Lucy strained to hear past the closed door but heard only the murmur of the doctor’s voice and couldn’t make out any words.
Her brother came into the kitchen with Eileen by the hand. “Lucy, I—”
Nate interrupted her brother. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “You may have killed my father.”
She wetted her lips and tried to think of a suitable response, but before she could respond, Jed stepped between her and Nate.
His fists clenched, he thrust his face into Nate’s. “My sister is worth two of you, mister. Eileen and me would be in the orphanage if Lucy hadn’t found a job at the dress shop and kept us all together. She’s come home with her fingers bleeding from the pins. And she’s small ’cause when there’s not enough food, she makes sure me and Eileen eat first. Lucy may not be big, but she’s all heart. You don’t deserve her.”
The man’s eyes widened and he glanced at her, then at Eileen, with an expression of puzzlement on his face. He studied her as if seeing her for the first time. Lucy refused to look away before he did.
When his attention finally returned to Jed, Lucy put a hand on her brother’s arm. “Hush, Jed. This is God’s will.”
Nate gave a bark of laughter. “I find it hard to believe the Almighty told you to agree to such a plan. I don’t need a wife.”
She could take offense at his tone or she could do the right thing. The Bible said a soft answer turneth away wrath. If she’d been hit with something this huge and no warning, she’d be angry too.
She chose to forgive his manner and forced a smile. “No, you don’t want a wife, and that’s a completely different situation. We must make the best of this situation. You should respect your father enough to do that much. I haven’t known Henry long, but he seems a wise man. Maybe he knows more about what you need than you do.”
Nate ran a hand through his hair, and Lucy’s heart softened even more at the vulnerability on his face. This had taken him by complete surprise. She’d had time to get used to it, but Henry’s actions had left Nate reeling. She glanced at her brother and saw a trickle of blood on his forehead.
“Jed, what’s happened to you?” She rushed to the sink for a rag and pumped cold water onto it, then hurried back to tend to him. “Sit down.” She pushed Jed into a chair.
He winced. “There was a guy in the barn. He hit me.”
“He hit you?” Nate half turned toward the door.
Jed stared at him then at Lucy. “There’s another Stanton out there too,” he said in a rush. “A younger brother, Roger.”
Nate whipped back toward them. “Roger is home?” A light lit his eyes. “He’s been gone a year.”
Lucy tried to hold on to her composure. One more Stanton to deal with didn’t appeal. “Where has he been?”
“Wandering out west. Last I heard he was fighting Indians with Custer.”
Lucy put her hand to her mouth. “Custer?”
“He left the cavalry before the Little Bighorn. I’m not sure what he’s doing now. I didn’t think he’d ever come home. Where is he?” he asked Jed.
“Taking care of his horse. He said he’d be in after that.”
“What about this fellow who hit you?” Nate asked.
Lucy’s stomach clenched as she listened to her brother’s story. “Bandits?”
Nate shrugged. “Hard to say. Could be a drifter looking for anything he could steal.”
The tightness in his shoulders made Lucy think he wasn’t saying what he really thought. “You don’t think you should check it out?”
“You heard your brother. The man rode off. He’s long gone.”
She decided to let it go too. Jed was going to be fine. “We’d better get that coffee for your pa, or he’ll take a switch to you.”
Surprise flickered across Nate’s face, and he lifted one eyebrow. “Figured him out already, huh?” He stared into her eyes, then his shoulders slumped. “I guess we’d best declare a truce for now. But don’t think this situation will stand, Miss Lucy. I can’t quite see you happy here.”
Lucy bit her lip and held out her hand. “Truce, Mr. Stanton. I see I shall have to prove myself to you.”
Her small hand was enveloped by his large, calloused one. The contact sent a thrill of awareness through her, and she nearly jerked it away. She searched the gray depths of his eyes. Did he feel the same attraction she did? If he did, he hid it well.
Nate released her hand and turned toward the cookstove. “I reckon your first lesson better be coffee. A cattleman can’t live without it. It warms him up on those cold nights on the cattle drive and wakes him up after a night spent tossing on the hard ground.”
Lucy followed him to the stove. Nate grabbed the handle of the battered coffeepot and poured the dark liquid into a tin cup. “Sugar ruins the taste.” He handed her a cup. “Take a swig.”
Repressing a shudder, Lucy took the cup of coffee and raised it to her lips. She mustn’t let him think she was too weak to even stand up to the taste of coffee. If learning to like the vile liquid was a necessity, then she would do it. She took a gulp of the coffee, and the bitter taste nearly made her gag. Managing a smile, she lowered the cup.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Do you want the truth?” A smile tugged the corners of her lips.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not as bad as cutting my finger off with a dull knife, but that’s about all I can say for it.”
Nate stared at her for a moment, then a laugh rumbled in his throat. A shiver skittered through her at the sound. With his face lit with amusement, he was entirely too appealing. A dimple in one cheek and the white flash of his teeth softened the tanned planes of his face, and even his towering height and broad shoulders seemed less intimidating.
Nate poured a cup for Jed. “Here, boy. If you aim to be a cattleman, you’d best learn too.”
