“What are you saying, Matt? Are you saying you want to court me?”
That wasn’t what he was saying. He wanted to marry her and carry her to the bedroom right this minute. And as a man who knew almost nothing about women, he thought he had a great idea of how to proceed.
But courting?
That cleared his thoughts. “Uh, courting. How does a man even court a woman when he’s living with her, eating with her, and raising three children with her? That sounds more like two people who have been married for years.” Except of course in one very important way.
His thoughts honestly shocked him a bit because he’d always kept to manly places like the mountaintops and the sea, mining camps and remote ranches. He’d never so much as spent time alone with a woman, not once. Never long enough to consider rounding her up and claiming her.
“Well, nothing like this can happen again as long as we’re here alone. It’s sinful.”
Matt thought it might well be sinful except his intentions, passionate though they were, were completely honorable.
“So you go on now, and when Mark and Emma get back we can talk more about such things as”—kissing, holding, loving? Which would she say?—“courting. Until then, this is improper and a bad example to the girls.”
Who were fast asleep and wouldn’t know a thing about it.
Matt figured he’d had the only run of luck he was going to get tonight, so he nodded, not agreeing one whit that he needed his big brother around to tell him how to behave, and headed for the door. “I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast then, Betsy.”
He plucked his Stetson off the hook then turned back to see her watching him, one hand gently touching her lips. Only a will of iron kept him from crossing the room and gathering her right back into his arms.
“Good night.” He clamped his hat on his head to keep his hands busy.
“Good night, Matt. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
Chapter 5
Matt might’ve just gone whole hog pursuing Betsy Harden if it weren’t for those girls, and about a thousand head of cows.
The thunder and lightning in the night had kept Matt from sleep, along with thoughts of beautiful Betsy. As the storm came, Matt felt like he was in the middle of it. Up this high, the clouds sometimes went across the lower slopes of the mountains, below a man. But not this time. The storm was all around him, and sleeping in the bunkhouse, he felt like he was in the middle of a plunging lifeboat at sea.
When the worst passed, he made a dash for the house, worried about Betsy handling the girls. He’d just slammed the door open when the thunder started again. Only it sounded wrong enough he turned to see hundreds of cattle charging right for him.
He swung the door shut just as a thousand-pound bull leaped up on the porch and ripped the railing away. The animal hit the house so hard it rocked.
A scream behind Matt turned him around to see Annie running for a window, as if she needed to escape. The window was nailed shut and shuttered, but Matt dashed forward and nabbed the little lunatic just as a longhorn rammed its head through, shattering glass and sending shards of wood blasting through the room.
Matt jumped to the side and dropped to the floor, ducking under those horns as fast as he could without crushing Annie. He felt a few sharp slashes, but he missed the worst of it. Then a bellow whipped his head around, and he saw the animal that had busted the window get bunted so hard he came right through, into the room.
Betsy rushed out with a shrieking Susie in her arms. She yelled and grabbed for the broom by the fireplace. She brandished it as the panicked yearling skidded on the split-log floor then fell, jumped to its feet, whirled, and leaped out the same window it’d come in.
The door shuddered under an impact. Matt, still holding Annie, threw his back flat against it. He didn’t think he could hold back a charging bull, but if the animal hit the door a glancing blow and Matt kept the door in place, the cattle might not storm inside.
The thundering hooves were deafening.
A wail from the bedroom had a nearly stunned Betsy turning around and rushing in to get Lilly. “Annie, come here to me,” Betsy called.
Matt lowered the little girl to the floor. Matt’s arms must have seemed like a haven because she turned and jumped back at him.
He hoisted her up, hoping a cow didn’t run through the door and crush them both.
Betsy came back, Susie on one hip, Lilly on the other. The noise went on and on.
“The lightning must have spooked them.” Betsy spoke load enough to be heard.
Nodding, Matt started thinking beyond survival moment by moment. “How am I going to round them all up?”
“You can’t do it alone. We’ll have to ride after them.”
“We?” Matt looked at how full her hands were. His, too. “We can’t take three babies out to herd cattle.”
“We can and we will. I don’t see as we have much choice. Hopefully they’ll calm down and stay mostly together. But if not we’ll be combing them out of the trees for ten miles. You can’t do that alone.”
Matt tried his best to think of something else, but, “You’re right. I can’t do it by myself. We’ll have to let the girls ride with us.”
“Emma has a pack she wears so she can strap the baby on her back.”
“So one of us wears Lilly?”
“Sure, didn’t your ma have something like that?”
“Nope, when we took the wagon to town, the baby sat on her lap until a new one came along, then he joined the brothers in the wagon box.”
“Well, we can’t hope to herd cattle with a wagon, so we have to ride.”
“Listen.”
Betsy’s eyes lit up. “It’s over.”
“Almost. They’ll tear along for a while, but they’ll tire out and calm down.”
With a comically arched brow, Betsy said, “That sounds a little like the children.”
“A little.” Matt grinned as he patted Annie on the back. “The girls never do seem to quite calm down.”
They shared a smile, their arms full of children until the last of the thundering hooves faded in the distance.
