Jessie smiled, even as color flooded her cheeks again. “And good cowboys are hard to find.”
He nodded. “So are good women.”
“Go eat your cobbler, McKinnon.” Her soft voice wafted over him like a cool evening breeze, pleasant and peaceful.
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled down at her, glad he had done the right thing. Lord willing, there would be other nights when he could watch her all he wanted to. “Leave the water in the washtub, and I’ll empty it later.”
“Cade, you’re going to spoil me.”
“It’s time someone did.” He traced the line of her jaw with his fingertip. “Hurry, so you won’t miss much of the story.”
“Eat slow.”
He laughed and headed for the door, amazed because she thought him emptying the washtub was spoiling her. Darlin’, I haven’t even started.
Chapter 6
Disconcerted by Cade’s comments, Jessie rushed through her bath. Despite her husband’s assertion that she was too skinny to bother looking at, she knew better. She’d had enough untoward offers to know men found her attractive, even though she was repulsed by their advances.
Surprisingly, Cade’s honest admission that he had been tempted to watch her bathe was not offensive. Instead, it stirred thoughts that she had never experienced. Jessie shook her head as she dried with the threadbare towel. “And I thought I knew how things were between a man and a woman.” She suspected Cade could teach her much more about her own desire than she had ever imagined.
She changed into clean undergarments, but put on the same dress she had worn most of the day. Her other two dresses were clean and nicely ironed, hanging up in the bedroom. Hesitating a moment, she contemplated lugging the washtub out the back door and dumping the water, but decided to take Cade up on his offer to empty it.
Carrying the lantern, she returned to the ranch house, letting herself in the back door. She set the lamp on the kitchen table, turning the flame down low before going to the living room.
Though Cade had told the children he would read to them, the sight of them huddled on the sofa brought her to an abrupt halt. Ellie sat in Cade’s lap, leaning back against his chest. His arms encircled her as he held the book at a slight angle so Brad could see it, too. Her son sat right beside them, with only a tiny space between him and the big rancher.
Engrossed in the story, Cade kept reading, his deep voice strong one minute, lowering almost to a whisper the next, reflecting the action of the story. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up with a smile that warmed her from head to toe.
“Did I miss much?”
“No. We picked Around the World in 80 Days. Have you read it?”
She shook her head and moved to the closest chair and sat down.
“It’s about some people who are going to fly around the world in a hot air balloon,” said Brad in an awed voice.
“Goodness, I didn’t know that was possible.”
“I’m not sure it is,” said Cade. “It’s written by Jules Verne so it’s fiction.”
“What’s that?” asked Ellie, looking up at him.
“It means that it’s just a story somebody made up. But there are hot air balloons. I’ve even ridden in one.”
“You did?” Brad stared wide-eyed at Cade. Jessie figured his respect for the rancher went up about five notches before his next question. “Was it fun?”
“Yes and no. It was exciting to be up in the air and see everything down below. Except it was Kansas, and it all pretty much looked the same. We went about ten miles in less than an hour, so that was fun. But when we started to come down, the wind shifted, and we landed right smack dab in the middle of a trail drive. Spooked the cattle and almost caused a stampede. That riled the cowboys. I had to do some fast talking to keep them from shooting the balloon full of holes. It didn’t take much to convinced the balloon owner to give them all a free ride.”
Jessie laughed softly, and the children giggled. Cade met her gaze and winked, then started to read again. He finished the chapter and closed the book. “That’s all for tonight. We’ll read the next chapter after we come home from town.”
“But then we’ll be staying in our house,” said Brad, his expression crestfallen. “It’s no fun to only hear part of a story.”
“Well, I figure we can still read a chapter every night. You’ll be eating supper over here anyway.” Cade met Jessie’s gaze. “Just because you’re going to sleep over there doesn’t mean we can’t spend some time together in the evening.”
