words.
“She will, once I get home. She’ll get every livin’ detail out of me, with her pickin’ and yatterin’ at me.”
Cassie peered up at him. “And will you tell her everything?”
“Most everything, probably.” Within reason, anyway. Some things a mother was better off not knowing.
“How come you’re going home?” she asked, after a long moment.
“It sure as hell isn’t my first choice,” he said harshly. “But Pa’s pretty bad off. Ma wrote me a letter, sent it to the last place I worked. I tried to keep Ma up on where I was, a couple of times a year, anyway. She said in the letter that Pa had taken a bad spell out in the field and just didn’t get over it. His heart acts funny, fluttering and making him lose his breath sometimes.”
“Did she ask you to come home?”
He nodded. “My brothers are both married now and have their own fields to work. Farmers can’t be runnin’ back and forth all the time to somebody else’s place to lend a hand. And my sister ran off and married a scallywag a few years ago. My mother was pretty cut up about that.”
“It sounds like you’ll be a homebody for sure, once you get there.” Her eyelids were getting heavy and the words she spoke were slurred. She yawned widely, covering her mouth with one hand, shifting to lie on her side.
Will looked down at her. “Homebody?” His laugh was harsh. “I’m not cut out to be a farmer.”
Cassie’s eyes flew open at his rasping tone. “Then why go? Why take me there?”
His hand silenced her anxious query. “I guess I owe it to my mother to lend a hand. She was always there for me when things got tough, with Pa on my tail all the time. You’ll be all right. My mother’ll take to you. There’s always room for another hand, helpin’ around the house and doin’ chores.” Cassie would probably be more welcome than he would, at that. There’d be hell to pay, with him and Pa in the same house.
Cassie looked up with sleepy eyes. “I doubt your motherwill be pleased to see me coming. Not after we’ve been traveling together.”
“I don’t see that I have much choice right now,” he muttered. “You sure aren’t capable of headin’ out on your own.”
What he’d do with her once he got her home was another question, one he wasn’t ready to examine too closely tonight For one thing, he never should have kissed her. For all the good it had done him. She was about as innocent as they came, with her talk about rabbits. And then there was Pa. Ornery and miserable as the day was long. He’d give them both a hard time. The old resentment welled up within him, lending harshness to his voice. “Go to sleep, Cassie. Between you and that damn mare and those two bas—” He took a deep breath. “Just go to sleep, hear?”
He turned from her, hauling the edge of the blanket over his shoulder.
Wide-eyed, Cassie repeated his words within her mind. I don’t see that I have much choice right now…you aren’t capable…between you and that damn mare… She bit at her lip, fearful of whimpering aloud as the words he’d spoken clamored in her head. Turning away, she stifled any sound she might make, burying her face in the blanket.
With a final look around the edges of the clearing he’d chosen for the night, Will settled down, his gun next to his head, his hat half covering it. Just as well she’d turned away. He shouldn’t have been so short with her, he thought ruefully. His fingers itched to lose themselves in her tangled curls, and he shifted on the hard ground, his discomfort growing. As long as he could keep his randy hands to himself, they ought to get along for the next six days. Long enough to get them through Oklahoma and well into Missouri. Maybe he could hurry her along a little and make it in five.
* * *
The new mare dumped her twice on the second day. From her prone position, Cassie muttered words she’d only heard before, aware of a stone beneath her bottom, another lodged against
“She will, once I get home. She’ll get every livin’ detail out of me, with her pickin’ and yatterin’ at me.”
Cassie peered up at him. “And will you tell her everything?”
“Most everything, probably.” Within reason, anyway. Some things a mother was better off not knowing.
“How come you’re going home?” she asked, after a long moment.
“It sure as hell isn’t my first choice,” he said harshly. “But Pa’s pretty bad off. Ma wrote me a letter, sent it to the last place I worked. I tried to keep Ma up on where I was, a couple of times a year, anyway. She said in the letter that Pa had taken a bad spell out in the field and just didn’t get over it. His heart acts funny, fluttering and making him lose his breath sometimes.”
“Did she ask you to come home?”
He nodded. “My brothers are both married now and have their own fields to work. Farmers can’t be runnin’ back and forth all the time to somebody else’s place to lend a hand. And my sister ran off and married a scallywag a few years ago. My mother was pretty cut up about that.”
“It sounds like you’ll be a homebody for sure, once you get there.” Her eyelids were getting heavy and the words she spoke were slurred. She yawned widely, covering her mouth with one hand, shifting to lie on her side.
Will looked down at her. “Homebody?” His laugh was harsh. “I’m not cut out to be a farmer.”
Cassie’s eyes flew open at his rasping tone. “Then why go? Why take me there?”
His hand silenced her anxious query. “I guess I owe it to my mother to lend a hand. She was always there for me when things got tough, with Pa on my tail all the time. You’ll be all right. My mother’ll take to you. There’s always room for another hand, helpin’ around the house and doin’ chores.” Cassie would probably be more welcome than he would, at that. There’d be hell to pay, with him and Pa in the same house.
Cassie looked up with sleepy eyes. “I doubt your motherwill be pleased to see me coming. Not after we’ve been traveling together.”
“I don’t see that I have much choice right now,” he muttered. “You sure aren’t capable of headin’ out on your own.”
What he’d do with her once he got her home was another question, one he wasn’t ready to examine too closely tonight For one thing, he never should have kissed her. For all the good it had done him. She was about as innocent as they came, with her talk about rabbits. And then there was Pa. Ornery and miserable as the day was long. He’d give them both a hard time. The old resentment welled up within him, lending harshness to his voice. “Go to sleep, Cassie. Between you and that damn mare and those two bas—” He took a deep breath. “Just go to sleep, hear?”
He turned from her, hauling the edge of the blanket over his shoulder.
Wide-eyed, Cassie repeated his words within her mind. I don’t see that I have much choice right now…you aren’t capable…between you and that damn mare… She bit at her lip, fearful of whimpering aloud as the words he’d spoken clamored in her head. Turning away, she stifled any sound she might make, burying her face in the blanket.
With a final look around the edges of the clearing he’d chosen for the night, Will settled down, his gun next to his head, his hat half covering it. Just as well she’d turned away. He shouldn’t have been so short with her, he thought ruefully. His fingers itched to lose themselves in her tangled curls, and he shifted on the hard ground, his discomfort growing. As long as he could keep his randy hands to himself, they ought to get along for the next six days. Long enough to get them through Oklahoma and well into Missouri. Maybe he could hurry her along a little and make it in five.
* * *
The new mare dumped her twice on the second day. From her prone position, Cassie muttered words she’d only heard before, aware of a stone beneath her bottom, another lodged against
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