“Oh,” Lyla glanced behind her, towards the little woodstove by the fireplace. “I don’t want to be a bother. I could prepare something here.”
“Of course not. Mother won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t bring you. It’s no bother. Mother loves to cook, especially for other people.”
Lyla nodded, but she still looked uncertain. James waited just outside the door until she was ready and, together, they began to walk back towards the big house.
“So, why are you in such a hurry to get back home? Do you have a family waiting for you there?” James glanced at her curiously. He needed to know more about this mysterious woman who had showed up out of nowhere.
“Yes, actually, I’m supposed to be married in around two months, now.”
When most young women talked of marriage, their faces sparkled with joy and they couldn’t stop smiling, but Lyla appeared as if she were talking about someone’s upcoming funeral.
“You don’t want to be married?” James asked curiously.
“Of course, I do. What makes you say that?”
James chuckled. “You just didn’t look too excited, is all.”
“Well, there’s not much to be excited about. It’s just another chapter of my dreary life.”
“I see.” James nodded, although he didn’t see at all. He had never really thought about marriage that way, and he found it strange that such a beautiful young woman as Lyla would see it like that.
“Don’t you love the man?” James turned a little toward her to try and read her face better.
“Isn’t that a little forward to be asking a woman you practically just met?” Lyla bit her lower lip and looked away.
“I suppose it is. I apologize.” James clamped his mouth. It was obvious that Lyla didn’t like talking about her life or about her relationship. He wondered what she was hiding.
There was something very off about Lyla—the way she acted towards Joey, the way that she didn’t want to stay a second longer than she had to. Maybe James was wrong. Maybe he was just reading into things because he was overprotective of Joey, but maybe he wasn’t and maybe he was right about Lyla having some dark secret.
“Well, here we are.” James held the door open for Lyla to enter.
Just as she passed, she said quietly, “I don’t love him. I don’t think many people can afford to marry for love anymore.” When she looked up at him, their gazes locked for just a moment and James’ heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t seem arrogant or determined when she said the words. Her eyes looked full of sadness, and James felt sorry for her.
Something had happened to make her think that way. Something in Lyla’s past had turned her into the calculating, determined young woman she was today, robbing her of her trust in humanity.
Maybe that was why she didn’t want to trust Joey to him. James was determined he would find out what it was and change her mind. He had to, or he would never forgive himself for losing Joey.
---*---
“So, what kind of work do you do back home?” Bonnie asked Lyla as she passed her the vegetables.
Lyla looked nervous, fidgeting in her seat. James thought about saying something to save her from answering, but he stopped himself. He was just as curious.
“I-I worked at a hotel restaurant and washed people’s clothes.” Lyla accepted the potatoes and dished herself a large helping.
James was confused. Someone who worked at a hotel restaurant wouldn’t have the money to pay for a stagecoach all the way here and back.
“How did you pay for the stagecoach, then?” James took a bite of food and tried not to look too interested.
“James!” Bonnie gave him a quick glare that he knew meant business. “You’ll have to excuse James,” she said to Lyla. «He’s not always so rude.”
“That’s quite all right.” Lyla’s voice was cold and distant. “Actually, my fiancé, Keith, paid for it.”
“So, he’s wealthy?” James winced as the question left his mouth. He knew as soon as he heard his own words that he shouldn’t have asked.
His mother looked so embarrassed that he was sure she wanted to disappear.
“You could say that, I suppose.” Lyla moved some food around on her plate but no longer looked as interested in the meal as she had been before.
“Are you really gonna take me away and make me go live with you?” Joey asked suddenly, looking across the table at Lyla with a scowl more intimidating than Bonnie’s had been.
“I, um—” Lyla moved in her chair and glanced toward James, as if looking for him to help her.
“If you are, I’m not going. You can just go back and leave me here. I don’t want to live anywhere without James.”
While Joey’s words made James’ heart swell with love and pride, he felt a little pity for Lyla, who looked as if she were about to cry.
“Joey, that’s enough for now, okay?” James said gently.
