A Cattleman for Cora Page 4

  “All of it. It’s all of it about women,” Sully replied. “But I think we’d be bored without ’em—bored and helpless. Don’t you?”

  “I don’t know anymore. Yes, I’ve been lonely and I’ve wanted someone to share my life with, but before Miss Cora got here, at least all my thoughts were my own. Now I’m wonderin’ what she’d think about this or that, and I wonder if she likes this kind of flower or that kind of tree—it’s like I don’t have my own brain anymore. It’s kinda spooky, to be honest.”

  Sully chortled. “Sounds like love to me.”

  “If love means never bein’ an independent man again, maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew.”

  “Aw, I don’t know about that. I think it’d be kinda nice to have someone to share all those thoughts with.”

  Tenny looked at Sully curiously. “Gettin’ a little sentimental there?”

  “Maybe. But that sort of thing is for you young folks. Me—I’m just sittin’ here makin’ cradles for the next generation. That’s what I’m good for these days—that, and givin’ out advice when you come askin’ fer it.”

  Tenny stood up and clapped Sully on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet, old man. All that romance burnin’ in that heart of yours has to be there for some reason.”

  “Aw, go on now.” Sully waved him away, but Tenny thought the man looked a little pleased at the thought.

  ***

  “Good morning,” Margaret called out, waving at Cora from the shade of her front porch.

  Cora walked across the grass that separated the cabins and smiled to see Margaret’s gently rounding stomach. There wasn’t a soul on the ranch who wasn’t excited about the impending birth. “Good morning. How are you feeling today?”

  “I was going to ask you the same question. I meant to come visit you yesterday, but I ended up taking a long nap instead. Sometimes I’m not the sort of friend I wish I were.”

  “I took a long nap too, so chances are, you would have missed me anyway.” Cora climbed the steps of the porch and joined Margaret at the railing. “Have you seen Tenny? Or Jack and Sully? We were going into town this morning.”

  “They’re likely hitching up the wagon.” Margaret looked at Cora and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, my. You got a little sunburn yesterday, didn’t you?”

  “I’m afraid so.” Cora looked down at her arms. From the elbows to her wrists, she was a light shade of pink.

  “Wait there just a moment.” Margaret disappeared into the house, then came back out carrying a hat with a broad brim. “Borrow this—it will keep the sun off your face, at least.”

  “Oh, I’m planning to get one in town,” Cora told her.

  “Yes, but you’ll need something to protect you on the way there. I won’t be needing it today—take it.”

  “Thank you.” Cora took the hat, grateful for the loan, but not wanting to inconvenience anyone. “If you’re sure.”

  “Of course I’m sure. Oh, here comes the wagon now.”

  Cora looked up to see Sully driving the largest wagon belonging to the ranch, two horses hitched to the front. Tenny and Jack rode alongside on horses.

  “I told Sully you were comin’ along to buy some clothes and other fancy doodads, and he insisted on bringin’ the biggest wagon,” Tenny called out.

  “You know how womenfolk are,” Sully added. “Once they start buyin’ stuff, they can’t seem to stop.”

  Cora opened her mouth to protest, but a twinkle in Sully’s eye told her she was being teased, and she smiled instead. “You might wish you’d brought two wagons before I’m done,” she called out in reply.

  Tenny grinned. “Let’s get goin’, then. Miss Fiona made us a nice picnic basket, like she always does—we’re in for a treat.”

  “Cora, would you get me some blue yarn?” Margaret asked. “Mr. Appleby knows which one—he can tell you.”

  “Of course. And thanks again for the hat.”

  “Any time.”

  Cora descended the porch steps and took a deep breath to steel herself for walking past the horses. She’d never seen one of the horses on the ranch behave badly, but that didn’t mean it would never happen.

  Tenny dismounted and came to her side. “Let me give you a hand up, Miss Cora,” he said. “This wagon seat’s a bit higher than the one from yesterday.”

  “Yes, I can definitely see that,” she replied, looking up. This was going to require a bit more athleticism than she was sure she had. “You didn’t happen to bring a ladder, did you?”

