Her Wild Journey_Seeing Ranch series

by Florence Linnington

  Beau searched through his head. He didn’t have much in there, wasn’t very good at remembering funny things or keeping track of interesting details. But he wanted to be good for Cadence. Right then, keeping her calm was all that mattered.

  “The other day, Bubba tried to bring me Stetson’s saddle.”

  “What? Why did he do that?”

  “Well, we have this thing, see. Bubba’s kind of… well, he’s my dog.”

  “I don’t think I’ve seen him around.”

  “He’s Crick and Reed’s brother, but he likes to be alone. He’s always off in the fields. He’s really good at keeping an eye on the cattle.”

  “He likes to be alone,” Cadence slowly repeated. “Is that any indication of your own personality?”

  Beau looked at her in the dim light. She was so intently fixed on his face. Was she even thinking about the dark anymore?

  “Anyway, he comes out when there’s no one else around. Oh, and when it’s meal time.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Beau arched his back in the saddle, getting uncomfortable. This wasn’t supposed to be a conversation about him. “Bubba and I understand each other.”

  “All right.”

  “You want to hear this story, don’t you?”

  An owl hooted and Cadence jumped in her saddle.

  “Don’t worry,” Beau soothingly told her. “There’s nothing out here. Just some critters.”

  “What about...”

  “What? Coyotes? Wolves?”

  “Yes,” she breathlessly whispered.

  “Naw.” He shook his head. “Not this close to town. And especially not with the lantern. Animals are afraid of fire. It’s their instinct.”

  Cadence sucked in her lower lip and nodded, but she still looked afraid.

  “Bubba and I go out to check the cattle together,” Beau said, hurrying up with the story. “We do it every day and he loves it. He runs alongside the horse, sniffs in every hole. It’s our… special time together.”

  He felt silly talking about a dog like the creature was his best friend, but what he said was true. Usually, the best part of any day was watching the black and white dog run through the fields, tongue flopping from his mouth.

  “I have never understood the appeal of dogs,” Cadence said.

  “Are you human?”

  She giggled. “I like cats.”

  “Right, right. I remember that now.”

  “So, why did he bring you the saddle?”

  “Tried to. He’s a big dog, but he couldn’t quite get it across the floor. I had left it next to the workbench. Usually, I hang it up, but I had just taken it off Stetson for a few minutes so I could brush him down. It was late in the afternoon, hours past the time Bubs and I usually go out on patrol. I guess he was getting antsy. So, I figure he was trying to bring the saddle to me because that was his way of saying it was time to ride out.”

  “That is so clever.”

  “He’s a smart dog.”

  “Hmm. Perhaps I should change my opinion on them after all.”

  Beau studied her face best he could in the lantern light, and there it was. A smile.

  “We are here!” Cadence gasped in surprise.

  She was right. They’d made it all the way to Winding Path without Beau noticing and were now turning up the drive. Disappointment filled him. They’d been having such a nice talk…

  “I’ll walk you inside,” he said, stopping Stetson in front of the porch and quickly dismounting.

  Rushing to the other horse’s side, he offered Cadence her hand. Her eyes caught his and there was a pregnant pause. He remembered how she hadn’t wanted help with the horse before and was just about to withdraw his hand when she placed her own in it. A tingle of pleasure went through his palm and up his arm. Beau swallowed hard, struggling to get a decent breath down.

  Cadence kept the lantern held high as he grasped her waist and helped her to the ground. She blinked over and over, her lips parting as if she had something to say. Words didn’t happen, though. The night was silent and it was right that way.

  “I should...”

  “Yeah.” Beau gruffly cleared his throat. “I’ll walk you in.”

  He went with her all the way to the kitchen door. It was closed, but light and voices crept out from the side cracks. Likely, Gemma and Mitch were in there, and maybe Clara as well. The women would feed Cadence, coo over her, and take care of her in whatever way was needed. Beau’s job was done.

  Cadence didn’t open the door. Instead, she turned to face Beau straight-on. The hallway had been left dark, the only light being the lantern she still carried. She tried to hand it to him, but he didn’t take it.

  “Carry it into the bedroom with you.”

  “That is very nice, but I will not need it. There is a very nice oil lamp in there.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She hesitated. Beau got the sense she was thinking about something more than just the lamp. “Yes.”

  “All right.” He took the lamp, not liking that it signaled the end of the night. “Sleep well,” he said, turning to go.

  “Beau?” she whispered.

  He was turned back around in a flash. “Uh-huh?”

