The Cowboy's Ready-Made Family (3 page)

She really should do more cooking. Make bread again. It was weeks since they'd had anything but biscuits and fry cakes. Not that both weren't perfectly adequate. Just as fried potatoes and eggs were perfectly fine for a meal. Perhaps not day after day, an inner voice suggested. Susanne promised herself she'd do better...once she got the work on the farm taken care of.

“Robbie, slow down.” The child ate as if it was a race.

Frank spoke slowly. “I'm glad Tanner is going to bring his horses here. Pa would have liked that.” Frank's jaw grew firm, reminding her of Jim. Tears caught in the back of her throat. She'd waited so long to be reunited with her brother only to lose him again. At least until she got to heaven.

“He planned to capture some of the wild horses himself,” Frank explained.

Susanne knew that. In fact, he might well be alive today if not for that dream. He had been following the whereabouts of the herd when he got caught in a downpour that eventually led to his pneumonia.

Frank continued. “He had the corrals all ready and would have gotten his horses for sure except Ma got sick and then he got sick.” His voice quavered but he pushed on. “He told me I could help him when he got the horses. He'd have to gentle them first, but then I could help feed them and could talk to them so they'd learn not to be afraid of children.” Frank sucked in a ragged breath, as did his brother and sisters. This talk of their father and mother would soon have them all in tears. “I want to help Tanner with the horses.”

Susanne jolted back. “I'm sorry, but I must refuse you permission. It simply wouldn't be safe and I sure don't want anything to happen to any of you.”

Frank hung his head but not before she caught a glimpse of rebellion in his eyes.

She'd never considered she'd encounter problems with the children. But she must insist. Being around wild horses simply wasn't safe.

The children were subdued throughout the remainder of the meal. Afterward they helped with the dishes, then scattered outside. She should give them more chores but couldn't seem to get any organized for them and she freely admitted she didn't want them to have to work as hard as she had for Aunt Ada.

She glanced about the kitchen. It needed a good cleaning. Alice would be shocked at the way it looked, and Aunt Ada would have had her whipped for the neglect.

But she no longer answered to Aunt Ada or depended on her for a roof over her head and a meal to warm her insides.

She stepped outside when she heard a horse approach. Goodness, months had gone by without anyone but Alfred Morris visiting, and now she had a steady stream of visitors. Or rather, she corrected herself as she recognized the rider, one recurring visitor. Was this what she'd agreed to? For Tanner Harding to come and go at will? Her insides grew brittle at the idea. Frequent visitors, in her mind, came with demands. Demands she didn't care to fulfill. Thinking of Mr. Befus, she shuddered.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw the milk cow bawling and bucking behind Tanner, protesting at being pulled home at the end of a rope. What was he doing with her cow?

“I brought you something,” he said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the cow.

“Was she out? I fixed the fence just a few hours ago.”

“I saw her jump over the fence where the wires were slack. She was intent on the wide-open spaces.”

“What am I going to do with her?”

“You could try tethering her.”

She hadn't meant the question for him but if he knew how to keep the cow home, she would like to know. “How do you do that?”

“I'll show you.” He led the cow toward the barn.

“You tell me and I can do it myself.” Susanne followed hard on his heels, intent on making it clear she didn't need his help. She did not want him to think he could take advantage of her failures.

“You're back,” Robbie called to Tanner.

The four children stood in the doorway of the barn, their faces eager.

“I brought your cow home.”

“She won't stay,” Frank said.

“That's
our
problem,” Susanne pointed out, not wanting Tanner to think she couldn't manage. Never mind that there was plenty of proof she wasn't doing well on her own.

Ignoring her protests, Tanner handed the rope to Frank and went into the tack room, picking his way over the items on the floor.

Susanne's cheeks burned. She'd been meaning to clean up that mess. Another of the chores that never seemed to get done.

Tanner returned, a halter in his hands, and went to the cow, five people watching him, four with keen interest, one with reluctance. Okay, maybe she'd let him do it this time, while she watched and learned. After that, she'd do it herself.

