“How can you afford to do that for free?”
Elizabeth grinned. “It doesn’t happen often enough for it to make a difference to us.”
“That’s nice to know. I’ll keep it in mind.” He looked at the doctor as he continued. “My ranch in Kentucky was very successful. My cousin Mark may have mentioned it to you before.”
The doctor shook his head. “Although I do like Mark Anderson quite a lot, I don’t know him well enough to speak of family affairs. Other than medically.”
Gabe nodded. “I understand. Well, my ranch was very successful. A thousand cattle, huge mansion, lots of extra land to hunt and fish on. My land was very prosperous, as well, the soil was very fertile. I got a good price for it when I sold it and I did it on the condition that the new owners had to keep on my employees. I didn’t want them losing their jobs because I decided to sell.”
“Did you owe people money?” Harry asked, bluntly. Gabe stared at him.
“That’s hardly the conversation to have in front of ladies,” he scolded. He frowned and pressed his lips together. “But I have to say that no, it wasn’t because I owed people money. I wanted to come back to Wickenburg and decided to sell off all of that responsibility. Someone else can care for that place now. It was practically hemorrhaging money.” He felt bad for lying to them. The ranch had always been successful. Money had never been an issue for him.
“I thought you owned all kinds of land and had a lot of money?” Instead of looking at Gabe when he asked the question, Harry was giving Agatha a tight-lipped, inquisitive look. She didn’t look back at him. She remained staring down at her plate, picking at the food there with a fork.
“I have money,” he replied. “Enough to live on and survive and be freely independent. I owe no debts and I have no family to care for. So with the sale of the mansion, which was truly too big for one person anyway, and the land to go with it, I am set for many years.”
“That must be nice.” When some people said that phrase, it sounded like sarcasm. When Claire said it, it was like melted butter in his ears. He wanted to keep listening to her deep-throated compliments. For the rest of his life.
“I think all of this is hardly any of our business,” Mrs. Campbell said, much to Gabe’s relief. He hated explaining himself to other people. They typically didn’t understand and if they did, they were jealous of his situation. He was a fast draw and a sure shot. He didn’t want to get into any duels with some woman’s husband because she went for his charms. He wouldn’t kill himself over a woman and he would never kill another man over a woman. It was something he’d vowed from the first moment he could remember.
CHAPTER TEN
LUNCH AT THE HORSE N SADDLE
LUNCH AT THE HORSE N SADDLE
Gabe leaned over the table and blew the sawdust off the top. He’d been running the sandpaper over the top of the table with precision, taking out the ruts and gashes. He scanned the surface and ran one hand over it to check how smooth it was.
“It’s coming along nicely, Gabe. You’re really talented.”
Gabe looked over his shoulder at Mark, who was standing behind him. “Thanks, cousin. I do like to work with my hands.”
“You’re good at it. You could make a lot of money with me, you know. You’ve got the talent for it.”
Gabe stood up straight and looked down at the table, stepping back to scan it from a distance. “I think it needs more work.”
“Of course it needs more work. It always needs more work. An artist is never finished with his handiwork, you know. If you give a man long enough, he’ll change his original work and make it something completely different.”
“I know.” Gabe glanced at Mark before looking back at the table. He stepped back over to it, bent down and rubbed a small spot with the sandpaper in his hand. He blew the dust away and ran his finger over it. “That’s better.”
“You haven’t got much left, Gabe. You’ll be done before the festival this weekend.”
Gabe looked at him. “What difference does that make?”
“Well, I’m fairly certain Mrs. Crabtree is going to use this table to display her cakes.”
“She’s going to use this table to display cakes?” Gabe asked incredulously. “This table is fine enough to serve china on, the finest china.”
Mark looked at him with a grin and one raised eyebrow. “You, my friend, do not know Mrs. Crabtree’s cakes. They are like the finest china, the finest porcelain, the finest gold.” He lifted his fingers to his mouth and kissed the air with them. “You wait and see if you don’t agree with me. I’m willing to bet money you will.”
“So her cakes are comparative to the finest gold?” Gabe couldn’t help smiling. He was going to have to meet this Mrs. Crabtree. She sounded like a fine woman. “She’s an older woman?”
“Of course she is. She’s been baking those cakes for her children and grandchildren and even great-grandchildren for so many years, she could do it in her sleep.”
Gabe laughed. “Well, all right then.”
“You are going to the festival, aren’t you?”
Gabe looked at Mark like he’d lost his mind. “Am I going to the festival? It’s going to be right outside my window. I think it would be very disrespectful if I holed up in my room. People might think there was something wrong with me.”
Mark snickered. “They wouldn’t be far wrong.”
Gabe jabbed Mark with his elbow and the men laughed.
“How’s your project coming along?”
Mark shrugged. “It’s coming along. That’s about all I can say. You ready to break for some lunch? I thought we’d go to Sam’s. The Horse N Saddle. What you think?”
Gabe nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that. I could use some grub.”
He patted the table with the cloth in his hand before dropping the cloth and turning away. “I’ll come back to this. I’m glad you gave me a project to work on, Mark. I don’t think I would have made it if I had to stay in the hotel or just walked around all the time. I would have gone crazy, for sure.”
