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 2 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 2 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 2 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 3:00 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 10, so allow only 8 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 8 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 2 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?
Jonah Richards waved and walked away, but not before calling out, “I’ll see you later, Hannah.”
Did the schoolteacher like Hannah in a romantic way? Or did he just see them as friends? Daniel made a mental note to find out if the man was sweet on anyone else in town.
Hannah returned the wave but didn’t seem to miss a beat in her discussion with Carolyn. Her sweet voice pulled him back into the conversation. “I think we’re just going to look around now. Unless there is something Daniel would rather do.” She turned to him with a smile.
All thoughts of Jonah Richards drifted from his mind. There were a lot of things he wanted to do, but Daniel had decided over breakfast to spend the whole day with Hannah. She’d seemed sad and he didn’t like that expression on her face. He’d been so busy with the branding, fence mending and other duties on the ranch that he’d not made time to spend with her, and now he regretted it.
“Nothing I can think of.” Daniel rocked on the heels of his boots with his hands in his pockets, trying to look relaxed and happy. He was rewarded with another charming smile.
“Well, I’ll let you two go. I need to get to the dessert table. Wilson said my job is to simply stand and pass out the prizes.” Carolyn looked to her husband, who had begun the next game. Mr. Jones started up a vigorous tone on the harmonica. “See you two later.”
Hannah waved and then started back toward where most of the activities were taking place. Daniel fell into step with her.
“Where are we headed?” He snagged her hand as they walked. Pleased that she didn’t pull away, he grinned at her.
“I’d like to see the quilts, but I know that would bore you to tears,” she admitted in a soft tone. “So maybe we can go watch the sack races instead.”
He stopped and pulled her around to face him. “Hannah, do whatever you want to today. I’ve been to dozens of these celebrations. This is your first here in Granite, so have fun and don’t worry about me.”
She reached up and gently stroked his cheek. “Thank you, Daniel. But I really don’t want you to give up your enjoyment of the fair.”
He covered her hand with his. “Good. Then let’s go see the quilts.”
She removed her hand from his face. “If you are sure…” Hannah left the rest of her sentence hanging.
He gently pulled her toward the tent that had been set up to display the women’s quilts. “I’m sure.” And he was. The hope of seeing the blankets had shone in her eyes, and Daniel knew he’d look at quilts all day if that was what would make Hannah happy.
She waited while he held the tent door open for her. “I promise I won’t stay long.” The hint of honeysuckle tickled his nose as she went inside.
Daniel followed her. Quilts of all colors and designs filled the space. As they viewed them, he marveled at the tiny stitches that held each quilt together. His mother had been a part of the quilters’ bee for years, but this was the first time Daniel had actually attended one of their shows. How many hours went into creating coverlets like this? He noted the different sizes and realized they would either take months or years to complete.
“There’s Bonnie’s quilt.” Hannah pointed at the one his mother had been working on for what seemed like forever.
He’d never seen it hung before. His mother had held it in her lap the few times he’d seen her working on it. The blue-and-yellow star drew him like a mosquito to water. It really was beautiful. “Hannah, do you quilt?” He stood in front of his mother’s work and studied the intricate stitches.
“Some. I’m not nearly as skilled with a needle as your mother,” she answered, coming to stand by his side.
“I imagine you do just fine with a needle and thread.”
Hannah stood staring up at the quilt. Her head was tilted slightly to the left and her gaze moved over the material as if she was trying to memorize each and every stitch that had gone into it. “My stitches are never that even and straight.” She shook her head. “No, your mother is a master at quilting.”
Daniel laughed. “I don’t think it’s a contest.”
An older woman walking past huffed and rolled her eyes at him. She muttered, “Men,” in exasperation.
A giggled escaped Hannah. “This is a competition, Daniel.”
He felt heat on his neck. “Well, yes, but…” He watched amusement dance across her face. “Oh, never mind.”
Hannah laced her arm into his. “I knew what you meant, and thank you.” She gave his arm a little squeeze.
They moved through the tent, viewing the rest of the quilts, and then headed outside. The sun was bright overhead. “Are you hungry?” Daniel asked.
