Love Inspired Historical October 2015 Box Set Page 17

  There would be no time for social calls.

  And what man would want to be with a woman who had no time for socializing?

  Especially a woman with her background.

  Even if Matty wanted to be with her now—which she still couldn’t fully believe—it wouldn’t last.

  It was better to harden her heart and send him on his way now.

  A sharp whistle and the sound of hoofbeats brought her head up.

  Two riders and a third riderless horse approached. The men were dressed similar to how Matty dressed—trousers and woolen shirts, boots and Stetsons—but she didn’t recognize either of them.

  Should she scream? Run for the dugout?

  Pop would be so disappointed that she hadn’t seen or heard them coming. She’d been so distracted by her thoughts that they were almost upon her and she hadn’t reacted one bit.

  “Halloo!” called one of the men as she remained frozen in indecision.

  An answering whistle came from behind her, and she whirled to see Matty striding confidently toward her.

  “My brothers,” he called to her.

  Maybe he’d seen her panic in her stance, or maybe he just knew her well enough to know she was thinking of bolting.

  “Two of them, at least,” he said as he drew abreast of her.

  He was calm as the men drew up a few yards away and dismounted. Was he unsurprised to see them? Or just hiding it? He’d told her in the beginning that they would come for him.

  How had they found him?

  A man with blond hair peeking from beneath his Stetson, a well-trimmed beard and twinkling blue eyes was the first to approach, cuffing Matty on the shoulder. “Good to see you, little brother.”

  Behind them, a younger man of eighteen or so took off his hat. His brown hair was matted to his head. Brown eyes peered at her and his mouth formed a wide smile.

  “Is this her? Catherine?” The younger brother moved forward with his hand outstretched.

  His question crystallized Catherine’s suspicion. How did he know her name?

  She shot a look at Matty, who wore a chagrined expression. “This is Edgar,” he motioned to the brother closest to him. “And that knucklehead is Seb. Yes, this is Catherine.”

  She accepted the young man’s outstretched hand.

  “You’ve been here before?” she guessed.

  Now Seb had the grace to look abashed, even though he hadn’t lost his smile that hinted at orneriness.

  “You didn’t tell her?” the brother named Edgar asked. He shoved Matty’s shoulder, making Matty wince slightly.

  He huffed. “It’s complicated.”

  She propped her hands on her hips, her mouth twisting. If Matty’s brothers had been here before, it meant he could have gone home with them before.

  He must’ve read some of her thoughts as they crossed her face because his hand flexed at his side. “I couldn’t have ridden back with them. And I wanted a few more days to try to make sure Chesterton wouldn’t bother you.”

  His words battered her. He could’ve gone days ago. The omission changed everything.

  “Our ma was pretty riled when we didn’t bring him home with us,” Seb offered. She was aware of the way his gaze bounced between her and Matty, watching them closely.

  “You convince the guy to leave her alone?” Edgar asked.

  Matty shook his head. He knocked his hat back and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I need a minute with Catherine. You mind?”

  Edgar and Seb exchanged a glance that said much without words, but they didn’t comment as Matty touched her elbow and propelled her several yards away.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t mention that your brothers had found you,” she snapped.

  “I wanted to stay. Our friendship…had begun to mean something to me, and I didn’t want to leave without discovering what I could about the threat to you.”

  He looked so sincere that she had to swallow hard and remember all the reasons it wouldn’t work between them.

  “I’m still concerned about Chesterton—”

  She waved off his words, interrupting him. “The seed wheat is gone.”

  “But what about the land—”

  She cleared her throat. Stuffed all those hopes and dreams far, far inside where she couldn’t feel them anymore.

  “We both knew this day was coming. You should go.”

  *

  Matty wanted to reach out for Catherine, but didn’t dare, not after she’d pushed him away for the past two days, and not with his brothers looking on.

  He could feel the almost palpable touch of Edgar’s and Seb’s intense curiosity. And he was sure that they would report anything he said or did to his ma and the rest of the brothers at home.

  But he didn’t care all that much. If he had an inkling that Catherine would open up to him if he fell on his knees, he’d do it.

  He hated thinking about leaving her vulnerable to the Chestertons.

  “Chesterton made some pretty direct threats against you. I doubt he only wanted the wheat.” His voice was rough with the emotion he was holding back. Not only his concern for her, but the feelings he thought she shared.

  Her chin came up. “Pop and I will take care of ourselves.”

  She’d been taking care of herself for years.

  His throat started to burn. “I wanted— Can I come back and visit?”

  Her eyes darted away, her gaze skittering over his shoulder. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Edgar and Seb conversed in low tones behind them and she glanced over her shoulder, as if the reminder of their presence bothered her.

  “Things will be busy around here,” she said. “And you’ll be back at your job.”

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t have time to ride out for a visit.”

  She took a deep breath and he braced himself for her next argument.

  She looked right at him. “I’m illegitimate.”

  For a moment, her words didn’t register. She must’ve seen his confusion in his drawn brows, because she went on.

  “My mother was never married.” She spoke the words in a stilted tone. “I never knew my father.”

