Great Wilder, you wanna fix up two places now? Maybe you’re in the wrong business.
Suddenly he heard a sound, the distinctive sound of a horse neighing.
Ethan leaped down from the porch and strode for the small barn. The door was open, one of the hinges broken. And there, believe it or not, were his missing equines.
“There you are,” he pronounced while he walked up to them. “What the hell are you doing here? Never mind,” he amended.
“Hell,” he muttered again.
Finding a couple of ropes in the barn, he made halters and led the team back to where Four waited patiently.
With the two horses in tow, Ethan headed back to Molly’s cabin…and to Molly.
He put all the horses in the corral. The water trough was definitely full. He’d worry about their food later. He could always hobble them and let ’em graze if it came to that.
He started for the cabin.
Katie opened the door. “Hello, Mr. Ethan,” she said beaming. “You come for breakfast?”
“I’ve come to make breakfast,” he answered, happy to see the kid. Two steps inside he stopped. The sweet smell of bacon frying reached him the same instant he saw her. “What the—”
“I see you found the horses. You were gone so long I was getting worried.” Molly turned to look at him. Their eyes met and it was the night before last all over again. For a heartbeat, it was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”
Ethan didn’t trust himself to move. “What are you doing?” What do you know, the man could talk.
“I’m making breakfast. Have a seat.” She gestured with a fork toward the table.
He didn’t. “You shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Sure I should.” She went back to stirring the bacon, and the grease popped and spattered. “Ouch.”
“You okay?”
“Oh, sure.”
This time when she looked at him she smiled, the most radiant, make-you-want-to-sigh smile he’d ever seen. His heart took on a funny sort of rhythm, slow and heavy and he couldn’t have moved just then if his very life had depended on it.
“Everything will be ready in a couple of minutes.” She scooped up the bacon and put it on a plate, then poured eggs into the hot grease. She looked bright and chipper and well. She looked like he’d want a woman—his woman—to look like in the mornings. Her hair was down, loose around her shoulders and she was wearing her flannel nightgown, which was thicker than a nun’s habit and just as long. She had a red wool shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
“Are you hungry? Mr. Wilder?”
The mention of his name jarred him out of this stupor he’d fallen into. “Uh, yes. Hungry.” He crossed the room and stopped next to her. “Why don’t you let me finish this?”
She shook her head, and her loose hair slipped seductively over her shoulders. He watched the way it curled at the very ends, thinking he’d like to curl it around his fingers.
“Nope. You’ve been waiting on us.” She angled her head around to look at him and softly amended, “You’ve been waiting on me for two days.”
“I didn’t mind,” he said just as softly, lost in the depths of her incredibly blue eyes. “Really. You should go back to bed.”
Each seemed lost in the other’s nearness, the other’s gaze.
“Mama. Mama! The egg’s are burning!” Katie’s voice broke the spell and both turned at once. She was pointing at the stove and the first puffs of black smoke rising from the pan.
“Oh, good Lord!” Molly shoved the skillet off the burner to inspect the remains. “I don’t think it’s too bad.”
Her shoulder brushed against his arm. “I think it’s fine.” He got lost in her gaze again.
“Mama?”
Ethan rallied first. “Yes, short stuff?”
“I’m hungry. Are we gonna eat soon? I wanna go check on my kittens.”
“We’re going to eat.” Molly got busy pulling down plates and serving up the extra crispy bacon and eggs she’d made.
“Here, let me.” Ethan took the plates from her hands and carried them to the table. “Come on, Katie. Let’s eat.”
He helped Molly with her chair as though they were in some fancy Chicago restaurant and Katie giggled. “Me, too,” she ordered and, laughing, he obliged.
It seemed strange sitting down together eating breakfast. It was as though he’d come in from working and they were waiting for him, his family. The notion settled easy on him, too easy, he reminded himself, because, looking at Molly over the breakfast table, he also realized she was not his wife, and Katie was not his daughter.
Ethan ate in silence, looking up occasionally. He caught Molly looking at him once, at least he thought he did, but she looked away so quickly he wasn’t certain.
“I’m sorry there’s no butter,” said Molly. “I had planned on going into town today to stock up, you know.” She sipped her coffee. “We’ll manage one more day without starving.”
“I’ll go for you,” Ethan said before he could think about it. “Are you going to need much?” The wagon wasn’t finished so he’d have to go on horseback.
Wilder, you’re getting in deep here.
No, he wasn’t. He was helping. The woman needed help and that’s what she was gonna get. It was good for business. Yes. That was right. Helping had nothing to do with an excuse to stay around here and everything to do with business.
“Oh, no.” Molly gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’ll go tomorrow.”
Ethan studied her over the edge of his coffee cup. “You aren’t going to be up to riding into town for a few days yet and besides—”
“I know, the wagon isn’t fixed.”
“I’ll work on it this morning but it’ll take more than a few hours depending on how much wood I can find that’s serviceable.”
“Absolutely not. You’ve done too much already and besides, you’ve got an injured hand.”
