She glanced down at the boys who stared up at Holden with grinning faces. “Yes.”
Holden scratched his head. “I reckon he was M-A-D.” He spelled the word so the boys wouldn’t get the meaning of their conversation.
She wasn’t ready to let this man, who’d been a party to the deception, off the hook so easily. “Oh, yes.”
He paled a fraction. “I reckon he’ll want to have a chat with me.”
“I’m sure he would, but you’re in luck, he usually doesn’t come in until quite late.”
Holden glanced over his shoulder. “I saw Matthias on the trail. He’ll be coming up presently.”
The skin on the back of her neck tingled. She’d not seen Matthias before sunset in over a week. And the idea excited her. She refused to think about how she’d lain awake these last few nights, trying to erase the feel of his hands and lips on her body. “I’m sure he’s got a few choice words.”
“Look, Miss Smyth,” he said, glancing at the boys. “I am sorry if this isn’t working out for you.” The man looked truly distressed and she found it hard to hold on to her anger. “Everybody knows Matthias needs a W-I-F-E and well, you seemed perfect for him.”
“Time will tell.”
His eyes brightened with anticipation. “So it isn’t a lost cause between you two.”
She thought about the kiss. “Not completely.”
His face split into a wide grin. “Good.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out two pieces of licorice. “Mind if I give them to the boys?”
Quinn and Tommy’s smiles were radiant. “Please, please,” they shouted.
“Of course,” she said, unable to deny them the rare treat. Before either could bite into the candy she added, “And what do you say?”
“Thank you.”
The boys hurried off toward a tall poplar tree that often served as their special fort. It gave them some privacy, but it was close enough for her to keep an eye on them from the kitchen window.
“Looks like you might be taming those young fellows,” Holden said.
Her heart warmed as she looked past him and watched Quinn and Tommy comparing their candies. No doubt they were checking to see who had gotten the biggest piece. “They’re good boys.”
“That they are.”
She should be mad at him for the part he had played in this deception. But the truth was that despite the mess of this situation, she’d never felt more alive than she had in the last week. “I should have Mr. Barrington shoot you.”
He grimaced. “He may well do that, anyway.”
She shook her head. “Well, then I best feed you supper first. Can you stay? I’ve a stew on and bread in the oven.”
He grinned, his white even teeth contrasting with his dark skin. “I’d be obliged. It’s been a good while since I had a hot home-cooked meal.”
The idea of company buoyed her sprits. She’d cleaned her grandmother’s tablecloth but with two young children and Matthias to feed, she’d not bothered to set the table with it yet.
“You have any passengers?” It would be nice to see another woman.
“Not this time. Just hauling parcels and supplies for the railroad this time. But rail companies looking to put lines in, I’m willing to bet I’ll be hauling a good many scouts and surveyors sooner than later.”
“Well, if you ever need to stop, you’re welcome any time. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for a crowd.”
He nodded, staring at her with a more serious eye. “I’d be willing to take you up on that. Matthias is always good for fresh horses—has the best stock in the valley—but he or Frank weren’t much for cooking or welcoming strangers. We always stayed just long enough to change our horses.”
She remembered her very long ride into town. “The day I arrived we didn’t stop here.”
He rubbed his chin, ducking his head. “I thought it best we take a different route that day. Seemed only fair to you that you meet Matthias in town. Just in case.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Just in case he sent me packing?”
“He can dig his heels in when he don’t want to do something.”
“Yes, I’ve learned that about him.”
“Well, he must like you, because he doesn’t waste a moment on people he doesn’t like.”
“For now our arrangement is strictly business. I’m broke and he needs a housekeeper. After his roundup, he pays me twenty-five dollars and then I can buy a ticket to someplace else. You and Mrs. Clements and the others have backed him into a neat little corner.”
Holden laughed. “Nobody ever backs Matthias Barrington into a corner. The man does what he pleases. If he didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.”
