by Jillian Hart
“We’re all guessing the baby will be a boy,” Annie confided. “It’s a big baby. She’s huge.”
“And waddling like a duck.” Maebry came over with a smile that could light up the sky. “I’ll be glad to have this wee one in my arms instead of my stomach. Sure, I can’t wait to hold him, but I’d also like to get out of a chair under my own steam.”
“That’s why Gil has the next three weeks off,” Aumaleigh told her. “It’s part of my gift to you.”
“Oh.” Happy tears flooded Maebry’s eyes. “That’s good of you, Aumaleigh. I love you, you know. Gil will be delighted. He keeps saying he doesn’t know how he’ll leave me when the baby is so new.”
“Why haven’t you started opening the gifts? Look at that great pile. It’s a mountain.”
“I didn’t want to suggest we rip right into the presents. The party has barely started.” Maebry’s laugh was a happy trill. It was good to see her like this, her life full of promise and brimming with love.
Aumaleigh remembered the young, shy, frightened girl who’d come to work as an indentured servant for Maureen. It was like watching a rose bloom, seeing the beauty and the magic of a life fully lived and a true love realized.
Her throat ached, but not with an old pain. She thought of Gabriel and his confession today, of how much he’d loved his wife.
“Presents!” Magnolia started the chant. “Presents! Presents!”
A chant that made Maebry laugh harder. “All right. Your wish is my command.”
“Really? Then how about cake?” Elise Hutchinson called out. “I wish for cake.”
“And a good man,” Gemma Gunderson added.
More laughter rang through the room.
“That’s what we’re wishing for you, Gemma,” Rose called out from the sofa next to Maebry. “I’m certain the right man will come along. Now that Dottie has snatched up Lawrence—”
“I haven’t snatched him up!” Dottie protested, blushing where she stood at the back of the room. “But he is taking me driving on Sunday.”
“Ooh!” several women in the crowd hooted.
“It must be love,” Elise called out.
“It’s going to go great for you two,” Magnolia added.
“You two are the perfect match,” Penelope chimed in.
Dottie turned redder, but she looked as happy as could be.
“Now that Lawrence is off the market,” Rose spoke up. “Maybe some other gentleman will start making frequent visits to the mercantile. What do you think, Gemma?”
“I know too much about all the eligible bachelors to ever have romantic notions about them.” Gemma took a sip from the cup of tea she held. “There’s Zeke, but he’s a few years younger, and once he came in to try on a new pair of boots he wanted to buy—”
“Don’t say it!” Maebry broke in, giggling as she carefully unwrapped the first present she’d grabbed from the pile next to her. “I’m afraid I know where this is going.”
“The odor from his feet was so bad, I gagged. My grandmother was in the store shopping in the back, and she gagged too.”
“I was there! I remember that.” Rhoda broke out in laughter, standing up next to Dottie. “I remember reaching up to grab something off the shelf, and I thought something had died and the smell was coming up through the floorboards.”
“I ran and quickly opened the door and the windows, trying to let the tainted air out, but the smell sort of hung there like smoke. It scared customers away for a good hour.”
“It would be hard to want to marry a man with a foot problem like that,” Maebry agreed as she folded back the wrapping paper on her gift. “Oh, Rhoda, thank you. This is truly adorable.”
Agreements chorused through the room as Maebry held up the sweet baby blanket, a background of green crochet with embroidered ducks on it with funny little duck faces.
“I hope it keeps your baby toasty warm,” Rhoda said in her gentle, kind way.
“Okay, so Zeke is off the list.” Rose handed Maebry another gift to unwrap. “We still have a lot of bachelors around. Who is good enough for Gemma?”
“Not Silas Meeks, the chicken farmer.” Annie spoke up. “I saw him picking his nose in the reflection of the feed store window. I’ll never get that picture out of my head.”
“We need to disqualify all the public pickers,” Daisy suggested. “Maybe that doesn’t leave a lot of choice, but it must be done.”
