Love Inspired Historical October 2013 Bundle: A Family for Christmas\The Secret Princess\Taming the Texas Rancher\An Unlikely Union (50 page)

Cole walked toward the steps with his end of the frame. “The kind that started with us both in the horse trough and ended with him sprawled out in the mud beside it.”

That explained the scratch down Cole’s face. “So you were fighting.” Daniel heaved his end of the bed up and followed him inside.

“’Fraid so.” Cole laid his end down beside the other pieces.

“What started it?” Daniel asked, standing. He didn’t see Hannah or Opal in the schoolroom, then detected the soft sound of their voices coming from the supply room.

Cole removed his hat and swept his chestnut hair off his forehead. “He came back from town drunk and as mean as an ole polecat.”

Daniel shook his head. “Well, help me get this bed set up for Miss Young and we’ll escort him back to town.”

“So you’re gonna fire him this time?” Cole asked, stooping over to pick up the bed again.

“Yep, no choice. He was warned. It’s a shame, too. He’s a good hand when he’s sober.” Daniel and Cole carried the bed frame into the storage room. He really did wish there was another way to deal with Jack. Letting men go wasn’t his favorite part of running a ranch.

“I’m going to fill this shelf with the books I brought from Cottonwood Springs,” he heard Hannah say as she dusted off one of the many shelves.

“Miss Young, where do you want the bed set up?” Daniel asked.

She turned and gave him a gentle smile. “Really, Daniel, just call me Hannah. After all, we will be married, so we might as well start using each other’s first names.”

So she was planning on marrying him. Daniel felt as if she’d lifted a hundred-pound bale of hay from his shoulders. He nodded in her direction. “Hannah, where would you like the bed?”

“Under the window would be nice.”

Cole didn’t move to where she’d indicated, but continued to stand there, staring at Hannah.

Daniel gave Cole a shove to wake the hired hand from his apparent awe of Hannah. “Cole, this frame isn’t getting any lighter.”

Hannah’s cheeks became a pretty shade of pink before she turned her back on them. Her hands worked at dusting the shelves.

“Oh, sorry, boss. I, uh, had something in my eye.” Cole ducked his head and began moving toward the window.

Opal grinned at Daniel. “You two bring in the rest of the pieces and we’ll put it together.”

Daniel didn’t know what to make of his friend’s behavior. “Thank you, Opal.” They set the section down, then headed back to the wagon.

Cole didn’t look at him, but walked ahead. “Sorry about that, boss.”

Daniel nodded. “I’ll get this piece while you grab the other two.” He bent over and picked up the rail.

“I’ll be right back.” Cole hurried from the schoolhouse as if his boots were on fire.

Did Hannah really have that effect on men? Daniel answered his own silent question with another one. Hadn’t he stopped to stare when he’d first seen her, too? He hoped she wouldn’t have that effect on all the hands on the ranch or they might never get any work done.

Chapter Six

H
annah waved goodbye to Opal and the girls just as the sun slipped over the horizon. She shut the door and bolted the lock. The schoolhouse felt silent and peaceful. After the day she’d had, silent and peaceful seemed wonderful.

She walked back to the bedroom and dropped onto the soft mattress. Her gaze moved to her suitcases. This day had not turned out the way she’d thought it would. Daniel Westland wasn’t the man she’d expected.

She’d assumed he would be open, talkative and thrilled that she wanted to get to know him and fall in love before they got married. Daniel was far from those things. He seemed angry all the time, except when he was with the little girls. The man hadn’t said fifty words to her since they’d met, not that she’d been seriously counting, and he wanted a quick marriage and children so he could have the family ranch.

But he was handsome, and when he’d talked to Daisy and Mary she’d seen a soft side of Daniel that touched her heart and took away her anger at him for not telling her she was expected to teach the schoolchildren on the ranch. She’d also seen the sadness in his eyes that told her he was a wounded soul.