Betsy realized what else had faded. “The rain and thunder are over.”
Nodding, Matt said, “We can’t wait until sunrise; who knows how far they’ll wander by then. Let’s get saddled up.”
Chapter 6
When Emma asked me to watch her children while she went on the drive I was just plain tickled.” The leather of the saddles creaked as they rode along the trail left by the rampaging herd.
Betsy kept up easily, though Matt set a fast pace. They were hoping to catch the cattle before they’d spread far and wide.
Matt had Annie riding in front of him. The little girl’s head lolled over Matt’s supporting arm. She was deep asleep, as were her sisters.
“I wanted to spend time with my sweet nieces.” Betsy gave Susie’s tummy a gentle pat. She rode in front and Lilly was on her back.
Matt had wrangled with her, wanting the heavier load, but Betsy had persuaded him that if there was any hard riding—and there would be—he’d have to do it. Betsy let him think he was the better rider, and maybe he was, but she’d done her share in the saddle and could carry her share of the load.
“And of course the chores would all be done by the hands.”
“Those men oughta be horsewhipped for abandoning you.”
Nodding, Betsy went on as they rode in the dark. The storm had passed, and the trail, churned up by the cattle, was muddy enough they rode off to the side to avoid the mud as best they could. When the trees got too thick, they were forced to wade through the only existing trail, but when they found open meadows, they could get away from the deep mud. And in those openings, they could see the sky awash in starlight.
If they hadn’t been facing hours of grueling work, it might’ve been nice.
If they hadn’t been toting three children, it might’ve been romantic.
If letting all of Emma’s
cattle run off wasn’t financially ruinous, it might’ve been fun.
“I thought of it as an adventure. And an honor, honestly. Emma never leaves the girls. She’s a fierce, protective mama. So I knew it was a high compliment. Also the cattle drive to Helena is a long, treacherous journey. Even though someone from my family drives cattle every year it’s never easy. So Emma must have wanted to get away, have a break from the ranch. I was determined to prove to her she’d done right by trusting me.”
“You’ve kept them alive; no one could dare hope for more.”
“So far I’ve kept them alive. She’s not home yet.”
Matt smiled, and Betsy realized she could see his face. The gray light of encroaching dawn was pushing back the night. “It was a different kind of adventure than I expected.”
“Yep, less like fun and more like a constant battle for survival for all five of us.”
Betsy smiled back and spoke the simple truth. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you, Matt. I’d have had to abandon all care for the cattle. Which is bad enough without this stampede.”
“I’m glad I got here when I did. Betsy, I think, um. . .that is. . .don’t you think. . .” The bellow just ahead turned them to face a longhorn bull as he stepped out of a clump of aspen trees, pawing the earth, its ten-foot spread of horns lowered.
“Whoa!” Matt pulled his horse to a stop so suddenly, his gelding reared.
“Go right.” Betsy issued the order with a snap then wheeled her horse to the left and raced into the trees. She glanced back to see Matt vanish into the woods on the opposite side of the trail, giving only a moment’s thought to the fact that he’d obeyed her so quickly. She’d probably ordered him to do something he was already doing and about to shout at her.
They made a pretty good team.
Betsy put distance between her and that wiry white-and-tan beast, giving the old mossy horn time to calm down as she picked her way through a forest so dense she had no business in it. No trail anywhere. Underbrush between the trees grew until it was almost impenetrable. Bending low to duck branches, letting her horse pick his way through, she headed forward, hoping to get behind the bull and maybe drive him back toward Emma’s ranch.
If they could get him moving in the right direction, he would probably just follow his instincts for home. The other cattle might even realize the bull, their natural leader, was gone and follow him.
The practical ranch woman in her doubted it would be that easy.
She thought she’d gone far enough when she heard the lash of a whip. Matt had carried one he’d found in the barn, so he must be working the bull. She headed back for the trail to find the longhorn headed for home, trotting.
Matt heard her emerge from the woods and turned, his alert look telling her that bull had given him all he wanted to handle.
As he rode up, he smiled. “Let’s see if we can turn a few more back without getting gored.”
“How many cattle were in the herd closest to the house?” Mark and Emma had the cattle spread into several grassy stretches of the high mountains.
“Probably two hundred. I looked before we rode out, and about half are still there. They probably ran a bit to the west and let the thick woods stop them and turn them back. I’d say we’re looking for at least a hundred head of cattle.”
“So one down, ninety-nine to go?” Betsy sighed. “It’s going to be a long day.”
The sun peaked over the horizon now, though they were in thick shade. It was finally full light.
“It seemed like a lot more than that when they were crashing around the house last night,” Betsy said as they rode on in the direction the cattle had run.
“Well, one bull jumping into the house is a lot.” Matt shook his head. “I can’t believe there was a longhorn in Mark’s house.”
Betsy smiled then chuckled. “Emma is going to want us to do some explaining about that.”
A small clearing in the woods opened to a couple dozen of the runaway cows. These were docile and their bellies full, so they cooperated nicely and headed down the trail the way they’d come.
“I hope they keep moving, because I’m not going to follow them all the way home.” Matt and Betsy sat side by side to watch them disappear down the trail for home.
