“Come inside, please.”
“Is she—”
“Angie is fine. Come in, and we’ll talk about it.”
* * *
“Shayla,” Cathy whispered as the door swung closed behind her uncle and the doctor. “Is Angie really gonna be okay?”
Shayla swallowed the lump in her throat, blinked away the hot tears that burned her eyes. “Of course she is. She’s going to be fine.”
“I’ll never survive these two without you.”
“It’s my fault Angie’s hurt.” Cathy started to cry again. “I knocked it down. Angie wasn’t doin’ anything.” She buried her face against Shayla’s T-shirt. “I wanted to see that doll on the top shelf, but when I started to climb, it all fell down and—”
“It was an accident, sweetheart. And your sister will be fine in no time.”
“I’ll never survive these two without you.”
He hadn’t meant it the way it sounded. Deep in her heart, she knew he hadn’t meant it that way. But there it was anyway. It stood between them, like a yawning canyon.
* * *
“I told her I love her.”
Ty let the latigo drop and looked over the top of the saddle at Nat. “What?”
“I shouldn’t’ve done it. It’s too soon.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
Ty resumed saddling his horse. “She’s got a hankerin’ for you. I’m sure of it. Truth is, I told her so to her face a while back.” He chuckled softly. “’Course, who knows why she’d fall for the likes of you? No sane gal would.”
Nat knew his friend was joking, trying to improve his spirits, but he feared Ty might be close to the truth.
“Never can figure a woman,” the younger man continued. “Contrary creatures. Every last one of them.”
With a shrug, Nat turned and left the barn.
Was Shayla just being contrary? Did she care for him or had he misread her? Was it too soon for her to fall in love or was it impossible for her to ever return his feelings?
“Can we go now, Uncle Nat?”
He glanced toward the truck. The twins were already in the cab. And today he knew who asked the question. Cathy. The one without a bandage on her head.
“One minute,” he called to them, then spun on his heel and strode back to the barn. ‘Ty? You really think all she’s being is contrary? I mean, do you think she cares for me, despite everything?”
His friend chuckled before answering, “Pretty sure, boss.” He swung into the saddle, and then saluted Nat. “You and the gals have a good time over in McCall. I’ll see what I can find out from Anne.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Glad to help. Besides, if Shayla leaves Rainbow Valley, what’s gonna bring her pretty sister back for visits every now and again?”
Nat grinned, feeling a bit more lighthearted than moments before. “Maybe you’ll be proposing marriage before I do.”
“Not this cowboy. I’m not ready to shorten my stirrups, and neither is Anne. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t enjoyin’ being together now.” Ty clucked to his horse and rode off with a wave.
A short while later, Nat and the girls drove down the highway on their way to McCall and a day at the beach. Traffic was crazy. Every flatlander with a camp trailer seemed to be on the road in front of him, most of them slowing down to ten miles per hour at every curve in the road. This being Idaho, there were plenty of curves.
“How come Shayla didn’t join us?” Cathy asked.
“She had other things to do.”
“I like her. She’s nice.”
He glanced to his right, then back at the road. “Yeah. I think so, too.”
“You and her gonna get married?”
‘To tell you the truth, I was hoping we might someday. But I’m not sure how she feels about me.”
Cathy leaned forward on the seat. “We could help. Couldn’t we, Angie?”
“Sure!” her twin replied.
Flicking on his left turn signal in preparation for passing another slow-moving vehicle, he muttered, “I can use all the help I can get.”
Chapter 13
I’m not taking no for an answer.” Anne stood with her feet slightly apart, her knuckles resting on her hips in a superhero stance. She looked as determined and invincible as that mythical character, too. “You are going with us to the picnic and fireworks.”
“I don't feel like going,” Shayla protested.
“Tough cookies. You’re going whether you feel like it or not. I’ve listened to all the sighs I can tolerate for one day.”
“I’ve done no such thing.”
“Oh no? If your face gets any longer, you’re going to have to throw it over your shoulder like the ears of a basset hound.”
Shayla swiveled her chair toward her computer screen. “I’m going to stay home and write.”
“You are a coward, Shayla Vincent. Have some backbone. Show what you’re made of. If you don’t want anything to do with Nat, then fine. That’s your own business. But don’t hide out like some old hermit.”
“Go away.”
Anne laughed. Wickedly. “Sister dear, I’m not going anywhere. As Ty would say, ‘I’m gonna stick to you like a burr under a saddle.’”
“Oh, ple-e-e-z-e.”
“So give up and agree to go with us.”
“All right. All right. I’ll go. Just leave me alone for the afternoon.”
Laughing again, Anne sauntered out of the cabin. A few minutes later, Ty’s Jeep engine revved to life, a door closed, and Shayla heard them drive away.
At last. Peace and quiet. Now she could get back to her story.
“I love you, Shayla.
No, she wasn’t going to think about Nat. She wasn’t going to replay it all again. She’d, done little else for the past forty-two hours.
I love you, Shayla.”
How she wished Nat had never spoken those words. She had her writing to think about. Would she put a man before her calling? No. She wouldn’t allow herself to stray off the path she was to follow.
