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Authors: Lily Gets Her Man

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BOOK: Charlene Sands
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He’d stopped rubbing then and quickly squashed any fool ideas that triggered in his mind. Tyler had taken that trail once before, with Lizabeth. She’d been an innocent when he’d married her. Now she was gone. He’d not be crazy enough to fall for another woman. One good woman in a man’s life was all anyone could hope for. He’d had his chance. He wasn’t expecting another. Didn’t want another.

No, what he needed was a long tall swig of whiskey and a turn at Renee at the Golden Garter Saloon. That would do him just fine.

The man strode to the Springtime Hotel with purpose. It was time to make his presence known in town. Enough time had passed now, since the shooting. Besides, sleeping way out in that cold abandoned line shack, hiding out, took its toll to his backside, reminding him too much of the time he’d spent in prison. He was accustomed to the finer side of life.
But it had been worth the effort. He’d watched Kincaide and waited. And found the man’s weak link.

The woman.

Charming her would be easy, especially with Kincaide on roundup with most of his men. He’d get close to both woman and child.

Soon he’d have all he came for.

Maybe more.

“I’d like a room, please.”

“Yes, sir.” The amiable hotel clerk scurried behind the desk to retrieve his ledger. “Just getting into town?”

He smiled. “That’s right, just this morning.”

The clerk handed him a key and slid the ledger around.

“Sign here.”

He signed his name.

He had officially come to town.

Chapter Nine

L
ily leaned up against the back of the barn, letting the sunshine warm her. She watched and listened as the slim young ranch hand gave her instructions on how to do the polka. “It ain’t hard, Miss Lillian. With your long legs you’ll be graceful as a…a mustang.” Randy gulped air and looked worried that he’d insulted her.

Lily reassured him with a smile. “Why, thank you. That’s kind of you to say.”

Randy took a step forward, obviously satisfied he hadn’t blundered, and held up his arms. “Want to try?”

Lily’s leg was healing nicely. Tyler had made sure she didn’t do any heavy housework these past two days. All telltale signs of the injury were just about gone.

She stepped closer and placed her hands in his. Randy’s neck reddened, but he looked her straight in the eyes. “It’d be better with music—to get the rhythm and all, but my whistling will have to do. If you don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind, Randy. That’d be nice.”

“Fine, then follow my lead. I’ll go slow at first, but the polka is a very fast dance. When you get the hang of it, we’ll speed things up a bit.”

Lily followed Randy’s footsteps easily. Randy commented on how quickly she caught on. Soon they were spinning about. Randy twirled her so fast, her skirts lifted and her boots kicked up dust. Excitement whirled around in her head. Her body flowed and swayed along with her partner. She threw her head back and laughed. Dancing was easy. And fun.

There was a lightness in her step and a sense of carefree abandon. Her feet shuffled about, following Randy’s lead. He smiled warmly and nodded his head in approval.

“This is wonderful!” she exclaimed when they stopped to take a breath. “I never thought it would be so easy to learn. You’re a good teacher, Randy.”

Randy blushed. “You think so? I’ve had loads of practice.”

“Yes, I do think so. You practiced with your sisters?”

“Yes, ma’am. I guess I had no choice as I think back on it. My ma had five girls to marry off and said the best way to get a man’s attention was to be graceful.”

Lily sighed, wondering if Randy’s mother’s advice was true. It sure couldn’t hurt. Lily had always felt awkward with her long arms and legs. As a young girl she was always tripping over herself. Too tall and gangly, it took a while for the rest of her body to catch up. To this day, she still wondered if it had.

“I suppose you did quite a bit of dancing.”

“Boy, ain’t that the truth. I picked up all the steps over the years. There isn’t a one I don’t know.”

“Will you teach me another? I mean, after I get better with the polka.”

“It’d be my honor. And I don’t suppose a lady could get much better with the polka, Miss Lillian. I’ll be happy to teach you a waltz next time.”

“A waltz.” Lily sighed. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to learn to waltz. Do they waltz at barn dances?”

Randy’s lips curved up. “If the fiddler and his band can’t play a waltz, they’d be chased out of town by all the womenfolk. The ladies of Sweet Springs look forward to these dances. Let’s just say, they’d better play a waltz or two.”

Lily chuckled. “Oh, that’s good.”

Randy lifted his hat from the fence post and walked back over to where Lily was standing. He shifted his stance more than once. Staring at the rim of his hat, he raised shy eyes to her. “Then you’ll be wanting to go to the Henderson’s barn dance?”

With me, Lily thought he meant to say, but was too timid. Lily liked Randy but she didn’t want to mislead him. She just didn’t feel any stirrings when he held her. Not that she’d had much experience with men. The only man she could compare him to was Tyler. With Tyler, her heart did somersaults.

She didn’t hold any fool notion that Tyler would want her, but at least now she understood what she should feel when the right man did come into her life. If he ever did.