“Let's see if we can train her to stay home.” He slipped the halter over her head, found a length of rope on a nail by the door and hooked it to the halter.

“It's long enough we can secure it to anything solid enough to hold her. Which might have to be a tree with a girth of at least six feet.”

The children giggled at his explanation as they followed him from the barn. The cow balked, but he leaned into the rope and persuaded her to walk along.

Could this control the stubborn animal? It must. She had no other choice.

“That tree will do.” He led them to the spot where the grass was green and the tree stout, and tied the rope about the tree. “Now she needs water.”

“I'll get it.” Frank ran back to the barn and dragged out a small trough. He put it beside the tree and then hurried to fill it with water.

Tanner stood by and let the boy do it. Robbie insisted on helping and, even though he could only carry half a bucket of water, Frank let him.

Susanne secretly smiled her approval at how the children worked together. Helping each other was the only way the five of them would manage to run this farm.

“That ought to do,” Tanner said with some satisfaction.

“Thank you,” she said to him. He might have saved her several hours a day by showing her a simple remedy. “I'm sure I can do it in the future.” Hopefully her voice didn't sound as uncertain as she felt.

The cow jerked at the end of her rope and mooed a protest.

Little Janie pressed her fingers to her mouth. “Daisy doesn't want to be tied up.” Tears pooled in her eyes.

Tanner squatted in front of the little one and wiped the tears from her face. “She'll get used to it. In a little while she'll even learn to like it. Just like we all learn to adjust and even like changes.”

Susanne could well argue otherwise but before she organized what she would say, Janie's eyes cleared and she smiled. The little girl reached out and touched his cheek.

“I like you.”

Tanner straightened quickly and gave Susanne a dark look.

She pulled Janie to her side.
He's only here for a short while
, she wanted to warn her niece.
Don't get fond of him.

Frank spoke, his voice breaking the tension. “My pa planned to capture some wild horses, too. But he died.” Instead of lightening the moment, Frank's words descended on them like a dark cloud.

Susanne blinked hard, determined not to give way to tears.

“That's why he built that set of corrals,” Frank added.

“They look real sturdy,” Tanner said.

“They are. Pa said if you're going to train horses, you need to be set up for it.”

“That's a fact. I think he would wonder why I didn't plan ahead before I trapped my horses.”

“Why didn't you?”

Tanner chuckled. At the sound, the children relaxed visibly, but tension mounted in Susanne.
Be careful, little ones. Guard your hearts.

“I should have,” Tanner said, “but when the horses were hanging about within easy capturing distance, I couldn't resist grabbing the opportunity, trusting something would work out. And, look, it has. Your pa's corrals are going to be used just as he intended they should.” With that, Tanner moved toward his horse.

Susanne followed, torn between her need to exert her independence and gratitude to him for showing her a simple solution to her cow problem. “Thank you for your help with Daisy.”

He slowed and faced her. “You're welcome.”

“And for being kind to little Janie. She's very easily hurt at the moment.”

She wondered at the way his expression grew hard, his eyes cool and distant.

“Ma'am, I assure you that both you and the little girls are perfectly safe from me. I would never take advantage of you.” His expression hardened like granite. “However, there are those who would not believe that. Who would criticize you, or worse, simply for your association with me...a half-breed.”

She recalled his accusation that she'd asked him to leave yesterday based on that fact, something she had never cleared up. Now was the time. “Mr. Harding, it is not the blood of a man that means anything to me. It is his conduct that reveals if his heart is noble or base.”

His eyebrows went up in a way that made her think he didn't believe her, then he touched the brim of his hat. “I need to check the corrals and make sure they're ready for use.” He strode away.

She didn't have any more faith in his words than he had in hers. Time alone would prove whether or not she was safe in his presence, but it wasn't fear of him physically that made her shudder. No, it was the way the children looked at him. The way he had shown up to help when she floundered to manage on her own and the fact she'd been desperate enough to accept the agreement between them.

