“Mangy hound,” she muttered, but she was unable to resist the pull of a smile on her lips. As she finished closing the last button of her bodice, she settled onto the edge of the bed and reached for the hairbrush lying on the bedside table. Feeling suddenly sentimental, she ran her fingertips over the silver back of the brush. It had belonged to her mother years ago. Maggie had kept it hidden when their uncle was frantically selling off everything of value from their Philadelphia home, and she had brought it with them when she and Rachel came west. It had been Maggie’s gift to Rachel on her eighteenth birthday. Fingering the intricate design on the silver brush, Rachel wondered what her parents would have thought of her had they lived to see her grow up. Would her mother have understood the restlessness inside her? Would her father have approved of her coming to this mountain ranch to do something on her own? She shook her head, shrugging off the strange musings. It served no more purpose to wonder about what couldn’t be than to wonder about what might have been. With brisk movements, she removed any nighttime snarls while bringing out a soft golden shine in the pale tresses. Then she caught the hair back from her face with a matched pair of ivory combs. A quick glance in the small hand mirror she’d brought from home satisfied her that she looked presentable. Holding herself erect, she opened the bedroom door. Dru was standing over the black iron stove. She twisted her head to glance over her shoulder as Rachel entered the main room of the log cabin.
“Morning. Would you like some coffee? It’s hot.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Dru plucked a tin cup from a shelf above the stove and filled it with the dark brew. She carried it to the rough-hewn table, then settled onto the bench opposite Rachel. As Rachel lifted the cup to her lips, blowing gently to cool the beverage, Dru swept her straggly hair away from her face and smiled.
“It’s good to be home,” she said, satisfaction lacing every syllable.
“It’s not much, but at least it’s got wood floors and it’s sound. Keeps out the wind and the rain. Charlie said I was to have just as good of a house here as at the main ranch.”
“Charlie?” Dru’s smile faded as she stared at her hands, folded atop the table.
“Charlie was my husband. He died the first year we summered the cattle here. Two years ago now. It doesn’t seem so long. Just like yesterday.” A sigh escaped her.
“Pet looks a lot like him.”
“Pet? But I thought…”
“Gavin adopted them when he married me.” She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, Rachel felt different. But before she had a chance to analyze her feelings, there was a from above. Moments later, the girls scrambled down the ladder from their room in the loft.
“Where’s Pa?” Sabrina asked as her feet touched the floor.
“He’s gone out with Stubs already.” Sabrina’s face fell.
“I wanted to show him the calf I found. I helped Jess rope him.”
“Well, you can show him later. He’ll be back for breakfast.” Dru rose from the table as her daughters approached. She gave them each a hug, kissed both their cheeks, then reached for a bucket hanging on a hook.
“Say good morning to Miss Harris,” she reminded them.
“Mornin,” the girls mimicked with quick glances in Rachel’s direction.
“We’ll work on your manners later,” Dru said with an indulgent smile.
“Now you two gather the eggs and I’ll start frying up some bacon. Go on.
“Is There anything I can do to help?” Rachel asked as the door closed behind Petula.
“Just talk with me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any real company, especially any womenfolk. Course, there’s not many who want to come into this valley, man or woman, ‘cept for the miners down in Sawtooth City. The Bannock Indians caused an uprisin’ back in seventy-eight. Kept folks out of the area for a time. But when the gold strikes were made south of here, there was a regular stampede. Don’t know how they manage in the winters. They’re brutal. That’s why we don’t stay in the basin year round. Too hard on the cattle. They’d never survive.”
“Why come at all, then? Why not just stay at the Lucky Strike all the time? From what you’ve told me, you’ve got a fine place there with lots of good grassland.” Dru tossed a few pieces of wood inside the black iron stove, then pulled a heavy frying pan from its hook on the wall.