And what about Bonnie Westland? Hannah hadn’t given his mother any thought when she was writing him letters and had agreed to come to Granite to be his mail-order bride. Now that she’d met the woman, Hannah wasn’t sure what to think of her.

What kind of mother pitched her sons against each other? And of all things, over a plot of dirt? Why did she demand that they marry and have children if she wasn’t going to be happy with the women they chose?

Hannah turned the wick up on the kerosene lamp that Opal had lit earlier, and then walked to her suitcases. She opened the first one and began unpacking her books. The Holy Bible was on top, and she caressed the cover before taking it to the small table beside her bed.

After that she arranged
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
and the remaining books on the shelf closest to the headboard. She ran her hand over the spines of her favorite stories.

Hannah took out her shoes and lined them up at the foot of the bed. Her gaze moved to the other suitcase and she wondered where she should put her clothes.

Weariness tugged at her. She slipped her shoes off and placed them with the others. Opening the second suitcase, she pulled out her nightgown and then proceeded to get ready for bed. Hannah decided she’d worry about the rest of her unpacking tomorrow. Carefully, she folded her dress and laid it on one of the many empty shelves.

Before climbing between the fresh clean sheets, she knelt beside her bed and prayed. She thanked the Lord for her safe travel from Cottonwood Springs, New Mexico, to Granite, Texas. She asked Him to help her and Daniel work through their new relationship, and she prayed that Bonnie Westland would learn to accept her as a potential daughter-in-law. Once her prayers were complete, she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed.

The sound of hammering woke Hannah the next morning. She quickly rose and pulled on a simple dress. The noise was coming from the back of the building, and with the room’s one window facing west instead of south, she had no idea who was making the racket.

Running her fingers through the tangles in her hair, she rushed to see what was going on. Hannah took a deep breath before opening the back door. Daniel and the man who had been with him the day before were working on a small building. The rancher turned with a soft smile. “Good morning, Hannah.”

“Uh, good morning.” For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what they were building. It was too large for a wood box and too small for an extended room to the building.

“I see that we woke you. Sorry about that.” Daniel was looking at the ground in front of her. A frown replaced the smile that had seemed so warm.

Hannah looked down, too, and realized her bare feet were showing. The scars on her right foot were pale but visible. She felt heat flood her face. “I’ll be right back.” As quick as her feet would carry her, she hurried inside.

The horror that he and his hired man had seen the scars filled her with a sense of illness. No one had seen them since she was a child. Hannah had always been careful to keep them covered. She even had special socks she wore at all time, except when she was sleeping.

Now that he’d seen the scars, what must Daniel think of her? She hurried to her suitcase and pulled out a pair of stockings, then proceeded to put on her shoes.

The sound of hammering resumed.

Taking a steadying breath, Hannah decided he’d have had to seen them sooner or later. She would have preferred later, but the damage was done and she’d have to deal with whatever results it brought.

She sank down on the edge of the bed. The thought had come to her in the middle of the night that she would need supplies if she was going to live in the schoolhouse. And as soon as she could get up her courage, she’d go back outside and ask if Daniel would escort her to town. She wondered again what they were making as she combed her hair and pulled it into a braid.

The hammering stopped, and Hannah stood up. She inhaled deeply to soothe her nerves.
Be brave, Hannah Young,
she silently told herself as she walked to the door once more
. He’s just a man and you need him to take you to town. You can do this.

Even if he is as handsome as sin and has now seen your worst flaw.

* * *

Daniel turned toward the sound of the door opening. He saw that Hannah had donned shoes and fixed her hair. Color still rode high on her cheeks, but her blue eyes held his. “I thought you might need a storage shed.”

Hannah smiled. Even white teeth flashed in the morning sun. “So that’s what you are making. I wondered.”

“Ma sent over a washtub and a small armoire. I thought you might like to have a place to store the tub and any supplies.” He took his hat off and wiped sweat from his forehead. Hannah looked as pretty as the flowers Levi had given her the day before.

