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He tenderly brushed a hand over her mop of blonde curls, then gently pulled her back on the buggy seat. She’d fidgeted over to the edge without his even realizing it. One big bump and she might topple off the seat into danger.
A vision of what could happen left him rattled, so he shooed away the terrifying thoughts and smiled at his only child. “What did you ask, Gabi?”
“Uncle Theo will be happy to see us, won’t he, Papa?”
Josh nodded as he shifted his gaze from his daughter to the road. “He will be, especially since we’re bringing supper with us.”
“Uncle Theo does like food.” Gabi giggled. “’Member last time we brought fried chicken from the hotel? We gobbled it all up!”
“We did. It was good, wasn’t it?” Josh shifted the reins he held in one hand to two and guided Hawkins, his horse, into a wide arc to make the turn onto the path that led to Theo Marshall’s cabin.
When Theo had arrived in Holiday last year, he’d stopped by Josh’s saddle shop to look at a saddle on display in the window. The two of them had become fast friends. Gabi began calling him Uncle Theo, and neither of them felt the need to correct her. Not when Theo felt like family to both Josh and his daughter.
After losing his beloved Maxine to blood poisoning when Gabi had been a baby, Josh had struggled to let people into his life. It had been easier to keep them all at bay and avoid the risk of more pain when they left.
Yet, something about Theo encouraged him to make a new friend. He’d not once regretted that decision. Once he opened the door of his heart again, it seemed half the people in Holiday had poured into his life, offering encouragement and friendship. However, Theo had become like a brother to him.
The first time Theo had visited the saddle shop, he’d gotten down on Gabi’s level to speak with her, and he didn’t brush her aside as insignificant, as some of Josh’s customers tended to do. He never seemed too busy or too tired to play with Gabi, another reason Josh had welcomed Theo’s friendship.
Theo had helped him with numerous projects at his place and filled the role of fun-loving uncle to Gabi. In turn, Josh had helped Theo dig a well and install a pump faucet with a sink in the small cabin that had come with the land he’d purchased. He’d also been the one who’d organized the barn raising when Theo had purchased the lumber and lamented the short time to get the structure he’d envisioned built before the snow began to fly.
Friendship was something Josh treasured. Now that winter was behind them and everyone in the community of Holiday anticipated milder weather with the arrival of spring, there would be even more opportunities to gather with the people who he considered his friends.
Although Theo worked at one of the mines a few miles up the road from his cabin, he returned home each evening to take care of his animals and property. He’d told Josh he planned for his next project to be removing a sagging, falling-down fence and installing a sturdy new one so he could get started on his plans to begin raising beef cattle.
Twice, Josh and Gabi had accompanied Theo to Elk Creek Ranch to study the Angus herd raised by the Coleman family. Grant Coleman had offered to sell Theo a few head at a great price as the foundation for his herd, but before he could accept the deal, Theo needed a secure place to keep them. The meadow ground behind the cabin was perfect for a pasture, but the fence was in terrible shape, at least what was left of it. Theo had burned part of it this winter for firewood.
“Look, Papa! Uncle Theo is here. He left the door open for us!” Gabi bounced on her seat, eager to see her overgrown playmate.
Josh was surprised Theo had arrived before them this evening, though. He generally didn’t get off work at the mine until five, and it took him about twenty minutes to ride home. After consulting the watch he kept in his vest pocket, and finding the time to be a quarter past five, Josh considered it was possible Theo had gotten off work early, or had ridden faster than normal to beat them to the house.
He’d barely pulled the buggy to a stop when Gabi scrambled down and raced into the cabin, hair bouncing wildly around her face and shoulders with each step. One of these days, he would master the ability to style it properly, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon. He felt like he had eight extra thumbs every time he attempted to subdue Gabi’s hair into a braid, or even tie it back from her face with a ribbon.
Then again, she’d inherited her unmanageable hair from him. His blond hair had always curled and waved in every direction, which was why he kept it cut short.
The idea of cutting off Gabi’s hair to control it made him feel sick to his stomach, so he renewed his resolve to learn how to tame it in a suitable fashion.
If his daughter had her way, she’d wear it pinned on her head with a crown since she loved to pretend she was a princess and he was her loyal subject.
She wasn’t far off the mark. He would do anything for his little girl, but he also wanted her to grow up without being indulged. Theo was the one in danger of spoiling the child, often giving Gabi a candy stick or peppermint drop when he thought Josh wasn’t looking. It was a game Gabi played with Theo, and Josh truly didn’t mind.
“Papa?” Gabi stood in the open doorway. “I can’t find Uncle Theo. Where is he?”
“Maybe he’s in the barn or down at the creek,” Josh said, stepping out of the buggy and lifting the large basket that held their dinner. The smells emanating from it made his mouth water. He’d ordered the meal from Edith Piedmont, who owned the Holiday Hotel and restaurant with her husband. She could pack a picnic basket better than anyone else in town.
“Let’s go look for him,” Gabi ran over to him and grabbed his hand. “Come on, Papa.”
“I’ll set the basket inside first, then we’ll go,” Josh instructed. “You wait right here, Gabi.”
Although his daughter looked like she wanted to argue with him, she remained in place. “Hurry, Papa!”
He hid a smile and turned toward the cabin, fully aware she wiggled off one foot and onto the other, anxious to locate Theo.
Josh set the basket on the table, glanced around to make sure no critters had snuck inside, then closed the door on his way out. Gabi reached for his hand and latched onto two of his fingers, tugging them in her haste to reach the barn.
They were halfway there when she looked up at him, curiosity evident in her expression. “Papa, what would you do if you had four arms?”
Gabi’s odd question didn’t faze him. She’d started asking him things others might view as strange about a year ago. He always made a point to answer each question because, to him, it showed what a creative, inquisitive mind his child possessed.