  “No, but that’s not a bad idea,” Sully said from his high perch. “We should throw one in the back there, eh, Tenny?”

  “Couldn’t hurt, but I think we’re good for now. Go ahead and put your foot on the wheel spoke there, Miss Cora.”

  As soon as she stepped onto the spoke, Tenny gave her a boost, and she went flying through the air as though she had suddenly grown wings. Gracious, she hadn’t realized he was so strong.

  “You all right there?” he called up after her.

  “I’m fine—just a bit startled,” she replied. “You might give me a little warning next time.”

  “But where’s the fun in that?” She could hear the grin in his voice even though she was still settling herself and wasn’t looking at him.

  A moment or two later, Sully urged the horses onward, and they were on their way. Cora had made a list of the things she thought she’d need, and she hoped she’d been wise about her choices. She knew so very little about life out here in this rough country. Perhaps one of Mr. Appleby’s daughters would be on hand to give her some advice.

  “So, why are we taking the big wagon today?” she called out to Sully over the road noise.

  “Wade said we should keep building cabins,” Sully replied. “Says he can do the math, and he knows we’re still a bit short.”

  Cora’s face flamed, and it wasn’t from the sun. What would it be like to share one of those cabins with Tenny? Just a week before, she’d been quite sure he was the last man she’d ever marry, and now she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. She had to blame the dimples . . . and the crinkles around his eyes. It wasn’t fair for one man to have both dimples and crinkles. He should be limited to one or the other.

  After a few minutes, Sully began to whistle, and then he turned to Cora with a pleased expression on his face. “I just remembered, Miss Cora. Did I hear you talkin’ one day about how much you enjoy books?”

  “Yes, that’s right. I love reading tremendously.”

  “So do I, and that puts me in mind of somethin’. Have you read Captain Hawthorne’s Golden Treasure? It’s one of my favorites.”

  “I don’t think I have,” Cora replied.

  “When we get back to the ranch, remind me and you can borrow it. I never read such real sword fightin’ before. Of course, I’ve never been in a real sword fight, but I can see it all in my head, and it seemed real enough to me.”

  Cora smiled. She’d heard Sully tell snippets from his books from time to time, and it was obvious that they brought him a great deal of entertainment. She wasn’t sure that she would be interested in a book with sword fighting in it, but she’d try it just for Sully’s sake. He was irresistible in his scruffy old way.

  As they rode along, Cora thought about the day she and the other girls had first arrived at the ranch. They’d been expecting to marry wealthy ranchers and to live in large, beautiful houses, and what they found instead was a collection of barns, stables, and unkempt ranch hands who certainly didn’t fit anything of the things they’d been led to believe. The matchmaker who had arranged everything had vanished into thin air, leaving the girls to wonder what their next step should be . . . and discovering that maybe they’d be happier here than they’d realized.

  But it would sure be nice if it was Tenny driving the wagon and not Sully. She’d been looking forward to more time spent with Tenny, and this wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind.

  After another hour or so, Sully b
rought the wagon to a stop, and the two men on horseback came up alongside them.

  “I don’t know ’bout you all, but I keep thinkin’ about that picnic basket in the back there,” Sully said. “I’ve gotten to where I can’t even plan out a trip into town without my mouth waterin’ for some of Miss Fiona’s treats.”

  “She does spoil us, that’s for sure,” Jack replied. He dismounted, looped his horse’s reins over the back of the wagon, then lowered the tailgate. Tenny had dismounted too and was standing ready to help Cora down from her very high perch.

  She looked down at the ground, then back up at him. “It’s a long way down there. Are you sure I couldn’t just have my lunch up here? It would be easier.”

  “Easier, yes. But you’d sure have a hard time walkin’ around when we got to town. You need to walk around a bit and stretch,” he replied.

  Sully chuckled. “I think every one of yer friends has asked the same thing. I’m tellin’ ya, we need to throw a ladder in the back. Save us all a lot of frettin’.”

  “Or we could learn a new skill.” Cora gathered up the front of her skirt in one hand and grabbed the side of the seat with the other. She wasn’t going to let this get the better of her. She knew she wasn’t the sturdiest or most adaptable of the girls, but she could learn—she could figure out country living, even if it did fly in the face of everything her mother had tried to teach her about gentility.

