Weathered Too Young (17 page)

Lark gasped as her eyes immediately burst open.
She held her breath a moment—clutched her quilt to her throat as the dream faded.
It was always the same
,
her fancy’s dream of Slater Evans
. A
lways she awoke a breath before knowing his kiss to her lips.
Always it was a dual disappointment—the fact that it was only a dream
and
the fact that the dream could never endure until he’d kissed her.

The room was chilled
,
the fire having burned out sometime during the
night.
Exhaling
a heavy sigh of disappointment, Lark climbed out of her bed and tiptoed across the room to close the window.
She paused in doing so, however
,
for the early autumn breeze was fresh
and the sounds of morning on the Evans ranch enchanting.

Still, she did not wish to find herself catching a sniffle, so she closed the window and went about readying for the day.



Lark blushed when Slater entered the kitchen—her romantic dream of him still all too fresh in her mind.
She feared that he might somehow know she’d been dreaming of him.
Therefore, she found it difficult to meet his gaze.

“How’s that cheek doin’ this mornin’?” Tom asked as he entered the kitchen
,
adjusting his suspenders.

“Looks to me it’s a little more yellow than purple,” Slater said.
“Swellin’s down a bit too.”

“
Mm-hmm
,” Tom agreed, taking hold of Lark’s chin and turning her face to study the damage more closely.
“Is it feeling better?”

“Much better, thank you,” Lark assured him.

Tom winked at her and took a seat at the
table.
As
Lark s
e
t a plate of biscuits and ham before him, he looked to his brother and asked, “You still plannin’ on goin’ to town today?”

Slater nodded.
“Yep.
I wanna get them supplies laid in.
It wouldn’t be smart to wait much longer.”

“You takin’ the boys with you?”

“Yeah,” Slater mumbled.
“I figure I’ll take both wagons…and I’ll need some help loadin’
’
em.
You comin’?”

“Naw,” Tom said.
“I wanna get that woodpile heaped up a bit.”

“How about you?” Slater asked Lark.
“Do you wanna come to town with me and the boys?
I mean…if you’re not feelin’ up to it yet,” he said, gesturing to her sore cheek, “I’ll be more’n happy to pick out a coat for ya.”

Lark smiled with relief.
She hadn’t wanted to go to town—
not in the company of four men and
with
the condition of her face.
She knew how town gossip was.
She could well imagine how the tongues would start wagging at the sight of a lone and obviously beaten woman escorting four men—no matter what the truth was.

“I would greatly appreciate that, Slater…if you wouldn’t mind,” she answered.

He winked at her and nodded, causing her smile to
broaden.
“By
the way, Tom,” he began as he reached into the front pocket of his trousers and withdrew a wadded
-
up, worn bandana, “
y
ou owe this girl wages.”

Taking Lark’s hand, Slater dumped a pile of silver dollars into her palm.
Lark’s mouth gaped as he then reached into his back pocket, pulled out a roll of paper money
,
and counted out eight two-dollar bills.

“There ya go,” he said, folding the paper money and stuffing it into one of her apron pockets.
“That’s thirty-two dollars for my half…so ante up, little brother.”

“You sayin’ I won’t?” Tom chuckled as he reached around to his back pocket.

“You haven’t so far,” Slater chuckled.

“Well
,
neither have you,” Tom said.

“No, no, no…this is too much,” Lark argued, offering the silver coins in her hand to Slater.

“No
,
it ain’t,” Slater said
,
shaking his head.
He pointed a warning index finger at her, adding, “And don’t you let us go another week without payin’ you.
Our boys get paid every week
. I
t ain’t no different with you.”

“Here ya go, honey,” Tom said as he unrolled a wad of bills, licked his thumb, and began to count out an amount.
“Thirty-two dollars…and you’ve been here a might longer than a month
,
so I’ll toss in another ten just to show I’m more generous than Slater here.”

“No, no, no!” Lark argued as Tom slipped the money into her opposing apron pocket.
Withdrawing all the money, she laid it on the table, shook her head
,
and said, “I can’t possibly accept this.”

“You know what,” Tom said
,
“
y
ou’re right.”
Reaching over
,
he quickly plucked a ten bill from the remaining bills in Slater’s hand.
“Slater’s throwin’ in another ten for helpin’ us brand Sue.”

“That’s right,” Slater said, snatching the bill back.
“And I’ll use it to buy
you a right
nice coat today, baby…if that’s all right.”

Tom laughed
,
and Slater chuckled.

“Well…well
,
yes…that’s fine
. B
ut it’s all too much,” Lark argued once more.
“Really…why would I ever need so much money all at once?”

“That ain’t our concern,” Slater said, finishing the last bite of ham on his plate.
“You earned it
,
and we just pay you yer wages.
It ain’t our business what you use it for.”

“B-but…but I…” Lark stammered.

