Her Convenient Cowboy

by Lacy Williams

  Davy’s shoulders stiffened. “No.”

  He had to figure out things. How to best get back up the mountain.

  One thing was for certain, he couldn’t just walk away from Rose.

  * * *

  Rose recovered from the violent cramps in the early evening. Surely the doctor, Davy’s brother, had been joking when he’d said real labor was worse than this.

  She wasn’t sure she could survive it.

  He’d urged her to take better care of herself, warning her that bad nutrition could harm the baby.

  But his gentle warning had a note of seriousness behind it. She’d wanted to ask what she was supposed to have done—she’d been trapped in the cabin with no easy solutions.

  But she’d held her tongue, biting back tears like she’d always done with Jamie, and the doctor had gone.

  Now, while voices rose and fell in another part of the house, she lay on the comfortable feather tick, watching dust motes dance in the late-afternoon sunlight and breathing in clean sheets and wondering about Davy.

  Was he already back up on the mountain? She’d been isolated in this room—Davy’s mama and papa’s room—all day and had seen no one but the doctor.

  Had he simply left her with his family? She knew he had the cattle to tend to, and she couldn’t blame him if he had, even if he’d spoken promises to her.

  But she wanted him to have stayed. She shouldn’t depend on him, but she also didn’t want to be alone in the world. He was the only presence that had been steady in her life for these past days.

  A soft rap sounded at the door.

  She had to clear her throat twice before she could say, “Come in.”

  A blond head poked around the door. The girl’s face lit up when she saw Rose sitting up on the bed.

  She came in, her arms bundled with fabric, and Rose couldn’t keep in a small gasp when she caught sight of the girl’s full length.

  She was wearing men’s trousers. Was this Breanna, whom Davy had spoken of so affectionately?

  “Hullo,” the girl said cheerfully. “Shall we start off as friends? I’m Breanna and Davy says we’ll rub along like sisters.”

  Rose’s cheeks went hot, but she smiled at the girl’s irrepressible nature.

  “Ma sent me in with this dress. She wore it when she was expecting Andrew, and it isn’t out of style. She would know better than I.”

  Breanna shook out the fabric, holding it out at arm’s length, revealing a pretty pale blue patterned dress that was in much better shape than the gray one Rose had worn for too long.

  It was beautiful. And she wanted it. “I can’t take it,” Rose said over the hot knot that lodged in her throat. “It’s too fine, and I haven’t got any money to pay for it.”

  “It’s a gift,” Breanna said tartly, as if offended by the thought that Rose would offer to pay for the gown.

  But Rose had some pride left, a very pinch at the bottom of her stomach. “I can’t accept your charity,” she whispered.

  Instead of being offended, Breanna grinned, looking so much like her brother for a moment that Rose forgot they were both adopted.

  “Davy said you’d argue. He said to tell you our ma will be offended if you don’t take it.”

  Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. Davy. Was he still here?

  She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud, but Breanna was nodding. “He’s out there with the rest. They’re holding supper for you.”

  Rose’s sense of mild discomfort instantly turned to cold dread. She didn’t want to face a house full of strangers.

  But she was hungry now that the pains had passed and her stomach had settled.

  And Davy hadn’t abandoned her after all.

  She looked down at the ugly gray dress that had seen a few too many washings and was fraying noticeably. A small part of her wished he could see her in a pretty dress. That was a dangerous thought.

  “Will your mama really be offended if I don’t take the dress?”

  Breanna grinned mischievously, an expression Rose didn’t associate with Davy at all. “No, not really. But what you’re wearing is ugly, and you should accept this anyway.”

  Rose should be taken aback by the impertinent words, but she couldn’t fault Breanna for speaking the truth.

  She sighed, giving in. “I can barely get this over my head anymore. Would you help me change?”

  “Love to.” Breanna laid the new dress out on the bed.

  Was this what it felt like to have real family?

  * * *

  Davy’s leg bounced up and down as he sat in the family parlor with Edgar and Oscar.

  Edgar’s wife, Fran, along with Oscar’s wife, Sarah, and their three adopted daughters, now seventeen, fourteen and seven, were cloistered in Breanna’s bedroom. With them were Walt, Ida and Andrew, Jonas and Penny’s biological children.

  Jonas and Penny bustled around the kitchen, putting the final preparations on supper. He could hear their voices. They were obviously in a serious discussion.

  Had he made the right choice sending Matty up to the cabin for the night? His brother was compassionate enough to be concerned for Rose and trusted Davy enough to go, but Davy had seen the questions in his brother’s eyes, as well.

  Pa hadn’t argued, but had remained concerned. Davy couldn’t understand it. Pa and Ma had been happy when Oscar had brought home his wife, Sarah, and her three adopted girls. They had approved of his brothers pushing Maxwell at the doctor’s daughter Hattie. They hadn’t had much of a choice in accepting Fran, as they’d been gone on a trip when Edgar had married her.

  Why did they hesitate to help Rose?

  Or was he imagining their reticence?

  Chapter Eight

  Davy watched from his seat on the sofa as Breanna emerged first. And then he caught sight of Rose’s fair head behind his sister, and his heart thumped.

