“You know Bandit?” Cade asked, tentatively approaching the big man.
“I sure do. He’s a great dog,” Colt responded, turning his attention to the boys.
“When did you meet him?” Cody questioned.
“The first day I saw your mother in Promise.” His gaze moved from one boy to the other, wondering how Victoria could possibly tell them apart. They were handsome boys, yet he could find no resemblance to Victoria.
“You mean Victoria?” Cade questioned.
Colt chuckled. “Yes, I mean Victoria.” Odd that they call their mother Victoria. He stuck his big hand out to one boy. “My name is Colt.”
Cade was first to put his small hand in Colt’s, then Cody. It wasn’t what Colt would call a manly shake from either boy.
“Aren’t you men going to be seven years old soon?” Colt asked, squatting down to look them in the eye.
Both boys nodded.
“Well then, it’s time to learn to shake hands like men. When a man shakes your hand, make it a firm one. Your handshake is your first impression, and a good one says you are a man to be reckoned with.”
The boys traded a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” Cody asked.
Colt took their hands and showed them by giving as firm a grip as possible without hurting their small fingers. “That’s how a man shakes hands.” He ruffled their blond hair. “Now tell me how to tell you two apart.”
“I’m Cade. But we’ll fool you sometimes, like we do Mrs. Wellington. It’s fun.”
“Yeah, unless one of us is in trouble,” Cody admitted. “Then it’s not so much fun.”
“I reckon not.” Colt smiled at their honesty. He could see that these two could be a handful. He did hear a slight difference in their voices.
“Are you a real cowboy?” Cade asked.
“Are you an outlaw?” Cody asked.
“Well, if those are my choices, I guess I’m a cowboy,” Colt replied, laughing at the rapid-fire questions. He felt the tension of his day disappearing, just like when he was with Tate.
“You said a bad word last night,” Cade said.
There were times he would forget that he wasn’t on the range with the men. “I did?”
“Yeah, you said aw, hel—” Cody began, but his brother punched him in the arm.
“You better not say it. Victoria will wash your mouth out again,” Cade warned.
Colt knew that was a habit of his. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he told them, making a mental note to watch what he said in the future. He thought he and his men did pretty well with their language since Tate was around. He remembered his mother would never let his father get away with using profanity in the house.
“It might not really be a bad word since Mrs. Wellington said if we’re bad we could go there, and the preacher in St. Louis said it all the time,” Cody said.
“Yeah, and it’s supposed to be hot,” Cade added.
Colt chuckled. “I think you’re safe.”
“You could say aw, heaven,” one of them suggested.
“Yeah, we’re supposed to try to go there ’cause it’s a good place. But you also said as—” Cade started, but Cody elbowed him.
“Can you show us how to shoot your gun?” Cody asked.
“I . . . uh . . . we’ll have to ask . . .” He didn’t know what to say to that, but before he finished his reply they were on to the next question.
Thankfully, Razor caught their eye when he snorted, wanting attention of his own. The boys cautiously approached him. “What’s your horse’s name? He sure is big!”
“Razor. Yes, he’s a big one. Stand to the side so he can get a look at you. A horse can’t see you directly in front of him.” Colt urged Razor to hold his head lower. “Rub behind his ears. He likes that.”
“Why?” they asked, scratching behind Razor’s ears.
“Because—”
“Will you teach us to ride?”
“We’ve never been on a horse.”
“Is he the biggest horse in the world?”
“Do you have cows?”
“I have cattle,” Colt was able to answer when they took a breath.
“Were you gonna shoot that Mr. Wallace last night?”
Colt figured he shouldn’t tell them the truth to that question.
“He didn’t even say a prayer before supper, thanking God for our food like Mrs. Wellington says we should. I don’t like him, so you can shoot him if you want.”
Colt thought it was Cade who made that comment. He wanted to laugh out loud, but refrained. Realizing they weren’t going to wait for a response before asking another question, he just listened to their chatter.
“Do you have a ranch?”