“Well, the feed’s plentiful and unusually good up here.” She glanced
behind her at Rachel, offering a sheepish smile . “But I suppose the real reason is ‘cause I fell in love with the basin first time I saw it. I had a real yearnin’ to live here. So Charlie and Gavin and Stubs come in that first spring and built this house, and then we trailed in our herd. Luckily, it proved out. We took them out of here fatter than we could ever have hoped for. They brought a good price from the miners up in Bonanza and Custer.” Dru’s hands never stopped moving as she talked. Rachel was listening with only half an ear as she watched the woman put fresh-churned butter into the skillet, then add sliced potatoes and onions. The room was quickly filled with delicious odors, causing Rachel’s stomach to growl with hunger. The door opened suddenly, and the children spilled inside, followed by Gavin, Stubs, and Jess Chamberlain. Sabrina carried the bucket over to her mother as the two ranch hands sat down at the table. Gavin crossed to the stove and placed his hand on Dru’s shoulder.
“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.
“Much better,” she replied, turning to look up at him. She smiled.
“I always feel better when we’re here.” Gavin’s fingers gently squeezed her shoulder, then he turned and reached for the dishes on the shelf to the right of the stove. Before he could ask for help, Sabrina and Petula were standing behind him. He handed the plates to the two girls. Rachel felt conspicuous, sitting idle while Dru cracked the eggs over another hot skillet and scrambled them, and her daughters set the table. She knew what Gavin must be thinking of her. She wanted desperately to explain to him that she’d asked if she could help and had been turned down. But she hadn’t the courage even to look at him. Minutes later, everyone was seated around the big table, their heads bowed as Dru whispered a blessing over the food.
“And thank you, Father, for bringin’ Miss Harris to the basin. We ask you to bless her work here and make my girls smart as well as good. Amen.” Rachel’s heart beat rapidly as her stomach jumped. Her appetite had suddenly disappeared. What was she doing in this house full of strangers? Dru was counting on her, but what made her think she could teach those two children anything? As if reading her mind, Dru addressed her from across the table.
“After the men are out from underfoot, I thought I’d show you the books I’ve got tucked away for the girls’ school in’. I’ve taught ‘em their A-B-C’s myself but not much more. What with me being’ sick, their learnin’s sorta been put aside. I don’t want that for my girls.”
“I’d like to see the books,” Rachel answered, her eyes staring down at the eggs and fried potatoes on her plate.
“We’ll wait a day or two to actually start lessons. After the herd’s gone out’ll be soon enough, I figure. In the meantime, the girls and Gavin can show you around the place.” Conversation died around the table as the family and ranch hands settled into the business of eating. With surreptitious glances from beneath a heavy fringe of golden-brown lashes, Rachel studied each individual. Jess Chamberlain was young, younger even than she was. He looked hardly old enough to worry about using a razor on his smooth cheeks. He was long and lanky, much like the proverbial bean pole. When they’d been introduced the night before, he’d blushed scarlet and stammered a greeting. This morning, he had yet to even look her way, his complete attention centered on the food on his plate. Stubs Martin, on the other hand, had already winked at her twice, as if he sought to share some special secret with her. Though not a tall man, he appeared solid as a rock. She supposed he was close to fifty but knew his grizzled jaw and balding pate might make him look older than he really was. Her glance fell on Gavin, and she felt a strange but now familiar flutter in her stomach. There was something about him—was it an aura of indisputable power?—that set her heart racing. It was more than his dark good looks. Much more. Sometimes she was almost afraid when he was near, although she knew without question he was not a dangerous man. Gavin was making short shrift of his breakfast. He was leaning forward over the table, his raven-black hair falling across his forehead and his brows drawn together in a minute frown, as if he was thinking about something that troubled him. Rachel had a strong inclination to ask him what it was, but was thankfully able to curb that desire. As her gaze moved to Drucilla Blake, she found herself wondering once again what had caused a man like Gavin to marry her, a widow with two daughters to raise. Dru had said Stubs and Gavin and Charlie built this cabin more than two years before. Had Gavin been in love with Dru even before her husband died? Rachel dropped her eyes to her plate and took a few bites of her cooling food, mentally scolding herself for such thoughts. What concern was the Blakes’ marriage to her? She was there to teach the children and help Dru in whatever way she could. That was all she was there to do. Gavin’s chair scraped noisily against the wood floor as he pushed away from the table and stood. A split second later, Stubs and Jess rose in unison.