“We’ve got him Peter!” John cried with excitement. “Come on.”
Anna smiled and wrapped her arms around her midriff. What she wouldn’t give to climb back on the human mountain, but instead she stood back and watched as the trio rolled around in the snow laughing and having fun. All at once, she felt the outsider she was and took a step back.
“Oh no,” Wade exclaimed with mock alarm. “I think Peter is trying to escape.”
Both children’s heads came up and looked over at her. “Get him, Uncle Wade.”
He hesitated, his eyes searching out hers with a devilish gleam, before he crawled out of his niece and nephew’s arms. The thrill was suddenly back on for Anna, and she turned and ran for the house. She heard the children’s laughter dodging her before she felt her body completely lifted off the ground and tossed over a very broad shoulder.
“Time to go in, children,” Wade stated, marching off toward the house, careless of the fact that she was hanging upside down over his shoulder. “I believe there is a turkey to be cooked.”
* * *
When Wade entered the house he had Anna hanging over his shoulder, Danielle swinging from his left arm, and John clinging to his right leg. The children’s laughter erupted the otherwise quiet house, drawing Kathleen and John from the great room to see what all the commotion was about.
“Wade!” his sister declared, her eyes bulging nearly out of her head at the sight of the girl dangling from his shoulder. “What on earth are you doing? Put her down.”
He obliged his sister as she plied away the small fingers of her children from his body. Giving her backside a tug, he pulled Anna off and watched her face as she caught her balance. It was flushed bright red and he wasn’t sure if it was from the position she had been in or being caught in such a position. Her eyes, he noticed however, were still gleaming.
Danielle corrected, breaking into giggles. “Him.”
Kathleen looked down at her daughter puzzled. “What are you talking about, Danielle?”
“You called Peter a her.”
She looked shocked, not having realized her mistake. Wade himself was having the same difficulty. “Of course, how silly. Him.”
Kathleen bent down and began to unwrap her youngest out of his wet clothing. “Who’s Anna, Mother?”
Kathleen’s hand froze for just a fraction of a second before continuing with her task. “Wherever did you hear that name?”
“Uncle Wade keeps using it.” He pointed a chubby little finger at his uncle.
This time his sister shot him a look, but didn’t have time to respond as Danielle apparently had already come to her own conclusion. “I think she’s Uncle Wade’s imaginary friend. He said she was mysterious. Sometimes he talks to her, but there is no one there but us and Peter.”
Kathleen tried hard to hide the laughter in her eyes from her children. “I suppose you would have to ask Uncle Wade.”
Annoyed, Wade sighed heavily and shrugged out of his heavy winter coat. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Mother, I think Uncle Wade is lonely because he doesn’t have a wife so that’s why he made up an imaginary friend,” Danielle stated with all sincerity.
Kathleen looked stunned by her daughter’s maturity, however Wade felt himself growing annoyed. “No Danielle, I do not have an imaginary friend by the name of Anna. Nor am I lonely.”
“Yeah,” her young brother agreed and tugged at his mother’s hand to lead her back toward the great room. “He’s got Peter.”
Chapter 16
The months that followed were cold and long. Most of the ranch hands had no plans on returning to the ranch until the spring, since work was little next to none. Usually, there were a few who had no other home outside the Circle H so waited out the long winter in the bunkhouse. However, that year all the wranglers had found either employment or substitute lodgings. Even Kim Whong took advantage of Anna’s presence and decided to visit family in Vancouver.
Anna would have surely gone insane with boredom if she hadn’t wandered past the reading room one winter morning. She was surprised to hear Wade call out to her from within. “Anna, would you bring me a cup of coffee, please.”
Upon her return with the requested drink, she found him perched in one of the lush red chairs flanking the marble fireplace. He wore his usual casual attire of cotton pants and buttoned down shirt. The beard he had shaved for the Christmas ball was beginning to return quickly. Already there was a thick dark mat covering the lower half of his face. Though she was relieved to see him looking more familiar, she admitted missing the clean shaven look. He was far too handsome to cover up.
“Thank you.” He put the book in his hands down and reached out to take the steaming mug. She glanced at the book, startled to discover he had been reading.
He noticed where her attention was drawn. “Sit and keep me company.”
Nodding, she obliged and went to sit on the small chair tucked in the back corner.
“Not there.” He stopped her and gestured toward the chair next to his. “Here.”
She took the seat he offered and watched as he picked his book back up and began to read it once again. Her brow dipped and wondered why he had asked her to sit while he silently read. Her eyes fell on the book and noticed its thickness. She wondered how long he expected her to stay.
The fire was warm on her back and it brought back a memory of home. Why, she wasn’t certain as it compared nowhere close to Wade’s house. It had been small and cold and contained only two rooms. One for sleeping and one for everything else. In the winter they often never removed their coats for the cold had a nasty way of creeping into the thin walls.
Anna could remember wishing they had one of those beautiful houses built along the streets of Lantern. But her father had always said it didn’t matter the size of the home. It was the amount of love within that mattered most. She thought of her father with a glow in her heart. Along with her brother, they were the only men she ever truly loved. Of their own accord, her eyes shifted to Wade and felt her heart ache. Unlike her father, he would never return her love.
