The Rancher (27 page)

The brisk cool air felt refreshing against her hot skin. As if on cue, the fiddles started to play and a sudden train of dancers appeared on the wooden floor.

Two large fire pits had been built oneither side of the platform, but Abbywasn’t sure she would need them to keep

warm.

Cole took her into his arms and

whispered, “May I have this dance?  And

the next one?  And the next?”

Her dance card was full.  Abby smiledher agreement and raised her hands tomeet his. They began the first dance, awaltz.  A few measures into the music

other couples joined in and soon the dance

floor was in full motion.

When the next reel began everyone gotinvolved.  Abby was not at all surprisedto see Raine and Lily dancing together,laughing and teasing one another.   Shesmiled, in spite of herself.   Lily wasalready like a sister to her.

She should marry Raine.  We would besisters for real,
 
she thought.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure ofyour smile, m’lady?”   Cole teased,speaking in proper British tones.

Abby smiled, feeling the blush creepinto her face. She took Cole’s hand.  He

pulled her close.

“They look nice together, don’t they? Lily and Raine, I mean,” Abby mused while watching the playful couple.

“Don’t even think about it,” Cole warned good-naturedly.

Cole spun her around the floor until they were dancing just inches away from Raine and Lily.  Raine, still with a smile on his face, caught Cole’s eye and tilted his head toward the refreshment table.

Abby did not miss the exchange.  When

Cole’s smile faltered, she followed thedirection his eyes had taken to see Jeremiah Carson standing menacingly nearthe platform steps in the midst of a groupof men.

Jeremiah’s voice had already begun tocarry over the bustle of guests and he wasspeaking in slurred sentences. Drunk.  Determined to hide her annoyance at hisrude behavior, she turned back to Cole.

His face dripped with disdain.

“What’s wrong?”  Abby demanded ofher husband.

Cole’s smile returned strong as heturned back to face her.  “Nothing.  I think I’m just starting to get a little winded.  Would you like some lemonade?”

Abby nodded, but still felt something

was very wrong.  Raine and Cole excused

themselves to retrieve the ladies’ drinks.

“What’s going on?”  Lily asked.

Abby shrugged.   Lily laced her arm with Abby’s and both women walked to the edge of the dance floor where they had a good view of the refreshment table below.  Raine and Cole were collecting glasses of lemonade while deep in strained conversation, all amusement gone from their faces.

Abby leaned forward trying to hear what Cole was saying, but the laughter and music was too loud to hear the exchange being held in hushed tones.

“Lily dear,” Mrs. Patterson, the owner of the mercantile, said as she pushed past Abby with the new preacher in tow. “Have you met our delightful Mr. Harris?  He’s single, you know?” The robust

woman leaned in toward Lily and cupped one hand above her mouth as if she were

passing along a great secret.  Not letting go of the poor preacher’s arm, Mrs. Patterson said, in a whisper loud enough for those on the other side of the barn to hear, “And don’t you just think he is so handsome?”

The preacher’s blond hair was combed neatly back and the spark behind his green eyes startled Abby. She wondered for a moment about this new reverend. No one had heard anything about him or had even met him until the wedding. Martha had told Abby that even Mrs. Patterson, who knew the details of everyone’s lives, was having a hard time discovering anything about the man.

“It’s a pleasure to officially meet you,

Reverend.”  Lily held out her hand forhim.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss...?” He bowed slightly, but did not take his eyes off Lily. His thick British accent and impeccable manners endeared him to her, a little.

Abby rolled her eyes.

“Campbell,” Lily provided.

He   bent   his   head   forward   inacknowledgement.  “And good evening to

you,
 
Mrs.
 
Redbourne.”  He bent his head again,   this   time   toward   Abby.  “Congratulations again on your marriage.”

With a brief smile, his attentions quickly returned back to Lily and he extended her his hand.

“Is this dance spoken for, Miss Campbell?”

Lily threw a quick glance back to thelemonade table.  Abby followed her gazeto find Raine handing a glass of the tartbeverage to Jenna.

“It is now,” Lily said, her voicecracking and she placed a practiced smileon her face as she took the reverend’s

hand.

“I trust I will see all of you for services tomorrow.” Mr. Harris looked quite attractive in his denims and new, crisp black cotton shirt that appeared, at least for the moment, free of sweat.

After a few nods from Abby and the others, he returned his attentions to Lily with a broad grin highlighting his already handsome features.  He seemed delighted with her acceptance to dance and Abby was drawn to the deep indentations in his

cheeks.  Dimples added a youthful, playful sense to his already charming appearance. His white collar was barely visible beneath the heavy black material.

I didn’t know preachers were allowed to wear denims,
 
she thought, since she’d never seen one do it.

“Your drink, Mrs. Redbourne.”

Abby  looked  down  at  the  glass extended to her and turned to meet the man’s eyes who offered it to her.   The mischievous   smirk  on  Cole’s   most handsome face pulled Abby’s thoughts

away   from  the   preacher’s   clothing choices. She took the lemonade, grateful for relief from a parched throat.

The sun was beginning to set and a low layer of non-threatening clouds blanketed the sky in a display of brilliant color.

Abby saw several lanterns hung atstrategic points of the platform, offeringlight to the dancing patrons, some evenlighting portions of the yard.