“Randy, I’d love to go with you.” Randy looked so hopeful Lily hated to disappoint him, but knew she had to be fair. “As a friend.”

“A friend?” he squeaked out.

Lily locked eyes with him. “Yes, I think of you as
a good friend. You and Wes and the boys have made me feel very welcome on the ranch.”

He scratched his head and eyed her. Lily hoped she hadn’t offended him. In a light tone he said, “It’s nice having a woman on the ranch. Been a long time.”

Lily nodded her understanding. But she wasn’t Tyler’s wife or his woman. She was the housekeeper and nanny, living on the ranch temporarily. “I’m glad to be here, too. Do you suppose we can have another lesson after roundup?”

Randy smiled wide, showing a mouthful of white, slightly off-center teeth. “Sure thing.”

Lily patted his arm in friendship. “Thank you, Randy. And I’ll be making those molasses cookies again. I’ll save a big batch for you and the boys. You can take them with you on roundup.”

“Appreciate that, Miss Lillian.” Randy nodded and tipped his straw hat. “Goodbye.”

Lily walked back to the ranch house with a barely contained grin. She’d learned how to polka. The steps had been so easy. Is that all there was to dancing? It sure was easier than learning how to ride a horse. And much safer.

Tyler came home early in the afternoon, having accomplished all of the day’s chores in a rush. He stomped dirt off his boots on the back porch, shook the day’s supply of dust out from his shirt and vest, then entered into the kitchen. The room was neat and tidy. All remnants of breakfast had been cleaned away.

Freshly baked corn bread cooled by the window. Tyler breathed in the scent, enjoying the sweet aroma. A small smile curved his lips. Lily baked something delicious
each day. Sometimes cakes, sometimes fresh fruit pies, but more often than not, she baked cookies.

The ranch hands loved Lily’s cookies.

How many times in the past few weeks had he come in from a tough day out on the range to find Lily completely absorbed in her task? Her face would be smudged with flour, her hands deep in the mixture she was concocting. She’d give him a cursory glance, a brief smile or a nod and resume the job at hand.

Many times Tyler had a mind to walk over to her, brush stray strands of hair off her forehead and wipe the smudges from her face. But he’d never given in to those urges. No. To do that would seem far too…familiar.

He remembered doing so with Lizabeth. But instead of wiping her smudges away, he saw fit to kiss at them. Soon Lizabeth would forget all about baking when Tyler took her into his arms. They’d spend the rest of the night in the bedroom, never once minding that they hadn’t eaten dinner.

Tyler glanced at the corn bread one more time, wondering what the very proper Miss Lillian Brody would do if he ever saw fit to kiss her floured cheeks.

Probably hit him over the head with the rolling pin.

Where was she, anyway? “Lily,” he called. When she didn’t answer, he went searching. The house seemed so quiet. He knocked softly on Lily’s bedroom door, thinking she might be resting. No answer.

He strolled over to Bethann’s door and knocked. His mischievous daughter came up from behind him. “Hi, Papa.”

Tyler jumped. “Bethann, where have you been?”

“Papa, I was… I was watching Lily do somethin’ is all.” A frown pulled her lips down.

Tyler had been witness to that particular expression on his daughter’s face before. And it usually meant trouble. “Bethann?” He tried to keep warning out of his voice.

“Miss Lily said I could come watch. Only, only…” Tears misted in Bethann’s eyes.

Tyler crouched down and took his daughter in his arms. “It’s all right, Bethann. Tell Papa.”

Bethann sobered. “You promise not to get mad?”

“I promise. Now where’s Lily and what did you do?”

Bethann put her head down. With a pout she replied, “I spied on her.”

“What!”

“Well, not ’xactly. She said I could come after I finished my chores. But I…I wanted to see.”

Tyler was almost afraid to ask what his daughter had witnessed. “For heaven’s sake, Bethann. What did you see?”

“Miss Lily’s dancing lessons,” Bethann whispered. “And… Randy was a holdin’ her in his arms, Papa.”

Tyler’s shoulders went rigid. “I see. Where were you?”

“I…was watchin’ from the loft.”

Tyler sucked in a big breath. He shook his head. “Bethann, you don’t go spying on people. Lily said you could come watch. Why did you hide?”

“Papa, I didn’t finish my chores like Miss Lily asked,” she admitted guiltily. “I was in the barn checkin’ on Pint-Size. I fed her a carrot. But then I heard Miss Lily’s voice so’s I climbed up the ladder to git a better look. Miss Lily was being twirled around again and again. She was smiling, Papa. And laughing. She told Randy she liked dancing with him.”

Tyler cleared his throat. A stab of something unnamed shot through his gut. “What else did you see?”

“Miss Lily looked happy.”

Happy? Tyler couldn’t say Lily was ever really happy. She seemed content at times. Satisfied, as if that was all she expected in life. She’d taken to the ranch, made friends of the hands. She held a special place in Wes’s heart. The old man always praised her. Bethann adored her. Randy was clearly smitten.

