Donovan reclaimed her attention by placing a hand on her arm. “Darlin’, I’ve got something here that will make you wonder what you ever saw in that fellow.”
“Really, Donovan?” She glanced past him to Lawson. He didn’t look particularly concerned, with that poorly concealed half smile on his face. Then again, why should he be? He was just there to watch the show like everyone else.
“This is for you.”
He reached under the wagon seat and pulled out a small, white piglet with black spots.
She stared at it for a long moment then lifted her gaze to Donovan’s pale gray eyes. “You brought me a pig?”
“Yes, ma’am. I sure did.” Her nieces squealed in delight but Donovan sent a glare over his shoulder at the sound of Lawson’s disbelieving laugh. “It’s the best of the litter. I thought you could use it on the farm.”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing then couldn’t stop the incredulous smile that followed. “That’s very thoughtful, but I can’t accept a gift like that.”
“Sure you can.”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t because I’m not going to let you court me. You’re a very nice man but I just don’t feel that way about you.”
He dropped his head and pulled the piglet closer. “Shucks, ma’am. I know that you feel that way now. I just had to take a chance and let you know how I felt so’s I can try to change your mind.” Each time he spoke, the sleeping pig’s ears jerked toward the sound. The man lifted his head to stare at her. “I’ve watched you at church, Ms. O’Brien, and your faith is inspiring.”
“That’s nice of you to say.” She glanced over his shoulder to meet Nathan’s suspicious gaze.
“I watch you every time you come to town. Sometimes I even follow you a little. It always brightens my day to see you.”
“That’s...” She paused. Very strange. “Something you probably shouldn’t do. Follow me around, I mean. You should stop.”
“Yes, ma’am, I understand.” He glanced down at the pig then thrust it under her nose. “You should still take the pig.”
“I don’t think—” She stopped trying to reason when he lifted one of her arms and slid the pig into it. “Oh, well, if you’re sure.”
“I’m positive. It’s yours. No strings attached. Just because you’re you.” He smiled hopefully. “If you like, I can stop by to check on it—”
She cut him off with a shake of her hand. “If you leave it, that’s it.”
“I reckon that’s all right.” He patted the pig on its head. “Cute little fella, isn’t he?”
She glanced down at the animal in her arms and smiled. “He is cute and very little. Thank you.”
When she glanced up she found Donovan was still watching her. “Yes, sir. The man who takes you for a wife is going to be a mighty lucky man.”
Nathan must have seen that as his cue because he stepped forward. “Donovan, I think you and I should have a talk about what’s appropriate when it comes to young ladies.”
Ellie slipped away just as Kate and her children stepped forward to look at the pig. Kate’s wary eyes darted to Donovan as her children crooned to the animal. “He’s a strange man. You’d do well to stay away from him. He may be harmless, but it pays to be careful.”
“I’ve been doing my best.”
“Well, Nathan will be on high alert, too, as I’m sure Lawson will.”
“I appreciate that.” She left the piglet in an empty stall under the watchful eyes of the children then went to finish Delilah’s hooves. She found Lawson had beaten her to it. “You don’t have to do that. I can finish what I started.”
“It’s fine,” he said, but didn’t glance up from his work. “Maybe you could start on Samson.”
“Delilah was the last one.” She propped her boot on the gate of the stall and watched him work, noticing the controlled power that surged through each motion.
“This will only take a minute.” He released Delilah’s hoof then straightened to meet her gaze. “It looks like our supposed engagement lit a fire under some of your suitors.”
She crossed her arms along the stall’s gate and leaned against it. “It’s awfully silly.”
“Silly?” He eyed her carefully, then turned away to run his hand down Delilah’s back leg to get the horse to lift her foot. “You know I think I’ve got you figured out, Ms. O’Brien. The ruse is up.”
She frowned at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t really want to get married.”
“Of course I do. That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard.”
“So you say.” He finished cleaning Delilah’s hoof and turned to face her. “Yet, over the past few days, you’ve managed to discourage two completely different types of men.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “So what if I did? I didn’t like them, that’s all.”
Lawson rubbed his chin in thoughtful speculation. Delilah nudged him in the back, forcing him to take two steps toward her. “What about Chris?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What about him?”
“He said his feelings for you changed a long time ago.” He braced his hands on either side of her arms and tilted his head. “Are you saying you really didn’t notice?”
“I had no idea,” she said honestly.
“I think that leads us to the crux of the matter.”
She raised her brows expectantly. “Which would be?”
He gave a slow smile, and shook his head. “You, Ellie O’Brien, are afraid to take off the blinders you’ve fashioned.”
“What blinders?”
“The ones that keep you from seeing yourself as everyone else sees you—as a kind, beautiful, spontaneous woman.”
She stared at him in awe. He thought she was beautiful? Hadn’t he always thought of her as one of the boys? Hadn’t he always seen her as a surrogate little sister? Apparently, somehow that had changed. He now saw her as beautiful—a woman. She swallowed. Why did that send her heart galloping in her chest?
