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“I also have a problem.” His gaze went to the little girl.
Carly’s eyes went the same direction.
The untidy little girl scowled at them, then turned away, swiped her plate with her dirty fingers and sucked the bacon fat from them. She gave them a look of pure challenge that brought a fleeting smile to Carly’s mouth. It was a look she herself had honed over the years. For all the good it did her in the end. Father told her he didn’t care how much fire she shot from her eyes, there were certain things he would not let a daughter of his do. Remembering that brought her thoughts back to her quandary.
Carly could see the child might be a problem but didn’t see how it involved her. She didn’t have time to deal with a child. She had to find a husband.
“That’s my little sister, Jill. She’s eight and her parents are dead.”
“Poor little girl.” Carly studied the child more closely. She had light brown hair that hadn’t seen a brush in days. Brown eyes that challenged everyone and everything they encountered. A trail-dusty brown dress. Scuffed shoes that were swinging back and forth. Her heart went to the child. She must feel very alone. At least she had a brother.
How often Carly wished she had a sibling, preferably a brother or two or more.
The man continued, “I thought to turn her over to her second cousin but I just learned the cousin and her husband died last summer.”
“Poor child.” She revised her earlier assumption. It sounded very much like the little girl had no one who cared about her despite the brother sitting across from Carly. Jill, he’d said, shifted her gaze to Carly’s and Carly glimpsed the child’s pain and fear before the little one turned away and began dragging the fork over the tabletop, scratching the worn surface.
Dorie, sister to the owner of Miss Daisy’s Eatery, hustled over and gathered up the used dishes and cutlery, taking the fork and leaving only a glass of water in front of Jill.
Carly realized the man opposite her waited her attention.
“I find myself needing a home for Jill.”
Carly wished him well with his search but she didn’t have time to discuss the matter. Nor anyone she cared to suggest who might offer the child a home. She had to find a man willing to marry her.
Though she had her doubts that she’d meet with any man’s approval. She had the ranch to offer as enticement even though she hated to use it that way. Hadn’t she long ago promised herself that in order for a man to marry her, he’d have to care for her...not the ranch?
Bart Connelly had made her see how important that was. He courted her ardently. She’d admired his interest in everything to do with the ranch operation. Her admiration had cooled considerably after he let her see his real reason for the courtship. He told her he intended to have his own ranch some day and he didn’t mean to wait until he’d saved up enough from his wages. That would take far too long. Nope. There was more than one way to get started.
Didn’t take Carly long to realize she was his shortcut. She might have been agreeable to a partnership but then he started to tell her how to do things. Started telling her to run along and get prettied up for him. She finally told him he should run along and get himself prettied up.
After that, she refused his company. Let him find someone else to marry in order to get his ranch.
Seems most men expected she’d change for them, get prettied up and let them order her about. She soon stopped bothering with them. But now, here she was needing to marry someone. Bart was long gone, which was a mercy. She shuddered at the thought of giving in to his demands.
She pushed her chair back. She didn’t have time to listen to the man’s woes. She had to save the ranch. “I’m sorry about your plight but I don’t know what I can do to help.”
“You can marry me.”
She sat down with a thud and opened her mouth but not a word came out. She stared. Blinked. Blinked again. Closed her eyes and told herself she was in a bad dream but when she opened her eyes, the man still sat there, watching, waiting.
She found her voice, though it sounded a bit rusty. “Marry you? You’re a stranger. I don’t even know your name. I don’t know anything about you.”
“Name’s Sawyer Gallagher. I’m twenty-three. Been on my own since I was fourteen. Been working on ranches or riding herd on a trail ride. That’s about it.”
That was it? Who was he? What sort of life did he plan to live?
She studied him with narrowed eyes. Dirty blond hair. Blue-green eyes. Three days’ growth of dusty beard. A trail-soiled faded blue shirt. A look that shouted don’t mess with me. A man used to being in charge.