“A little, but I’d like to wait until the chili cook-off. Opal says that the men around here can sure cook chili.” She grinned up at him. “But maybe a snack would be good.”
Daniel looked down into her blue eyes. “What did you have in mind?” He knew she was up to something because a new light appeared there and laugh lines crinkled.
“A boiled egg.”
“A boiled egg?” Daniel frowned. “Where are we going to find boiled eggs?”
Hannah began tugging on his arm. “This way.”
He knew he was in trouble as soon as he saw the group of kids holding spoons and eggs. They were lined up to race from one point to another. “An egg race, Hannah?”
“Sure. You’ve done them before, haven’t you?” she teased. Her eyes danced with merriment.
“Yes, but honey, those aren’t boiled,” he protested. “And besides, this is a kid’s game.”
“Yes they are.” Hannah placed both hands on her hips. “Who says it’s a kid’s game?”
Daniel knew a dare when he heard one. “You’re right. So you will play, too.” He walked up to Mrs. Crandall, who was in charge, and said, “We need 2 spoons and 2 eggs.”
The look on Hannah’s face was worth making a fool of himself in front of the parents in Granite. He handed her a spoon, got in line and balanced his egg in his before placing the spoon handle between his teeth. Mrs. Crandall started the game.
From the corner of his eye, Daniel watched Hannah racing along beside him, trying to keep her egg in the spoon without touching it. She tilted her head to look at him and the egg slid off. The cracking sound it made when it hit the ground brought a smile to his face, and he lost his egg, too.
Shouts of encouragement met their ears as they both hurried back to the starting line to begin again. It took him 3 restarts, but Daniel finally crossed the finish line, seconds before Hannah. But not before several children.
Out of breath, he grinned at her.
She returned his smile and then swiped his egg from the spoon. “Thanks for breakfast, Daniel.” Hannah began to peel it, which wasn’t hard, since it was cracked in several places.
“Hey, isn’t the winner supposed to get the spoils?” he teased.
“Not when they gloat.” Hannah tossed the eggshells into a nearby trash can and took a big bite from the egg.
Two bright pink spots filled her apple cheeks and Hannah’s eyes sparkled with merriment. Daniel knew he’d remember that expression on her face for the rest of his life. Her inner beauty shone through as well as her outer. Hannah Young could very easily be the one
to capture his heart.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hannah was tired. All day she and Daniel had laughed and played games at the fair. He’d entered the pie-eating contest at her urging, made a mess of it and lost to the mayor. Afterward he’d smeared cherry pie filling on her nose and whispered in her ear that if there wasn’t a crowd he’d let her have a taste by kissing her.
Her heart rate had picked up a beat until he finished with, “But since there is a crowd, I guess you’ll just have to do without my kiss for now.”
She’d playfully slapped him on the arm, but deep down, Hannah knew she would have savored a kiss from him. Now she stood with Bonnie, waiting for the horse races to begin.
Hannah held her breath as Daniel, Levi and 3 other men brought their horses to the starting line. Tornado pranced around as if he knew he would win. Snow took large steps as if he were posing or stepping over cactus. The other men also had their horses parading about.
Daniel sat tall in the saddle. To Hannah he was the most handsome man there. She saw JoAnna Crawford staring at one of the other young men. The expression on her face said she was in love with him.
“I see JoAnna didn’t wait for the leaves to fall off the trees before finding a replacement for Daniel,” Bonnie said, moving closer to the fence that separated them from the riders.
“Can you blame her?” Hannah answered, happy that JoAnna had found someone she could love.
Bonnie shook her head and studied the young man. “No, I guess not. James McDougal is a fine catch, too.”
The mayor indicated that the men should line up their horses. He held a pistol in one hand and a watch in the other. “Get set!” he called to the riders.
Hannah covered her ears when the gun went off. She watched as horses and men shot off. The dirt was flying so badly she really couldn’t see much. “Do you think Daniel will win?” she asked.
Bonnie stood on her tiptoes. “The race?”
What else could she be talking about? Hannah wondered as she nodded.
Taming The Texas Rancher Page 17