Blue Moon Promise (32 page)

“What’s all that caterwauling?” Lucy’s voice was weak. She struggled to sit up, then whimpered. Gasping, she gripped her stomach, and her face went a shade whiter. “Water,” she whispered.

“I’ll get it!” Jed rushed from the room.

Nate knelt beside the bed and touched Lucy’s cheek. “Feeling pretty bad?”

“Like the barn fell on me.” She tried to smile but moaned instead.

Nate smoothed the hair back from her forehead. “You’re going to be fine. The doctor was just here. We’ll have some rough next few hours, but you hang on.”

Her fingers crept across the top of the quilt and gripped his hand. “If I don’t make it, Nate—”

“Hush, don’t even think that way.” Now that she was awake, he felt a surge of hope, and not even Lucy could be allowed to dampen it.

“Jed and Eileen—”

“Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine.”

“But if something should happen, if I don’t pull through this—”

Nate caressed her cheek. “Rest, love. I’ll take care of Jed and Eileen.”

Relief lit her face, then cramps struck her, and she doubled up in agony. Nate felt helpless watching her suffer. Remembering the laudanum, he snatched it up and uncapped the bottle. He slid an arm under her and managed to get a swallow down her. Gasping, she fell back against the pillow.

Jed brought back the water, and Nate gave Lucy a drink. Once she was sleeping again, he talked Jed into getting some rest, promising to call him if there was any change.

FOR THREE DAYS Nate sat for long hours in the chair beside Lucy, offering her sips of water between bouts of sickness and sleeping. Her chills finally eased, and a bit of color began to come back to her cheeks. Nate was bleary-eyed with fatigue, and when she closed her eyes, he dropped to the floor and rested his head against the mattress.

Lucy’s fingers entwined in his hair. “There’s room in the bed for you.”

He raised his head and stared into her blue eyes. She’d made it over the hump. He could see it in her tender smile and pink cheeks. Without another word, she pulled back the quilt and scooted back against the wall. Nate pulled off his boots and crawled into the bed.

He stretched out his arm, and Lucy curled up against his side. The sensation of someone else in the bed was a strange one, but something he thought he could get used to pretty quickly. Her breathing evened out, and he relaxed himself. She was asleep. Now if he could do the same. His mind whirled. When she was fully recovered, they would have to have a long talk. It was time to take up their lives together in earnest.

AN UNFAMILIAR WEIGHT pressed against Lucy’s waist, and she opened her eyes to find herself facing the wall in an unfamiliar room. She tried to move her arm and winced. The pain brought the memories flooding back. She looked down to see what pinned her in place and found an arm. Nate’s arm.

Shock rippled through her, and she eased away and sat up. Last night his face had been tight with worry and fatigue. Now sleep had eased the lines and tension. A wave of love swept over her, and she reached over and smoothed the hair back from his face. His eyes flew open, and she stared deep into their depths.

A smile curved his firm lips. “Good morning. How do you feel?”

She responded with an answering smile. “A little sore and weak, but better I think.” Much better, in fact. She felt clearheaded. And hungry.

He lifted his hand, and his fingers grazed her cheek. “You look lovely.”

Heat flooded her cheeks, and she tore her gaze away. She glanced toward the sunshine streaming through the window. “What day is it?”

“Thursday. You’ve been out for three days.”

She gasped at that news. She’d interfered with the ranch. “When do you leave for the cattle drive?”

“You eager to get rid of me?”

Her gaze flew to meet his again. “Of course not. I—I just thought you’d be gone already.”

“I wasn’t about to leave my wife.”

The cattle drive was important, so his desire to be with her told her as much as the tender expression in his eyes. “Where’s Jed?”

“In the kitchen. You want to see the children? They’ve been so worried.”

She nodded. “Was I so terribly sick?”

He leaned closer and pressed his warm lips against her cheek. “I almost lost you, Lucy. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

She smiled. “I’ll try not to.”

He kissed her again. “I’ll send the children in. I need to see about finding another cook. Marcus broke his leg yesterday. I can see we’re going to have several weeks of hardtack and poor grub, but we’ll live.” He tucked the quilt around her, obviously reluctant to leave. “I’ll be right back.” He swung his legs out of bed and went to the door.

Lucy watched him leave, but a hard rock of determination grew within her. She’d failed at the roundup, but she would prove to him she could stand toe-to-toe with Margaret. Earning his love might not be easy, but it would be worth it.

NATE SHOOK HIS head as he walked to the barn to help with chores. The gal had spunk. He was almost giddy with relief that she’d pulled through. It had been touch and go for way too long.

Eileen was in the barn playing with the kittens. She sat on the straw with six kittens tumbling over her lap. “Can I take one home, Nate?”

“Not until they’re weaned from their mama.” He stooped to talk to her. “Which one do you want?”

“I like the white one.” She held it up to her cheek. “She has one blue eye and one green one.”

“So she does.”

Eileen stared up at him. Her lip began to quiver. “Is my Lucy going to go to heaven?”

He sat cross-legged beside her and pulled her onto his lap. “Not anytime soon. I just talked to her, and she ate breakfast.”

The child began to sob noisily. “I don’t want her to go to heaven. Not ever. My daddy went to heaven, and I never get to see him anymore. I want Lucy to stay with me.”

He stroked her hair. “She’s going to stay with you, honey. I love her so much that I’d fight the devil himself to keep her.”

She hiccupped, then her tears subsided. “Lucy doesn’t think you love her. You said she was too little. Don’t you like little girls?”

