by Ember Pierce
* * *
“This is so nice,” Bonny said with a smile. “So beautiful.”
* * *
“Not as beautiful as you are,” Kristian said.
* * *
Bonny blushed, and Kristian thought that she looked fetching with the added color in her cheeks. He looked at her with what he hoped was admiration and affection.
* * *
There was a noise above them, and when they looked up they saw a majestic eagle soaring across the sky. Bonny gasped.
* * *
“What is that?” she asked.
* * *
“An eagle,” Kristian said. “Haven’t you ever seen one before?”
* * *
Bonny shook her head, still staring at the eagle. “No,” she said in a soft voice, barely above a breath.
* * *
“I don’t think we had eagles in Philadelphia. Eagles have wings. They can fly away if they don’t like a place.
* * *
“Don’t think there was much to attract eagles to my hometown, so they just flew away.” She gave a quick smile. “It was a wise decision for them.”
* * *
Kristian watched her watch the eagle as it soared out of sight. He was amazed that someone could be so enraptured by something in nature.
* * *
Even though he often stopped to watch eagles, hawks, and vultures drift on lazy updrafts of air, he had never been held spellbound by the birds before.
* * *
Now, he was spellbound by his wife. She was beyond fascinating for him. And there, playing on her lips, was the smile that he had so wanted to see.
* * *
When Bonny looked back at Kristian, she was beaming. Kristian leaned toward her, thinking that it might be nice to kiss her, here in this perfectly beautiful spot.
* * *
Bonny seemed to know what he was thinking. Her eyes got big and she gasped again. Then she scooted away and the moment was over.
* * *
“We should eat before the food spoils,” she said, fussing with the picnic basket.
* * *
Kristian watched her and decided to let the moment pass. There would be time enough to kiss her, to get to know her better.
* * *
Right now, he was just going to revel in her smile and try not to feel too disappointed.
11
Bonny’s head was still full of their almost-kiss as she puttered around the kitchen, tidying up after dinner the next day.
* * *
Their supper the night before had been small and quiet. She didn’t think Kristian was mad at her, but she sensed that he was disappointed.
* * *
Not that she could figure out what he would be disappointed about, though she suspected it was because she hadn’t kissed him. She just wasn’t ready yet.
* * *
She supposed he might also be disappointed about the fact that she hadn’t wanted her first horseback riding lesson. At least she had been honest with him about the reason she was scared of horses.
* * *
Honesty was the best policy, as her mother had always told her. Shuddering at the memory of the horrible accident, Bonny put the last plate she was washing on the drying board and wiped her hands on her apron.
* * *
“Now what shall I do?” she asked the empty house.
* * *
Often when she was alone she would talk to the house, which she loved, though after spending her whole life surrounded by people the house was often too quiet.
* * *
Kristian and his parents still wanted her to take it easy, but no one stopped her from taking care of the house so she did.
* * *
Bonny truly did want to help out around the ranch, and she found herself yearning for the day they would let her. She had meant what she had told Kristian about wanting to learn to ride a horse, as well.
* * *
Fear had ruled her for so long that she was still finding it hard to figure out ways to overcome. Being part of life on the ranch was the only thing she wanted, and helping out, learning to ride a horse, and showing that she belonged were her goals.
* * *
Seeing that there was nothing left for her to do in the house, she went outside to stand on the porch. Kristian’s father had gone off early that morning to check the herd out past the river, and Kristian’s mother had brought over a loaf of bread and a buffalo-berry pie.
* * *
Kristian had been down at the barn all day, only coming in to eat dinner. Bonny decided to go ask him what he would like for supper.
* * *
When she got to the barn and stepped into the cool darkness, she had to pause to let her eyes adjust to the dim light. As she stood still, she inhaled the musty smell of hay and horses.
* * *
The faint clink coming from the last stall let her know exactly where Kristian was, so she headed in that direction.
* * *
Sure enough, Bonny found him in the last stall, shoeing one of the work horses. When he heard her approach, he looked up and smiled at her.
* * *
“Hi there,” he said. “What brings you down to the barn?”
