A Life Restored (17 page)

Chapter 19

Her first week at Colter Ranch was coming to a close.
 
Nothing was as Caroline expected.
 
She thought when she left Texas that she would arrive at Colter Ranch and everything would be the same.
 
She and Julia would still be close, like they had been for so many years.
 
She thought that she and Adam would still be close, too.

As she washed the breakfast dishes by Rosa’s side, her shoulders sagged.
 
She was on the outside.
 
Adam and Julia would be getting married in a few weeks.
 
They would be husband and wife.
 
They would live happily ever after.
 
And Caroline would be the odd person out.

She already felt it.
 
The two of them spent most of the day working with horses together, while Caroline tried to make herself useful to Hannah in the house.
 
Then they sat across from each other at supper, often conversing in hushed tones while other conversations went on around them.
 
She felt like she learned more about Hannah since arriving than she had about Julia or Adam.

Three weeks.
 
That’s all she had left to figure out what to do with herself.
 
Will’s new house would not be quite ready by the time Adam and Julia married.
 
So the Colters and Larsons would share the cabin until the larger, more modern house was finished.

There was no room for her.
 
She couldn’t stay in Julia’s room anymore, because Adam would be there.
 
While Hannah tried to make room for her in the living room, Caroline didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in the open room with no privacy for who-knows-how-long.

Lifting the wash basin from its place, she carried it outside and dumped it on Hannah’s garden before returning it inside.
 
The day was pleasant so she stepped back outside to the front porch.
 
Taking a seat in the rocking chair, she tapped her finger against her temple, trying to reason through her current dilemma.

Should she try to move into Rosa’s tiny shack until the big house was ready?
 
Or should she move to town and get a job—live on her own?

Everyone kept trying to convince her that she was welcome at Colter Ranch for as long as she wished to stay.
 
Yet, she could not deny that there was no place for her here.
 
She didn’t belong.

She wanted to talk it over with Julia, but her friend was so wrapped up in her upcoming wedding that she didn’t seem to have the attention span to help Caroline think things through.

Really, moving into town made the most sense.
 
She was eighteen—plenty old enough to be on her own, not living off of the charity of the Colters or her brother.
 
She could find work at one of the stores in town.

A rider coming down the lane drew her attention.
 
Something about him looked very familiar.
 
As he pulled the horse to a stop in front of the corral, she recognized Thomas.
 
What was he doing here?
 
Had he come all this way to see her?

As soon as the thought flitted into her mind, her hopes soared.
 
Maybe he had been thinking about her as much as she had about him.

“Morning,” she greeted as he neared the front door.

His face remained expressionless as he greeted her in return—not the reaction she hoped for.
 
“Is Hannah around?”

She found it odd that he was looking for Hannah.
 
“She’s inside with baby James.”

His face lit up.
 
“Is he awake?”

That was the look she hoped he would have for her, not Hannah’s child.
 
His reaction perplexed her.
 
Just why would he care about the infant?

Annoyed, she shrugged in response.
 
He left her standing there as he entered the house.

Curiosity moved her feet from the porch into the house.
 
She just
had
to know what this was all about.

“Thomas!”
 
Hannah greeted him with a kiss to the cheek.
 
“Back from your run?”

“Yes.”

“Uneventful, I hope.”

He sighed heavily, glancing Caroline’s direction.
 
“For once.”
 
Then he exaggeratedly rolled his eyes, keeping a straight face for a few seconds before breaking into a grin.
 
He was teasing her.

“Can I see my nephew?” he asked.

Nephew?
 
Caroline’s stomach tightened.
 
How was he related to the Colters?

“He’s just up from a nap.
 
Let me get him.”
 
Hannah replied before entering her bedroom.

“Nephew?”
 
Caroline couldn’t resist asking the question.

Thomas ignored her.
 
Instead, he held out his arms to receive baby James eagerly.
 
As he cooed and fussed over him, Caroline frowned.
 
None of this scene made any sense to her.

“How is he your nephew?”
 
She tried again.

Hannah answered for him.
 
“My first husband, Drew, was Thomas’s brother.
 
He is my brother-in-law.
 
Even though James is Will’s son, we have welcomed Thomas into the family as our child’s uncle.”

Caroline’s jaw dropped for a few seconds before she caught the un-ladylike behavior.
 
“You’re related to
him
?”
 
She pointed from Hannah to Thomas.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

Thomas, her rescuer, was related to Will’s wife.
 
A gentle throbbing pulsated at her temple.
 
She reached up to rub the headache away.
 
She had no idea what to say.

Her silence went unnoticed as Thomas continued to make silly faces at James.
 
