Cassandra Austin (7 page)

C
hristian stepped into the sunlight and stretched. Arlen started past him on his way to the house, but Christian caught his arm. “Did you see Lynnette come back?”

“No.” Arlen turned. “Were you watching for her?”

Christian cast his brother a careless grin that he hoped was convincing. “You said you enjoyed it.”

Arlen threw a mock punch toward Christian’s face. “I think I changed my mind.”

“Fine,” Christian said, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “But I don’t think she’s back.”

“Don’t be silly. She wouldn’t have walked far. I’m sure she slipped past us.” Arlen clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s get cleaned up for lunch.”

Inside the house, Arlen headed for the washroom, but Christian went in search of Emily. He found her curled up in one of the big overstuffed chairs, a book in her lap. She put the book aside when he entered the room.

“Where has everybody been?” she asked as she stretched.

“Lynnette isn’t back?”

“Back from where? I haven’t seen her all morning.”

All morning probably meant the past hour. Christian started for the stairs as he asked, “Have you checked her room?”

“She isn’t there. And she isn’t in the kitchen with Martha. And she isn’t in Papa’s study.”

Christian paused, one foot on the bottom step. She could be exploring the rest of the house or somewhere around the yard, but he doubted it. Somehow he knew he would have seen her come back.

“Tell Martha to hold lunch for a little while, will you?” he asked as he started across the room. Arlen opened the washroom door just before Christian could pound on it. “She isn’t back,” he said, already turning toward the back door.

“What do you mean, she isn’t back?” Arlen at least followed as he asked the question. “Surely she’s around someplace.”

In the barn, Christian began saddling a horse. Arlen hesitated before he did the same. “Maybe she got tired and is waiting for someone to come get her.”

Christian cast his brother a skeptical look. If that was the case, he sure hoped Arlen was the one who found her. He would have no patience for such foolishness.

“Do you think she fell or something?” Arlen asked a moment later.

“That or got lost,” Christian suggested. His horse
was nearly saddled. He was eager to be about the search, but this was Arlen’s girl, and he should be in charge.

“I don’t think she’d go far enough to get lost. That trail she took is pretty well defined for more than a mile. If we follow it, we’ll find her.”

Christian nodded. “You go ahead. I’ll head for the bluff and see if I can spot her, just in case she did get lost.”

They swung into their saddles and left the barn. Christian told himself his brother was right. A city girl would have tired after half a mile. She might have sat down to rest and fallen asleep. But he didn’t think so. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling she would have gone beyond the trail. He remembered the purposeful way in which she had walked past the barn.

Or maybe he was unwilling to think about her being hurt. And that was really the most likely explanation. It would be easy enough to fall and sprain an ankle, or worse. Especially for a city girl.

Christian leaned forward in the saddle as he urged the horse up the steep trail that snaked to the top of the hill behind the ranch yard. He reached the top of the bluff in a matter of minutes. He patted the horse’s neck as he looked around and spotted her immediately.

She was a pink figure in the distance walking toward him. Not stumbling, not running, but walking. She raised a hand but it seemed more a greeting than a hail. “Maybe she doesn’t know she’s lost,” he muttered before riding toward her.

It seemed odd that she would continue walking even
as he came to her rescue. He expected her to collapse at any moment, but she didn’t stop until he drew up beside her. She squinted against the sun as she smiled up at him. “I’m lost, I’m afraid. Will I be able to see the ranch house from the top of this hill?”

She pointed, and he turned to see how far he had come from the bluff. “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“Thank you.” She started on.

He watched her for a moment before reining the horse around. “Want a ride?” he asked, as he drew up beside her.

She eyed the horse a moment as if she were tempted. “No, thank you,” she said instead. “I’m sure you’re busy.”

Christian laughed, and she cast him a curious smile. “I’m busy looking for you.”

“Oh dear,” she murmured. She turned a little pale, showing off a touch of sunburn on her nose. “Are there others looking for me as well?”

“Only Arlen.” He thought of Arlen expecting to find a helpless heap no more than half a mile from the house. Instead she had walked for miles and still wasn’t complaining.