  A hint of wood smoke was there beneath the smells of the meal his parents had prepared.

  Walt and Ida ran past Breanna, laughing and ignoring the adults in the room. Breanna stepped aside, and Davy got a good look at Rose. The blue dress flattered her figure more than the gray sack she’d worn before and made her eyes shine bright in her still too-pale face.

  She saw the assembled crowd and drew back, as if she wanted to run back into the bedroom.

  He stood from his seat to meet her, brushing past Breanna, whose lips twitched in a partial smile.

  He let his body shield Rose from the rest of the family’s view. He wanted to reach for her, but it wasn’t his place. He could make this easier on her, show how she could fit into his family.

  “You stayed,” she said softly.

  Close up he could see how pale she was beneath the pink of her cheeks. She’d pinned up her hair, and the golden locks shone in the lamplight.

  “How you feelin’?”

  “Fine.” She attempted a smile, but the expression didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Come and meet everyone.” She passed him and he put a comforting hand at her lower back as he ushered her forward.

  He introduced her around. The further he got with the names the quieter her greetings got.

  “Supper’s on the table,” his pa called from the other room.

  Since they were already standing, he nudged Rose forward toward the long dining table.

  “Got to beat the stampede,” he murmured.

  She looked up at him questioningly, but then there was a rush of footsteps behind them as Oscar and Sarah’s girls vied with Breanna for a prime spot at the table. Seb must’ve snuck in the kitchen door. He already sat smack in the center of one long bench.

  Rose said a quiet hello to his parents as Oscar jostled Davy from behind. He managed to hold his position as he le
t Rose slide in, not rushing her.

  He squeezed in next to her, and his family rounded out the table.

  When Jonas led the family in a prayer of thanks for the meal, Davy enclosed Rose’s hand in his, thankful for the moment to offer her the comfort that had come so freely when they’d been alone up on the mountain. Jonas barely finished with an “Amen” before chaos broke out.

  It was a familiar kind of chaos: Seb and Walt fighting over choice pieces of meat, Breanna tossing a roll down the table when Edgar asked for it, Penny reprimanding them all.

  It was home. His heart was full, and for a moment the loneliness and ache for his own family abated.

  And he was glad to share it with Rose. She would be safe here until she was ready to find her own way.

  When she hesitated to jump into the fray, he heaped food onto their plates. His elbow bumped hers.

  “So the cabin was in good shape?” Oscar asked from down the table. “No leaks?”

  “None,” Davy answered over a bite of chicken leg, pride coloring his voice.

  “I guess you and Ricky didn’t do too shabby of a job this summer, then.”

  The mention of his missing brother made everyone go quiet. Ricky should’ve been right in the middle of his noisy family.

  Maybe trying to distract everyone from the mention, Seb chimed in. “Matty and I put on the roof, don’t forget.”

  But the easy camaraderie that had been present moments ago remained subdued.

  Davy tried to smile. “Anybody heard from Ricky?”

  Jonas shook his head. The rest of the table was slightly subdued. Until Seb sneaked a bite of potato off Breanna’s plate and she elbowed him hard in the gut, making him choke on it.

  Oscar’s girls squealed with laughter, leaving Sarah shaking her head at the lot of them. But the former schoolteacher didn’t correct their unruly behavior.

  In the midst of all the noise, he realized Rose hadn’t uttered one word.

  She was sitting so close at the crowded table that it only took him turning his head slightly to see her plate was still mostly full. What was wrong?

  He didn’t want to cause a scene—and knew everyone was paying attention—so he leaned slightly closer and whispered, “You okay?”

  Her eyes flicked to him and back down to her plate. She nodded slightly.

  He remembered the first meal Penny had shared with his family. She’d just burned down Poppy Walt’s—her late granddad’s—kitchen and been shocked to find her next-door neighbor Jonas had eight adopted kids. She’d been silent and wide-eyed through the whole breakfast.

  They were a lot to take in—maybe more so now that the family had grown so much.

  Rose had been so timid up on the mountain, but he knew his family would love her once they got to know her. He just had to ease her way here, and then he could go on with his plans.

  “They might be loud, but they’re friendly,” he murmured to her.

  “Hey, no keeping secrets!” Seb called from down the table.

  The teasing didn’t bother Davy in the least, but Rose went a deep shade of pink.

  “I was just telling her that y’all might eat like a pack of wolves, but you’re really not animals.” He mock-glared at his brother.

  Sarah and Penny laughed, while his brothers protested loudly, but Rose remained quiet and pensive beside him.

  “It’s more like coyotes scavenging over a carcass,” Breanna added.

  “Breanna!” Penny scolded.

  Davy hid a smile behind his hand. His sister did have a way with words.

  “You’d better hope coyotes don’t get your little dog up there on the mountain,” Seb taunted his younger sister.

  “Whaa?” Breanna said, her mouth full of food. Her face had gone red.

  Penny reprimanded Breanna again, just as Seb let out a yapping howl, like a coyote’s.

  Rose shuddered next to him.

