Cole's Montana Bride (Sweet,clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers and Brides Series Book 7) (6 page)

"Especially if he's planning on raising a family," Victoria said starting to remove her gloves.

Cole felt his brows tighten at that comment. "Well, it's just plain old me at the moment." He strode up onto the porch. "And I aim to keep it that way for the foreseeable future," he said with a quirk of his brow.

Victoria's eye locked on Cole's. "Lucy Carter might look at things differently," she stated.

Cole grinned and gestured toward the door. "Can I offer you some tea. It's a long ride from town."

Victoria nodded politely. "That would be most welcome, Cole," she said.

Cole led the way into the house, letting Victoria enter before him. He saw how she looked around once she was inside. Victoria turned and looked at him. "It smells clean," she observed.

Cole frowned. "I sure hope so. Mrs. Stone keeps a tidy house. Anyone who says otherwise is likely to get an earful. Speaking of Mrs. Stone. Look who it is," he said as his housekeeper emerged from the kitchen, arms wide and a huge grin on her face.

"Victoria. How lovely to see you again," Mrs. Stone exclaimed.

Both women hugged each other.

"Mrs. Stone. You haven't changed a bit," Victoria said holding the older woman gently by the shoulders and examining her features.

Mrs. Stone glanced down at her midriff. "My home cooking hasn't stopped my waist expanding," she said with a smile. "But look at you. What a lovely young woman you've become," Mrs. Stone said glancing up and down at Victoria.

Cole saw Victoria's cheeks turn red. She waved a hand. "Don't go making me blush," she said.

Mrs. Stone looked across at Cole. "I remember when that used to be Cole's job," she said with a laugh.

Cole felt his stomach sink and he glanced quickly at Victoria. Her wordless, polite smile told him that she preferred not thinking too much about past times.

"Didn't you say we could have some tea in the parlor, Mrs. Stone?" Cole asked giving his housekeeper an admonishing look.

Mrs. Stone nodded. "You two make your way in. I'll bring the tea and some lovely homemade biscuits," she said.

Cole and Victoria made their way into the parlor. Cole invited Victoria to take a seat on the divan. Watching her sit down he realized he had a decision to make. Should he sit down next to her? Maybe she'd think that would be too forward. Perhaps it would get the visit off to a bad start.

Cole opted to take a seat next to the empty fireplace. Once he'd taken his place he saw that Victoria appeared to have taken note of his decision not to take a seat next to her on the divan. But, the moment soon passed. Cole saw Victoria draw herself up, placing her hands on her lap and composing herself.

For a few moments nothing was said. Victoria glanced around the parlor. "I remember this room. Didn't we used to read to each other here, when the weather was too bad to go out?"

Cole smiled. "We did. And I recall what your favorite book was," he said.

Victoria's brows raised in surprise. "Really. And what was it?"

"Little Women," he stated.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Oh my. That is a book I've read too many times to count," she said.

"I used to read passages to you while you sat on that very divan," he said looking intently at her.

Cole could see the memories rising in her mind and making her features soften, so that they became even more beautiful, which right now seemed an impossibility to Cole. But nevertheless the recollection of such an intimate and cozy time had momentarily pierced the layer of formality which Victoria had erected on her arrival.

As quickly as she'd submitted to the delights of past memories, Victoria stiffened and took a quick, deep breath.

"I suppose you know what I've come for today."

Cole cleared his throat. The moment had passed and it was back to business. "I certainly do," he answered.

Victoria spoke with a measured tone. "I promised Lucy Carter that I'd do what I normally do when assessing the suitability of a candidate for matrimony. Pay a brief visit and afterwards make some recommendations."

Cole noted the emphasis she'd placed on the shortness of the visit. He felt his heart sink slightly. He suddenly thought that the visit might only last as long as it would take to drink a cup of tea and chat idly about life on the ranch. Was she being serious about this whole thing? Cole felt a stab of indignation at the businesslike manner in which she'd stated her intentions.

"So your visit is to see if I'm a suitable potential husband," he said trying hard to contain the ire in his voice.

