9781631053566SpringsDelightBallNC (4 page)

Bibbs slapped him on the back.
“We have
work
to do. See ya.”

Watching the door close, she
wondered how much they ate. Shady looked thin but sometimes it was the thin
guys who could really pack it away. She walked over and examined the supplies
they brought in. There was everything from toilet paper to laundry detergent,
and there was even a cake along with donuts of all kinds.

She reached for the cake and
held it in front of her. She’d seen many cakes, but was the recipient of none.
They had no way of knowing it was her birthday in a few days. Usually birthdays
and holidays brought nothing but dread and heartache. Growing up in foster
homes, she received few gifts here and there. Mostly she watched the real
children open their presents. Nonetheless, she wished for the same thing every
year. She wanted a loving home. For a brief second she thought she’d get that
wish with Billy, but she was wrong, painfully wrong.

When Caleb had invited her to
the ranch, anticipation filled her. She knew she’d be there in time for her
birthday and hoped to celebrate, but it wouldn’t be right to celebrate this
year. Perhaps it was just as well.

Bags filled with groceries
covered the whole kitchen table. She knew she’d best get them all put away and
figure out menus. She didn’t know if they would be back for lunch or not, but
she planned to be ready.

Lunchtime arrived, and three
frozen bodies descended on the fireplace. Spring filled three mugs with coffee
and handed them around, glad she’d thought to make it. She watched Colt take a
sip. This time she made it right, she hoped.

The bright twinkle in his eyes
as he peered over the rim of the mug warmed her.
Whew, he liked it
. “I’ll get lunch ready.”

“Thank
you, ma’am.”
Bibbs smiled and hung his coat up on one of the
pegs near the front door.

Spring smiled at him. “No
problem.”

She reheated the homemade
potato soup she had made earlier and set to making chicken salad sandwiches.
She’d also made pumpkin bread. She hoped that she had it right.

She put the last plate on the
table.
There, looks good and hopefully
the men will like it.
She hadn’t realized that she was so nervous until
they took their first bite, and each smiled.

“Better
than my ma.”
Shady helped himself to another sandwich.

“Sure is good.” Bibbs nodded.

Gazing at Colt, she wondered
what he thought. The relaxed smile on his face was all she needed.

They finished it all in record
time. She’d never seen people eat so fast. Both Bibbs and Shady thanked her,
and then walked toward the door for their coats and hats. Colt hung back.

“You’ll do.” His smile went
right through her and landed in her heart.

“
Thanks,
take care out there.”

He nodded and shrugged into
his coat. They left leaving an arctic blast of cold behind.

Chapter Three

Three days later, a loud
pounding at the front door startled
Spring
. Her hands
were sticky with biscuit dough. Grabbing a towel, she ran and opened the door.
There stood an incredibly handsome cowboy. His gray eyes were somber as he held
a pie in one hand and a doll in the other.

“I just got back from a
business trip, and I heard what happened to Caleb. Is Colt around?”

“He’s out on the range.”

“I’m sorry, where are my
manners? I’m Stone McCoy. You see Rachael is my daughter, and I just found out
what happened. My wife,
Winter
, can’t seem to stop
crying, and Rachael is beside herself.
Seems that Snoopy, our
dog, got out during the last storm.
Winter refused to risk anyone on the
ranch by having them go looking for the dog.” He shifted from one foot to
another. “You must think horribly of me. Are you a relative?”

“Come in before you freeze. I’m
Spring
, I was a friend of Caleb’s. He offered me a job
when he left for spring break, and I didn’t know what happened until I got
here.”

Stone closed his eyes and an
expression of intense pain crossed his face. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been friends
with the
O’Malleys
for quite a few years now. I
really just wanted to talk to Colt. Winter made him a pie, and Rachael sent him
her doll. Her name is Faith.”

Spring took his offerings and
set them on the bench near the door. She reached out and touched Stone’s arm.
“It was an accident. You can come in and wait, or if you’d rather I’ll tell
Colt you were here.”

Stone looked down at her hand,
and he appeared lost in thought for a moment. Nodding his head, he opened the
door then turned his haunted, gray eyes on her and stared. Finally, he nodded
again and left.

Spring wanted to go into her
room and hide as her grief rushed back anew. Nothing would bring Caleb back,
and nothing would bring Colt’s happiness back. Instead, she walked back to the
kitchen counter, placing both the pie and the doll on it. Unfortunately, she’d
learned the hard way there was no way to hide.

* * * *

Shady laughed then admonished
Bibbs for not doing his fair share of the day’s work. “How’d you know that
pecan pie is my favorite?” Bibbs smiled and winked at her.

“Actually it came from Mr.
McCoy.”

Shady and Bibbs exchanged
glances. Shady shrugged then gave
Spring
a smile “Did
he mention if the roads were passable?”

Biting her bottom lip, she
shook her head. “I don’t even know how he got here. I didn’t think to ask.”

“He got here by horse; the
tracks are outside in the snow.” Bibbs smiled. “It’s coming down hard out
there. Guess we get to spend the night with you after all.”

“I’d best get out there and
shovel off the porch.” Shady tipped his hat to her.

Spring went back to chopping
carrots for her beef stew. She learned a thing or two about cooking, working at
the diner.

Bibbs walked right up behind
her, so close that she could feel the heat of him. Spring closed her eyes,
trying her best to remain calm. She did have a knife in her hand.

“
Mmm
,
smells so good.”

Spring didn’t turn around.
“Would you mind stepping back a bit? It makes me nervous.”

Bibbs took a big step back.
“Sorry, ma’am.”

