Theodore and Jacob saw Abigail go to the house and watched her embrace Isabel as they walked in together.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Theodore asked.
Jacob shook his head. “It could have something to do with the wedding. You know how women are.”
“I guess so.” Theodore focused on rounding up the cattle he needed to brand, purposely pushing thoughts of Isabel out of his mind.
He wanted to make sure that all of the cattle were branded because he couldn’t afford to lose a single one of them. Every cow or bull lost meant money lost from his ranch.
They finished late when they trudged back to the house for lunch. He hoped Isabel had made something for them, although he hadn’t asked her to. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t said much to her at all.
The delicious smell of stew floated on the breeze and drew them into the house. Isabel was sitting at the table with Timmy in her lap. She smashed the potatoes and scooped small amounts into the baby’s mouth.
Timmy looked up at Theodore and Jacob as they walked in and smiled. He smiled back at the baby. He couldn’t help it. The little guy was adorable.
Isabel didn’t speak to or look at either of them.
Theodore was glad. He was in absolutely no mood to make small talk with the beautiful woman sitting at the table, feeding the baby.
I suppose I’ll have to talk to her at some point, Theodore thought. Just not right now.
He and Jacob put a generous amount of the stew on their plates, adding a couple of slices of bread that he assumed Abigail brought.
Theodore felt Jacob’s eyes on him as the foreman steadily ate.
Finally, Isabel broke the silence. “She brought cake, as well.”
“Thank you,” Jacob said, grabbing a large piece.
He looked at Theodore and raised his eyebrows. Taking the hint, he muttered, “Thanks,” his voice cold and hard.
Isabel sighed heavily.
She held another bite of smashed potato to Timmy’s mouth. He shook his head vigorously, signaling that he was done.
The tension in the room was so thick that Theodore could barely breathe. He quickly ate the cake, put the dishes in the sink, and walked back outside.
Theodore knew Jacob wanted to say something about the encounter but had no idea what to say.
Before he could come up with something, a long, low moo echoed in the air, signaling that one of the cows was in distress. “Do you hear that?” Jacob asked.
“I do. It sounds like one of the cows.”
They followed the sound to a muddy ditch. Theodore looked down at the cow and scratched his head. “How in tarnation did that cow manage to get herself stuck in the only spot of mud on this cursed land?”
Jacob sighed. “I don’t know, but I ’spose we’d better get ’er out.”
They jumped into the ditch and strained their muscles, trying to free the cow. The hot sun beat down mercilessly on them, and sweat dripped from their brows. The cow’s loud complaints could be heard all the way across the prairie.
“Push,” Theodore grunted, his hands gripping the cow’s hindquarters.
Jacob, who was at the beast’s front, pushed with all his strength. Slowly, inch by inch, they made progress.
As they worked, Jacob said, “I gotta say, I was shocked when I saw that Isabel came with a baby. What’s that all about?”
Annoyance and something else Theodore couldn’t identify flashed through his mind as he pushed against the weight of the cow.
He took a deep breath before answering, his voice steady in spite of the exertion of working the cow loose. “Isabel adopted the child. I think her letter said that he had been abandoned. I honestly don’t know if she’s a widow or what. It didn’t matter to me. The baby is the reason I chose Isabel out of all the women who responded to me.”
“Really? Why?”
“I want an heir for the ranch, but I don’t want to have any kind of relationship with anyone. I’ll adopt Timmy and give him my last name. He’ll inherit the ranch after I die.”
Jacob frowned. “You’re planning on raising Timmy as your heir without…well, without having a real marriage to Isabel?” He spoke slowly, as though he was trying to process the information.
Theodore clenched his jaw and gave one last push against the cow, freeing her from the mud. “That’s exactly what I’m planning. I want an heir without the emotional entanglement of a ‘real’ marriage. Isabel understands that. I made it perfectly clear to her as soon as she arrived.”
“Don’t you think you might have mentioned that to her before she came all this way?”
Shrugging, Theodore wiped the sweat off of his forehead. “Why? She needed a safe place to raise the baby. I made no promises. She’ll have everything she needs here to give Timmy a good home.”