  He shook his head, denying that what she said mattered in any way that would push her away from him.

  Suddenly, her fierce independence and desire to stay away from town made more sense. His mind rushed back to their school days. He’d never heard a word about her parentage, but he remembered vividly her tears on that last day he’d seen her. Had one of the other children found out? Had they teased her about it? Hurt her? Or something else?

  He started to reach for her. “That doesn’t matter to me—”

  She knocked his hand away. “It matters a great deal to me.” Her gaze didn’t waver. “I won’t go into town. I won’t attend socials. And I have Pop to think about. I think you should go.”

  “Catherine, wait.” He reached for her elbow when she would’ve turned away, and he caught sight of the slight tremble in her lower lip. “I don’t want to just leave like this.”

  She jerked her arm from his grasp. “Goodbye.”

  She strode away toward the dugout.

  And left him to turn back to his brothers. Alone.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Get on!” Matty used his hat to slap a slow-moving calf, urging it out of the corral. Behind him, the branding fire burned hot, and he was wielding the iron today in deference for his injury.

  He wiped his forehead with his sleeve before replacing his hat where it belonged.

  “This the last batch?” he called out to Oscar, who was closing the gate after sending ten more animals into the corral. They worked in one of the corrals on the far edge of his pa’s property.

  Oscar acknowledged him with a grunt.

  They’d started before sunup with only a short break at noon, and now it was almost sunset. His eyes were gritty with smoke and dust. He’d sweated through his shirt by lunchtime. He was exhausted.

  Maybe h
e’d be able to sleep tonight.

  Or maybe not. Thoughts of Catherine plagued him day and night. It hadn’t even been a week, but he couldn’t keep his thoughts from returning to the homestead, especially those moments in the dark with Pop nearby. When she’d let him hold her close.

  “You ready to talk about it yet?” Jonas asked from near his elbow where his knee held the calf in place.

  “What?” Matty grunted.

  “Whatever’s got you moping around these past few days.”

  “It’s that gal,” Seb called out from where he’d roped the next calf inside the corral. “Catherine.”

  Matty gritted his teeth. Their final goodbye had left him too raw. He didn’t want to talk about her.

  “Little brother fell in love, huh?” asked Oscar as he helped Seb bring the calf to the ground.

  Matty ground his teeth harder. During his weeks at the Pooles’, all the times he’d wanted to be back home among his noisy, rambunctious family, now all he felt was frustrated. As if he was a square peg that didn’t fit the round hole of his family anymore.

  He hadn’t been to see Luella since he’d returned home. Those last days at the Pooles’ he hadn’t even spared her a thought. And the more he thought about it now, the way she’d left things had been final. Hadn’t it?

  “I’ve been holding off your ma,” Jonas said, as calm and implacable as usual. “But her patience is gonna run out. Just warning ya.”

  Maxwell had left Hattie in charge of the clinic and had been working alongside his brothers all day. He looked up at Matty from across the calf’s shoulder as Matty pushed the red-hot brand into its hide. Maxwell didn’t have to say anything. His small smile said enough.

  And Matty vividly remembered years ago ganging up on Maxwell with the rest of his brothers and giving him a dunking when he’d been out of his mind over Hattie.

  He could only hope Jonas’s presence would prevent something like that from happening today.

  “I’m still mad I didn’t get to meet her,” Breanna added from her perch on the corral rail. She was in her element, in trousers and on horseback all day. “I wanted to go…”

  “Edgar and Seb know the way,” Davy put in from his perch astride his horse, just outside the corral. “We could make a social call.”

  “Oh!” Breanna exclaimed.

  “No!” Matty barked.

  He hadn’t meant for it to come out quite so harshly, but everyone went silent.

  He felt as if he’d hit his face with the branding iron, as if steam was rising from his skin. So much for hiding his feelings for Catherine.

  Slowly, he raised his head.

  They were all staring at him. Jonas and Maxwell with expressions of compassion, Davy, Oscar, Edgar, Seb and Breanna with ornery grins.

  “When’re we going to meet her?” Oscar asked.

  Matty shook his head. “You can’t. Her grandpop— She doesn’t want to see me.”

  “Aw, c’mon—”

  His brothers protested even as Jonas shushed them and refocused them on finishing the grueling task.

  The final few calves branded, Matty hung back. He was seriously contemplating taking a dunk in the creek instead of following the rest to clean up in the bunkhouse before the family would gather for supper.

  It was difficult to be around his family when all he wanted was to be back on Catherine’s homestead.

  Was she getting any rest? Working herself to death trying to figure out a way to get a wheat crop to last them through the winter?

  Was she still being threatened?

  The steers turned loose out into the field, his brothers had ridden ahead, leaving Jonas and Matty to walk home together.

  They walked in companionable silence for a bit. He appreciated that his father was a good listener. And that he didn’t try to fill the silence with advice or teasing.

  Matty sighed. He took off his hat and used the other hand to run his fingers through his sweat-matted hair. “I can’t stop thinking about her,” he finally admitted.

  “You care about this girl?”

