Page 242 of Conveniently Wed
Stella chuckled. “Not much to miss out on at the moment. The children are with Bruce, who is making sure the fences are sound before my livestock returns. Kade and Flora have been caring for them.”
“Tell me more about Kade and Flora. How did they meet?”
Stella chuckled. “She was out riding this spring and got lost in a snowstorm. She happened to stumble to Kade’s door though she says God guided her there. She spent two nights stranded in the storm.” Stella shuddered, remembering how close she’d come to dying in that same storm.
“Was she alone?”
“Except for her horse.”
“My, my. How unfortunate. Were they forced to marry?”
Stella laughed. “The preacher said they must, but Kade refused.”
“That’s not very noble. Shouldn’t he have cared about her reputation?”
“He did. But he knew her well enough to know she must choose him of her own free will and asked the preacher to give him two weeks to make her willing. The preacher did, and Kade won her heart.”
“In two weeks.” Aunt Mary studied Stella, a little smile on her lips. “I think you can do better than that.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand your meaning.”
“I think you can win Bruce’s heart in less than two weeks.”
“Win his heart?” Stella stammered the words. “I have no intention of even trying. That isn’t what we agreed to.”
“Pshaw. You agreed to a business arrangement, like two men operating a store. Only it’s a man and a woman living under the same roof, raising a family and working together. You’ll soon discover this arrangement can’t remain businesslike.”
Stella folded away the sweater she was knitting for Blossom, put it in the basket, slowly set it to one side, and pushed to her feet. “I need to check on the garden.”
“I don’t mean to upset you.”
“I know.” She slipped out the door, not wanting to hear any more of Aunt Mary’s schemes.
Bruce and the children were circling the fence line. The small pasture was meant for the milk cows and the riding horses. Her breeding cows would graze on the open range though she hoped she could keep them close to home. Last year she’d managed to keep them on the grass between the home site and the river. Maybe they would remember that and be content. Or they might have learned to enjoy the freedom of ranging wider while in Kade’s care.
She wouldn’t be able to constantly herd them. But then, she wouldn’t have to. That would be Bruce’s responsibility.
The children were in his care at the moment, so she made her way to the garden and sank down beside the neat rows. Spying a weed, she plucked it out. Who had planted this? She patted her pocket. She had started to tell Bruce what she had found, but the arrival of Flora and Kade had sidetracked her.
Again, her heart felt sluggish and weak. Had she made a mistake in agreeing to marriage in order to return home? Was Aunt Mary right in saying a business-like arrangement wasn’t possible?
She shivered as if a cold wind had crossed her shoulders. She had no intention of following in Flora’s footsteps and falling in love. Loving made her far too vulnerable.
Stella heard the gate open but didn’t turn around, assuming the children had come to join her. But it was a pair of man-sized cowboy boots that entered her field of vision. She glanced back to see if the children followed.
“They’re playing under the tree by the house,” Bruce said. “Donny took his barn out there that he said the uncles built for him and is telling Blossom about their pa.”
Missing Frank and the life they had planned sucked at Stella’s heart.
Bruce sat cross-legged on the ground beside her. At least he was careful not to crush any of the well-tended plants.
“The fences look good,” he said. “I’ll check by the river and make sure everything is ready for the cows before they come.”
His words jolted her from traveling down the road to memories and losses. “You think there might be cause for concern down there?” She tipped her head in the direction of the river. She thought of the movement she had seen and put down to her imagination. “Have you seen something?”
“I just think it is better to be safe than sorry.”
“Oh.”
