They exchanged smiles.
“Good night, Jake.”
He gave a slight bow. “Good night, Miss Evie.”
She should turn away but for a moment, she couldn’t move. Didn’t want to. Damn! She was a grown woman. If she wanted to stay in the barn all night, getting to know Jake, she could. And if she wanted to melt into his arms and kiss him, she could do that, too.
Teddy cleared his throat, rather loudly. With a slight nod toward Jake, she finally turned and headed toward Teddy, who had come a few more feet into the barn. He opened his mouth, but she held her hand up, stopping him from saying anything. “As I said, we will discuss this more in the morning. Good night.”
She strode past him and across the barnyard at a quick pace, gaining the house in short order. She wanted to slam the kitchen door but didn’t. It wouldn’t do to wake the entire household. She thought about sitting at the kitchen table and waiting for him, but decided against that, too. Morning would be soon enough to let Teddy know exactly what she thought.
CHAPTER 5
Evie patted her hair one last time, pulled on her work gloves, grabbed her favorite sun hat, old and battered as it was, and left her room. A ride out to the summer pasture, where the horses and cattle were, sounded like a fine idea when Teddy had mentioned it at breakfast. He’d said he wanted her advice on which of the two-year-old horses to train next, but she knew it was just a ruse. Teddy was perfectly capable of choosing which horses were ready. He’d been doing it a long time, though he now left the actual training up to her and Antonio unless he thought it necessary to step in. She wasn’t needed in the daily work on the ranch, not like the old days when she’d been out every day.
No, she suspected that his invitation had more to do with making sure she and Jake kept their distance.
Teddy was taking his self-imposed role of protector much too seriously. She’d had the discussion with him the morning after the storm, once again made it clear that if she wanted to get to know Jake Hannigan better, she would. He hadn’t been happy about that, but in the bright light of day he had accepted her arguments. At least he seemed to.
Whatever the reason for the invitation today, she felt that rush of anticipation she always felt when planning to ride out to the summer pasture. It had been a few days and she missed riding as much as she used to. Funny to think when she first arrived at the ranch, she couldn’t ride at all. Her father hadn’t thought it was a seemly pursuit for a young lady. Her first experience had been unnerving, but Antonio, bless his heart, had helped, guiding her, teaching her, until she became an accomplished horsewoman. Now, if she couldn’t ride every couple of days, she felt antsy, like she had too much energy and no way to expend it.
The sounds of the house in full swing of the morning routine made her smile. She could clearly hear Hilde’s voice coming from the kitchen, admonishing little Miguel for stealing alebkuchenshe’d just made, and that child’s infectious giggle. There was no such thing as quiet in thecasa, not with four little ones in residence, but it was music to her ears, reminding her of days long past.
As much as she loved it, perhaps it was time to move intoPequeña Casa, the original homestead, just a short walk through the cottonwoods and walnut trees west of the barn, and give this one over to the next generation. Teddy and his wife already had three children, a girl and two boys—Savannah, Miguel, and the baby, Ramón.
Esteban had one, a rough-and-tumble son affectionately called Toughie. At thirteen months, he was a handful. He never walked, really. He just stood up one day and started running…and he hadn’t stopped. Catalina, Esteban’s wife, had recently announced that another child was on the way. She was hoping for a girl, one who didn’t run as fast as Toughie.
And Heath, the youngest of Gina’s boys, only married a year, was, as he said, trying to keep up with his older brothers,though as yet, all the fun was in the practicing, much to the embarrassment of his former schoolteacher wife, Jenny.
The big house was bursting at the seams, filled, as it had always been, with love and laughter. Antonio and Hilde had their own little house on the ranch and loved their quiet time. When the children were running and screaming through the house, as they were wont to do, Antonio and Hilde could escape to their sanctuary of peace and quiet, where they sat on the porch in rocking chairs, he whittling, and she either reading or knitting, her favorite forms of relaxation.
Uncle Charley and Aunt Felicity were currently staying in one of the guest rooms down the hall, but were debating on whether to stay and build a small house on the ranch or one in Serenity. Either decision would be fine with her. As long as they didn’t go back to San Francisco. She rather liked having them close.
She’d miss this house, though, the familiar creaks and groans, the smell of lemon oil rubbed into the paneling over the years, the third tread from the bottom of the staircase that squeaked when one stepped on it. She’d been happy here. The thought of leaving filled her with anxiety, but maybe itwastime.
The alternative was to arrange for the children, though they were hardly children, and their spouses to build their own homes, the way they wanted, on the property. There was more than enough land to do so. Montaña del Trueno was a small town unto itself with so many outbuildings. Two or three more wouldn’t make much of a difference.
She ran her hand along the polished banister as she made her way downstairs. Ana met her at the bottom.
“Miss Evie, you have a visitor. He’s waiting in the parlor.”
“Who is it, Ana?”
The woman shrugged. “He did not give his name, but he said you were expecting him.”
Dear Lord, another potential suitor? Hopefully not. “Thank you, Ana. I’ll be there in a moment. Would you please bring us some coffee? And some of thelebkuchenHilde made, if there are any left.”
Ana stopped. “I put some aside just for you, before the children ate them all.”
“Thank you.” She pulled off her gloves and shoved them in her pocket as she continued down the hall, trying, unsuccessfully, to tame the uneasiness growing in her stomach.
She left her hat on the small table beside the door and entered the formal parlor. Her gaze settled on an older man, his hands folded behind his back as he studied the family photographs in their silver frames crowded onto every available space on a long table in front of the windows.
He was a big man, much bigger than both Jake and Oscar, but not necessarily in a good way. The suit jacket he wore, while in good condition, was old, and seemed to be stretched too tight across his shoulders and back, obviously too small for his frame. There was a tear at the shoulder, which had been mended, but repaired in such a way she knew it had not been professionally done. His hair hadn’t been professionally cut either. Wild and bushy, and much too long, she guessed this man did not visit the barber on a regular basis, and took scissors to his locks himself, as evidenced by the unevenness. “Hello. May I help you?”
He turned quickly and her attention was drawn to the big, bushy mustache on his upper lip, reminding her very much of the pictures she’d seen of walruses. His eyebrows matched that mustache. They, too, were big and bushy, like woolly caterpillars had settled on his forehead above his small, round eyes. Both brows and mustache were dark threaded with silver. A lot of silver. The hair on his head, too, held more silver than dark brown. “Are you Miss Everleigh Miller?”
“Yes.”
