Aaron's Montana Bride (Sweet, Clean Western Historical Romance)(Montana Ranchers and Brides Series) (8 page)

The water felt good, cooling the harshness of her throat. Aaron waited until she'd finished drinking before taking the glass from Eva.

He placed the glass down and looked at her. "The doctor's coming up today to see you," he told her.

"Doctor!" she exclaimed.

"You took in a lot of smoke when you were in that room. Even though you weren't there very long," Aaron said.

"I don't need a doctor," Eva said trying to sit up. Immediately the coughing resumed and she sank back, her eyes widening at him.

"I'll be the judge of that," Aaron said emphatically.

"You're not my keeper," she stated firmly. Eva could see that Aaron's gaze was firm and unflinching.

"I never said I was. It's just that Mrs. Bell and I agree, you need the doctor to check you out. Make sure there's no lasting damage," he said.

"Mrs. Bell's here?" she asked.

"She came over with us. Her room is down the hall." Aaron smiled and Eva felt an immediate, subtle, but real change in how she felt. "We've got two housekeepers now. It's turning out to be quite a battle of wills. They've each got their own ideas of how to run a ranch house," he said with a smile.

"I'll bet. There's only going to be one winner," Eva said.

"We'll see," Aaron answered.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"About twelve hours. It's nearly lunchtime," Aaron said.

Eva suddenly felt a surge of anxiety. "I can't stay here long, Aaron. You know that. Don't you," she said firmly.

Aaron's eyes narrowed and he seemed to search Eva's, judging and evaluating her statement. Then, after a moment he answered her in a decisive but gentle tone of voice. "You're going nowhere, Eva Gillespie. You are going to remain at my ranch until you are fully recovered. There's no way you're going back to that smoke damaged mess, until it's fit for you to live in," he declared, laying a hand on the side of the bed.

Eva's mouth opened and hung slack and loose for a moment. Had he just ordered her to do something?

"What do you mean? I can't go back to my own home?"

"Not until it's safe," Aaron said.

"What do you mean, safe?"

"Exactly what I say. We don't know how that fire started. Or who started it," Aaron said. His brows furrowed and his jaw set tight.

"You think it was started deliberately?" Eva asked.

Aaron shook his head. "I don't know for sure. All I know is that there was no sign of Jude last night," he said.

"What do you mean? That Jude set that fire going? That's ridiculous," she said.

Aaron sighed. "Maybe so. But I'm not taking any chances with you. Not after what you asked me," he said.

Eva tried to contain her reaction to those words. Of course. That was why Aaron had come back to the Gillespie ranch just at the time of the fire. He'd returned to give her an answer.

But, what answer?

She had no idea how she should open up that line of conversation. Was he going to give her an answer right her, right now. It seemed somehow inappropriate, with Eva flat on her back and trying to recover from almost dying in a fire. Had he come back to her last night to tell her that he accepted her offer? Or had he come back to reject it? Eva could only gauge that by the way Aaron had treated her; the urgency he'd shown after bringing her out of the smoke filled house; the tenderness he'd shown her. But she knew she could still be wrong.

"Aaron. Can I ask you something?" she said.

Aaron's eyes fixed on her. The blue shimmer of his gaze made her heart flutter. She hesitated.

Suddenly she heard footsteps in the hall and Mrs. Bell came bounding into the room, her eyes eagerly scrutinizing Eva.

"You're awake!" the housekeeper ejaculated.

Aaron looked up and smiled. "She certainly is, Mrs. Bell."

"What did I tell you. Eva has the spirit of a bronco," Mrs. Bell declared. "There's nothing that will keep her down."

Eva extended a hand out and Mrs. Bell came to the side of the bed and took Eva's hand in her own. "Eva, my dear. How are you feeling?"

Eva forced a smile. "I'm better Mrs. Bell. The sleep has done me good."

Mrs. Bell flashed a look across the bed. "And what has Mr. Stewart been telling you?"

"That the house is still mostly intact and that no-one was harmed."

"Those ranch hands earned their dinner last night. Even if it was only beans and cold grub steak," Mrs Bell said.

Eva saw Aaron smile.

"You need to rest a while, Eva. You may think you're recovered but I can tell you, there's a way to go before you'll be moving back to the Gillespie spread," Mrs. Bell said.