Tyler frowned, thinking of Lily in Randy’s arms. He liked Randy, all right, but Lily was naive when it came to men and their needs. A man, any man, might take advantage. Except, of course, Tyler. He knew better. But as head of the ranch Lily was under his protection. He’d best keep an eye out for that cowpuncher where Lily was concerned.

But Tyler felt something was missing in Lily’s life. Her smile was never quite broad enough, her eyes could sparkle more. Missing her uncle, was Tyler’s bet. And having a real family. She’d told him so on more than one occasion, how she longed for a family to call her own. She never spoke much of her uncle Jasper and his family. Was he married? Did he have children? Tyler wondered if he should ask Lily about the uncle she desperately searched for.

Tyler took his daughter by the hand. He sat down on the horsehair sofa in the parlor and set her on his lap. “I told you I wouldn’t get angry, but I do think you should apologize to Miss Lily.”

Bethann bobbed her head slowly. Her eyes grew wide. “’Cause I was bad?”

“No, you weren’t bad, sweetcakes, but what you did was wrong. First, you lied about doing your
chores, then you spied on Miss Lily while she was dancing. It’s not right to watch or listen in on people.”

“It’s not pole-ite.”

Tyler chuckled. “That’s right, it’s not polite.”

“Miss Lily said a gentleman should always be pole-ite to a lady.”

“That’s true, too.”

“How?”

Tyler scratched his head and wondered how he’d gotten into such a serious conversation with his six-year-old. “Well, let’s see. A man’s got to treat a lady kindly. Show her respect.”

Bethann nodded. “You mean like when Randy tipped his hat to Miss Lily?”

“Did he now?”

“Sure did. I think he likes her, Papa.”

“Miss Lily is a likable sort of woman. You like her. Wes likes her.”

“Do you like Miss Lily, Papa?”

Tyler lifted Bethann off his lap, setting her feet firmly on the ground. His inquisitive daughter gave him a questioning look. It wasn’t her fault she was so curious. Or that her questions were making him uncomfortable. Tyler didn’t like talking about his feelings. “I suppose I like Miss Lily just fine, darlin’.”

“Then why don’t you teach her dancin’?”

Tyler tapped his finger to Bethann’s nose. “’Cause I’m too busy teaching her how to shoot a gun and ride a cow pony, that’s why.”

“Is that pole-ite?”

Tyler laughed and hugged his daughter. “Don’t suppose learning those things are as much fun as dancing, but they’re necessary. And I’m always polite to Miss Lily. She’s a real lady.”

“Like my ma?”

Thoughts of Lizabeth’s sweet smile flashed through Tyler’s mind. Lizabeth had brought fun and laughter to his ranch house in the beginning. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t suited to ranch living. Not all women were. Tyler recognized it to be a hard life. Yet he’d tried to make Lizabeth comfortable every way he could. Lily, on the other hand, took to the ranch easily, as she did most things, except of course, learning how to ride. “Yeah, sweetcakes, like your ma.”

“Papa, you look sad.”

Tyler wiped the unintentional frown from his face. Maybe it was wrong of him, but he never wanted Bethann touched by his sorrow. He gave her a wide grin. “Do not. Let’s find Miss Lily. You’ve got something to say to her.”

“What do you want to say, Bethann?”

Tyler glanced up to find Lily approaching. He stood behind his daughter, bracing her shoulders. With a gentle squeeze, he coaxed her. “Go on, Bethann. Tell her what you did.” Tyler met Lily’s gaze. She gave him a reassuring nod.

Lily bent down to face Bethann. “You can tell me anything, sweetie. You know that.”

“I’m sorry for spyin’ on you.”

Tyler mentally commended Lily for keeping her expression bland. If it weren’t for the slight raise of an eyebrow, no one would’ve guessed Lily was surprised. But Tyler knew she was.

“When did you…spy on me?”

“When you was dancin’ with Randy.”

Tyler watched a deep red flush of blood crawl up Lily’s throat to singe her cheeks. “I see. Where were you?”

“In the barn. I was tryin’ to do my chores like you asked, but I heared you laughing so I…I climbed up to the hayloft and watched.”

“Bethann, I told you after your chores, you could come watch.” Lily lifted her eyes to Tyler. “We wouldn’t have minded.” She returned her gaze to his daughter. “Randy might have shown you a step or two. But it takes a big girl to come to me to apologize. I accept your apology, Bethann. Next time, please ask. We won’t mind a bit if you watched.”

Bethann threw her arms around Lily. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it ever again.”

Lily patted Bethann on the back, hugging her close. “I know you won’t. I trust you.”

“I trust you, too,” Bethann added in earnest.

Lily broke out into a wide smile. Something twisted in Tyler’s gut. The woman was good for his child. He hoped that admiration was all he felt for Lily. Nothing good could come of developing feelings for the woman.

BOOK: Charlene Sands
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