She almost shivered. No. She could not see herself married to this man.
Except to save the ranch?
He leaned forward, his eyes challenging and fierce enough to make her want to sit back and put more distance between them. “You need a husband so you can keep your ranch. I need a home for Jill.” He looked down as he continued, not allowing her to read his expression. “I know what it’s like to grow up homeless and drifting. It’s how me and my pa were until he married Judith and they had little Jill.” He paused.
When he resumed speaking, his voice had deepened and his words came slowly as if he found them difficult to say them. “I learned not to care about people or places ’cause I knew they weren’t going to last. It killed something inside me so that I don’t feel things anymore.” He lifted his head and she sat back at the way his eyes blazed. “I don’t want Jill to end up like me.” The fire in his gaze died and she could have been looking into a bottomless pit for all she saw.
She swallowed hard. Not often a man made her feel small and vulnerable but something about this man did. He wasn’t big. Annie’s brothers were far bigger. But his soulless eyes unnerved her.
He went on, not hurrying, yet she felt his intensity. “I want nothing but a permanent home for my sister. No emotional ties. No expectations except for me to do the ranch work and you to teach Jill how to feel safe.”
Their glances went to the child. She picked her nose and wiped it on her already soiled dress. “I don’t suppose learning a few manners would hurt either.”
“No strings attached?” Why was she even considering this? One reason and one only...to keep the ranch. She looked again at the little girl. Maybe two reasons. The second, to give a child a home where she would be safe and secure.
“No strings.” His voice was flat but firm.
“You’d have your own bedroom?” Her cheeks burned at the question but she had to be sure they were clear on this matter. She did not want to be controlled by a man indoors or out.
“Either that or I’ll sleep in the barn.”
“No need for that.” There was a small room next to Father’s that was used mostly for storage. It would be adequate.
Except this wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t seriously considering his suggestion. No. She wasn’t that desperate.
“I heard you say your father gave you two weeks.”
She stared at the wall behind him. Could she find someone else to marry in two weeks? As Annie said, it didn’t allow time to advertise for a husband, and even if it did, there would not be enough time to get to know and evaluate any man who responded. No one from around here would marry her knowing how she conducted herself. Every man she’d ever met wanted her to go to the house and pretty herself up. The few single men in the area who might be desperate enough to marry her had already been dismissed as old, ugly, mean or simpering. Old Billy Cameron was but a sample of what she had to choose from.
She simply didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing.
She squirmed in her chair. But to marry a complete stranger!
Jill got down from her chair and kicked at the table legs.
“Jill,” Sawyer said. “Don’t do that.”
The child kicked harder, causing the table to hop away. Then she gave Sawyer a look full of disdain, challenge and—
Despair.
Carly saw it. She felt it and her heart went out to the orphaned child who didn’t know where she belonged. She couldn’t imagine the pain of not having a home, no place to call one’s own.
If Carly didn’t marry and present her father with a man to help run the ranch, she was about to lose the place she called home, the place she considered her own.
“Okay. Let’s do it.” She would marry the man, ensure her own home and give Jill one at the same time.
* * *
Sawyer didn’t move a muscle. Didn’t blink. Didn’t so much as allow his eyelids to flicker, even though the woman’s ready agreement left him feeling like he teetered at the brink of a bottomless ravine. Shouldn’t she have asked a lot of questions about him and his character?
“I’m an honest, honorable man.” The words fell out of his mouth. “I’ll treat you right.”
Carly gave him narrow-eyed study with those dark brown eyes. He had to concentrate not to shift his gaze away. “Mr. Gallagher, you might hit me once, but you’ll never hit me twice. I’ll see to that. I’ll not tolerate a man who rules with his fists.”
He didn’t know if he should laugh at the idea of this little gal getting all feisty or congratulate her on her stand. “Warning duly noted.” He wondered if she heard the humor in his voice, then remembered she wouldn’t. He’d kept his responses cooled for so long that he seldom felt them and even less often did others recognize them. “But completely unnecessary. I’d never hit a woman or child.”
