Big Sky Rancher (20 page)

“Lucas, I've tricked you tonight. I planned this. Sally Jo said if I wanted you, I should go after you. So I did. Will you forgive me for being so sneaky, so…underhanded?”

His laugh was without rancor. “Bless Sally Jo,” he murmured. “She's a smart lady. I'm happy you took her advice, Jen. It seems I owe her.”

T
HE WAGON
was loaded quickly. Jennifer carried bundles and boxes out to the lumbering conveyance Lucas had brought around to the backyard. A supply of milk and eggs were in one box, along with two loaves of fresh bread Ida had pressed into Jennifer's willing hands.

“You'll have enough to do, what with unpacking and putting things to rights, without having to mix up a batch of bread, girl.” A good-size chunk of butter joined the provisions and then Ida stood in the middle of the kitchen contemplating the shelves of food visible from her viewpoint. “Maybe you ought to take along a kettle of soup for your dinner,” she said, her forehead wrinkling as she considered the worth of that idea.

“I'll take it,” Jennifer said. “You needn't ask twice, Ida. Lucas will be hungry by the time he hauls all this clutter into the house.”

Ida grinned. “He won't mind. Not one little bit. I've never seen a man any more delighted with a turn of events than he is this morning. He's been whistling since he got out of bed, pret'near.”

“How do you know?” Jennifer was shocked by the idea that Ida had heard Lucas's early morning teasing.

“I know where you slept last night, and I'd be willing to bet he wasn't two feet from you all night.”

“You'd win.” Hands down, Jennifer thought, smiling as she
recalled the night they'd spent curled around Susan, only their hands touching. Lucas had muttered his displeasure, warning her that, “Tomorrow night will be different.”

“I'm glad, Jen.” Ida's eyes filled with tears and they rolled down her plump cheeks. “You belong together, the three of you.”

“I think so, too. But my parents may take Susan back to New York and raise her there.”

“Can they really do that?”

“Lucas says not, but I'm not too sure of the ground they're standing on. They're the grandparents and their claim is stronger than mine. She's all they have left.”

“They've got you, girl. And there's a lot to be said for that.” Ida's voice was rough, her demeanor indignant as she spoke.

Jennifer waved her hand as if to dismiss the woman's opinion. “It can't be helped, and if I can't persuade them otherwise, they'll take her with them. But I'm willing to try to change their minds. You know that Lucas will make a good impression on them.”

“You think so, huh?” From the doorway behind her, the familiar tones teased her. She spun to face him and barely resisted running into his arms. “You about ready, sweetheart?” he asked, picking up the last lot of belongings. Her valise and a huge box of baby things remained, and Jennifer cast a long look around the kitchen, as if imprinting it on her memory.

“I'm ready,” she said, sad at the leave-taking and yet pleased to be setting up her life with Lucas again. This time on better footing, she reminded herself. And for that she owed Ida more than she could say. Perhaps a hug would solve that problem, she decided, and approached her friend with outstretched arms.

“I love you, Ida. I'll miss you so much.”

“Well, you always got a place to come to if Luc doesn't
treat you right, you know.” Ida's eyes twinkled as she spoke and then her arms encircled Jennifer in a tight hug. “I'll take care of things here, Jen. Sally Jo has agreed to take over the financial part of the business and I think we can trust her to do the right thing by us.”

“I know we can.” Jennifer's words were confident. “And with Helen here, things will run well. You may have to find someone else to lend a hand though. This is a lot of work for two women.”

“I've already thought of someone I might get hold of,” Ida said. “Had her in mind when I realized you probably wouldn't be here forever.”

“And when was that?” Jennifer was truly puzzled by the statement.

“About the time I saw the determined look in Lucas's eye and I figured out that he planned to take you home.”

“I won't argue that one.” With a happy smile, Jennifer picked up the baby from the chair she'd occupied at the table and tucked her tightly into her right arm. “I'm ready,” she said, nodding at Lucas. He lifted the last of his load and opened the door, one big foot holding it until Jennifer could pass him and step onto the porch. Buster watched them, resignation on his face, as if he recognized the departure of his favorite human would bring about changes in his life, not to mention his place in this house at bedtime.