“You know what else I hope?” Betsy asked.
“What?” Matt reined his horse around and they moved on, following a clear trail that led farther into the woods.
“I hope we catch up with these cows pretty quickly, because I want to get everything in neat order before Emma gets home, or she’ll never let me babysit again.”
“You mean you want to?” Matt sounded horrified, and Betsy turned, annoyed. He was smiling, laughing at her, and she couldn’t help laughing at herself.
The laughter and the sunlight helped wake Susie and Annie up. Lilly slept on as they chased cattle. They got another dozen straggling along the forest path headed back. Then another dozen, then another.
“Another thing I hope. . .” Betsy said when they’d finished with that clearing. Probably seventy-five cows now bound for home.
“What’s that?” Matt asked as the woods surrounded them again. Tracks went on even farther from home.
“I hope we find the rest of the cows soon, because if I want to keep this secret we’re running out of time.” The woods thinned sooner this time, and Betsy saw a few cows ahead. Most likely not all of them, but Betsy decided they’d call this good and give up. They needed to gather what they had and count them, then they could comb the woods for the rest of them over the next few days.
Lilly cried from the pack on Betsy’s back.
“We’ve got to stop. She needs a dry diaper, and I have some food for all the girls. We’re all due to stretch our legs for a bit.” Betsy swung down and Matt was just a second slower. Then he stood Annie up on legs that wobbled from riding so long. He led the horses a safe distance away and staked the critters out to graze.
When he came back, he said, “What do you mean by running out of time? We’ve got as long as it takes.”
“I mean we’re getting too close to Ma’s place.”
“Your ma? I thought she went on the cattle drive.” Mark led Annie to where Betsy had set out apples and jerky and biscuits. She’d packed well. He could see she’d figured to be all day with this. She changed Lilly’s diaper with quick, well-practiced skill.
He doled out the food, and Annie and Susie ate like they were starving, which they most certainly were not.
Betsy sat on the rock with a small cup of milk she’d poured from a canteen and began giving Lilly sips. Matt broke up a biscuit and gave Lilly bites between drinks. He sat beside Betsy, mighty close, since the rock wasn’t overly large. He liked the feel of her pressed up to his side.
“Where’d you get an idea like that?”
“I reckon I got it because you were over at Mark’s alone. When the last hand ran off, why didn’t you load the girls in the wagon and take them to your ma’s house to get help?”
Betsy shrugged one shoulder. “It’s because my ma raised me and my sisters mostly alone and ran the ranch, too, after the husbands died.”
“The husbands? You mean Emma’s pa and yours?”
“And one more. Your cousin Charlie is married to my sister Sarah, and she’s got a different pa than Emma and I do. She’d buried three husbands before Silas. They were all a worthless lot when they were alive. So she did it all herself.
“I felt like I should be able to handle the girls and the cattle for a few weeks at least. I wanted to prove I could handle whatever trouble I faced. It’s because I didn’t want to go home, crying for help. And it’s worse now than then.”
Matt frowned as he slid one arm around Betsy. He was a little hurt. He’d been helping her. “Why’s it worse now?”
“Because Ma’s not going to like it one bit when she finds out you’ve been at Emma’s with me without an adult chaperone. In fact, she might consider that you’ve been dishonorable.”
“She won’t be harsh with you, will she?” Matt was angry at the thought of Belle Harden being wrathful with her daughter. He felt protective. He pulled her closer, the baby still between them but not keeping them far apart.
“I won’t let you come to any harm, Betsy.” He leaned down and kissed her.
“I’m not worried about me coming to harm, for heaven’s sake.” She went to push him away and darned if her arm—that wasn’t holding Lilly—didn’t circle his neck instead and pull him closer.
“You’re not? Then what’s the matter?” He didn’t really care, not right now. He was too busy kissing this beautiful woman. And enjoying just how enthusiastically she kissed him back.
Betsy broke the kiss but only held herself away a fraction of an inch. “I’m afraid Ma might shoot you on sight.”
A chill rushed down his spine at her dead-serious tone. Before he could ask her if she was as serious as she seemed, a crash from the far end of the trail turned his attention. Longhorns plunged out of the woods. The noise was so sudden and startling, that the girls all rushed to Matt’s side, and he pulled Betsy close and put an arm around both girls.
Cows kept coming and coming. Probably nearly every one of the unaccounted-for cattle lost in the stampede.
Smiling he looked down and said, “They’re all back! We’re done with our roundup.” He leaned down and kissed her deeply and joyfully.
The sharp crack of a rifle cocking broke the kiss, and he turned to look right down the barrel of a Winchester.
“Get your hands off my daughter.”
Chapter 7
A woman rode straight toward him, her rifle drawn and leveled.
The woman’s eyes flashed with golden streaks that a man might mistake for lightning.
Right behind her a man rode, also armed. He was as mad as the bull that’d almost taken them.
Belle and Silas Harden. They didn’t look one speck like Betsy, and yet there wasn’t a doubt in his mind.
The 12 Brides of Summer Novella Collection #2 Page 3