Linda Ford (13 page)

“Perhaps.” She closed the door behind him and leaned on it.

Cassie grinned at her. “I expect he’d marry you at the drop of a hat.”

“Perhaps.” Her predicament couldn’t be so easily solved, and if Eddie thought otherwise, he would soon learn differently.

The next morning she wakened and listened. Eddie moved about in the other room. He lifted the lid on the stove and added wood. He moved to the table. Was he reading? Perhaps writing another letter? Would he beg Margaret to join him? A great ache filled Linette until she was forced to clamp her teeth together to keep from moaning.

She’d dreamed she’d be valued as a pioneer wife, able to share the work of building a new life in the West.

Lord, help my plan to succeed. Help Eddie see me as a woman to share this life as a partner, a helpmate.

She hurried to make breakfast. As soon as Eddie finished, he announced, “I’ll be working on the house most of the day.”

Linette allowed herself only a small smile. This was exactly what she’d hoped for.

“I go see piggies?” Grady asked.

She wanted to rush ahead with her own plans but couldn’t ignore the child’s wishes. “As soon as we clean up.”

Cassie scurried about helping, more eager than Linette had seen her before. “I told Cookie I would help her this morning,” she explained. “I so enjoy talking about where we used to live.” She paused, a faraway expression on her face.

Linette studied her. Seems Cassie preferred living in the past to facing the present, whereas Linette felt just the opposite. There was nothing in her past she wanted to return to except to keep in touch with her family. Especially her brother. When they were younger she’d enjoyed following him around and imitating some of his activities. She’d ridden a horse astride, raced a wagon down the road, done a number of adventuresome things with him until their father and mother discovered the nurse wasn’t supervising closely enough to suit them.

A new nurse, given the task of seeing Linette turned into a lady, put an end to her fun.

She shook away the memories and regrets.

She’d expected marriage to Eddie to change all that, give her back what she’d lost. She stiffened her spine. She wasn’t about to give up hope.

Linette took Grady for a walk while Cassie hurried over to visit Cookie.

Grady skipped ahead murmuring to himself. She caught up to him, hoping she might learn something from listening to him, but she couldn’t make out his words. He ground to a halt. She stopped and glanced about to see why he’d grown so quiet.

Her attention on the child, she hadn’t noticed Eddie leaning against the fence, his arms crossed, one foot resting on the tip of his cowboy boot. He appeared relaxed, yet she felt his alertness as clearly as if it had found wings and flew before her face.

The sun flashed in his eyes. His steady watchfulness never faltered. Hadn’t he said he was going to the big house? Had he changed his mind? What did he want? And why did her heart pound against her ribs at the sight of him?

His gaze lowered to Grady and he slowly stepped away from the fence and bent to pick up a rope. He moved to the middle of the pen and began to circle the rope over his head in a wide loop. With great ease and grace, he danced the loop down to the ground and up again. Then he lowered it over his body, hopped out of the circle and swung it over his head.

Grady, as fascinated as Linette, moved closer to watch, mesmerized by the twirl of rope.

Eddie continued the show for several minutes. Then casually, he let the rope fall to the ground, gathered it into neat coils and hung it over his shoulder. He turned, touched the brim of his hat. “See ya.” He headed for the barn.

Neither Grady nor Linette moved.

Slowly she drew in a breath. She suspected he’d put on the show for Grady but allowed herself to hope a part of him was trying to impress her, too. The thought filled her with hope that he had begun to view her differently.

“What did you think of that, Grady?”

He stepped away from the fence. “Can I see piggies now?”

She laughed as she took his hand and headed toward the bridge. “You aren’t about to give in easily, are you?”

No more than she was.

* * *

Eddie stood in the house and stared at the piece of wood in his hands. Why had he put on that little show with his rope earlier? For Grady, of course. He wanted the boy to be curious about him, maybe get up enough courage to talk to him. But he kept wondering what Linette thought of his roping skills.

Not that her opinion mattered one little bit.