Although the night air held a bit of achill, Abby was grateful there was no signof rain tonight.  She’d had her fill in thelast couple of days.   Her purple shawlwas a lot thinner than she’d have liked,but still she pulled it up around hershoulders and hugged her arms into herchest.

“Your comb looks stunning, dear.  Justlike I knew it would.”

Abby spun to see Mrs. Hutchison withher own glass of the refreshing liquid.

“Cole,” Abby placed a hand on herhusband’s forearm and turned him to face

the woman who had rescued her on her

wedding day and given her some most sage advice.  “This is Mrs. Hutchinson.  She lives in the little hat shop in town.  She’s the one who gave me my comb to wear at the wedding.” She smiled at the woman, who now eyed her speculatively.  “Not that anyone would have been able to tell I was wearing it,” Abby added.

Cole bent over in a curt bow. “It’s a

pleasure to meet you ma’am.”

“Isn’t the comb beautiful on your bride, Mr. Redbourne?” She stared at Cole, an odd expression in her eyes.

“Oh, yes, Cole.   Mrs. Hutchinson knows your—“

“You two should be dancing,” Mrs. Hutchinson cut her short.   “It is your wedding party after all.”

Abby furrowed her brows together.

That was odd.

Cole set both glasses down on the edgeof the railing and took her hand, but beforehe could pull her onto the floor for anotherreel, her father stepped between them.

“May I dance with the bride?” Abbywas thrilled her father was taking thenews of her marriage so well and he hadaccepted Cole as his new son-in-law.  They were getting on wonderfully and Abby decided that the evening was turningout better than she had anticipated.

“Norah,”   Clay   nodded   to   Mrs. Hutchinson before whisking his daughteraway in a delightful swinging motion.  Before she knew it he had swept heracross the floor.  Abby didn’t remember atime, since her mother had died, when herfather seemed so...alive.  She’d missed it.

“I jes wanna see Abby.”  Jeremiah’s voice carried over the music and Abby saw him pushing at Cole as he tried to get up the stairs.  Raine was standing next to Cole within moments and the two brothers

escorted Jeremiah away from the crowd.

“You ken’t do this to me.  You’ll be

sawry,” she heard him screaming as they dragged him away.

And I would have married him?
 
she thought with disgust.

“It’ll be nice to have a foreman again.” Her father stated simply, pulling her thoughts back to him.

“About that papa,” she raised her head to look at him, “I was hoping Cole could be the new foreman.”

Clay looked surprised.  He opened his mouth to speak, but she kept talking.  She

really wanted Cole to feel like he had a place on the ranch and she didn’t want to hear her father’s excuses why it wouldn’t work.

“I know you have already hired some fancy hired hand who’s supposed to be the perfect rancher, but I hoped since Cole is now my...my husband, you would...”

She stopped when she realized he was laughing at her.

“Honey, Cole
 
is
 
the new foreman.”

“Oh, papa, thank you.”

“No, what I mean to say is that, Cole is the fancy hired hand who’s coming to the SilverHawk as foreman.”

Abby  just   stared   at   her   father, attempting to digest the meaning behind his words.

“What do you mean, you hired Cole?”

The idea was still not registering with her.

“Cole is who I sent away for.   Hewould have been the new foreman even ifyou hadn’t married him first.”

“You mean, the reason Cole is here in Silver Falls, is because you sent for him? To be our foreman?”

“Yes, Abby.  Cole is the new foreman.”

Her lips pursed together and her frame stiffened.   “He lied,” she whispered.
 
He’d said he had unfinished business here in town.  His own land.  That he’d come to start his own ranch
.  “He lied.”

“Three of them have guns under their coats.”  Raine assessed aloud the group that had promised to escort Jeremiah home.

Cole had been watching Abby dancewith her father and all of his originalmisgivings about Clay McCallister werebeginning to clear.  Raine’s words pulledhim from his musings and he turned towatch   the   small   band   of   boysaccompanying his new adversary as theydisappeared into the darkening night.

“You gentlemen don’t plan on leavin’too, do you?” It was Jenna.   She wasadorned in a fitted red dress that hung verylow on her neck and exposed the majorityof her shoulders and bosom.

“I’d hate to say I left the party without so much as a dance with the groom.” She moved between the two men and linked

her arms into both of theirs.

The two men exchanged glances.

Cole caught Abby’s glare as she passed

in a twirl with Clay.  The steel in her eyes was molten hot and it unsettled him.  She

had been very soft and warm in his arms as they danced and he realized as he glanced down at the dark beauty who had taken his arm, that Abby felt threatened enough by Jenna to that her entire demeanor had changed in an instant.  He removed Jenna’s arm from his own and

with a courteous bow of his head excused himself to go and check the stock of firewood for the two large pits.

The wood piles were nearly depleted.  Raine and some of the other men had spent the better part of the afternoon chopping wood and stacking it behind the barn.  They had also created two fairly large piles on either side of the dancing platform for easy access.  Cole strode to

the other side of the barn to retrieve more.

Although some families had already started  to  leave,   Cole   knew   from experience with five older brothers and a sister who’d gotten married, that the festivities would probably last a few more hours.   As he neared the edge of the building he heard voices through the darkness and stopped.  Moving closer to the side of the barn he peered around the