Ethan held up his bandaged hand for inspection. It didn’t feel too bad today, more a throbbing than actual pain. It reminded him of a powder burn he’d gotten at Bull Run. He’d survived that; he’d survive this.
“What about the wheel?” she asked.
He sighed. “Well, I can fix it temporarily but you’re going to need another one.”
Molly grimaced. “It’s going to be expensive, isn’t it?”
“Depends,” he hedged. It was relative to the amount of money a person had at the time. With her, he figured she didn’t have much.
“Mr. Wilder, you are a real friend. I don’t know what we would have done without you these last few days.”
Oh, great. He was a real true friend all right. A friend who wanted to take her home away. Somehow this didn’t seem like the right moment to mention that fact.
“Make a list,” he said. “I’ll ride into town and stock up. It won’t take me long.”
“Can I come, Mr. Ethan?” Katie asked.
“No. You stay here and help your mother.” He turned back to Molly. “I’ll be back by afternoon.”
“You really don’t have to do this.” Molly picked up her plate and Katie’s and headed to the kitchen and the large metal basin she used as a sink.
Ethan brought his plate along. “I’ll do the dishes.” He gently elbowed her aside. “You sit down and make out that shopping list.” He was already pouring water from the bucket into a saucepan on the stove to heat. “Don’t forget honey.”
She produced a piece of brown wrapping paper from a drawer for the list. “Honey’s too expensive.” She retrieved a pencil from the bureau and set to work.
Twenty minutes later, he’d heated water, washed and rinsed the dishes and set them to dry on the wooden counter. Molly had finished with the list, which she handed to Ethan.
“Is this it?” he asked.
“That’s it.”
“Not much to feed a growing man,” he commented as he tucked the paper into his shirt pocket.
“Well, normally I don’t have to feed a growing man and I wasn’t sure how long you’d stay.” Molly didn’t want him to leave. She chose not to examine her reasons too closely.
He looked at her for a long minute as though thinking about something then said, “I’ll go to town right after I finish a couple of chores.”
He hadn’t answered her question, Molly realized. She didn’t press the point. He was going to stay at least long enough to get supplies. She was grateful. She liked him.
Ethan’s voice startled her. “Katie, you wanna help me?”
“Sure.” She raced out the door. Even Katie, Molly realized, had taken a liking to the man. “Can I feed your horse?” was the last thing she heard from her daughter.
He laughed. “I don’t know how you hold up.”
“I wonder that myself sometimes.” Molly pulled her shawl around her shoulders, feeling a little chill prickle over sensitive skin.
“I’ll let you know before I leave.” With that he strode for the door and she wondered if he meant for town or for good.
Two hours later, Ethan had managed to find a little unburned hay for the horses. He’d checked them each over thoroughly to make sure none was injured.
Katie was busy playing with those kittens she seemed to hover over more than the mother cat.
Ethan led Four out of the corral and made quick work of saddling him up.
“See my kittens?” Katie dragged the washtub full of meowing cats in his direction.
“I sure do,” he answered absently, more concerned with checking the cinch and the condition of the rain-soaked leather. Stitching looked good, he thought as he ran his hand over the cantle and forward toward the horn. This saddle represented one third of everything he owned, the other two thirds being his clothes and one almost completed railroad.
Interesting how that railroad came last on his list.
Coincidence.
“So can we? Huh? Huh?”
Katie’s voice interrupted Ethan’s thoughts and he looked down at the little girl who was tugging on his pant leg. “Ah, sure.”
“Great!” Katie did a little jig. “Mama hates worms so she won’t never go but you don’t hate worms, do ya Mr. Ethan.”
His brows drew down in a frown. “No,” he started cautiously, “I don’t hate worms. What kinda worms?”
“For fishing, o’ course.”
“Fishing?” He shook his head adamantly. “I don’t have time for fishing.”
Her bottom lip came out. “But you said.”
“When?”
“Just now. I said can we, and you said sure.”
Great. Just great. What was he going to do now, tell her to forget it? She was growing up without a father and practically without a mother. He knew what that was like.
“Okay. Okay. When I get back we’ll fish.” With that he led Four toward the house.
“You won’t forget?” she prompted.
“No, I won’t forget. But it’s up to your mother. Okay?”
“Okay.”
While Katie went back to playing with the kittens, Ethan stopped near the front door.
Molly was seated at the table, her eyes closed. He said, “I’m ready to go.”
She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“Before you go…” She went to the bureau where she rummaged around in the bottom drawer.
“Here,” she said, her back still to him. When she turned around she was holding a small white porcelain jar. It looked like something a woman would keep doodads and such in.
“What’s that?”
She dumped out the contents into her hand. “Money for the supplies.”
“I don’t need any money.” That was his guilty conscience talking.
“Of course you do. We don’t have an account at the store. I don’t like running up bills.”
“Me, neither.” She was coming toward him with money in her outstretched hand. He was backing up. No way was he taking money from her.
“Take the money. How are you going to pay for the supplies otherwise?”
“I have money.” He was out the door, still backing up. “Later. Pay me later. After we know how much.”
