Page 4 of Mail-Order Bride Mommy
She nodded. “Good to hear. Perhaps you could tell me about your brothers and your ranch?”
He settled back, glad to be talking of a safer subject. “First, the ranch isn’t mine. It belongs to all the Shannons. I have a twin brother—Luke—”
She gave a burst of laughter. “There are two of you? You never mentioned that. Should make life interesting.”
“I hate to quell your anticipation, but Luke is nothing like me.” And that was an understatement.
“Whew. I’m relieved. Imagine the confusion if I couldn’t tell you from him.”
“You’ll have no trouble.” A strange twinge of jealousy—both unfamiliar and unwelcome—touched his nerves at understanding she would no doubt compare the two of them. Perhaps she’d find Luke and his ready sense of humor more to her liking. Matt had more than once been told he took life too seriously. Shoving the thought away, he continued. “We have an older brother, Riley. He’s twenty-six. And a younger brother, Andy, who is twenty-two. Luke and I are right in the middle at twenty-four.”
“What are they like?”
His brothers? He studied his answer. “Riley is serious. Andy is…well, being youngest, he is still adventurous.” He didn’t know how else to describe his youngest brother.
“What about Luke?”
“He’s the sort who thinks things can wait until tomorrow.” Matt congratulated himself on keeping rancor from his tone, but he and his twin had often bashed heads over that attitude.
“If he’s the opposite of you then you’re the sort who likes to get things done right away?” she asked.
“I didn’t say the opposite but yes, that about describes us I suppose.”
She considered this information for a moment before she spoke again. “Didn’t you say you had your own house?”
“We all do, though Andy lives in the big house Pa built. Guess we’ve all been spending a lot of time there lately. Since the accident that left a little girl without parents.”
“Where is Lindy in all of this?”
That was often the question. Where was Lindy? “We’ve taken turns staying with her. Including Wally.” But they had a ranch to run and couldn’t keep chasing after a little gal who liked to run off when the mood hit.
“Wally?”
“He’s our oldest hired man.” By rights, he should have provided this information in one of his letters. Instead, they’d mostly contained his plans for Lindy, and of course, facts about the child. The last missive had contained directions on getting to Crow Crossing. “Sometimes, he’s our cook. Lindy’s parents, Roscoe and Merry, moved in to run the house when Pa was alive and stayed on afterward. Merry cooked for us. Roscoe was a cowhand.” He sucked in a breath and rushed on before Gwen could ask any more questions. He didn’t want to talk about the pain he felt over losing his best friend and the man’s wife. “I don’t know if I was clear about what I want for Lindy. She needs firm guidance. You’ll need to establish rules and a routine right from the start. She’ll balk, of course, but like a filly being broken to ride, she’ll soon settle down and appreciate it.”
“A filly being broken?” Gwen sputtered with laughter. “She’s a four-year-old child, not a horse.” Amusement fled from her eyes, and she gave Matt a defiant look. “I most certainly will not be treating her like one.”
She was already defying him? A city girl who knew nothing about ranch life? How was he to keep Lindy safe if this woman, meant to take care of her, ignored his warnings? Good thing he’d asked for a trial period. He reined in the horses, allowing the wagon to stop, and faced Gwen full on. “Are you telling me you won’t follow my orders? I find that unacceptable.”
She held his gaze a moment then lowered her head to study her hands as they twisted into a hard knot. “I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn. I am usually very compliant.” She sucked in air like a hard-run horse. “But am I not to be allowed to make decisions according to what I think best?”
“Well, certainly you are. I won’t interfere with the meals or the housework but when it comes to Lindy—”
She lifted her head and tilted her chin, her eyes shone with a boldness he’d not expected. “You might as well take me back to town at once.”
2
He’d let her run the house, but he meant to dictate how she was to mother little Lindy? The child was to be raised like he’d raise a horse? The very idea of doing so made her want to jump off the wagon and walk back to town. She shifted to the side, prepared to alight. Let him bring her luggage back without her company.
He caught her elbow. “Hang on. Let’s work this out. Lindy requires someone immediately.”
And Gwen needed a home although, perhaps she could throw herself at the mercy of Mrs. Ingram until she could arrange something else.
She sank back. “There is nothing you can say that will convince me she needs to be treated like a horse.”
He scrubbed at his chin. “I didn’t mean to suggest she should. I was simply using that as a… a…”
“Exactly. There’s no way to excuse such a comparison.”
