Wild At Heart (15 page)

“Shh, Sugar.” The horse plodded forward, unaware of the potential danger. Just when Mariah was certain she’d faint from nervousness, the man stood and stretched. Adam.

Relief made her limbs weak, and she heaved a deep breath.

Adam must have heard her, because he spun around, one hand resting on his pistol. With his other hand, he shoved something behind his back. His frown turned into the semblance of a smile, making her wonder what she’d interrupted.

“I’m happy to see you riding, but you shouldn’t be out alone and unarmed after being threatened.” He held Sugar’s bridle, giving her a stern stare.

Mariah ignored his rebuke, knowing she’d done her best to stay close to the house. She loosened her hat and allowed it to drop to her back, leaving a loose bow across her throat.

“You’re alone.” She lifted her brows at him.

“I’m a man and can take care of myself. Besides, I’m armed.” He rested his hand on his pistol, as if to prove his point.

“A weapon wouldn’t do me any good, you know. I’ve never even fired a pistol.”

“I would have ridden with you if you’d asked.”

“You weren’t home.” She cocked her head in a sassy manner.

Adam pursed his lips and sighed.

“Besides, I needed to get out and think, and I had a burning desire to ride again.”

Adam smiled. “I know what you mean. My grandmother insists I drive her buggy whenever I visit her in Bismarck. I’d much prefer riding alongside, but she seems to think she needs me, even though she often drives herself when I’m not there.” He shrugged.

She stared at his empty hands. Several pencils rested in his shirt pocket. Shavings he’d whittled off littered the area where he’d been sitting. “So, what were you doing when I rode up?”

Adam shrugged. “Not a lot. I tried to work, but Quinn chased me off. He’s being overly stubborn. I filled the woodbin again and did some things for Leyna, but I guess I’m just bored.”

He obviously wasn’t going to tell her, so she’d just have to figure it out on her own. She drew her leg over Sugar’s back and fumbled to get her other foot out of the stirrup. The wind whipped her skirts, startling the mare. Mariah held on, hoping she wouldn’t fall in another patch of nettles.

Adam grabbed the reins. “Whoa, there. You’re all right, Sugar. Shh…” With the mare steadied, he dropped the reins and helped Mariah dismount. As her feet hit the ground, a pad of paper tumbled from behind Adam. He stepped in front of it, blocking her view.

“Sure is windy today.” Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire at the thought of Adam seeing her bare leg, but as he shifted his weight to his other leg, she noticed the expert drawing on the paper. The top page fluttered, revealing the perfect muzzle of a horse on a second page.

“Oh, Adam, did you draw those?”

He picked up the pad and held it behind his back. A muscle in his jaw twitched. Why would he hide such talent? Was he embarrassed that he could draw? She wondered now if he’d been the one to pen the detailed pictures of cattle and horses on the walls of his bedroom.

She shoved her hands to her waist. “Well, are you going to answer me? Did you draw those pictures?”

Adam clenched his teeth. Why couldn’t she leave well enough alone?

Hanging his head, he knew she’d give him no peace until he told her. “Yes, I drew them.”

“Oh, can I see them?” She clapped her hands together like a child at Christmas.

Her excitement was infectious, and he couldn’t resist smiling.

“I guess so.”

His hand trembled slightly as he handed her the pad. She reverently dusted the dirt off the landscape scene he’d been drawing when she’d interrupted.

Mariah glanced up, looking at the tranquil hillside covered in wildflowers, then back at the picture. She smiled up at him. “Why, Adam, you’re an artist. This is absolutely amazing!”

Her enthusiastic praise warmed a spot deep within him that had been cold for a very long while. Though his ma had encouraged him to draw, his father had never understood his desire and had even chastised him for wasting time. Adam hadn’t realized how much he longed for someone to support him and to tell him that his pictures were decent. Yes, Mr. Howard had, but having someone he cared about cheer him on meant much more. Holding his breath, he watched Mariah flip page after page, alternating between smiling and studying the drawings.