“I’m terribly sorry,” she said.

He kicked his left foot out of the stirrup and reached an arm toward her. She hesitated only a moment before climbing up behind him. When she had wrapped her arms around his waist he started toward the bluff.

She felt very warm pressed against his back. He told himself he was going slowly because she wasn’t an experienced rider. At the bluff he stopped. “You
might want to brace your hands behind you and lean back as we go down.”

He felt her peer cautiously around him. “We’re going to ride down that? I think I’ll walk.”

“I think you’ve walked enough for one day.”

“I’m afraid to let go,” she whispered.

“Then don’t let go,” he said gently. “Just be prepared for me to lean back a little. All right?”

He felt her nod against his back. She really clung to him now. He wished he knew how to make her feel more secure. “We could ride the long way around,” he suggested.

She shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I don’t want to cause any more trouble than I have already.”

“You haven’t caused much trouble,” he said, starting the horse slowly down the steep trail. “In fact, you were close to finding your own way back.”

“I feel foolish for getting lost on my very first day.” Her voice sounded strained as if she would rather hold her breath than talk.

“Would tomorrow have been better?”

“I suppose not,” she murmured against his back.

“That was a joke,” he said gently. He wanted to turn and look at her. He wished he had put her in front of him where he could wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe. He tried to dismiss the image.

“I know. I’m laughing on the inside.”

“Yeah,” Christian said, feeling her arms loosen slightly. “I think I hear the vibrations in your voice.”

She did laugh then, nervously. “What you hear is terror.”

“Really?” Christian eased the horse around the last
hairpin turn. “I never would have guessed. Course, I do kinda feel like there’s a vise around my rib cage, but I just figured that was sisterly affection. Emily does the same from time to time.”

Behind him, Lynnette tried to think of a clever retort. The truth was she felt more embarrassed than frightened now. She really had been clinging to this near-stranger as though her life depended on it. Which it did, or at least seemed to.

She forced her eyes open and found they had nearly reached the bottom of the hill. When they leveled off and Christian sat upright again, she let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure but she thought she heard him chuckle. Well, what difference did it make if he thought she was a frightened little ninny? His opinion hardly mattered. Still she loosened her grip around his waist and tried to sit up straighter.

As the horse walked toward the house, Lynnette became more aware of the ride itself. It was rather fun feeling the horse’s movement beneath her, seeing the world from about eight feet off the ground instead of five and a half. What would it be like to actually sit in the saddle and control the horse herself? She would have to ask Arlen to take her the next time he wasn’t busy.

Emily came out the back door to meet them as Christian drew the horse to a stop. He helped her down the same way he had helped her up, though she was sure she was even more awkward the second time. With her feet on the ground again she removed her hat, which was hopelessly askew, and looked up at him. She would have loved to retreat to the house
without speaking, but good manners forced her to smile. “Thank you for finding me and bringing me back,” she said.

His smile brought out his dimples. “I’ll tell Arlen that the lost is found.” He touched his heels to the horse and headed toward the trail beyond the barn at a pace that made her realize how slowly the horse had walked while she was aboard.

She stared after him until Emily touched her arm. “Your nose is sunburned. Come inside and get cleaned up. Martha will know what to put on the burn.”

In the washroom, Emily pointed out the pump and showed her where clean towels were stored. “You can have a bath, if you like. It won’t take long to heat some water.”

“No, thanks,” Lynnette said, pumping a basin full of water. “I’ve delayed lunch long enough. Besides, the cold water will feel good.”

When Emily had left to find Martha, Lynnette slipped out of her dress and washed. She had loosened her hair and was running her fingers through the tangles when she heard a knock on the door. “It’s me,” Emily said.

Lynnette kept herself hidden by the door as she let the girl in. “Are the men back yet?”

“I heard them ride in while I was in the kitchen. They have the horses to unsaddle. You want to make a dash for the stairs?”

“I don’t think so,” Lynnette said with a grin. “But I am afraid I’ll have to change my dress before lunch.

