Where the Heart Is Romance Collection

by Andrea Boeshaar

  The noise, dust, and smells were incredible. Evelyn had never encountered anything like it. She and Maddie stood on a little rise watching the milling cattle and cowboys.

  “Can you explain it to me? What are they doing?”

  Maddie pointed. “A couple of cowboys hold the cattle. Two more go in and cut out the unbranded calves, rope them, and haul them toward the fire. The men on the ground bulldog and tie the calf, brand it, notch its ear, and if it’s a boy calf, they—”

  “Thank you.” Evelyn spoke quickly. “I get the idea. How many calves will they brand?”

  The girl shrugged. “Depends on how the herd wintered. Hopefully we’ll have a good calf crop.”

  “Thank you for explaining things to me. I’m completely ignorant of ranching life.” Evelyn dared put her hand on the child’s shoulder, and she was pleasantly surprised when Maddie didn’t shrug her off. “I’m counting on you to help me learn.”

  “Don’t know how I can do that if I’m stuck in the house all the time.”

  She had a point. Evelyn tugged on her lower lip. “How about a compromise? Housework and sewing in the morning, and in the afternoon, you can teach me to ride a horse.” What was she saying? She couldn’t ride one of those enormous beasts. And yet at the eager light that sprang into Maddie’s eyes, the first she’d seen there, Evelyn couldn’t back out.

  “I’d like that. Can we start right now?”

  “Now? I thought we’d wait until we got back home.”

  The girl squinted up at her. “You aren’t gonna chicken out, are you?”

  Evelyn’s spine stiffened. “I’d never.”

  “Then why’re we waiting? There’re plenty of horses in the remuda, and nothing for us to do, since Muley ran us out of his camp.”

  In far too short a time, Evelyn found herself standing beside a caramel-colored giant of a horse. The animal’s feet were enormous and his hide warm and twitching.

  “I’m glad Pa brought Buck along. He’s the horse I usually ride.” Maddie looped the reins over the animal’s head and knotted them. “So you don’t drop them.”

  “What do I do first?”

  “Come around to this side.” She pointed to the stirrup. “Put your foot there, step up, and swing your leg over.”

  “Astride?”

  She shrugged. “No sidesaddles out here. Buck’s pretty calm, so he won’t care about your skirts hanging down. Won’t be much different from a slicker.”

  The horse was calm? That made one of them. Evelyn bunched her skirt and somehow managed to climb aboard. As promised, the animal barely moved. Her hands closed around the knob in front of her.

  “Pick up the reins.” Maddie held on to the horse near the bit. “You don’t need to do anything just yet. I’ll lead him around and let you get the feel of him.”

  Round in circles they went, out of sight of the cattle and the chuck wagon. Maddie finally stepped back, letting go of the bridle and leaving Evelyn in sole charge of the animal.

  She had to peel her hand off the knob—horn—and lift the reins. Not wanting to show fear in front of Maddie, she forced herself to do as instructed.

  An hour later, Evelyn slid to the ground. She had to grip the saddle until she got her sea legs.

  “You did great.” Maddie’s smile rewarded her. “With a little practice, you’ll be riding like a cowhand in no time.”

  Evelyn blew out a breath and stepped back from the horse. “Thank you, but I think it will be enough just to be able to get from one place to another. I’ll leave the cows to the men. It would be nice to be proficient enough to be able to visit my sisters.”

  “You miss them?”

  Her throat thickened. “I miss them every day.” She blinked and smiled. “But being with you helps that a lot.”

  Maddie toed the dirt and shrugged, a pink tinge washing her cheeks. “When we get home, you can ask Pa to get out the buckboard. I can teach you to drive the team. Then you could go see your sisters whenever you wanted.”

  “Really?” Evelyn forgot herself completely and hugged Maddie’s shoulders. “That would be wonderful. My sisters will love you.”

  “I could go, too?”

  “Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I take you?”

  She shrugged again. “I haven’t been very nice to you. And nobody else seems to want me around these days.”

