Not like her. Amos had always taken care of the bone setting, the chicken killing and the bloodletting while she hid in the house. Lenora had grown up a city girl with a gentlewoman’s ways. Before her husband carried her to the untamed West, the most ghastly event she’d witnessed was the birthing of kittens.
Now that he was gone, an avalanche of needs pressed on her. She had to hang on a few more months until she could sell the ranch.
The stranger adjusted the dangling rope as though ascertaining the best place to cut. She held her breath as the gleaming knife poised over the dog’s throat. With care, he sawed through the tough fibers. All of a sudden, they gave way.
“There.” He pulled the remaining pieces off Blister before sheathing his blade. “Good boy.” He patted the dog’s head, then examined the fur. “T’appears he lost a little skin, but he should heal just fine.” He felt along the torso while the dog licked his hand.
What had come over Blister? And herself? Ten minutes of her life had disappeared without her knowing. Unsteadily, she climbed to her feet and smoothed down her rumpled skirt.
In the corner of the barn, a blood bay mare waited. The horse nickered, the sound tender, welcoming. The barn door flew open.
A wet Toby came in, shaking off rain. “I’m all done, mister.”
“You unsaddle my horse? And untie the other?”
“Yessir. Put your gear under the lean-to, so’s it won’t get any wetter.”
“Many thanks.” The tall man turned back to her. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll see to my horses now. And I’ll pay for feed.” A hint of a dimple appeared in one cheek. “Assuming that’s okay with your husband.”
Did he suspect no man was around to ask? She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. All she could manage was a nod.
After a two-fingered salute, he walked toward his mare.
“Blister!” Toby dived to his knees and hugged him. “He’s going to be okay now, right, Ma?”
Her throat tightened. “I reckon so.”
She studied the man across the barn as he wiped down his horse with an empty feed sack. Lowering her head, the mare rubbed against him in obvious affection. He certainly had a way with animals. And with her son. As Lenora recalled the feeling of his fingers on her hand, her skin tingled.
Amos had been dead only five months, and she was flustered by a stranger’s kindness? What was wrong with her?
Loneliness. The long winter months with just her and Toby had affected her more than she wanted to admit.
Then she hardened her heart. No longer was she an impressionable sixteen-year-old who could be ensnared by a man’s charisma. After she married Amos, she discovered he offered little else. She would never again fall for good looks or flattering speech.
As she watched the stranger tend to his horse, she determined that he had better not try charm on her or she would fill his hide with buckshot.
Copyright © 2017 by Anna Zogg
ISBN-13: 9781488017636
An Unlikely Mother
Copyright © 2017 by Danica Favorite
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