Now that you have all of the facts I will tell you this: I will be kind to you. I will never hurt or disparage you in any way. I will expect you to love and care for Lily, but as for me I can care for myself and I’ve had the one great love of my life, so you and I can try to look at this as a sort of business arrangement. I have no intentions or interest in falling in love again, so if you have romantic notions please keep looking for a man that can give you what you need.
I just read that all back and for a twenty-three year old woman from the city, it must sound terribly depressing. If you found it so and have changed your mind…I will understand.
Sincerely,
Luke Skylar
He was right, none of it sounded very appealing. Hannah wanted a man to love her someday. She wanted a family of her own. But she was also of the same mind as he was about this being a “business arrangement.” They were bartering their services and who’s to say that someday they wouldn’t at least grow fond of each other. She may be making the biggest mistake of her life, but something about his honesty and his obvious adoration for his child had sold her before she’d read the letter through a second time. Something told her that this man and his child would be worth taking a chance on.
The stagecoach jostled her again, this time throwing her sideways. Poor Hildegard got the same treatment on her side and Hannah worried that the other woman didn’t have enough meat on her to protect her prominent bones. She let out a little squeak and then righted herself. Smoothing down her skirts, she folded her hands in her lap and resumed her staring off into space. For a minute Hannah wondered what her story was…but then she remembered that she had her own story to worry about and that was exactly what she went back to doing for the remainder of the trip.
Another hour passed and the driver yelled, “Yoakum,” as he guided the horses in front of a livery stable. One of the two men operating the stagecoach jumped down and opened the door to help them out. Hannah waited for Hildegard to exit first. Mr. Peters waited for Hannah to step down before he did. Hannah stood on shaky legs and looked around. Luke hadn’t been kidding when he described Yoakum. There were literally five buildings and two of them looked to be leaning sideways. The thing she noticed the most however was the dust. She’d heard that Texas was in the midst of a drought. Everywhere she looked, it was apparent, and it was hot. She could feel herself baking as she stood on the wooden deck, underneath the aluminum awning.
She looked around the platform while the feeling returned to her legs. She saw a very tall man…he had to be six-foot six or seven in his tall cowboy hat. He was as thin as Hildegard and his nose came to a point on the end between two beady little eyes. His eyes were flitting back and forth between her and Hildie. She felt somewhat bad as she found herself hoping that he was here for Hildegard.
“Mr. Chitwood?” Mr. Peters took the initiative.
“Yes!” The tall man looked at Hildegard and for the first time in three days I saw her smile…she was kind of pretty. “Hildegard?” She nodded. Mr. Peters turned back to Hannah and said,
“Do you see your intended dear?” There were three men and two older ladies on the platform. Hannah wasn’t sure at all if she saw him, since she didn’t know who she was looking for.
She smiled at him and said, “Not yet, but I’ll be fine. You go on and be with your niece.”
He clasped her hands in his and said, “I wish you a happy life my dear.”
“Thank you Mr. Peters. I wish you and your niece the same.”
Hannah watched him walk over to where Hildie was chatting with her fiancé. She had barely said two words the whole way here, but she seemed to be finding lots to say to him. Hannah smiled again. Hopefully she’ll find that much in common with Luke.
“Miss McMurray!” she heard the little girl voice and turned towards it. A tiny little dark-haired girl was running across the platform towards her. The girl was dressed in boy’s clothes, a pair of jeans and a denim work shirt and her hair framed her face in wild curls that didn’t end until they got to her waist. “It’s you, isn’t it? I told Pa you’d be beautiful! I could tell by your letters you were beautiful!” Hannah smiled. For all that Luke protested not to be a romantic in his letters; he had failed to mention that Lily was.
“Hello Lily. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Hannah held out her hand to the little girl, but instead of taking it, Lily threw herself at Hannah, wrapping her arms around Hannah’s legs and hugging her. Hannah was looking down at the girl when she heard her say, “Isn’t she beautiful, Pa?”
Hannah looked up then into the most beautiful pair of dark blue eyes she had ever seen. “Hello,” he said from a mouth that was framed by the most sensuous lips ever possessed by a man. Hannah felt herself blush as she wondered what it would be like to kiss them. He was well over six feet tall, broad shouldered and his arms had the sort of lean muscle a man gets from hard work. He had on a cowboy hat, but what she could see of his hair it was dark brown or even black. The whole man was very nice…but those eyes were just incredible. She heard him clear his throat and realized that she hadn’t spoken.
“Hi…Luke, I presume?”