"But what about the ranch hands. What are they going to do without me?"

Aaron spoke: "They'll do what they're paid to do. Look after your ranch."

"But I need to be there to supervise, make sure everything's done right," Eva insisted.

Mrs. Bell laid a firm hand on Eva's arm. "You are going nowhere. Aaron here has kindly made his home available to us. His hospitality has been more than generous. Even if his own housekeeper takes a bit of persuading about how to run things around here," Mrs. Bell said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Eva smiled. "But I can't possibly impose on Aaron," Eva said looking at him and seeing no sign of compromise. "What'll people think about a woman living in his house?"

"They'll think what they like," Mrs. Bell said firmly. "It's none of their business, anyway. Besides you have me here, my dear. That'll keep everything looking respectable and above board. Isn't that right Aaron?" Mrs. Bell said glancing across at him.

"I guess so," he admitted with a wry grin.

Eva looked at both of them and had the distinct impression that this wasn't the first time they had both discussed Eva's unexpected stay at the Stewart ranch.

"Now. Let me bring you up some of the soup I've made. You need to build up your strength, my dear. And there's nothing better than soup for doing that," Mrs. Bell said.

Aaron stood. "I better be going," he said. Eva felt something shift inside her as she looked up at him. Aaron looked at Mrs. Bell. "You let me know immediately the doctor arrives," he told her.

Mrs. Bell nodded. "Don't you worry. You'll be the first to know. Just like you asked," she said to Aaron.

Eva began to wonder what kind of conversation had been taking place downstairs. And, as she watched Aaron move languidly away, she asked herself just how long it would take before she got the answer to the only question that really mattered to her.

CHAPTER NINE

Aaron sat in the kitchen of the Stewart ranch and waited for the doctor to finish attending to Eva upstairs in her room.

Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Lang were having an animated conversation about the right way to make chicken soup. It seemed there were indeed different recipes. Depending on what was used, the soup would either help Eva get better or would simply satisfy a hunger without providing any healing properties. One thing was for sure, life was going to be mighty interesting while the two housekeepers were living under the same roof.

Aaron decided to leave them to it and took his cup of coffee and made his way outside to the porch. He sat down on the long seat and took a sip of the tepid liquid. The doctor seemed to be taking an inordinately long time with Eva. Aaron hoped there was nothing wrong. Thinking about the previous night, Aaron was sure he couldn't have acted any faster, nor any more decisively than he'd done. Even while reassuring himself that he'd done the right thing, Aaron shivered when he thought that Eva could have perished in that smoky room.

All day he hadn't been able to fix his attention on the affairs of the ranch. Not while Eva was trying to recover, not while he still hadn't told her what he'd decided. Aaron wondered, not for the first time in the last few hours, whether his decision still stood. He took a deep breath and sighed.

Of course it did. There was no way he was going to change his mind. The thoughts that had plagued him since racing through the burning house had made him realize just how much was at stake. He'd tried to force those thoughts of what could have happened to Eva out of his mind, but they were persistent and disturbing. He kept on remembering how soft and almost lifeless her body had felt as he'd lifted her up off the bed. The memory sent a chill up his spine.

And how had it come to this? So fast and with so much intensity. Only a day before the idea of marrying Eva Gillespie might have seemed not only unlikely, but entirely ludicrous.

But not now.

Aaron hadn't known just how much he'd been nurturing a hidden attraction to Eva. Of course, they'd locked horns in the past; they'd faced each other down over ranch business. But that was what it had only been. Business.

Now, everything felt so different. So surprising. So very personal.

Aaron drank some more coffee and took a deep breath.

It had taken a near tragedy, as well as Eva's circumstances taking a turn for the worse, to focus Aaron's mind. To bring those unacknowledged feelings to the surface. He guessed it was inevitable, to some extent. Eva and Aaron had known each other, had almost grown up side by side, protected from each other by the twin forces of ranch life and her father's possessive nature. Her father had been one of the main reasons Aaron had never shown Eva even the slightest hint of how he'd felt about her. Gabriel Gillespie had always made it clear that his daughter was as off limits as the boundaries of his ranch. And, he'd gone to great lengths to protect Eva from mixing business with any hope of something more personal.

It looked to Aaron like Gabriel had gotten exactly what he wanted. Even going so far as to choose that lowdown Jude Arabin as a suitable husband for Eva.

