Dakota Home (18 page)

But try as she might, Merrily couldn't forget Buffalo Bob. A few months later, she'd returned, just to see if he was still around. Lo and behold 3 OF A KIND remained open and her Buffalo Man was so happy to see her, he hired her on the spot. She stayed longer that time, but took off a few weeks later, figuring that eventually Bob would grow weary of her company. That was what had happened repeatedly in the past. Men got tired of her and found a younger, prettier woman with more to offer.

Buffalo Bob hadn't shown any signs of that, but she'd convinced herself he would. If not this week, then the next. She'd packed up her things and taken off while she still could, with her heart intact, money in her pocket and a place to go. After a few months in the cold, dark North Dakota winter, sunny California had sounded good.

Again, within a few days, she'd found herself wishing she was back with her Buffalo Man. She'd stayed away a few weeks and then she'd returned. Bob gave Merrily her old room, but she spent most of her nights with him. Every time she came back, he'd been delighted to see her; it was something she could count on. Her job was always waiting for her, too, and whenever she was away, she found herself thinking about Bob and the people in Buffalo Valley. The town was beginning to feel like home. She'd never had a real home, not in all her life.

During the past three years, she'd gotten to know the people in Buffalo Valley. For the most part, they were friendly and neighborly, just the way she'd always thought people should be. What she appreciated most was that they seemed to accept her as she was.

Another thing. She didn't have to worry about any of the customers making passes at her—a bonus of working for Buffalo Bob. The men in the community had old-fashioned values and respected the fact that she was Bob's woman. And if any stranger showed too much of an interest in her—well, Bob was a big man.

Dammit, he loved her! She thought of the time the big refrigerator had broken down and Bob had a huge repair bill. He never discussed money worries, but she knew he was concerned about meeting expenses. Because she loved him, she'd offered to give up her wages. He'd misunderstood and assumed she'd come to him for a loan. Even when he had so little himself, he'd said he would let her have as much as he could.

No one had ever been willing to do that for her. Not without wanting a down payment first, like her body…or her soul. Such unconditional love had flustered her. She'd raced to her room, pretending to be furious when in reality it was his generosity that had caused her tears.

She'd run shortly thereafter, all the way back to California. She had ties there now. Someone who needed her more than Bob. Someone who depended on her.

It was cruel to return to Buffalo Valley for only a few days, but she didn't have any choice. She'd stayed longer than she should have already; she needed to get back.

Bob never locked his office. The hinges creaked as she slowly opened the door. She knew the cash box was in his desk and the key was taped to the bottom of the drawer. She slid her hand beneath, feeling for the key.

As soon as she found it, she unfastened the lock and opened the box. When she lifted the lid, she was amazed to find the box nearly full of cash. There must be several hundred dollars here, perhaps as much as a thousand. It was more cash than she'd seen in a very long time.

Sucking in a deep breath, she reached for a stack of twenties and counted. She took five twenties and one ten-dollar bill, figuring that was what he owed her for the few days she'd worked serving tables.

“Take all you want, Merrily.”

His voice startled her, and she nearly upset the entire box.

“I wasn't stealing your money if that's what you think,” she snapped, her defenses kicking in.

“I didn't think you were.” His voice was cold and hard.

“I took a hundred and ten dollars.” She splayed out the money for his inspection, wanting him to know she wasn't cheating him. “My pay for—”

“I already said I believed you.”

Merrily wished to hell she hadn't lingered that last hour, watching Bob, touching him, silently saying her goodbyes.

“You're leaving again?”

She nodded; she couldn't meet his eyes.

“That's what I thought.” He turned and walked out of the room.

Merrily hastily returned the money box and retaped the key to the bottom of the drawer. She found Bob in the kitchen, sitting at the table, holding a mug of steaming coffee, his gaze fixed on the far wall. He didn't look at her.

“Go on,” he said. “Go.”

“I planned on writing you a note.”

He slammed his fist down, rattling the table. “That's supposed to make me feel better?”

“I—”

“Get the hell out,” he shouted.

“Bob…”

“Buffalo Bob to you,” he insisted, his voice weighted with sarcasm. “Or better,
Mr.
Carr.”

“I have to leave,” she told him, wishing she could tell him the truth.

“Yeah, right.”

Merrily knew she should walk out the door and be done with it. Always in the past, she'd slipped away without a word, preferring to avoid confrontations. Verbal goodbyes made everything harder.

“I'll be back,” she promised.

“Yeah, that's generally the pattern.”

His eyes were so cold she barely recognized him. This was a side of Bob she'd never seen and it frightened her. He was angry and hurt and did nothing to control his feelings.

“Can I kiss you goodbye?” she asked, hating to part like this.

“No,” he responded without hesitation.

“All right,” she whispered.

“Get out,” he said, and motioned with his head toward the door.

She wanted to argue with him, but didn't know what to say. Grabbing her suitcase, she walked toward the back door. When she reached it, she paused and looked over her shoulder.

“It'd be best all around if you stayed away this time,” Buffalo Bob told her.

His words settled over her heart like an icy Dakota sleet. “You don't mean that.”

“The hell I don't,” he growled. “I don't need a woman who's constantly in and out of my life. Either you stay or you go, but whatever you decide, that's it.”

Merrily couldn't believe Bob would issue such an impossible ultimatum. “I…I can't stay.”

“Then get the hell out and don't come back.”

“Bob…”

“Go!” he shouted. He stood, nearly toppling his chair with the urgency of his movement. Pointing at the door, he stepped toward her, towering above her. “I'm telling you for the last time. Get the hell out of my life, and don't come back. Understand?”

Merrily nodded; she blinked away tears. As she opened the door, a gust of wet, cold wind slammed into her; she flinched as the icy air hit her face.