Brad looked wistfully at Jessie. There had been little time for reading in the evenings and then only from someone else’s castoff magazines or books. The magazine stories were sometimes published in serial form, and all too often, they would start an exciting story only to miss later chapters.
Jessie’s heart twisted at how little she had been able to give her children. “I expect that will be all right. And, if for some reason, Mr. McKinnon can’t read to you, I’m sure he would let me borrow the book.”
“Of course.” He set the book on a table at the end of the sofa. “Now, you young ’uns better go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow and head for town so we can buy some furniture for your house.”
“Can’t we just stay here?” Ellie shifted, looking up at him. “I like it here.” She rested her head against his shoulder, curling her arm around his neck.
Cade closed his eyes for a second, giving her a gentle hug. “And I like having you here, quarter-pint. But it’s better for you and your mama to have a place of your own.” He glanced at Jessie again. “For now.”
Jessie’s heart skipped a beat.
Ellie straightened, frowning up at him. “Why?”
“It’s a matter of propriety, honey,” said Jessie.
“What’s pro...pretty?”
Cade got a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and Jessie gave him a warning frown. He ignored her. “It’s rules made up by a bunch of nosy women and stuffy men telling everybody else how they should behave.”
Ellie nodded. “Like when Mama tells me to put on my company manners?”
Jessie smiled and Cade chuckled. “Something like that.” He grew serious. “The thing is, sweetheart, most decent folk live by these rules, even if they are aggravating sometimes. Those people might think bad things about your mother if y’all keep staying here with me.”
“Why?”
He shot Jessie a panicked look, but she merely crossed her arms and relaxed. “You started this.”
“Uh...well...most people don’t think a man and woman should live in the same house unless they’re married.”
Jessie held her breath, waiting for Ellie’s response.
“Oh. And since Mama says nothin’ on God’s green earth could make her get married again, we have to move.” Ellie played with the collar of Cade’s shirt, then looked up at him sadly. “My daddy was mean. He hurted Mama and Brad.”
Brad stiffened, his face contorting with anger. When he looked at Jessie, she shook her head slightly, realizing she needed to tell him that Cade knew about Neil. His small hands curled into fists, but he kept quiet.
“I know he did, honey. Did your daddy hurt you?” Cade spoke so gently, it made Jessie’s heart ache.
“Nope. He told Mama he didn’t want nothin’ to do with me ’cause I was somebody else’s whelp.”
At Cade’s startled expression, Jessie caught her breath. She didn’t know Ellie had heard Neil’s vile accusation and desperately hoped her daughter didn’t understand what he meant. Unable to keep her voice steady, she said, “Your daddy was wrong, honey.”
“I know that, Mama.” Ellie grinned. “I’m a little girl.”
“A sweet little girl who needs to get to bed.” Jessie stood, holding out her hand.
When Cade started to lift her down, Ellie twisted around and slid her arms around his neck, giving him a quick hug. “Night.”
“Good night, sweetheart.” He hugged her back, then set her feet on the floor. “Sleep tight.”
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Ellie giggled and grabbed her mother’s hand.
“I’ll just squish ’em.” Cade winked at her, then smiled at Brad when he hopped off the sofa. “Good night. We’ll see if we can find you a pair of boots tomorrow.”
“Don’t like wearin’ shoes.” Brad looked down at his bare feet, his expression mulish.
“Don’t like shoes much myself. Boots are different, though, and they’re a necessity for a cowboy.”
Brad looked up, wariness in his eyes. “I ain’t a cowboy.”
“Not yet. Can you ride a horse?”
He shook his head.
“Would you like to learn?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then you’ll need some boots.”
Jessie wished she owned a pair of pointy-toed cowboy boots so she could give Cade a sharp kick in the shin. He knew she didn’t have the money to buy a pair of socks, much less boots.
“I want some new shoes, too,” said Ellie, tugging on her mother’s hand. “Shiny black ones.”
