A Cowgirl's Pride (5 page)
Authors: Lorraine Nelson
“Anything I can do to help? Where is everybody?”
she asked.
“Not a thing. It’s all under control. Luke
needed to pick up supplies in town, and he took the boys with him so they
wouldn’t disturb your rest.”
“He didn’t have to do that. I never heard a
thing.”
Zakia’s laughter filled the room. “You would’ve
if Luke hadn’t gotten them out of here. Their shyness on first meeting you soon
wore off, and they wanted to play with Auntie Lee.”
“It’s probably better for them to be cautious at
their age. How old are they anyway?”
“Five going on fifteen some days.”
She laughed again, and Leah joined in.
“Actually, it’s not like them to play shy with
anyone. Luke thinks it’s because of your hair.”
“My hair?”
“Yeah, I don’t think they’ve ever seen anyone
with hair that color before. At first, they were calling you Angel Lee.”
Leah giggled. “I’m anything but, but that is so
cute.”
“Oh, they can be cute but they can be a little
mischievous at times.”
“How do you tell them apart?” she asked.
“Casey is the more serious of the two. Cammy can
be a real stinker.”
“That’s nice to know, but how do I tell them
apart otherwise? They’re identical!”
“Well, yeah, that’s kind of obvious, but I know
what you mean. There is a slight difference in eye color, and they usually wear
different colored shirts, but that doesn’t always work.”
“No?”
“Uh-uh. They have developed the habit of
exchanging shirts to fool people,” said Zakia, smiling as she turned to set the
table.
“Oooh, they are little rascals.”
“Yep!”
The women shared a laugh, interrupted by the
opening of the kitchen door.
There stood her father, looking every bit the
rugged, hard-working rancher he’d always been. “Daddy!” She ran to him, and he
enfolded her in his embrace, his strong arms holding her tight to his chest.
“Leah!” he cried, his voice choked with emotion.
“When did you git home, baby girl?”
“This afternoon. I wanted to surprise you.”
“You sure enough did that.” He held her away
from him. “Let me look at you. Damned if you ain’t the prettiest girl in all
the West.” He hugged her to him again.
“Oh, Daddy, I missed you so much.”
“No more’n I missed you, girl. Are you home to
stay?”
“Yes!”
“Good girl!”
“Where is Winnie? Didn’t she come with you?”
asked Zakia.
“Yeah, Luke pulled in right behind us, and she’s
outside making a fuss of those grandbabies.” He chuckled. “Wait’ll she gets a
load of who else is here.”
They didn’t have long to wait. The door flew
back on its hinges as the twins came running in followed by a pretty woman who
Leah vaguely remembered. Winnie stopped still in her tracks when she saw Lucas
holding her.
“Leah? My God, girl, you’re pretty. I always
knew you would be.”
“Thank you.”
The door opened again, more slowly this time, as
Luke and Michael came inside.
“I hope you don’t mind me inviting myself to
dinner, Zakia,” said Michael, smiling hopefully.
“Not at all. Hang up your coats while I set out
another plate. Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Oh, goody,” he said, rubbing his hands together
in glee and rushing to sit beside Leah.
She laughed at his antics, as did the twins.
“Michael, you’re great for a girl’s ego,” she
said.
“Hey, no one’s going to blame me for wanting to
sit beside the prettiest single woman in the room.”
“I’m the
only
single woman in the room.”
“Yeah, but that don’t matter. You’d still be the
prettiest.”
His charming grin spoke to her of friendship, of
caring. He wasn’t interested in her. Was he? No, that isn’t desire in his eyes,
just an open, friendly acceptance. At least her past hadn’t deterred him in
wanting to visit socially. She figured Michael's teasing was his way of trying
to make her feel at ease. Weird, since she
was
among
family
.
Although, the knowledge that she needed to level
with her father at some point gave her the heebie-jeebies. She wasn’t looking
forward to that at all, having grown up his “Little Princess.” Well, she’d
danced to the tune. It would soon be time to pay the fiddler, but not tonight.
Tonight was for catching up with all the
hometown and family news. Her phone calls had been infrequent and necessarily
brief. As she glanced at the faces around the table, she gave thanks for each
and every one. She was so happy to be home.
“Hey, what’re you grinnin’ at, little lady?”
“I can’t help it, Daddy. I’m just so glad to be
home…to be sitting here among you all instead of trying to be satisfied with a
phone call now and then.”
“You didn’t have to stay away so long. You
could’a come back anytime.”
She glanced at Luke and then at Michael for
moral support. Their smiles told her what she needed to know. They wouldn’t say
anything until she was ready. “No, I couldn’t really, but that’s a story for
another day and time. Right now, I just want to enjoy being surrounded by
family again.”
Her father gave her a shrewd look then nodded
his head. “So be it.”
He smiled at her and resumed eating as did
everyone else, but as Leah picked up her fork the hairs at the nape of her neck
bristled. Her gaze strayed to the window, the darkness outside prevented her
from seeing who might be out there, but she was perfectly aware that whoever it
was could easily see in.
“What is it, Leah?” Michael whispered in her
ear.
“I’m not sure…probably nothing.” She shook her
head to indicate “not now.” He took the hint, but she noticed him turn slightly
toward the window. So, he felt it, too. Her father was talking to her, and she
almost missed it. “What did you say, Dad? I was off in dreamland somewhere.”
“I said, do you intend to stay here at the ranch
or are ya wantin’ to come home with us?”
“Oh! I thought I’d stay here, catch up on the
changes and do some riding.”
