Catching Kent (17 page)

“
Good luck.”

“
You think your father
might say no?” Kent asked, his stomach tensing.

“
Oh, he’ll say yes,” Adam
assured him. “I meant good luck being married to her.”

“
That’s horrible,” Harriett
admonished, though the smile betrayed her true feelings at his
joke.

They continued their walk to the
house, and Kent entered the barn where Eli was helping Mr. Larson
put fencing supplies in the back of the wagon.

“
How did the afternoon go?”
Mr. Larson called out to Kent as he approached him.

Kent collected a couple of the poles
on the ground and placed them beside the others in the wagon.
“Didn’t Adam and Harriett tell you?”

“
All they said was that
they didn’t enjoy it.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “But you
look like you had a better time.”

Despite himself, heat rose up his neck
and to his face. “Yes, sir. I did.”

Eli set more poles in the wagon and
snickered. “I saw you and Rose holding hands on the
porch.”

“
Eli,” Mr. Larson said, a
hint of warning in his voice, “that’s enough. Make sure the cows
have water in their troughs.”

Eli’s shoulders slumped but he hurried
out of the barn to do as his father asked.

“
Don’t mind him,” Mr.
Larson told Kent as he grabbed some barbed wire and placed it next
to the poles. “We don’t get much excitement on the farm. Anything
out of the ordinary gets noticed right away.”

At least he didn’t seem upset by Eli’s
comment. That was better than he hoped. “You want help?” he asked
as Mr. Larson retrieved more barbed wire.

“
Sure. Grab a pair of
gloves from over there.”

Kent hurried to the table in the
corner of the barn and slipped the gloves on before returning to
him. He leaned down and grabbed a good amount of wire then put it
in the wagon.

“
What’s on your mind?” Mr.
Larson asked.

“
Well, sir—”

“
You can call me
Dave.”

Kent picked up more wire and placed
the last bundle in the wagon. “Alright. Dave.” It felt strange to
refer to the man by his first name. He’d never addressed anyone’s
father so informally before, but he had learned that out west,
people were more lenient on what was socially acceptable. Clearing
his throat, he gathered some poles to put in the wagon. “I’m not
graceful at this sort of thing.”

“
Putting things into a
wagon?”

At first, Kent thought he was serious,
but noting the twinkle in Dave’s eye, he laughed. “Honestly, I
don’t put things in wagons. I mean, I do that here, but I haven’t
had the need to do it in the past. You see, sir…Dave, I come from
money.”

Dave stopped putting poles in the
wagon and focused on him. “Did those men attack you for your
money?”

“
Yes.”

“
I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “I learned long ago, it’s
just money. The money and clothes can be replaced. Losing my
uncle’s pocket watch is what hurt. It was his gift to me,” he
softly replied, lowering his gaze to the poles on the ground before
picking them up. “Anyway, that’s long gone and I’ve decided not to
dwell on it. I can’t bring it back. But that’s not why I wanted to
talk to you.”

“
You want to court Rose and
eventually marry her.”

Still holding the poles, he managed to
make eye contact with him. He took a deep breath and nodded. “I
would but I won’t without your permission.”

Dave leaned against the wagon and
smiled. “I’d be happy to have you for a son-in-law.”

Startled that it was that easy, he
almost dropped the poles. He quickly regained his composure and
returned his smile. “Thank you.”

“
You have no reason to be
nervous around me. I think very well of you.”

“
Thank you. Again.” He had
no idea how much Kent appreciated that. Realizing he was still
holding the poles, he placed them into the wagon. “You don’t have
to worry about your daughter’s future. Most of my money is in
investments, but I have a substantial amount of wealth. I didn’t
carry the significant portion of it with me on the
train.”

“
Kent, you don’t have to
prove that you’ll be good for my daughter. I already know you’ll
be. As for money, it’s nice to know she’ll be provided for, but I’m
more concerned that you’ll love her, which I already know you
do.”

“
You do?”

With a wry grin, he said, “Anyone
who’ll eat all of her stew has to love her.”

He chuckled. “She won’t have to cook.
I’ll have someone else do that.”

“
Well, it was a nice
gesture. She felt bad about how it turned out. She’s always given
it her best shot, but cooking isn’t something she’s good at. I’m
afraid she takes after me that way.”

Before Kent could respond, Rose came
into the barn wearing her riding pants and shirt. “Pa, can Kent and
I go for a horse ride? I think he’s healed up enough to enjoy a
ride through the fields.”

“
Which horse do you want to
take?” Dave asked Kent. “We have two you can choose from. Rose will
want to take her mare.”

“
He’s right,” Rose told
Kent. “I was the first one to ride Pink Lady and she hasn’t let
anyone else ride her since.”

“
Poor Harriett cried for
days over that one,” her father added as he retrieved the last
group of poles and put them in the wagon. “Trust me, Kent. Few
things are as heartbreaking as watching a ten-year-old girl
cry.”

“
She rides Dee and Dee’s a
good horse,” Rose replied. “So it all worked out.”

Kent thought to tease Rose that it
wasn’t fair that every man and every animal seemed to be drawn to
her but thought better of it. In some ways, it would be flattering
to be desired by so many. In other ways, it would be hard if you
didn’t want all the attention. And he sensed that Rose wished that
the men would stop clamoring for her and pursue her sister instead.
That was bound to be easier once word got out about their
engagement.

Turning his attention back to Dave, he
said, “Any steed you give me will be fine.”

“
I know just the one,” Rose
interrupted as her father started to speak. “Can I get
Hammer?”