Spring turned, his brown eyes
were full of concern “I’ve had a hard time of it lately, and it kind of freaks
me out to have a man too close.”

“Don’t you worry, ma’am. I
know what it’s like. I didn’t mean
no
disrespect.”

“I know that, Bibbs, and
please call me
Spring
.”

An icy blast of air followed
Shady in through the door. He glanced at the two of them, and cocked his head.
“Did I miss something?”

“Nope, the lady just wants her
space is
all.
”

Shady with a big, boyish grin
said, “Can’t say that I blame you, ma’am. Bibbs
isn’t
one for
bathin
’ and the like.”

Spring started to laugh but
instantly stopped when she saw the hurt and anger in Bibbs’ eyes. She’d hoped
to feel safe here. Maybe all men had violence in them. Remembering Caleb, she
knew she was wrong; he was a gentle soul.

“Spring?”
Bibbs’ gentle voice contrasted with his rugged exterior. “I didn’t mean to
scare you again. Truth told I’d love to crack an egg on this young’un’s head,
but I won’t.”

“I’m not a young’un.” Shady
smiled. “He’s a big, old teddy bear. Hell, he even cries when his poor, old
mama calls.”

Spring glanced at Bibbs and
relaxed at his smile. “I have a few more things to add to the stew but you boys
can set the table.”

Bibbs nodded and grabbed some
plates, and finally the tension seeped out of the house. Spring smiled when
they fought about who sat where. This time she didn’t feel fear, and it was a
balm to her soul. Suddenly, the drafty house felt warm and cozy. Spring closed
her eyes to cherish the feeling.

By the time she’d finished
cooking, the table looked grand. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to reach a
bowl for the biscuits, but it was still just far enough away. She turned to
grab a chair to stand on, but found herself in Bibbs’ arms. He hoisted her up,
waited until she grabbed the bowl and immediately set her down.

Spring smiled at him. Shady
pegged him right, a big, old teddy bear. Spring pretended she didn’t see Bibbs’
face grow red. She simply thanked him and went back to stir the stew.

* * * *

No matter how many times he’d
been through it, springtime in Montana never ceased to amaze him. He never knew
what type of weather to expect. The bitter cold and the howling wind were
incessant. Colt patted Heavy Duty’s neck. His poor horse’s knee had started to
swell about two miles out, and he’d walked him slowly and carefully toward
home.

The snow came down hard and
wet, clinging to his clothes, making them heavy. He wondered where his men
were. Surely, they’d have noticed he hadn’t come back yet. Hell, they probably
thought he wanted to be alone. Colt tipped his Stetson lower to keep the snow
out of his eyes, and a big pile of it fell off his hat as he did. They were
close, he couldn’t see the house lights yet, but he knew he would soon.

Trudging through the ankle
deep snow was hard enough for him, but poor Heavy Duty was really having a hard
time of it. He hoped that he’d be able to bring down the swelling in the horse’s
knee. No way would a vet be able to make it out to the ranch, not in this
weather.

He wondered how
Spring
was fairing. She would have been a nice addition to
his little family, but he didn’t want additions, not after losing Caleb. He
couldn’t mend his heart anymore. It’d been stitched together many times over the
years, this time the stitches wouldn’t hold.

Why did Rachael ask Caleb to
find Snoopy? Where the hell was Stone or one of Stone’s ranch hands? Why was
Caleb the one who went searching for that mangy, oversized mutt? Pain lanced
his heart. Stone and
Winter
never even came by the
house, and they missed the funeral. “Damn you, McCoy!” His brow furrowed as his
thoughts whirled through his head.

Every person he cared about
had been stripped away from him leaving painful scars. He’d wait until better
weather, until she’d had some time to get on her feet financially, and send
Spring
on her way. There was no happiness to be found on his
ranch, and he didn’t want her caught in the downfall of his hopes and dreams.

“Almost there, I can see the
lights.” His frozen lips barely got the words out to his horse.

Finally, he made it to the
barn, fiddled at the latch with numb and shaking fingers and got the barn door
opened. He hoped the landline worked. His cell hadn’t been able to get a
signal.

Walking Heavy Duty just outside
his stall, he removed his saddle, wet saddle blanket, and fervently dried him
with towels. Colt stopped briefly to call up to the house. It did something
weird to his insides to hear
Spring’s
voice answer.
Bibbs and Shady were on their way out to help she said. He was tired, so cold
and so tired.

Finally, they got Heavy Duty
dry and his knee wrapped. Colt left the other two men to feed the rest of the
horses while he hobbled toward the house. Every muscle was stiff and every bone
chilled. He made it to the last step onto the porch, and the door opened.
Immediately
Spring
put her arms around his waist and
helped him inside.

He felt like a child, standing
still while being undressed. He could have sworn he heard her mumbling about
stubborn, stupid men but he didn’t comment. It wasn’t easy peeling off his
heavy, wet clothes; he could see the strain on her face. When she finished with
the outer layers, she led him to the rocking chair in front of the fireplace
and helped him sit.

She briefly left, and for a
moment, he felt lost without her until she returned with a heavy blanket and
tucked it all around him. All he could think about was how good she smelled. He
closed his eyes and began to feel the heat.

Soon,
Spring
was beside him again with a mug of coffee, which he gladly took from her. He
looked past her and frowned at the doll on the counter.

He glanced at
Spring
and tried to hold back but it didn’t work. “Where the
hell did that doll come from?” Spring jumped high at his loud roar, but he didn’t
care. “How dare you! Where did you get that doll? Did it not occur to you that
this is a house of mourning?”