Jacob tried to keep his expression neutral; Theodore could tell by how his mouth twitched and brows rose ever so slightly. “You’re absolutely certain that you’ll never want children of your own blood and a real marriage with your pretty city wife?”
Theodore’s face hardened. “I’m sure. This arrangement is exactly how I want it. Isabel might be pretty and friendly, but I just can’t go there. Timmy has a home and a future, and Isabel has a safe place to raise him. That’s a lot more than most people have.”
Jacob pressed his lips together and shook his head.
Growling to himself, Theodore strode briskly back to a fence that needed to be repaired.
He thought about how Isabel looked when she’d first stepped off the wagon. Judging by her response, Theodore assumed that Isabel had hoped to find love and was devastated when he told her their marriage would be more of a business partnership than a marriage.
Briefly, Theodore recalled how the light in her eyes dimmed, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. To her credit, Isabel had tried to hide her disappointment and maintain her composure.
A sharp, unexpected pang of guilt stabbed Theodore in his gut. He tried to push it away and focus on the busted section of fence around the corral where the calving mothers were kept.
For a brief second, he wondered if he had been too harsh or even cruel the way he just blurted out that their marriage would be in name only.
He shook his head to get rid of his doubts.
No. Clear boundaries had to be set.
It was better to just explain his intentions and get them out in the open. That way, she wouldn’t have any kind of false hopes.
Even though he tried to assure himself that he’d done the right thing, he still wasn’t completely convinced.
Theodore sighed.
For the first time since he’d put his plan in motion, he was unsure whether he had bitten off more than he could chew. Isabel was beautiful and seemed to be very sweet. She obviously loved that baby as though he was her own flesh and blood. The fact that she had been willing to take care of him said a lot about her character.
Although his stomach rumbled hungrily, Theodore wasn’t looking forward to eating his first supper with his new wife. He and Jacob entered the house together and washed up.
Isabel stood at the stove, turning as they entered. “Dinner’s ready.” Her voice was very soft, almost like a whisper.
Theodore nodded silently while Jacob mumbled, “Thanks.”
They washed up and took their seats at the table. Isabel silently set down roasted chicken, potatoes, and green beans.
Timmy was asleep on his blanket in the corner of the room, so it was just the three of them. Isabel tried to break the silence. “How was your day?”
“Fine,” Theodore said tersely, without looking up from his plate.
Isabel inhaled deeply and took a couple of bites before she tried again. “Tell me more about the ranch.”
Annoyed, but not sure whether it was with Isabel or himself, he said, “We raise cattle and sell them. That’s all there is to it.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Keep the house clean and take care of the baby. That’s it.”
Jacob kept his eyes on the food, clearly uncomfortable with the tension between Isabel and Theodore.
Isabel dropped her head and blinked rapidly as though trying to hold back tears.
Theodore couldn’t handle her disappointment or hurt anymore.
He stood, grabbed his plate, and headed for the door.
Isabel looked up sharply. “Theodore?”
“I’ll finish eating on the porch,” he said without pausing and then stepped outside.
Theodore ate absently, staring off into space, thinking about the awkward situation.
How in the world am I going to be able to endure decades more of that?
He realized that he clearly hadn’t thought about that when he made up his mind to put in the advertisement for a mail-order bride. Of course, he hadn’t expected someone like Isabel, either. In his mind, the woman would be matronly and happily accept his arrangements.
A few minutes later, he heard Jacob mumble something. He walked out onto the porch, leaving Isabel alone in the house.
“Don’t start,” Theodore said, knowing his friend probably had something to say about his behavior.
Jacob looked hard at him for a couple of minutes, pressed his lips together, and walked away, leaving Theodore alone with his thoughts.
He heard the baby wake up and Isabel cooing to him.
When he finished eating, he took his plate into the kitchen and walked back outside.
Isabel came out several times to dump the dishwater and use the outhouse but didn’t look at or speak to him. When he finally went to bed, he saw she was in her room with the baby.
Despite a hard day’s work and being completely exhausted, it seemed to take forever for Theodore to fall into a restless sleep.