His own family didn’t know he’d taken up drawing again. He didn’t know why he was ashamed to tell them. Was his secret safe with Mariah?

Mariah held the pad of paper to her chest. “Adam, these are so good. You could sell them.”

“Thanks.”

Suddenly, tears pooled in her eyes, she looked away. Sniffing, she wiped the tears away with her finger.

Adam’s chest tightened. “What’s wrong?”

Her lower lip quivered. “I caused you to get sh–shot in your drawing arm. Y–you might never have been able to draw again. How awful that would have been.”

He hadn’t expected her remorse, and it melted another section of his cold heart. He pulled her into his arms before he stopped to think whether he should or not. Holding her close, he rested his cheek against her hair. She sniffled and clung to the back of his shirt.

“Mariah, look at me.”

She shook her head and tightened her grasp.

“When my pa died, I gave up drawing. If I hadn’t been so stubborn about completing the picture I was working on then, I would have fixed the wheel, and he wouldn’t have died. I figured it was penance to sacrifice my drawing since that’s what caused Pa’s accident.”

Mariah leaned back, her face red and splotchy. “No, Adam. You were just a boy. You have a God-given talent that should be used and cherished by others.”

A God-given talent. He’d never really considered his ability a talent that God had bestowed on him.

“You should be sharing your talent with others, not hiding it away. Isn’t there a Bible verse about that or something?”

“Possibly.” He shrugged. “Quinn and Anna don’t even know that I started drawing again.”

Mariah pulled a lace handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her eyes and dabbed at her nose. “Whyever not?”

“I don’t know. It’s been so long since I’ve done any drawing that I guess I was ashamed to tell them I’d started again.”

She shook her head. “They would be proud of you, just like me. I know people who would buy your drawings in a heartbeat.”

Her faith in him made him feel ten feet tall.

“Mariah.” He slipped his hand behind her neck, ignoring her widening eyes, and kissed her soft lips.

This woman had sneaked in and shaken his world, and he had a feeling he’d never be the same.

The next morning, Anna guided the buggy toward town. Mariah braced her feet against the front of the buggy as it jostled down the rough trail. About thirty feet in front of her and Anna, Adam sat atop his gray horse. Adam’s head continuously turned as he studied the horizon to the east and west and the road ahead. The butt of his rifle rested on one knee with the barrel of the weapon pointing toward the sky. His dark hair hung shaggily past his collar in a manner she’d never found appealing on a man until now, and his wide shoulders looked strong enough to bear the weight of whatever came his way.

Mariah heaved a sigh. Even from the back, he presented the epitome of a Western cowboy. She touched her lips, remembering his kiss—so unexpected, so wonderful.

He hadn’t wanted them to ride to town after Mariah had been threatened, but Anna had insisted she needed some items from the town’s mercantile, and Mariah wanted to post another story to her editor. In the end he agreed, because he, too, had a package to post. She’d seen the curiosity in his eyes when he noticed her manuscript packet, but he’d been polite enough not to question her about it. If she happened to finish another manuscript while she was at the Rocking M, she’d wait and turn it in after she returned to Chicago.

She wasn’t used to quiet evenings at home and had used her newly acquired knowledge of ranching and Western life to quickly pen
Penelope of the Union Pacific
, the tale of an undercover female law official who captures a train robber. A smile tickled Mariah’s lips as she considered how much the train robber in her story resembled the one who shot Adam. Except Penelope used her six-shooter to capture the outlaw instead of hatpins.

Mariah’s shoulder collided with Anna’s as they hit another rut, pulling her out of her musings.

“Sorry, but the trail through here sometimes gets washed out during a heavy rain, and that makes things rough going after it dries. I much prefer riding horseback, but Quinn insists I take the buggy when I go to town. He thinks a lady shouldn’t ride in public. As if anyone would mistake me for a lady.” She curled her lip.

“I suspect he’s just trying to watch out for your reputation. It seems a man can get away with appalling behavior, but a woman is always expected to behave like a lady.”

“Ain’t that the truth!”

