Blackstone's Bride (17 page)

She sat down on the wooden bench outside the dark, closed mercantile. “So what did you want to talk to me about, Jarrod?”

The way the moonlight turned her hair to glowing copper almost made him forget why he’d asked her to walk with him in the first place. After the day he’d had with Lily, he didn’t think anything could distract him from his purpose. He got her out here because he wanted this matter of a housekeeper settled.

He sat down beside her, close enough that their shoulders brushed, and ignored her womanly fragrance. If he let himself get caught up in the way it enveloped him, he might never get to what he had to say. Turning his mind to it, he decided the best thing would be to just say it straight out.

“Abby, I want you to be my housekeeper.”

Her whole body tensed. “We’ve already discussed this—”

“I’m prepared to offer you twice as much as the largest amount of money you’ve ever earned in one month in Hollister.”

She sat forward, pulling her back away from the wood-sided building. Her glance met his and her eyes were wide and shocked. “Jarrod, that’s a lot of money.”

“And worth every cent to me.”

“Is Katie sleeping all night?”

“No. Why?”

“Lack of sleep must be making you delirious.”

“Let me tell you about my day and maybe you’ll understand. You already know about Lily.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “Oliver had himself quite a morning.”

“What did he do? He’s all right, isn’t he?”

“He’s right as rain, except for the white paint all over him. He was watching us brand the cattle and wanted to help. I told him he was too little, so he took it into his head to brand the barn, the chickens, the horses in the barn, and everything else he could reach.”

“With paint?” Her voice held a note of amusement.

He wasn’t telling her this to be funny. He was throwing himself on her mercy. “Yes, with paint,” he said, annoyed.

“Very inventive,” she said, and laughed.

“He managed to get most of it on himself.” He shook his head at the memory.

“You’re lucky he didn’t try to build a fire by himself,” she said, turning serious.

Jarrod had thought the same thing. “Exactly why I need someone to be with the kids when I can’t.”

“I don’t know—”

“If that’s not enough to convince you, while I had Oliver in the tub trying to get him back to the color he used to be, Katie ran in and said Lily was crying because she was dying.”

“I’m so sorry you all had to go through that. But I don’t see—”

“If you had been there, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“Maybe not the paint. But I can’t stop Lily from becoming a woman.”

“I realize that. But
I
couldn’t reassure her. She wanted you. It wouldn’t have taken hours to calm her down. You’d have talked to her right away.”

Abby stood up and turned her back to him, staring out at the hills bathed in moonlight. He felt her hesitation. It was obvious that she cared about the kids. Something was preventing her from accepting his offer that had nothing to do with the money.

“What is it, Abby? Why are you torn about taking the job?”

“What makes you think I am?”

“If the answer was yes or no, you’d have let me know it by now. The salary is not in question since you didn’t turn me down flat when I told you how much I’m willing to pay. Something else is making you hesitate to take the job. Why don’t you tell me what it is? Maybe I can help.”

She folded her arms over her chest, but still didn’t look at him. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do, but I suppose it’s only fair to explain.”

“I’m listening.”

“Are you aware that my father left my family about thirteen years ago?”

“I heard something about it.”

Jarrod hadn’t paid much attention at the time. Gossip spread fast in a town like Hollister, but it didn’t get the animals fed, the fences mended, or grain stored for the winter. He didn’t put much stock in idle talk.

Abby sighed. “He left to find work, a way to provide a better living for his family.”

“That must have been real hard on all of you.”

“It was.” Her tone held a whole world of hurt.

“What happened? What did your mother do?”

“She went to work for Mr. Whittemore. He was real good to us, let Clint and me help out too. We did whatever we could to bring in money. But Mama missed Pa. She never complained or let on that she was lonely, but it was hard on her. Then she died.” She drew in a long, shuddering breath. “Just before she did, I made her a promise.”

“What was that?” he asked.

“I told her I’d find him. I’d do my best to reunite the family.”

“Have you heard from him since he left?”

She nodded. “Every couple years I get a letter from a post office box in San Francisco.”

“Is that where he is?”

