Raining In My Heart (Book One of the McKay's) (29 page)

Julie
felt a tear escape down her cheek and she hurriedly brushed it away, although the old man wasn't paying much attention to her, it seemed.

"Well, anyway, I wanted to thank you for befriending my daughter."
Julie
started to leave but was halted by his voice, an oddly familiar voice.

"
Kellie
's a good kid. She talks to me
;
guess she considers me safe territory.
I think a lot of her, and I barely know her."

"Thank you, and yes, she is…"
Julie
stared at the backside of the old man. Even though he appeared fairly old, he had a strong stature, and his mind sure worked. She wanted to get to know this man a little better. She could understand why her father hired him, he was so natural with the horses, his calming voice and
unthreatening
demeanor lent trust to them.

Sandy
walked by and saw her
.
"Hi, what are you doing?"

Chapter
Sixteen

Cade
hadn't made a point of seeing
Julie
, and
Julie
couldn't help but wonder if he really wa
sn't interested in her
. Perhaps he felt he was being pushed onto her, and didn't want to give off the wrong impression.
No matter what his reasoning, he stayed clear of her most of the time.

However, nearly a month to the date,
Cade
strode up to
Julie
one afternoon and took her by surprise. She was about to climb the fence railing at the corral when he help
ed
hoist her up.

"Oh, I didn't hear you
.
"
S
he blushed when their eyes met
, and their shirts brushed each other
.

"Thought it was about time for a second date, if you are up to it." He smiled directly at her.

Unsure of how to react,
Julie
shrugged
.
"Okay."

She didn't want to push
Cade
.
She also didn't want to seem too anxious.
After al
l, it wasn't as though he was eager
to date her. He had been forced to, by
Kellie
's insistence.

"Where would you like to go?" he asked as he joined her on the top rail.

"I don't know
…"

"Okay, I am helping build a float for the Thanksgiving parade
;
want to come help me and I'll buy you supper again
?
" He flashed a super smile at her.

Julie
didn't want to let him know it, but that smile affected her. "Sounds like fun."

"Great, tomorrow then and wear something comfortable. I've got to get several bales of hay on the platform and it might get a little dirty."

She'd dressed up for their first date, but maybe she had over
-
done it.
She nodded almost shyly at him.
She'd never felt so unsure of herself with a man. But
Cade
was a mystery in himself. Until he opened up to her, she couldn't keep second guessing him.

They sat watching one of the younger wranglers trying to train one of the horses.
Caleb
was off to the side, watching too.

Kellie
was standing beside
Caleb
talking, and smiling.
She looked so relaxed and happy.

Julie
had never seen her daughter so happy. A
stab of guilt ran through her
;
it was her fault. If she'd have come home sooner,
Kellie
might have enjoyed much more of her life
.
She realized now that she'd been selfish about not wanting to come home.
Kellie
had missed so much of her family and the security of it.

Caleb
was right. She was too busy to notice
all these things before.

Wendy
and Letty came out to join them.

"Who is that handsome brute training the horse?" Letty questioned her when she sat not far from
Julie
.

Cade
glanced at Letty
.
"That's Hank, he's a natural with horses, part Indian. He's been working for us for a couple of years now. We even had a mustang roundup last year because he insisted we needed more horses. And he broke every one of them.
Quite a valuable worker.
"

"Really
.
" Letty's eyes lit up as she looked wrangler up and down. "He's good, isn't he?"

"Very
,
"
Cade
answered.

"Has he got a girl?" Letty asked curiously.

"Don't know,"
Cade
replied with a smile. "We don't talk about girls much."

Letty raised a brow
.
"Oh, why not?"

Cade
nearly laughed aloud
.
"Well, when your dad was alive, he had a hands
-
off the
McKay
's policy and all the boys knew it. An unwritten rule.
And girls aren't plentiful out here. An occasional dance, but that's about it.
"

Julie
turned to look at Cade in shock
.
"Really?"

"Really
.
"
Cade
stared into her eyes.

Julie
felt herself go warm at the intimate way
Cade
was looking at her. "I remember Dad didn't want us dating any of the hands…but I didn't know he talked to his men about it."

Cade
frowned a little as though he were remembering the conversation
.
"I'm sure it was to protect you all, more than anything. He probably wanted you to marry doctors and lawyers, not cowhands."

"That's pure snobbery," Letty protested.
"Money has never been an issue with any of us
McKay
girls."

