“It did. I’m eager to get started fencing off some areas and building a temporary house so I can move out of the inn. The barn will be next then a real house. I’m not sure what I want, though. A big porch or a small one?”
“Big, of course.”
Suddenly he could see it: a wide, long porch offering plenty of space for relaxing at day’s end and room for children to play. “You’re right.”
She smiled. “What about your cattle?”
“Jeb—my new friend—and I already spoke to one of the neighboring ranchers about purchasing some of their stock to get us started.”
“Will Jeb be your partner?”
Drew swallowed a sip of water. “He has no interest in partnership, but he’s willing to be my foreman.”
“So, like you, he came to Turtle Springs to work, not because of the audition?”
“Oh he came to audition, all right, and he’s taken a shine to a particular gal, but he won’t tell me who she is. All he’ll say is she’s a hardworking widow.”
“What a mystery. I wonder who—”
Virginia returned bearing two plates of fragrant pork roast, and Drew and Birdy said a brief prayer before lifting their forks and shifting the conversation. The meal was delicious, but Drew could have eaten straw and been as content as he was now. Birdy’s eyes flashed as she asked questions about the ranch, their green hue almost a match to her grass-green dress. The lamplight played on her hair, making it look golden and bright. A more learned man could find a way to describe how she looked, green and gold like summer, but all Drew could do was appreciate the moment and rely on Shakespeare’s words.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
He cared for her. He couldn’t help it. Would she be open to marrying, even though she didn’t participate in the auditions? Drew didn’t sign up because he wanted to establish a home before starting a family. Meeting Birdy made him want to rethink his plan, though. He hadn’t expected to care for someone until he was settled, but wasn’t that love, sometimes? It crept up on a person at inconvenient, surprising times.
Like now, when he couldn’t stop staring into her smiling eyes.
She set down her fork. “I am so pleased for you, Drew, starting fresh.”
“I feel blessed, although I didn’t see the blessing when I returned from the war and Clement threatened me.” Drew sat back. He wanted Birdy to know him better, so he didn’t mind sharing. “We shared everything, including a love of our home state. It turned out we showed our love in different ways, and even though we fought on opposite sides, I never stopped loving my brother. The truth is, I bear some responsibility for his anger toward me. You see—”
Virginia came back, and he clamped his mouth shut. As she cleared their plates, she smiled. “Dessert tonight is nut cake or mock lemon pie. Which would you prefer?”
Birdy tipped her head to the side. “Nut cake, please, and coffee.”
Drew met Virginia’s expectant gaze. “Lemon pie and coffee.”
Virginia nodded. “I’ll return in a moment.”
“Drew Cooper?”
The man’s voice behind him pulled him out of his chair. All the blood in his body plummeted to his boots. “Get behind me, Birdy.”
In a crisp hop, Birdy rose. “Do you know this man?”
The straight, dark hair, the gray-blue eyes, the stocky build, two inches shorter than Drew. The man’s hands fell at his sides, but his fingers twitched, like he might pull a weapon.
And Birdy still wasn’t behind him. He shielded her with his arm and gave her a quick but impassioned glance.
“He’s my brother, Clement.”
Birdy stayed still—for a moment. Then she shoved free of the cage of his arm.
Chapter 5
Clement Cooper, here in Kansas?
Birdy marched up to him, hands fisted on her hips, scrutinizing his features. Aside from sharing the same color hair and set of their mouths, the brothers didn’t look too much alike. Drew was thinner, his eyes larger, and his jaw more square than his brother’s. If she’d passed Clement on the street, she might not have guessed he was related to Drew.
But now she knew who he was, she couldn’t sit idly by. “You’ve got some nerve, mister.”
In a shielding gesture, Drew’s arm reached to tuck her behind him. How silly of him. She didn’t need protecting. Drew did.
She touched Drew’s arm. “I’m going for the sheriff.”
“Birdy.” Drew looked down at her, though he didn’t lessen his protective posture. “It’s all right.”