“What about Kellan?” Louisa asked. The ranch’s kitchen worker looked surprised that Josslyn immediately shook her head. “What’s wrong with Kellan? He’s a mighty handsome cowboy.”
“I think his heart is already spoken for,” Josslyn explained sagely. “I’ve known that boy for a long time, and he admitted it to me once. Whoever the poor woman is, she’s got every last piece of his heart.”
“A mystery.” Magnolia rubbed her hands together. “You know how I like solving mysteries. Who could the lady be that has captured that handsome cowboy’s heart?”
“We may never know,” Josslyn answered. “I’ve been trying to get it out of him for years.”
“Josslyn!” Maebry held up the box of two dozen pairs of knit booties. “These are adorable.”
The conversation was temporarily held up as Maebry showed off each pair of booties. Aumaleigh smiled, because this was just the first set of the matching outfits she, the kitchen staff and the McPhee girls had whipped up on their knitting needles.
“Look, each pair is a different animal’s feet. Horses. A kitten. A dog. A goat. And so colorful!” Maebry looked overwhelmed. “This is just the cutest thing, Josslyn, and so much work.”
Josslyn merely smiled, clearly not wanting to spoil the surprise.
“Elise needs a happy ending too.” Rose handed Maebry another gift to unwrap. “Who would be a good match for her?”
“Please, you sound like my mother.” Elise’s eyes sparkled as she made her way through the crowd with the teapot, filling cups as she went. “According to her, I’ve lost my bloom. I’m approaching thirty with no real suitor. They are considering writing to a businessman friend of theirs back East for a mail-order husband for me. Can you imagine?”
“I’ll take him if he isn’t too ugly,” Gemma quipped. “Unless he has bad smelling feet.”
“Or is a public picker,” Magnolia supplied helpfully.
“Would they really bring someone out for you to marry?” Daisy asked, concerned. “That would put a lot of pressure on you.”
“Oh, I have no problems telling them no.” Elise emptied the teapot and circled toward the kitchen. “They are dreadfully disappointed.”
“They should want you to marry for love.” A new voice spoke up, one that surprised Aumaleigh. She did a double take, recognizing Leigh at the back of the room, sort of hidden behind everyone. “It’s the one thing my pa said to me. That there were only a few things that mattered. How I felt about him. How he felt about me. And how he treated me.”
“That’s the truth!” Josslyn spoke up. “Leigh is getting married in June. I haven’t asked my boss for time off yet, but I’m planning on being in Ohio for the wedding.”
“Your boss says it’s okay,” Aumaleigh called out. “Take as much time as you need.”
“I love my boss.” Josslyn blew a kiss across the room.
Aumaleigh blew one back.
“Look at this! Look what Aumaleigh made.” Oohs and ahhs filled the room as Maebry held up the first of a dozen baby hats and caps. “This one’s a little bear head. And oh, this is a little lamb. It’s adorable. And this one’s a duck. Wait a minute. It matches Josslyn’s booties.”
“It’s all part of our plan,” Aumaleigh explained.
“There must be a dozen hats here, maybe more.” Maebry kept holding up one after another. “A horse, a kitty, a dog. Oh, they are all different and so cute.”
“Glad you like them.” Aumaleigh thought of the evenings in her rooms in town that she’d spent knitting or crocheting away. A labor of love.
“None of it is true, sadly.” Aumaleigh held up her hands helplessly. “I’m innocent. For once, Fred got things wrong.”
“Well, that’s just not like my Fred at all. I’ll have to tell him to keep a sharper eye out. You’re not getting any younger, Aumaleigh, and let’s face it. You need family in your life.”
“I have my incredible nieces.” Aumaleigh braced for it. She knew exactly what was coming, but she smiled anyway. “What else would I possibly need?”
“Surely there’s one bachelor in this town that might catch your fancy.” Fred’s wife bit her bottom lip in thought. “Wait, I know. How about that Briggs family, the two brothers who started the local newspaper. They’ve got a father, and he’s quite fetching. He’s about your age Aumaleigh.”
