The Unexpected Wife (9 page)

Holden glanced over his shoulder. “I saw Matthias on the trail. He’ll be coming up presently.”

The skin on the back of her neck tingled. She’d not seen Matthias before sunset in over a week. And the idea excited her. She refused to think about how she’d lain awake these last few nights, trying to
erase the feel of his hands and lips on her body. “I’m sure he’s got a few choice words.”

“Look, Miss Smyth,” he said, glancing at the boys. “I am sorry if this isn’t working out for you.” The man looked truly distressed and she found it hard to hold on to her anger. “Everybody knows Matthias needs a W-I-F-E and well, you seemed perfect for him.”

“Time will tell.”

His eyes brightened with anticipation. “So it isn’t a lost cause between you two.”

She thought about the kiss. “Not completely.”

His face split into a wide grin. “Good.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out two pieces of licorice. “Mind if I give them to the boys?”

Quinn and Tommy’s smiles were radiant. “Please, please,” they shouted.

“Of course,” she said, unable to deny them the rare treat. Before either could bite into the candy she added, “And what do you say?”

“Thank you.”

The boys hurried off toward a tall poplar tree that often served as their special fort. It gave them some privacy, but it was close enough for her to keep an eye on them from the kitchen window.

“Looks like you might be taming those young fellows,” Holden said.

Her heart warmed as she looked past him and watched Quinn and Tommy comparing their candies. No doubt they were checking to see who had gotten the biggest piece. “They’re good boys.”

“That they are.”

She should be mad at him for the part he had played in this deception. But the truth was that despite the mess of this situation, she’d never felt more alive than she had in the last week. “I should have Mr. Barrington shoot you.”

He grimaced. “He may well do that, anyway.”

She shook her head. “Well, then I best feed you supper first. Can you stay? I’ve a stew on and bread in the oven.”

He grinned, his white even teeth contrasting with his dark skin. “I’d be obliged. It’s been a good while since I had a hot home-cooked meal.”

The idea of company buoyed her sprits. She’d cleaned her grandmother’s tablecloth but with two young children and Matthias to feed, she’d not bothered to set the table with it yet.

“You have any passengers?” It would be nice to see another woman.

“Not this time. Just hauling parcels and supplies for the railroad this time. But rail companies looking to put lines in, I’m willing to bet I’ll be hauling
a good many scouts and surveyors sooner than later.”

“Well, if you ever need to stop, you’re welcome any time. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for a crowd.”

He nodded, staring at her with a more serious eye. “I’d be willing to take you up on that. Matthias is always good for fresh horses—has the best stock in the valley—but he or Frank weren’t much for cooking or welcoming strangers. We always stayed just long enough to change our horses.”

She remembered her very long ride into town. “The day I arrived we didn’t stop here.”

He rubbed his chin, ducking his head. “I thought it best we take a different route that day. Seemed only fair to you that you meet Matthias in town. Just in case.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Just in case he sent me packing?”

“He can dig his heels in when he don’t want to do something.”

“Yes, I’ve learned that about him.”

“Well, he must like you, because he doesn’t waste a moment on people he doesn’t like.”

“For now our arrangement is strictly business. I’m broke and he needs a housekeeper. After his roundup, he pays me twenty-five dollars and then I
can buy a ticket to someplace else. You and Mrs. Clements and the others have backed him into a neat little corner.”

Holden laughed. “Nobody ever backs Matthias Barrington into a corner. The man does what he pleases. If he didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.”

If he weren’t a guest or if she knew him better, she’d have pressed him for more details. Instead she nodded toward the house. “Come inside. Sit. I made a pie this morning.”

Pulling off his hat, Holden followed her into the cabin. He glanced around, amazed. “I wouldn’t have recognized the place.”

In the last week, she’d mended the laundry, dusted every piece of furniture and swept the floor. “It took some doing to put the place into order.”

She sliced a piece of sweet potato pie and poured a glass of milk, setting both on the table in front of him. Before she sat, she took a quick glance out the window toward the boys. Licorice cords in their mouths, they were lying on their backs, staring at the clouds, their feet propped up on the tree.

She handed him a fork. “Please eat up. You must be starved after the long ride from Butte.”

He dug into the pie. “I swear if I had to dip another piece of hard tack into a plate of beans, I’m
sure I’d go crazy.” He put the piece of pie in his mouth. He closed his eyes and for a moment seemed lost in ecstasy. “Ma’am, if the rest of your cooking tastes as good as this, I’ll be stopping by regularly with passengers.”

