A Cowboy's Touch (15 page)

“Sure you don’t mind having me along?” she asked.

He stood and grabbed his hat from the peg near the door. “Not at all. I’ll get the horses saddled.” Wade slipped out the screen door, and it slapped quietly into place.

Well, obviously he minded, but if he wasn’t going to be forthcoming about it, served him right if she came along.

Maddy trotted into the kitchen, cradling the gift against her stomach, and they joined Wade by the barn. Soon the horses were saddled, and the three headed past the barn and toward Maddy’s favorite swim hole, a spot she called Boulder Pass.

Maddy chattered as they rode. Abigail mostly focused on staying in the saddle and using the right commands with Trinket. Wade looked over his shoulder every few minutes, checking on her.

Abigail watched father and daughter riding side by side and thought how lucky Maddy was to have her daddy. The sight of them together made her miss her own father. Miss the things they used to do, miss his notes, his quick wink across the table when Abigail and her mom were arguing over some trivial thing.

He would’ve been proud of the way she’d listened in church this morning. The pastor had preached on fatherhood, and tears had stung Abigail’s eyes twice. Then the pastor talked about God the Father and compared the two roles. She’d never considered how earthly fathers planted the seed of authority and unconditional love in a child’s life. How that relationship should mirror the heavenly Father’s love.

She’d felt proud of her own father as the pastor spoke. She missed him so much it still felt like an empty ache in her middle even after all these years. She wondered if Maddy felt the same way about her mother. Maybe not, since she’d been so young and had so few memories. That in itself was sad.

It took thirty minutes to reach the spot where the river turned shallow around a wooded bend. Boulders, big and small, stood sentinel in the bubbling stream. The day was beautiful, sunny and midseventies, but the direct rays had heated her skin. She wondered how Wade bore the jeans and long sleeves during the hottest days of summer.

Abigail had developed a mild headache in church, but it worsened on the ride, and she wished she’d taken some Tylenol.

They dismounted and tied the horses. Abigail snapped out the quilt under a weeping willow, then she and Maddy set out the food and tableware. A fresh breeze blew, bringing the fragrance of pine and grass. Clean mountain air.

Wade sank onto the quilt, shrinking its size by half.

“Present first!” Maddy said after they were seated on the quilt. She handed her dad the gift, wrapped in silver foil they’d found in the attic and topped with a blue bow.

“What have we here?” Wade received the gift, smiling at his daughter.

“You have to open it to find out.”

Wade loosened the dozens of pieces of tape sealing the package, then peeled back the paper to reveal a picture she’d drawn. It was good for an eleven-year-old. Wade wore a cowboy hat in the picture, and she’d drawn a five o’clock shadow on his jaw with the side of her pencil. Maddy was in the picture beside him, smiling, her hair in a ponytail, a few penciled-on freckles dotting her nose.

“Wow, Maddy, I didn’t expect this. This is—this is just great.”

Wade tugged his hat, a gesture of discomfort, Abigail was beginning to realize. He was touched by his daughter’s effort. Abigail wondered what the girl had done for previous Father’s Days. Maybe her other nannies hadn’t encouraged her to make him something.

“Abigail helped me.”

“Just with the proportions. It’s your drawing. She’s pretty good, eh, Dad?”

“Didn’t get it from me. Even my stick figures don’t look like stick figures.”

Maddy leaned over Wade’s shoulder, looking at the picture. “Was Mommy a good drawer?” The question was cautious.

Wade cleared his throat. “Maybe so.” Wade held the picture up. “Think I’ll put this on my desk. What do you think?”

Maddy nodded, obviously liking the idea. She was all smiles, soaking in her dad’s attention, but Abigail had noticed how quickly he’d changed the subject. Didn’t he see it was important for Maddy to remember her mother?

Abigail passed out the plates, and they helped themselves to the food. Wade bragged on how tasty it was, and Maddy glowed under his approval.

“Abigail’s teaching me how to cook.”

“Well, just some basics,” Abigail said. “A girl needs to be able to feed herself.”

Maybe she had misjudged Wade. He clearly loved Maddy. Maybe he was just unsure of himself.

Abigail took in his manly form and strong jawline, hardly able to fathom that could be true. But men could be clueless when it came to relationships. Maybe he just didn’t know how to be close to his daughter, how to communicate with her.

Or maybe he felt guilty about her mother’s death.

The thought was so out of context with the quiet moment that Abigail discarded it. She didn’t want to think about Wade’s past or the ramifications of it. It was a beautiful sunny June day, and she was enjoying it with a sweet little girl and her dad. She would leave it at that.

They finished lunch, ate the watermelon, and had a seed-spitting contest, which Wade won soundly. Maddy stripped down to her bathing suit and tiptoed through the grass to the river’s edge.

“You coming?” she called to them.

“In a minute,” Wade said.

“I don’t have a suit,” Abby said.

“You can roll up your pants. It’s shallow at the edge.”

“All right. Let me pack up first.”

Wade stretched out under the tree and crossed his feet at the ankles. With her own head throbbing, a nap sounded great, but she didn’t want to desert Maddy.

Wade tipped his hat over his face.

“Naptime?” Abigail began packing up the leftovers.

“Just resting my eyes.”

Abigail smiled, taking the opportunity to let her eyes roam down his long, muscular form. “My dad used to say that during Sunday afternoon football, right before he let out a big snore.”

“I don’t snore.”