Only… Was it possible the Lord meant for love to be part of her future? Was it possible—
Giggles and whispers intruded on her confused thoughts. She turned toward the sounds to find two little girls peering at her through the screen door. Cathy and Angie.
Her heart skipped a beat. Nat! He’d come to see her.
“Hi,” the girls said.
“Whatcha doin’?” Cathy asked.
“Can we come in?” Angie inquired.
Shayla stood and walked to the door.
“You weren’t in church this morning.” Cathy pulled open the screen door. “Uncle Nat was lookin’ for you there. He says you don’t miss church for no reason.”
“I didn’t miss church.” Shayla braced herself for the moment Nat would step into view. “I went to the early service.”
“Oh. That explains it.” Angie stepped past her sister and into the cabin.
Shayla took a step back but kept her gaze on the open doorway.
“If you’re looking for Uncle Nat, he’s not here. He fell asleep on the couch after lunch. He was real tired.”
That brought Shayla around. “What? You mean he doesn’t know you’re here?”
Wide-eyed with innocence, Angie answered, “We didn’t wanna wake him. He was snoring.”
“You walked over here by yourselves?”
A vision of her near encounter with Samson flashed in Shayla’s mind. The alternative, that they’d come by way of the highway, wasn’t any more comforting. She felt sick to her stomach.
“You two sit down on the sofa while I call your uncle. He’ll be worried about you.”
“He won’t be worried. He’s asleep. Remember?”
Shayla ignored whichever twin had spoken and hurried toward the telephone. She dialed the number and waited through several rings before she heard Nat’s drowsy answer.
“Nat. It’s Shayla. Cathy and Angie are
at my place.”
“The twins? Where?”
“They walked over here. By themselves.”
That seemed to bring him fully awake. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up without another word.
Shayla turned toward the girls, now seated side by side on the sofa, as she’d instructed. “It was a naughty thing you did. You can’t leave the ranch without getting permission from an adult. I think you already know that.”
The twins turned toward one another, exchanged glances, then looked at Shayla again. Their eyes glittered with real tears.
“We didn’t mean to do anything wrong,” Angie whispered. “We just wanted to see you again.”
“Don’t you want to see us anymore?” Cathy added, followed by a tiny sob.
She couldn’t resist their tears. She went to sit between them on the couch. Placing an arm around each one, she hugged them to her sides.
“Of course I want to see you. But you have to understand. You could have been hurt, coming all this way by yourselves. What if you’d gotten lost on your way? Your uncle wouldn’t have known where to look for you or how to find you.”
“We didn’t mean to be bad.”
“Is Uncle Nat gonna hate us?”
“You aren’t bad, but you did make a bad choice. And no, your uncle isn’t going to hate you. He loves you very, very much.”
Angie buried her face against Shayla’s side. “I wish Mommy and Daddy were here.”
“Me, too,” Cathy choked out between sobs.
Me, too, Shayla thought while giving them each a kiss on the top of their heads.
* * *
That’s how Nat found them, bunched together on the sofa, the two girls crying and Shayla trying to comfort them. He didn’t bother to knock. He just opened the screen door and went in. Shayla heard him and glanced up.
Like a dying man in the desert, he drank in the sight of her, momentarily forgetting why he was there.
“Here’s your uncle,” she said to the girls.
They pulled away from her, then stood, looking guilty and remorseful. They expected a scolding. They deserved one, too. All the way over here, he’d practiced the tongue-lashing he would give them.
But instead he said, “It’s a good thing Shayla called me before I found you were gone. I would have had a heart attack.”
“Are you mad at us?” Cathy asked in a tiny voice.
“A little.” He glanced toward Shayla, adding, “But the main thing is you’re both all right.”
Shayla gave the girls a tiny push from behind, and they started across the room.
“When we get home, we’re going to have a long talk about rules and the consequences of breaking them. Deal?”
They nodded.
He gave them each a tight hug.
As he released them, Angie tugged on his shirtsleeve, then crooked her finger at him. He leaned down, and she whispered in his ear, “We were tryin’ to help.”
For a moment, he didn’t understand. Once he did, he couldn’t help smiling. Well, the little imps. Six years old and already playing matchmaker. Now how did a fella stay angry when their motive was such a good one?
He straightened, wiping the grin off his face as he did so. “You two go get in the truck. Don’t dawdle. Hear me?”
“Yes, Uncle Nat.”
He waited until they were off the deck. “I’m sorry they bothered you.”
“They weren’t any bother.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t be too hard on them. They didn’t mean any harm. It’s just—” She stopped.
“I appreciate your advice, Shayla. You know that.”
She shook her head. “It isn’t my place.”
It could be, he thought, but he managed not to say it. He’d rushed her before. He wouldn’t do it again.
“Tell the girls I’ll see them at the fireworks tonight,” she said.
It was obvious Cathy and Angie were her weak spot. It might not be fair, but he intended to use this newfound knowledge for all it was worth.
“You are taking them, aren’t you? To the fireworks?”
