Carolyn knelt beside a shelf with a stack of books and a large wooden crate beside her. “Hello, Hannah. I was just unloading a crate of books. Come see.” She straightened her spine and groaned.
“Go on. Buy whatever you want.” Daniel gave her a gentle push toward the shopkeeper.
Hannah set Jonah’s bag of books on the floor beside Carolyn. “Would you like some help unloading them? I could unpack and hand them up to you.”
Carolyn pushed herself up from the floor. “That would be great, Hannah. I’m not that big, but my back hurts almost all the time now. I do better standing.” She rubbed the small of her back before moving aside.
After they’d changed places, Hannah grinned up at her. “I’m happy to help.” She unwrapped each book from its brown paper, admired the cover and then passed it up to Carolyn, who placed it on the shelf.
From the corner of her eye she watched Daniel talk to Carolyn’s husband. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but saw Daniel point to something in a case.
“I heard that you and Daniel are getting married. Have you set the date yet?” Carolyn moved a few books around on the shelf to make room for the one Hannah had just handed up.
“No, but I’m thinking a Thanksgiving wedding might be nice.” Hannah clamped her lips closed. Why had she told Carolyn that? She’d thought about it, but hadn’t verbalized the idea to anyone, not even Daniel.
“Oh, that would be lovely. Wilson and I married a few days before Christmas.” Carolyn smiled down on her. “I wish you had been here. It turned out so beautiful. I decided to have an outdoor wedding and it decided to snow.”
Hannah shivered. “Wasn’t that a bit cold?”
Carolyn looked at her husband and smiled. “Not when you are in love.” She giggled. “I forgot all about the snow as we said our vows.”
What would it be like to be so in love with a man that you didn’t notice how cold you were? Hannah wanted that kind of love. She looked at Daniel again. He was a good man. She enjoyed spending time with him. His kisses were sweet. But was she in love with him?
He chose that moment to glance in her direction and smile. She felt the warmth of color enter her face at being caught gazing in his direction, and knew she had to be honest with herself. Maybe she loved Daniel a little, but not enough to forget that she needed him to love her, too.
She didn’t want just a little piece of his heart. Hannah knew she wanted it all. She wanted—no, needed—to know that he would love her forever and never leave her, or force her to leave him. Regardless of what may or may not happen in their future, they would stick together. That was the kind of love she wanted.
Hannah handed Carolyn the last book and stood. She decided to change the subject, and hopefully take her own mind off love and marriage. “When is your baby due?”
Carolyn slipped the book into its slot. “Doc says he will be born in late August or the first of September.” She patted her rounded stomach.
A smile pulled at Hannah’s lips. “I take it you want a boy?”
“We both do,” Carolyn answered as her cheeks turned a soft pink. She began gathering the paper and stuffing it back inside the wooden box.
Hannah helped her and then picked up the bag of books she’d laid down earlier. A part of her still wanted to go find the schoolteacher. “Does Mr. Richards come in very often?” she asked.
Carolyn picked up the box and started toward the counter. “About once a week. Why?”
Hannah followed, realizing she’d have to leave the bag with Carolyn. “I borrowed some books from him last time I was in town and need to return them. Only it’s Saturday and he’s not at the school. Would you mind giving them to him next time he drops in?” Hannah placed the bag on the counter.
Daniel came to stand beside her.
“No problem. I’ll just put them with his mail.” Carolyn took the books out of the sack and then handed the bag back to Hannah. “Speaking of mail, Daniel, I have a couple of letters for you.” She turned around and pulled two envelopes from a slot on the wall behind her.
He took the letters from her hands and read the addresses. His gaze met Hannah’s before he tucked them away. She couldn’t help but wonder who they were from. Was he still getting letters from his mail-order bride ad? The one she’d answered?
“I’ll be right back. There are a couple of books I want to get before we leave.” Hannah walked over to the shelf.
“Take your time,” Daniel said. He leaned a hip against the counter, pulled one of the envelopes out of his pocket and opened what looked like a letter.
Hannah didn’t pay much attention to which books she chose; her mind was too occupied with the letter Daniel was reading. It really was none of her business, but she wanted to know if it was from another woman.
She felt a twinge of jealousy grip her and struggled to squash it. If the women writing the letters were more appealing to Daniel than she was, then so be it.
* * *
A month had passed since their trip into town. Daniel didn’t know what to think of Hannah. She’d been quiet on their return to the ranch. Once they were home, she had gone about her business. He often found her riding on the range and would accompany her home. Gone was the woman who seemed to talk nonstop. In her place was a woman who waited for him to talk.
She seemed to be getting along well with his mother and Opal. Both women spoke highly of her when she wasn’t around, but they, too, had noticed she’d become more reserved since she’d ridden to town alone and he’d gone to get her.
His thoughts went to the letter he’d gotten that day from the man he’d hired to find Hannah’s father, Jacob Young. He’d written to inform him that Jacob had died of a fever several years earlier and asked if he wanted him to contact another member of the family. He’d written back, “Not at this time.”
Daniel had also answered the lady who’d inquired about his mail-order bride ad. He told her he’d found a wife and thanked her for taking the time to write to him.