“That’s what he said.” Abigail put the last of the food into the tote bag and set it to the side. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Wade folded his arms under his head, the movement tugging his Western shirt from the narrow waistline of his jeans. Only his lower face was visible under the hat. His square jawline was freshly shaven. There was a shallow cleft in his chin she hadn’t noticed before. His lips were relaxed, turning neither up nor down. His upper lip dipped in the middle, and she had a sudden image of herself leaning over and placing a soft kiss square on his mouth.

Disturbing.

She shook her head and pulled her eyes from him. Mercy. Just because he couldn’t see her was no reason to let her imagination run wild.

She plucked a nearby dandelion puff and twirled it between her fingers. She should make a wish. She glanced at Maddy, who was splashing right into the water without so much as a pause. Her feet made quick work of the rocky bottom.

Wade still rested in the shade, his Father’s Day picture at his elbow. Abigail closed her eyes and blew at the dandelion puff. When she opened her eyes, the spores were dancing away on the wind. She twirled the naked stem in her fingers.

“Make a wish?” Wade’s eyes were open now.

“Maybe.” She heard the flirtatious tone in her own voice.
Cool it, Abigail. Sheesh
.

She turned her attention to Maddy, who was waist-deep now. Maddy plunged forward and came up a moment later near a large boulder.

Abigail frowned. “How deep is the water?” she asked Wade.

“Waist-deep. She’s a good swimmer, and the current is slow.”

True enough. The water was almost still.

Near the edge, Maddy burst from the water, her entire torso above the waterline. Abigail might as well join her if Wade was going to nap.

“I didn’t know she had artistic ability.” Wade’s tone revealed disappointment.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Abigail had a little bit of artist in her, enough to appreciate Maddy’s talent.

“I should’ve noticed.”

Abigail wanted to ease his guilt and didn’t know why. “If it’s the first time she’s drawn you something, how could you know?”

Wade tipped his hat back on his head and propped his torso on his elbows, making his shoulders look broader than ever. He watched Maddy attempt a handstand, but the slight current worked against her.

“She doing okay, you think?” He darted a look at Abigail. “I mean, you being a woman and all.” He shifted uncomfortably, like he had pieces of hay stuck in his shirt.

Abigail was charmed by his unease. “Maddy’s a good kid. Really. I like that she’s curious and straightforward.”

“You mean nosy and blunt?”

“She might come across that way every now and then, but those qualities will temper with age. At least you always know what’s on her mind.”

A frown puckered between Wade’s brows, and Abigail realized that might not be true for him. Maddy might not feel free to tell her dad what she was thinking. Regardless of Wade’s past, regardless of her investigation, maybe Abigail could help the father and daughter find firmer footing before she left.

“She might be a little lonely,” Abigail said. “That was my first impression of her—’course it didn’t help she was crying over her missing bike at the time.”

“Watch this!” Maddy called.

“She’s taken with you,” Wade said as his daughter’s feet shot skyward.

Abigail looked at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“I worry about her. How she’ll feel when you leave.”

He didn’t have to say what he was thinking.
She’s already lost so much
.

“She’s had a nanny every summer.”

Maddy came up from her handstand and Abigail gave her a thumbs-up.

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

Wade sat up, rested his forearms on his raised knees. “I don’t know. She wasn’t close to them.”

“I haven’t been here two weeks.” She realized as she said it that that was exactly what he found so disconcerting. If Maddy was this attached after a handful of days, how would she feel in three months?

“I’ll miss her when I leave too.” What did he want from her anyway? “Would you rather I just left her to her own devices?” She knew the frown made its way into her tone and didn’t care.

Wade tugged his hat, then sighed. “Don’t know what I want. Just don’t want her hurt.”

His concern for Maddy drained her irritation. “You can’t protect her from everything.”

The corner of his lip tucked in. He flicked a look at her, just enough self-deprecating humor in his eyes to show he knew he fought a losing battle. “I can try.”

“Relationships teach us a lot about life and ourselves, even the short-term ones. I’d like to have a positive impact on Maddy.”

“You’re right. God brings people into our lives for a reason. Sometimes I forget.”

“Maddy’s already aware that loss is a part of life. Besides, you’re her dad, and she’ll always have you.”

His lips pressed slightly together, and Abigail wondered what that meant.

She rubbed her temple where it pounded. What she’d give for a couple Tylenol. It hadn’t hurt this much since she’d been here. Well, except when she’d fallen from Trinket.

Wade reached toward her, then pulled his hand back. He’d done the same thing when he’d knelt at her side after her fall, something she hadn’t remembered until now.

“How’s your head?” he asked.

She swept her bangs aside and touched the knot, realizing he’d been about to do the same thing. It was better all around if he kept his hands to himself. His touch stirred things that didn’t need stirring, certainly not by the man she was investigating.

“It’s healing up.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s a ghastly shade of yellow, though.”

“You’re still having headaches.”

He must’ve noticed her rubbing her temples. “Not from the fall. It’s the health condition I mentioned before—hypertension. High blood pressure can cause headaches.”

Wade frowned at her. “None of my business, but maybe you’re not getting enough rest. You don’t have to entertain Maddy every moment.”

“I’m fine, really. I like spending time with her.”

A splash drew her attention to Maddy, who rose from the water like a wet mermaid. “Come on, you guys!”

“Maybe we should head back,” Wade said.

Abigail wasn’t cutting the Father’s Day celebration short on account of a headache. “No way. I’m getting my feet wet.” She removed her tennis shoes and socks, rolled her jeans until they reached the tops of her calves, and ran through the grass to the shoreline.

16

A
bigail watched the school band approach the corner. The musicians looked spiffy in their starched red-and-white uniforms, marching forward in unison. The brass section blared “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” and the percussion beat out a snappy cadence. The Moose Creek annual Fourth of July celebration was under way.