They shared a sisterly giggle. Mariah waxed sober. She would miss Anna nearly as much as Adam when she left—and she needed to leave soon. She couldn’t continue to impose on the McFarlands’ hospitality much longer.

“You know,” Anna whispered as she sidled a glance at Mariah, a teasing grin dancing on her lips, “Adam is falling in love with you.”

Mariah stared at Adam’s back, desperately hoping what Anna said was true and yet hoping it wasn’t. She knew now that she’d never truly loved Silas. Perhaps she’d simply been infatuated with his status in Goodwell Publications and all the people he knew and the connections he had.

Now she sounded like Amelia Winfield. Could she possibly be that shallow?

“Aren’t you going to say anything? I mean, I’ve just confessed that my brother—who’s never shown interest in any particular woman before—is in love with
you.
I think that demands a response.” Anna’s eyes twinkled. “Has he kissed you yet?”

“Anna!” The skin on Mariah’s face tightened at such a personal question. “Shh… You do realize he’s right over there, don’t you? He’s going to hear you.”

“He has, hasn’t he?” Anna grasped Mariah’s forearm. “Oh, this is wonderful. We might be sisters soon.”

Adam peeked over his shoulder at them, his neutral expression calming her fears that he’d overheard his sister. He winked at her then turned back around. Her stomach danced at his forwardness. Anna grinned as if she knew a huge secret.

“Adam hasn’t said anything to me about how he feels, Anna.” How could she tell Anna about that kiss? That sweet, wonderful kiss that took her by surprise?

“Well, Adam’s not as quiet as Quinn, but he’s probably more likely to
show
you how he feels rather than talk about it. Soo… I ask again, has he kissed you?”

Mariah’s cheeks burned. “Don’t you think that’s a rather personal question?”

“No.”

“Well, if you must know…” She leaned close to Anna’s ear and whispered, “Yes, he did kiss me. Once.”

Mariah thought of all the things Adam had shared with her… things she wouldn’t tell his sister. That was up to him.

Anna slapped her thigh. “I knew it!” The mare jerked her head and squealed. Adam reined his horse around, evidently checking to see if they were all right.

“Easy, girl,” Anna said, suddenly sober.

Adam lifted one brow but turned his horse and guided it down the trail again. He obviously didn’t want to get involved in female chatter. He nudged his horse into a trot and rode over the next hill.

“Anna, I have to tell you, I’m feeling guilty about keeping my identity a secret from Adam. I feel I should tell him the truth.” Mariah hoped the new topic would steer her friend away from talking about Adam’s affections.

Anna shrugged. “I suppose you’ll have to tell him sooner or later. Maybe I was wrong in suggesting you wait. I really don’t see as it will matter to him. Did you know he’s an artist? He drew those pictures in his room—a long time ago.”

“He’s very talented.”

“Yes, it’s too bad he quit drawing. He never told me why, but after Pa died, he didn’t want to draw anymore. It’s really a shame.”

Mariah thought it odd that Anna didn’t know Adam had started drawing again. It didn’t seem like the kind of thing to keep secret. What was the point of that? “Yes, you’re right. It is a shame.”

“He tore up all but the few sketches on his walls after Pa died. For some reason, he couldn’t stand to look at them anymore. I never understood it.” Anna shrugged. “Maybe after we return home, we could pick some wildflowers and put them in vases throughout the house.”

Anna’s topics changed direction faster than a weather vane in a thunderstorm. Mariah figured it was time to broach a new subject of her own. “I’m going to telegraph my grandmother and let her know I’ll be coming home soon.”

Anna’s head swung around. “But why? Don’t you like it at the Rocking M?”

“Of course I do.” She laid a consoling hand on Anna’s arm. “But I’ve stayed far too long already. Grandma always said fish stink after a few days, and so do visitors.”

Anna giggled. “Well… if you ask me, fish always stink, and so do a few men I know.”

They laughed together, and Adam glared back at them as if he thought they were laughing at him. Mariah placed her hand over her mouth to hold back her giggle. She’d never had a friend close enough to find silliness in the small things.