* * *
She decided not to ask him about supper, but instead she stood there remembering how much fun she’d had helping with the horse shoeing the other day.
* * *
“Can I help?” she asked, gesturing toward the horse.
* * *
Kristian’s eyes widened with surprise. “Well, sure. I’d love some help.”
* * *
Bonny went to the horse, stroking its side as she came toward its back leg. Crouching down, she pressed against the horse’s knee to signal for it to bend. Then she propped the hoof on her own knee so that Kristian could see it better.
* * *
They worked in a companionable silence. Bonny could feel the horse breathing, slow and steady, against her side, and she found herself breathing along with it.
* * *
Being so close to the gigantic creature that was so calm made her feel better. She almost opened her mouth to suggest a horse riding lesson that very moment.
* * *
Well, not that very moment, but after they were done. She didn’t, though, fear kept lurking over her shoulder.
* * *
As they moved from hoof to hoof, Bonny realized that Kristian was quite skilled with the horses. That made her feel even better about the prospect of him teaching her how to ride one.
* * *
These horses were gentle if treated with respect. The tragedy she had witnessed in Philadelphia had been an accident, she was sure of that—but back then she hadn’t had the perspective to know that the horses involved in the incident weren’t to blame.
* * *
When they finished with the first horse, Kristian went to get another. “Thanks for helping,” he said as he led the horse into the stall. “It makes things go a lot faster.”
* * *
“I don’t mind,” Bonny said with emphasis. “I like being busy.”
* * *
As she said the words out loud, she realized they were true. Even though she had been exhausted by her old life, she had grown used to being busy to the point where it was part of her identity.
* * *
These past few days had been nice, but she was getting bored. And being bored was not something she was comfortable with.
* * *
After the second horse had been shoed, Bonny said, “You are so good with the horses. They’re so calm with you around.”
* * *
She thought she saw Kristian flush in the dim light, but she had so little experience with men that she wasn’t sure. Did men blush?
* * *
Bonny tried to remember if her younger brothers ever got embarrassed by compliments. She couldn’t think of an occasion when they did.
* * *
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“Thanks,” Kristian said. “I really did appreciate your help. You can help me whenever you want. I also think you did a great job given how nervous you are around horses.
* * *
“They can tell, you know, when someone is scared to be near them. They get jittery, but they were totally calm with you around. I think you’ll be great when we get you on horseback.”
* * *
Kristian reached out to take Bonny’s hand as they walked out of the barn into the bright afternoon sunlight together. They were getting along so well.
* * *
Bonny couldn’t believe that her dreams of living happily ever after in the west were actually coming true.
* * *
Her heart hammered in her chest and she could barely breathe, she was so happy. She never wanted the moment to end.
12
Things were going pretty well for him, Kristian acknowledged to himself as he walked along the road to town. The day had warmed up to a not-uncomfortable temperature with a pleasant breeze to keep him cool.
* * *
Bonny had promised to make him something special when he got back from town. The two of them had been getting along great, growing closer every day.
* * *
Working on the ranch was turning out to be nice, though challenging at times, but challenging in ways that Kristian didn’t mind.
* * *
There were some things he missed about his old life, things like forgetting the grief and pain of losing his brother. Even when it had only been for a few hours, the oblivion was nice.
* * *
Now, the waves of sadness often caught him off-guard. He hated the way his heart felt like it would squeeze out of his chest when he started thinking about John.
* * *
He’d decided to walk so that he could enjoy the day. After taking Bonny out on their impromptu picnic, he had taken her out for buggy rides two more times since then.
* * *
The two of them both enjoyed getting out in the prairie and seeing the animals. Down by the river seemed to be Bonny’s favorite spot.
* * *
Kristian smiled as he entered town. After he stopped by the livery, he intended to go to the general store to get something special for Bonny.
* * *
Not that he knew what to get her; he had never been good figuring out what women liked. That had been another one of John’s specialties.
* * *
Still, he decided that he was going to peruse the goods until he found something that reminded him of his wife.