He put out his hand and she took it. The strangest tingling sensation ran up her arm and straight into her chest.
“I’ll grab your things and load them in the wagon while Lily keeps you company.” She realized then that she was still holding onto his hand. Feeling her face go hot again, she let go and said,
“Thank you.” He picked up the trunk the stagecoach driver had sat next to Hannah with ease and she watched as he carried it across the platform.
“He thinks you’re pretty. I can tell,” Hannah had forgotten about Lily. She looked down and the little girl was looking up at her with a grin on her face. “I’m so happy to have a new mother,” Lily said. This time Hannah had to force a smile as the reality of her situation set in.
***
Luke loaded the heavy trunk into the buckboard and glanced over at his new “bride.” Lily was talking her head off and Hannah looked like she was in some kind of shock. She was awfully pale, like she’d never seen the sun before today…and that dress…Where did she think she was going? To a ball? He sure hoped that she brought something more practical to wear than that in this big old trunk of hers. That dress would never do for collecting eggs or shucking hay. He glanced at her again. She was wearing a tiny little hat with a veil that came down over her forehead. He could see that her hair was red, but she had it in a tight bun, all wrapped up in some kind of net. He wasn’t sure if it was long or short, thick or thin…. And then he had to ask himself the hard question, why did he care? He’d already decided he wasn’t going to get romantically involved. She could be as ugly as a pig butt and it shouldn’t matter. She glanced over and caught him looking at her. She wasn’t ugly, at all. Her eyes were a pretty hazel color, more green than brown…and that white skin…well, as impractical as it was going to be, he bet it was soft.
“Are you ladies ready?” he called out to them. Lily took Hannah’s hand in hers and dragged her over. Hannah didn’t seem bothered by it and he gave her credit for that. The two of them seemed to be bonding already. No matter what happened between him and Hannah, he had to remember that she was here primarily for Lily. He helped Lily up and then Hannah. When his big hands went around her small waist and the gentle fragrance of spring wafted into his nostrils, he was suddenly reminded of how long it had been since he’d touched a woman. He had a girl he “visited” on his buying trips to Austin once a year…but that was it since Cassie died. He held onto her a little bit too long and when he let her go, he climbed up onto the driver’s seat, mentally shaking his head. This woman was here for Lily and he needed to keep reminding himself of that until it sunk back in.
As Luke urged the team out of town and onto the trail that would lead them back out to the ranch, he looked at Hannah out of the corner of his eye. She had opened a little parasol and was holding it up over her head to block out th
e sun. That explains the white skin. He couldn’t help but wonder if she planned to work the ranch carrying that silly thing around with her. Her profile was facing him as she scanned the countryside. He wondered what she thought of it…it was a far cry from New York. He also couldn’t help but notice how pretty her features were. She had a tiny little nose and high cheekbones…a spatter of freckles across her nose and those almond shaped hazel eyes…
“How far is your ranch from here?” she asked, catching him assessing her again.
“It’s about five miles out of town,” he said.
“You raise cattle?”
“Yes. I have about seventy head of cattle right now. Long horns. We also have chickens and pigs and a few milk cows. We grow most of our own food too. What we can’t grow, I’m usually able to trade for.”
She smiled politely and again Luke had to wonder what in the world he was thinking. This woman didn’t know the first thing about cows or chickens or growing her own food. He knew that Lily needed a mother, but he should have contented himself with advertising for one in an area where there were women who knew how to handle themselves on a ranch. He shouldn’t have brought this city girl out here. She was going to be miserable and she was way too pretty…He’s still not sure what that has to do with anything. He sighed heavily. He’d made his bed now…he’d have to lie in it.
***
Hannah was surprised when she saw the house. It was a tiny little log cabin and although she’d expected small…she hadn’t expected it to be so homey. Luke…or someone had planted wildflowers around the perimeter of the small front porch and there were two rocking chairs that looked handmade sitting on either side of the door. There was a stone chimney on top and there were a lot of windows, with what looked to be real glass panes.
There was a barn off to one side and some chicken coops in the back of the house and what looked to be a holding pen in front. Luke pulled the wagon in front of the house. He helped Lily down and went around to where Hannah sat. He reached up and circled her waist as she put her hands on his shoulders. Every time he touched her so far she’d gotten that tingly feeling all over. This time wasn’t any different. Hannah had never felt anything like it before. She also wasn’t in the habit of having men touch her. She’d been courted by a wealthy young man whose father owned a shipping company just before her mother took ill. They hadn’t made it to the touching stage before she had to stop seeing him to care for her mother.