Her lips pursed. “I won’t abide rough treatment of my animals, either.”
He nodded. “You and I see eye to eye on that matter.”
She studied him so hard he felt something inside shudder.
To avoid her gaze, he turned to Jill. “Her parents died right after Christmas.” It was the last time he’d been home and he’d stayed only two days, anxious to be on the move. Mostly from not wanting to feel like an outsider to the happy family of his pa, Judith and Jill, although Judith did everything she could to include him. He’d seen the pain in her eyes and Pa’s when he rode out.
The neighbor said they had taken sick shortly after he left and the fever had claimed their lives. “I was away and when I came home, I found Jill living with an elderly woman who provided nothing but a roof over her head and some meals. From what I could see, Jill took care of herself, which meant she ran wild. She’d been shuffled from home to home. No one wanted to keep her.”
He studied his little sister. Already he saw the evidence of her reaction to losing her parents and having a home where no discipline or affection was given. “She accepts no affection. Rebuffs attempts of people to befriend her.” He gave a sound that was half snort, half amusement. “Course I’m hardly one to judge what a normal reaction is.” He subdued a sigh. “Like I said, I don’t want her to end up like me.”
“I expect she’s just wanting someone who will accept her as she is and be there for her every day.”
Those words ricocheted back and forth inside Sawyer’s heart. Every day? He’d long ago learned there was no such thing as counting on someone every day. He’d discovered the best way to keep from being hurt was to not allow himself to feel anything, not to trust anyone to always be there.
He’d gotten really good at it. So good that women considered him cold and distant. He’d tried to change when he met Gladys Berry. She talked of home and family...things he thought he wanted. He soon learned he couldn’t become what she wanted and she’d stopped letting him call on her. Accused him of having no feelings—something he could not deny. Said he was a loner and would always be so.
He’d been better off than Jill. He’d had his pa. Sort of. Pa was there in body but absent in every other way until he had met and married Judith.
By marrying Carly, Sawyer could hope to give Jill what Pa had found. He wasn’t sure what to call it but figured security best described it.
“How soon you want to get married?” he asked.
“Today suit you?”
Long years of hiding emotions enabled him to sit perfectly still, revealing none of his surprise. “Today is fine by me.” There seemed nothing to be gained by waiting except to allow her time to change her mind. “You know someone who will marry us on such short notice?”
She rumbled her lips. “Now that might pose a problem.”
“How much of a problem?”
“I don’t know if I can find anyone to agree to our plan.”
He should have known this wouldn’t work out. With studied indifference, he got to his feet. “In that case, I’ll be moving along. Nice talking to you.” He grabbed his worn and battered cowboy hat from where it hung on the back of the chair and reached for Jill’s hand. “Come on.” Jill raced ahead and was out the door before he’d made three steps.
Knowing she could get into all kinds of trouble in less time than it took to say her name, he rushed after her.
“Mr. Gallagher, wait just one minute.”
He ignored Carly Morrison’s imperative call and hurried out the door just in time to see Jill dash into the middle of the street, right into the path of an oncoming wagon. He rushed after her, praying he’d get there in time to prevent a tragedy.
Chapter Two (#u492ee97d-4ea8-58dc-936e-65ebc7395a9e)
Carly stood with her hands on her hips, staring after Sawyer as the door slapped shut behind him. What had caused him to up and disappear like that? All she’d said was...
She groaned as she recalled her words. Did he think the problem she mentioned was unsurmountable? Her only concern was that the preacher, Hugh, who was also Annie’s husband, might decide to object. She sniffed. Not that he had any right to. Hadn’t he and Annie planned to marry solely to provide a home for his little son? Of course, they had soon fallen in love.