"Maybe, but you girls stand to inherit a lot, and there will be men who would want to take advantage of that."
Cade
narrowed his eyes on Letty.
"He was merely protecting you all by making that rule. As any father would."

"There's such a thing as a prenupt
i
al." Letty frowned.

"I guess he was thinking more about your hearts being broken…" Cade's voice drifted off.

"You and
Wade
make a handsome salary yourself, don't you?"
Wendy
joined in the conversation.

"Yeah, we do…"

"But it applied to ya'll, too
?"
Julie
murmured.

"It applied."
Cade
sounded almost angry himself.

"That's so Neanderthal thinking."
Wendy
scrunched up her nose.

Cade
chuckled. "It protected you, believe me."

"I never heard of anything so silly," Letty bantered
,
glancing at
Wendy
with understanding.
"As much as I loved
D
ad, he didn't have much regard for the female brain."

"And now that we are grown, don't we all have a choice?"
Wendy
insisted.

Cade
shrugged.

Julie
stared at him for a long moment, wondering. Was this why
Cade
never came forward an
d showed any interest in her and w
hy
Wade
never made a move on
Wendy
who was asking for it?

***

The second date with Cade started very differently, working on a float for the parade was no easy task. At first they were surrounded by people, others doing their fair share of the work. But gradually most of them went home.

Knowing she would be contributing to the float,
Julie
had dressed casual and
Cade
seemed pleased.

He also stared at her from the corner of his eye and she wondered exactly what he was thinking.

She couldn't help staring back, as though hungry for the
sight
of him. Dressed in fitted jeans and western shirt and hat
,
he exuded masculinity.

More than once she noticed his bulging muscles and massive chest. Cade was more than a little handsome. She began to notice the swagger of his walk, the crook of his smiles, and the burning look in his eyes when he looked at her.

She helped him, working side by side for several hours with little conversation until they took a break and had a picnic in the park close by.
Cade
had brought all the makings of a great picnic and
Julie
appreciated his eagerness to break away from work for once.

"Thanks for coming along with me. Working with someone makes it
seem a little less like work
."

"It's fun. I've never been a part of something like this. How do you get so involved with people and events around here?" she asked as she made herself a sandwich with crackers and cheese.

He shrugged
.
"I don't know. I guess because I've been around here for so long, everyone knows me, and knows I'm a chump for stuff like this.
I have plenty of spare time, and figure
d
I could put it to good use.
"

"I don't think you're a chump. I think you are a very caring man. I mean
,
the way you work with all those children, doing something like this in your spare time." She sat against the tree and smiled.
"You don't hang out with
Wade
much, how come?"

"
Wade
is all business from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed. The ranch is all he thinks about.
He's been that way for years. I like to relax, but I don't mind helping out a bit either.
I love doing charity work, it makes me feel whole, if you know what I mean."

His smile faded as he glanced over at her. "
But d
on't paint me as any kind of hero. I do it partly from boredom, and partly because my life is very solitary, and this kind of thing makes it less so. It kind of forces me to get out and get involved with people. Otherwise I'd be such a hermit."

"You…but why?" she shrieked. "I mean, you are
a
very handsome, very virile man, why haven't you gotten married, or…is that too personal a question?"

He studied her
for
a long moment
.
"I'm a one woman kind of guy. I don't enjoy playing the games that some women play. I figure when the time is right, or when I find the right woman…"

"But how are you gonna find the right woman if you don't get out
and date more
?" she persisted.

"Not you too…"
H
e put his sandwich down and leaned on his elbow to stare into her eyes.

"Me too what?"
S
he flushed.

"People have been trying to marry me off to first one girl then another for years. They never once considered I might have a mind of my own and be able to pick and chose my own."

"And it hasn't worked, has it?" she insisted.

"No…and let's leave it at that, okay?"

She saw something close up on him and wondered why he refused to talk about his love life with her. She'd told him about hers. It seemed only fair.

She nodded slowly, meeting his gaze full force and reading more into it than she should
.
S
he cleared her throat and looked away.

"Can we talk about
Kellie
, then?" she a
sked cau
tiously.

"
Kellie
…sure." He stared at her for a long moment.
"Lately
,
she's been one of my favorite subjects. I'm very proud to call myself her father, you know. She's a great kid."

"Cade, we've always been pretty up front and honest with each other, haven't we?" she asked.

"As far as I know, yes."

"Then will you tell me, what do you see in your future with
Kellie
?"