He turned back to the task at hand—measuring and cutting the wood trim. The finishing details took time but he was determined to do them right. Margaret deserved the best. The house was much smaller than either of them was accustomed to in England, but it was still a beautiful house. Margaret could entertain important people and fine ladies.

Never mind that fine ladies and gentlemen were few and far between in the territory.

An errant thought blasted through his mind. The kind of people Linette favored as occupants of the house were everywhere, even here. Widows like Cassie. Orphaned or abandoned children like Grady. Even some of his cowboys. Quiet, good men with a background of hurt.

“Hello. Can I come in?”

He jerked toward the sound. Was he imagining Linette called?

The main door closed with a gentle thud. “Hello?” Her voice sounded closer.

What was she doing here? He had struggled for the past hour to erase her presence from the house and picture Margaret there instead. Now she would undo all his hard work. “In here,” he called. He intended to finish the family dining room first. As Linette said, the view over the ranch, the coziness of the quarters, made it one of the nicest rooms in the house.

She stepped into sight and rubbed her hands together. “I thought you might be able to use another pair of hands.”

“I have half a dozen men I can call for assistance if I want help.”

She ignored his dismissive tone. “It seems they are busy elsewhere.”

He considered her. Would she leave if he asked or simply disregard him if it didn’t suit her? No wonder her father felt he had to marry her off to someone who would control her. Best he keep that opinion to himself. “You know anything about carpentry?”

She tipped her head and looked thoughtful, though he didn’t miss the teasing twinkle in her eyes. “I know the difference between a nail and a hammer. Does that count?”

He intended to be disapproving, discouraging, insisting he didn’t need her hanging about getting in the way and distracting him. Instead, he laughed. “That’s valuable information, I’m sure. Certain to be a great help.”

She recognized the teasing in his words and chuckled. “You can never tell.”

He held her gaze, feeling her smile, and something more. A challenge. Never one to pass up a challenge, he nodded. “Let’s see how useful you can be. I was about to nail this trim into place.” He indicated the window frame he was finishing. “Hold the end in place.”

She clamored to the window, but instead of attending to the task, she stared out the window and sighed. “I could never get tired of this view.”

He joined her to enjoy the sight. Slim and Roper jogged past the buildings.

“How was your visit yesterday?” He’d sent Ward and Roper in the hopes of giving Linette other prey to stalk.

“It was very pleasant.”

He waited, hoping for some indication as to how she felt, but she gave him nothing. “Boys are headed for town. Carrying the letters to Margaret.” Margaret would soon know the truth about the house he’d built for her.

Linette didn’t speak. He felt her silence as solidly as the hardwood in his grasp. What did she think as she watched the men walk away? Was she accepting that her stay here was temporary?

“Let’s get to work.” She grabbed the end of the window trim and eased it into place. She eyeballed the other end. “You got a level?”

He blinked. For someone who barely knew a hammer from a nail, it was an informed question. “Let me check it.” He did and she adjusted the end with ease.

“How do you know about levels and hammers? It hardly seems...”

“Ladylike? My parents couldn’t agree more. You going to tack this in place or leave me holding it for the rest of the day?”

Feeling a little as if he’d been tardy about his work, he reached around her to nail it. In order to get the end he had to press close to her. Close enough to feel warmth from her body, breathe in the smell of cinnamon and more. A scent completely unlike those he’d grown used to. If he’d had a free hand he would have smacked himself. Of course she didn’t smell like cows or cowboys. More like flowers and home.

He chomped down on his teeth and drove in the necessary nails. He obviously needed a long hard ride or a good dose of salts to cure his foolishness. “You can let it go now.” He placed each nail carefully and stepped back to study his work. It looked satisfactory.

Now to keep his mind focused on the task. It was easy. All he had to do was turn to the right and grab the next piece of wood. Instead, he turned right and met Linette’s gaze. He should thank her. But his tongue refused to move.

She grinned, her eyes dancing with amusement. “I learned a tiny bit about carpentry when I helped one of the servants build a shed.” Her humor fled, replaced with a mixture of regret and determination.

He’d seen that look before. Knew it signaled a decision on her part to dig in her heels and fight for what she wanted.