“Don’t you have a woman that’s interested in you there?”
Gabe looked at Mark as he pulled on his vest and strapped on his gun. “What do you know? What have you heard? And who did you hear it from?”
Mark laughed, following Gabe through the door. They both mounted their horses and turned them toward town. “Alice told Molly there’s a woman in the hotel who talks about you constantly.”
Gabe frowned. “I don’t see how that’s possible. I don’t talk to anyone about my life. What could she possibly have to say about me?”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “She has plenty to say. I’ve heard some wild tales about you that even I hadn’t heard in your letters. Did you really ride with the bulls in Italy?” Mark burst out laughing at the look of shock on Gabe’s face.
“She said I rode with the bulls in Italy? Is she insane?”
“I think she just wants people to think she has a special connection to you. That happens, you know. Especially with you. From what I’ve heard, your charms have gotten you in trouble in the past.”
Gabe’s heart thumped hard and he tried not to hold his breath. Anxiety flushed through him. All of his troubles were because of women. Always had been. Inappropriate advances from women whether they were married or not had cost him business deals, cattle sales, and even friendships.
“Yeah, it’s happened.”
“So this time you have a woman who wants to be known as yours. And she wants everyone to know it.”
“I don’t want Agatha,” Gabe said plainly. “She isn’t the woman I’m interested in.”
Mark laughed. “So there is a woman. Okay. You keep her a secret from the rest of us.”
“I can’t do that. She lives there, too. There aren’t many and it isn’t Elizabeth.” He looked at Mark. “It’s Claire. But don’t say anything to anyone. That’s my business. You mind?”
Mark shook his head. “Of course not. I won’t say a thing.
You take your time, Gabe. You found a ranch or any land you want to buy yet?”
Gabe shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Well, make sure you build a house big enough for a wife, some children, and your stalker.” Mark laughed like he’d made the funniest joke in the world. Gabe just looked at him, shaking his head.
They reached the Horse N Saddle not much later and dismounted in front, tossing the reins over a hitching post.
The bright sun outside made the inside of the saloon seem much darker than it really was when they first entered. Gabe gave his eyes some time to adjust before taking a seat at a nearby table. Mark went to the bar and got them two mugs of beer. He returned and set one of them down in front of his cousin.
“Here you go. Drink up. It’s only going to get hotter.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t come from Alaska, Cousin,” he said sarcastically. He broke into a grin immediately. “And I thank God for that. I love the warm, dry climate of the west. There’s really nothing like it. Kentucky is beautiful, it really is. And the weather is different there than here. But not by much. Not as dry, not as hot. But just as beautiful.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” Mark took a drink from the mug. “I ordered us a couple ham and cheese sandwiches.”
“Thanks.”
Mark nodded. “So I also hear you are going to win a couple of the strongman contests this weekend.”
Gabe exhaled sharply. “Where do you keep hearing these things?”
Mark grinned wide and Gabe said it with him, “Molly.”
Gabe shook his head. “These women. Do they have anything better to do than stand around talking about men?”
With a quick laugh, Mark leaned forward to speak in a low voice. “I happen to think my Molly does more than her fair share of the work in our house. I’m gonna give her a pass if she wants to gossip about her man. And she can’t help what she hears from other people about their lives. She only tells me and if it’s something that might hurt that person, the secret stays with me. But this particular information is about you. So that makes it your business, too, right?”
“I like your logic, Mark.”
“Why, thank you, cousin.”
Sam came over with the sandwiches and set them down in front of the men. “Here you go--two ham and cheese sandwiches. My specialty for lunch, Gabe. I hope ya like it.”
“I’m sure I will, Sam. If it’s a specialty that means other people like it and if other people like it, I’m sure I will, too.”
Sam laughed, waving his hand in the air as if it didn’t matter which way Gabe went. He turned and walked back to the bar when his name was called by one of the other patrons. He lifted one finger in the air as he jogged back to the bar. “Coming,” he said, hurriedly.
“I am going to enter a couple of the competitions,” Gabe admitted. “But I don’t know if I can compete with some of the younger men. I am no spring chicken, you know. I’ve got some years on these bones.”
“Bah!” Mark said, shaking his head, speaking in a teasing tone. “You are barely pushing forty.”
Gabe narrowed his eyes. “I won't be forty for another year now, Mark.”
Mark put his mug to his lips and looked over the top but not at Gabe, at the ceiling or anything else that might be in his line of sight. He knew how old Gabe was.
“You think I’m too old to get married and have children?” Gabe asked. Mark looked at him. He almost sounded mournful. “I bet you think that, don’t you? I’d have to find a younger woman so she would be able to bear children.”
“Well, if that’s your goal, it shouldn’t be too hard,” Mark said. “Every single woman I’ve ever known… and some married ones, too… have tried to make a move on you. Mothers, sisters, cousins, aunts. They all want a piece of Gabriel Stapleton.”
“You make me sound like a piece of meat.”
“In their eyes, you might be.”