“Can we come to your ranch?”
“Do you have a wife?”
“Do you have boys?”
“Boys, give the man time to answer one question before you ask another one. You are forgetting your manners.”
Colt rose to his full height and removed his hat as Mrs. Wellington walked down the steps.
Stopping in front of him, Mrs. Wellington smiled. “I didn’t get a chance to say hello last night.”
Colt twirled his hat in his hands. “Yes, ma’am, that’s why I’m here. I came to apologize for interrupting your dinner, and for my bad manners.”
Cade jerked on Colt’s shirtsleeve. “Aren’t you going to shake hands? This is Mrs. Wellington.”
“Mrs. Wellington, Colt taught us how to shake hands like a man,” Cody announced proudly, grabbing Mrs. Wellington’s hand and giving her a hard grip to demonstrate.
Grimacing, Mrs. Wellington tried to pull her hand from the boy, but he hung on.
Colt put a hand on Cody’s shoulder, reminding himself he had a lot to learn about little boys. “Wait a minute, cowboy,” he said patiently. “You don’t shake a lady’s hand like that. They’re more delicate and you don’t want to hurt them. Remember I told you that handshake is just for men.”
Dropping the older woman’s hand, Cody looked at her with concern. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, you did no lasting damage,” Mrs. Wellington assured him. “But listen to Mr. McBride.”
“He said we could call him Colt,” Cade told her.
Colt gave her his most charming smile. “Yes, ma’am, and you do the same. I am sorry I disturbed your dinner last night.”
Mrs. Wellington was as susceptible to that dimpled smile as a woman half her age. “Sir, no need to apologize. We needed a little excitement last night. I must say, the conversation picked up considerably after your visit.”
“Will you show us how fast you draw your gun?” Cody asked.
“No. A man never draws his gun unless he’s prepared to use it,” Colt said seriously.
Eyeing him, Mrs. Wellington thought he was wonderful with the boys as he responded to their questions without losing patience. Totally opposite of Wallace, who hadn’t said as much as two words to them over the course of the evening. Why Victoria was wasting her time with that man was beyond her, particularly when there was a man like Colt right in front of her eyes. “Dinner is about ready. Would you like to join us?”
Colt was in a hurry to get back to work, and he’d already wasted too much time today worrying about everything but his ranch. Thanks to Victoria. “I have a lot of work waiting. I’d best be getting—” Before he finished what he was about to say, Victoria walked out the door. She was looking down, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Boys, it’s time for dinn—” She stopped in midsentence when she saw Colt standing there.
Colt couldn’t believe the effect she had on him. Every time he saw her he thought she was more beautiful than the last time.
“Hello,” she said, taking in the scene with the boys hanging all over him. Then she noticed how close they were to his large horse. She stepped off the porch at the same time Colt took a stride in her direction.
“I came by to apologize for last night. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Colt turned to see what had her so concerned. The boys were gently rubbing Razor’s muzzle. “Razor won’t hurt them. They’re friends,” he assured her.
“Yeah, we didn’t walk up in front of him ’cause horses can’t see too good right in front of them. They can see you better from the side,” Cade added.
Colt smiled, pleased that they’d listened. “That’s right. And don’t walk up behind them without letting them know you’re there.”
“I see you’ve met the boys,” she said. “I was just calling them for dinner.” She looked up at him, thinking he looked very tired. “Thank you for coming by . . . and for the apology.”
Mrs. Wellington spoke up. “I’ve invited Mr. McBride to join us for dinner.”
“Please, please, please,” Cade and Cody chorused, jumping up and down.
Turning his dark eyes on Victoria, Colt tried to gauge how she felt about their invitation.
She hadn’t intended to ask him to stay, but with the boys so excited, how could she refuse? “Of course you should join us if Mrs. Morris isn’t waiting with your dinner.” The thought crossed her mind that he might be riding into town to visit the saloon.