“We’ll just have to see what happens.” Lyla’s words were soft. She didn’t look at anyone, but had instead focused her gaze onto her plate where she had turned the food into one big pool of flavors, undistinguishable from each other.
James could hear the clinking of forks against plates until Lyla stood up abruptly.
“Actually, I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll turn in early, if that’s all right.”
Bonnie nodded in understanding. “That’s fine, dear. Have a good rest.”
Lyla scooted away from the table and nearly ran for the door. James watched her go and for a moment considered letting her be, but then changed his mind.
He pushed his own chair from the table and followed her. He caught up to Lyla just as she was about to open the door to her cabin.
Dusk had fallen and he could hardly make out her face, but he could see enough to tell she was really upset.
He wasn’t sure what had made her react this way, but he was guessing that it had been Joey’s words. Maybe she had been expecting a warmer welcome from her nephew.
“Hey, are you okay?” James asked stopping a few feet from her.
Lyla nodded, but kept her head down as if she were staring at her feet.
“I’m sure Joey is still just getting used to having you around here. He doesn’t understand all of this.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I’m not oblivious, despite what everyone may think of me.” Lyla’s outburst surprised James. She seemed much too upset for it to have only been Joey’s words.
“Did I do or say something to offend you?” James waved his hand in a helpless gesture.
He would never really understand women and usually made a point to avoid them, but Lyla was going to have to be the one woman he made an effort for, since so much of his future depended on her.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s just—” Lyla stopped and placed her hand on the door. “It’s been a long day and I need to rest.” She opened the door and stepped inside. “Goodnight, James.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” James managed to get out before she closed the door separating them from each other for the night.
James sighed and walked slowly back to the house. Their first dinner had most certainly not gone anything like he had hoped it would. He was going to have to make more of an effort if he wanted her to have a higher opinion of him.
“Is she gone?” Joey asked as James sat back down at the dinner table to finish his now cold supper.
“No, Joey.” James sighed. “We should be nice to her, okay?”
James could tell that Joey thought this was an absolutely ludicrous idea, but instead of arguing, the boy nodded and took another bite of food.
For the rest of dinner, James thought of ways that he could show Lyla what a good father he could be to Joey.
He watched the little boy eat his dinner and smiled. He couldn’t have ever imagined that the day that he had brought the little boy to the doctor would be the day his life would truly begin.
He had been living in
sadness and memories of the past for so long. He had forgotten what it was like to truly care about someone else, to make them laugh and to make sure they were happy.
He had found that again with Joey. He had found purpose to his life, happiness, and it made everything around him seem brighter.
Just the thought of going back to how things had been made him cringe. He couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.
He didn’t know much about Lyla or how he was going to convince her to let go of such a special little boy as Joey, but he was most certainly going to find out.
Chapter 12
“I can’t believe you’re already sixteen. It seems like forever since I was your age.” Mary swung Lyla around in a playful way and Lyla giggled.
“I don’t feel any different. Do Mother and Father know we are visiting with young men as well as young women?” Lyla eyed her sister with a mischievous grin.
They had come together to one of Mary’s friend’s houses, and Lyla was surprised to find that there were young men in attendance as well as young women.
“Father knows that you’ve come with Henry and me for a little get together. I might not have mentioned everyone who was going to be here.”
Lyla felt a sting of guilt but pushed it away. After all, Mary had been married for nearly eight years. She knew what was okay and what wasn’t.
Their father was a minister, so he was more than a little strict. He had controlled everything Mary and Lyla had done since as long as they could remember.
Lyla was truly surprised that Mary had managed to get married, somehow.
“Come on, Lyla. You should have some fun and enjoy other people’s company, sometimes.” Mary put her arm around Lyla and pulled her close. “Father just wants to protect us, and I know he means well, but there comes a time in everyone’s life where they have to make their own decisions.”
Lyla nodded; it certainly made sense. “Thank you, Mary. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Mary squeezed Lyla tight. “You’ll never have to find out. Hang on a minute, I think they need help getting the dinner on the table. Why don’t you talk with some of the other young people?” Mary gave her a wink and disappeared around the corner into the kitchen.
