Debra Ullrick – Groom Wanted (страница 11)

“Do what? Go to town? I have to. Mother needs—”

“No,” he interrupted her, unable to keep the frustration from his voice. “Answer that man’s ad.”

“Of course I’m sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.”

“How can you be so certain?”

Her eyes brushed over his face as if she were contemplating her answer. She looked away and then her attention settled on him. “For years I prayed for a man like my father and Mr. Darcy.”

“Mr. Darcy? Who’s that?”

Her eyelids lowered to her lap.

Jake watched as she nervously tugged on her fingertips. In a bold move, he reached for her hands and held on to them. “Leah, look at me.”

Slowly, she raised her head toward him. “We’re friends. You can tell me who Mr. Darcy is.” Jake wondered if Mr. Darcy was the man who had just bought the livery stable. He couldn’t remember the man’s name, only that it started with a D.

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise.” He hiked his foot up, set it on the phaeton step and rested his forearm on his leg, waiting for her answer.

“Mr. Darcy is the hero in Pride and Prejudice.”

“What’s that?”

“A novel.”

Jake forced his eyes not to bounce wide open. A novel? She wanted a man like some imaginable character out of a book? Whoa! He hadn’t seen that one coming. Right now, laughing was the furthest thing from his mind.

“I know it sounds silly. But the man reminds me so much of my father.”

“So this Mr. Darcy is a rancher?”

She shook her head and her bouncy curls wiggled with the motion. He longed to wrap his finger around one of them, just to see if they were as soft as they looked. “No. He’s not a rancher. He reminds me of my father—before we moved here, that is.” She clamped her lips together tightly.

Jake thought he saw a shimmer in her eyes but wasn’t sure because she looked away. He placed his foot back onto the ground, not sure what to say or do.

Seconds ticked by. With a slow turn of her head, she dropped her attention onto him. “I’d better go, Jake. I have lots of errands to run.”

That was it. No explanation. He scanned her face. Though she tried to smile, he could see in her eyes that she was upset. He hated to see her leave like this, but he didn’t know what to say or do to make it better because he didn’t even know what was wrong.

She reached for the lines. Reluctantly, Jake laid them in her hand when what he really wanted to do was snatch them back and ask her what was wrong. But he didn’t. She said she needed to go, and he needed to respect that. He stepped back, out of her way. “Be careful.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me with my horse and for not laughing at me.”

“Nothing to laugh at.” His grin was meant to reassure her.

She nodded and flicked the lines. Jake watched the buggy pull out of the yard. Curious about what type of person this Mr. Darcy fellow was, he decided that he needed to purchase a copy of that book. What was it called? Oh, yes. Pride and Prejudice. The title alone made him nervous. He’d never been much of a reader in school, but this was important. He could only imagine what was stuck in between the pages and who this Mr. Darcy fellow was. The sooner he found out, the better.

Chapter Five

Leah couldn’t believe she’d almost slipped. Telling Jake about wanting a man like her dad was bad enough, but she’d almost started to tell him why. Good thing she’d caught herself.

Two hours later, after running all of her errands, she headed for home. Seven letters had come for her and sixteen for Jake. She looked at the large bundle of Jake’s posts, and without warning or understanding, jealousy snipped at her. Why, she didn’t know. She wanted her friend to be happy. And if one of the women in those letters would make that happen, she’d be happy, too.

A light breeze swept by her and over the field of blooming camas. The purple flowers waved as the gentle wind drifted over them. Spring was her favorite time of the year. It meant winter was coming to an end and new life, new growth and new births were being ushered in.

From afar, she noticed Jake out in the field tending to the cattle and grinned. He had a way of making her smile. Another click of the lines, and she coaxed Lambie into a fast trot.

Jake spotted her, swung into his saddle and headed toward her. Her heart picked up as he neared. That happened a lot lately.

“Howdy-do.” Jake pulled his horse up alongside her buggy and rode next to her.

“Howdy-do yourself.” She pulled her horse to a stop and raised her hand to block out the sun as she gazed up at him.

Jake moved his horse until he blocked the sun from shining in her eyes. “Did you have a pleasant trip?” He thumbed the brim of his hat upward, and she got a clear look at his tabby-gray eyes.

“I sure did.” It was even more pleasurable now that her best friend was here. “How’d your day go? Did my brothers work you too hard?”

“Naw. I’m used to hard work. Think they went easy on me today, though.” There was that lazy grin she enjoyed.

“Why’s that?”

“’Cause. Didn’t do much.” He leaned over and rested his arm on his saddle horn and gazed down at her. His horse shifted and stomped its leg, trying to get rid of a pesky horsefly. Jake didn’t even flinch but remained relaxed.

Leah envied how relaxed he always was, whereas she was always restless and fidgety inside and out. Oh, to have his peace. Someday. Someday soon, she encouraged herself. “What all did you do?”

“Milked the cows. Doctored a few heifers. Cleaned the barn. Checked to make sure the pigs were all okay. That was it. I’m done for the day already.”

“Already?”

“Yep.”

“Sweet twinkling stars above. They really did go easy on you.” She grinned and nearly laughed outright.

He chuckled. “Yep. Told you they did.” Jake sat up straight. “Before I forget, did I have any mail?”

“Oh. Um. Yes. You did. Quite a bit, actually.” She moved her reticule, grabbed the tied bundle of his mail and handed it to him.

“You weren’t kidding.” He took the generous bundle from her and turned it around.

“Sixteen, to be exact.”

His attention drifted to her. “Sixteen, huh?” A knowing smirk accompanied his question.

Heat rushed to Leah’s face. She wished she could blame it on the warm sun, but the sun had been there for hours, and her red face hadn’t. She dipped her head and only let her eyes look up at him. “Yes. Sixteen.”

There was that chuckle again. “How many you get?”

“Seven.” She raised her chin, hoping her face was no longer red.

“You busy now? I mean, after you take your supplies home.”

“No. Why?”

“Well, was wondering if you’d help me go through these.” He raised the package of letters.

“Sure. You want to go through them now?”

“You mean right here?”

“Yes.”

“What about your supplies?”

“They’ll be fine. Besides, I got done earlier than I thought. Mother won’t be expecting me home for another hour or so. We could...” She looked around and pointed to the trees. “We could go sit on that rock over there in the shade?”

Jake followed her line of view. “Works for me.”

He dismounted, gathered both reins under his gelding’s neck, and wrapped them around the saddle horn and let go.

“Won’t he leave?” Leah asked, referring to his dun-colored horse.

“Nope. Dun’s trained not to go far when his reins are tied to the saddle. We do this all the time.”