“I know! The ranch always comes first.”
Irritation flashed in his eyes. “For now, yes. That’s the way it has to be.”
Her stomach tightened into knots. “I never thought I could ever grow to hate this place, but I do now.”
His face paled. He looked as if she’d ripped the heart out of him and instantly she regretted what she’d said.
“Matthias,” she said, moving toward him. Lord, but she’d been churlish.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing more to say now.”
“Don’t shut me out.”
Before he could respond, Tommy and Quinn screamed. “Ma! Pa! The gate to the corral is open.”
Their discussion forgotten, they ran outside. They found the boys standing close to the corral gate, which was wide open. The horses pranced on the far side of the corral.
Matthias reached for his gun, ready to shoot any horse that bolted toward the boys.
Abby hugged the boys. “Your father said to stay away from the corral.”
“We found the gate open,” Quinn said.
Matthias went for the gate. “Don’t lie to me, boy. Which one of you opened the gate?”
Before the children could answer or Matthias could reach the gate, a shot rang out, spooking the horses inside the corral. Several of the horses reared and started to bolt toward the open gate as Abby reached the boys. She plastered their bodies against the gate, hers shielding the boys.
Matthias had only a split second to get out of the way of the charging horses. As he dove to the side he saw the flash of sunlight on a gun barrel. He hit the ground hard and rolled. That’s when he saw Collier, on horseback, a hundred feet away. The lowlife fired another shot in the air, panicking the horses more. He started to ride off.
Collier had opened the gate.
A large black gelding rose up by Matthias. He rolled out of the way before the horse’s hooves drove into the ground.
Energy snapped through his veins as he got to his feet and pulled his gun from his holster. In one fluid move, he raised his pistol and fired at Collier. He caught the rancher in the shoulder, but the man managed to stay mounted on his horse. He reined his horse around and took off.
Determined to hunt the bastard down and kill him, Matthias turned to grab the first horse he could. But thoughts of Collier vanished when he caught sight of Abby and the children. The scene he witnessed would haunt him for the rest of his days.
A black mare raced back toward Abby and the children. The horse reared, its hooves rising high above Abby’s head. She cringed and covered Tommy and Quinn’s bodies with her own. The children screamed as the horse’s hoof came down hard on Abby’s head.
When she woke up, she saw Matthias’s face. Pinched with worry, the lines on his face looked deeper, as if he’d aged twenty years.
“Matthias,” she said. “Where’s Tommy and Quinn?”
Tears welled in her husband’s eyes. “They’re fine. You saved them.” He swallowed as if struggling to regain control. “They are outside with Holden now.”
“Holden is here?”
“He came to deliver news of Collier.” His jaw tightened, released. “Holden found his body. Apparently, he’d stopped by the creek to nurse the bullet hole I put in him. He was mauled and killed by a bear.”
She nodded, unable to summon sympathy for the man who’d endangered her boys. She tried to sit up, wincing at the pain that cracked through her skull. “My head.”
Matthias pressed a dampened cloth to her head. “The horse’s hoof clipped your head. You’re lucky to be alive. Another inch and the horse would have crushed your skull.”
She moistened her lips, and then tried again to sit up. Pain shot through her body. “I hurt all over.”
Gently he touched her face with his hands. “Lie down. The last thing you need to be doing is sitting up.”
Her mind felt foggy. “I’ve got a pie in the oven.”
He smiled grimly. “The pie burned. Two days ago.”
“Two days!”
“You’ve been out for two days.”
She noticed then the thick stubble on his face. “But the horses…the stampede.” The details were all so fuzzy. “Did you get the horses back?”
He took her hand in his. “Practical Abby.” He kissed her hand. “No, I didn’t get the horses. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“But you needed to sell the horses to the railroad. All that money.”
He kissed her forehead gently. “The money doesn’t matter. You do.”
The emotion in his voice tore at her heart.
Tears burned her eyes. “I was being so silly about my birthday. I didn’t mean what I said.”
“I love you,” he said. “I should have said it weeks ago.”
“Matthias.” To see this proud man so upset broke her heart. “You don’t have to say what you don’t mean. I understand you can give only what’s in your heart.”
“I do mean it.” He kissed her gently on the lips.
She closed her eyes, ashamed of her own actions. “I shouldn’t have overreacted.”
“Abby, look at me.”
She opened her eyes. She saw no traces of anger in Matthias’s dark eyes, only pain and sadness.
“Abby, I made you a promise and I broke it.”
“You don’t have to explain. You have worked so hard to make this place a success. And I said horrible things that I really didn’t mean.”
“None of it matters without you,” he said simply. “And I should have told you that.”
“Matthias, please don’t.” She didn’t want pity.
He cupped her face in his hands. “I love you. These last two days and nights, I thought I might lose you.” He swallowed. “It would kill me if I lost you.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she stared up at him. “Oh, Matthias, you will never lose me.”
“I love you, Abby Barrington.”
“And I love you, Matthias.”
Epilogue
May, 1880
Hilda Clements was bone-tired. But it was a good kind of tired.
She had to smile as she eased her backside into the chair by her writing table. The light from her lantern glowed onto a freshly written letter on cream-colored paper, a half-full inkwell and pen.
This year was going to be her store’s most profitable. The railroad was bringing its rail line right past Crickhollow and soon the valley would be growing by leaps and bounds. Matthias and Abby Barrington’s ranch had turned a fine profit last ye
ar. Matthias, with Holden’s help, had rounded up his horses and sold them to the railroad. The Barrington horses were considered the best in the territory and he received top dollar for them. Abby’s cooking had also turned their ranch into a prosperous stagecoach stop.
Two months ago they welcomed an addition to their family. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was one of the prettiest little babies she’d ever seen and there was no denying that Matthias, Quinn and Tommy doted on her.
Holden said that Matthias had nearly worried himself sick until the babe had safely arrived, but Abby had sailed through the delivery.
Hilda chuckled. She’d never seen a man more crazy in love with his wife than Matthias Barrington. Her matchmaking had turned out just fine. Fact, she doubted Matthias could have chosen a woman better himself.
Smiling, she dipped the nib of her pen into an inkwell.
Dear Rose—
I received your letter yesterday and enjoyed reading it very much. To answer your questions, I run the stagecoach line in Crickhollow, Montana. I’ve lived here for eight years and my business is thriving. In the last year alone, I’ve added two more coaches and drivers to meet the growing demand. Crickhollow is a fine town, with a hotel, livery and a bustling mercantile. My life lacks only one thing—a wife, who’ll share my life with me.
Rose, I’d be pleased to hear from you.
Yours truly,
Holden McGowan
Hilda stared at the signature at the bottom of the letter, satisfied that it looked very much like Holden’s bold handwriting.
Holden was a good man who worked hard. Despite his success, he’d taken no time to move out of that shack he’d built behind the livery. He rarely had a proper meal and he’d grown too thin.
The truth was the man simply needed a wife, even if he wasn’t smart enough to see that.
So, she’d taken matters into her own hands. She’d placed an ad in the San Francisco Morning Chronicle.
Hilda tapped her finger on the assortment of letters on her desk. She’d received three dozen letters from women interested in marrying Holden, but none had stood out like Rose O’Neil.