The idea of seeing people regularly made her smile. She enjoyed the boys but sorely missed adult conversation. “Guests are always welcome.”

He wiped crumbs from his mouth with a napkin. “Well, you just make sure you charge them for your services.”

“Charge?”

He ate another piece of pie. “Yes, ma’am. A dollar a meal.”

She laughed. “That’s outrageous. I could buy three meals for that in San Francisco.”

“This isn’t the city. Not to men who’ve not had a decent meal or a woman’s touch in their lives in months.” He ate another bite of pie. “Miss Smyth, you’re going to make a fortune.”

Mr. Barrington’s purposeful footsteps sounded on the front porch and in the next instant his large frame blocked the front door. The top four buttons of his shirt were open, revealing chest hair curling with sweat. The sight of him made her heart miss a beat.

And she’d have smiled a greeting if he didn’t look angry enough to spit nails. “Holden, you got to the count of three to get out of my house before I shoot you.”

M
urderous thoughts shot through Matthias when he’d first seen Holden’s carriage ride over the horizon. He and Abby were in this mess together because of his friend’s meddling. But when he’d strode onto his own front porch and heard the laughter and joy in Abby’s laugh, anger turned to jealousy.

In the week she’d been here, he’d seen her smile at the boys but he’d not heard her laugh. Her laughter rang as sweet as church bells, filling the cabin with life.

Though he’d done his best to keep his distance, he still noted the changes she conjured each day. Abby had filled the lifeless cabin with an energy it had never possessed. No longer a solemn place he dreaded returning to each night.

All were good reasons, in his mind, to keep his distance. He didn’t want to need her. Add to that the attraction that sizzled in his veins each time he saw her, and he had an explosive mix that was sure to blow up in his face sooner or later.

But he’d vowed to keep his hands to himself. His arrangement with Abby was temporary. And he’d be damned before he let lust or loneliness bind her to this harsh and fickle land.

Holden was a good man—they’d been friends of five years and he’d helped him through the darkest days after Elise’s death. But Abby wasn’t right for him.

As Matthias shoved through his front door he noticed Abby first. She sat at the table across from Holden, her eyes sparkling with laughter, her hair in a long braid that draped between her full breasts. The sun had lightened her hair and added color to her cheeks, making her look almost radiant. Damn, but he could feel himself growing hard just looking at her.

Color rose in her cheeks as if she could read his thoughts. “You’re home early, Mr. Barrington.”

He cleared his throat. “I saw the stage.”

With a great effort, he tore his gaze from Abby and settled it on Holden. He had to remind himself he was angry with his old friend. “If you had any
good sense, you’d stay clear of my property after what you and Mrs. Clements did.”

Holden, who sat in his chair at the dinner table, glanced up from his half-eaten piece of pie. “I figured if you hadn’t cooled off after a week you’d never cool off. Plus I wanted to make sure Miss Abby was faring well.”

“She’s doing just fine.”

Holden rose and thrust out his hand. “So I can see. Though I don’t know how she could be, stuck out here with a sour-faced man like you. You look like you could eat nails.”

“I just might before it’s all over.” Matthias hesitated, then took Holden’s hand. “Stop feeding my boys candy. Their teeth are going to rot out of their heads.”

Holden laughed. “Ah, leave ’em be. Isn’t often a boy gets to chew on a stick of licorice and stare at the clouds with his brother. And the boys look fitter than I’ve seen ’em in months.”

Matthias had Abby to thank for that. “So what brings you this way? You don’t waste daylight unless there’s a reason.”

Holden nodded, the laughter fading from his eyes. “A couple of reasons. A friend of mine in Butte said a representative from the rail is coming through town around early July. He’s looking for
horses—lots of ’em. You met him last week. Name is Stokes.”

Matthias remembered the dandy. “How many horses?”

“As many as he can get.”

Matthias hadn’t rounded up his stock yet this year. There’d simply been no time. But with the railroad man coming to town and Abby watching the boys, he could do it. He’d have to work extra hard and fast, but if he pulled this one off, he could earn hard cash. “I can have three dozen for him by August.”

Holden nodded. “I’ll pass it on to him. I already told him your horses are the best stock in the valley.”

Matthias nodded. For the first time in months the weight pressing on his shoulders eased. Suddenly, he felt like eating a piece of Abby’s pie. “You said there were two reasons you came.”

