Promises Kept (24 page)

Victoria was surprised to hear Mrs. Wellington would have considered another man after listening to her glowing stories about her deceased husband. “Were you really going to marry another man?”

“Heavens no, my dear! I was crazy in love with Wellie, but I didn’t let him know.” She looked off in the distance with a wistful smile, as if reliving a pleasant memory. “It was like you and Mr. McBride. We kept running into each other in the oddest places.” She gave Victoria a reproving look. “I had the sense to know the Good Lord was telling me something. And you know what? He was right! We were meant for each other. I didn’t actually tell him I was marrying another, I just allowed him to think he had some competition. He came around as quick as you please!”

“Seeing Mr. McBride here is just a coincidence, nothing more. He’s the kind of cowboy who frequents the saloon on a regular basis.” She said that, knowing Mrs. Wellington would frown on such behavior.

Mrs. Wellington poured her more tea. “It’s not only cowboys who visit the saloons, my dear girl. I’d bet that Mr. Wallace does as well. Many men engage in that behavior before they figure out what is important.”

Her response surprised Victoria, and she didn’t have a comeback, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. “I would be remiss not to say Mr. McBride has been quite kind since I arrived, although I’m sure he sends his men over to help Bartholomew. He’s very fond of him, and I think he’s worried. Mr. Barlow’s death has been very hard on Bartholomew.”

The girl was either blind or intentionally choosing to ignore Mr. McBride’s intent. Mrs. Wellington gave her a motherly look. “You can tell yourself that Colt is being kind solely for Bartholomew’s sake, but that doesn’t make it so. Just remember, dear, that time passes like the wind on your cheek. You should never waste one minute on the
wrong
man.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Colt dismounted in front of Victoria’s home and tied Razor to the post. Having had only two hours of sleep again last night, he was in a grouchy mood. He’d been going since three in the morning, and his day was far from over. All day, he hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything but the look on Victoria’s face when he’d stormed into Wallace’s dining room last night. It troubled him that she thought she had to protect her boys from him. He couldn’t decide if he admired her or wanted to strangle her for insulting him. He’d apologize all right for his bad behavior, but he also intended to make sure she understood that her boys were never in any danger from him. On top of everything else, he’d decided to forgo dinner and make the trip to apologize, and he was starving to death.

Being honest with himself, he was also irritated that every time he turned around she was with Wallace.
Seems like she’s gotten over her fear of men. She certainly isn’t afraid of Wallace, and if that isn’t enough to make me madder than a wet hen, I don’t know what is!
One thing for sure, he was going to find out once and for all how involved she was with Wallace.

The boys were playing with Bandit near the barn when they spotted Colt riding in. They stopped what they were doing and stared in disbelief as he dismounted. Bandit ran to him with his usual enthusiasm, begging for attention. Pulling his leather gloves from his back pocket, he gave one end to Bandit and started playing tug-of-war with him. “Looks like you’ve been eating good, boy. You’re getting fat.”

“You know Bandit?” Cade asked, tentatively approaching the big man.

“I sure do. He’s a great dog,” Colt responded, turning his attention to the boys.

“When did you meet him?” Cody questioned.

“The first day I saw your mother in Promise.” His gaze moved from one boy to the other, wondering how Victoria could possibly tell them apart. They were handsome boys, yet he could find no resemblance to Victoria.

“You mean Victoria?” Cade questioned.

Colt chuckled. “Yes, I mean Victoria.”
Odd that they call their mother Victoria.
He stuck his big hand out to one boy. “My name is Colt.”

Cade was first to put his small hand in Colt’s, then Cody. It wasn’t what Colt would call a manly shake from either boy.

“Aren’t you men going to be seven years old soon?” Colt asked, squatting down to look them in the eye.

Both boys nodded.

“Well then, it’s time to learn to shake hands like men. When a man shakes your hand, make it a firm one. Your handshake is your first impression, and a good one says you are a man to be reckoned with.”

The boys traded a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” Cody asked.

Colt took their hands and showed them by giving as firm a grip as possible without hurting their small fingers. “That’s how a man shakes hands.” He ruffled their blond hair. “Now tell me how to tell you two apart.”