“It’s nothing of the sort.” Then she saw it—everyone in the restaurant watched them. There wasn’t a single fork clattering or hushed conversation. Virginia stood staring, holding their plates of dessert.
Drew nodded toward the door. “Come outside, Clem. Pardon me, Birdy. I’ll be but a moment.”
As if she’d stay in her seat nibbling cake while his brother made good on his threat? Pah. She scooped up her shawl and followed them outside.
The evening air was cool against her hot cheeks as she joined them on the porch. Even in the dark, the hard line of Drew’s clenched jaw was evident, as was the stony set to his eyes. She didn’t know Clement enough to read his features, but at least his hands didn’t hold a weapon. She glared up at him. “What are you doing here, Mr. Cooper?”
“My question exactly. How’d you find me?” Drew wrapped his arm around Birdy, but stiffly, as if to keep her safe rather than to hold her close. There was nothing romantic in the gesture, but her stomach swooped at his touch.
Or perhaps her insides wobbled like aspic because a Confederate stood but a yard distant after tracking Drew here from Tennessee. She folded her arms, waiting for his response.
Clement scratched his nape. “Aunt Lou told me where you’d gone.”
Drew’s head nodded. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. She never was one for feuding.”
Birdy chomped her cheek so hard she tasted blood. “This isn’t a feud, Drew. You tried to make peace and he would have none of it.”
“I see my brother told you the story, ma’am.” Clement’s shoulders went stiff. “Can we talk?”
“No,” Birdy answered for Drew.
“Yes.” Drew glanced down at her. “But Miss Green and I have a dessert to finish first.”
She couldn’t swallow cake if she tried. “Drew, no.”
“No dessert?”
“No dessert, and no to him.”
“Clement’s come a long way to talk to me.” He faced her, turning away from his brother. “I’m sorry to end our evening like this. Maybe Virginia can wrap our desserts so you can share them with the girls.” He leveled his gaze at his brother. “I’ll return in an hour to meet you in the restaurant for coffee.”
Clement nodded and left the porch, but Birdy’s head shook with such vigor that Drew couldn’t possibly mistake her disapproval. “This is an outrage.”
“I know. I promised you a good supper and a celebration.”
“Not that. Him.” She pointed to the dark street.
His face was stoic when he paid their bill, asked for their desserts to be transferred to a borrowed pie tin, and handed her up into his rented wagon. Birdy’s arms folded the moment her rump landed on the hard seat. “How can you listen to him, Drew?”
With a flick of the reins, Drew urged the team into the street for the short ride to the farm. “I needed a fresh start. Maybe Clement wants one, too.”
“Or maybe he’s going to make good on his threat.”
“If he wanted to kill me, he’d have been smarter not to announce himself first.”
Birdy ground her molars together. “I cannot believe you trust him.”
“He’s my brother.”
“He said he’d kill you,” she reminded him.
“He did, but I forgave him.”
“Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting.”
“I’m not expecting things will be th
e same again, but if there’s a hope of reconciliation, I need to take it. I can’t be the sort of man who holds grudges his entire life. I have to forgive, even when it hurts. And believe me, this hurts.”
It hurt Birdy, too. Clement threatened Drew—and he was a Confederate, to boot. Drew might be able to forgive and be reconciled, but why would he want to?
I know I’m wrong, Lord. But it still isn’t wise for Drew to be alone with Clement.
Drew turned the wagon onto her road, and when they arrived in front of the Lomax house, Drew set the wagon brake. “I didn’t want to leave Tennessee, but if Clement hadn’t said what he did, I wouldn’t have come to Kansas, and it turns out this is where I’m supposed to be. God used Clement’s threat for good.”
He’d leaned forward while he spoke, and his breath was warm on her cheek. She stared into the depths of his eyes, forgetting she was supposed to respond. She forgot everything until he broke the hold of their gazes, hopped from the wagon, and helped her down.
This time when he touched her and her skin and stomach prickled, she couldn’t attribute it to confronting a murderous ex-Confederate, like she did in the restaurant.