“That was very considerate of both you and your mother.” She played with a ribbon on her dress. “Speaking of supplies, do you think we could go back into town today so I can pick a few things up?”

Daniel thought of all the jobs he still had to do. They needed to finish the shed, a stall in the barn needed to be mended and he wanted to check his fence line in the north pasture. The thought came to him that he could send one of his men. He turned to Cole.

The man was grinning at Hannah as if she was a slice of his favorite pie. He tipped his hat to her and said in a husky voice, “Good morning, ma’am.”

No, sending her with one of the ranch hands was out of the question.

“Sure. Let me talk to Cole here and then we’ll be on our way.” He enjoyed the sweetness of her smile, which brightened her eyes and face. Strands of black hair had escaped the braid and curled about her rosy cheeks. She almost looked like a porcelain doll he’d once seen in a city shop.

“Thank you. I’ll go start a list.” Her skirt swished as she turned and reentered the school.

Daniel glanced back at Cole, who had picked up another board and was about to resume working. “I need you to take care of a few things while I’m in town.”

“Sure, boss, you name it,” he said, hammering the board into place.

He was a great worker, but at some point Daniel knew he’d have to talk to him about Hannah. She was going to be Daniel’s wife, so Cole was going to have to stop looking at her like a lovesick schoolboy.

“Go to the house and get Levi to finish this shed. Tell Tucker and Sam to check the fence on the north pasture. Miguel and Rowdy can do the feeding today. Once you get all the men working, come back here and help Levi.” Daniel put his hat back on his head and tried to decide if there was anything else that needed doing.

Cole laid his hammer down. “Sure, boss. You’d mentioned earlier that you might set up a spot for Hannah to have a garden. Would you still like us to start her a plot?”

Daniel didn’t like him using Hannah’s name as if he had a right to do so. “That’s Miss Young to you, Cole. And while we’re on the subject, I suggest that any interest you have in her, you put to rest.”

The ranch hand coughed. “Uh, sorry. I don’t really have an interest in her, but she reminds me of someone. I’ll try to control my reactions when I’m around Miss Young.”

Daniel walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s all I’m asking.” Cole was a hard worker and probably his best friend; Daniel didn’t want Hannah to come between them.

He looked about the backyard. “How about we put the garden over there?” He pointed at a spot off to the right of the door, between the stream and the schoolhouse.

“How close do you want the garden to the tree?” Cole asked, surveying the land.

Daniel grinned. He could see Hannah sitting in the shade of the tree on a swing, sipping tea and enjoying the breeze. When he realized where his thoughts were headed, he squashed them. Yes, he wanted her happy, but he didn’t want to be thinking of her in a warm way. He didn’t want any feelings of love to cloud his better judgment. Daniel reminded himself that when he loved, others got hurt. They depended on him too much, and he couldn’t allow either to happen again. “I’ll leave that up to you.”

“Would it be all right with you if young Adam had a look? He’s good at planting things. He’ll know better than I do where it should go.” Cole piled the wood, hammers and nails together.

“I’d forgotten Adam. Yes, give him that job. I’ll leave what you do up to you. I know you’ll take care of whatever else needs to be done.” Daniel wanted Cole to know he bore no hard feelings over Hannah.

Cole acknowledged the praise with a nod. “I’ll get started, then.” He walked to his horse and mounted. As he came even with Daniel, he stopped, leaned on his saddle horn and advised, “Daniel, enjoy your day in town today. You work too hard and don’t play enough.” He didn’t give him a chance to respond, simply turned his horse and sent her into a gallop toward the ranch house.

Maybe Cole was right. He should try to enjoy the day. It wasn’t like they were getting married while in town. Besides, the sooner he convinced Hannah she was in love with him, the sooner they’d get married, have a baby and he’d inherit the ranch. Winning the ranch was the true goal, and he’d have to wed to get it. With that thought in mind, Daniel squared his shoulders in anticipation of making Hannah fall in love with him without losing his heart to her.