  Evelyn’s heart hurt for Maddie. She had to be feeling as if her entire world had gone topsy-turvy with the advent of her father’s marriage. Evelyn promised herself she would speak with Gareth tonight. He needed to be made aware of how disconnected Maddie was feeling. “How about we call a truce? We’ll forget about all the stuff that’s happened up to now and start over.”

  Maddie shrugged, gave a short nod, and swung aboard the horse, apparently not hampered by her dress at all. “I’ll take Buck back to the remuda.”

  Evelyn’s muscles protested every step back to camp. She’d be plenty sore tomorrow, but it had been worth it. Thank You, Lord, for helping me make some headway with Maddie. Now if I could just make some progress with her father.

  Gareth approached the campfire, weariness coating him like dust. Actually, the weariness was beneath the dust, dirt, muck, blood, smoke, and sweat. His chaps flapped, and his spurs jingled. Jamie all but staggered by his side, dirt-streaked and worn out from his first full day in the saddle.

  “How you holding up, cowboy?”

  The boy puffed up his chest and put a little swagger into his step. “I’m fine, Pa. I did good, didn’t I?”

  Gareth patted Jamie’s shoulder and a shower of dust sprinkled down. “You sure did.”

  The men stood, squatted, or sat, balancing tin plates and shoveling hot food into their mouths. Muley stood beside his dutch oven, ladling out beans and salt pork.

  No sign of Evelyn and Maddie. Gareth frowned. Where had they gotten to? He cupped the back of Jamie’s head and directed him toward the washbasin. “Let’s get scrubbed up, then we can get some grub.”

  The basin sat on a shelf that jutted from the side of the wagon. A bucket of water hung from a rope handle beside it. He poured some water for Jamie and handed him the cake of soap. “Don’t forget to scrub your nails good.”

  A giggle sounded close to his ear. “What did your pa say when he saw it?”

  Maddie. Laughing. Gareth smiled in response and leaned close to the canvas. Evelyn’s laugh made warmth burst through his chest. “I thought he’d be angry, but he wasn’t. He was disappointed, which was much worse.”

  “I know,” Maddie agreed. “I’d much rather Pa yelled at me than gave me that look.”

  “Exactly. And I couldn’t grow my hair back overnight, so my father had a long time to give me that look. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he made me go to church and school that way, and he wouldn’t let me wear a bonnet to cover it up.”

  Maddie giggled again. “Did everybody stare at you?”

  “Pa.” Jamie tugged on his sleeve. “Your turn.”

  “In a minute, son. Go ahead and get your food. I’ll be there directly.” Gareth rounded the side of the wagon and eased the canvas cover aside. He had to see if his ears were deceiving him.

  In the soft glow of a lantern, Maddie sat cross-legged on the floor of the wagon, and Evelyn sat on the bunk Gareth had fixed for her. With long, deft strokes, Evelyn drew a brush through Maddie’s hair.

  “Can you put it up, like you wear yours?” Maddie held a book in her lap, flipping the pages, but she stopped and glanced up over her shoulder with appeal in her eyes.

  Evelyn’s smile was so soft and maternal, Gareth sucked in a breath. “You’re a few years away from wearing your hair up.” Maddie’s brows came down. “But I don’t see the harm tonight. I’ll have to take my hair down to do it. I only brought a few hairpins along.”

  She dropped the brush into her lap and reached up to the knot at the back of her head. Gareth swallowed. Her hair tumbled down her back in a golden waterfall that sucked the breath out of him. Before he knew it, Maddie
’s hair was piled up on top of her head, and she was looking way too grown up for his liking. She held a little mirror, turning this way and that.

  Evelyn quickly wrapped her own hair into a knot. She plucked a pencil off a tablet beside her on the bunk and speared the knot. Miraculously it held. Gareth shook his head. Women were a constant source of mystery.

  “Can I wear it up for supper?” Maddie smoothed a stray tendril.

  “This once.” Evelyn took the mirror and the book. “I’ll read you some more of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight before bed if you’d like.”

  “I’ve never had a bedtime story before.” Maddie scrambled to her feet.

  “Then it’s high time, don’t you think?” Evelyn reached over and blew out the lantern. “Let’s go get some supper. I’m starved.”