“I don’t know. From what he says, he travels around to find work.”

“What kind of work?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“I’m sorry about what you and your family went through, Abby,” he said, not unkindly. “But I don’t understand what this has to do with whether or not you’ll take the job.”

“I promised my mother two things, Jarrod. Number one, I’d see that Clint is the first Miller to finish college. And number two, I’d find my father.” She turned to him and her eyes glowed with purpose. “I’m going to look for him, Jarrod. As soon as I’m sure Clint has enough money to finish his education, I’m going to go to San Francisco and track him down so we can be together again.”

Jarrod had more questions than he figured she had answers. He didn’t think much of a man who would leave his family to fend for themselves. He figured after thirteen years, Sam Miller had no intention of coming back to Hollister. But when he looked at the determination burning in Abby’s eyes, he couldn’t say that to her. He didn’t have the heart to destroy her dream.

At least now he could understand why she was so high on family, why she’d been so hot-tempered about him keeping the kids with him on the ranch. He could picture the girl she’d been, just a little younger than Lily, but still the oldest of two. Taking on responsibilities because her mother carried the load of supporting them. She had missed out on her childhood and didn’t want that to happen to Lily.

“It’ll be a while until you have enough money for Clint. Right?”

“Not if I take your job.” She sighed. “And when I’ve saved enough, I have to go. Do you understand?”

“I know how you feel, Abby. Having a goal, a dream, is real important. But what does that have to do with the job?”

“It wouldn’t be fair to the kids. Just about the time they get used to me, I’ll have to leave.”

“We still need you. Right now. I’ll take whatever time you can give.”

“You mean—”

“I mean I’d like to try and talk you out of looking for your pa. You don’t want to hear this, but a man who’d leave his family isn’t worth all the fretting you’ve done.”

“It’s not your decision to make,” she said stiffly.

“I know. I said I’d
like
to try and talk you out of it. I’m not that big a knothead. But you’ve been honest with me. And I still want you as a housekeeper. More important, the kids need you.”

“I don’t know—”

He sighed. “I can’t worry about the future past tomorrow. That means, Oliver’s hair might need some trimming to get the paint out, Katie needs a good night’s sleep as
much as I do, Lily needs a woman around the place, and Tom …” He frowned.

She tipped her head to the side, studying him. “What about Tom?”

“He says he can look after himself just fine. I don’t know why, but that makes me think he needs someone even more than the others.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve tried to be his friend, but it will take time.”

He grinned at her enthusiastic tone. “Does this mean you’ve accepted my proposal?”

“It means I will come to work for you because the children need me. On one condition.”

“What?”

“You must remember that I’ll have to go. It’ll probably be sooner than I thought because of the generous amount of money you’re paying me.”

“When you’re ready to go find your father and live with him, Abby, just give me a little notice so I can try to replace you.”

Maybe even try to talk you out of it, he thought. Abby was his friend. He hated to see her break her heart over a childhood fantasy.

“What if you can’t find a replacement? Finding someone sure wasn’t as easy as I’d thought, and I’ll still have to go. I don’t want any misunderstandings when the time comes.”

“There won’t be,” he assured her. “If I have to look for another housekeeper, I won’t make the mistake of getting the children’s approval.” He stuck his hand out. “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” she said, placing her small hand in his.

As he closed his fingers around hers, a jolt of awareness shot up his arm. His gaze lifted from their joined hands to her face. Why had he never noticed before how creamy and smooth her skin looked? Made him want to touch it, find out for himself if it felt like silk or satin. He knew for a fact that her lips were soft as clouds and intoxicating as fine brandy.

He wanted to kiss her again, to see if she still tasted as sweet. He just plain wanted her. But her eyes widened apprehensively as he stared at her. He had finally convinced her to work for him. Getting personal might scare her off.

He released her and jammed his hand in his pocket. “How soon can you be ready to leave?”

“I have to let Mr. Whittemore know I’m quitting.”

“I’d like to be there when you do.”

“Why?”

“To see how he takes it when he finds out he was wrong.” He smiled. “Can you come back to the ranch with Lily and me tomorrow? Do you think Earl will give you a hard time about leaving on such short notice?”