“Next time one of us goes to town
,
yer face oughta be all healed up
. T
hen you can come with us and buy somethin’ nice for yourself at the
g
eneral
s
tore,” Slater said.
“I’m afraid if ya go this time
,
folks might think I’m as mean as my reputation tells me to be.”

Lark smiled at him.
“I still can’t accept this sum.
It’s too much.”

Slater sighed with exasperation.
Shaking his head, he pushed his chair back from the table and stood
up.
“
I gotta round the boys up and get into town, Tom,” he mumbled.
“You can stay home and argue with the woman over money…but don’t let her near any stock that ain’t branded yet.”
He smiled
. I
t was a playful, teasing smile—very close to the smile he always wore in her dreams.

Lark arched one eyebrow as she returned his playful smile.
She scooped up the money and deposited all of it into her skirt pocket.
“You’re right
.
I did earn this.”

“
Yes,
you did…you little bull
-
brander,” Slater chuckled as he strode from the room.

Lark watched as he pulled his slicker off the coat rack by the front door.

“I’ll see you girls later,” he teased with a wink.

“Well, you best take a hat, sunshine,” Tom said.
“Summer’s over.”

Slater nodded, took his hat from the hat rack
,
and pushed it onto his
head.
“That
it is, girls…that it is,” he said as he closed the door behind him.

Tom chuckled as he took a bite of ham and
biscuits.
“Mama
always had to pester Slater about wearing a hat in summer,” he mumbled.
“Matilda too.
I don’t know how he works out in the heat without one
,
and it turns his hair a whole different color entirely.
But
winter’s comin’ on
,
and we don’t want him
catchin’ his death…now do we?”

“No…we don’t,” Lark giggled.

“You might need to take up pesterin’ him a
might too,” Tom added.
“He goes all summer without a hat…then forgets to keep his head warm in winter.”

“But he almost always leaves the house with one,” Lark noted.
“Even when I first came here…and it was still summer then.”

Tom smiled.
“Oh, he just does that because he was used to
everyone
naggin’
him
.
He mostly tosses it in the barn once he leaves the house.”
He shook his head.
“I can’t believe he ain’t dropped dead of the heat yet.”

Lark
sighed
,
lifted
Slater’s empty plate from the table
,
and walked to the sink.
Oh, how she loved the mornings at the Evans ranch!
Oh, how she loved feeling needed, safe
,
and warm—and how she loved the two men that were taking such care of her.
She thought of the first day she’d met them—of Tom’s smile and kindness
,
of Slater’s mask of indifference and feigned bad temper.
She could never have imagined knowing such happiness in working for them—in simply knowing them.
Furthermore, she could never have imagined falling in love with Slater as she had. That she would ever cross the path of such a man as Slater Evans had been beyond her thinking before she’d come to them—but to have fallen in love with him?
She wondered if perhaps she’d put
too
heavy a price on her heart
,
if perhaps loving Slater would lead her to an untimely end somehow
,
for she had begun to think she might die if she were ever driven away from him.

“I’ll be out splittin’ wood if ya need me, honey,” Tom said, startling her as he stepped up next to her to hand her his now empty plate.

“Oh!
Thank you,” she said, smiling at him.

Tom winked at her as he retrieved his hat and coat from the rack standing by the front door.
He smiled and nodded at her
,
began to whistle a lively tune
,
and left the house.

Lark was alone once more
,
alone with her thoughts—her thoughts of happiness
,
of contentment—her thoughts of Slater and how handsome he’d looked as he’d left the
house.
She
smiled—sighed as she thought of him—lingered in remembrances of her dreams of him.

“
Little Lucy Sparrow, perching on a limb so narrow
,” she sang as she washed the breakfast plates and utensils, “
oh, won’t you trill a love song for me?
A handsome
caballero that wears a wide sombrero…is only what I wish for, you see.
”



“Well,
we’re pretty well-stocked,” Slater said as he hung his slicker on the coat rack.
“So I guess the weather can turn now.”
He smiled and shivered as if a sudden chill had overtaken him.
“Brrr!
It’s pretty chilly right now as it is.
What’s for supper?”

“Fried chicken,” Tom said, patting his stomach from where he sat in the large chair by the parlor fire.
“And it is good!”
He frowned a moment and asked, “But what about Eldon and the boys?
They didn’t have time to cook nothin’ up.”

“They had supper in town while I was findin’ a coat for our little bull
-
brander here,” Slater said.
“Look here
.
I got ya two.”
He reached into a large burlap bag he’d brought into the house with him, drawing out two brown paper-wrapped packages.

“There’s one for ridin’ and workin’
. B
ut then I thought you might be needin’ one for Sunday meetin’s and such…if you can ever drag our sorry rear ends to
’
em.”

He held one package out to
L
ark
,
and she accepted with a polite, “Thank you, Slater.”
She was uncomfortable
,
however, for as he stood watching her unwrap the brown paper—as Tom rose from his chair and sauntered nearer for a better view—she realized she didn’t quit
e
know what to expect at having a man purchase clothing for her.