Linda Ford - The Cowboy's Convenient Proposal

He met her gaze without once blinking. She would find him reliable, trustworthy, perhaps even noble so far as he was able.

Finally she spoke. “Very well. I will accept your offer until I can find something suitable that allows me my freedom and independence.”

Her answer was less than satisfactory. After all, he had no intention of infringing on her freedom, though she’d had none whatsoever until he intervened. She might remember that. And how much independence did she expect? She had neither means nor opportunity to pursue such. “I’m not asking to own you, only help you.” But at least she had agreed to use his cabin. “Then let’s get on our way. Where’s Belle?”

“Belle, come.”

Nothing.

“She’s afraid of you.”

“Now, that hurts. If you’d said she’s afraid of men, I’d understand, but you make it sound like it’s only me.”

“That’s because you’re the only man here. So at this point she’s only afraid of you.”

“Do you always have to win every argument?”

He might as well have accused her of some heinous crime the way she glowered at him. “I most certainly do not. Do you turn everything into a confrontation?”

“A what?”

“Yes. See, a simple comment about Belle being afraid of you becomes a—a—”

“Yeah. What?”

“A challenge. That’s what.”

He slapped his forehead. “I can see this is going to be a fun time.”

She slowly rose to her feet, planted her hands on her hips and stuck out her chin as she faced him. “Do you mean to say you will be residing in this cabin? Because I did not understand that part. If that is so, then I change my mind. We’ll find some other place.”

He groaned. “I will be living at the ranch. That’s where I work. But unless you have a means of getting supplies, filling the wood box, bringing in meat... Well, do you?”

She squinted without answering.

“I thought not. So I expect you’ll be happy enough to let me do that. Which—if you can bear the thought—means I will occasionally come by to perform those necessary tasks.” Suddenly the idea held a lot less appeal than it did just a few minutes ago.

“Just so long as we understand each other.”

“Oh, I think we do.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Her gaze slid past him and her scowl vanished. “Belle?” Her voice grew soft, gentle, inviting.

Ward’s first instinct was to spin around, but remembering Red’s words that Belle was afraid of him—the way she’d said it still irritated—he stepped aside so he wasn’t blocking Belle’s view of Red and slowly, cautiously turned about.

Belle stood at the far edge of the road.

“It’s okay. He won’t hurt you.” Red’s words were as much warning to Ward as encouragement to Belle, and irritation scratched at his decision to help.

Ward let Belle assess him. Though the wariness never left her eyes, she crossed the road to take Red’s outstretched hand. She carefully kept Red between herself and Ward.

“He has a cabin we can use until we sort ourselves out.”

If not for Belle’s presence, Ward would have pointed out how she made it sound as if accepting his offer was a last resort. She gave no account of the fact it was a generous offer made from a concerned person. After all, he was preparing a place for his mother and brothers. Having Red and Belle there would be inconvenient should they arrive. But he already knew the frustration and folly of pointing out flaws in her words. Still, he couldn’t keep from murmuring, “I’m only trying to help.”

“You think that will be okay, Belle?” Red asked.

“I guess so.”

No one acknowledged his generosity, so Ward had to settle for feeling like poor-quality chicken feed. “Then let’s ride.”

He made his way back to the horses and left them to follow. Or not. Whatever they decided. He had done his best. Not much else he could do. But he knew he would not ride away and leave them at the side of the road even if the pair got it in their minds to turn all prickly.

Shoot. They were already more prickly than he cared to deal with.

He reached the horses and turned back to them, standing exactly where they were when he left. “You coming or not?”

Their hesitation was palpable. “I get it. You don’t want to come with me. But you don’t have a lot of options. And I don’t aim to leave you here. So let’s get moving.”

They sure did know how to look less than enthusiastic as they picked their way across the grass to his side. He cupped his hands to help Red mount.

Belle drew back, her fear as thick as stew.

“I have to lift you up to sit behind your sister,” he said, wanting to warn her before he touched her.

She nodded but her eyes flooded with wariness.

He grabbed her about the waist, heard her indrawn breath, felt her stiffen, but before she could reconsider he had her perched behind Red.

He swung into his own saddle and led the way.

“How far?” Belle whispered, likely meaning only for Red to hear.

“It will be almost dark before we get there.”

The sooner she learned that Ward meant her no harm nor posed a threat, the better for them all. How long before either of them felt comfortable with him?

Chapter Three

Belle’s arms clutched about Red’s waist. Feeling the fear and desperation in her little sister, she almost forgot the way her head pounded, the pain driving deeper with each thud of her mount’s hooves. She shivered, though the sun beat down with enough heat to bake biscuits on the dirt trail. Where were they going? She took some comfort in the fact it was the same direction as the ranch. She could always flee there for protection should the need arise. Of course that depended on how far Ward’s cabin was from the ranch. He rode a few feet ahead, leading the way. Why had he offered his cabin? Did he have an ulterior motive? Or was it born from knowing what it was like to receive the blows of fists?

She urged the horse forward until she rode at Ward’s side. “Where is your cabin?”

He pointed in the general direction of the ranch. Some help that was. Would it hurt the man to give exact directions?

“It’s nothing like Eden Valley Ranch. For one thing it doesn’t have the backing of a rich family back in England. Nor does it have the thousands of acres of the Eden Valley land grant. But I’ll be able to run enough cows and horses to make a good living.” He sat easy in the saddle as only a cowboy used to long hours on the back of a horse could.

Red shifted, wishing she could be half as comfortable. But her leg hurt almost as much as her head. She was tired and admittedly, a tad cranky. She didn’t need a cowboy to point it out to her.

Ward continued talking as if his cabin was the most important thing in the world. Maybe it was to him. For her, it was only a place she would go to because she had no other option. Resolve drove away a great deal of her discomfort. She would find a place as soon as possible. She allowed herself to dream a little. Wouldn’t it be nice if Belle could attend school and later, they could celebrate Christmas together in their own home? She’d trim the tree with red ribbons tied in bows of various sizes. There would be gifts. Nothing extravagant. Perhaps a new dress for each of them. Warm mittens. Woolen coats. Maybe she could splurge for one extravagance. A storybook for Belle and a book of poetry for herself.

Poetry? She mocked her dreams. How foolish. That pleasure belonged to the past. As did such dreams. She couldn’t afford half a penny candy let alone frivolous things. With every ounce of self-control she could muster, she jerked her attention back to Ward, who still talked about his place.

“I wanted to get a simple cabin built first in the hopes of persuading my family to join me. Once they’re here, I figured there would be plenty of hands to help make it larger. Next spring, I hope to buy enough cows to start my own herd.” His voice rang with hope and pride.