“I’m sorry, honey, but you’ll have to wear the ones you have until I get paid at the end of the month.” Jessie smiled apologetically at her child, then sent Cade a dagger-filled glance over her head.
“But they hurt.” Tears filled Ellie’s big brown eyes.
Jessie fought down a sharp pang of guilt and remorse, momentarily at a loss for what to say.
“We’ll get you some shoes tomorrow, too.” Cade’s expression warned Jessie not to argue with him. “Your mother and I’ll work it out.”
“Shiny black ones?”
“I think we have some at the store, unless Ty sold them already. I expect we can find something you like.”
Torn between anger at his highhanded ways and the need to clothe her child, Jessie pointed Ellie toward the kitchen. “Brad, I left the lantern on the table. Will you take Ellie to the outhouse?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He motioned toward his sister, who followed him out of the room.
Jessie turned to Cade, who remained on the sofa. “I’ll expect you to take the cost of the children’s shoes and boots from my wages.”
“I suppose I could.”
“No supposing about it. You will.” She crossed her arms, not bothering to hide her irritation. “You should have talked to me first.”
“You wouldn’t have let me buy them.”
“So you brought it up in front of the children, knowing I couldn’t refuse?”
“I deliberated on it for about a minute.” He stood, closing the distance between them in one stride.
Jessie resisted the urge to step back, rigidly holding her ground, and lowered her arms. “I don’t want to indebted to anyone.”
“You don’t have to be.”
Jessie caught her breath, praying that she had been right about him, that he hadn’t deceived her with noble words and feigned consideration. For the first time in her life, if he suggested a way to repay her debt without money, she might be tempted. She couldn’t explain the desire that danced between them like lightning in a distant thundercloud, filling her with anticipation of the approaching storm. “I don’t want your charity.”
“Gifts, Jessie, not charity. Gifts with nothing expected in return.”
“There is no such thing. Everyone wants something.”
He studied her for a moment, and she thought she saw regret in his eyes.
“I want to make you happy,” he said softly. “I need to.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, his expression bemused. “I haven’t quite figured that out.” A tiny smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “But I guarantee it has nothing to do with charity. Maybe it’s pure selfishness. I like seeing Ellie get all excited about new shoes. And that little glimmer of anticipation in Brad’s eyes at the thought of learning to be a cowboy reminds me of how I felt when it was all new to me.”
He moved a step closer. “Mostly, though, I like the way your eyes sparkle and your face lights up when you smile. I like the sound of your laughter and the way it warms the cold emptiness of my heart.
“I know how it feels to have shoes that are too small and not have the money for more. To be broke and hungry.” His voice dropped to barely more than a whisper, raw with emotion. “To see my father go off to war and watch my mother die from lack of food and medicine because I couldn’t provide for her.”
Quick, unexpected moisture stung Jessie’s eyes at his pain, still deep and harsh. “How old were you?”
“Thirteen. Ty was eleven. At least I had him. I didn’t have to face the pain and fear alone.” He touched her cheek with his fingertip, capturing the lone tear that had slipped from her eyes. “Let me help you take care of your family, Jessie.”
And help heal his own wounds. “Just until I find Quint.”
“Unless I can change your mind by then and convince you to stay here.”
“Not likely.”
“Give me time, darlin’.” Hearing the children in the kitchen, he smiled and moved away from her. “I usually spend Saturday night in town and go to church on Sunday. We can get a couple of rooms at Campbell’s Hotel.” When she started to protest, he held up his hand. “I’ll pay for it. Whenever I send a man to town for supplies, I cover his meals and hotel. Since you’ll be grocery shopping for me, I should do the same for you.” He paused to take a deep breath. “But if you’d rather come home tomorrow, we can.”
She wondered if, like the mayor of Riverbend, he went to church merely because it was politically beneficial. She was instantly ashamed of herself. He wasn’t anything like her former employer. She tried to imagine Cade snoring during the sermon, but the thought was so silly, it made her smile.
“What? Me going to church is amusing?” Cade tipped his head, looking disappointed.