  Gareth stepped back and hustled over to the washbasin before he got caught eavesdropping. What had come over his daughter?

  They emerged from the wagon together.

  Rimfire let out a whistle. “You two look fine tonight. I hope this cow camp isn’t too rough for such fine ladies.” He stood and offered Evelyn a seat on a box, the only decent chair. “Can I get you some supper?”

  “Thank you.”

  A stir went through the cowboys, and more than a few removed their hats and smoothed their hair. Well, well, well. Gareth hid a smile and returned the towel to its peg.

  Evelyn thanked Rimfire, and her eyes sought out Jamie. The boy had wolfed down his meal and now wrestled with his bedroll, dragging it under the wagon where Gareth had told him they would sleep tonight.

  “Jamie, come tell me how things went today and what you did.”

  The boy abandoned the bedroll and swaggered over, his thumbs tucked into his back pockets and his hat perched on the back of his head. Gareth strode over and lifted the hat. “Always take off your hat when you talk to a lady, especially if that lady is your mother.” He handed the hat to Jamie and removed his own.

  “Evening, Evelyn. Maddie. You sure look nice tonight.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together and nodded, all her previous joy battened down. He frowned. What had he done? She treated him like a polecat with the plague every time he came near.

  She moved to the wagon tongue and sat down. In the group but apart, not like she’d been at the last roundup, laughing and joking with the cowboys and darting everywhere, still full of energy even after a day in the saddle. He missed his little girl. Here, with her hair up and her standoffish manner, she was a stranger.

  Jamie squatted beside his mother and began a blow-by-blow account of his day. With each sentence, Evelyn grew paler and her eyes grew rounder.

  “And Pa let me brand a calf. It sure bawled. Pa says he’s going to teach me to rope. Maybe by next roundup, I can ride a cutting horse and rope calves, isn’t that right, Pa?”

  “Maybe not the next roundup, but someday, sure.” Gareth accepted a plate from Muley and watched Evelyn as he ate. Her fist had closed around her fork so tight the knuckles showed white. A ripple went through her, and she set her plate aside.

  He ate doggedly, waiting for her to say something.

  “Gareth, I wonder if we might take a walk?”

  He forked in the last bite of his supper and nodded. He caught Rimfire’s eye. “Set the night-guard shifts and keep an eye on…” He waggled his finger between Jamie and Maddie. Rimfire nodded.

  Gareth offered his arm to Evelyn, and they strolled away from the campfire. She smelled like roses or some kind of flower. His heartbeat thickened.

  “Maddie sure looks pretty tonight. I couldn’t help but overhear you in the wagon while I was washing up. Seems like she’s settling in at last, listening to your stories and letting you fuss with her hair and all. Acting like a little girl should.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about Maddie, and about Jamie.”

  He stopped, glanced back at the campfire, and decided they were far enough away from prying eyes. He turned Evelyn toward him and put his hands on her shoulders. “How about we don’t talk about the kids? It’s a beautiful night with a million stars. You should be admiring them. Wish I could.”

  She blinked. “Why can’t you?”

  “There’s something far more beautiful and captivating right here.” He brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Evelyn, I told you I wouldn’t rush you, and I won’t, but I’d sure like to kiss you right now.”

  Her lips parted, and her breath quickened. His hand found the pulse under her jaw, pleased that it beat as rapidly as his own. He took her lack of protest as assent and bent his head. The instant their lips touched, lightning shot through him, hot and bright. He might’ve rocked on his feet, he wasn’t sure. His arms went around her, bringing her to him and deepening the kiss.

  She let out a little moaning sound that drove him crazy, and her hands stole up his back. And because he’d been able to think of little else but kissing her since the moment he’d spied her in the wagon with Maddie tonight, his fingers sank into her hair, dislodging the pencil and allowing those golden strands to fall down her back and over his arms.

  He broke the kiss to catch his breath and threaded his fingers through her hair, soaking in the feel, the smell, the very essence of her. She stared up at him with her enormous blue eyes, and, afraid he’d devour her with kisses if he didn’t get ahold of himself, he pressed her head to his chest and rested his chin on her crown.