“No, she knew I wasn’t sure when I would be home.” He smiled at the boys, who were still begging him to stay. “I guess I can’t turn down an invitation like this.” He returned to Razor and loosened his girth and started to lead him to a shade tree, the boys trailing behind him.
“Boys, let Mr. McBride tend to his horse while you get washed up,” Victoria instructed.
They hesitated, obviously wanting to stay with Colt.
“I’ll be right along behind you,” he promised them.
Mrs. Wellington hustled the boys away, but Victoria lingered. “I see you haven’t given up the notion that Mr. Wallace is behind what’s been going on here?”
“No, ma’am, I haven’t.” He removed Razor’s saddle and ground tied him. “And I see you’re still spending time with him.”
“Yes, and I am quite convinced he is not the person you seem to think he is.”
“Are you now?” Colt clenched his molars together to keep from saying something he would regret and be forced to apologize again. He walked to the well and dipped some water into his hat for Razor.
Victoria stayed on his heels. She wasn’t going to let the subject drop. “Yes, I am. He’s a perfect gentleman.”
He walked back to Razor and held his hat while the horse drank. “Well, tell me, Miss Eastman, do you think he might have an agenda where you are concerned?”
Victoria put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean by that?”
Razor finished drinking, and Colt shook the remaining drops of water from his hat. “I mean he’s a man and you’re a woman. It follows that he wants you to think the best of him so he can make some headway.”
Face flaming, Victoria repeated, “Headway?” Her word came out in a squeak.
“Yeah, headway,” he enunciated. “It means he’s trying—”
“I think I know what you mean,” she retorted, then presented him with her back when she whirled around and marched toward the porch.
“And it insults me that you thought I would hurt your boys!” he yelled at her back.
She stopped at the door and turned back to him. “You were the one acting like a madman!”
He had to give her that. “I didn’t know you were there,” he admitted more calmly. Then he added more forcefully, “But I dam . . . darn sure wouldn’t hurt children.”
Not knowing how to respond to that statement, she said curtly, “Dinner is ready.”
When she was out of sight he turned and patted Razor’s neck. “Well, that went well, don’t you think, buddy?”
The horse snorted at him.
Falling into bed four hours later, Colt was exhausted. He felt like he’d been in the line of fire with all the questions from the boys and Mrs. Wellington. It was a toss-up who asked more questions. He was disappointed that he hadn’t had one moment alone with Victoria the entire evening, to find out exactly what was going on with her and Wallace. It was probably for the best since she seemed hel . . . heaven-bent on defending Wallace in every discussion. Remembering what the boys said about shooting Wallace brought a smile to his face. At least they had good sense, he mused. He liked those boys, and they were obviously hungry for male companionship judging by their many questions. They had pleaded with him to teach them to ride a horse. Seeing as how they were around two women all the time, he figured they needed a man to show them some things, and Bartholomew was getting up there in age. Even though Victoria hadn’t seemed too pleased when he promised the boys he would teach them, she hadn’t objected. Every boy needed those skills, to his way of thinking, and he figured she understood that, if she was determined to stay in Wyoming.
Being around the boys reminded him of his own childhood. There were so many things he’d learned from his father, whose influence made Colt the man he was today. It saddened him to think those boys had lived almost seven years without a father’s love and guidance. They were the perfect age to learn, and he decided what they really needed was their own horse. It didn’t make sense to teach them to ride if they didn’t learn the importance of taking care of the animal that could help them survive in times of trouble. He decided he’d pick out two of the smaller horses on the ranch for them. He smiled to himself just thinking how they would react to having their own horses. If he knew boys, they would want to spend a lot of time on his ranch seeing to the horses. He wondered if Victoria would object. It might mean she would have less time to spend with Wallace. Now, what could be wrong with that plan?
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Have a drink with me, honey?” Gage Hardy leaned against the bar next to Lucy.
“You want to have a steak?” Lucy asked, hoping he would offer to buy her dinner as well as drinks.