He didn’t know how to break the news to Hannah, but figured someday an opportunity would present itself. Until then, Daniel planned on keeping the information to himself. What good would it do to tell her the man she called Father was dead?
Daniel prayed the Fourth of July celebrations would bring back the woman he’d begun to like and understand. He pulled the buckboard up in front of the house.
Opal, her two granddaughters, his mother and Hannah came out to meet him. All three women had their arms full. Opal had a basket of preserves she planned on entering into the canned-goods contest. His mother carried her newest prized quilt. And Hannah followed with three pie boxes. She had a book tucked under her arm.
The little girls scrambled up into the back of the wagon. Mary carried her favorite rag doll. Daisy held in her hands a few sheets of paper and what looked to be an oversize piece of charcoal.
Daniel focused on Hannah. She’d pulled her hair up and small strands escaped about her face. Her cheeks had a soft pink in them as if she was blushing, or had rushed to get ready. The dark blue dress with little white flowers she wore matched the color of her eyes. She smiled at him and then ducked her head.
His mother caught his attention. “Here, Daniel. Would you hold this while I climb up?”
He took the quilt and helped her onto the wagon bench. When she was seated he gave her back the quilt. Opal was next. She put her basket of preserves in the wagon and then he assisted her up, as well.
Hannah had already moved to the back and set her pies down there. The smell of cinnamon and freshly baked apples oozed from the boxes. Daniel saw Levi hurry to assist her into the bed of the wagon. His brother lifted her easily and sat her down so that her legs dangled over the edge.
“Hannah, are those pies for eating or judging?” Levi handed her the book she’d carried out.
She smiled at him. “Both.”
“Then I’ll have to make note of which ones are yours,” Levi teased, before stepping away.
“Levi, would you mind driving this morning? I’d like to sit back here with my fiancée.” Daniel didn’t know where the word fiancée came from; he wanted to take it back as soon as it was out of his mouth.
Cole arrived at about the same time and grinned. He led both Tornado and Levi’s horse.
Levi shook his head. “Sorry, Daniel, but I can’t. I’m entering Snow in the races.”
“You can tie him up beside Tornado,” Daniel argued.
His brother grinned. “Yeah, I could, but I don’t want to.”
Cole shook his head at them. “I’ll drive,” he volunteered. “There is no way my horse could beat either of yours, so I’m leaving him at home.” Cole handed each of them the reins to their horses and climbed up beside Bonnie.
Hannah seemed to be ignoring them all. She opened the book Levi had just returned to her and focused on its pages while Daniel tied Tornado to the wagon. He hopped up beside her and grinned. “What are you reading?” The light scents of honeysuckle and apple pie teased his nose.
Hannah’s quiet voice floated to him like fall leaves on a breezy day. “Sixteen Months at the Gold Diggings.”
He leaned closer to look at the pages. “It’s about finding gold in California?”
“Yes. So far I’ve found it very interesting.” She swiped at a wayward strand of hair on her cheek.
Levi rode up beside the wagon. “Daniel, what do you think your chances are of winning a race against Snow?”
He laughed. “If history repeats itself, I’d say pretty good.”
“Last year doesn’t count. Snow wasn’t feeling too good. Were you, ole boy?” Levi patted his horse’s neck.
Daniel turned to Hannah. “I wish you could have seen that race. Tornado took it by a full length. Poor ole Snow had to eat dust for a week.”
“She’ll be there to see Tornado eat dust this year, won’t you, Hannah?” Levi grinned across at her.
She closed her book and looked at the two brothers. “If I’m not doing something else, I’ll watch.”
Daniel studied her profile as she returned to reading her book. What else would she have to do?
Chapter Twenty-Four
As soon as the wagon stopped at the temporary fairgrounds, right outside town, Hannah jumped down. She’d listened to Levi and Daniel go at each other all the way from the ranch and was sick of it. Granted, their words had often sounded playful, but there was that underlining of competition that set her teeth on edge.
If Bonnie or Opal had noticed, neither showed any signs. They’d chattered together like two old hens. Cole tossed back his opinions from time to time. The little girls had played and talked between themselves, so Hannah had reopened her book and pretended to ignore them all.
She watched as Cole and Daniel helped the other ladies down from the wagon. Then she picked up her pies and headed for the tent with the wooden sign that read Pie Eating Contest.
“Hello, Bertha. Here are the two pies I promised you.”
The woman turned around to face her. “Well, hello, Hannah. Daniel. It’s nice to see you two today.”
Hannah hadn’t realized Daniel had followed her. She glanced over her shoulder at him. He’d pushed his hat back and was smiling like a schoolboy on the first day of school.
“It’s nice to see you, too.” Daniel took his hat off as he inspected the rows of pies that lined several tables. “What time is the contest?”
Bertha grinned. “Around three this afternoon. You going to give it a try this year?”
His rich laughter spilled out, much like a waterfall in spring. “No, ma’am. Too messy for me.”
“You can set your pies over there, Hannah.” Bertha pointed to a makeshift table to her right.