* * *
Duke, the livery owner, greeted him happily. He was one of the few men who had always liked Kristian as he was, probably because he was good with the horses.
* * *
Kristian took a deep breath, rubbed his hands together, and said, “Hey, Duke, I have a proposition for you.”
* * *
With an arch of his eyebrow, Duke gestured for Kristian to join him in the back office. Kristian knew that he had one shot to convince the businessman to agree to the deal that he had concocted as he did chores around the ranch.
* * *
He was beginning to see that if he wanted to make a better life for him and Bonny, then he would need to do more than he had ever done before—more than the ranch could provide.
* * *
A short while later, Kristian emerged from Duke’s office, shaking the other man’s hand. He left the livery with a smile on his face.
* * *
Convincing Duke to recommend him as a farrier to local ranchers for a small percentage of each job hadn’t been hard. Duke had been fair.
* * *
The extra money he would bring in wouldn’t be much, but it was the start of… something that he couldn’t quite define yet. Instead, he decided that he would just live in the moment and enjoy a success, no matter how small.
* * *
On his way to the general store, Kristian felt like he was being followed. Every time he glanced over his shoulder, though, there was no one there.
* * *
He was nearly to the general store when someone grabbed his arm, yanking him into the alley between the store and the saloon next door.
* * *
Kristian felt panic rise in his chest until he turned around and saw Graves O’hara there. The other man was older than Kristian and the years had been hard on him.
* * *
He had well-kept gray hair with a darker beard. Wrinkles lined his craggy face, and dark eyes peered out from hooded lids. His hooked nose always gave him a slightly menacing look, but Kristian always chose to ignore that fact.
* * *
“Hello, Graves,” he said, keeping as much irritation out of his voice as he could manage. The cheeriness he had felt a moment ago all but vanished with the serious look on Graves’ face. “How are you this afternoon?”
* * *
Graves chewed his tobacco for a long moment before he spit out the side of his mouth. In the cool dimness of the alley, Graves looked angry.
* * *
Kristian just hoped he was imagining it, because he knew that the creditor could be a hard man. He hadn’t experienced that with him yet.
* * *
“I’ve been good to you, haven’t I, Kristian?” Graves asked.
* * *
Kristian coughed nervously. “You sure have. I really appreciate all the money you’ve lent me.”
* * *
Pacing slowly back and forth between the two buildings, Graves clasped his hands together behind him. With each pass, Kristian began to feel more nervous.
* * *
He glanced toward the end of the alley and wished that someone he knew would walk by so he’d have a reason to get out of this conversation. Or non-conversation, as the case seemed to be, since Graves was being oppressively silent.
* * *
Just when Kristian thought he couldn’t take the silence any more, Graves came to a stop right in front of him. “I want my money,” he said simply.
* * *
Kristian almost sighed with relief, but he managed to keep it in. He had been expecting this to come soon enough.
* * *
Even though he was glad to have the cash flow, he wasn’t stupid. Borrowing meant the inevitability of having to pay back whatever was owed; Kristian had just hoped that he would have a little more time.
* * *
Especially now that he was working on the ranch for a regular wage. Without his allowance, Kristian wasn’t used to dealing with waiting for money.
* * *
Rubbing the back of his neck and hoping that his embarrassment didn’t show, Kristian said, “Of course. I’ll have it for you as soon as I can.”
* * *
Graves began pacing again. He stopped to spit and then ran a hand over his mouth. “You know that I like you, Kristian. I always have. You’re a decent man.”
* * *
“Um, thanks?” Kristian said, hating that his voice squeaked, rising like he was asking the other man a question. He didn’t like the way Graves kept saying his name.
* * *
It was making him squirm. No matter how desperately he wanted to get away from the discomfort of this situation, though, he knew he was stuck here until Graves was done with him.
* * *
“The thing is, Kristian, I need my money now,” he said.
* * *
Kristian exhaled sharply. This was bad. A fire of distress began to burn in his chest.
* * *
Frantically, he tried to calculate how much he owed Graves, but all he was able to come up with was that it was a lot. Certainly a lot more than he had at the moment.