Since the bar was nearly empty, and there was no one around to play poker with, Gage thought why not. “Order up a couple of steaks if you want to have dinner with me.” He pointed to a table. “I’ll be over there. Bring a bottle back with you.”
Lucy returned with the bottle and pulled a chair closer to Hardy’s. “I told the cook to make the steaks extra special,” she said with a smile. She made more money when the cowboys ordered dinner, and seeing how much Hardy could drink, she was already counting the coins. Pointing to the bottle, she added, “I had Sam give me the good stuff. Wallace drinks this.”
Hardy looked at the bottle. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that.”
She didn’t mind spending a few hours with Hardy. He was always nice to her, and he was handsome enough. Admittedly, he wasn’t as handsome as Colt McBride, but no man measured up to him in her estimation. The best thing about Hardy was the more he drank the more he liked to talk. The evening wouldn’t be boring. “I’m glad you came in tonight before your boss. He never talks to me, he just bosses me around.”
“You don’t like the boss?” he teased.
“Not much. He thinks he’s better than most folks,” she retorted snidely.
He thought she had Wallace pegged dead on. “He’s a strange one, that’s for sure.”
“I hear he’s sweet on that woman from the Barlow farm,” Lucy said, hoping to find out more about the woman she’d seen with Colt. “L. B. said her name was Victoria . . . or something like that.”
Gage’s ears perked up at the mention of Victoria. He’d glanced down at his glass thinking he needed to pace himself if he wanted to stay coherent. “How did she come about owning that farm?”
“She came here to marry Chet Barlow.”
He hadn’t heard that bit of news. “How long has she been here?”
“Not that long. I heard she was a mail-or
der bride.”
“When they gettin’ hitched?” Gage asked.
Lucy laughed. “The old guy went toes up. He dropped over dead before she even got here. But the strangest thing is, he didn’t even know her, but he left the farm to her.”
“He left his farm to a woman he didn’t know?” He wasn’t sure Lucy knew what she was talking about. Now why would a man do something so harebrained?
“He sure did. I never met the man, since he never came into the saloon, but I would have found a way to meet him if I’d known he wanted to leave that land to someone. I can guarantee he would’ve had more fun with me than with that starched-bloomers I saw with Colt McBride,” she boasted.
“Is McBride courtin’ her too?” Gage asked.
“I’ve seen him with her, but the men say she spends more time with Wallace.”
“Wonder if her intended knew who she really is?”
Lucy looked at his eyes to see if he was already feeling his whiskey. “What do you mean?”
“I wonder if he knew Delilah before she came here.”
“Her name’s Victoria,” Lucy told him, thinking he must have had more whiskey than she thought.
“Her name is Delilah, not Victoria,” he said firmly.
Eyeing him steadily, she thought he still looked sober enough. “Are you sure? Do you know her?”
“Oh yeah, I know her. Met her in Abilene a few years back. Her name is Delilah.”
“Then why does she call herself Victoria?”
“I haven’t figured that one out. What makes you think Wallace is sweet on her?”
“He’s never been seen courting any woman before she came to town. And you know how cowboys talk when they get to drinkin’. The men say she’s been out to his ranch, but then, I guess you would know about that. They also say he wants her land.”
Gage had heard from some of the men that a woman had been to Wallace’s ranch for dinner. Wallace wasn’t the kind of man who confided his personal business to anyone, but he figured Hoyt Nelson would know what was going on. “I don’t spend much time around the ranch house.” He hadn’t been back to Delilah’s farm since that night McBride almost caught him. It was his intention to talk to her that night to tell her she shouldn’t be afraid of him. He didn’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong like he did before. Alcohol got the best of him that night in Abilene, and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake a second time. He’d done a lot of thinking since that night, and for the first time in his life he was trying to plan for the future. He figured it was time to settle down, and there was only one woman he wanted to do that with. He’d considered getting a small place of his own and making a go of it. He wasn’t afraid of hard work and he was good at cowboying. Not that he’d made enough money working for other ranchers to buy land, but thanks to his poker skills he’d managed to put some money aside.
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