  “Mama?”

  She sprang from his arms, her hands going to her hair, fingers flying to get it braided. “Jamie, I thought you’d be in bed by now.”

  Gareth stifled a groan, fisted his hands, and bit back the words that sprang to his lips. What rotten timing. He’d finally gotten Evelyn into his arms, they weren’t arguing about the kids, or even thinking about them, and lo and behold, one of them shows up.

  “You all right, Mama? Your voice sounds funny.”

  Evelyn cleared her throat. “I’m fine. What did you need?”

  “I was waiting for you to listen to my prayers. I think Maddie must be waiting, too. She’s tossing and turning and bumping stuff around in the wagon.”

  Gareth relaxed his stance. “Go ahead and get into your bedroll. Your ma and I will be along directly.”

  The boy scampered back toward the wagon, and Gareth reached for Evelyn once more, but she put her hands against his chest.

  “Don’t. I–I’m not ready.”

  “Sure seemed like you were.” He tilted his head and tried a smile. “Evelyn, that was about the sweetest, most—”

  Her hands flew to his lips. “Stop. I can’t. I can’t love you, and if you kiss me like that again, I’ll forget all the reasons why.”

  He jerked his head and freed his mouth. “You can’t love me? Why not?”

  She stepped back, putting way too much distance between them for his liking. “Because it hurts too much. If I let myself love you, what will I do if something happens to you? I’ve lived through that once, and I don’t ever want to go through it again.”

  She looked like a deer smelling danger, taut and ready to bolt. He tucked his hands into his back pockets and leaned his weight on one leg, hoping to get her to relax so they could talk about this. He couldn’t be totally angry with her, since she’d all but admitted that his kiss had rocked her the same way hers had clobbered him. But this notion of not loving because you might get hurt?

  “I’ve been through that before, too. I lost a spouse, but I’m not afraid to love again. Maybe I’m better for the experience, value the love more. Don’t you think that could happen to you, too? Mightn’t love be sweeter now because you know how precious it is?”

  She shook her head. “I know how precious and powerful loving a man is. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if I lost that love again. I promised myself I wouldn’t fall in love ever again. It’s hard enough with Jamie. I can’t help loving him. He’s my son.”

  His stomach knotted. “And Maddie?”

  “Before today, I would’ve laughed at the notion.
” Her fingers twisted together, fisting around the end of her hastily fashioned braid. “But she’s wormed her way into my heart. I asked you to come on a walk with me so we could talk about her. I didn’t mean for anything to happen between us.”

  “But it has.” He shifted his weight. “And we can’t go back. I don’t want to go back.”

  “And I can’t go forward. I can’t let myself love you. I’d be destroyed if I lost you.”

  He heaved a sigh. “You know what I think? I think you already love me, you’re just too scared to admit it. But I won’t press you now. Let’s get back and tuck in the kids. I’m on nighthawk duty in about an hour.”

  When they were only a few paces from the camp, he let go of her arm. “I’ll head to the herd. Tell the kids I said good night, and I’ll see them in the morning.”

  He saddled his horse and swung aboard his mount for what he was sure would be a very long night.

  Would this night ever end? Evelyn turned her pillow over and punched it up. She never should’ve let him kiss her. Her brains had turned to scrambled eggs at his touch, and his embrace stirred up longings and feelings she was too afraid to examine. From now on, she had to keep her distance, protect her heart. It hurt too much to love, didn’t it?

  Jamie mumbled and stirred on his bedroll beneath the wagon, and she stilled, concentrating on the sound. She forced herself not to get up and check on him. He’d had such a big day, and he needed sleep.

  Maddie slept on a pallet in the bottom of the wagon, her cheek pillowed on her hand. So sweet and innocent looking, so in need of love and assurance.

  Evelyn ached for Maddie, realizing that the little girl had already worked her way into her own heart. Without realizing it, she’d come to love Maddie as if she were her own daughter.

  Which brought her full circle back to Gareth.

  Lord, answering that ad was supposed to be a business arrangement, a way of providing for my son and my sisters. I was going to keep my feelings in check and be sensible. I had everything under control.