Aaron still couldn't believe that Gabriel would stoop so low. It didn't seem right. Everyone knew what Jude was like; what he was capable of. Surely Gabriel couldn't have been blind to the danger he was placing Eva in. Gabriel had always struck Aaron as a sensible, perceptive man. Someone able to see the true qualities of a man. That was why it just didn't make sense.

So now, Eva was out of her home, cast out by disaster, her future uncertain and living under Aaron's roof.

That called for another swig of coffee.

Aaron turned when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Doctor Lou Kennedy emerged from the house, holding his little bag, looking as weary as ever. Aaron had known the man for years. He trusted Lou, because he'd seen the man work wonders with some of his ranch hands. The injuries a man could sustain while working a ranch were often life threatening, but Lou had a knack for taking everything in his stride.

Aaron stood. "How's she doing Lou," he asked.

Lou nodded and pursed his lips. He looked pensive and paused before replying.

"I think she'll be okay. But she's taken a lot of smoke into her lungs. It's gonna take a while for them to recover fully. She'll be weak on her feet for a while. Gonna need some good care," Lou said.

"Then she's in the right place," Aaron stated confidently.

Lou's eyes narrowed and then he smiled. "I'm sure she is, Aaron. How did the fire happen?"

"I don't know. Yet. But I aim to find out. Eva nearly perished. If someone was responsible for starting the fire, then they're going to rue the day they were born," Aaron said firmly.

Lou's brows furrowed. "That's for another day, Aaron. Right now you need to do everything you can to make Eva feel at home. She was telling me she'd planning on going back to the ranch in the next few days. I don't think that's a good idea. But, she wouldn't listen," Lou said.

Aaron smiled. "She doesn't take kindly to persuasion. Even from a medical man," he admitted. "So what's the plan, Lou?"

"Keep Eva quiet and make sure she gets plenty of rest," Lou said.

Aaron took in a deep breath and frowned. "That's easier said than done," he said.

"I know. But you're just gonna have to make her. Maybe those two housekeepers can give you a hand. I think you're gonna need all the help you can get," Lou said with a grin.

Aaron had always marvelled at Lou's ability to handle complicated situations with an unusual calmness and dignity. And this time was no exception.

"Looks like I'm in for an interesting few days," Aaron said.

Lou stood and looked down at Aaron. "I'm sure you're more than capable of handling one feisty young woman and two busy housekeepers," Lou said. The doctor shook his head and Aaron was sure that the medical man was doing everything in his power to contain his laughter.

"If you put it like that, I'm thinking that branding a whole herd of cattle single handed might be easier," Aaron said shaking his head.

Lou nodded and placed a reassuring hand on Aaron's arm. "You're not a medical man, Aaron. But, I'm sure you'll do what's best for Eva," he said.

Aaron already spent most of every day thinking about what was best for Eva, so he wouldn't have to work hard to do what Lou advised.

Lou squeezed Aaron's arm. "I'm sure you know what you need to do," the doctor said.

Aaron frowned and wondered what kind of conversation Lou and Eva had been having upstairs. Had they been talking about marriage and proposals? Aaron looked at Lou questioningly. "Are you just talking about health matters, Lou?" he asked.

Lou smiled. "That's all I ever talk about Aaron. You know that. But there's more to making sure that people get better than just attending to their health needs," he explained. "Eva wanted to talk. And I listened."

Aaron nodded and pursed his lips into a thin, tight line.

Lou smiled. "I best be going. I figure you and Eva have got plenty to talk about. Just take it easy with her, Aaron. Try not to get her too excited over the next couple of days. I know she wants answers. But maybe she needs to be a bit stronger before she gets them," he advised.

Aaron nodded. "I understand Doc. I'll make sure she gets her strength back before any serious talking gets done," he assured the medical man.

Lou got on his horse and rode off.

Aaron tried to comprehend what Lou had told him. It was going to be difficult to hold back from talking with Eva. Lou was right. Aaron hadn't been placed in the awkward position of having to lie to Eva. Aaron would never do that. He wasn't the kind of man who'd ever lied to anyone, preferring plain speaking, direct and honest dealing. There was no other way to live out in the wilds of Montana, other than to be a man who was known for being honest and straight.