  “All right, you lot,” he said as a way of calming them down. “I’m sure Matty will look after the dog tonight.”

  His brothers went silent, along with Breanna. Oscar snickered from down the table.

  Davy cleared his throat. “It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a normal family supper since we’ve got company and all.”

  Now his younger brothers gaped. Oscar’s snicker grew to a chuckle until Sarah elbowed him in the side and he covered it with a cough. It was true that in the past he would have been cutting up with them, but he didn’t want Rose to see his family behaving badly. He wanted her to have a place here. At some point between finding her in the cabin up on the mountain and now, it had become important that she fit here. With his family.

  * * *

  Rose wore Davy’s mama’s dress and ate their food, and all she could think about was how she could pay them back.

  No one had mentioned any employment prospects for her. Or even where she would sleep tonight.

  She knew she should eat, for the baby’s sake, especially after the doctor had reprimanded her earlier, but worry dampened her appetite.

  When Davy set down his fork and the younger girls at the end of the table got up, leaving her enough room to slide out from the table, she took the opportunity. She wanted nothing more than to escape somewhere private—there were too many people here, too many warm bodies—but she forced herself to start clearing the table, picking up a dirty plate in each hand.

  Davy tried to stand, but the long bench didn’t scoot back and his thighs bumped the table with enough force to rattle the dishes.

  “You don’t have to clear the table,” he said, and he reached for her as though he would take the plates right out of her hands.

  She whirled as fast as her body would allow. “I’d like to.”

  The woman he’d introduced as his sister-in-law Sarah called out and the two young women moved to help, following Rose.

  The kitchen wasn’t closed off from the dining room, which meant that the low rumble of conversation from the table was still audible, though she closed her ears against the words.

  Davy had seemed slightly embarrassed by his family’s raucous behavior. It had startled her at first, the sheer number of them and the noise level after being isolated in the cabin for so long. And maybe the newness of it. Her stepmother never would have allowed that behavior.

  What made her the most uncomfortable was the feeling that they all fit together, knew each other intimately like a family should. And she didn’t fit.

  The two girls whispered to each other as they passed her.

  At least this task was familiar to her, in this uncomfortable place—her life!—that she found herself in. She could lose herself in the familiar motions and clink of dishes and forget for a moment that her entire life was in turmoil.

  She couldn’t quite ignore the awareness of Davy’s blue-eyed gaze as it followed her back and forth from the kitchen to the table. She found a pot of hot water on the stove and poured it into a washtub. Steam rose as bubbles frothed, the sweet smell welcome.

  “Are ya excited about your baby?”

  She’d just set a pile of plates and utensils on the work counter when she realized the younger of the girls had spoken to her.

  She looked up, her feet freezing her in place.

  The girl smiled a little sympathetically. “I’m Susie.” She nodded to her older sister. “That’s Cecilia.”

  A soft touch of gratitude at her consideration warmed Rose. In the flurry of introductions it had been impossible for Rose to remember all the names.

  The older girl joined them in near the counter, sending a curious glance between them, and Rose realized she hadn’t answered Susie’s question.

  “I suppose I’m more nervous than anything else. I don’t...don’t really know what to expect.”

  “How o
ld are you?” Cecilia asked.

  Rose blushed, hot and immediate. “That’s a very impertinent question, isn’t it?”

  Cecilia had the grace to look slightly abashed. “Sorry. I’m used to...” She motioned back toward the table, and Rose could well imagine that she heard all sorts of things that would shock Rose after her sheltered existence with her papa and stepmother.

  Rose shrugged, not sure it mattered anyway. “I’m nineteen,” she offered.

  “I’m seventeen,” Cecilia said. “And I’ve never had a man come courting.”

  “That’s because you’re obnoxious,” Susie muttered.

  Cecilia’s lips flattened and she reached out and pinched her sister’s side.

  “Our ma’s going to have another baby,” Susie offered, sliding out of her sister’s reach. “I’m sure she’d talk to you, if you don’t have your own ma...”

  The girl must’ve realized she’d moved into improper territory for speaking with someone she’d just met and ducked her head.

  Rose didn’t know what to say. Was it a friendly overture, even though the girl had been overtly digging for information?

  “Are you going to marry Uncle Davy?”

  A new voice, a young one, posed the question and Rose looked down on a blond-headed girl of about six. She quickly glanced back at the table. Had her voice carried back to Davy and his family?

  “Ida! Where did you get an idea like that?” Cecilia both shushed and picked up the young girl, placing her on her hip. As Cecilia and Susie were Oscar’s adopted daughters, Rose supposed that made them Ida’s nieces. What an unusual family.

  “I heard ya talking earlier when Maxwell was still here. About how a woman with a baby can’t take care of herself and since Uncle Davy found her, it’s his job. Ain’t that what you said?” The girl’s words were innocent, her face earnest as she watched Rose expectantly.

  Now Cecilia’s face turned crimson. Her eyes cut to Rose and then away. “I—”

  Whatever her explanation would have been, it was interrupted by Sarah’s approach. “Girls, are you irritating Rose?”