Galahad in Blue Jeans

by Sara Orwig

  Chapter 6

  Matt made his purchases in the hardware store and the auto shop and then he crossed the street and headed to the sheriff’s office. It was a plain office with a dispatcher’s desk near the door. Rita glanced up at him and put away a magazine she was reading. “Hi, Matt.”

  “Hi, Rita.” He looked past her beyond a low partition and saw the sheriff seated behind his desk.

  Ty Manning stood. “Hi, Matt. Come on back. I heard you delivered a baby.”

  “Yep, I did.”

  “Now I know who to call in an emergency.”

  “Like hell. I don’t want to do it again.”

  Ty shook hands with Matt and then sat down, motioning toward a wooden chair. “Have a seat. What’s up?”

  “Mother, daughter and baby are staying at my place. The lady is Vivian Ashland from Denver, Colorado. She has a restraining order out against her ex-husband. She was on her way from Denver to Houston.”

  “We’re not exactly a direct route.”

  “No. She thought someone was following her on the interstate, so she took state roads through Kansas and Oklahoma to I-35. I wanted you to know and I’d like you to let me know if you get any strangers in town or anyone asking about her.”

  “Sure. Want me to call Chet Gonzales in Dakani and tell him? You’re in his county and he’ll have jurisdiction.”

  “Yes. She says her ex is harmless, but he struck her once and that’s when she left him.”

  “I’ll call Chet, and we’ll let you know if anyone shows up. Call me if you have any trouble.”

  “Sure,” Matt said, standing. “I want to bring her by on our way out of town. It won’t take long to get a restraining order for Oklahoma, will it?”

  “No. She can come by here and file for one. Then she’ll have to appear before the judge in Garfield County.”

  “Fine. I wanted to talk to you first before I brought her in. She’ll have her little girls with her and it’s better not to go into all this in front of Mary Catherine.”

  “Sure.”

  “Want to go to the café with me and have a malt? Vivian is there with the baby and her little girl.”

  “I’d like to go, but I’m expecting a call. If I get my call, I’ll be on over. I’ll call Chet now.”

  “Thanks,” Matt said, shaking hands with the sheriff again.

  “See you, Rita,” he said as he left the building and crossed the street. Maybe Vivian had been wrong and no one had been following her. Or maybe the person following had been stranded on the other side of Rabbit Creek. Vivian didn’t want to bother with a restraining order, but he thought she should get one. She wouldn’t be leaving Oklahoma any time soon if he and Doc Bently could influence her to stay.

  As hot sunshine poured over him and rose in shimmering waves from the cracked concrete sidewalk, Matt remembered how shy and frightened Mary Catherine had been the other day. She was warming up to him and he was glad. Thinking about seeing Vivian, he increased his pace. At the same time he looked forward to being with Vivian, he knew he should keep his distance. He shouldn’t complicate Vivian’s life and he had nothing to offer her. He didn’t know the meaning of commitment. He couldn’t offer commitment and she wouldn’t want it from him. All he had ever known was a broken home and a solitary life.

  In the café, Vivian sipped the last of her malt and answered questions about her business and her life in Denver.

  “I see we’ve drawn a crowd.” Matt’s deep voice was directly behind her and she turned as people moved out of the way.

  “You haven’t drawn a crowd, the baby has,” Kitty remarked dryly. Vivian held Julia, who looked content with all the attention, while Mary Catherine now had a paint-with-water book along with a small glass of water in front of her and was happily smearing water over a page.

  Matt greeted people who had come in while he was gone. He shook hands with the men, spoke to the women and finally looked at Vivian.

  “I hate to end the festivities, but if you’re ready, I think our groceries may be about to melt. I’ve had them loaded into the pickup.”

  While people said their goodbyes and moved away, Vivian buckled Julia into her carrier. Matt got his malt to take out and picked up Julia. He held the door open for Vivian and Mary Catherine.

  “I parked here in front. I imagine you’ve had enough questions to last you the next year.”