Jed took it cautiously, then sniffed it. His nose wrinkled, but he took a big swallow. His eyes widened and he coughed. “Good,” he choked out.
Lucy and Nate both burst into laughter. The moment of camaraderie warmed Lucy’s aching heart. Maybe things would turn out right yet. She hadn’t come this far to fail now.
NATE PUSHED OPEN the door to his father’s room with Lucy and her siblings on his heels. What would he do if something happened to Pa? It had been just the two of them so long. Cholera had carried off his mother when he was two, and he had only vague memories of a gentle voice singing to him and a soft lap that smelled of something sweet. And Roger had been roaming the country for years. Maybe Pa was right. It might be time for him to take a wife. But he wasn’t some greenhorn who needed his father to pick out a wife for him.
His pa was sitting up in the bed, some color in his face. He smiled when he saw the cup in Nate’s hand. “Coffee, just what the doctor ordered. And Lucy’s pretty face will help as well.” He winked at her, and Nate heard her soft laugh.
“I don’t remember ordering any such thing, Henry.” Doc Cooper put his stethoscope into his black bag and closed it with a snap. “I reckon one cup won’t hurt, but don’t go drinking too much of it. You need to rest. I’ll be back in the morning.”
He jerked his head, and Nate followed him into the hallway. “How is he, Doc?”
The doctor slipped an arm into his coat. “I won’t lie to you, Nate. He’s getting old, and his ticker is just wearing out. See that he starts to take it easy, even if it means hiring more help. And try not to get him excited or upset. I know that’s not easy to do with a man as active and vital as Henry has been.”
Pain squeezed Nate’s chest. “I can’t lose him, Doc.”
The doctor finished buttoning his coat. “Death comes to all of us eventually. Lord willing, your pa will be around a few more years, but he’s got to step back and learn to enjoy life. That new wife of yours will help. Henry thinks a lot of her, and she’ll make him slow down, you mark my words.” Doc Cooper opened the door. “I think he’ll be fine if you follow my instructions.”
Nate walked the doctor out onto the porch and stood staring as he rode off down the dirt lane. His mind was numb. He couldn’t make himself believe that his pa was getting old. Pa had always been there. He was too strong to ever die, wasn’t he? Nate willed it to be so.
A soft hand touched his, and he jumped. Turning, he stared into Lucy’s anxious face. “Is Pa okay?”
She nodded. “What did the doctor say?”
“His heart is weak. He needs to cut back and take it easy.” Nate blurted out the words, but it didn’t ease the pain. “He’ll never do it. He loves the ranch. I’d have to hog-tie him to get him to stay in the house.”
Lucy’s eyes looked luminous, like sapphire gems. “I’ll take care of him.”
“He’s my pa. I don’t need any help.” He regretted his words when he saw her bite her lip. “Sorry,” he muttered.
He didn’t know how to act around women, which was probably the reason he was still unmarried at thirty. He’d had no lack of partners at the few county dances he’d attended, but he invariably said the wrong thing and ended up riding home with Pa. He swallowed hard. He was no longer unmarried. This young woman with the dazzling blond hair and sparkling blue eyes was his wife. His wife. He couldn’t get his mind around it.
Lucy straightened her shoulders. “Well, you’re going to get my help whether you want it or not, Nate Stanton. I’m your wife and your father is now my father. The kids and I have already learned to love him. This isn’t about you. It’s about your father. Our problems can wait.”
She was right. Lucy was entrancing with her golden curls and pink cheeks. Her full lips looked soft and inviting. Nate jerked his thoughts away from that direction. His priority was to see Pa better, then he could worry about getting rid of Miss Lucy and her siblings.
The door banged and they both turned. Nate’s heart thumped at the sight of his brother striding toward him. “Rog!” He embraced his younger brother, then stepped back to study him. Roger looked older, wiser. “Just seeing you is going to make Pa feel better.”
Roger’s smile vanished. “Pa is sick?”
Nate nodded. “His heart. He’s going to have to take it easy. You’re home in time to pick up some of the slack.”
Roger’s blue eyes clouded. “I’m not staying. This is just a visit for a day or two before I head for Oklahoma.”
He would not react. That always made things worse. “What’s in Oklahoma?”
Roger shrugged. “That’s what I aim to find out.”
“Can’t you at least stay until Pa is on his feet? I’m going to need some help.”
His face expressionless, Roger stared at Nate. “I know how it will be, Nate. Little by little, you’ll want more and more from me. Things I can’t give. I don’t want to be stuck here all my life. I want the city, people. It’s like being buried alive here.”
Roger had never been happy on the ranch. He had to choose his own path, but Nate wanted to grab his brother by the throat and pound some sense into him. What more could anyone want than the ranch? And Roger was a Stanton. Shouldn’t he want to be part of building the Stanton cattle empire?
“Don’t look at me like that,” Roger said. “I know you love this place, but we’re all different. I want more than running cattle for my life.”
“Like what? You still don’t know, do you?”
Roger shrugged again. “Give me time. I’m only twenty-nine. I’ll figure it out. But I’ll do it my way, not yours.”
And that was always the way it was. Nate took his brother’s arm. “Let’s go see Pa.”