  He let his eyes slide to the far horizon. “Yes.” The answer was easier than he’d expected. “But it’s complicated. Her grandpop is aging and…sometimes imagines things that aren’t there. Doesn’t like to be around people.”

  Jonas hummed in his throat. Still listening.

  “And…Catherine has a reason to be distrustful of some folks in Bear Creek. I don’t know if she’d ever want to be a part of the community, not like our family is.”

  Jonas seemed to consider his words as they climbed the last hill toward the house and barn.

  “Do you think there could be a time she’d come around? Maybe if she spent some time with folks in a smaller setting—” like their family? “—she’d start to like it.”

  Matty shrugged. He didn’t know if Pop would ever come around, not with his history. And he risked alienating Catherine if it backfired.

  Hat hanging by his side, he rubbed the back of his neck with his opposite hand. “There’s more. She’s in a bad way—or her homestead is. She needs a wheat crop to make it through the winter and her barn needs to be rebuilt.”

  Jonas didn’t speak for a long moment, and Matty turned his head toward his father.

  One side of Jonas’s mouth quirked in a half smile. “Seems your brothers are right. You’ve never been this discombobulated by a gal before.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re so twisted around you can’t see straight.”

  That about summed it up.

  Jonas clapped him on the shoulder. Matty’s collarbone barely twinged.

  “What if there was a way to ease her back into society—and solve her most pressing problems. Might help her a little with trustin’ others.”

  Matty let the idea take root. Hope soared. What if his pa was right? What if there was a way he could be with Catherine?

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked.

  *

  Catherine washed up at the creek, the cool water soothing against her heated skin.

  Dust and dirt turned to a thin film of mud and then dissolved in the brook, streams of brown disappearing in the clear, burbling water.

  It had been a week since the flood. The water had receded to its normal levels, and the dirt had cleared, leaving behind evidence of what had been—moss, limbs, branches strewn along the banks where none had been before.

  A week since Matty had gone.

  And she felt a gnawing emptiness inside. She missed his steady presence. His conversation. Playing games with him.

  His kisses.

  She’d spent the past days digging out the barn. With the creek changing direction, she vacillated on whether to rebuild there or find another location. If she couldn’t rebuild here, digging out a brand-new building large enough for two animals and the chickens would be backbreaking work.

  She hadn’t brought up with Pop yet the possibility of her hiring on at Elliott’s for the remainder of the summer. She didn’t know if Harold Elliott would hire a woman, or whether Pop would be able to handle being alone for long workdays.

  But she was running out of time. The field she’d spent days clearing after the first flood lay dormant, with no wheat to plant.

  She pushed up from her squat, pushed her damp hair out of her eyes and headed for the dugout.

  Inside, Pop had made a hearty-smelling stew. She dried off her hands and face with a small square of a towel and sat down at the table.

  “You doing okay today? No spells where you’re short of breath?”

  He grunted, and she took that to mean no. He would tell her if he had one, right?

  Later that night, he moaned in his sleep and she awoke. Darkness enclosed the room.

  Her breaths came fast, as blood pounded in her temples, in her ears. Should she wake him? Was he having a nightmare about the war?

  She couldn’t forget what had happened the last time. Being pinned to the ground, stuck beneath the table and
bed, unable to roll away.

  Afraid that he wouldn’t wake up.

  And tonight there was no cowboy staying in the barn to intervene.

  She sat up in the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees.

  It was too much to bear alone.

  The homestead, their livelihoods. Pop.

  She buried her face in her knees, trying to stem the tears that threatened, but it was no use. They fell anyway.

  Why did Mama have to die? Why did Pop have to fade into his memories the way he was?

  She was afraid. And there was no one to turn to.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The sun was still an orange ball on the horizon as Catherine leaned back against the soddy door. She hadn’t been able to go back to sleep after she’d woken in the night.

  Pop had stayed asleep. Restless, but asleep.

  She desperately needed to find the peace she’d felt the early Sunday morning she’d shared a few quiet moments with Matty. Had it only been two weeks ago?

  He had arrived in her life like a tornado, upending everything.

  Hoofbeats startled her, brought her gaze up. Pop would advise her to duck inside, where they’d both have a modicum of protection.

  But she hesitated.

  And her heart leaped as she saw a familiar cowboy ride into sight.

  Matty.

  He balanced easily on the horse, keeping his saddle naturally. He caught sight of her and lifted his hat in a wave.

  Her eyes followed his movements and then were drawn past him. Several riders followed him. Farther behind that, two wagons rumbled toward her.

  What was going on?

  Heart beating with both hope and trepidation, she walked out to meet him.

  He dismounted, holding the reins of a fine chestnut gelding in his hand.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He smiled, but his eyes remained uncertain. “Mentioned your troubles to some folks—my family, mostly. We decided to give you a barn raising.”

  Her heart thrummed in her chest, her mind going immediately to Pop.

  Matty jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’ve got the manpower and enough lumber to get you a nice, snug barn that’ll last decades. We can finish it today.”

  “I can’t believe you did all this.” She shook her head, her throat clogged with emotion. She crossed her arms. “We can’t accept it. What if Pop—”