It’s terribly wrinkled, and I seem to have torn the hem in a couple places.”

“I can bring what you need down here,” Emily suggested.

“Thanks for the offer,” Lynnette said, pulling the wrinkled dress on again. “But I’ll go up myself. The men might want the washroom.”

Emily shrugged. “Oh. Here’s the ointment Martha sent for the sunburn. If it’s really bad, she said she’d make a baking soda paste.”

Lynnette sniffed the ointment and drew back.

Emily laughed at her reaction. “It’s punishment for staying out in the sun.”

Lynnette screwed the lid back on the jar. “My nose is barely pink,” she said. “I’ll see if a little cold cream doesn’t take care of it”

“Good thinking,” said Emily.

They left the washroom laughing and nearly ran into Arlen. His stern expression made Lynnette sober immediately.

“Lynnette, darling, I’ve been so worried. Whatever possessed you to wander off like that?”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I thought you had fallen or been bitten by a snake.” Arlen took her arm and drew her into the living room. At the nearest chair he took both her shoulders, and Lynnette wondered if he would have pushed her into the chair if she hadn’t sat down. “I want you to promise not to walk alone again.”

“But Arlen—”

“I suppose you were upset that I was busy.”

Lynnette shook her head, too stunned to speak, but
Arlen was pacing across the room and didn’t notice. “If it was possible, I would spend every minute with you, but the ranch and the campaign are going to take some of my time.” He paced in the other direction, barely looking at her. “You will have to find some other way to amuse yourself. I had hoped Emily would prove a suitable companion.”

A glance toward the doorway revealed Emily with her hands on her hips, glaring in Arlen’s direction.

“Arlen.” Lynnette was only partially successful at getting his attention. He turned in her direction, but he kept talking.

“Look at what happened to you. Your dress is torn and wrinkled, your shoes are dirty, and your face is burned. And it could have been much worse. What if Christian hadn’t found you so quickly? You might have been wandering around on the bluff for hours.” He came to kneel beside the chair. “Promise me you won’t do it again, Lynnette.”

Lynnette took in the concerned face. She knew he meant well, even though he had managed to make her feel stupid and helpless. Christian had said she had nearly found her own way back. Perhaps he was just being kind. Still, until she had gotten lost, she had really enjoyed the walk. She gave Arlen a contrite smile. “I promise I won’t get lost again,” she said, hoping that would satisfy him.

“Good girl,” he said, coming to his feet and offering her a hand. “Now, we both need to get cleaned up for lunch. Run along to your room to change.”

He walked toward the washroom, and Lynnette, uncertain how to take his little lecture, watched him go.
Christian stood beside Emily. How long he had been there, she could only guess. Lynnette spun quickly and hurried for the stairs. She wasn’t sure which humiliated her more, being scolded by Arlen, or knowing Christian, as well as Emily, heard.

Lynnette changed her dress and fixed her hair as quickly as she could, determined that she wouldn’t be the last one ready for lunch. When she came down the stairs a few minutes later, she was pleased to see that only Christian and Emily were in the dining room and had not yet taken their places at the table.

“Do we have to wait for Papa, too?” Emily asked. “I’m starving.”

“You should eat breakfast, Muffin. But no, Pa took a lunch. And I’m only giving the other two about three more minutes.”

“Then I’m just in time,” Lynnette said, stepping off the bottom stair and turning into the dining room. She knew Christian watched her. Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, she walked to the balcony doors and looked out on the valley.

“Go tell Martha we’re ready,” she heard Christian say.

“
You
tell her,” was Emily’s response.

“No,
you
tell her,” Christian repeated, but she heard his footsteps as he moved toward the kitchen and knew it was safe to turn around.

“I feel like I’ve messed up everyone’s day,” Lynnette said to Emily.

“Don’t be silly. It’s barely twelve-thirty. We’re not
that punctual around here, believe me. Especially at noon. Sometimes we don’t even try to eat together.”

Lynnette smiled her thanks. Before she could speak, Christian came out of the kitchen. He tried to run softly in his boots. “Quick. Act like we’ve been waiting forever.”