He frowned. “I probably shouldn’t allow them to go. They ought to be punished for running off the way they did.”
“Oh, no. It’s the Fourth. You mustn’t keep them home.”
‘Too harsh?”
“Maybe a little bit. They miss their parents, and they’re just starting to settle in to their unfamiliar surroundings. They should have this chance to meet other children. Perhaps you could make them…” Again she let her words drift into silence. A blush brightened her cheeks.
“Go ahead. Tell me your suggestions.”
“You need to do whatever you think’s right. You’re their uncle.” She glanced over her shoulder at her computer.
He decided not to press his luck. “Thanks again for calling me. See you tonight.” He turned and left.
* * *
Picnic tables at the town park were covered with a vast array of food—ham and fried chicken, baked beans and potato salad, Jell-O and sliced fruits, chips and dips, pies and cakes and cookies galore, and much, much more.
Families and friends gathered in the shade of old, misshapen trees, seated on folding chairs and blankets. The air was resplendent with conversations and laughter as longtime residents shared stories with relative newcomers, stories—nearly as old as the valley itself—that had been repeated time and time again through the years.
Cathy and Angie had no trouble making friends. It didn’t hurt that they were the only twins in Rainbow Valley. Add to that Angie’s bandaged head and the story of how it happened, and they quickly became the center of attention of the younger set.
With his plate piled high with food, Nat watched the twins interacting with the other children. If he hadn’t seen the transformation himself, he wouldn’t have believed these were the same two girls who returned with him to the ranch after their parents’ departure. Those kids had done nothing but cry and wail and make mischief. These two were all smiles. Not that he didn’t think there would be more homesick scenes ahead, but maybe the worst was behind them.
He had Shayla to thank for that.
With his gaze, he sought her out, finding her on a blanket with Ty and Anne on the opposite side of the park. She watched the children as he had done a moment before.
“What is it you’re so afraid of?” he whispered.
As if she’d heard him, she looked in his direction. Their gazes met for a fraction of a second, and then she glanced away. But the brief exchange was enough to keep hope alive in his heart, for he was certain he saw his own feelings mirrored in her eyes. She cared for him much more than she would admit.
I’m not giving up. He’d spent many hours in prayer over his feelings for this woman. He’d failed in his marriage, and he hadn’t done much better with relationships since the death of his wife. He didn’t want to fail with Shayla, and he would need help for that.
What is it, Lord, that causes her to resist?
His gaze slid to Anne. He hadn’t cared much for Shayla’s sister when she first arrived. He’d thought her vain and spoiled. But Anne loved and admired her older sister and was protective of her. She wanted Shayla to be happy.
Anne Vincent would be a good person to have in his corner, and he thought she might already be there.
He grinned. That made it five against one—the twins, Anne, Ty and Nat. No, wait. Make that six against one. He believed with all his heart that God wanted Shayla in his life.
How could she resist them all?
* * *
“Don’t you think Nat must be lonely over there?” Anne asked.
Despite herself, Shayla glanced in his direction again. He looked different in his T-shirt, Bermuda shorts, and sandals. Very unlike the cowboy she was used to seeing, but every bit as handsome.
“Maybe we should invite him to join us,” her sister added.
She returned her gaze to Anne. “He isn’t lonely. He knows everybody in th
e valley.”
“Hmm.” Anne rose from the blanket.
“Where are you going?”
“For more dessert.” Anne smiled. “Want some?”
She shook her head.
“How about you, Ty?” her sister continued.
“No thanks.” He patted his stomach as he leaned back on his arms, his legs stretched before him. “I’m too full to eat another bite.”
Anne strolled toward the food tables. More than a few heads turned as she walked by.
“Your sister must have a hollow leg. Never seen a gal put away as much grub as she can and stay so skinny.”
“That’s what our mother says.”
Ty removed his hat and set it on the blanket beside him, then lay flat on his back and stared at the cloudless blue sky, his hands now cradling his head. “So how’s that book comin’?”
“Okay.”
“Been kinda hard with Anne here, I take it.”
She shrugged. “A little.”
“Plenty of excitement over at Paradise, now that the twins have come for a spell.”
She glanced across the park, but Nat was no longer where he’d been. Disappointment stung her heart.
“Don’t know how Nat’s coping so good. Last thing I’d want, if I was in his place, would be to get saddled with a couple of youngsters for a year. He’s got plenty to do as it is, running the ranch. Now he says he’s gotta find somebody to watch ’em during the day while he’s working. What’s he know about hiring a babysitter? Will you tell me that?”
She wished Ty would change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Nat. She didn’t want to think about him. But she continued to scan the park anyway.
She looked in vain.
* * *
Nat leaned against a large tree, glad for the shade and surprised no one else had claimed this spot before him. The melody of Rainbow Brook, shallow and lined with smooth stones, sang softly as it cut through the northwest corner of the town park.
From this vantage point, he could observe Cathy and Angie on the playground equipment while maintaining an unobstructed view of Shayla and Ty.
Trouble in Paradise Page 13