He hugged her. “Little girls are my favorite. I love Lucy, but it’s a secret. Don’t tell her, okay? I want to tell her myself.”

Her small hands patted his face. “Little girls are okay?”

“I love you, Eileen. I want to be your daddy and big brother all rolled into one. Is that okay?”

Her blue eyes were enormous as she stared at him. “Can I call you Papa?”

A lump formed in his throat. “I’d like that very much. Promise you won’t tell Lucy yet?”

She held up her small hand. “Pinky swear?”

He hooked her little finger with his. “Pinky swear. I’ll let you know when you can talk about it. It will be soon.”

But when? If he told her before he left, he wasn’t sure he could go.

TWENTY-EIGHT
 
 

B
y the end of the day Lucy was longing for home. The main ranch house was lovely, but it wasn’t her home. Funny how she had begun to think of the cabin as her home so quickly. She hadn’t had a home her entire life, not a real home. Now she did.

Nate brought the buggy to the front of the house, then escorted her out. His steadying arm around her waist gave her a peculiar, happy feeling. Jed helped Eileen clamber into the backseat while Nate swung Lucy up onto the front seat. She felt naked without her bonnet, but it had been lost somehow in the excitement. The sun on her bare head was a welcome sensation. She still felt chilled and weak.

“Cold?”

She forced a smile. “Not really. I’m feeling much better. The sun feels good.”

“At least you won’t be on the trail with the dust mixing with the perspiration until you look like you’re covered in mud.”

They crested a hill and the cabin came into sight. A curl of smoke rose in a welcoming spiral from the chimney. “Someone’s started a fire. That’s odd. It’s way too hot for a fire. Unless it’s the cookstove.”

Nate frowned. “Maybe one of the hands came over.” He stopped the buggy in front of the house instead of the barn. He jumped out and lifted Lucy down. His manner was brusque and businesslike as if he had something else on his mind. He helped her to the door.

The door swung open as they reached it, and Margaret’s shapely form filled the doorway. “Welcome home,” she said with a smile. “Now I’m not staying, mind you. But I thought after your ordeal you wouldn’t feel up to cooking. There’s a roast and potatoes in the oven, and your bed is all ready for you.” She stepped aside to allow them to enter.

“H-How thoughtful,” Lucy stammered. Margaret’s overwhelming presence and many abilities just made Lucy feel even more inadequate. She squared her shoulders and smiled at the other woman. She could learn from Margaret.

“We sure do appreciate it,” Nate said. There was affection in the nod he gave her.

Nate led Lucy to the bed and made her sit down. Kneeling beside her, he slipped her boots off.

“I’m fine,” she protested. “I feel better than I expected to.”

“I still want you to lie down and rest. I’ll get a quilt.” He took a quilt from the rack and pulled it over her.

Margaret’s face was filled with concern. “Can I do anything for you, Lucy?”

“No, you’ve done so much already. Thank you, Margaret.”

“If there’s anything you need, just send Jed after me.” Margaret picked up her basket and went to the door. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow. Doc says your recovery has been nearly miraculous. I’ll be here to help while Nate is gone too. Call for me anytime.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Nate said. “I need to talk to you anyway.”

JED FIXED HER a cup of tea, and Eileen curled up beside her on the bed while Lucy read her a story from one of the books they’d brought in the trunk. The scent of the roast and potatoes began to fill the air. Eileen fell asleep beside her, and Jed went outside to practice his rope throwing. He took Bridget with him. The longsuffering dog would be his “calf.”

She heard Nate overhead in the loft. Scraping and banging, he seemed to be moving furniture. Curious, Lucy eased out of bed without awakening Eileen and went to the ladder leading to the loft and climbed it. Peering over the top, she found Nate with a broom in his hand.

He saw her and gave a sheepish grin. “I thought I ought to make sure there are no spiders up here before I leave.”

“Why? You’re not afraid of them.”

“No, but you are. I’d like you to sleep here while I’m gone.” His gray eyes were intent.

Lucy finished the climb into the loft and stepped onto the rough floor. What did he mean? Her gaze probed his, and neither of them looked away.

“Then when I get back, I’d like us to share this room.” His gaze never left hers as he took a step nearer.

Lucy’s mouth went dry, and she was afraid to breathe. “I-It’s not the blue moon yet.”

“This will help you get used to the idea.” He was right in front of her now. He took a ringlet and twisted it around his finger. “I reckon it’s time we tried to make this marriage work.”

Lucy wanted to ask him how he really felt about her, but the words stuck in her throat. Maybe he could grow to love her through the intimacy of marriage. He’d been different lately. Maybe he was already beginning to love her.

“But not until the blue moon,” she whispered. “You have to be back by then. You will, won’t you?”

“You and your planning.” He grinned. “I’ll do my best. I love Jed and Eileen, but I want our own kids too. I reckon that can’t happen the ways things are right now.” His thumb traced her jawline.

“I—I want children too.” She barely managed to get the words out past the lump in her throat.

His fingers touched her hair again. “Girls with this pretty hair and your blue eyes.”

“Strong sons,” Lucy whispered. “With broad shoulders and gray eyes.”

Those gray eyes crinkled in a smile, and his rough fingers caressed her cheek. “We’ll take what God gives us.”

His face came closer, and Lucy closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. She was almost too weak to stand.

The front door banged, and Jed’s voice rang out. “Hey, Lucy, Nate, where is everybody?” His shout woke Eileen, and she began to cry.