If he weren’t a guest or if she knew him better, she’d have pressed him for more details. Instead she nodded toward the house. “Come inside. Sit. I made a pie this morning.”
Pulling off his hat, Holden followed her into the cabin. He glanced around, amazed. “I wouldn’t have recognized the place.”
In the last week, she’d mended the laundry, dusted every piece of furniture and swept the floor. “It took some doing to put the place into order.”
She sliced a piece of sweet potato pie and poured a glass of milk, setting both on the table in front of him. Before she sat, she took a quick glance out the window toward the boys. Licorice cords in their mouths, they were lying on their backs, staring at the clouds, their feet propped up on the tree.
She handed him a fork. “Please eat up. You must be starved after the long ride from Butte.”
He dug into the pie. “I swear if I had to dip another piece of hard tack into a plate of beans, I’m sure I’d go crazy.” He put the piece of pie in his mouth. He closed his eyes and for a moment seemed lost in ecstasy. “Ma’am, if the rest of your cooking tastes as good as this, I’ll be stopping by regularly with passengers.”
The idea of seeing people regularly made her smile. She enjoyed the boys but sorely missed adult conversation. “Guests are always welcome.”
He wiped crumbs from his mouth with a napkin. “Well, you just make sure you charge them for your services.”
“Charge?”
He ate another piece of pie. “Yes, ma’am. A dollar a meal.”
She laughed. “That’s outrageous. I could buy three meals for that in San Francisco.”
“This isn’t the city. Not to men who’ve not had a decent meal or a woman’s touch in their lives in months.” He ate another bite of pie. “Miss Smyth, you’re going to make a fortune.”
Mr. Barrington’s purposeful footsteps sounded on the front porch and in the next instant his large frame blocked the front door. The top four buttons of his shirt were open, revealing chest hair curling with sweat. The sight of him made her heart miss a beat.
And she’d have smiled a greeting if he didn’t look angry enough to spit nails. “Holden, you got to the count of three to get out of my house before I shoot you.”
Chapter Nine
Murderous thoughts shot through Matthias when he’d first seen Holden’s carriage ride over the horizon. He and Abby were in this mess together because of his friend’s meddling. But when he’d strode onto his own front
porch and heard the laughter and joy in Abby’s laugh, anger turned to jealousy.
In the week she’d been here, he’d seen her smile at the boys but he’d not heard her laugh. Her laughter rang as sweet as church bells, filling the cabin with life.
Though he’d done his best to keep his distance, he still noted the changes she conjured each day. Abby had filled the lifeless cabin with an energy it had never possessed. No longer a solemn place he dreaded returning to each night.
All were good reasons, in his mind, to keep his distance. He didn’t want to need her. Add to that the attraction that sizzled in his veins each time he saw her, and he had an explosive mix that was sure to blow up in his face sooner or later.
But he’d vowed to keep his hands to himself. His arrangement with Abby was temporary. And he’d be damned before he let lust or loneliness bind her to this harsh and fickle land.
Holden was a good man—they’d been friends of five years and he’d helped him through the darkest days after Elise’s death. But Abby wasn’t right for him.
As Matthias shoved through his front door he noticed Abby first. She sat at the table across from Holden, her eyes sparkling with laughter, her hair in a long braid that draped between her full breasts. The sun had lightened her hair and added color to her cheeks, making her look almost radiant. Damn, but he could feel himself growing hard just looking at her.
Color rose in her cheeks as if she could read his thoughts. “You’re home early, Mr. Barrington.”
He cleared his throat. “I saw the stage.”
With a great effort, he tore his gaze from Abby and settled it on Holden. He had to remind himself he was angry with his old friend. “If you had any good sense, you’d stay clear of my property after what you and Mrs. Clements did.”
Holden, who sat in his chair at the dinner table, glanced up from his half-eaten piece of pie. “I figured if you hadn’t cooled off after a week you’d never cool off. Plus I wanted to make sure Miss Abby was faring well.”