The door banged shut and she heard the sound of the lock sliding into place. Buffalo Bob had barred her from 3 OF A KIND and from his life in one fell swoop.

 

Lindsay Sinclair didn't think she'd ever looked forward to any Thanksgiving more than this one, her first as Gage's wife. Last year at this time, Gage had driven her into Grand Forks to catch her flight home. They were barely on speaking terms back then. Still, he'd kissed her before she boarded the plane. She'd felt that kiss to the very marrow of her bones. He'd asked her to come back to Buffalo Valley, and it was all Lindsay could think about while she was with her family in Savannah.

This year they were married. For their first Thanksgiving together, they'd invited Gage's mother, Leta, to dinner and Hassie Knight, who owned the pharmacy, and of course, Maddy. In addition, Lindsay and Gage's aunt Angela and her husband were driving over from Bismarck.

Angela was the illegitimate child of Lindsay's grandmother and Gage's grandfather—the result of a love affair before their separate marriages. Angela was their “love child,” to use an old-fashioned expression Lindsay preferred. Lindsay's desire to search for her—a woman given up for adoption more than fifty years before—had caused a major disagreement between her and Gage. Following her heart, Lindsay had searched, anyway, and she'd found Angela. Over the past months they'd all met several times and stayed in regular communication. After her initial shock, Angela had been hungry to learn what she could about her birth parents and meet the family she'd never known.

Kevin, Gage's younger brother, had flown in from Chicago the night before and his arrival was a surprise to all of them. Earlier in the year, Kevin had been awarded a scholarship to the school of the Art Institute of Chicago; the scholarship covered tuition and living expenses, but he had a limited allotment for travel. Kevin was originally scheduled to fly home for the Christmas holidays, but Lindsay and Gage would have only a short time with him then, since they'd be visiting her family in Georgia. Kevin had managed to purchase an airline ticket on fairly short notice, and Gage had picked him up in Grand Forks.

“You're up early,” her husband said as he made his way into the kitchen. Stretching his arms high above his head, he yawned loudly. He leaned down and petted Mutt and Jeff, Lindsay's two dogs. It'd taken some time for her dogs to accept Gage and longer for him to accept having them in the house. His own were working dogs who generally slept in the barn, and he joked that compared to them, Lindsay's pets were “the leisure class.”

“I'm getting the turkey ready for the oven,” she told him, mixing the sage dressing with her bare hands just as her mother had always done. The scents in the room were enticing—rubbed sage mixed with butter-fried sweet onions and celery. The dressing was her mother's specialty, and hers, too.

Gage walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “Do you need help? I don't want you lifting that turkey on your own, understand?”

“In that case, I'll let you set it in the oven for me.”

Her husband made a grumbling sound about the weight of the bird, which was nearly twenty-five pounds.

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. “Well, do you want dinner or not? Besides, the leftovers will feed us for a week.”

“Between Kevin and me, the leftovers might last a day.” He spread kisses along the back of her neck, sending goose bumps up and down her spine.

“Honey,” she whimpered, “would you kindly stop that? I've got work to do.”

He chuckled, then poured himself a cup of coffee. “Did you hear Kevin come in last night?”

“No, did you?” His younger brother had disappeared with the car almost immediately after he'd arrived, late in the afternoon. They'd known without his mentioning it where he was headed. Jessica's house.

The two of them had been high-school sweethearts all the previous year. They'd made no pledges to one another, no promises, but Lindsay knew that Jessica missed Kevin desperately. She wrote him nearly every day. Lindsay had often caught the girl writing her letters in class, when she should have been working on her assignments.

Lindsay was convinced that Kevin's unexpected arrival had more to do with seeing Jessica than any real homesickness. He'd been able to afford his ticket home after he'd painted a mural in an Italian restaurant. Already he was receiving compensation for his skill. It did Lindsay's heart good to see his artistic talent recognized.

Once she'd finished stuffing the bird, Gage carefully carried the roasting pan to the oven. Then, while her husband went to the barn to care for the animals, Lindsay reviewed her menu. Leta was bringing homemade dinner rolls, and Hassie had insisted on baking the pies. Aunt Angela had a fruit salad she wanted to contribute, along with her family's special Thanksgiving dish of mashed, buttery yams.

Although Lindsay told Maddy they had plenty of food, her friend had insisted on bringing a cranberry relish she'd made herself.

Since the blizzard, Lindsay and Maddy hadn't had much time to visit. Their weekly dinners had fallen off. With the holiday season beginning, Maddy was especially busy at the store; a large number of families had now signed up for her home delivery service, and she was working harder than ever. Lindsay wished Maddy would turn over the delivery route to one of the Loomis twins. So far she'd continued to make the trek on those icy country roads on her own. Even getting trapped in the blizzard hadn't dissuaded her.

Because there hadn't been much of a chance to talk lately, Lindsay had asked Maddy to arrive early. It would be good to sit down, just the two of them, and get caught up.

Lindsay showered and dressed, then set the table while she waited for Maddy. It was almost eleven by the time her friend drove into the yard. The first thing Lindsay noticed was how pale Maddy was, as though she'd recently recovered from a bout of the flu.

Lindsay hugged her. “When you moved to Buffalo Valley, I thought I'd see more of you,” she complained.

Maddy nodded. “I did, too.”

“Come sit down,” Lindsay said, leading Maddy into the living room. “The guys are in the barn. Everything's under control and no one's scheduled to get here for another hour, so let's talk.” Their friendship had changed in the past year, first when Lindsay moved to Buffalo Valley, more so since her marriage. It used to be that they told each other everything, with no exception. Their honesty and openness had made their relationship strong.