She already regretted her decision. Was she to be forever at the mercy of other people's handouts and thus under obligation to them, wondering what they would demand in return?

Chapter Three

T
he next morning Johnny and Levi accompanied Tanner to help move the horses. Pa had sent three of the hired cowboys to assist.

They rode directly toward the canyon where the horses were penned.

Tanner reined in at the hill closest to the Collins farm. “I'll go warn the family to stay out of the way so they don't spook the horses.”

His brothers waved him away and he turned Scout toward the farm.

Frank and Robbie saw him coming and raced down the trail to greet him, yelling about the horses.

Smiling, he waited for them to reach him. “What's all the noise for?”

Frank caught his breath. “You're bringing the horses here today?”

“That's my plan.”

“My pa would be glad.”

“Then I am, too.” He perceived he and Frank shared something special—a desire to please a dead parent.

The two boys trotted by his side as he rode into the yard.

“Where's your aunt? I need to talk to her.” He wished he could avoid it. All her fine talk yesterday of accepting a man based on his conduct sounded pure and sweet, but he'd heard it before—specifically from Miss Jenny Rosneau—and he knew untested words had no substance to them.

“In the house,” Frank said.

“Auntie Susanne,” Robbie yelled loud enough to make Scout snort in surprise.

Susanne came to the door, a kitchen towel in her hands. She smiled, her eyes catching the early-morning sun. “Yes, Robbie?”

Tanner swung down. “Morning, ma'am.” She stood framed in the doorway, apparently happy with whatever she was doing.

As her gaze shifted from Robbie to him, the light faded and her smile flattened. Her smile had not been for him. That was obvious.

He hadn't expected otherwise. “Came to say we're bringing the horses over this morning. Won't take anything to spook them, so maybe you and the children could stay inside until we have them penned.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

He stood there captured by the moment and a dozen thoughts that didn't make sense, most especially that something about Susanne made him think of his ma. They couldn't be any more different. Ma was bronzed, while Susanne's skin glowed like fine porcelain. He shifted his gaze so he could think more clearly. “I'll see to things.”

“Thank you.”

Her words jerked his attention back to her. “For what?”

She gave a little shrug. “For letting me know.”

“You're welcome.” He trotted away while he could still think. The two boys followed as he led the cow out to the far corner of the pasture and tethered her securely. They stayed right with him as he dragged the water trough out to the cow and they helped him carry water to fill it. They talked as he scoured the yard, removing anything that might spook the nervous horses. Or rather, they asked questions that he did his best to answer.

“How many horses you bringing?” Frank asked.

“Ten,” Tanner said.

“You got lots of help? My pa said getting them into the corrals would be the tricky part.”

“That's a fact.” He told the boys how many men were with him.

“We could help,” Robbie said.

Tanner stopped cleaning up objects in the yard—some branches, a pitchfork, a scrap of rag—and looked into the younger boy's eyes. “Robbie, the best way you can help is to stay inside until we have them in the corrals. Otherwise, you might frighten them. Think you can do that?” He didn't mention that Robbie might be trampled. Tanner's fists curled at the idea.

Robbie nodded.

Tanner gave the yard a sweeping glance. He could see nothing more that would alarm a wild animal. He turned his attention to the corrals. Jim Collins knew what he was doing when he built them. The valley ran from the box canyon downward to the yard, narrowing and providing a natural crowding passageway. By swinging the set of gates outward Tanner created an alleyway that would funnel the horses into the big pen. Even if the animals wanted to run, the men would have no trouble keeping them contained.

Satisfied, he spoke to the boys. “It's time. Go on inside.”

As the boys went toward the house, he swung to Scout's back and rode up to join the others. Tanner opened the barricade and the men slowly edged the animals out of the enclosure and down the coulee.

The animals snorted and neighed but moved easily along the narrow valley. At the yard they balked for a moment but the men had them surrounded and the only direction for the horses to go was into the big holding pen.

Tanner and Johnny both dismounted and closed the gates.