He carefully guided her chin up until she was forced to meet the knowing smile in his eyes. “You’re the kind of woman who wouldn’t have any trouble finding herself a husband, if she didn’t try so hard to cross every suitable man off her list or give him away to her friends.”
She didn’t have anything to say because she’d suddenly realized why those relatively suitable men had seemed so unsuitable. She realized it because she was staring the reason right in the face. She, Ellie O’Brien, had a crush on Lawson Williams.
She barely withheld a groan. She had no idea how long this had been going on but she needed it to stop. Talk about embarrassing! He obviously didn’t feel the same way. He thought proposing to her was so ridiculous that he’d turned it into a joke! Just because he said she was a beautiful woman didn’t mean he considered her a woman he’d want to pursue. Goodness, he’d only been trying to encourage her. It didn’t mean anything. As though to confirm her assessment, he stepped back and shook his head. “You need to give one of those men on your list a chance, Ellie.”
She gathered her wits enough to lift an impervious eyebrow at his statement. “No, I don’t.”
He grinned. “Then I stand by my other statement. You aren’t really searching for a husband. So what are you searching for?”
“Love,” she said softly. “The kind of love that Nathan has for Kate and Sean has for Lorelei. I do want that, Lawson. I just haven’t found a man who can love me like that or at least a man that I want to be loved by. I think if I had that, why, I might be a different person altogether.”
He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with the person you are now?”
“Do I really need to list my faults for you? I’d rather not.” Especially since some of them she couldn’t even admit
to herself. Nevertheless, she’d been achingly aware of them lately...ever since Mrs. Greene mentioned consequences from the mistakes Ellie had made in the past—whatever they were.
“No, you don’t have to do that,” he said, then shook his head. “I still think you’re selling yourself short in many respects.”
She backed away from the stall’s gate so he could walk through it. “Well, I think I just have a very clear view of my weaknesses.”
A very clear view, she thought with a sideways look at Lawson as they walked to the corral. She planned to overcome one of them as quickly as possible to save both of them from embarrassment.
* * *
“Lawson, are you decent? Your parents came early to help set up for the party and want to see your cabin.”
He froze at the sound of Ellie’s voice as he glanced around in a panic at his messy cabin. Why hadn’t he folded his clothes instead of dumping them in the chair near the cold fireplace? He probably should have swept out the dirt he’d tracked in. “Stall them for a minute, will you? This place is a mess.”
An awkward silence seeped through the closed front door. He sighed and grabbed his shirt. “They’re standing right next to you, aren’t they?”
“Yep.” Her muffled voice continued cheerily, “Lawson has been such a big help setting up for Maddie and Jeff’s engagement party. I kept finding one more little thing for him to do so I’m afraid I’ve made him late getting ready.”
He heard his parents respond but didn’t bother to try to decipher what they were saying. Instead, he stuffed his clothes into the trunk at the end of his bed, straightened his bedding, pushed the chair under the table and hoped they wouldn’t notice the dirt on the floor. He opened the door as he tucked his shirt into his pants. “Welcome to my humble home.”
Lettie stepped inside wearing a pert little blue bonnet over her dark brown hair and carrying a basket that filled the cabin with the smell of freshly baked apple pie. “What a cute little cabin.”
Doc chuckled as he clasped Lawson on the shoulder. “Lettie, that isn’t exactly what a man wants to hear about his first home as a bachelor.”
Ellie leaned against the doorway to peer inside. “Well, it should be cute. I picked out all the decorations.”
“Did you?” Lettie asked with new interest.
“She did. I’m afraid all I added was the mud.”
Doc nodded proudly. “That’s the best part.”
Ellie frowned, then stepped past him to sit at the table and pick up the planter filled with brown flowers. “You didn’t water them.”
“Was I supposed to?” He was quickly distracted when Lettie opened his cabinets to fill them with all sorts of colorful concoctions in glass jars. His stomach gave a low rumble of appreciation. “Preserves?”
“Of course.” She set the pie on the counter next.
Doc sat in the chair now free of Lawson’s laundry. “It’s been a couple of weeks now. Are you’re still happy you resigned from the Rangers?”
“Yes, sir.”
Lettie looked relieved then straightened her shoulders in pride. “I think my boy is ready to settle down.”
The significant wink she tossed Ellie’s way wasn’t lost on Lawson. He coughed to cover his laugh then shot a glance at Ellie to see her reaction. She rolled her eyes at them both. “Don’t smirk at me, Lawson Williams. Talk to your mother.”
He turned to Lettie and found her looking absurdly innocent. “Now, Ma, just because I came home doesn’t mean I’ll marry the first girl who asks me.”
Ellie gasped and straightened in her chair. “Who’s asking?”
“I haven’t even thought about looking for a wife yet.”
Ms. Lettie frowned. “Why ever not? Every man needs roots. Doc and I have done our best to provide some for you these past years but you deserve more than that. You deserve a family of your own.”
Lawson met his ma’s gaze directly. “Not every man is supposed to have a family of his own. I’d even go so far as to say that some men shouldn’t.”