  And besides, the longer she lived in Kansas, the more she was coming to realize that gentility wasn’t always very much fun.

  As she stepped onto the ground, Tenny balanced her with his hands on her waist, and he grinned. “Seems to me these wagon makers knew what they were about when they designed these things,” he said. “Gives a fellow a chance to put his arm around a girl once in a while.”

  He didn’t move his hands, and she didn’t step away. Instead, she looked up into his eyes. “Oh, so this was all planned?” she asked.

  “Well, I don’t know if it was planned, but it’s sure a nice happenstance, wouldn’t you think?”

  “Maybe,” she said, her bravery suddenly failing her. It came and went at the most unpredictable times. “I . . . I can’t say that I object overly much.”

  The other men were on the far side of the wagon setting out the food, and if Tenny had kissed her at that moment, no one would have seen. She was embarrassed to admit that she was even having the thought, but she wished he would kiss her. She’d never been kissed before, let alone by a cowboy who smelled of pine trees on a rainy morning, and her heart beat harder at the idea of it.

  But then he stepped back. “We’d best eat lunch and get on our way, Miss Cora. We don’t want to be too late getting back tonight.”

  He was right, of course, but she was still disappointed as she followed him over to the blanket Jack had spread out on the ground for their picnic.

  Chapter Six

  Tenny swallowed a few times before sitting down next to the picnic laid out on the ground. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in his life. The way she’d been looking up at him with those soft eyes . . . He knew she wouldn’t have objected. In fact, she might have even wanted to be kissed, but it felt wrong to sneak around like that. When he kissed her, he wanted the moment to be absolutely right because he knew it wasn’t going to be any old kiss. It would be a kiss that meant something, that started something, and it had to be special.

  He shook his head. He’d never imagined himself being such a romantic. His life had been dirt and cows and horses, and he hadn’t given a second thought to courting until lately. Now, he kept catching himself thinking about flowers and music, things like finding a moment for the perfect kiss. It sure was a good thing that the men in the bunkhouse couldn’t read his mind. They’d laugh him to scorn.

  Cora turned to him, her eyes bright. “Are you hungry, Tenny?”

  “Sure am.”

  “Well, these two attacked the basket like a duo of ravening wolves, so I wasn’t sure about you, sitting so quietly.”

  “Just waiting my turn.”

  She smiled and handed him a sandwich. “Here,” she said softly, her fingers brushing against his. Fire raced up his arm. Maybe he should have kissed her. Maybe all that folderol about waiting for the right moment was just that . . . folderol. Could be the right moment was whenever her lips were within kissing distance of his.

  “Now, this here’s what I’m readin’ right now,” Sully said as though they were already in the middle of a long conversation. He held his sandwich in one hand and pulled a book from his pocket with the other. “This one here’s about Captain Wallace. He’s had a bit of trouble as of late, see—trouble decidin’ who to marry, but also, he’s wanted for murder.”

  “Is he guilty?” Cora asked.

  “Now see, that’s just it, Miss Cora. We don’t know yet. All we know is that he’s bein’ hunted on account of it. I hafta think he’s innocent because he’s the hero of the book ’n all, but wouldn’t it be somethin’ if he was guilty the whole time?”

  “You should write a book, Sully,” Jack said as he passed around the lemonade jar. “I bet you’ve got more twists and turns in that brain of yours that any of those authors.”

  Sully shook his head. “Naw, not me. The thing about writin’ is, you’ve gotta be good with words. I’ve never had that partic’lar gift.”

  “Oh, Sully, don’t sell yourself short,” Cora told him. “I’ve heard you say things that are downright poetic.”

  “Aw, I dunno about that, Miss Cora,” he said, his ears turning pink. Tenny watched on, amused. He’d never seen Sully so bashful before.

  “And what about you, Tenny?” Cora asked, turning to him. “What do you like to read?”

  “Oh, I don’t spend time readin’,” he replied. “I’ve got enough other stuff to do—I keep myself occupied.”