Not that Carly had any intention of doing that. She wanted nothing but to keep her ranch. Certainly didn’t want a man thinking he had the right to tell her how to act or dress.
Either Sawyer thought she meant there was no one to marry them or else Sawyer had changed his mind. But would it hurt for him to come right out and say so instead of leaving her standing in the middle of Miss Daisy’s Eatery, trying to gather her thoughts together?
Annie had paid for their tea so she chased after the man with every intention of making him explain himself.
Before she reached the door, she heard people shouting and a woman screaming. She hurried outside to see what the fuss was all about.
Her breath stalled in her chest at the sight before her. Sawyer held the head of two struggling horses that tossed their heads and reared. A man in the wagon the horses were harnessed to stood on his feet and reared back on the reins, trying to get control of the frightened animals. And then she saw Jill and her heart slammed into her chest.
The child lay in the street. Carly knew in a flash what had happened. Jill had run into the street without checking to see it was safe. It happened far too often. She remembered when Annie’s niece, Mattie, had almost been run over last summer. Mattie’s father had ridden up and swept her to safety. Jill had not been as fortunate.
She was annoyed at how her skirts hindered her—she’d only worn a dress to town because of some foolish hope it would make a man consider her as marriage material. Now they were a hazard to her. Carly grabbed the hem and lifted the fabric to free her to run as she dashed into the street.
Ignoring the flashing hooves of the rearing horses, she scooped up the girl and carried her to safety in front of Marshall’s Mercantile. Paying no attention to the questions from the spectators, she laid Jill gently on the step and bent over to wipe the tangled brown hair from the child’s face. Her eyelids fluttered, then brown eyes went wide with shock.
“Are you hurt?” Carly checked each limb. A lump bulged on Jill’s forehead.
“I’m okay.”
It was the first time Carly had heard her speak, so she couldn’t judge if the huskiness was from her fright or if that was the child’s normal voice. She looked around, hoping Dr. Baker or his daughter were among those hovering nearby.
“Kate.” Relief flooded her at the sight of the doctor’s daughter pushing through the crowd. Kate had light brown hair that she often wore in a careless bun. So typical of the woman. Caring for others mattered far more than looks. Her brown eyes filled with kindness.
“Is she hurt?” Unmindful of the dusty wooden sidewalk that would soil her dark skirt, Kate knelt beside Carly and deftly ran her hands over Jill’s legs and arms, then pulled down each bottom eyelid to look into Jill’s eyes. “Take her over to the doctor’s office. I’ll examine her more closely there.”
Carly shoved aside the offers of help to carry Jill and lifted her against her chest. Jill crossed her arms and stiffened. Poor child to be in the arms of a stranger. Something warm and protective blossomed in Carly’s heart. This motherless child deserved to be sheltered and cherished. “I’ll take care of you,” she murmured to Jill.
It was a promise she meant to keep. Somehow she would persuade Sawyer there was no need to retract his offer of marriage...an agreement between them was in the best interests of all three of them. No. Only two of them. She didn’t know what Sawyer needed, nor did it matter so long as Jill got her home and Carly got her ranch.
She reached the doctor’s house and glanced back to see Sawyer looking about. His gaze found her and when he saw she held Jill, he handed the calming horses to another man and trotted in Carly’s direction. She didn’t wait for him but carried Jill inside to the examining room.
Kate brought a basin of warm water. “I need to see what’s under the dirt.”
“I’ll do it.” Carly took the wet cloth and gently washed Jill’s face. All the while, Jill watched her solemnly. Carly smiled. “Tell me if I hurt you.”
“It don’t.”
Kate stood beside Carly.
“Kate, this is Jill. She’s eight years old.” She smiled at the child. She was quite lovely with all the dirt removed. “Jill, this is Mrs. Marshall.” Kate had married Conner Marshall, one of the three sons of the Marshall family who had built the town. “She’s a nurse. She’ll see if you’re hurt.”
Carly stepped back to allow Kate more space.