Victoria nodded, seemingly oblivious of his reaction to her words. "I did explain that to you yesterday."

"You did indeed. And I'm happy to show you around. Give you a tour, if you like."

Victoria's brows tightened. "A tour isn't exactly what I had in mind," she said defensively.

"Doesn't a matchmaker usually have to satisfy herself that her client can expect the best that material possessions have to offer when entering into a marriage?"

Victoria seemed finally to sense Cole's irritation. "With Lucius Carter I don't imagine that material possessions would exactly be in short supply," she said.

Cole coughed. "Any wife that I have will never go without. Surely you remember when I said those very words to you. And in this very room, I do believe," he said. Cole seized control of himself, not wanting to submit to the distempered reaction which he felt mounting inside.

"I was under the impression that you had no intention of acquiring a wife. In fact you told me yesterday that marriage to Lucy Carter was not something you wished to seriously consider,' she said.

"As you so eloquently reminded me yesterday, Lucius is an influential man in these parts. It does a man no good to go provoking a man like that. If he wants me to consider his daughter as a wife then I can do that. But only consider. Nothing else."

"So you're saying that my visit has no purpose?"

Cole took a deep breath and gazed out the window, seeing the scattered clouds. The sudden silence in the room was so intense that Cole was sure he could hear his own heart thudding. Hard. Could Victoria hear that sound too? They'd gone from civility to ill humor almost in an instant and he didn't like it one bit. He took another deeper breath and clasped his fingers together. After a moment calmness started to settle upon him.

"On the contrary, Victoria. I hoped your visit today would serve an entirely different purpose," he said quietly.

Cole saw her clear blue eyes lock on his, a sudden curiosity in them. "After my conduct yesterday I wanted to take the opportunity to remind you of something important. To me at least." Cole glanced away. He searched his mind frantically for the right words, the most persuasive words he could find, words that would stand a chance of convincing her that she wasn't just visiting his ranch in the capacity of a matchmaker. He wanted to tell her straight, using plain words that would awaken her heart and bring her back to him.

Cole opened his mouth to speak but suddenly Mrs. Stone entered the room, carrying a tray laden with teapot, cups and a mound of biscuits. "Sorry this took so long," she explained. "But the biscuits were still cooling. Don't want you two dears to burn your sweet little mouths," she said.

Cole sighed and wondered if fate was conspiring to prevent him from saying what he felt he must say to the woman who'd briefly reappeared in his life.

"Those look lovely," Victoria said to Mrs. Stone. Cole saw Victoria glance in his direction as if prompting him.

Cole followed her lead. "They smell real tasty, Mrs. Stone," he said.

Mrs. Stone laid the tray down on the table with a clatter of china.

Victoria started to help Mrs. Stone with the tea. Cole watched the two women engaged in such a simple task. But just looking at Victoria pouring out the tea took him back to a better time, a time when happiness had seemed ensured and love a certainty.

But now, watching the woman he'd loved so long ago, here in his parlor busy with such a familiar and ordinary task, Cole MacAllan knew that he'd have to work a whole lot harder if he was going to have any chance of stopping Victoria from disappearing one more time. And if Victoria was so intent on keeping things between them businesslike, then how on earth was he going get them the way he really wanted.

Personal.

CHAPTER SIX

After the tea, Cole showed Victoria around the ranch house. The changes he'd made since she'd last been in the place had provided more space, extra rooms. As she followed him around the house, as she saw the extra rooms, the empty spaces, she couldn't help asking herself just what good would such a lot of space do for a man who was so resolute in remaining unmarried. The thought passed through her mind that this was the kind of house that called out for a family, a home filled with children to fill up the empty space. But every remark that Cole had made about marriage since she'd come back into his life, albeit in a professional capacity, had made Victoria believe that the rooms would remain vacant for a long time to come.

"Why do you need such a big house?" she asked him bluntly as they stepped out onto the yard on their way to the stables. The sun had disappeared momentarily behind a dark cloud.

Cole paused and looked at Victoria. He scuffed his boot idly across the surface of the dry, dusty ground. "What do you mean?" His eyes lifted and bored into her, seeking a quick answer.