  “No reading at all? Not even an adventure or a biography?” Cora seemed disappointed, and yet still hopeful.

  Tenny shrugged. “Truth is, I never learned how.” He took a big bite of sandwich and chewed, then followed it with a swig of lemonade. The whole time, Cora was watching him with a look on her face like she’d just seen a rattlesnake. “Somethin’ wrong, Miss Cora?”

  She blinked. “Um, no. Nothing. I’m just . . . surprised.”

  “My father died when I was young, and my mother, although a good woman, sort of let me run free. She had to run a boardin’ house for our keep, and I was too much hassle to worry about, I suppose. And when I started workin’, I found I could remember everything I needed to without writin’ it down. It’s never bothered me, not bein’ able to read. I get along fine without it.”

  “I . . . I just enjoy it so much myself that it’s hard for me to imagine going without it,” Cora replied, looking down at her sandwich and not making eye contact with him. “I guess it’s not something everyone needs . . .”

  “Tenny carries more around in his head than anyone else I’ve ever met,” Jack interjected. “It’s a wonder how he does it.”

  “I’m sure it is.” Cora’s voice sounded far away, and when she glanced up, Tenny was surprised to see tears glistening in her eyes. What had he said?

  They finished their meal in silence. Miss Fiona had truly put together a fine basket, but everything tasted like sand in Tenny’s mouth. He looked over at Jack, who in turn looked over at Sully. All three men sensed that something wasn’t right, and they’d better get to the bottom of it quick.

  “You know, I’m a mite tired of ridin’ in the wagon,” Sully said a moment later. “I’d appreciate tradin’ you places, Tenny. Stretch out this lame leg of mine for a while.”

  “Sure, I’ll drive,” Tenny replied, grateful for friends who could see a need and fill it. “Why don’t the two of you ride on ahead? I’d like another sandwich before we go, and no sense in me slowin’ you down.”

  “Sounds like a plan. We’ll meet up with you at the mercantile in a bit.” Jack stood up, brushed his sandwich crumbs from the front of his shi
rt, and gave Cora a nod before turning to mount up.

  Within a matter of moments, Tenny and Cora were alone, sitting in the shade of the wagon. Cora hadn’t taken more than a few bites of her sandwich, and Tenny felt tongue-tied.

  “Cora,” he said softly, “I’ve obviously done somethin’ to upset you. Won’t you please tell me so I can put it right?”

  She gave a small chuckle and placed her sandwich down on her napkin. “It’s so silly. In fact, it’s nothing at all, really.”

  “It’s somethin’ or you wouldn’t have tears in your eyes.”

  “Do I?” She blinked a few times. “Oh, I guess I do.”

  He reached over and took her hand. It was so small and soft, it reminded him of a bird that had once gotten trapped in the barn. He’d caught it and carried it over to the window, where he let it go to soar away into the sky. She didn’t have feathers, of course, but she trembled at his touch, just like the bird, and he was afraid that she too would fly away if given the chance.

  “Tell me.”

  “All right, but remember, I warned you that it’s silly.” She pulled in a deep breath. “I grew up in a small town—I’m sure I’ve already mentioned that. There wasn’t much to do there and there weren’t many girls my age, so I spent a great deal of time reading. I’d pretend that the characters in the books were my friends, and that eased some of my loneliness. Elizabeth Gaskell is a great favorite of mine, and so is Louisa May Alcott, and of course Dickens—although he can be a little hard to absorb at times. Each of these authors created worlds for me to live in, worlds where it was all right that I was shy and insecure, where my faults didn’t matter.”

  She looked down at their joined hands. “When I thought about getting married someday, I always pictured that I’d marry a man who also liked to read, and we could discuss the various different books and what we liked about them. It would be something we’d have in common, and part of loving him would mean sharing those worlds with him. And . . .”

  Her voice trailed off again, but Tenny could guess what she would have said. “And you were already disappointed to come out here and find that your groom was nothin’ more than a cattleman, and now to find out that he can’t even read—well, I’m sure that’s got to sting even more.” He let go of her hand and sat back, trying to sort through the surge of emotions that was rushing through him.