“Fair enough, but anytime yer needin’ a change
of scene, Luke’ll give ya directions to our spread.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I appreciate that. Might even
take you up on it if Luke gets too heavy-handed.”
Laughter ensued around the table, and talk
turned general as they filled her in on the happenings since she’d been away.
“Does Dianne Cutler still live out this way, or
did she marry?”
“She married, but she and her husband took over
her daddy’s spread when Bill and Martha moved south. Her mother became sick and
couldn’t take the cold winters anymore,” said Luke.
“Is Martha okay?”
“She’s doing fine, last I heard.”
“Good. Who did Dianne marry?”
“
“What? She hated him!”
Lucas guffawed loudly. “Can’t hate him too much
anymore. They’ve got themselves a passel of kids. What was it, Winnie? Seven at
last count?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Seven? In five years?” One hand automatically
went to rub her belly.
“Yep, last batch was triplets. What about you?
Any plans to give us some grandkids some day?”
Her head jerked up, and she looked toward her
father. He was eyeing her shrewdly. She took a deep breath and let it out
slowly. “Well, yes, as a matter of fact. I’m due sometime in June, I think.”
“Thought so. You and Zak have the same look
about ya. Is that why you came home?”
“Partly, the main impetus for my coming home is
the well-being of my baby.”
“Good! Family is important.” Her father’s happy
grin spread wide. “I knew you was hidin' somethin', and I don’t rightly care
what brought ya home, but welcome back, baby girl.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
They’d finished dinner, and Luke stood. “I’ll
take the boys into the living room so you can clean up without incident, Zia.
Or would you rather I stay and give you a hand?”
“Heaven’s no, Luke. We’ve enough hands to do the
job,” Winnie said as she began gathering the dirty dishes.
“Dad, Michael, you coming with us?” he asked.
“I think I’ll go outside to walk off some of the
pounds I just put on,” said Michael, patting his rock-hard stomach.
“Not me. Gettin’ too cold out for my likin’.
I’ll go watch a little TV with Luke and the grandsons.”
Michael gave her a curt nod and donned his
winter coat before stepping outside. Leah knew he was heading out for a quick
check around the exterior of the house to find out who’d been watching them.
There weren’t many leftovers, but she stored
them in the fridge and ran the water for washing dishes.
“This is your first night home. You shouldn’t be
doing dishes,” Zakia said.
“I don’t mind. It’s only fair to help clean up
after you cooking such a wonderful dinner. I love roast pork.”
“Thank you. I love to cook.”
“Really? You never used to.”
“No, but after I left here, our cook taught me
how. I even catered dinners and parties for a couple of years.”
“I’m impressed.”
Michael came back in.
“That was a short walk,” Leah said.
“Lucas was right. It’s cold out there. I don’t
know how
She nodded to acknowledge what he was really
telling her and relaxed again. “Has to be done. Animals come first on a working
ranch. That much I do remember. I’d join him except that my ski suit and winter
boots are still packed. I’m looking forward to going riding tomorrow if the
snow’s not too deep.”
“Check with
suggest taking someone with you in case you lose your bearings,” he warned.
“Especially with snow on the ground,” said
Zakia. “If it starts blowing hard, it’s easy to lose your way.”
“Yes, I do remember that about the ranch in
winter.” Leah laughed. “But I lived here for a lot more years than I’ve been
away.”
“Maybe so, but give yourself time to become
reacquainted with the land. You never know what might happen,” Michael said, a
more serious tone to his voice this time.
His words served to remind her of why she was
here in the first place. She nodded. “Okay, you win. I won’t go riding off
alone.”
She saw Winnie watching them, her gaze darting back
and forth between the two.
“Michael, how is it that you weren’t surprised
by Leah’s appearance here tonight?”
“I was here earlier today, making my rounds.”
“Uh, huh. Must’ve had a lot of time on your
hands to drive all the way out here.”
“Yep, slow day. I think I’ll go join the guys.”
Leah smiled at his retreat. She didn’t blame him
for not wanting to lie to his mother.
“Are you in some kind of trouble, Leah?”
She sighed. “Yes, but I don’t want dad to
worry.”
“The baby’s father?”
“Yes.”
“If you ever need us, we’re only a phone call
away.”
Tears welled up in Leah’s eyes. She turned and
made a big deal of wiping off the table, then gave it up to embrace Winnie in a
hug. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure what you’d think of me coming home after all
this time.” She received a quick hug and a squeeze in return.
“Lordy, girl! I think it’s wonderful. It’ll do
your daddy good not to have to worry about you all the time.”
“How’s he doing since the heart attack?”
“He’s doing fine, but if you want to give it a
few days, you take your time. Whatever you need to tell him must be serious for
you to be here, but he loves you. He’ll understand.”
“I hope so. Thank
you
for understanding and not asking awkward questions.”
“No problem.” Winnie hung up her dishtowel and,
once Zakia finished putting things away, escorted the two younger women from
the kitchen. “It’s time to join the family.”
* * * *
From his vantage point on top of Luke's prize
stallion, Siren,
take kindly to Peeping Toms, and he was madder than old hell because he’d
become one tonight. Leah had grown into such a beautiful woman. His eyes strayed
in her direction every time he circled back toward the house.
Maybe he should take the horse for an evening
ride. That would prevent his staring like a lovesick fool through the window.
He started to do just that but remembered the weatherman forecasted snow, and
lots of it, before morning. It could start anytime, and he didn’t want to take
a chance on being stuck out in the fields in a whiteout. Even to take the horse
for a short ride down the main road could prove disastrous. Nope, he was stuck
here. Besides, he wanted to make himself available if Leah did venture out.