  “Thank you. For coming for me, and for...”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  It didn’t matter that the night got to her. He understood. The dark was full of uncertainties, full of probing questions. It would have driven him insane, too, if he hadn’t long ago discovered it was a great place to lose himself.

  “Goodnight, Miss Hurley.”

  He left before she could open the door and the others could see him and invite him in. He’d liked riding home with Cadence, but the time for being around others was over. He’d already gone farther than he should have. Going to check on Cadence was one thing; telling her stories and making her laugh was acceptable as well.

  But not wanting the night to end? Realizing that being around her made him the happiest he had been in years?

  That was what they called playing with fire.

  Chapter Eleven

  11. Cadence

  Chapter eleven

  “And then, I told Mrs. Mulligan that only God can judge me, and if He does, it certainly won’t be on my choice of garment embellishments. Besides, who ever heard of ribbon being indecent?” Gemma asked. “What was she even talking about?”

  Across the kitchen, Clara dumped a load of dirty plates in the wash basin. “That dress does have a lot of ribbon on it. But no, there’s nothing indecent about it.”

  Gemma rolled her eyes. “It’s the style this year. Honestly, not that Mrs. Mulligan would know anything about that. Cadence? What do you think? Does it have too much ribbon?”

  “Um… the dress?” Realizing she’d just been standing in the middle of the kitchen, Cadence got to work washing the dishes Clara had brought in.

  “Yes, the one I showed you yesterday.”

  “It’s lovely. Really. Mrs. Mulligan is...”

  “An old, outdated biddy?” Clara asked.

  Gemma gasped in shock. “Clara! Even I was not going to say that!”

  Clara waved her hand. “The woman has been a thorn in my side for years. She once told me it was a sin to wear blue to church. Said it was ‘too cheerful for the Lord’s house.’ Pay her no mind.”

  Through the open door, chair legs scraped across the floor and men stood. The hands were leaving breakfast.

  “I will be right back,” Cadence said. Drying her hands on her apron, she went through the dining room and out into the hallway. Beau’s familiar frame was just going out the door.

  “Beau!”

  She caught up to him on the porch, where he stood, waiting for her. The sun had just risen, illuminating the frost covering the ranch. Cadence, having left the house without a coat or shawl, wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

  Now that she was out on the porch, shivering in the cold, an expectant Beau looking at her, he
r mind was blank.

  What had she even followed him for? She had wanted to see him, that was the answer. Breakfast had been such a flurry of activity, they’d been caught on separate sides of the room the whole time, not able to exchange anything more than a nod.

  “It’s cold,” he said. “Where is your coat?”

  “I am fine.” She smiled tight to stop her teeth from chattering.

  Beau gave a single, tight nod. All the euphoria Cadence had felt upon waking up that morning left her in an instant. Instead, reality took its place.

  She had been so excited upon opening her eyes that morning, feeling as if the entire world had changed in one night. Beau had come to accompany her home from the schoolhouse. Beau had made her laugh, kept her safe. Beau cared for her.

  Perhaps in a way that went beyond simple friendliness.

  She remembered the way he looked at her outside of the kitchen the night before. His eyes had spoken volumes, intense and emotional things dancing in the depths of his irises. Just like her, he had not wanted to go. Cadence had known this because she felt it. She had thought Beau handsome from the beginning, but with his chivalrous act the night before, something big changed. She saw him in a new way.

  Though she had not meant for it to happen, Cadence now fancied him desperately. The evening spent at the fire by the cabins had likely been the first real turning point, or maybe the change had been slowly creeping over her all week long, but their time spent together last night had made her certain. She desired Beau.

  But looking at him now, she doubted if he wanted the same. The flat demeanor was back, the Beau who looked at her as if she were a burden on full display.

  “Did you have something you wanted to say?” he asked.

  Cadence wanted to fall into a sobbing heap on the ground, but she kept herself upright. “Just… I wanted to thank you again for last night.”

  He blinked, a bit of softness flashing in his eyes. A breath later and it was gone. He nodded and looked down, his hat brim covering his face. “Don’t mention it. I’ll see you at supper.”

  “Yes. See you then.”

  He hustled down the steps, no doubt eager to get away from her. She’d made a fool of herself, rushing out of the house after a man who likely did not fancy her at all.

  She should have known. What she thought she saw the night before, she had only imagined.

  No man had ever fallen in love with Cadence. Though they often smiled at her, once they caught sight of her bum leg, they turned right around and ran for the hills. It was the same story again and again.

  For some foolish reason, she had thought Beau might be different. But why would he be? He was the handsomest man she had seen in Shallow Springs. He would be dumb to pick a cripple such as her.