“When my father learned what I was up to, the poor man lost his job. I’ve always regretted that.”

Slowly, she turned full circle to study the room then returned to face him. “Did you do all this work yourself?”

“I had the boys help.”

“How did you learn?”

“I worked on the estate.”

Her eyes darkened. “Aren’t rich boys supposed to play the wastrel?”

He shrugged. “Some, I suppose. Others are encouraged to be useful.”

“Unlike daughters who are expected to be only ornamental.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“You have sisters. Are they allowed to be useful? Or even to have a choice about what they want?”

“I’ve never considered it.” He’d been too busy trying to prove he could do all that was expected of him.

“No, of course you didn’t.” She sighed deeply, as if chasing away dark thoughts. “Tell me about your sisters.”

Glad to be free of the direction she’d headed with talk of how women were treated, he smiled. “Jayne is almost twenty.” He and Jayne had been good friends. Mostly, if he had to venture a guess, because they were the two oldest and Jayne was sensible and intelligent. He paused to consider the younger ones. Seems they were in the nursery or under the watchful eye of a governess, so he didn’t feel he knew them as well as he knew Jayne. “It’s hard to think of them getting older. I haven’t seen them in such a long time. Bess must be seventeen now and Anne, fourteen.”

“But who are they? What do they like?”

He chuckled. “I seem to remember them clustering about each other giggling.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You make them sound like silly ninnies. I’m sure they’re not.”

He’d never given it much study, but now that he did, he realized his father tended to dismiss them. Yet he and Jayne had shared some insightful conversations before he left. “Jayne and I were closest growing up. She liked studying languages. She’s promised to a young man. They haven’t set a date yet. I think Jayne would like it to be soon, but Oliver seems to have other ideas.”

Linette nodded. “And Bess?”

“She has a beau, too, but Father forbids her to see him.”

“Why?”

“He’s the son of the groom.”

“And that says it all. Not good enough for a Gardiner.”

“She wouldn’t be happy living the life he could offer and he lacks the education to be worked into the family business.”

“So she has no choice in the matter?” Her voice dripped disapproval.

“I think my parents know what is best for her.” Intending to forestall the impending argument, he continued, “Anne is our baby. She’s been spoiled, I expect. She has only to smile prettily and everyone gives her what she wants. If that fails, a little pout will work.” Remembering the girls, he chuckled.

Linette laughed, too.

Talking about his sisters had filled him with missing them.

“Maybe they’ll visit someday, though I know Jayne will never leave her beloved Oliver.”

“Never is a long time.” She looked pensive as if missing her family, too.

That was good, he assured himself. Maybe she’d be ready and willing to return after a few months away. Exactly what he wanted. So why did he consider patting her shoulder and saying it got easier with time? He turned, picked up a piece of wood and cut it to fit.

She held the piece in place without needing instructions. And she talked.

“Austin is my only brother. He’s a year older than me. We were best of friends until Father took him into the business. Then we hardly saw each other. And when we did, Austin felt duty bound to agree with Father’s opinions.”

Eddie heard the sour note in her tone. “Did he agree with your father’s plans for you?” Seemed to him if the situation was as intolerable as Linette believed, her brother should have intervened.

When the board was in place, Linette stepped back. She tugged at her earlobe. “I think Austin felt sorry for me, but like he said, neither of us had much choice about what we would do with our lives.” She sighed heavily. “I think Austin would have preferred to farm rather than work in an office, but Father wouldn’t hear of it.” She shrugged. “Guess it proves men aren’t always able to make free choices, either.”

He nodded. “We all have duties and obligations.” He returned his attention to the project at hand and cut the next piece of trim.

Linette sprang forward to help. “Mort—that’s the man who let me help construct the outbuilding for storing grain—he said it needed to be solid and tight to keep the grain dry. He said a man’s character is revealed by the quality of his work. ’Course, he didn’t say the same about a woman’s work, but I expect it’s true.” She held a piece of wood in place. When it was secured, she stepped back. “I’d say Mort was right. For instance, I can tell much about you by what I see here.”