to be at the potluck.
“It’s been some time since I’ve done any roping.” Charlie rubbed his palms together. “I haven’t thrown a rope or dallied since before my wife . . .” He clamped his mouth closed. The less anyone knew about his past, the better.
Seth’s brow shot up. “You’re married?”
Pain ripped through Charlie’s heart, burning him from the inside out. The worst day of his life was written there in black just waiting to trip him up. Annie dead. Maddie injured, but recovering, only to find she was slowly losing her sight. He scrubbed his hand across his face. “Not anymore. She died in an accident. After I got married, I stopped saddle tramping and bought a store in town. A gun shop. Became respectable to please her.” The thought made him smile. “I’ll need a few tosses to get my timing back.”
Seth’s expression said he understood—but how could he? It wasn’t possible for anyone to understand the grief that gripped his heart day after day. “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Seth said. He glanced up the stairs. “Wonder what’s keeping Nell. She can be demanding, but don’t let her ride herd over you too much.”
“That’ll be hard to do, being she’s one of the bosses.”
The soles of Nell’s boots tromped on the wooden staircase as she descended. She crossed the room swiftly and emptied the fry pan onto the last plate. “Sorry to keep you boys waiting.” She glanced at him, then smiled at her brother. “Just one of those mornings, I guess.”
If Charlie had to choose a word to describe Nell, it would be conflicted . Her slender body moved like a snowflake on the wind and seemed more suited for one of those flimsy tea dresses he’d seen in the window of an upscale store in Denver. Instead, she was encased in rugged denim jeans, a shirt that must have come from her brother’s closet, and boots older than time itself. A beat-up cowboy hat hung down her back, held secure by a braided-leather stampede string around her neck.
“Something funny?” she asked, chewing on a bacon strip.
Taking her brother’s advice about not letting her walk all over him from the start, he gestured to the boots piled by the door. “With all those over there, I couldn’t help notice your boots are, well—just ’bout worn through. I wouldn’t want to do much walking in ’em.”
“Well, it’s no matter to you because you aren’t going to be walking in them, now are you?” She pulled out a chair and sat. “And neither am I. I’m going to be riding. The two are different, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Nell,” Seth warned in a tone Charlie was starting to recognize. “You get up on the wrong side of the bed?”
“No. Did you?”
Seth’s expression said Charlie better walk softly. Seth stood, then started for the door. “I’ll go saddle the horses.”
“I did that before I came in. Also filled all the water troughs.”
Seth stopped and one corner of his lips tipped up. “Sure is nice having a hired hand that thinks ahead and don’t wait to be told what needs doing. I guess we’re ready to head out.”
Nell’s eyebrows lifted. “I need to put the injured mare out in the small pasture where she’ll be able to graze while we’re gone.”
“You should have mentioned that last night. I could have done it.”
Nell stood and dipped her empty plate into the tub of water. “Never you mind, Charlie Rose. We don’t expect you to do everything around here.”
The morning passed quickly. The trip out to where the group of three-year-olds grazed took less than an hour. Charlie and Seth kept a string of conversation going, discussing politics, the state of the economy, just about any subject under the sun. Nell hadn’t seen her brother take to anyone like he had Charlie since Ben had come into their lives. She was taking to him, too—the way his hands and legs were soft as he rode, asking his mount instead of demanding or being a bit cruel, like too many other ranch
“It’s been some time since I’ve done any roping.” Charlie rubbed his palms together. “I haven’t thrown a rope or dallied since before my wife . . .” He clamped his mouth closed. The less anyone knew about his past, the better.
Seth’s brow shot up. “You’re married?”
Pain ripped through Charlie’s heart, burning him from the inside out. The worst day of his life was written there in black just waiting to trip him up. Annie dead. Maddie injured, but recovering, only to find she was slowly losing her sight. He scrubbed his hand across his face. “Not anymore. She died in an accident. After I got married, I stopped saddle tramping and bought a store in town. A gun shop. Became respectable to please her.” The thought made him smile. “I’ll need a few tosses to get my timing back.”
Seth’s expression said he understood—but how could he? It wasn’t possible for anyone to understand the grief that gripped his heart day after day. “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Seth said. He glanced up the stairs. “Wonder what’s keeping Nell. She can be demanding, but don’t let her ride herd over you too much.”
“That’ll be hard to do, being she’s one of the bosses.”
The soles of Nell’s boots tromped on the wooden staircase as she descended. She crossed the room swiftly and emptied the fry pan onto the last plate. “Sorry to keep you boys waiting.” She glanced at him, then smiled at her brother. “Just one of those mornings, I guess.”
If Charlie had to choose a word to describe Nell, it would be conflicted . Her slender body moved like a snowflake on the wind and seemed more suited for one of those flimsy tea dresses he’d seen in the window of an upscale store in Denver. Instead, she was encased in rugged denim jeans, a shirt that must have come from her brother’s closet, and boots older than time itself. A beat-up cowboy hat hung down her back, held secure by a braided-leather stampede string around her neck.
“Something funny?” she asked, chewing on a bacon strip.
Taking her brother’s advice about not letting her walk all over him from the start, he gestured to the boots piled by the door. “With all those over there, I couldn’t help notice your boots are, well—just ’bout worn through. I wouldn’t want to do much walking in ’em.”
“Well, it’s no matter to you because you aren’t going to be walking in them, now are you?” She pulled out a chair and sat. “And neither am I. I’m going to be riding. The two are different, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Nell,” Seth warned in a tone Charlie was starting to recognize. “You get up on the wrong side of the bed?”
“No. Did you?”
Seth’s expression said Charlie better walk softly. Seth stood, then started for the door. “I’ll go saddle the horses.”
“I did that before I came in. Also filled all the water troughs.”
Seth stopped and one corner of his lips tipped up. “Sure is nice having a hired hand that thinks ahead and don’t wait to be told what needs doing. I guess we’re ready to head out.”
Nell’s eyebrows lifted. “I need to put the injured mare out in the small pasture where she’ll be able to graze while we’re gone.”
“You should have mentioned that last night. I could have done it.”
Nell stood and dipped her empty plate into the tub of water. “Never you mind, Charlie Rose. We don’t expect you to do everything around here.”
The morning passed quickly. The trip out to where the group of three-year-olds grazed took less than an hour. Charlie and Seth kept a string of conversation going, discussing politics, the state of the economy, just about any subject under the sun. Nell hadn’t seen her brother take to anyone like he had Charlie since Ben had come into their lives. She was taking to him, too—the way his hands and legs were soft as he rode, asking his mount instead of demanding or being a bit cruel, like too many other ranch
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