“He’s a new widower in deep mourning.” Aumaleigh did feel sorry for him. “He needs his grieving time, poor man.”
“Maybe you could help him with that.” Fred’s wife waggled her brows, and several other ladies in the room were eager to agree.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Leigh spoke up, looking quite distressed. “A new widower needs to honor his wife with his grief, not start beauing the first pretty lady who comes along. That’s how it was for my pa. Aumaleigh, you’re not interested in that Mr. Briggs, are you?”
The room silenced. All eyes turned to her, instead of Maebry opening her next gift. Uncomfortable with the attention and with the plea in Leigh’s gray eyes, all she could do was shake her head.
“I’m way too old for that. Romance is for the young.” She said the words gently, because she could see what Leigh hoped for. “That time in my life has passed. I’m happy with my life as it is.”
“Oh.” Leigh bowed her head, trying to hide her disappointment.
Aumaleigh did the same, because she was disappointed too.
“Oh, Daisy!” Maebry held up the little yellow sweater. “This is adorable. It’s a duck. And it matches Josslyn’s booties and Aumaleigh’s hat, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” Daisy smiled, but she looked unusually pale. Aumaleigh, thoroughly warm by the fire, stood up to fetch the poor girl some ginger tea to settle her stomach.
Maebry opened another gift, a sweater from Magnolia. “A lamb! How cute!”
The sound of happiness followed her into the kitchen. Aumaleigh smiled to herself, happy too, because she was surrounded by friends and family, by people she loved. This is what life is about.
“Good night, dear Maebry.” Aumaleigh gave the mother-to-be a hug. “You sleep well now. I fear we overtired you.”
“No, I’m fine.” Maebry waved to the last departing guests. “Gil has been keeping an eye on me. He was pretty brave to come home in the middle of the festivities and stay.”
“I’m fearless!” Gil ambled into the room and took Maebry by the hand. Tenderness shone in his eyes as he gazed upon his wife. “Let’s get you to bed. No, don’t even argue with me. All the clean-up is done.”
“Thanks to everyone who stayed.” Maebry let her husband draw her into his side, holding her close. What a happy couple they made. “And thanks again for the gifts. I am going to have the best dressed baby in town. Maybe even in all of Montana.”
“It was our pleasure.” She kissed Maebry’s cheek and grabbed her reticule. “I’ll let myself out. Get her to bed, Gil. Look at her yawning. The baby needs his rest.”
“Thanks, Aumaleigh.” Gil led his wife down the hallway and out of sight.
Time to go. She’d put that off as long as she could, helping with the dishes and the clean-up. Now it was time to face the solitude of the night and of the home that awaited her.
But the moment she opened the door, she could see she was wrong about the solitude—at least for now.
“Miss Aumaleigh!” Leigh Daniels stood in the shadows on the porch. “I loved how everyone coordinated the gifts. Those outfits were just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m going to remember that for when I’m expecting. Well, I have to get married first.”
“Your wedding will be coming up in a few months.”
“Yes. It’s quite thrilling.” Leigh stepped forward, into the glow of light through the window. What a pretty girl she was, so full of life and charm. “Pa said that I could have any wedding I wanted, he would pay for it. He spoils me terribly, especially since my ma died. It was hard being real good and not spending too much of his money.”
“You sound like a good daughter, Leigh.”
“Oh, I try.” When she smiled, dimples cut into her cheeks. Gabriel’s dimples. “It nearly killed me to keep the guest list small, but I did it. We’re just having close family and friends. I have so much to do when I get back home, but I had to come here and make sure Pa got settled. A man alone setting up a house? That is the recipe for a certain disaster.”
“It’s nice you take such good care of him.” That was easy to see. Aumaleigh steeled her chest, holding back her feelings. It would be so easy to come to care too much for this girl, for Gabriel’s daughter.
“I hear you know something about taking care of a loved one.” Leigh gripped the porch rail. “I helped take care of my ma.”