She had to admit to herself the reason she shivered at his touch was due to something far more dangerous.
Drew’s hands lingered on Birdy’s waist after he lifted her down. She fit right into his arms, soft and sweet, but he couldn’t hold her like this forever. Unwilling to lose all contact with her, though, his hand sought hers in the dark. “I’d like to give you a proper thank-you supper. Later this week?”
“If you live that long.” Her mouth turned down at the corners.
She wasn’t joking, but her retort made him smile. With a squeeze of her hand, he let go, gave her the desserts, and waited until she was inside before heading back to town.
After returning the rented wagon to the livery, he entered the restaurant. Clement occupied Birdy’s spot at the table. Praying for wisdom, Drew moved toward him.
Before he took two steps, Jeb Washburn rose from a table by the door, his eyes crinkled in concern. “I hear tell that the feller there’s your brother. Is that him? The one you told me about?”
Word spread fast in Turtle Springs. “Yep.”
“Want me to send him on his way?”
The display of support made Drew pause. After all he’d been through, it was a blessed reminder that God provided friends who cared like family. He clapped Jeb’s shoulder. “Thanks, Jeb, but I’d like to hear him out.”
“Fine, but I’m keepin’ an eye on ’im.” Jeb returned to his seat, his gaze fixed on Clement.
Taking a deep breath, Drew pulled out the chair across from Clement. “You’re a long way from home.”
Clement’s brows rose, as if surprised Drew had come back. “So are you. But that’s my fault, little brother.”
Now it was Drew’s turn to be surprised. “Do you aim to keep your word by killing me?”
“No, Drew. I came to apologize.”
“You could’ve written.”
“Neither of us got enough schoolin’ to write that well.” He bent forward, his eyes damp. “I wronged you, brother. No excuse for what I did, but I can tell you why, if you want to hear.”
“I do.” More than anything.
Clement fiddled with his mug. “When I came home from the war, there wasn’t much left of the farm. Even though you sent money, and I tried for a year, I couldn’t salvage it. I knew I was going to have to sell. I blamed the war. I blamed you. I blamed our neighbors for not keeping it up like we paid ’em to. And you didn’t come home to help me.”
“I didn’t choose to stay away. I was needed in Washington. Aunt Lou knew I couldn’t come back yet—”
“I know, but I saw it as one more betrayal. I lost the war, and now I was losing my home.” Clement looked down. “I sold it to the bank, signed the papers, and the next day, you came back.”
Drew’s jaw slackened. Clement hadn’t said anything about the farm that day. Just angry, bitter words and then, the threat. “I’m so sorry, Clem.”
“That proves how much better a man you are than I am. I wronged you, little brother. I’m the sorry one. I’m the one who spent a year stewing in anger at you over the war, and you not coming home, and instead of paying you your half of the proceeds from the farm, I threatened to take my hand to you.” He looked at his hand as if astonished that he’d contemplated violence with it. “Since then, I’ve had plenty of time to come to my senses. I took a long, hard look at myself and didn’t recognize the man I’d become.”
The truth was Clement’s violent outburst had forced Drew to look at himself, too. “I’m not blameless. We had different views about the war, but I provoked you. Challenged you instead of talked to you. Thinking I was right didn’t give me cause to act superior to you, but I did, Clem, and I’m sorry. I goaded you.”
“Don’t excuse what I did.” Clem gripped his mug. “I’ve started going to church, Drew, and I know there’s hope and forgiveness, but that won’t erase what I did to you.”
Clem, in church? Drew swallowed hard. “There’s hope for us both yet, brother.”
Clem hung his head. “I hope someday, you’ll forgive me.”
“I forgave you a long time ago. I hope you can forgive me, too.”
A ghost of a smile played on Clement’s lips as he nodded. “Does that mean we can be brothers again?”
“I’d like to work toward it.”
Clement puffed out a large, relieved breath. “That’s more than I could hope for.”