  “Actually, everyone was very nice and talked about Julia and how beautiful she is and speculated on what it was like to have you deliver a baby,” Vivian answered, her blue eyes twinkling while he held open the door of the pickup for her.

  “Yeah, well, they can keep right on wondering about that. Don’t worry, I’m not going into details with the public.” He fastened Julia and the carrier into the back seat while Mary Catherine buckled herself in and showed him her paintings.

  Matt paused to look, commenting enthusiastically on each one. Mary Catherine beamed with satisfaction and reached for her coloring book to show him more.

  “I’ll look at the others the minute we get home, Mary Catherine,” he promised. “If we don’t go right now, our groceries will begin to melt and the ice cream will be soup.”

  As Mary Catherine giggled, Matt got into the driver’s seat.

  They drove slowly through town and Vivian marveled at the easier pace, the quiet and the friendliness everywhere she had been.

  “There’re more than a few people who are curious about me staying at your farm,” Vivian said.

  He shot her a look that made her feel this was a touchy subject, yet she had already gathered that from comments she had heard from several women.

  “I take it all this curiosity about me is because you’ve never had a woman at your place before except for your housekeeper, Lita. Although I hardly count myself as any change in your status because I was a total stranger—you had no choice in the matter and I will soon be gone forever. Also, I was there for one purpose—to have my baby. That’s different from your taking a date home.”

  “Same way I see it, so I don’t know why everyone is so all-fired curious, but it’s summer and the weather’s hot. There’s nothing much to do except speculate on the only change in the life of the county, meet the new lady and her family and talk about the most eventful thing to happen since the creek washed away the Rabbit Creek bridge. No mystery there, either.”

  Vivian laughed and Matt reached over to brush her mouth with his fingertips. “That’s good. We’re going to make one quick stop at the sheriff’s so you can file a restraining order. He’ll have it all ready and I’ll stay with the girls and keep the motor running and the pickup cool.”

  “I should have known,” she said, looking exasperated. “Okay, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

  “Might. Doc Bently said for you to stay at my place for a while before you start a long trek with a new baby.” Matt turned to look at her as he stopped in front of the sheriffs office. “I want you to stay.”

  Vivian drew a deep breath and nodded. She climbed out of the car and crossed the sidewalk while her thoughts were still on Matt. She suspected that it had taken a major effort for him to get out the words that he wanted her to stay. From all she was learning about Matt Whitewolf, he kept his feelings closed away from others. Remarks from Kitty and a couple of others, including Meg Preston, made Vivian suspect he had opened himself up to her more than anyone else in his life. She supposed he could do so for the same reason she found it easy to tell him personal things about herself—they had shared a very intimate crisis where both had bared themselves emotionally. It had forged a bond that was strong, and she was beginning to realize it was also enduring. It had nothing to do with the magic chemistry that continually blazed between them.

  Inside the small building she met the sheriff and the dispatcher, and signed the papers to file for the restraining order. In minutes she was back in Matt’s pickup.

  They drove home and Matt unloaded the truck, looked at more of Mary Catherine’s crayon drawi
ngs and then put a casserole on to cook. He hooked Vivian’s computer up in an empty bedroom while she fed and changed Julia and then went outside so Mary Catherine could play in the yard.

  During supper as they sat and talked, the phone rang. Matt stretched out his arm and picked up the receiver to answer. When his gaze slid to Vivian, she guessed it must be about her car. She had pinned her hair on her head, and she pushed away stray locks that had come loose and fell around her face while she listened to him talk.

  “That’s the only place you can get the parts?”

  Vivian was both mildly amused and annoyed that, once again, the two men were discussing her car as if she didn’t exist. Matt held out the receiver.

  “It’s Jake Claiborne, and he’ll tell you about your car. He’s the most reliable one around to fix it, so I suggest you go along with what he says. You know you’re welcome here. Doc wanted you to stay and so do I.”

  “That sounds like bad news,” she said, taking the phone and listening while Jake Claiborne told her that it would take a week to get the parts and get her car fixed.

  Vivian made arrangements and hung up the phone to look at Matt. “I feel like I’m in good ol’ boy land.”

