Chapter Twenty-Six
“Here you go.” Emily handed Anna her cup of tea. “Get that hot tea in you. And that cake Mrs. Mason has made looks delicious.”
“I really should be working,” Anna protested as her friend sat across from her. “I don’t have time to sip tea.”
“You are working yourself too hard, and you’re exhausted. You need to sit down and take some time for yourself.” Emily gave her a sharp look. “Have you looked in the mirror? I’m surprised you’re still upright.”
“Thank you very much for that. You’re so good at building my confidence, Emily.”
Emily shrugged and picked up her teacup.
She looked across the yard as she took a sip, her gaze lingering near the paddock for a while.
Anna glanced over her shoulder and saw Connor talking to Edwin.
Edwin looked sullen and seemed to be trying to tower over Connor, but the foreman wasn’t letting it happen.
He simply looked back without blinking, allowing Edwin to puff up like a peacock.
Finally, Edwin backed down, and he turned away, throwing his hands up in the air.
Even as he walked away, Emily’s eyes stayed where they were. It took Anna a moment to realize she’d been staring at Connor. She sat back in her chair and cleared her throat, making Emily jump.
“Hmm?”
“You don’t have to worry about me, Emily. I appreciate you coming here, but you don’t have to be concerned. I’m perfectly fine.”
Emily chuckled at that. “I don’t think so. You’re clearly worn out. You need to be distracted for a while.”
“I can do that on my own, absolutely fine.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes!” Anna sipped her tea. “Unless you’ve got something in mind. Apparently, I’m not allowed to do anything strenuous.”
Emily tilted her head to one side and smiled.
“You could go on a picnic, couldn’t you?”
“On my own?”
“No, silly. You can go with Travis. Both of you need time to get away, and that would be an ideal way to do it.”
Anna shifted in her chair. The thought of doing something with Travis made her heart skip a few beats.
She was still reeling from their conversation the day before about the potential investor who could help them.
The man was from Texas and apparently quite wealthy.
He was more than happy to help out financially if he was given a proper business plan or saw it as a good investment.
Anna wasn’t entirely sure how it worked, but she wasn’t about to complain if it worked for them.
Travis was with him right now, trying to persuade him to help out.
“Also,” Emily went on. “When was the last time you and Travis spent time alone together? Like going out and doing something that’s not related to the ranch?”
“I…”
“I bet you haven’t. You haven’t done anything like that, have you?”
Anna winced. She felt as if she were being scolded by her mother. She sipped her tea and tried to get her attention on something else.
Emily sighed.
“Honestly, Anna, you’re a married woman now. And you’ve got a handsome husband who genuinely cares about you. You really landed on your feet with this decision, and you shouldn’t squander it.”
“What?”
“I’m not blind, Anna. Although I think you are. You can tell that he does just by the way he looks at you. And I’ve heard him speak about you in town when he’s got supplies, and there’s such warmth in his voice, it’s so adorable.”
Anna felt her face get warm, and she bit her lip to fight back a smile. Did Travis care about her? That left her heart stuttering. It had been a long time since anyone had cared about her like that.
She found herself thinking about him more and more as time went on, which was both refreshing and worrying. She didn’t know what to make of it, only that she didn’t want Travis to leave.
“What’s on your mind?” Emily asked, picking up her plate with her slice of cake, cutting into it with her fork. “You looked like you were away in your own thoughts there.”
“I…” Anna gave her slice of cake a rueful look. It looked nice, but she wasn’t hungry. “I’m scared that he’ll walk away eventually.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because of the ranch. Edwin sticking his nose in and making things difficult. Sabotage, and the fact that we’re struggling for money. He came here to start anew, not to be thrown into chaos.”
Emily smiled around a mouthful of cake.
“I’m sure he half-expected that. I doubt that will be enough for him to leave. And it shows that he’s not interested in the money if he’s still around.”
“I suppose…”
“Oh, Anna.” Emily leaned over and patted Anna’s hand. “You’ve got a solid marriage, even if you don’t truly realize it. He’ll be at your side no matter what the trouble.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“With the way he looks at you? I doubt he’ll be able to walk away.”
Anna fell silent, unsure of what to say in response. She was still trying to take in the fact that Travis cared about her. Did he love her? She wasn’t sure.
Why was she even thinking about love? She should be concentrating on the ranch and getting it back to its former glory. Instead, her thoughts kept turning back to Travis and wondering what he actually thought about her.
Not that she was going to go up to him and ask. She was too nervous to do that. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. Although she wasn’t about to admit that to her friend. Anna was keeping this to herself for now, especially while she was dealing with other stresses in her life.
Wondering whether Travis was in love with her was further down her priority list.