“I'll be out one day soon,” Ida said, brushing a last kiss on Jennifer's cheek and then aiming another at Susan, catching her unaware and causing her to giggle and squirm.

Lucas lifted both woman and child high in the air and settled them on the wagon seat, where he joined them in moments.

“'Bye, Ida,” he said with a happy smile. “Take good care
of yourself. You'll have two more rooms to rent now. Shall I send some men by?”

“Heavens, no,” she retorted. “I've got a waiting list a yard long. All I'll have to do is wait a couple of hours or so and the next two men on my list will be showing up, champing at the bit, anxious to move in.”

She waved as the wagon moved ahead, through the side yard and then out onto the road. Jennifer turned in the seat, keeping her friend in sight as long as she could, lifting one hand in a final flourish as they gained the road and the horses broke into a quick trot.

“Are you content with being on your way home, Jen?” Lucas's look was solemn as he sought her gaze. “I didn't rush you too fast, did I?”

She smiled at him, adjusting Susan on her lap. “I think I'm the one who did the rushing, Mr. O'Reilly. If my memory serves me, it was
my
doing that got us to this point.”

“If you hadn't come calling last night, I'd planned on dragging you out of bed and carrying you across the hall anyway. I'd about had enough of sleeping alone and reaching for you in the night.”

“You haven't slept with me for that many nights,” she told him. “At least, not many nights that seemed to please you like the one just past.”

“I was pleased.” His admission was quick, his voice low, as if he might find an audience listening. “It was a dream come true, Jen. I'd been so lonesome without you.”

“You saw me every day.”

“That's not what I mean. There's seeing you and then there's having you close to me. I'd gone about as long as I could without something giving way between us.”

“And are you happy now?” She looked down at Susan, holding the baby's fingers, bending to kiss the soft, rosy cheek she could not resist.

“What do you think?” He held the reins in one hand and slid the other arm around her, scooting her across the wide seat to nestle next to his side. “I've never been so happy, Jen. My claim is producing well. My partner is cooperating with me, filling his shoes and mine, too, while I sort things out. Our house is waiting for us. And best of all, my wife is here with me, and she loves me.” As if that were the epitome of success, he tossed his head back and laughed. “What more could any man want?”

She leaned her head against his shoulder, willing to be a submissive wife today. And then a stray thought zipped through her mind. “You didn't leave the house a mess, did you?” She tilted her head to one side and looked up at him, meeting his amused gaze.

“You know better. If I had any hope of bringing you home with me, I knew I'd better clean up behind myself and not leave anything to chance.”

 

H
E'D DONE QUITE WELL
, Jennifer thought, standing in the middle of the big kitchen, sorting out boxes of supplies as Lucas carried them in. Susan was sleeping in the middle of the big bed upstairs, pillows surrounding her.

The kitchen showed the evidence of Lucas's attempts at housekeeping and not for the world would she criticize the pile of dust and dirt he'd swept into one corner or the mess he'd made of the big iron skillet, washing it and ruining the surface with soap and water. It might take her a week to season it properly again, but she'd never let on for a minute that he'd erred in his care of anything in this house.

The floor needed a good scrubbing, and bits and pieces of dried egg yolk and crumbs of bread on the table were mute evidence that he'd managed to put together a few meals on his own before he'd moved into the boardinghouse.

And into her heart.

And where that thought had come from, she didn't know. Only that it was so.

 

L
UCAS SPENT
the rest of the day helping her set things to rights, toting obediently when she pointed a finger at a box or bundle, placing everything where it belonged. They ate Ida's soup at noontime, and Jennifer worked hard to put together a meal he would enjoy after his long day's work was done.

He brought the cow home from a neighbor's house and gathered the chickens from the yard where they'd run wild while the house was empty, eating the chicken feed he'd scattered hither and yon for their sustenance. Late in the day he carried a bucket of milk into the springhouse and reappeared moments later, his long strides bringing him to the back porch, where he took off his boots in deference to the freshly scrubbed floor.