He swung her off the wagon like she was light as a feather and then he went around the back of the wagon and did the same with her trunk. His face was neutral and she assumed that meant touching her didn’t have the same effect on him as his touch did on her.
“I’m going to put this in your room and go put the horses away and then I have some work to do. Lily will show you to your room. If you’d like to freshen up and rest, Lily can help you find whatever you need, and she can make supper too.” Hannah couldn’t help but think that was a lot of responsibility for an eight year old girl. She looked around at the large ranch however and she was sure that Luke had no choice but to utilize the help that he had.
“Thank you.” She told him. She caught herself watching the flex of his arm muscles as he carried the trunk into the house. The effect he had on her was surprising. It wasn’t that she’d never found a man attractive before…but there was something about this one that made her belly feel like it was on fire. He went back outside and Lily took her hand again and led her a few feet and said,
“This is the sitting room.”
Hannah surveyed it. The furniture all looked hand made out of wood with hand sewn cushions in a soft shade of yellow covering the seats. The windows had yellow curtains on them that were dusty and worn with age. There was a tiny little fire place and a shelf in the corner filled with books. Lily pulled her towards another door and through that was a tiny little bedroom with a lumpy looking little wooden bed and a wooden stand with a wash basin set inside of it. This room was where Luke had set her trunk.
The next room was a little bigger and the bed was twice the size of the one in her room. This must be Luke’s room. There was a vanity with a little mirror on it and a chest of drawers. On top of the chest was a photograph of a woman with long dark hair. She had gentle features and big, round eyes. Hannah went over and picked it up. “Is this your Ma?” she asked Lily.
Lily nodded. “I don’t remember her. I used to think I could, but I realized it was all the stories Pa told me about her that I had inside of my head. I was only two when she died.”
“I’m sorry for your loss Hannah. It had to be difficult for you to grow up without a mother.”
She suddenly found herself wrapped up in the hug of the little girl once more. She reached down and pet Lily’s hair. Her fingers got stuck in places and it felt greasy. The poor thing was starving for attention and before the evening was over, Hannah would understand why.
After Hannah washed up and changed out of her traveling dress into a more practical one, Lily finished showing her where the entrance was to the root cellar and where the outhouse was. She showed her the henhouse and pointed out to her which hens to avoid when she was collecting the eggs in the morning. She also showed her the vegetable garden which looked like it was thriving to Hannah.
“Does your Pa help you take care of the garden?”
“No. He turned the ground for me and bought me the seeds to plant. The rest of it I did all by myself.”
“Impressive Lily. You have a lot of responsibility for a girl so young.”
Lily shrugged. “I try and help Pa as much as I can. He has so much to do. I need to pick some vegetables for the stew,” Lily told her. “Do you want to help me?”
“Sure.” Hannah had no idea what she was doing but Lily turned out to be a great teacher for a little eight year old. She showed Hannah which ones to pick and how to tell when they were ready. They took the back to the house and Hannah went to wash up once again. When she came back out she found Lily in the kitchen mixing ingredients to make cornbread. “What can I do to help, Lily?”
The little girl grinned. She was a really pretty little girl. Maybe Lily could talk her into letting her do something with that wild hair. “You can make this cornbread,” she said. “Pa acts like he likes mine…but I’m afraid he’s gonna break his teeth on it one of these days.” Hannah laughed. He may not spend much time with her, but from the things Lily said, it sounded like the time Luke did spend with his daughter was quality.
“Okay then, what have you done so far?” Lily told Hannah what ingredients she’d put in so far and then she moved on to wash the vegetables that they had picked from the garden earlier and get them ready for the stew. The little girl talked non-stop while they worked and Hannah listened, adding the obligatory mm hmm and uh huh as they went along. By the time supper was ready, there probably wasn’t much about Lily that Hannah didn’t know. Hannah helped Lily set the table and then said, “Should we call your father?”
“No ma’am, he won’t come in yet. He doesn’t come in until it gets dark.”
They sat down together at the table and Hannah said, “What time does he leave in the morning?”
“Before the sun comes up…but he comes in a little later to have breakfast and he comes back for lunch.”
“So other than breakfast and lunch he’s gone all day…every day?”
“Yes, unless we have to go to town for supplies.” Hannah was shaking her head. No wonder this poor girl was already so attached to her. She was practically living alone way out here.
They cleaned up the dishes together after they finished eating and by that time the sun had gone down enough that they needed to light the kerosene lanterns. They sat down and read together for a while before Hannah said, “Lily, do you have a bathtub?”
[2016] My True Love Page 9