“No. I think it’s nice. And I’d like to go. We haven’t been in a long time.” She’d grown tired of the whispers and pitying glances. Here no one knew about her past, though if she and the children went with Cade, it likely would cause talk.
“Good. I particularly want to be there this week, since Asa’s been thinking about going.”
“And you want to encourage him. How thoughtful.”
Cade grinned, his eyes dancing with mischief. “Not exactly. He’s never set foot in a church before. I want to see how well the roof holds up.”
Jessie laughed as Ellie ran into the room. She picked up the little girl, giving her a big hug and smiling at Cade. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
As she carried her daughter into the bedroom, Ellie leaned back and looked at her. “I like Mr. McKinnon.”
“Because he’s going to buy you new shoes?” teased Jessie.
She nodded, her expression filled with pure sweetness. “But mostly ’cause he makes you laugh.”
“Yes, he does.” But was that good or bad?
“And he gives good hugs.”
Very good hugs.
That was definitely bad.
Chapter 7
They didn’t have to wait until Sunday morning for Jessie’s presence with Cade to cause talk. It began the minute they drove down Main Street, Jessie sitting beside him on the seat of the freight wagon and the kids perched on boxes and a folded quilt in the back. Heads turned. Men gaped. Women leaned close together in a flurry of whispers.
Cade glanced at her as he drew the team to a halt in front of what appeared to be the largest store in town. Equally large letters painted across the second story proclaimed it to be McKinnon Brothers, General Merchandise. “Don’t let folks bother you. They’re always curious when someone new comes to town.”
“Especially a woman and children with the most eligible man in the county,” Jessie said dryly.
He set the brake on the wagon. “I suppose you pegged that one right, though some folks think Ty deserves the title. We flip a coin once a month for braggin’ rights.”
Jessie laughed, appreciating his effort to set her at ease. She looked around
at the bustle of activity. Across the street, bricklayers stood high on a scaffold laying a row of bricks on the second story of a new building. Two men on the ground below used a rope and pulley to hoist up another flat box of bricks. She counted six businesses on that side of the block, three of them saloons, which seemed to have plenty of customers even at nine in the morning.
There were two saloons on their side of the street, one only three stores down from Cade and Ty’s, as well as a dressmaker, millinery, drugstore, and a large restaurant. She was surprised to see an empty lot next to McKinnon’s store. “Why hasn’t someone built there?” She nodded to the grassy plot of ground.
“We were waiting to see if we needed it for storage, but the merchandise moves out so quickly, we’ve decided to put up another building and rent it out. We’ll start on it in a couple of months.”
“Do you own the whole block?” Quintin had told her that Cade and Ty were successful businessmen as well as ranchers, but she hadn’t realized how well off they were.
He shook his head. “Not the whole thing. We bought the lots on this side of the street on this block and the next one as soon as the town was laid out. We’ve sold the extra ones on this block, but still own the other land. We haven’t decided what to do with it yet.”
Across the street on the next block, a two story building was finished, with a sign hanging out front that indicated it was the courthouse. “Isn’t that a little small for a courthouse?”
“Yes. We want to purchase the empty block one street down and build a real one, but the owner is trying to gouge us. So everyone in town has banded together and refused to buy any lots from him. We’ve been successful at heading off any other potential buyers, too. I think he’ll see reason before long. We could put it some other place, but everyone likes that block the best. We’ll wait a little longer, then move on to something else if he doesn’t come through.”
More buildings were going up, a mix of wooden and brick structures. All were one story high, but some had a false front giving the illusion of another story. The shouts of the workmen and the sound of pounding hammers rang in the air, intermingled with the creak of wagon wheels and jingling harnesses as people went about their Saturday shopping. Two wagons piled high with goods, hitched together and pulled by a team of ten oxen slowly rambling by drew her gaze.
McKinnon's Bride (Willow Grove, Texas Series Book 1) Page 6