The men gathered round the corrals and admired the milling horses for a few moments before Big Sam's three cowboys rode away on the heels of Tanner's thank-yous.

“Those three are off Ma's mare, if I don't miss my guess,” Johnny said as he eyed the horses.

“I'm thinking those two, as well.” Tanner pointed out the two he meant.

“I barely remember Ma's mare,” Levi said as he joined them.

Tanner grinned at his younger brother. “You were just a tadpole.”

“I was five.”

“I'm five, too,” said a little voice behind them, and all three jerked about.

Tanner's heart raced up his throat when he saw Robbie. He thought he'd made himself clear about staying indoors. Thought the boy understood. “Does your aunt know you're here?”

“Why? You only said we had to stay in until you had the horses in the corrals.” He climbed the fence to look at the herd. “Say. They're even better-looking than I recall.”

Johnny and Levi grinned at each other.

“Robbie, you get back here!”

They all turned toward Susanne, silhouetted in the doorway.

Her displeasure blared like a trumpet. Did she not want the boy around the horses...or the three half-breed men? Only one way to test her. “It's okay now,” he called. “Why not let the children come and see them?”

She stared at him, her expression so full of denial he knew what she would say even before she opened her mouth. “Very well.” Susanne turned to the children.

His brain bucked. He'd expected her to refuse. But, of course, she couldn't deny the children this little treat.

Frank was halfway across the yard before she finished speaking.

The girls followed their brother more slowly, perhaps as uncertain as they were curious.

Susanne remained in the doorway.

“That's the aunt?” Levi said.

“I thought she'd be old,” Johnny added. “Now I understand why you're willing to turn your hand to farming.”

“For the use of the corrals,” Tanner growled.

“You want to see them, too, miss?” Johnny said to Susanne, sparing Tanner a look that said far more than he'd dare speak aloud.
Why are you being rude to her? The horses are in her yard. She'll want to look at them.

Johnny had forgotten to take into consideration a simple fact. Susanne was white as white could get—wheat-colored hair, sky-colored eyes and skin like china.

Tanner was clearly a half-breed with black hair, black eyes and dark skin.

It wasn't rudeness that kept him from speaking. It was consideration for her situation. And yes, a desire to avoid the hurtful comments he expected to hear.

He'd best keep his distance from this woman, as she'd no doubt do with him.

“I'd like to see them.” She pulled the door closed behind her and started toward them.

Tanner was too stunned to even think.

* * *

Three pairs of eyes watched Susanne as she crossed the yard. Her world had been shaken up by the pounding of horse hooves as the herd had raced into the corrals. The animals were majestic and her heart thrilled to watch them even as her mouth went dry. What had she done, allowing such wild, powerful animals into the yard? Bad enough she'd agreed to let Tanner plant her crop, but these horses threatened the safety of the children.

As she neared them, her mind filled her with a thousand uncertainties. This was what Jim had planned. Did allowing Tanner to use the corrals fulfill her brother's dream or mock it?

Would the children be hurt? If not by the horses, then by their big-eyed admiration of Tanner, which they made no attempt to disguise.

Knowing how much the wild horses had meant to Jim, she couldn't resist letting the children see them more closely or refuse the invitation to see them herself. She'd warn the children to stay away from the animals after they'd had their look.

The three men smiled at her approach, setting her nerves into an anxious twitch. What did they want? Worse, why had she agreed to something that seemed to give them the right to ride into her yard without invitation?

Tanner stepped forward. “Miss Collins, might I introduce my brothers, Johnny and Levi.”

She stilled her nervousness.
Never show fear. Never show emotion of any sort.

The men were clearly related though vastly different. Johnny wasn't as dark as Tanner and dressed like a well-heeled cowboy with crisp new-looking jeans and clean shirt. Levi was slighter than his brothers and taller. He had a cocky bearing about him. She couldn't quite say how she came to that conclusion. Maybe it was the way he stood with his legs apart and his fingers jammed into the front pockets of his jeans. Or maybe the way he quirked his eyebrows when he greeted her with a smile.