“I came to talk to you about a little business proposition.”

Matthias lifted an eyebrow. “More business.”

Holden shrugged. “The valley is booming.”

“I’ll pour a cup of coffee,” Abby said.

“Thank you.” He sat down at the table, noting its surface was smooth and clean, not sticky with grease and dirt. Last night when he’d slipped into
bed, he noted the sheets were clean and smelled of fresh air and not stale smoke.

Abby set the coffee in front of him along with a slice of pie. “Company in the afternoon—I’d swear it was a holiday.”

Matthias stared at the pie, astonished she’d baked the small miracle. He took a bite. “This is delicious.”

Abby smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

Holden took another bite. “Where’d you learn to cook?”

Abby smiled. “At first I learned from my mother. Then later Cook.”

Again Matthias was amazed how her face transformed when she grinned.

“Who’s this Mrs. Cook?” Holden said.

“Cook isn’t her name, it’s her job. Her real name is Cora O’Neil. She is the cook in my aunt and uncle’s house. She is a difficult woman but very talented. She taught me the finer points of baking.”

The surprise on Holden’s face mirrored what Matthias felt.

Holden scratched his head. “Your aunt and uncle have folks working for them? Must be pretty rich.”

She shrugged. “They employ a butler, three maids and a gardener. My aunt would like to hire more but my uncle’s income won’t allow it.”

“If you had all that, then what brought you out here?” Holden said.

Her smile vanished. “I simply wanted a change.”

Matthias sensed a shift in her mood immediately. Her life in San Francisco hadn’t been happy. She’d once said there’d be no going back to the city. Now he wondered why.

“That’s one mighty big change,” Holden said.

Matthias traced the rim of his cup with his calloused thumb. “If you were living in a house with servants, what were you doing working in the kitchen?”

Abby clasped her hands neatly in front of her on the table. “My uncle expected me to carry my own weight around the house.”

“So you worked in his kitchens?” Matthias couldn’t hide the bitterness in his voice.

The tension around her eyes that had been present when she’d arrived a week ago returned. “I wanted to work in the kitchen. It gave me something to do. I’m not one for idle pastimes.”

The kitchen was a place to hide.

The people who came to Montana came to start over, often to get away from a past that wasn’t pleasant. For him it had been the war.

He clamped down on any questions. She was
good to his boys and that’s all he needed to know. The less he knew about her the easier it would be in the end when she left.

He pushed his half-eaten piece of pie away. “Holden, what’s this business proposition you were talking about?”

“Well, you know how I come this way with the stage from time to time.”

“We trade horses.”

“Right, well, with the rail line coming in, I’ll be doubling the number of times I make my route to accommodate the railroad men. Seeing as you have a woman on the ranch again, I figured when I stop my passengers could get out and stretch their legs, maybe get a meal if Abby is willing to cook. It’ll mean more money.”

Abby.
When had Holden started calling her
Abby?

Holden had proposed the same idea three years ago. Elise had been all for it at first, but she quickly found the extra work too demanding. She’d never complained but he saw how the extra work had drained her and so he’d gone to Holden and asked him to alter his route. “My days already feel like they are ten hours too short, anyway,” he said more gruffly than he intended.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea!” Abby said. “If
you give me an idea of what days you might be coming through then I could make extra that morning.”

Matthias tapped his index finger on the table. “You’ve got your hands full as it is.”

Her eyes lighted with excitement. “I’ve cooked dinner for fifty before. It takes planning but it’s not impossible.”

He met her gaze. “It’s more work than you realize. I won’t allow it.”

Abby’s excitement turned to annoyance. Though she didn’t move a muscle, she dug in her heels. “You won’t
allow
it.”

He could be stubborn, too. “You heard me.”

Holden, sensing the shift, rose. “I believe I best go check on the boys. You never know what those two might get into.” He rose quickly and went outside before either of them could respond.

Matthias shoved out a hard breath. “I don’t want you taking on the extra work.”

“Frankly, I’d love the company and the extra money would be welcome. There’d be enough money to pay off your credit at the store and then some, I’ll wager.”

The fact that he carried debt at the store still galled him. Until this spring, he’d always paid as he’d gone. “I’ll make it without any help.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You mean from me?”

He ground his teeth. “From anyone.”

Her face paled with anger. “So we’re back to that again?”

“What?”

“Me leaving.”

