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Josh shook his head, adjusting his stride to stay in step with Rena’s long legs. “I had no idea she did that. It’s wonderful she’s willing to share her talents by helping others.”
Rena looked completely taken aback by his statement and would have stumbled over a tree root if he hadn’t dropped the cans he carried and caught her elbows in his hands. A sensation of something heated chased up his arms as he steadied her. She pulled away from him, picked up the cans he’d dropped, and strode over to the burn pile where she left the cans.
Josh blew out a long breath, feeling utterly befuddled by the fascinating woman. When he’d caught her arms along with a whiff of her soft fragrance, it was easy to forget she was wearing trousers and could outshoot him. In that moment, she seemed feminine and entrancing.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked as she stopped to pat Hawkins where he grazed on the grass near the cabin. Rena took his reins and looped them around the hitching rail before she opened the door to the cabin and glanced over her shoulder. “You might as well come in.”
Josh thought it sounded more like a term of defeat than an invitation, but he felt helpless to refuse.
“Was there something you needed from Theo? He was unexpectedly asked to work today.” Rena glanced at him when he stepped inside. For propriety’s sake, he left the door open.
Although the air blowing in was fresh and cleansing, the thought of being alone in the cabin with Rena made him both overheated and nervous. He swept the hat off his head and ran a hand through his hair before he met her gaze.
Her unusual amber eyes that held an almost copper hue sparkled with life and a bit of mirth, as though she found him amusing for reasons he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. He took a moment to study the brown eyelashes rimming her beautiful eyes, the freckles that danced across her nose and cheeks, and the slight cleft in her chin he suddenly longed to kiss.
Josh shoved his hands into his pockets and took a step away from her. “I made a delivery just up the road and thought I’d stop by to say hello. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t, not really. I was about finished shooting anyway. Theo’s sister, Laura, sent me this pistol for my birthday. According to the note that was included in the gun case, it was once in Annie Oakley’s possession.” Rena set to the task of cleaning the revolver. “This pistol is too fancy and pretty to use all the time, but I had to shoot it just once. I could almost picture Annie herself standing beside me, hand on my shoulder, as I shot the bullseye.”
“You did a good job of hitting your love target. Want to talk about why you detest the notion of love so much?”
“No,” Rena snapped, her gaze lifting to his before she returned to cleaning the revolver. “Tell me more about your daughter. Gabi is cute and funny and so sweet, quite a marvelous combination.”
“I try not to spoil or indulge her, although I’ll admit sometimes it is hard.” Josh took a seat across from Rena at the table and balanced his hat on his knee, watching her work. She certainly seemed to know her way around firearms. “Gabi is a joy and a blessing to me, even if she keeps me on my toes. Ever since the Coleman family gave her a book of fairy tales for Christmas, all she talks about is becoming a princess when she grows up. The other day, she asked me if we could paint her room pink with sparkles.”
Rena smiled and glanced over at him. “That would be quite a trick, not the pink paint, but the sparkles. What do you plan to do about it?”
Josh shrugged. “I was thinking about painting her room for her birthday next month. My only hesitation is what to do if she decides purple is her favorite color six months from now and wants her room that color.”
“I think she would understand she can’t have every wish and whim indulged, but pink does seem to be her favorite color. She mentioned it several times the other evening.”
“She’s always favored the color. My wife did too. There are days when looking at Gabi is like seeing Maxine again.”
Rena stopped working and gave him a sympathetic glance. “Is that hard?”
“No, not like you might think. Gabi is a reminder that I was married to a kind, good, lovely woman. Part of her lives on in our daughter.”
Rena’s eyes filled with moisture, and she dropped her gaze to the pistol, then finished cleaning it.
Quietly watching her, Josh pondered what was wrong with him. He ought to hustle back to town and open his shop. Goodness only knew how much business he was losing, closing down for no good reason on a Saturday. Anne Milton had offered to let Gabi play with her boys, so he could get more work done without her underfoot. Instead of taking advantage of it, he was whiling away the hours watching Rena.
He needed to get up and return to his shop, but he remained right where he was. Something about Rena drew him in a way he couldn’t begin to put into words.
“Want to stay for lunch?” she asked as she stood, holding the pistol in her hand.
“I don’t want to be any trouble.”
She shrugged. “You aren’t. I was just going to slice some ham and cheese and open a jar of pickles. I baked cookies earlier. Theo likes having them to take to work for a snack, or maybe he eats them on the way there. At any rate, it isn’t any bother to make an extra sandwich for you, and I don’t mind your being here.”
Josh considered her words. Not minding if he stayed was far different than saying she’d like him to join her, but he assumed if Rena wanted him to leave, she’d say as much. She didn’t seem like a woman given to anything other than speaking her mind.
“That would be nice, Rena. Thank you. What can I do to help?” he asked, watching as she climbed the ladder up to the loft. Without thinking about what he was doing, he rose from the table and moved back against the wall so he could watch her movements. It looked like she tucked the pistol into a case before she walked back to the ladder, unaware of his study of her as she backed down the ladder.
He’d noticed the way she favored her right leg when she walked, and especially going up the ladder, but he wouldn’t mention it. Not only would it be rude, but he had a feeling it would make Rena mad, and that was the last thing he wanted.
“There’s a loaf of bread to go with the meat and cheese,” she said as her feet touched the floor. “If you’d like a glass of milk, there’s a jug down in the springhouse you could fetch.”
“I’ll get the milk,” Josh said, leaving his hat on one of the dining chairs, then hustling out to the springhouse that was barely visible as it nestled back in the trees by the creek. The water running through it kept things cold, even in the summer.
