Page 492 of Conveniently Wed
Just the thought of them once again brought agony to her heart. Her father had been a mean drunk, but he hadn’t wanted to kill her. Knowing someone tried made her sick at her stomach. The baby jumped, and she began to rub her belly with one hand while the other held the blanket closed.
Concern puckered his brow. “Do you have any idea who it might have been?”
Lorinda shook her head. She didn’t have any enemies, and she hadn’t thought Mike did either. But someone did kill him. She wished she knew who.
“Ma’am, I can’t leave you here again.” Mr. Vine removed his hat and slapped it against his woolen trousers. “My conscience won’t let me.”
“Once again, it’s not your decision.” She couldn’t let him start controlling her the way her husband and her father had. She’d have no more of that in her life...ever. “But I’d be much obliged if you’d let me come to the ranch, at least until the baby is born. Ican’t let this property go. It’s my child’s inheritance. Surely, you can understand that.”
He nodded, then put his hat back on, pulling it low on his forehead. “That I can.”
“If we bring the provisions from the dugout...” Lorinda saw his eyes take on that stubborn set she’d seen on both her husband and father, “...then I’ll be paying my way. I won’t be beholden to anyone.”
He stared from under the brim of his hat. She felt as if he could see straight through to her soul.
After a long moment, he nodded. “All right. I’ll have the men load the supplies in the wagon. We wouldn’t want whoever burned the cabin to come back and steal them from you.”
Lorinda hadn’t thought of that, but the rancher was right. She didn’t want the arsonist to take anything else of hers. “Mr. Vine, I’m worried about my land. What if squatters come and try to take it over?”
He glanced around, watching his men complete their tasks. “I’ll have my men keep an eye on it like I did before the trail closed.”
“Thank you.”
He turned toward his foreman. “Thomas, when the three of you have made sure the fire is completely out, take Joseph and Charlie and follow those tracks. Maybe we can catch the varmint that started this fire.”
While Mr. Vine gave further directions to his men, Lorinda took another long look at all she had lost. Her husband’s grave, the blackened rubble that once was her home. She’d also lost her sense of safety on her own property. She would never be able to protect her child if the evil man returned and she was living in the dugout.
She reached into her pocket and gripped one of the bags of gold. At least she wasn’t destitute, as her family’d often beenback in Missouri. Going to the ranch was the only thing for her to do right now.
When Franklin returned from talking to his men, Lorinda stood staring across the valley, just as she did when he first arrived.
He laid his hand on her shoulder, and she turned toward him. “I’m going to take you down the mountain now. We’ll ride my horse.”
She glanced down at the blanket covering her body. “How is that going to work?”
“I’ll lift you up onto the saddle sideways. Then I’ll get on.” His tone was gentle, assuring her there would be no danger.
After a moment, she gave a slow nod. He quickly lifted her into position before mounting behind her. He pulled her across his lap with her legs on the left side of the horse and settled into the saddle. He shifted a couple of times as if trying to get comfortable. While the horse took the first few tentative steps, she remained stiff.
“The ride will be much easier on you, if you’ll relax. We have a wagon waiting at the bottom of this trail, so the ride won’t be too long.”
Finally, she leaned against him. He encircled her with his arms and signaled his stallion to start down the trail. For some reason, his arms felt comforting on the treacherous journey. But she couldn’t let herself enjoy the feeling. She was never going to give any man a measure of control over her, no matter how safe he made her feel.
4
Mr. Vine was right. After Lorinda relaxed against his solid chest, the journey down the mountain trail wasn’t as scary as she thought it would be riding sideways on the tall stallion. Even though the trail was steep and winding, the fortress formed by his strong arms rocked her as gently as a baby cradle. Almost falling asleep, she felt the muscles in the rancher’s thighs tighten, then loosen as he communicated with his sure-footed horse. When they reached the bottom of the mountain, the trail leveled. Two more of Mr. Vine’s ranch hands waited beside a wagon filled with wooden crates.
“How are things going up there, Boss?” A thin young man, with dark red hair peeking out from under his hat, cut his eyes toward the mountain behind them as he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his woolen trousers. “Is the fire out yet?”
She didn’t detect even a hint of surprise from the cowboy when he saw her perched on the rancher’s lap. But that couldn’t keep embarrassment from flooding her cheeks with heat that chased away some of the cold. She didn’t have anything to be ashamed of, but somehow she couldn’t stop the feeling. She had never been this close to any man who wasn’t her husband. Mr. Vine must be used to doing things like this, or maybe he was ableto ignore the fact that she was a woman carrying a child… And she was sitting in front of him. How long would she have to stay up here? She tried not to squirm too much.
“Rusty, you and Jake move things around in the back of the wagon so we can make a comfortable bed for Mrs. Sullivan.” She felt as well as heard his masculine voice rumble in his chest.
The two men jumped up on the wooden bed. Jake shifted the barrels and crates toward the sideboards, leaving space down the middle, and Rusty grabbed several blankets from under the seat. He dropped a couple on top of the closed containers. The cowboy partially unfolded each of the others and stuffed them into the empty space.
Fascinated, Lorinda watched the way the ranch hands followed orders without question. Mr. Vine must be a powerful man for his men to obey like that so quickly. But then Lorinda hadn’t had much experience with men besides her husband and her father, who she didn’t want to think about.
Mr. Vine pulled one foot out of the stirrup and slid off the back of the saddle, all the while making sure she was secure in the seat. “Are you all right?” His words were only loud enough for her to hear.