  Her core feeling as if it were about to explode from pain, Cadence plodded back into the house. She kept quiet as she helped finish cleaning up, glad that the other two women were too distracted by chatter to notice that something was wrong with her.

  The ride to the schoolhouse was even colder than it had been the morning before.

  Cadence tucked her face into her scarf as Pip braved the icy wind. Thankfully, the hitching post was on the side of the building that blocked the wind, but she didn’t like the thought of him being out there all day once snow came. She would have to ask Mr. Lenox if there was a stable in town the horse could begin staying at during the day.

  Once the stove was crackling and the children were in their seats, Cadence’s sense of purpose returned. So what if Beau did not fancy her? That was old news. She had a job to do and she could not afford to wallow in her sadness.

  The morning passed quickly, with the children embracing the project she had thought up the day before. As a group, they made long lists of the different flora and fauna in the area and their various uses.

  When noon arrived, the young ones ate quickly before running outside to get some play in. Fifteen minutes and Cadence would be rapping on the window, summoning them back inside.

  Halfway through her sandwich, the door opened. Cadence looked up, expecting one of the students, but instead found one of the last people she expected to see.

  “Good afternoon,” Mr. Dunst said, taking his hat off and idling in the doorway.

  “Mr. Dunst,” Cadence choked out. “Do come in.”

  He closed the door. She offered her seat, but he shook his head and sat in one of the student’s chairs instead.

  “This is a bit of a surprise,” Cadence said, sitting down across from him.

  He nodded. “I was happy to hear that you were still in town. It’s real nice you were able to find this job. And so fast, too.”

  “It was a real blessing,” she agreed. “I almost left, but in the end, staying in Shallow Springs seemed like the right choice. I am sorry that you used your money on that stagecoach ticket for me and I would like to pay you back.”

  He dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand. “No, you don’t have to do that.”

  “But I must. Please let me.”

  He smiled wryly and nodded, probably embarrassed to be accepting money from a woman. But it did not matter. Returning the funds was the right thing to do. She had been planning on paying him back once she saw him anyway. Her first pay would come in on Friday, and then she would have more than enough to reimburse him.

  “How are you doing?” Cadence questioned.

  She almost didn’t want to ask, because the answer could not be a good one.

  Surprisingly, though, he smiled. “Actually, better. I wanted to share some good news with you. I talked to someone from the bank and we might be able to work something out. It looks like I won’t lose my farm after all.”

  Happiness filled Cadence. “Oh, Mr. Dunst, that is so wonderful!”

  “Yes, it is.” His eyes sparkled with joy. “I felt so bad, leaving you in the pickle that I did.”

  “It is not your fault. It was just unfortunate timing.”

  “Still, it just didn’t sit right with me. I never set out to hurt anybody.”

  “When will you know about your farm?”

  “Hopefully, real soon. Of course, I’m going to have to be making some new choices for next year. I’m thinking about just focusing on raising sheep—making that my main income. There’s a lot of demand for that around here and a large flock will do just fine on the land around my place.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “There’s something else I wanted to say.” He hesitated. “Ask, really.”

  “Yes?”

  “If everything works out, with the bank and all… I was wondering if you would still like to marry me. I sure could use a wife out on that farm. Especially if we’re going to be raising sheep. I’ll hire a hand or two, of course, but I’ll need a woman to work the loom and such. Not to mention, you’re a wonderful young lady, Cadence Hurley. I would love to have you as my wife.”

  Cadence’s cheeks heated up under his gaze. She felt honored, but at the same time, her stomach twisted.

  Had this job as a schoolteacher not been the sign that she could make a living without a man by her side? She had come to Shallow Springs looking for security, but her new job provided that. She no longer needed to marry simply to have a roof over her head and food on the table.

  Then again, what if something were to happen? What if she were to become very sick and unable to work? How would she get by? Was it not smart to also have a husband, someone with a second source of income?

  The answer, certainly, was yes.

  And it would be preferable if Cadence were able to choose her own husband. But that was not the hand she had been dealt in life. As it were, Mr. Dunst was the only man who had ever shown even a remote interest in taking her as his wife.

  If it were up to Cadence, there was one man she would pick to be her husband. Though she had despised him only a few days ago, he had managed to warm her heart without meaning to. But Beau did not want her and it would be silly to wait around and see if he ever did com
e to desire her. She was twenty-five, had no fortune, and walked with a limp. For women like Cadence, marriage proposals were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

  She chose her words carefully. “I am very flattered and thankful that your offer is on the table once more, Mr. Dunst.”

  His smile grew wider.