“What do you think of the horses?” Tanner made space for her beside him at the corral fence.

She hesitated but curiosity overcame her and she stepped up on a plank as far from him as she could get and still see. “They're beautiful.”

Beside her, Tanner murmured, “They truly are.” His voice rang with awe.

She understood his emotion. The animals held their heads and tails proudly. One kicked up her hind legs. Susanne studied them all and picked out the one she admired the most. “That's the best-looking one.” She pointed to a bay with a white blaze.

Tanner jerked about to stare at her. “You picked out the dominant mare. She's the leader of the pack. Once I can handle her, the others will be easier.”

“Good eye,” Levi said.

“Thanks.” Susanne thought it best to keep to herself the fact she was a town girl and knew nothing about horses except what looked nice.

The children all admired the horses, as well.

“They are real pretty,” Janie said. “Especially that one.” She pointed. “Her name is Pretty Lady.”

No one disputed her announcement.

“My pa would have been proud,” Frank said, his voice a little uncertain.

Tanner patted his back, a manly gesture. “Your pa built a fine set of corrals and I'm honored to be able to use them.”

Frank nodded.

Robbie, not to be outdone, added, “Pa was a good builder.”

The men all agreed.

Levi backed away from the fence first. “Guess we better get back before Pa comes looking for us.” He said it with so much regret that Susanne chuckled.

“He'll have work for us,” he added.

Johnny sighed. “Only Tanner here is getting the summer off to pursue his own interests.”

“I'm the oldest,” Tanner said, as if to defend himself. “It's time for me to try my hand at other things.”

Johnny draped an arm across Tanner's shoulders. “Yeah, I know.”

Johnny and Levi ambled back to their horses. Tanner followed his brothers and mounted his, as well.

The children waved to them as they rode away.

Susanne stared after them, a confusion of ideas, regrets and if-onlys filling her head.

If only Jim hadn't died. If only she didn't need help to run the farm. If only she didn't find it so hard to accept help even on fair terms. Then perhaps she could let herself enjoy having visitors, seeing the horses in the corrals, even letting the children befriend Tanner.

But if-onlys were but vapor in the sun, disappearing into the air.

It was time for dinner and she'd prepared nothing. Good thing they all loved fried eggs and potatoes. Again, she realized how little time she spent on household duties. Again, too, she thought of how displeased Aunt Ada would be.

As she made the simple meal she realized how often she thought of Aunt Ada as she worked. Would there ever come a day when she didn't measure every decision, every activity, against her aunt's reaction?

The children came at her call and gathered round the table. She prayed and then the children dug in.

“I'm going to watch and learn everything I can,” Frank said. “Maybe someday I can be like my pa.”

Susanne's chest muscles clenched. She must make it clear that the children had to stay away from the horses, but first, she had to reassure Frank. She squeezed his shoulder. “You remind me of him already. He'd be very proud.”

Frank looked pleased.

If only she didn't have to tell him the rest. “Children, I want you to listen to me.” She leaned forward, waited until she had the attention of all four. “Those horses are wild and unpredictable. Dangerous, even. I want you to stay away from them. I have only allowed them here because Tanner said he would put in the crop in exchange for using the corrals.”

Frank's jaw tightened. “Pa said I could help with the horses.”

“These aren't your pa's animals. Tanner isn't used to watching out for children. Frank, I'm sorry, but I must insist you stay away from them.”

Frank looked straight into her eyes. He didn't speak a word but he didn't need to. She knew he did not agree with her decision.

Would he disobey her?

Liz leaned forward. “Auntie Susanne, maybe we can invite them to share a meal with us. It would be the neighborly thing to do. I could help you make something.”

Susanne's shoulders sank. She could warn Frank about the horses, but how did she warn Liz about the dangers of giving too much of her heart to those men?

“I really like that vegetable barley soup you make,” Liz continued. “Maybe we could make that for them.”