She sat there far longer than she would have liked. Quiet time had an awful way of luring memories from the past. Memories that at times, were far too painful to bear. Several hours later he finally excused her to begin the dinner meal. He smiled at her but Anna felt hollow. She shared so few solitary moments with him that she hated herself for having wasted them.
But she was given another opportunity the following day when he beckoned her into the reading room once again to sit next to him in the large red chair. As his eyes studied the words on the pages in front of him, she used the opportunity to stare at him openly. He had cut his long, thick, and wavy hair at Christmas, which admittedly emphasized his spectacular face, but for some reason Anna missed it and hoped he planned on growing it back. It was almost as if she had lost something before ever having the chance to own it. She thought how ridiculous that sounded, but couldn’t shake the loss of never being able to run her hands through its length.
“Anna?”
She blinked and realized he noticed her studying him. Embarrassed, she quickly looked away. Wade said nothing else and went back to his book. Anna felt a sense of gloom and worried her fantasies of him were growing out of hand. She already knew that she loved him dearly, but if she didn’t watch herself, she would become far too attached. Her eyes slid over to the book he was reading and her attention was drawn to the long and strong fingers holding it. They gently cupped the spine of the book and it suddenly reminded her of when he held her on the front porch on Christmas Eve. His hands had felt so big and protective on her back.
“Anna,” he said again, his voice slightly firmer this time, and put his book down. “You’re sulking. What’s wrong?”
She frowned. She wasn’t sulking.
He sighed. “If you keep your forehead wrinkled like that any longer, it may become permanent.”
Immediately, she wiped the frown from her face
and looked away. Her gaze fell on the book in his hands.
He glanced down at it as well, then back to her face. “It’s the story of a man who travels to India to track down the killer of his father.”
Her eyes shifted back to him.
“He meets up with an old drunken Spanish side-kick who travels with him on the 30,000 mile journey. Along the way a beautiful and mysterious Irish woman escaping from a loveless marriage joins their voyage.”
Anna’s eyes widened and she waited for him to continue.
“In order to get there, they must cross oceans, deserts and mountains,” he told her and Anna listened with intent. “They encounter many adventures along the way that challenge both their strength and their trust in each other.”
Unconsciously, she lifted her legs and tucked them beneath her buttocks as she leaned slightly toward him.
A small glimmer lit his eyes and he said, “Would you like me to read it out loud?”
She nodded, then sat back and listened as he read the words from the pages of the book. At first, the only thing she noticed was the wonderful way in which he spoke. The words flowed like warm liquid. They drifted toward her and engulfed her in a comforting embrace. She closed her eyes and allowed the soothing sound of his voice to lure her to a state of contentment. Then at last the story took form and a vivid image of the characters and their adventure came alive behind her closed lids.
He read to her for an hour, but it went far too fast to Anna’s disappointment.
“It’s almost time for you to begin supper,” he said, closing the book and putting it down.
Nodding, she got up to leave.
“If you like, I can continue tomorrow.”
Again she nodded, but this time a smile danced across her lips before turning toward the exit.
As promised, the following day he proceeded to read from the book and Anna sat in the large red chair next to his and allowed her imagination to grow and run away with the characters. It was a plot like non-other that her father had told and she listened with such excitement and intrigue. Wade’s deep voice had a soothing element that brought both contentment and pleasure to the story.
Day after day they would meet in the reading room for weeks following, sitting in front of the marble fireplace while a fire burned warmly within. Wade would open the book and read to Anna while the cold winter winds blew outside. On occasion, Prescott would join them, but he spent most of the winter taking the sleigh into Lantern to visit with Elizabeth.
When Wade finished the novel, he silently moved on to the next book and before long, the snow outside began to melt. Spring started to slowly creep back into the valley. The cold temperatures gradually climbed upward, and the snow and ice sitting on the buildings around the Circle H cracked and slid from the rooftops to form puddles around their base.
Life stirred once again at the ranch. Horses and cattle began to emerge from the barns to graze on the first sprouts of spring. Large chunks of ice and snow broke free from the river and melted downstream. Prescott decided to take advantage of the warm weather to travel west to New Westminster to visit with Kathleen for several weeks.
Even Wade and Anna had finally been able to slip out of the house to enjoy walks along the river and watch the arrival of spring. Then one morning Anna spotted Joe coming up the laneway on his horse. It seemed almost every day after that brought the return of yet another ranch hand, and Anna knew her days alone with Wade were coming to an end, and admittedly felt a bit of resentment. Her time with him had been special. Soon things would go back to the way they were before and Anna’s days of being a girl were fast coming to a close. That wasn’t more apparent than one spring morning while she was feeding the cattle. Joe approached her in the barn.
“Listen, kid,” he began. “Every year, me and some of the hands go into town after the cattle drive to compete in the annual festivities. They hold competitions for things like roping and steer wrestling.
“What we thought was,” he continued, “Since you being such a natural with Lucy and all, we reckon you would be best at bull riding.”
Anna froze in the process of filling a feeding container.