Each action caused eyes full of wonder to pop open wider and an angelic smile to form on the baby’s face.
 
It was clear that Thomas truly loved this nephew of sorts.

Caroline shook off her daze and moved to the kitchen area to begin fixing the picnic lunch planned in an hour or so.
 
She cooked up the scheme of a picnic as a way to spend more time with Adam and Julia.
 
She figured if the three of them rode out to a scenic place, she might be able to learn more about what happened over the last year.
 
It was her way to reconnect with them both.
 
Hopefully they would stop ogling over each other long enough to realize she was there.

Setting out a basket, she began wrapping cheese, jerky, bread, and other goodies.
 
Then she placed each item in the basket.
 
Looking up, her gaze connected with Thomas’s.
 
He had been watching her carefully and now he looked away suddenly, cheeks blazing with red.
 
Her stomach fluttered and she felt her cheeks heat as quickly as his.

The memory of their shared kiss warmed her face even more.
 
Maybe he had been thinking about her after all.

Focusing on her task, she added the last of the items to her basket.

Julia and Adam burst through the door.

“Ready?” Julia asked.

Caroline nodded.

When Adam noticed Thomas, both he and Julia greeted him.

“Are you here for the day?” Adam asked Thomas as he handed the baby back to Hannah.

“Sure.”

“Care to join us for a picnic?”

Caroline narrowed her eyes as her face heated again.
 
This was supposed to be
her
time with Adam and Julia.
 
What was he doing inviting Thomas?

Then Thomas turned to look at her.
 
“Love to,” he answered with a wry grin on his lips.

He seemed to enjoy making her uncomfortable.

Thomas noticed Caroline’s displeased look when her brother invited him to the picnic.
 
It was reason enough for him to say yes.
 
The look that followed his answer was even better.
 
For some reason, he enjoyed goading her.
 
And she fell for it so easily.
 
A smirk spread across his face.

He followed Adam and Julia outside to the corral, with a quiet Caroline lagging behind.
 
He took the blanket Adam handed him and tied it to the back of his saddle.
 
Both Adam and Julia mounted their horses, before Adam took the picnic basket from Caroline.

When Caroline tried to mount her horse unsuccessfully, Adam teased her.
 
“Always the last one ready.”

As the heat rose to her cheeks, Thomas took pity on her.
 
He moved next to the horse, cupping his hands together to give her a boost.
 
Though she accepted his help, she said nothing.
 
He mounted his horse and followed behind the others.

Adam led them to a clearing on the mountain that flanked the western edge of Colter Ranch.
 
“Julia and I found this spot last week.
 
I think you will agree the view is lovely.”

Caroline’s foul mood seemed to lift a bit.
 
“It’s perfect.”

She slid down off her horse, far less gracefully than Julia.
 
Adam and Thomas dismounted.
 
Untying the blanket from his saddle, Thomas shook it out.

“Where do you want this?” he asked, thrusting it in Caroline’s direction.

She took the offered blanket and spread it out on the flattest area of the clearing before taking a seat.
 
Julia took the picnic basket from Adam and sat down, spreading out the food.
 
Adam sat next to Julia, leaving a spot open next to Caroline for Thomas, so he took it.

“So,” Adam started, “I hear you are my sister’s rescuer.”
 
The light in his eyes hinted at amusement.

“Just happened along at the right time.”

“Well, I’m grateful you did,” Adam said.
 
He turned toward Caroline. “Though I’m still not quite sure how she managed to get Pa to agree to such a foolish journey.”

Julia laughed.
 
“Caroline could get a bull to think it’s a horse.”

Thomas smiled.

Caroline frowned.

“She always manages to find the cleverest ways of getting others to do what she wants,” Adam said.
 
“Especially men.”

“What are you talking about?” Caroline’s green eyes flashed dangerously towards her brother.

“Come on.
 
I’ll bet before you left Texas you got at least one kiss from Jesse Shoemaker.”

Thomas watched as Caroline’s jaw slackened and as she stammered.
 
“What? How did you—”

“It was so obvious he was smitten with you.
 
Him and another dozen boys.”
 
Nudging Thomas with his elbow, Adam added, “I just don’t get what they see in her.
 
She always seemed like a handful to me.”

Thomas was tempted to agree with the later statement, though he understood well what any man would see in her.
 
She did have a sly way of getting what she wanted—that much he’d seen already.
 
She was beautiful.
 
When she didn’t act contrary, she could be downright sweet.

Her expression was anything but sweet at the moment.

“Just what are you saying?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nothing, really.
 
I’m just teasing you.”

Julia interjected, “He’s just playing, Caroline.
 
Don’t take him so seriously.”