“That’s horrible. I don’t want to be a piece of meat.” Just after saying that, Gabe ripped off a huge bite from his sandwich. He sat chewing, looking contemplative. Mark sat across from him in silence, eating peanuts from the bowl in the middle of the table and tossing the shells on the floor. He finally took a bite of his sandwich.
“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave yet.”
Both men heard the sound of a woman’s voice on the other side of the saloon. They turned to see Sam struggling with Agatha. His hands were on her arms and she was writhing back and forth. “Let me go, Sam. Let me go.”
“I can’t let you drink any more, Miss Agatha.” Sam was saying in an apologetic voice. “You are becoming disruptive and embarrassing yourself. You don’t want to do that, do you?”
“I don’t… I’m not…” she went on, slurring her words. She was wearing a fancy hat that had tipped to the side and the feathers were bouncing up and down as she moved. It was obvious Sam was trying to control her without hurting her.
“Another moment and he’ll be turning her over his shoulder, Gabe,” Mark said in a solemn voice. “You better go over there and get her. She’ll listen to you.”
Gabe turned forlorn eyes to his cousin. “Do I have to?”
“I think it would be best, don’t you? You know she’ll listen to you. You’re the only one she will. Now go on over there and do your civic duty, cousin.”
Gabe let out a groan and got to his feet with a sigh. He was on the other side of the room quickly, ducking to put himself in Agatha’s line of vision. Just as Mark had predicted, as soon as she saw him, she stopped struggling with Sam. The big Irish bartender looked at Gabe with grateful eyes, releasing the drunken woman.
“G… Gabe… I… I…”
“Come on, Agatha. Let’s go back to the hotel. You need some coffee and maybe someone to talk to.”
Agatha gave him a weak smile. “I could use some company. I could use some… some coffee… whatever… whatever you think is best, Gabe.”
Gabe tried not to sigh. He tried not to feel frustrated. This woman was going to be harder to repel than most of the others. She was determined, already making up lies about him and their relationship. They had no relationship. They lived in the same hotel. That was the extent of it.
He took her arm and led her to the door. The entire way, she was looking up at him adoringly. He glanced at his cousin, who was smirking, looking like he might burst out laughing at any moment. He glared at him through eyes of daggers.
As he left the saloon, Gabe could hear Mark’s laugh drifting toward him through the air.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CLAIRE’S FIRST DAY
CLAIRE’S FIRST DAY
Claire got up from the chair to get her shoes. She’d set them there so she wouldn’t have to look for them this morning. She was excited about the new job she was about to go to. When she’d first arrived in Wickenburg, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay. However after Gabe’s arrival, everything had changed. Suddenly, she had a very good reason to stay.
She thought of him as she pulled on her boots, tying them up the front quickly. She adjusted her dress and smoothed down her apron. She was wearing her hair up today but always left a few curls to circle down around her face. It was prettier that way. In addition, she wanted Gabe to notice her.
She checked herself in the mirror. Satisfied, she turned away and hurried to the door of her hotel room. Her heart was racing as she went out and down the stairs to the lobby.
To her dismay, the only person in the lobby was Agatha. She looked very unhappy as usual. She was sitting on the couch, her legs pulled up beside her, a book in her hands, resting on her lap. She looked up when Claire came down and passed to the front door. Claire looked at her and nodded.
Agatha didn’t respond until Claire was at the front door. “Claire. I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”
Claire stopped and turned to her. “Agatha, I’m starting at the schoolhouse today as an assistant teacher. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“School
doesn’t start this early in the morning,” Agatha said. “And this will only take a moment.”
“I like to get there early…” Claire wanted desperately to go out the door. She knew this conversation was going to be about Gabe and she didn’t want to think about that right now. She wanted to enjoy her first day at the schoolhouse and enjoy the new feelings she had for a man. She didn’t have time for anything negative in her life.
“I said it will only take a moment,” Agatha tried using a friendlier voice, though her words didn’t sound friendly. She tried to smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. Claire returned the fake smile with one of her own.
She took a few steps back in the lobby, closer to Agatha. “What is it?”
“I want to ask you something.” Agatha set her book to the side and stood up. She took a few steps closer to Claire so they were looking eye-to-eye.
“Go right ahead.”
Claire watched Agatha closely. She was running something through her mind. Claire tried not to think of Agatha as wicked or evil but it was written all over the hawkish face of the woman in front of her. She hoped her thoughts weren’t showing on her face but they probably were. Agatha ran her eyes up and down Claire’s body. “You are looking very sharp this morning.”
“Thank you, Agatha.”
Claire waited a moment, staring at Agatha. “What did you want to ask me, Agatha? I have only a little time to spare. As I said, I want to be early and-“
“How invested are you in Gabe?” Agatha asked, not taking her eyes off Claire.
Claire hesitated. She hadn’t really thought about how invested she was in the man. She just knew she was attracted to him and he seemed to be attracted to her. She shrugged, not wanting to give the impression that she was better than Agatha in any way. “I don’t know how invested I am. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“How can you not think about it?”
Claire tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
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