Lettie shook her head at Lawson’s statement. “Well, you are the type of man who should have a family. You’d make a wonderful husband and father. Isn’t that right, Ellie?”
“I think I’d better go change before the other guests start showing up.” She rose from the table to stand in front of him. Her dancing green eyes captured his. “Be on your guard, my friend. The whole town is coming to this shindig. This is just the beginning.”
She handed him a clean sock she’d somehow managed to pick up, then waved at his parents before she sashayed out the door. Lettie delicately cleared her throat, making him aware that he was still watching that vacant door. He felt a dull heat creep across his jaw. He pulled another sock from his trunk then grabbed his boots to sit down at the table. As he put them on, Lettie served the pie. “She’s getting to you, isn’t she?”
He glanced up to discover that she was enjoying a lot more about this situation than the pie she was eating. He glanced at Doc for help. The man was watching him over the top of his spectacles as he would a patient in an examination room. Lawson stomped his foot into the boot a little harder than necessary. “Come on, Pa. Y’all can’t gang up on me here.”
Doc walked over to stand behind his wife and gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “It’s obvious you and Ellie have a special connection. Don’t tell me it’s just because y’all are friends. There’s more to it than that. The whole town can see it, even if y’all can’t admit it.”
He leaned onto the table with his elbows and rubbed his jaw. “Fine. I admit that I’m attracted to her but I wasn’t planning on doing anything about it. Why do I get the feeling that y’all think I should?”
“Eat your pie, dear.” Lettie pushed the plate closer to him as she’d done many times in the past. Since there was never a problem that a slice of one of her pies couldn’t help solve, he did as he was told. She set her plate aside and leaned closer. “I know that Ellie thinks she has the corner on matchmaking in this town but what some people, Ellie included, may not realize is that she learned everything she knows from me. Therefore, the true question here is not ‘What do we think you should do?’ but rather ‘What can we do for you?’”
His fork lowered to his plate. His eyes widened then flew from Lettie to Doc then back again. “Are y’all suggesting that I— That we—”
He didn’t want to finish his question because the answer was on their faces as plain as day. They wanted his permission to matchmake. No, they wanted more than that. They wanted his full cooperation. An echo of Lettie’s words whispered through his heart. You are the type of man who should have a family. You’d make a wonderful husband and father...
He wasn’t sure if he could believe that completely but if he ever wanted those words to describe him, he’d have to start somewhere. Maybe this was that place. Maybe this was the start of the “someday” he’d always longed for where he’d have his own family—a real family with someone. They weren’t talking about a vague “someone,” though. They were talking about Ellie. This was the same girl he’d pushed off the top of the waterfall more than once. The girl who’d helped him study for school. The woman who could suddenly make his heart race with a mere touch.
“She doesn’t feel that way about me.” He wasn’t even aware that he’d stated that out loud until Doc responded.
“How will you know for sure if you don’t take a chance?”
“I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“Son, you’ve always made me proud with the way you haven’t let fear hold you back from doing the right thing,” Doc said gently. “Don’t give in to fear now. Any relationship worth having is worth taking a risk.”
Quiet descended as everyone waited for him to make his decision. He swallowed then gave a shallow nod. “All right. I’m going to do it. I’ll pul
l back the moment I sense she’s the least bit uncomfortable but I want to see where this goes. Does that make me crazy?”
Lettie shook her head. “That makes you brave.”
* * *
The rich timbre of Chris Johansen’s fiddle filled the air with a lively melody that nearly drowned out the low crackle of the fire. One last drop of juice from Ellie’s piece of sausage sizzled in the flames before she pulled out her skewer. She skirted the fire to sit next to Lorelei on a wooden bench and fanned her food to help it cool. An odd look crossed Lorelei’s face. “You do know where that’s from, don’t you?”
“The kitchen.”
“I mean—originally.”
Her gaze trailed down to the kebab. Suddenly, she realized she was probably eating one of her piglet’s cousins. She set the skewer onto a discarded plate. “I think I’m full.”
Lorelei giggled. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve had too much food already.” Ellie pulled in a deep breath as she surveyed the happy scene in the field around her. Folks stood or sat in groups while Maddie and Jeff shared a kebab near the outskirts of the firelight. Lorelei leaned toward her. “I heard Chris came calling. How did that go?”
She pulled the list from her pocket. “I crossed him off the list.”
“So...not well.”
“It wasn’t that bad. It just wasn’t right.” She bit her lip and glanced around the field. “When I cross someone off I try to match them with someone else, but I haven’t figured out Chris’s match yet.”
“It will come to you.” Lorelei leaned over to steal a peek at the list. “It looks like the field is narrowing.”
“Rapidly. Most of the men left are the ones I don’t know as well.”
“Who is that man who came with Amy?”
Ellie glanced around until she found the man talking with Lawson a bit closer to the house. “That’s Ethan Larue. He’s staying at the boardinghouse—that must be how Amy knows him. I met him in town the other day. He seems nice but I don’t think he’s planning to stick around long so I didn’t put him on the list.”
A Texas-Made Match Page 6
