about it myself. Honestly, I think he couldn’t stand that my mother had ever loved another man.”

  “And you were proof that she had.” Judith wished she knew how to give comfort for the pain in his voice.

  “Yes. After my mother’s death and funeral, her husband made a great show of having his attorney come to the house and write me out of his will. I hadn’t expected an inheritance from him, anyway, though I’d hoped he’d continue to pay for college. The hardest thing was when he forbade me to see my sisters. I was furious.”

  “Marshall says you came out here to make your fortune.”

  “I’d inherited some money from my father. I wouldn’t get it until I was twenty-one, but I could borrow against it. I had a chum whose uncle had come out to Wyoming to give it a try. He knew Tom McDaniel and suggested I get in touch with him. Tom took this nineteen-year-old greenhorn under his wing and taught me how to be a rancher.” Luke chuckled. “I’d assumed because I was a good rider and had tended my horse I knew enough. Tom’s been more than my foreman. He’s one of my best friends, and he’s been like a father to me. It’s Martha who’s helped me to let go of my anger at my stepfather. I can’t say I’ve exactly forgiven him yet. I find myself resentful too often still, but it’s not controlling my life anymore. It’s something you’re going to need to understand before you can find peace. You have to move on.”

  “I’m not sure how. The pain is still so raw.” Judith had to blink her eyes rapidly to keep from crying again.

  “Martha told me I had to face my future and leave the p
ast behind me. If I was forever remembering what I’d lost, it’d tie me down like Marley’s chains.”

  “Dickens’ Marley?” Judith asked, surprised.

  “Yup. And Martha was right. As soon as I started putting my strength into building a life here and not counting my grievances against Lancaster, his wrongs lost their power over me. Then Reverend Pearce gave an excellent sermon on forgiveness. He reminded me it was to help us and not necessarily the person who’s wronged us.” Luke chuckled again. “I’m not a particularly spiritual man, but I remember sitting in that pew and going over in my mind all the whupping the Lord did in the Old Testament. He’d said vengeance was His, and I could trust Him to do a fine job where it was needed. It was like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I’d come into church that Sunday carrying the weight of my anger and resentment, but I left it behind. Well, I thought I’d overcome it.”

  “What—” Judith broke off as understanding struck her. “Oh. You mean William Lancaster. His attempts to get hold of your sisters are bringing up your desire for vengeance again.”

  “Exactly so. He’s got me fired up in ways I haven’t been in years.”

  “Will you help me overcome my anger?”

  “I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask, considering I’m struggling again myself.” Luke’s dark brown eyes met hers. Something powerful lurked in them that sent a wonderful warmth flooding through her.

  “Perhaps we can help each other,” Judith said, her voice soft with hope. “You’ve already overcome this once, so you have experience I don’t. If you’re willing to help me when I forget to look to my future, I could help you do the same.”

  “You might be just what I need.” Luke rose and, still holding her hand, brought her to her feet. He leaned closer as though he meant to kiss her cheek.

  She shut her eyes to resist the temptation to wish for more. When his lips brushed hers, Judith’s lids popped open. She quickly closed them again, giving herself to the warmth of his skin. He moved as though to pull back, but she slid her hand around his neck.