What in the world was this man doing to her?
“Are you ready for today?”
Oh, how she suddenly regretted putting the bloomers back on. She wanted to run upstairs and pull them off, but it was too late.
“Let’s go,” she said, not completely certain about what she was doing.
Each man took her by the arm and they walked out the door.
Aunt Grace smiled at them. “Have a good time.”
“Thank you,” she said.
They walked down the stairs.
“We’re going to walk to the restaurant and then we’ll take the wagon for a ride to show you some of the country.”
“That sounds great,” she said. “This area is so beautiful.”
As they walked down the street, Anthony told her about the buildings. “That’s the bank and it’s owned by Ellis Sanders, he’s the brother of Jesse, the man who owns the mines and brought the women here. He’s my cousin.”
Wesley stroked her arm and it was all she could do to concentrate with the feel of his fingers on her flesh. “Lee Chapman owns the mercantile.”
“As you see, Treasure Falls is small, but with the women now here in town, we hope to soon have children to make this place grow. In fact, we’ll soon need to start thinking about finding a schoolteacher.”
Being from a well-populated area, she’d never considered that they would not have a person to teach their children. It was important to her that her kids be educated.
“I think we still have a few years,” Pearl said.
They arrived at the restaurant and she was amazed at how small it was. There were only six tables in the place and two of them were filled.
A man called out. “Sit wherever you like. I’ll be right with you.”
Anthony pulled out her chair and she sank down. Then they sat on either side of her. This morning, they wore dark pants with shirts that fit their well-defined bodies, and Anthony wore a white hat, and Wesley, a black one.
After they were seated, the cook came out and took their order. The selection was roast beef or beef hash. Not much of a choice.
After the cook walked away, she glanced at each man. “Tell me about your home.”
A smile crossed Anthony’s face. “Well, right now, we only have a two-bedroom cabin. But just as soon as we have not one, but two consecutive years of selling cattle for a profit, we’ll build a big log house. If you marry us, you’ll get to help plan it.”
The thought of designing the home she wanted thrilled her, and yet it wasn’t the home that she wanted, but these two men. Just sitting beside them, she felt an intense warmth spread through her. At the moment, she regretted her decision to wear her bloomers and feared she would regret it even more later.
“How big of a home do you want?” Wesley asked her.
Staring into his golden-brown eyes, she smiled. “Large enough to hold all the children I hope we have. We should start off with four bedrooms but leave enough space to add more.”
Anthony smiled. “You don’t know how much it pleases me to hear you say you want a large family. It’s what I’ve longed for.”
Gazing at him, she realized she’d never asked him about himself. She knew about Wesley, but what about Anthony?
“Why have you never married before now?”
A pained expression crossed his face. “I’ve been married. Several years ago, Georgia, my first wife, and I decided to leave Missouri. The war had done so much damage and people were up in arms against one another. Not a place I wanted to live anymore.”
He took a deep breath and sighed. “I should have known that Georgia couldn’t make such an arduous journey. She’d always been frail. When we reached Colorado, she took ill and died.”
Her heart ached for him as she reached out and touched his hand. “I’m so sorry.”