“You must have loved her very much.”
“She was a great mother. When I was little, she would design and make the prettiest dresses for my dolls. Then we would play together with them until it was time to fix supper for Pa and the ranch hands. She was always singing.” Leigh shone with love, with the power of those memories. “When she got sick, I used to lay in bed with her and read her stories. She liked books.”
“I can just picture it. She was a lucky woman to have you.”
“Oh, I was the lucky one.” Leigh cleared her throat, working to control her emotions. “It feels good to talk to someone about her. It’s hard for Pa, and my brothers do better if they close off the past. That’s a boy for you.”
“Yes, male types are like that.” Aumaleigh resisted the urge to inch closer. Maternal instincts told her to put her arm around the girl, who seemed vulnerable. Who looked like she needed a woman’s caring. “You must feel alone with your loss sometimes.”
“When I’m sewing. When I walk into the kitchen and part of me expects her to still be there, singing to herself while she was kneading bread or something.” Leigh rubbed her eyes with the backs of her gloves. “I especially miss her when I’m planning my wedding.”
“I bet you do. It’s such a special time. I remember how excited I was, all the sewing and embroidering and getting things I would need to set up my new household. The thing I wanted most was my mother to sit down next to me and sew with me. To help me dream.”
“Yes! Me, too.” Leigh sniffed. “That was when you were going to marry my pa, right?”
“Right.” Aumaleigh sighed.
“Pa made me promise not to badger you with questions, because I am really good at badgering and I’m terribly nosy. Everybody says so.”
“Don’t worry, I’m used to that. I have nosy nieces.”
“I like them.” Leigh sighed. “They’ve made me feel so welcome, and it was nice of them to invite me tonight. I had a lot of fun, plus my aunt Josslyn was there. And I’ve got to know you better. I mean, if things had turned out differently, you would have been my, well, sort of ma. I think you would have been a good one too.”
Blindsided, that’s what she was. Aumaleigh opened her mouth and nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say so she simply spoke from her heart. “That’s the nicest compliment I could have received. If I’d had a daughter, I would have loved her to be just like you.”
A shadow moved in the road. They weren’t alone.
“Is that so? You wouldn’t say that if you knew her.” Gabriel emerged from the darkness, and her heart tugged against her will, as i
f he’d put a noose around it and pulled tight.
“Pa, you’re late.” Leigh traipsed down the steps, her pretty skirts belling around her. “What did you tell me about men? That a beau or a husband should never make me wait on him?”
“Yeah, but your father has that prerogative.” He chuckled, like a man who knew he’d already lost the argument. “All right, fine. I’m late. But what I’m really sorry about it how you badgered Aumaleigh. When I told you not to.”
“I didn’t badger her, Pa. Honest. I didn’t bring up a single topic you forbade me to talk about. Can you believe he’s that kind of a tyrant, Miss Aumaleigh? It’s terrible. I’m glad I’ll be rid of him when I get married.” With a big grin, she looped her arm through his. “Okay, I’m done teasing you now. So, how is the sheriff doing? Is he still doing better?”
“Milo is resting and healing. He’ll be fine, but he’ll be sore for a while.” Gabriel turned, searching in the dark.
It’s a sad thing when the night can’t hide you from the man you most wanted to avoid. She felt his gaze like a touch, as she untied Buttons from the hitching post. After all they’d been through, after all the opportunities they’d missed, what else was there to do? She went on her own way.
He said nothing, watching her go, as if he felt the same.
Chapter Thirteen
Junior felt sick, just plain sick to his gut. He huddled beneath the grain sacks they’d taken with them after sneaking into Aumaleigh’s garbage for food scraps. It hadn’t been enough. His stomach growled.
“I’m still cold, and it’s your fault.” Surly, that’s what Giddy was, and mean-spirited too without booze. “I wanted to break into the bunkhouse and steal some blankets, but you said no.”
“Do you want the law around here to know where we are?” He shivered as the wind picked up, driving the night’s cold through the cracks in the line shack.
