Page 73 of Conveniently Wed
He remembered vividly the times he’d tried to put her off with his ill manners, things that would’ve made his ma take him by the ear.
For a split second, he wished he’d tried harder, shown her that the trail boss wasn’t all there was to him.
But she only grinned at him. “I’m aware of his faults.”
Her look and the smile she extended to the rest of the table conveyed without words that his positive attributes were enough to counter such faults.
It gave him pause. Surely she didn’t—Did she genuinely like him, even though hewasuncouth and unkempt, a cowboy down to the bone?
Was she out of her mind?
Their food arrived, piping hot, and RuthAnn was distracted by ordering her daughter around as Melody tried to settle her son enough to feed him.
“You all right?” he asked Fran in a low voice when the others were focused on the young boy.
“Of course.” She smiled at him, dazzling him once again. The play of lamplight on her features just enhanced the beauty that was there.
He was hard-pressed to remember why he wanted her to stay in Calvin.
He needed to focus on the job, and then worry about what to do with Fran.
He’d wired his pa’s buyer earlier in the day and the man hadn’t been sympathetic to Edgar’s plight with the train. He’d said if the cattle weren’t there on time, the deal was void.
Not good.
And what was Edgar going to do about his brother? He should probably check on the boys, and on Ricky.
But he couldn’t muster the energy to leave, not when she kept shining at him like that.
“Melody, not like that.” RuthAnn snapped at her daughter as the younger woman struggled with her son, now on her lap.
And got rewarded with a smear of brown gravy across her cheek.
Edgar wasn’t much good at reading women, but he knew enough to see that Melody was near tears. Probably more from her ma’s fussing and embarrassing her than from dealing with her son.
“Here,” he said.
He picked up the tot and plopped him on his own knee.
Beau Jr. looked up at him in amazement, eyes wide and focused on Edgar’s face.
“Hullo, little man. You want to give your ma a break? I don’t think she’s gotten to eat one bite of her food,” he said.
He gave the boy a piece of bread from his plate, and the kid squeezed it tightly and started to gnaw on it, mostly drooling all over Edgar’s pant leg.
Edgar kept one hand on the youngster, who was wiggly but not any more so than his nieces and nephews or brothers and sister, come to think of it. He ate with his other paw, just like he’d done dozens of times before at Sunday lunch.
Melody and her husband looked on in amazement.
But it was Fran’s admiring gaze that he felt acutely as he finished off his plate. Appetite restored.
In the lobby RuthAnn disappeared up the stairs but Melody and her husband and baby remained.
“I’m sorry about Mother,” she said.
Edgar shrugged it off.
She touched Fran’s forearm. “I hope you didn’t take offense. Everyone around Bear Creek knows the White family, and Edgar is known for his responsibility now that his two older brothers married. He’s a fine catch.”