  “Actually, you are,” he replied with a crooked grin that melted her annoyance. “That’s what happens when you get off the big freeway and out into the country down south.”

  “Well, you have houseguests for the next week. He said the storm has caused him to have a lot more business and it’s going to take several days to get the new parts.”

  “That suits Doc and me fine.”

  “We get to stay here?” Mary Catherine asked, her eyes sparkling.

  “Yes, we do until next week.”

  “Or longer,” Matt added, and Mary Catherine clapped her hands. “Doc thinks you ought to stay several weeks before you start the trip to Houston with a new baby.”

  “A week should be plenty long enough.”

  “Think about it before you decide.” He waved his hand. “I have room here.”

  “By next week you may change your mind.”

  He gazed at her solemnly and shook his head. “Nope. I won’t change my mind. I’ll want you to stay.”

  A little thrill ran through Vivian with his insistence, and a little voice of reason also cautioned that if she kept staying she might get to liking it too much.

  After supper was finished, they sat at the table and talked until Mary Catherine got fidgety. Matt started to pick up his plate and Vivian reached across to touch his wrist lightly.

  The moment she did, his gaze flew to hers and he stared at her so intently, she almost forgot what she had been about to say. She moved her hand away quickly.

  “Let me clean this kitchen.”

  “You can do that in a day or two. I’ll do the dishes tonight. You three go out in the yard, and when I finish here, Mary Catherine, if you’d like and Mommy says it’s all right,” he said, turning to Mary Catherine, “you can ride one of the horses while I lead him around the corral. Would you like that?”

  “Yes!” Mary Catherine said, her blue eyes sparkling as she looked at Vivian, who nodded.

  “I have one that’s very gentle,” Matt said. “Molasses. You can guess why he’s named that.”

  Mary Catherine jumped down from her chair and ran to the door.

  “C’mon, Mommy.”

  “Sure I can’t help?”

  “Very sure,” he said firmly, gathering plates.

  She left to go outside with Mary Catherine, carrying Julia in her carrier.

  An hour later Vivian stood watching Matt walk a pinto around the corral while Mary Catherine happily sat in the saddle, her imagination probably galloping away over a field.

  Pete appeared and climbed over the rails to drop down inside. “Hi, Mary Catherine. Boss.”

  Vivian could hear the men talking quietly. Matt handed the reins to Pete and then he turned to join Vivian. Sitting on the top rail, he swung his long legs over the fence and reached down. “Give me Julia and you can climb up here and sit and watch Mary Catherine.”

  “In this skirt?”

  “Sure. Try.”

  She handed the baby to him and climbed up and found the full skirt was manageable as she tucked it around her legs and sat beside him. “Now I can take her back,” she said.

  “She likes it where she is,” he replied, looking at the contented baby tucked in his arm. “See. She’s happy here.”

  Vivian looked up and met his gaze. “You have a way with children. Or maybe I should say women, children and probably animals.”

  “I hope so. Out here I need a way with animals.”

  “What about women and children?” she teased.

  His brown eyes focused on her. “Guess I’m going to need a way with them, too.”

  “Rest assured, cowboy, you have one.” She shook her head. “You’re bringing out a personality in me I didn’t know I possessed.”

  He smiled. “Out here, you sort of drop the facade and get down to basics.”

  “My flirting with you isn’t basic.”

  “I think it is,” he said in a deep voice, and trailed his fingers over her knuckles. “When sparks fly between a man and woman, flirting is as basic as the sun coming up in the morning.”

  Vivian’s pulse jumped. His voice had gotten husky and desire burned in his dark eyes. She tingled from his slight touch of her hand as well as from his words.

  “For a taciturn, solitary cowboy, there are moments you surprise me and say things that take my breath.”

  His dark gaze impaled her as if he were holding her with his hands. “Good, Vivian,” he drawled softly. “Surprises are fun when they’re pleasant or sexy.”

  “It’s getting hotter out here.” She fanned her face with her hand. “How did this conversation get to sexy surprises?”

