Why would he let anyone else on his property? Anna was the one reason he’d allowed this in the first place.
“If you are in agreement, please sign on the line at the bottom.”
Julian signed.
Anna released a breath and put a hand to her throat. “Thankyou so much, Julian. This means the world to me and my father.”
“You’re welcome.”
She stood.
“I best be on my way.” Mr. Gilbert placed his hat back on his head and went out to his horse.
“When will you start your work?” The more time he spent in Anna’s presence, the more he wanted it to continue. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his overalls.
“Tomorrow, if that’s all right with you?”
Perfect. “I look forward to it. Will you be out here every day?”
“Yes. Unless my father takes a turn for the worse. And of course, not on Sundays. But I’ll be in charge. I promise I’ll make sure that we will take good care of your land.”
He’d get to see her every day. His heart wanted to bust out of his chest. “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“See you then.” Her dark brown eyes shimmered like they were full of secrets just for him.
She must see the good in him. Like his mother.
He couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE12
How had the week passed so fast? With a glance to the calendar on the wall, Joshua wanted to kick himself. He was leaving tomorrow.
And he hadn’t accomplished anything that he’d hoped. Not the letters. Not the reconciliation. Nothing.
Other than the apology in front of Anna’s father, he and Anna hadn’t spoken of what had split them apart. How could he let this happen?
He’d gone back to see the Lakemans Monday evening and they had a lot of fun talking about the crazy things they did aschildren. It had been nice to talk about old times and he fell into the old camaraderie with Anna. Mr. Lakeman had shared more of his excitement about the dig for dinosaur fossils. But then the older man had a coughing fit and Joshua excused himself promising to return on Tuesday.
Which he did, but Anna had been over at Julian Walker’s with the lawyer. By the time she returned, she was glowing. Mr. Lakeman shared her excitement. Joshua didn’t have the heart to change the subject.
It had all been so cordial and friendly. Now he was about to leave again and he couldn’t bear the thought of not knowing where he stood. Or at least letting Anna know that he still cared.
He glanced at the clock. Today they were supposed to work for the first time on the fossils. Perhaps he should ride out there and give her the letters. At least then she’d know his heart. Maybe once she’d had time to read them all and he was back at school, they could send correspondence back and forth.
It was an optimistic thought, but he wanted more than Anna’s forgiveness. He wanted her back.
How selfish of him to even think about his wants right now. Especially with her father laid up. And the fact that it was his fault they were in this mess to begin with.
Before he could change his mind, he grabbed the letters and went out to the corral for his horse.
He waved Martha over. “I’m headed out to the Walker Ranch. That’s where Anna is.”
“Finally gonna give her the letters, huh?” The look she sent him was her typicalI-told-you-so-you-should-have-listened-to-me-soonerface.
With his foot in the stirrup, he threw his leg over the back of his horse and settled into the saddle. Martha didn’t need a response. She knew.
He let his horse meander while he pondered what to say. Ittook him almost forty-five minutes to get to where Anna and her team had built a camp. In that time, he’d practiced dozens of ways to tell her how he felt. Not one of them sounded good enough for Anna to not laugh in his face.
