Chapter 10 #3
He caught her arm, stung by the acknowledgment of how being judged by her friend’s actions had hurt her. “You are not unacceptable.” He drew her closer, wanting to quench the hungry sadness in her eyes. His gaze went to her mouth and back to her eyes. A kiss might convince her she was desirable.
Or it might make her think he saw her as others had judged her to be.
He leaned back on his heels, putting a discreet distance between them. “Your Dakota farmer will see you as the best thing since man discovered honey.”
The look she flicked him made him cringe. Then she hurried away. She scooped up Poppy and ducked into the house.
Kat stared after them, then confronted Zach. “Okay, big brother, what did you do?”
“Do? Me? All I did was walk her back to the house.”
“Don’t think I didn’t see you two arguing by the barn.” She studied him, her face screwed up. No doubt about how she felt, even though she didn’t know the details.
“Come on, Pa.” She stomped into the house with Pa at her heels.
Zach had half a mind to spend the night in the bunkhouse. He would have, except Gil smelled a little ripe, and Zach liked to be where he could hear if Pa decided to wander.
But he sure wasn’t going into the house right away.
He tended to the animals that were kept at home. He wandered about the corrals, pausing to watch the mustang. He’d hoped keeping the animal nearby would let it grow accustomed to people. Seemed to be working. The horse glanced up at Zach’s approach and then resumed grazing.
No time like the present to start working the horse.
There was still some light left, so he went to the barn and got a rope.
He stepped into the pen, tossed a loop over the animal’s head, and wrapped three coils around the post in the middle of the pen.
As expected, the horse snorted and bucked.
As soon as the rope snugged up enough to stop him, Zach eased in and slipped on a halter.
The mustang rolled his eyes. Zach removed the rope from the horse’s neck.
Now he had some control over the horse without worrying about hurting it.
The mustang reared and struck out with his front hooves.
Zach was ready and jumped out of the way. He stood in the middle of the pen and let the animal circle the perimeter.
They worked for the better part of an hour, by which time the shadows were long and gray. He freed the horse and backed up to the fence.
“I was afraid you were going to get hurt.”
He startled at Amelia’s voice close to his ear. “How long have you been here?”
“I watched from the window a bit, but I was too far away in case anything went wrong.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or hug her. In the end, he did neither. But he studied her. “What did you figure to do if something, as you say, went wrong?”
“I’d do whatever needed to be done.”
It was ludicrous to think she might jump into the pen and fight off the horse or drag Zach’s battered body out, and yet he didn’t, for one minute, doubt she’d do it. Or at least try.
He swung over the fence and landed by her side. “I thought you might be mad enough at me to hope the horse would teach me a lesson.”
She ducked her head. “I apologize for my behavior. I had no right.”
She didn’t say what she had no right to, and he wasn’t going to ask. Nope. He wasn’t about to start up any more disagreements.
“Want to watch the sunset?”
“I’d love to.”
He led her past the barn to the slope where he’d shown her the mountain view, and they sat side by side in companionable silence as the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the sky colored.
“Ma always said the sun threw out bright banners as it departed. She said she once saw a May Day dance where the dancers carried colored streamers that dipped and rolled behind them. She said that’s what the sunset was like. ”
Amelia leaned back on her hands. “You have such lovely memories of your mother.”
“I do. I miss her.”
“It hasn’t been very long for you. My parents have been gone for eight years. I’ve never stopped missing them, but I’ve grown used to it.”
He rested his hand over hers and squeezed. “I’m glad to hear it gets more bearable.”
She rose to look down at him—was she that anxious to avoid his touches? “I think your mother would want you to be happy.”
It was something to think about as they made their way back to the house.
He bade her good night and waited until she closed the door to her room before he went upstairs.
As always, he peeked into Pa’s room. He slept on his back.
The big bed appeared so wide with just one person in it, but Pa found comfort in familiar things—even the bed he’d once shared with his wife.
Zach watched him. Asleep, Pa was the strong, sure man Zach remembered.
He closed the door and tiptoed away. No point in wishing things were like they’d been. This was now his lot in life.
Recalling what Amelia had said about Joseph, he opened his Bible to Genesis and read the story. In all the dreadful things Joseph had endured, the Lord was with him. It was enough for Joseph, and it was enough for Zach.