“I’m Cade. But we’ll fool you sometimes, like we do Mrs. Wellington. It’s fun.”

“Yeah, unless one of us is in trouble,” Cody admitted. “Then it’s not so much fun.”

“I reckon not.” Colt smiled at their honesty. He could see that these two could be a handful. He did hear a slight difference in their voices.

“Are you a real cowboy?” Cade asked.

“Are you an outlaw?” Cody asked.

“Well, if those are my choices, I guess I’m a cowboy,” Colt replied, laughing at the rapid-fire questions. He felt the tension of his day disappearing, just like when he was with Tate.

“You said a bad word last night,” Cade said.

There were times he would forget that he wasn’t on the range with the men. “I did?”

“Yeah, you said aw, hel—” Cody began, but his brother punched him in the arm.

“You better not say it. Victoria will wash your mouth out again,” Cade warned.

Colt knew that was a habit of his. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he told them, making a mental note to watch what he said in the future. He thought he and his men did pretty well with their language since Tate was around. He remembered his mother would never let his father get away with using profanity in the house.

“It might not really be a bad word since Mrs. Wellington said if we’re bad we could go there, and the preacher in St. Louis said it all the time,” Cody said.

“Yeah, and it’s supposed to be hot,” Cade added.

Colt chuckled. “I think you’re safe.”

“You could say
aw, heaven
,” one of them suggested.

“Yeah, we’re supposed to try to go there ’cause it’s a good place. But you also said as—” Cade started, but Cody elbowed him.

“Can you show us how to shoot your gun?” Cody asked.

“I . . . uh . . . we’ll have to ask . . .” He didn’t know what to say to that, but before he finished his reply they were on to the next question.

Thankfully, Razor caught their eye when he snorted, wanting attention of his own. The boys cautiously approached him. “What’s your horse’s name? He sure is big!”

“Razor. Yes, he’s a big one. Stand to the side so he can get a look at you. A horse can’t see you directly in front of him.” Colt urged Razor to hold his head lower. “Rub behind his ears. He likes that.”

“Why?” they asked, scratching behind Razor’s ears.

“Because—”

“Will you teach us to ride?”

“We’ve never been on a horse.”

“Is he the biggest horse in the world?”

“Do you have cows?”

“I have cattle,” Colt was able to answer when they took a breath.

“Were you gonna shoot that Mr. Wallace last night?”

Colt figured he shouldn’t tell them the truth to that question.

“He didn’t even say a prayer before supper, thanking God for our food like Mrs. Wellington says we should. I don’t like him, so you can shoot him if you want.”

Colt thought it was Cade who made that comment. He wanted to laugh out loud, but refrained. Realizing they weren’t going to wait for a response before asking another question, he just listened to their chatter.

“Do you have a ranch?”

“Can we come to your ranch?”

“Do you have a wife?”

“Do you have boys?”

“Boys, give the man time to answer one question before you ask another one. You are forgetting your manners.”

Colt rose to his full height and removed his hat as Mrs. Wellington walked down the steps.

Stopping in front of him, Mrs. Wellington smiled. “I didn’t get a chance to say hello last night.”

Colt twirled his hat in his hands. “Yes, ma’am, that’s why I’m here. I came to apologize for interrupting your dinner, and for my bad manners.”

Cade jerked on Colt’s shirtsleeve. “Aren’t you going to shake hands? This is Mrs. Wellington.”

“Mrs. Wellington, Colt taught us how to shake hands like a man,” Cody announced proudly, grabbing Mrs. Wellington’s hand and giving her a hard grip to demonstrate.

Grimacing, Mrs. Wellington tried to pull her hand from the boy, but he hung on.

Colt put a hand on Cody’s shoulder, reminding himself he had a lot to learn about little boys. “Wait a minute, cowboy,” he said patiently. “You don’t shake a lady’s hand like that. They’re more delicate and you don’t want to hurt them. Remember I told you that handshake is just for men.”

Dropping the older woman’s hand, Cody looked at her with concern. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, you did no lasting damage,” Mrs. Wellington assured him. “But listen to Mr. McBride.”

“He said we could call him Colt,” Cade told her.

Colt gave her his most charming smile. “Yes, ma’am, and you do the same. I am sorry I disturbed your dinner last night.”

