Page 14 of A Steadfast Heart
“I don’t think anyone knows for sure, but we know God loves all His creation, and we can trust Him to do what’s right.”
The words hit with a force they hadn’t had when Kaitlyn was nine. She’d trusted God and He’d taken Mama. Kaitlyn had been left with Michael trying to control her every move, plotting against her. She’d had no choice but to take care of herself.
Tillie stepped back with a sniffle. “I better go check on the calf.” Before Kaitlyn could protest, she skipped out the back door, her skirts flying behind her.
Kaitlyn hesitated. Nothing about her arrival had gone as planned. She hesitantly moved into the doorway to the front room. There was no sign of David or Jo. Drew sat at the dining room table, his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped.
As if he sensed her presence, he straightened and then stood up. His expression was stony. No hint of the smile he’d given Tillie.
* * *
Drew just wanted this day to end. He wanted his pillow and the relief of the oblivion of sleep. For a few hours.
I’m here to answer your ad.
Drew reached for his hat brim to pull it lower, but of course he’d left it on its peg by the door. Without it, he’d have to work harder to hide his expression. He ran his hand through his hair, eyeing the woman standing in the kitchen doorway.
A princess. Tillie’s words whispered in his head. The woman across from him really did look like she’d wear shoes made of glass.
She was pretty, with her blonde hair and green eyes, but it only took a glance to know she lacked staying power. It was there in the fine cloth of her dress that wouldn’t stand up against ranch work. The fair skin that would burn under the sun.
And he hadn’t missed her inventory of his clothing when she’d first seen him. Just what he needed. Another finicky city girl. Within four years of their returning to the ranch, Amanda had left him for a man who’d promised a life together in Boston. This Kaitlyn didn’t look like she would last four days.
He was too tired to be polite. “There’s nothing for you here.”
She blinked and glanced to the side. He waited for the waterworks or some other kind of manipulation. Something Amanda would’ve done.
He just wanted this woman out of his house. He’d given up on the idea of a wife.
After a long moment, she met his gaze again. This time she didn’t look away. “Your children are wild.” She winced, like maybe she hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, but then hiked her chin up stubbornly.
“This is the West. Things are different than you’re used to.” He didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his voice.
Kaitlyn met his gaze steadily. “Not that different. Another year or two and your older daughter will be ostracized for wearing pants.”
Was that the problem with the girls at church? Jo’s pants? Then why didn’t she wear the dresses she had?
“If your son needs tutoring in math and reading, I can do that too. As well as teach the girls.”
“What are you talking about? How’d you get here, anyway?”
She bit her bottom lip, then pulled some papers from her saddlebags and handed them to him. “I think these are yours.”
His face flushed as he thumbed through them, an echo of the humiliation he’d felt back in St. Louis growing. “Where did you find these?”
“Where you left them. At the train station, with a ticket attached.”
“You read my mail?” He walked to the window, breathing deep, trying to quell the anger he felt. So what if she knew what’d happened in St. Louis? It was Leona’s shame, or should be.
Her cheeks had pinked, but she still didn’t drop her gaze.Stubborn, he thought again.
“I did.”
“Well, I’m sorry to say you came a long way for nothing. I don’t aim to get married.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t change your mind? What about—I can pay you.” She took a deep breath. “When I marry, I’ll have access to some money.”
Irritation poured through him. Another heiress thinking she could buy her way out of whatever had brought her here. Like Leona. Like Amanda. Well, not this time. Thoughts of his family’s legacy had him considering it for a broken moment. But he didn’t need money badly enough to shackle himself to another helpless city girl. To be labeled a mistake in another rich woman’s life.