She glanced back at the house. "I mean it's a pretty big place for an unmarried man," she explained.

Cole looked at the ranch house and nodded. "I guess you're right." He folded his arms across his wide chest and peered straight at Victoria. He sighed. "But, who says I'm not planning on ever getting married?" His face had suddenly adopted an expression of good natured challenge.

Victoria frowned. "You've made it pretty clear that you're not interested in marriage," she said.

"To Lucy Carter? Not interested at all," he replied.

Victoria peered into his clear blue eyes. There was a playful look in them that she hadn't seen earlier. She paused, considering whether he had deliberately led her to the point where there was only one question she could possibly ask. She sighed and forced herself to ask the question. "Is there someone else who you might consider an appropriate match?"

Cole leaned forward. His face was so close that Victoria could feel his breath on her forehead. Cole's eyes narrowed and she was sure he had taken the chance to inhale the scent of her perfume. The corners of his eyes creased and he nodded. "I suppose you could say there is someone I might consider as a potential wife," he said. His voice was slow and deep, filled with certainty.

Victoria leaned back and peered at Cole's face. "Really? Like to tell me who she is?"

Cole shook his head and smiled. "I don't think that would be a good idea," he said in an amused drawl. He took a step back and turned to look out across the open fields. "I don't know that there's a whole lot left for you to see here. Not much that anyone like Lucy Carter would need to know about. How would you feel about a little ride down to the river?" he asked, turning and raising a brow.

Victoria glanced over at the stable, the barn and the buildings used to house the ranch hands. It was true. There wasn't much for her to see. She'd felt duty bound to be able to say she'd toured Cole's main residence and had found it fit and proper for a young lady such as Lucy Carter. Not that it seemed to matter, what with Cole's repeated assertions that marriage to Lucy Carter wasn't anything he'd consider.

"You'd get to see more of the spread. Some of the parts I've acquired in the last couple of years," Cole continued.

Victoria thought about riding out with Cole. Would she feel safe? Could she trust him? She looked at Cole's expectant face. "I guess I can trust you," she said, noting the surprised widening of his eyes at her reply.

"Of course you can trust me. We're old friends. Aren't we?"

Victoria tipped her head to one side. "I suppose we are," she responded.

"Let's get on those horses. I've got a whole lot of land to show you," he said starting toward where their mounts were tied at the front of the house. "Before we go I'll let Mrs. Stone know we'll be back in time for lunch."

Checking her bonnet was tight in place, Victoria turned and began to follow Cole. It was going to be an interesting next few hours.

They made their way across the spread, and piece by piece, his voice filled with obvious pride, Cole pointed out where he'd made improvements to the ranch. He showed her the herd, letting out a heavy sigh of satisfaction as they paused on a ridge and looked down into the valley where the hundreds of head of cattle milled and roamed, supervised by mounted ranch hands. Victoria could feel the pride oozing out of Cole.

He told her about the long days of hard work, the dangers of the winter, the lazy, hot summer days that seemed to go on forever. Victoria had forgotten just what it felt like to be in this land, feel yourself a part of the earth, sense a connection to a world that was so different from town life. She'd forgotten just how natural it felt to be a part of a place like this. For a brief moment she shared Cole's pleasure at being under the sky, seated on the back of a horse and gazing down upon a scene that could fill up a person's soul.

Cole took her to some places that she remembered. Rocky outcrops, high ridges with stunning views of the distant mountains and finally they started down toward the river. They'd spent many a warm, summer afternoon down at the river. Cole had taught Victoria how to fish, but she'd never had much luck catching anything. The only thing she'd ever caught was Cole's full attention, which he'd always been more than happy to give her. That had been when they'd been so sweet on each other that it had seemed inevitable they would end up married.

Victoria pushed thoughts of the past to the back of her mind as they started down a meadow which led to a forest, beyond which lay the bend in the river. Cole pulled his horse to a halt and glanced up at the sky. A heavy bank of dark cloud had been building steadily up for the past while. The air had gotten suddenly cooler and Victoria had pulled her collar tight around her neck.