  “Something you and I bring out in each other, I guess.”

  “I think Pete has probably done his duty long enough. Want me to walk her?”

  “You sit still,” he said, handing Julia to her. “I’ll relieve Pete.” He looked amused, and she wondered if he knew she had deliberately tried to change the subject.

  Matt jumped down to cross the corral to Pete. He took the reins and Pete strode over to Vivian, climbing swiftly up beside her. “You have nice girls,” he said in a tight voice.

  “I’m sorry you lost yours,” Vivian said quietly.

  “Yeah,” he said, wiping his eyes as he looked down at Julia. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Want to hold her? I’d like to talk to Mary Catherine. If you’ll just take Julia until I get down off the fence, then I’ll take her.”

  “Sure,” he said, and she handed him the baby. He took her with great care and held her, gazing down at her. “I’m sweaty. I hate to get her against me.”

  “She washes,” Vivian said with amusement as she jumped down from the fence. “You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t wake and spit up on you.”

  “I wouldn’t care. Go on. I’ll hold her until you get back.”

  Vivian hesitated a second, then she told Pete she would be right back. She caught up with the pinto to look at Mary Catherine. “Having fun?”

  “Yes! His name is Molasses and he’s nice. I like him best of all the horses.”

  Vivian smiled as she walked beside them. “Well, it’s almost dark and you’ve ridden long enough that Mr. Whitewolf—”

  “Vivian, I told her to just call me Matt. It’s easier than Mr. Whitewolf.”

  “Matt and Mr. Quincy have worked all day, so they’re probably tired of walking you around. Besides, it’s almost bedtime.”

  “One more, please, please!”

  “That’s up to Matt.”

  “’Course it’s okay,” he said.

  Mary Catherine clapped and Vivian shrugged. “Pushover,” she said.

  “Big blue eyes will do it every time,” he said, looking down at her, his words causing sparks to ignite.

  “Matt’s told me the horses’
names,” Mary Catherine said happily.

  “Good, you can tell me when you take your bath. I’ll go get Julia.”

  Aware of Matt’s gaze on her as she walked away, Vivian went back to take Julia from Pete, who jumped down.

  “’Night. See you tomorrow,” he said, striding across the pen to talk to Matt a few minutes. He waved to Mary Catherine and she waved back and Vivian heard her childish voice.

  “’Night, Pete,” Mary Catherine said.

  Pete. Matt. These rough, tough cowboys were marshmallows with Mary Catherine and they had won her trust swiftly and to a degree that Mary Catherine’s own father never had. But then he had never tried to.

  Vivian was amazed every time she looked at Mary Catherine with Matt. She was chattering happily to him now. How easily he had vanquished her fear! Just quietness, kindness and attention—why hadn’t the little girl’s own father learned that? Yet, Vivian knew, Baker’s thoughts were wound up in himself and he never cared to try to win Mary Catherine’s affections. When they divorced, he had been more than happy to give her full custody of Mary Catherine.

  While Matt unsaddled the pinto, Vivian took the girls inside to get Mary Catherine to bed. After her bath Mary Catherine went to the family room where Matt sat with his stocking feet propped up on the coffee table.

  Mary Catherine held a book, and Vivian trailed into the room behind her. She had splotches of water on her blouse and skirt from bathing Mary Catherine and more locks of hair were falling down around her face, and she was aware of his quick intense scrutiny.

  Mary Catherine stopped shyly beside Matt’s chair. “Will you read this to me?” she asked, holding up a colorful book.

  Matt stiffened and stared at her without answering.

  “Mary Catherine,” Vivian said, noticing Matt’s silence and wondering what caused it. “Matt’s walked you around with the horse. Leave him alone for a few minutes. Come here and I’ll read to you.”

  “I want you to read my book,” she said quietly but insistently to Matt. “Please.”

  “You better let Mommy read it,” he said stiffly in a cold, flat voice.

  Surprised, even though she could understand why he would want to relax undisturbed, Vivian noticed beneath his tan his face flushed and that shuttered look had come over his features.