There weren’t really that many young people. In fact, there were only about four or five young men and a few more young women.
Lyla really didn’t know why her father would prohibit such a gathering. She just knew that he would.
“Excuse me. What’s your name?” A low voice made Lyla turn around in surprise. A young man was standing there, a cup of water in his hand and an easy smile on his face.
“M-my name?” Lyla wondered what the young man wanted. She didn’t know him, she had never even seen him before.
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay.” The young man took a sip of water and stared at her. His eyes were a deep blue that captivated her and made her stomach twist and turn in strange ways.
“Um, no, I mean, I don’t mind telling you. It’s Lyla.”
The young man grinned. “Lyla. I like that. You have a very pretty name.”
Lyla liked the way that her name sounded when he said it. She knew it was crazy, and she knew it was probably wrong, but she still liked it.
“So, Lyla, what is a beautiful girl like you doing standing all alone?” The way the young man talked was mesmerizing, and Lyla couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“I’m not alone. My sister is gonna be back in a moment.” Lyla suddenly felt nervous and glanced around for Mary, but she was nowhere nearby.
“Well, would you like to walk with me until she does get back? I’m Frank, by the way.”
Lyla smiled and took a step closer. “I’d like that, Frank. It’s nice to meet you.”
Lyla woke with a start. She had been dreaming. Well, not really. She had been remembering the day she met Frank. Of course, her dream usually went all the way through, until she had said goodbye, never to see him again, but something had woken her up this time.
She listened to the loud sound coming from outside, wondering what it could possibly be. It must be some sort of ranch work.
She looked around the little loft where she had spent the night and sighed. She was on James’ ranch in the middle of nowhere, waiting for the next stagecoach to get back to Keith.
Merrill and everything that had happened to her there seemed so far away. Her memory of Frank had reminded her of the reasons she needed to leave here as soon as possible.
She imagined that James and Bonnie didn’t really want her around. Joey certainly didn’t. They only were having her because they wanted something from her, and that in itself made her want to keep that something from them.
She couldn’t stand people who liked to take no matter what the consequences were. She certainly had met enough of those types to know who they were.
Pulling back the curtain on the window, Lyla peeked outside. James was nearby, chopping wood.
He lifted a large ax up over his shoulder and then brought it down with surprising force onto a log, shattering it into several smaller pieces of wood. Lyla wondered how long he had been out there. He continued, one log after another, and she marveled at how strong he was to be able to chop so many.
The sun was high in the sky. It was much later than she was normally used to getting up. She must have been more exhausted than she’d thought.
She scrambled down the ladder as quickly as she could, trying her best to right her hair and her wrinkled clothing as she went. These people were going to think she was some lazy city girl, unwilling to pull her own weight.
She decided she couldn’t spare any longer to make herself more presentable and instead hurried out the door. In her haste, she didn’t see the little figure running across the yard and ran right into Joey, nearly knocking him down.
As he looked up at her, a scowl came over his face and he took a few steps back, brushing himself off as if he’d gotten himself dirty. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“No, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you,” Lyla stammered over the words, fighting the urge to turn around and hide in the little room she was going to call home for the next month.
Joey looked surprised at her apology, as if he didn’t think she was capable of apologizing.
Out of nowhere, a big dog came rushing at her. Lyla shrieked and took as step back. She was always wary of dogs.
“It’s okay, it’s just Sam. He doesn’t bite.” Joey seemed to have momentarily forgotten his dislike of Lyla and had taken a step in between her and Sam, wrapping his arms around the dog’s neck.
Lyla shook her head. “I’m sure he’s fine. He just startled me.”
“Here, you can pet him.” Joey grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck and dragged him closer to Lyla. The big dog submitted to Joey’s direction and looked up at Lyla, tongue hanging out in a hound’s smile.
Lyla was intrigued by Joey’s sweetness and his eagerness for her to pet the animal. She gingerly reached out until her hand felt the warm fur beneath it.
“See? He’s great with people. He likes you!” Joey seemed surprised by his last observation.
A Treasure Brought by Fate: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 9