“Come wash up. Supper's ready.” With a flourish, Jennifer lifted the lid from her big Dutch oven and exposed the contents to his view. A beef stew simmered beneath a covering of big, fluffy dumplings and Lucas lifted an eyebrow as he gazed at it with appreciation.

“You've learned well, Mrs. O'Reilly. I never would have thought the bride I brought home would have caught on so quickly.”

“I was hopeless,” she said, laughing at the memory. “You put up with an awful lot, Lucas.”

“You'll have to make it up to me.” He pouted nicely, moving across the kitchen toward her. “It looks like you have enough food there for a small army. That's a good beginning, ma'am.”

A horse's neigh outside brought Lucas's head up quickly and he turned back to the door, his stance that of a man ready for whatever might come. “We have callers.” His voice was harsh and Jennifer didn't need to look past him to know who the visitors might be.

“My parents.” She walked to the door and his hand was on her shoulder.

“Are you all right?” Warm and comforting, the heat of his body sheltered her and she turned her head, the better to meet his gaze.

“I'll be fine.” But her heart jolted within her chest as she recognized that she might never be the same again. If she lost Susan, she would have a huge, empty gap where once a baby had filled her heart.

She stepped outdoors and greeted her parents. “Lucas said I'd cooked enough for a small army,” she told them with a smile. “We've plenty to eat. Come on in.”

Both her mother and father looked surprised by the greeting. “We found out in town how to get here,” her father said. “Rented a buggy and headed this way.”

“Well, you must be hungry,” Jennifer told them, hugging her mother and then planting a quick kiss on her father's cheek. “Come on in. Lucas will go up and get the baby. She must be about awake by now. She's slept the whole afternoon away.”

Jennifer's mother pressed her lips together. “I've been so anxious to see her. Kyle took her away without any notice at all, and we've been frantic, worrying about her.”

“How did you—”

Her father waved his hand. “Kyle told us he'd been set upon and beaten terribly by your husband, and the baby had vanished.”

“He lied.” It was all she could say, so great was her anger at the untruthfulness of Kyle's statements. “He knew where Susan was. He knew I had her.”

“Well, we're here now,” her mother said. “Come on in, Joseph. I'm curious to see the house where our daughter lives. Not to mention to meet the man she married.”

The supper was approved of by all, Lucas playing down his surprise at the tastiness of Jennifer's offering. “She's a good cook,” he told her mother. “Had a good teacher. I brought out a widow lady from town and she had an apt pupil. Jennifer catches on to everything quickly.” His look in her direction made Jennifer blush, and she stored up her aggravation with him for a later time.
Jennifer catches on to everything quickly.

The man might just as well have bragged about her prowess in his bed. Although the double meaning in his words seemed to have gone over her mother's head, her father exchanged a look with Lucas that seemed to please them both.

Susan held her audience in the palm of her hand, eating well, smiling at the table full of beaming adults and reaching for Lucas after she had eaten her fill.

“How long will it be before she calls me ‘Grandpa'?” Joseph asked Jennifer.

Jennifer felt quick tears as she bent her head. “She's a smart little thing,” she said, her voice choking on the words. “She's just beginning to make sounds that mimic words.”

“Well, I hope she likes the room we've prepared for her,
and the nanny we've hired,” Joseph said. “She's an Irish girl. Together with her mother, they make quite a pair, one of them keeping the house, the other just waiting to get her hands on the baby.”

“They'll love her.” Jennifer stood and began clearing the table. The pan of stew and dumplings was almost empty, and her father spoke from behind her.

“Don't be throwing that out now, Jen. I'll have it for breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” She turned to him in surprise. “I thought maybe bacon or sausage gravy would be good.”

“You can eat all the bacon you like. I'll settle for this,” he said, peering into the contents of the kettle she held. “In fact, I'd finish it up now, but I haven't any more room.”

“Not even enough for custard pie?” Jennifer went to the pantry and brought out the pie she'd baked earlier while Lucas was rounding up his livestock.

Joseph patted his stomach. “I'll manage to find room, somehow.”