He shrugged. “It’s not a matter of
if
you leave, it’s a matter of
when.
”

She planted her hands on her hips. “I wish she was here.”

“Who?”

“Elise. Then you could take a good long look at both of us, and you could see with your own two eyes that I am not her.”

Rage roiled inside of him. “I know who you are.”

“Do you? Every evening when you come home you look surprised to see me, as if you expect me to be gone.”

Her words struck a nerve. She was right. He did expect her to vanish. And what was worse, that damn worry had taken root and grew every day.

“What’s it going to take to prove to you that I’m not going anywhere? Do I have to paint a sign on my naked body and dance around the valley for you?” Shaking her head, she strode out of the cabin.

Her words had caught him completely off guard. Elise would have sulked, made him feel guilty. Abby had a temper that matched his, and worse, she had him imagining her dancing naked.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. He wondered what the sign said.

Two hours later, Holden was sitting atop his rig, ready to finish his journey to Crickhollow. He touched the rim of his floppy hat. “Abby, I appreciate the meal. Best I’ve had in a long time.”

Abby smiled, pleased that her first guest had had a good time. “You’re welcome any time.”

The boys jumped up and down waving their goodbyes. Abby leaned down and whispered in each boy’s ear a reminder and together they shouted “thank you.”

Holden grinned. “Abby, I do believe you have found your place in the world.”

Mr. Barrington stood behind her, his rigid stance as palpable as a touch. Her earlier annoyance hadn’t completely faded and she was grateful that he had chores to do outside of the house for the next few hours.

“Be careful out there.” Mr. Barrington’s deep, rich voice made her skin tingle.

Holden’s smile flattened to a grim line. “You be
careful, too. And keep a close eye on Miss Abby. When word spreads that there’s a single woman here, the men will come sniffing around. Just a matter of time before some man snaps her up for his own.”

“Not on my watch.” The cold steel in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. She had a glimpse of the man who’d been a bounty hunter.

Abby, Mr. Barrington and the boys all stood watching as Holden drove the coach down the rutted trail toward town. When his coach had vanished from sight, Abby was already thinking about what was to be done next. Holden’s visit was a welcome change, but she had mending to do before laundry day tomorrow. “Quinn, Tommy, let’s get you inside. You can practice your letters while I mend.”

The boys scrambled toward the house and she was directly behind them when Matthias’s strong hand settled on her shoulder.

She turned, shocked by his touch. They’d not touched once since their kiss last week. Foolish, she knew, but she had missed it. “Is something wrong?”

His stormy eyes met hers and she felt her stomach roll. “Do you know how to handle a gun?”

“A gun? No. My uncle kept a pistol in his desk.” She’d seen it there once or twice. “There wasn’t
much call for guns in my section of San Francisco.”

The craggy lines in his face deepened. “Then it’s time you learned how to handle one.”

“For heaven’s sakes, why?”

“The railroad is going to bring a lot of good to the valley and it’ll bring trouble as well. I want you to know how to handle a gun.”

Her gaze dropped to the six-shooter in the well-worn holster hanging from his narrow hips. “But you always carry a gun.”

“With all those horses to round up, I won’t be around much. You’ll need to know how to defend yourself.”

She brushed a stray wisp of hair from her face. “I don’t know the first thing about guns.”

“I do. Go fetch the boys from the cabin. I want to know exactly where they are when we start shooting targets. I’ll get the shotgun from the barn.”

“Do you really think this is necessary?”

“Yes.”

“But I’ve got work.”

“It’ll keep.”

Before she could say another word, he turned and headed toward the barn. Ten minutes later they
stood beyond the corral, which now held Holden’s tired team—two speckled geldings with black manes.

Matthias had hung six thick pieces of wood from a tree twenty paces away. Abby had settled the boys on a log behind them with orders for them not to move.

Abby’s skirts and apron flapped in the breeze as she watched Matthias pull a shell from his vest pocket.

He flipped a small lever and cracked the gun in half and positioned a large shell at the opening. “You put the shell in this way. Make sure it’s in good and tight, then close the gun.” To illustrate, he snapped it closed with the ease of a man who’d done this a thousand times before.

She flinched. “That looks easy enough.”

His gaze narrowed. “Now I want you to try it.”

“I don’t need to practice, do I? How hard can it be?”

He came up behind her and laid the gun in her hands. The smooth cold metal barrel and well-oiled wood stock felt heavy. Silent, he wrapped his arms around her and guided her hands to the right place on the stock.