“Ain’t none of us able to stay on a bronco that long.” She was only slightly eased by his words of approval. “Hell, there’s a lot of money on that wager.”
Anna disliked the sounds of this more and more. Betting was a sin where she came from, and she liked the sounds of riding on the back of a bull much less. Her mind raced to come up with a way out of this, but Joe was already grinning at her and gave her slender arm a punch. “What do you say, kid?”
A memory shot to Anna’s mind of her brother and herself watching from a secluded distance, while the festivities held in Lantern every spring were well under way. She could remember thinking how much fun everyone was having and how desperately she wanted to be a part of it. She looked up at Joe and gave a small nod.
“Great.” He beamed widely and went to leave. “Oh, by the way. Don’t mention this to the Haddocks. They ain’t bettin’ men.”
She wasn’t sure if she felt relieved or anxious. Her first instinct was to stay clear of riding wild animals not meant to be ridden, her other yearned to be part of the spring festivities. She thought of Wade and was glad once again for her inability to speak. This was something she had to keep to herself because there was no way he would allow her to climb up on the back of a wild bull. Wager or no wager.
* * *
“Absolutely not.” Wade rested his hands on his denim pants and stared long and hard at his ranch foreman.
“Hell, why not.” Joe looked irritated and slightly puzzled at his boss.
“Because I don’t want him.” Wade would be damned if his lead hand thought he would explain.
Prescott, who stood nearby, cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Wade.”
He shot an angry glance at his brother than at the bunk where the person of whom they were speaking sat silently watching. Her eyes were huge with distress as she looked up at him.
“I’ve got one cook on the cattle drive, I don’t need two,” he stated firmly. “Kim has done the job for years, we’ll manage just fine with him. The boy stays behind.”
“Hell, Haddock, you’ve been enjoying his cooking all winter.” Joe burrowed his brows in anger. “Ain’t it time we get a little taste.”
Wade’s eyes flared, but it was Prescott that spoke. “There is no need to blow this out of proportion . . . nor the need for such foul language.”
Joe gave Prescott a queer look, but turned his attention back to Wade. “He came with us on the roundup in the fall and he done all right, ‘cept maybe that little incident in the woods.”
Wade turned away and swung open the bunkhouse door and began marching back up to the house. He stated his decision on the matter of Anna accompanying the men on the cattle drive, and as far as he was concerned, it was settled. He heard Prescott tell Joe he would talk to him before he left the bunkhouse as well and came after Wade.
“Come on, hold up,” he said as he caught up to him.
“Don’t even bother trying to talk me into it, she’s not going,” Wade said, not breaking in his stride.
“Yes, of course, I completely agree, however,” Prescott stated as he walked quickly along his older sibling. Wade shot him a warning look, but Prescott continued, “If you don’t bring her, the wranglers may become suspicious. They’re already suspecting she’s your favorite.”
Wade came to an abrupt halt, then turned to glower at his brother. “They can think whatever the hell they want. I’m not bringing her on a cattle drive with ten men.”
“Yes, I agree, very improper, however,” Prescott began, but Wade rolled his eyes and stomped his way back to the house. He didn’t give a damn about etiquette. “Joe is correct. She did accompany us on the roundup and no one was the wiser.”
“Exactly.” He swung open the front door to the house and tugged off his coat. “I didn’t know she w
as a girl at the time. If I had, there would be no way in hell I would have allowed her to come.”
“Need I remind you that both you and I will also be there, so no harm will come to her.”
Wade entered the great room and with far too much effort tossed a log on the fire in the fireplace. A shower of sparks flew onto the floor. He cursed and stomped them out with his boot. “Why the hell are you so eager to have her come?”
Prescott gave a weary sigh and said, “Because I’m doing my best to help Anna in any way she needs.”
He hated it when his brother was right. “Why the hell does she insist on being a boy?”
He studied Wade closely, then said, “She still doesn’t feel safe and until she does, we must let her know she can trust us.”
Wade turned and placed the palm of his hands against the mantle and looked down into the burning fire. “Why doesn’t she feel safe?”
“Give her time.”
“That’s what you said months ago,” he growled low beneath his breath. “How much longer does she need?”
There was a sound from the entrance leading to the kitchen. Both brothers looked up and saw her standing there, obviously having obtained entrance to the home via the back entry. She looked upset and Wade felt a fresh wave of anger.
“Go help Kim pack the chuck wagon,” he said. “You’ll ride with him.”
She nodded, then disappeared and if Wade hadn’t known better, looked like she was on the verge of tears. However, since the most tragic of events in her life could not bring her to tears, he knew those sad brown eyes would remain dry. Just another reminder of the shroud she hid behind. A shroud he was beginning to resent.
His feelings regarding Anna accompanying them on the cattle drive remained unchanged as they headed out less than an hour later. Hell, he had been nervous to bring a greenhorn out on the trails the first time when he brought the boy along for the roundup. He felt a hundred times worse this time around. His eyes and ears were constantly on the watch. Normally, he loved the cattle drives and the opportunity to spend days out on the terrain. This trip, however, he was being cheated and instead he was left baby-sitting a woman who belonged in the kitchen not on the trails.
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