She shook her head. “He’ll understand. Since I don’t have much to get in order, I can leave in the morning.”

“Right after breakfast?”

“I’ll be ready.”

Katie and Oliver ran into the
kitchen and hugged Abby. Standing by the stove stirring eggs, Abby was nearly knocked off balance by the sneak attack. “Whoa, you. What’s that for?”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Katie said, looking up with shining eyes.

“Me too,” her brother seconded.

“I’ve been here two weeks. Aren’t you used to having me around?”

“No’m,” they both said together.

“So I can look forward to this every morning?”

“Yes’m.”

Lily walked in, followed by Tom, and the two sat down at the table. “We’re all happy you’re our housekeeper now. Even Tom, although he won’t admit it.”

Tom’s only reply was a snort.

“That makes me feel good. Soon I’ll just be like an old piece of furniture.”

Abby filled plates with fluffy eggs and set them in front of the children just as Jarrod entered the room. “What’s this about furniture?” he asked.

“Abby says pretty soon she’ll be like an old piece of furniture
around here,” Lily explained. “We worked too hard to have her here. We’ll never think that way. Will we, Uncle Jarrod?”

“Nope,” he said, slathering butter on a biscuit.

“Do you think Uncle Jarrod is a fine-looking man?” Katie stopped playing with her scrambled eggs and stared at Abby.

Abby felt Jarrod’s gaze on her. Since she’d moved to the ranch, he hadn’t once joined them for breakfast. Why today?

“I’d be curious about the answer to that myself,” he said, amusement lacing his voice. There was an edge of challenge there too.

Abby ignored the warmth that she knew was making her face red and looked him straight in the eye. “Yes, Katie. I think your uncle is a fine-looking man. One of the finest I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

She drew her gaze from his and scanned the rest of the children at the table one by one, until she came to Lily, who had gasped when her sister asked the question, then stared at her hands in her lap. She hadn’t looked up since.

“But why on earth would you wonder something like that, Katie?” Abby asked.

The little girl set her fork down. “Ever since Lily came back from Hollister, all she can talk about is that Joe Schafer and what a fine-looking man—”

“Boy,” Jarrod snapped. “Besides, that was two weeks ago. You’re not still mooning over him. Why, he can’t have more than a whisker or two on that baby-smooth face.”

Lily looked up, her eyes glistening with angry tears. “He shaves every third day. He told me so. I’m not mooning over him. I just think he’s nice is all.” She glared at her sister. “Katie, I’m never telling you anything again,” she cried, jumping up and running from the room.

Katie stuck out her bottom lip. “Didn’t mean anything by it. She had no call to get so riled.” One big tear rolled down her cheek and plopped on the front of her calico dress.

Abby went to kneel beside her. “Don’t cry, sweetie.”

“But why is she actin’ that way?”

“’Cause she’s stupid,” Tom said.

Oliver took his thumb out of his mouth. “She should be a cowboy.”

Abby looked up when Jarrod coughed, and the twinkle in his eye told her he was doing his best not to laugh. Then his mood changed and he looked seriously at his youngest nephew as he said, “Cowboys don’t cry, Oliver. That’s a fact. But what’s ailing Lily isn’t something that riding a horse or herding cattle can fix. Her getting upset that way is just part of growing up.”

“What do you mean?” Katie asked.

Abby glanced at Jarrod. “He means that your sister’s becoming a woman. She’s noticing boys.”

“This is one time I’m glad that Blackstone Ranch is the farthest from town,” Jarrod grumbled.

“Don’t you like Joe Schafer, Uncle Jarrod?” Katie asked, frowning at him. “Who is he anyway? Does he like Lily? Is she gonna marry him?”

“Hold on, Katie.” Jarrod got up from the head of the table and went to the stove to pour himself another cup of coffee. He turned back and said, “Lily is just beginning to look. As if she was buying a new dress. She’s too young to even think about getting married.”

Katie put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. “How come you’re not married, Uncle Jarrod? You’re not too young. Abby said you’re a fine-looking man. Don’t you want to get married?”