“How are you two doing?” Connor stepped up onto the porch, taking off his Stetson and wiping his forehead with his sleeve. “You look lost in thought there, Anna.”
Emily sent a wink in Anna’s direction. “She’s just a massive worrier.”
Anna frowned.
“I don’t think I’m that bad.”
“Oh, yes, you are.”
Connor chuckled. He sat on the porch step and leaned back against the wooden post behind him.
Anna noticed Emily’s gaze flicker over Connor’s face before she glanced away and shoved more cake into her mouth.
Her friend’s cheeks were a little pink now.
Connor didn’t seem to notice, yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes.
“I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“Is Edwin staying in line?” Anna asked.
“For the most part. He still tries to get out of as much work as he can, but when he is actually working, he does as he’d told.” Connor made a face. “I’ve never known anyone like him. He’s just so aggravating.”
A movement just out of the corner of her eye got her attention, and she looked up to see Travis climbing the gate and vaulting over it before walking toward the house.
Her heart leaped at the sight of him, and Anna silently scolded herself for behaving like this.
She shouldn’t be so excited and relieved to see her husband.
She tried to maintain her composure as Travis walked over to them, wearing an easy smile that made her stomach feel like she was housing butterflies. Even as she attempted to remain calm, Anna felt her heart skidding in her chest. “Well? How did it go?”
Travis grinned at her and nodded. “Very well, actually. I told him everything and what we wanted for the future of the ranch, and while he would like to come and have a look around to see if we can stick to our end of the deal, he’s prepared to sign it for us.”
“What?” Anna stared at him. “Really?”
“Yes. We’ll be able to get this place back up and running properly in no time.”
Anna couldn’t contain herself. With a delighted squeal, she leaped off the porch into Travis’s arms. He didn’t seem to mind, spinning her around as he hugged her tightly. Then he set her down on her feet with a laugh.
“I suppose this is your way of saying you’re happy about it?”
“Happy? I’m over the moon!” Anna couldn’t stop the beaming smile. “I can’t believe we’re actually going to get the ranch back to how it was. I was beginning to think it was a losing battle.”
Connor shook his head. “Not with us working it. We’d make sure everything operated efficiently, even without this investor. But he will definitely help.”
“But now that we have, we don’t have to worry about where the money’s coming from anymore,” Travis insisted. “All we have to do is hold up our end of the bargain, which is going to be laid out in the contract he’s bringing over to sign.”
Anna had expected that. They needed to give their investor assurance that they would be paid back. She smiled at Travis, squeezing his arm.
“Thank you,” she said. “This is great news.”
He smiled back, and for a moment it felt like it was just the two of them. Anna could feel her cheeks flushing, but didn’t care. She could happily look at her husband and know she would be fine.
A pointed cough made her jump, and she saw Mrs. Mason coming out of the house. She gave Anna an amused look, glancing with a twinkling eye at Travis.
“I was coming out to ask if Miss Emily was staying for dinner?” she asked. “I’m about to start making it, and I don’t want anyone to go hungry.”
Emily brightened at this, which made Anna laugh. Her friend would eagerly accept the invitation, but she wasn’t about to ask for it herself. She nodded.
“Yes, Mrs. Mason. And Connor, would you like to join us?”
“Me?” Connor sat up. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s been a while since you’ve eaten with us.”
Connor looked surprised. Then he nodded a little warily, glancing over at Emily. “All right. But only if you think I won’t bring the mood down.”
Anna laughed. “Since when have you ever done that? Anyway, that’s a table for four people, Mrs. Mason. I’m sure we’ll eat whatever is left over.”
“You’d better. I’m going to be really busy for the next few hours.” Mrs. Mason disappeared back inside. Anna giggled.
“Sounds like she’s going to make a quiche or a pie.”
“How do you know?” Emily asked.
“If she’s going to be really busy from now until dinner time, she’s making one of those, you can be sure. And they’re both exceptionally good.” Anna turned to Travis. “I hope you like quiche. Mrs. Mason’s pastry is as light as air.”
“I hope it doesn’t taste like air,” Travis said drily, giving her a wink that made Anna shiver.
Connor laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that. As you know by now, you are very much aware that you’ve eaten some of Mrs. Mason’s food. You can’t walk afterward.”
“You make it sound like a bad thing,” Emily said with a smile.
“It’s not, but she had an innate ability to make you feel so full you feel like you’ve eaten cement and you can’t move.”
“I would call that a good meal.” Emily shrugged and smiled.
Anna couldn’t agree more. As Emily and Connor threw banter back and forth, she caught sight of Travis looking at her, a curious look on his face. She smiled back, suddenly feeling a little shy.
For the first time in a long time, this felt almost natural. Like this should be happening every day. And Anna didn’t want it to stop.