It was a monumental moment in his life—both of their lives—but Drew wasn’t sure what to do next. There was still a gulf between them that they’d have to bridge, and it would take time before they were comfortable with each other again. Drew cleared the thickness in his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how much of the farm money is left—”
“I’ve got your half, right here.” Clement shoved a hand in his coat pocket.
Drew forestalled him with his hand. “That wasn’t what I meant. If you need work, I could use a ranch hand.”
“That’s what you did with your share of Ma’s money? You bought a ranch?”
“As of today.” Drew laughed. In the past twelve hours, he’d become the owner of a spread of land, got his brother back … and took Birdy to supper, too. All in all, a fine day indeed.
“You’ll make a fine job of it, little brother.”
Drew stood, and though he still ached over the past, he embraced his brother.
It was stiff at first, awkward and one-sided, but then Clement returned Drew’s hold.
“Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
“Under the stars with my bedroll.”
“You can stay with me.”
“Naw, it’s warm out. I’m fine.” Clearly, Clement needed more time.
“All right, then. Meet me here, tomorrow morning at nine. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” But he couldn’t start any earlier, not if he wanted to catch Birdy at the schoolhouse before the bell rang.
The moment Clement left the restaurant, Jeb rushed to occupy Clement’s chair.
“He didn’t kill you.”
“Not even close.” Drew recounted their conversation.
Jeb whistled. “I’ll give him a fair shake tomorrow, then. Glad it went well, but it’s too bad it messed up your evening with the pretty schoolmarm.”
“Oh, you think she’s pretty?”
“Sure, but not as pretty as my gal.” Jeb shrugged.
Drew doubted it. “Are you going to tell me your gal’s name?”
“Not yet, because she wants to keep it quiet on account of her young ’uns. But I think they like me. I took a page out of your book and repaired her fence one afternoon. Hey, that’s funny, a page out of your book, since you’re always readin’ one of the schoolmarm’s books.”
Jeb guffawed at his unintentional joke, leaving Drew to his thoughts. He didn’t consider pressing Jeb as to the identity of
his lady, when he didn’t want to talk about his burgeoning feelings for Birdy. They were too new, like the baby corn plants on the Lomax farm—but he had a hunch his feelings wouldn’t stay small for long. His affections for Birdy were more powerful than any he’d ever felt before.
And they kept him awake most of the night, so by the time he arrived at the schoolhouse at half past eight the next morning, he’d been up for several hours. He straightened the moment Birdy came into view, wearing the blue dress that made her eyes look grayer, with the Lomax girls, their red hair bound in braids, sauntering toward the schoolhouse. He waved.
“Mr. Cooper!” Polly smoothed her hairline.
Mary Ann waved back. “Thanks for dessert last night. The pie was good.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Minnie rubbed her small, round belly.
“You’re most welcome.” Drew executed a courtly half bow.
“The nut cake was tasty, too.” Polly clutched her books to her chest.
“Aunt Birdy didn’t eat it,” Minnie reported.
Birdy pinked. “I was full after my pork roast, that’s all. Polly, here’s the key. Go on in. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Once they were gone, Drew stepped closer to Birdy. “I’m so sorry about last night.”
She met him halfway. “Don’t be silly. Tell me what happened after I left.”
“I heard him out, and he heard me. Things aren’t repaired between us, but we’re going to work at it, and I’ve hired him to help me set up the ranch.”
Her eyes darkened. “He’s staying in town?”
“Yes, but how about I explain at supper tonight? A nice, uninterrupted meal at the restaurant.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry.”
“Because of Clement?”
“Because—I have plans.”
Maybe she had a ladies’ meeting. “Could I drop by your house tomorrow to return your book, though? Maybe Clement could come with me, so you could get to know him.”
“Fine.” But it was clear Birdy didn’t approve.
“We’ll come after supper.” No working the property, no potential invitation for supper. A short visit might be all she could bear.
She nodded and backed away, toward the schoolhouse. “It’s almost time for school. I’m sorry, but I must prepare for the students.”
Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection Page 20