Dave nodded and she grabbed a bridle
then hurried out of the side door of the barn to get him from the
pasture.

“
Hammer?” Kent asked,
wondering how the horse got its name.

“
Eli named him when he was
five. To this day, no one knows why he picked Hammer for a
name.”

He glanced at the side door and since
Rose hadn’t returned, he asked, “Can I ask you a favor?”

“
Sure. What is
it?”

“
I’d rather not tell Rose
about the extent of my wealth until after I marry her. I want to
give her time to know me as I am. Some people don’t know how to
respond to me once they realize I’m rich.”

“
I understand. I’ll let you
tell her when you’re ready.”

“
Thank you.”

Rose returned with Hammer, leading him
by his bridle. “Are you ready to go for a ride?” she asked Kent,
her excitement reaching out and affecting him.

He glanced at her father. “Is there
anything else you’d like me to do?”

“
No. Eli, Adam, and I got
it,” he replied, waving him toward the horse. “Just be sure to stay
within viewing distance.”

“
Will you be putting the
fence by the stream?” Rose asked as she tied the horse to a pole.
“I want to show Kent that part of our land.”

“
I will.”

“
Good!” She turned to Kent,
her eyes sparkling. “I’ll get the horses ready while you
change.”

After Kent removed his gloves, he
placed them back on the table and headed for the house to put on a
pair of jeans suitable for riding.

Chapter Fifteen

“
Isn’t is lovely?” Rose
asked.

Kent looked at the gentle slope of the
field that went to the river that ran through the Larsons’
property. Despite the heat of the day, the wind made it bearable,
but even so, he had no idea how Dave and his sons managed to be out
in the sun when it was beating down on them. He glanced at the
group who was a good way off. They diligently worked together,
pounding in each post so they were spaced equally apart. The heat
didn’t seem to bother them, but he supposed that was because they
were used to it.

He turned his attention back to Rose.
“It is a nice view.”

“
This is my favorite spot.
I like to come here at least once a week and take time to enjoy
it.”

Unable to resist the urge to tease
her, he asked, “Do you daydream while here?”

She offered a playful shrug.
“Maybe.”

“
What do you daydream
about?”

“
Well, sometimes I imagine
what it’s like to be a bird so I can see what the river looks like
from up in the sky. Sometimes I imagine what it’s like to be a fish
swimming in the river.”

“
Have you ever been down
there to take a swim to find out what it’s like to be a
fish?”

“
Not as much as I used to.
When I was a child, I went down there a lot during the summer. But
now I have to tend to the animals and laundry most of the time so I
don’t get down there as much as I used to.”

“
Does that disappoint
you?”

“
No. I love taking care of
the animals, especially the horses. The good thing about animals is
that you can talk to them as much as you want and they never get
tired of listening to you.”

He chuckled. “I think it’s good that
you can be happy no matter what you’re doing.”

“
I think being happy is a
decision a person makes.”

She was probably right. He remembered
a time when he had endeavored not to let his father dictate his
life, but one thing led to another and before he knew it, he got
sucked into doing what his father wanted. Had it not been for his
uncle, he didn’t know where he’d be today. Perhaps Rose was happy
because she did what she wanted, regardless of what others said to
discourage her. She didn’t give up on her dreams but kept going,
even when things looked bleak.

“
How do you do it, Rose?”
he softly asked. “How do you decide to be happy?”

“
I’m not sure how to
explain it,” she replied, a thoughtful expression on her pretty
face. “When bad things happen, I try to find something good that
can come from it. Sometimes the good thing doesn’t happen right
away, but I find if I’m patient long enough, I’ll discover what it
is. Like when I was a girl and used to go barefoot everywhere. One
day, I walked on some thistles. Needless to say, it was a painful
experience. I learned to wear shoes when outside and my feet have
been good ever since.”

He smiled. “There are a lot of
thistles in this world.”

“
Then you’re better off
wearing lots of shoes.”

Laughing, he said, “I won’t argue with
that.” He pulled on the reins so the horse brought him closer to
her. Cupping the side of her face with his free hand, he whispered,
“Don’t let anyone stop you from being happy.”

“
I won’t.”

“
Good.” He stroked her
cheek with his thumb, noting how wonderfully soft her skin was.
Lowering his hand, he cleared his throat. “It’s your most endearing
quality.”

“
Will you give me another
kiss?”

With a glance at her father and
brothers, he shook his head. “We’ll have plenty of time to kiss
after we’re married.”

“
What if I tell you that I
can be happier if you kiss me?”

“
I’d say that you already
had your kiss and should be content with that.”

“
But I’m not. I want
another one.”

“
More kisses will come in
due time.” He urged his horse away from hers. “Is there anywhere
else you want to show me while we’re out here?”

Though she sighed in disappointment,
she nodded. “There’s a nice section of land right along the
cornfield where you can get a good view of some hills.”

“
Lead the way.”

She did and he followed her, unable to
stop the smile that crossed his face. She was like a breath of
fresh air, and he knew without a doubt that she’d make his life
worth living.

***

A week later, Kent waited on the porch
while Dave got the wagon ready to take him to town.

“
Why are you leaving?” Rose
asked.

“
I already told you three
times why I’m doing this,” he replied, his gaze turning to
her.

“
I know but it doesn’t make
any sense.”

“
Rose, I can’t stay in the
same house with you when we’re courting. Besides, my money came in
and I need to get the plans started on our house. I want to get
everything together before we get married.”