Hannah did as she was told. She kept the third pie and started out of the tent. “See you later, Bertha. I have to get this over to the Cooks Shack.”
Daniel dropped his hat back on his head and followed her. “Bye, Bertha. Be sure and watch the horse races. I believe they start a little before noon.”
When he caught up to her, Hannah asked, “Are you following me?”
“No, I’m going with you. If I was following you, I’d walk back there.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
She loved the attention, but wondered why he was suddenly showing it. For the past month he’d just about avoided her. True, they had meals together with the family, but other than that he’d used the excuse of having work to do to keep them far apart.
Hannah shook her head. “Oh, well, I beg your pardon, then.” She smiled to show she was teasing him.
“That’s better.” He scanned her face with a teasing light in his eye. “Where are you going after you drop off this pie?”
“The cakewalk. I have the first hour of overseeing the game.” It felt good to have his total attention for a change. Hannah hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it. Oh, she knew she missed not seeing him as much as she had before, but this feeling of pure joy that he was spending time with her felt nice.
“Then I’ll join you.”
Guilt nipped at her conscience. More than likely Daniel would enjoy spending time with the other ranchers instead of her. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Nope, I don’t, but I want to. This is the first day I’ve had free in weeks and I want to spend it with you.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze.
Hannah looked into his face. His eyes shone with sincerity. Daniel really meant what he was saying; he wanted to spend the day with her. “All right. Let’s drop off the pie and then head on over to the cakewalk. It should be a lot of fun watching everyone play and win.”
They delivered the pie and walked to the gaming area. Hannah marveled that he still clung to her hand.
Families were dropping off small cakes, cookies, fresh breads and homemade candies for the game. Hannah’s mouth watered at all the sweets that lined the table.
Mrs. Cree instructed, “Here are the slates for the numbers.” She handed them to Hannah. “We have ten, so allow only eight people at a time to play. Do your best to make sure that everyone wins something before they walk away, all right?”
Hannah nodded. “Do they get to pick out their prize or am I responsible for that?” She looked to Daniel, who shrugged.
The older woman glanced at him. “Are you staying?” she demanded as she placed her hands on her rather rounded hips.
“I’m staying.” He stood a little taller and pushed his hat back.
“Good, then you can help. No reason you can’t, since you’re just going to stand around and stare at Miss Young, anyways.”
Hannah turned to hide the grin on her face. She listened while Mrs. Cree instructed Daniel on which treats to give out and in what order.
Daisy and Mary, Opal’s granddaughters, stood on the edge of the woods with a group of older children. Hannah looked about for her friend. Did she know where the girls were? She probably did, since Opal watched them like a hawk watches mice.
“Now, Miss Young, do you need anything else before I head over to the sack races?”
Hannah pulled her attention from the children and nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. I was wondering about the music. Who’s going to play?”
“Mr. Richards will be along in a bit with his fiddle.” Mrs. Cree waved the question away with her hand. “Is that all?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Hannah nodded. A line of people had gathered. She looked at Daniel. “I wonder when Mr. Richards will get here. I hate to make everyone wait for him.”
Daniel’s gaze was focused behind her. “Here he comes now.” A frown marred her fiancé’s handsome features.
Did he not like the schoolteacher?
She turned to see Jonah Richards jogging across the grass. Today he wore a round hat on his head that he was holding down with one hand. The other hand was gripping a fiddle and bow.
“Sorry I’m late,” he panted. “Where do you want me?”
Hannah laughed. “You’re not that late. Mrs. Cree has a chair set up over there for you.” She pointed to a wooden chair near the dessert table.
“I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind.” He walked to the chair and stood beside it. Jonah placed one boot on the seat and the fiddle under his chin.
“Not at all. Just let me know when you’re ready to start.” Hannah spread the slates in a large circle on the ground. Each one had a number printed on it.
Daniel moved to the dessert table and stood beside that. She heard Jonah plucking at the strings on his fiddle. “Ready!” he called.
Hannah moved to the front of the line and counted off eight people. When each found a number and was standing beside it, she nodded to Jonah to start playing.
He chose a lively tune and soon the players were walking around the circle and the game was under way. For the next hour, Hannah admitted people into the game, Daniel passed out the prizes and Jonah played his fiddle.
It was fun, but at the end of their shift, Hannah was pleased to see Carolyn and her husband show up to relieve them. Mr. Jones also came, bearing a harmonica to replace Jonah and his fiddle.
“How are you feeling?” Hannah asked Carolyn.
“Good,” she whispered. “The baby has been moving around quite a bit today. I think he senses my excitement.” She giggled and her hand touched her belly.
“I’m sure he does,” Hannah agreed.
* * *
Daniel listened as the two women visited. He grinned at the way Carolyn lowered her voice, but because of her excitement didn’t realize that it carried and he heard every word she said.
They wanted a boy. What would it be like to have a baby on the way? Would he want a boy, also? Or would he prefer a little girl who looked just like Hannah? Would Hannah’s face light up with joy at the thought of bringing his child into the world?
Taming The Texas Rancher (Love Inspired Historical) Page 17