He swung up on his horse as though to put distance between them.
She followed him outside. Sunlight glinted on her hair. The morning breeze swirled the hem of her nightgown around her ankles and he thought in that second that she looked more wild, more vulnerable than any woman he’d ever known.
“When will you be back?” she called to him, her eyes shaded against the light.
“Midafternoon, I think. Not later.”
She smiled then, a warm, lush smile that had his breath lingering in his chest.
Then she turned away, and the moment, the spell, was broken.
Strangely, he hated to leave. It felt as though it were for the last time, as though he’d never see her again. He would. But for how much longer?
Abruptly, he snatched his hat off and settled it lower on his forehead, then nudged Four into an easy trot.
“Bring me somethin’, Mr. Ethan,” Katie called as she came running to catch up to him. She ran alongside for a few yards.
“Like what?” he hollered down to her.
“Candy!” she shouted and waved as he pulled away. “Peppermint candy!”
Chapter Seven
The trip to town was slow. He took it extra easy since the roads were a quagmire from the rain. Besides, he was in no hurry. He needed time to think.
So what just happened there, Wilder? What happened to telling her about the land, about the railroad? You remember the railroad? The thing you’ve sunk every cent you’ve got into?
Yeah, he remembered all right. Though, looking at Molly he sometimes wished he didn’t. As for telling her, he would. Yes, he would tell her as soon as he got back from town. But…she was still sick and he had burned down her barn. Oh sure, it was an accident, him leaving the lantern there on the floor, but he’d done it just the same. So he owed her. He glanced at his injured hand and smiled remembering her concern as she’d bandaged it for him, the gentle touch of her fingers as she’d spread the salve on his blistered flesh. So gentle. So soothing. So intimate.
Wilder, are you out of your mind?
He didn’t want to think about that too closely.
Afraid of the answer?
Damned straight!
Around the curve in the road, War Bonnet came into view a quarter mile ahead.
As he rode into town he could see there was only one street. But there were survey stakes driven into the ground at the south end of town, and he knew they were marking the perimeter of lots, new lots. Red ribbons fluttered like flags from each stake.
So the locals were already trying to sell land. War Bonnet might be small now, but it was well situated on the road to the newly discovered gold camps in northern Wyoming and Montana. From here, supplies could be dispatched to army forts like Laramie and Benton and Kearney, and it provided access for the cattle ranches to the booming meat trade in Omaha and Chicago without having to drive the herds miles south to Cheyenne. All this was exactly the reason Ethan had chosen War Bonnet as the destination for his first railroad.
Ah, yes, first railroad, the first of many he hoped to build. Of course, all that pretty much depended on how well this one went. Right now, it wasn’t going at all.
He knew his best friend Billy was back at the end of track working hard, driving the men to go faster, to make time because they needed to be done and shipping before the first loan came due on July 15. If the railroad wasn’t in operation by then, he’d lose it all. It was as simple as that.
He reined up in front of Hadley’s Livery and jumped down from the wagon.
A big-bellied man with shoulder-length brown hair wandered out to greet him. “Can I do something for you?”
“I need a new wheel.”
The man raised his eyebrows and made a show of walking around Four. “All his wheels look fine to me. Whic
h one is it?” he asked with a split-tooth grin.
Ethan chuckled. “You’ve got me there.” He thumbed back his hat. “The wheel’s for a wagon.”
“Buggy or work wagon?”
“Work.”
“Well, I got a couple back here. You wanna take a look?”
The two men walked through the barn and out the other doorway. There were several wheels propped against the red-painted wall.
“Think any of these will do the job?” the man asked.
Ethan looked them over. Most were too small. Finally, with an experienced eye, he found one. “This one I think.”
The man nodded his understanding.
“How much?”
“Oh—” he rubbed his chin with his well-callused hand “—eight dollars.”
“Looks kinda weathered. I’ll give you five.” Ethan was already pulling out his money as an indication that the negotiations were over.
The man took the money and shoved it in his pants pocket, then he hefted the wheel free of the others. “How you gonna get this home?” he asked as he rolled the wheel along the ground toward where Ethan had tied up his horse.
“Good question.” He hadn’t really intended to buy the wheel but he was here and Molly was going to need the wheel and so…
“Look,” Ethan started. “I’m gonna be buying some supplies, too. How much to rent a buggy?”
“Three dollars,” the man answered with a definite twinkle in his eye.
Ethan made a sound in the back of his throat. “You’re gonna get that eight dollars one way or another aren’t you?”
“Appears so,” he answered, grinning.
“Okay,” Ethan threw up his hands in surrender. “You hitch the buggy and tie the wheel on the back while I get my supplies.”
“Say, I didn’t ask you where you were headed with my three-dollar buggy.”
“I’m headed out to the Murphy place,” Ethan said over his shoulder as he started across the street toward the mercantile.
Along the way he passed Mrs. Haggerty’s Boardinghouse, and took note of a sign in the window proclaiming Meals Served Daily. There was a feed and grain with a wagon out front, a man and a young boy loading sacks of oats.
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