Page 43 of Mail-Order Bride Mommy
“Fact is,” he continued. “We had a picnic here the last time I saw her. She left on the train that evening.”
“I’m sorry.” Though she was as sorry for herself as him. She’d been mistaken in thinking he was going out of his way to be kind to her.
He leaned forward, staring into the fire. “Corine was…” His voice trailed off.
She waited. Did she want to hear about the girl? What good would it do to be compared?
His burst of laughter startled her.
“Corine would have run home in tears if she’d fallen in the river. Maybe even taken to her bed for days.” His gaze caught Gwen’s and stalled there.
She couldn’t break free. Not that she tried. Her cheeks warmed and it had nothing to do with the fire burning nearby. These flames came from inside and she allowed herself to believe he looked at her with surprised approval.
Or was it only surprise?
Lindy threw back the quilt and shifted to look into the trees where Gwen had seen the coyote. “Can I go look for him?”
“No, you cannot.” Matt’s words brooked no argument.
Gwen’s arms tightened around the girl. “Stay and get dry.”
Lindy let out a long-suffering sigh. “Can’t have any fun around here.”
At the child’s morose tone, a smile crept across Gwen’s face. Her gaze went to Matt. Her heart leaped at the amusement in his eyes. And something more. Or was that simply her wish? Maybe she’d fallen harder than she realized. That would explain how tangled her thoughts were.
Matt shifted and leaned back on one elbow to study her. It was all Gwen could do not to squirm at the way his gaze lingered.
“Should we be getting home?” she asked, unsure of what she should do or expect.
He sat up, his attention on the fire. “Are you in a hurry to return?”
Did she detect a hurt note in his tone? Did he really mean he wanted to stay here with her? And Lindy, of course.
“I have no reason to rush back but if you have things to do, I don’t want to keep you from your work.”
He grinned at her. “No one is forcing me to stay. I’ll let you get dry. We should relax and enjoy ourselves.”
That sounded about perfect to her.
“Can I have some more cookies?” Lindy asked.
Gwen didn’t wait for an answer from Matt. “That’s a good idea. Bring the tin here and we’ll all have some.” Providing food was a good reason to delay and enjoy.
Lindy brought the container. With Gwen’s permission, she took two and went toward the water, seemingly content to study the ground at her feet. Was she looking for something? Gwen shrugged. About the only thing she’d find was rocks. She and Matt slowly ate cookies. She didn’t want to hear any more about Corine and yet her mind raced with questions.
“You were telling me what Corine was like.” So much for not wanting to hear more.
He was quiet for so long that she decided he wasn’t going to answer her question and tried to tell herself she understood. She was about to say something to redirect the conversation when he started to speak, slowly and softly.
“Seems she was very young. Everything was new to her. Not something she always enjoyed. I remember one time the wagon got stuck in the mud and she began to cry. I asked why she was upset, and she said because she didn’t want to have to get down and walk in the muck.”
Another moment of silence. “Did she?” Gwen asked when it seemed he’d forgotten she was there.
He laughed. “I carried her to dry ground.”
Gwen chuckled too although the sound did not come from her heart as she imagined a sweet young thing clutched in his arms.
“I look back and think we were both so young.”