Mrs. Wellington was as susceptible to that dimpled smile as a woman half her age. “Sir, no need to apologize. We needed a little excitement last night. I must say, the conversation picked up considerably after your visit.”

“Will you show us how fast you draw your gun?” Cody asked.

“No. A man never draws his gun unless he’s prepared to use it,” Colt said seriously.

Eyeing him, Mrs. Wellington thought he was wonderful with the boys as he responded to their questions without losing patience. Totally opposite of Wallace, who hadn’t said as much as two words to them over the course of the evening. Why Victoria was wasting her time with that man was beyond her, particularly when there was a man like Colt right in front of her eyes. “Dinner is about ready. Would you like to join us?”

Colt was in a hurry to get back to work, and he’d already wasted too much time today worrying about everything but his ranch. Thanks to Victoria. “I have a lot of work waiting. I’d best be getting—” Before he finished what he was about to say, Victoria walked out the door. She was looking down, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Boys, it’s time for dinn—” She stopped in midsentence when she saw Colt standing there.

Colt couldn’t believe the effect she had on him. Every time he saw her he thought she was more beautiful than the last time.

“Hello,” she said, taking in the scene with the boys hanging all over him. Then she noticed how close they were to his large horse. She stepped off the porch at the same time Colt took a stride in her direction.

“I came by to apologize for last night. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Victoria was caught off guard by his apology. Just when she thought he was a madman, he would do something unexpected, like apologize. She didn’t know what to make of him. “I, that is . . .” Her eyes shot back to his horse. “Boys, you are too close to that horse.”

Colt turned to see what had her so concerned. The boys were gently rubbing Razor’s muzzle. “Razor won’t hurt them. They’re friends,” he assured her.

“Yeah, we didn’t walk up in front of him ’cause horses can’t see too good right in front of them. They can see you better from the side,” Cade added.

Colt smiled, pleased that they’d listened. “That’s right. And don’t walk up behind them without letting them know you’re there.”

“I see you’ve met the boys,” she said. “I was just calling them for dinner.” She looked up at him, thinking he looked very tired. “Thank you for coming by . . . and for the apology.”

Mrs. Wellington spoke up. “I’ve invited Mr. McBride to join us for dinner.”

“Please, please, please,” Cade and Cody chorused, jumping up and down.

Turning his dark eyes on Victoria, Colt tried to gauge how she felt about their invitation.

She hadn’t intended to ask him to stay, but with the boys so excited, how could she refuse? “Of course you should join us if Mrs. Morris isn’t waiting with your dinner.” The thought crossed her mind that he might be riding into town to visit the saloon.

“No, she knew I wasn’t sure when I would be home.” He smiled at the boys, who were still begging him to stay. “I guess I can’t turn down an invitation like this.” He returned to Razor and loosened his girth and started to lead him to a shade tree, the boys trailing behind him.

“Boys, let Mr. McBride tend to his horse while you get washed up,” Victoria instructed.

They hesitated, obviously wanting to stay with Colt.

“I’ll be right along behind you,” he promised them.

Mrs. Wellington hustled the boys away, but Victoria lingered. “I see you haven’t given up the notion that Mr. Wallace is behind what’s been going on here?”

“No, ma’am, I haven’t.” He removed Razor’s saddle and ground tied him. “And I see you’re still spending time with him.”

“Yes, and I am quite convinced he is not the person you seem to think he is.”

“Are you now?” Colt clenched his molars together to keep from saying something he would regret and be forced to apologize again. He walked to the well and dipped some water into his hat for Razor.

Victoria stayed on his heels. She wasn’t going to let the subject drop. “Yes, I am. He’s a perfect gentleman.”

He walked back to Razor and held his hat while the horse drank. “Well, tell me, Miss Eastman, do you think he might have an agenda where you are concerned?”

Victoria put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean by that?”

Razor finished drinking, and Colt shook the remaining drops of water from his hat. “I mean he’s a man and you’re a woman. It follows that he wants you to think the best of him so he can make some headway.”

Face flaming, Victoria repeated, “Headway?” Her word came out in a squeak.

“Yeah,
headway
,” he enunciated. “It means he’s trying—”