Land of My Heart (48 page)

The men were already hard at work when Dianne and Bram made their way to the camp. Most of the herd had been gathered into a manageable collection, and the mothering up of calves and cows had already begun.

Dianne watched in fascination as Gus and the men would rope the calves by the hind legs and drag them to the fire for branding. She had thought this part of the job would upset her or even sicken her with the smell of burnt hair and flesh, but in truth she wasn’t bothered at all. It seemed she had ranching—all aspects of ranching—in her blood.

Cole seemed surprised by her appearance but said nothing. He was too busy to stop and talk, but it didn’t keep Dianne from watching his every move. She thought him more handsome than she’d even remembered. She loved to watch him work with the calves, his arm muscles straining against the flannel of his shirt. He needed a haircut, to be sure, and a shave. Both he and Levi had grown beards over the winter. No doubt it offered their faces added warmth.

If Cole noticed her watching him, he didn’t respond, and for this Dianne was grateful. She wasn’t sure how to handle her feelings for him. She’d hoped that in his absence she might be able to let go of her consuming thoughts, but that hadn’t happened. And now, with dreams of Cole Selby mingling with the news her uncle had shared, Dianne wasn’t at all sure what she would do.

She longed to discuss the situation with Cole. She longed to let him know what her uncle had said and see what Cole thought about his plan. Then she wondered if she should say anything at all.
What if he doesn’t have feelings for me but when he hears that I’ll someday inherit the entire ranch he pretends to care so that he can take control?

“Have you heard the news?” Bram asked Dianne. “We’ve got fifty new calves. Fifty!” He was so excited about this that he didn’t even wait for Dianne’s response. She laughed as he rode off, calling out for Gus. The herd was growing more rapidly now. Most of the new cattle he’d brought in the previous year had made it through the harsh winter, and now the calves were showing great promise as well.

“Well, in another ten years your uncle will have a herd to be reckoned with,” Levi said, pausing to get a drink from the water barrel.

Dianne nodded. “To be sure. I’ve never seen Uncle Bram this excited.”

“We lost only two calves and one cow over the winter,” Levi declared. “He’s got reason to be excited.”

That evening as the men and cattle rested, Dianne cleaned up the supper dishes. She’d been pleased that her elk stew had gone over so well. The men had come back for seconds and before she knew it, every bit of stew was gone. She’d not even had a chance to have a bowl for herself. But it didn’t matter. The men were well fed and happy, and that blessed Dianne in a way she couldn’t explain.

“Good supper,” Cole said, coming to where Dianne stood at the back of the wagon.

“Thank you. I’m glad you liked it. Did you get enough to eat?”

“Sure did. Had three bowls.”

Dianne already knew this but said nothing. She continued washing the dishes as Cole stood casually beside her. She wondered what he wanted—if there was something more he intended to say. She might have asked, too, but her hands were trembling so much that she worried her voice might well do the same if she opened her mouth to speak.

“You didn’t bring Dolly,” Cole commented.

“No … ah … she’s due to foal. Did … you forget?”

He shifted to lean back against the wagon. “I suppose I did. Hope she’ll wait until we get back.”

Dianne finished the last of the dishes and started to lift the basin to dump the water. Instead, Cole swept her aside and lifted the pan himself. “Where do you want it?”

“Anywhere,” Dianne said. “I was just dumping it.”

Cole tossed the water aside and handed the basin back to her. Dianne quickly dried it out and then began drying the other dishes. By the time she finished and Cole hadn’t said another word, Dianne thought she might scream. What did he want? Why was he here?

Nervously she began to chatter. “You should see Jamie. He’s crawling everywhere and getting into everything. I can’t wait until he’s walking. He’s already trying to do just that. He pulls up to everything and …” She ran out of things to say the minute she glanced up to look at Cole’s face.

Oh goodness, why do I have to be so flustered? It’s just Cole. I’ve talked to him a hundred times. I’ve even yelled at him a couple of times
. Her cheeks grew hot at those memories. She looked away quickly.

“Remember the blizzard the day you left with the cattle?” She didn’t wait for a response but hurried right along. “Well, it got really bad at the ranch and I was out checking the horses and milk cows while Uncle Bram got extra wood and water. Next thing I know the wind is so fierce, I’ve fallen. I had no choice but to crawl and before I knew it, I was being lifted up. You’ll never guess who had come to my rescue.”

“Bram?” He finally spoke.

Dianne laughed nervously, now wishing she’d never brought up the story. “Ah, no. It was … Koko’s brother. Takes-Many-Horses.”

“I thought he was on the run from the law,” Cole said, not sounding in the leastwise happy to hear the news.

Dianne finished putting away the dishes and hung her towel over the side of the wagon. “I don’t think he was running from anyone this time,” she said. “He was very pleasant. Very nice to talk to.”

Cole pushed off from the wagon. “What did you talk about?”

Dianne shrugged. “He talked about the Indians and conflicts with the whites. He also loved my apple pie.” She bit her tongue, wishing she hadn’t said that. There was no sense in it.

“You do make good apple pie,” Cole admitted. “What else did you talk about?”

Dianne’s face grew hotter. She looked to the ground. “Well, really not much.”

“You seem upset. Did he say something that upset you?”

Cole sounded angry now. Dianne looked up abruptly. “No, not at all. He was very kind. He even teased about marrying me.” Cole’s eyes widened and Dianne decided then that perhaps that hadn’t been the best thing to mention. “I assured him he wouldn’t want me for a wife,” she continued, trying her best to sound lighthearted. “I can’t chew leather.” She smiled, hoping Cole would relax his rigid stance.

“Would you walk with me?” Cole asked.

“What?”

“Walk with me,” he said, almost making it a command. Quietly he added, “Please.”

Dianne took off her apron and hung it alongside the dish towel. “All right.” She pulled on her wool-lined coat, as the evening had grown chilly. She couldn’t imagine what had come over Cole. He was acting like a nervous schoolboy one minute and a jealous husband the next.

They walked away from the camp, strolling at a slow pace as if they were visiting a park. In truth, Dianne had never seen a lovelier park anywhere. The grandeur of God’s splendor was vastly superior to anything man could order or create.

“My father and I came to Montana in search of gold,” Cole began softly. Dianne almost had to strain to hear him. “Instead, I found true love. Or what I thought was true love. Her name was Carrie. She was young and sweet and totally unspoiled. Her father had come for his fortune, as well, but before long his ways led to breaking the law and he found himself on the wrong side of the vigilantes.”

“The ones who went around hanging highwaymen?” Dianne asked.

Cole’s expression grew pained. “Yes. My father was a member. He wanted badly to prove his mettle to his peers. He forced me to come along with them on the day they went to confront Carrie’s father. It had already been proven by several eyewitnesses that the man was a murderer and a thief, and because the sheriff would do nothing about it, this group of men felt they had to act.

“I didn’t want to go, but my father made it clear that I would go and assist or that I was no son to him. He would send me back to my mother. Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I wanted to make him proud— to please him. But I didn’t want to do it this way. I didn’t believe in taking matters into my own hands. I felt confident something else could be done. I went along hoping to change their minds, but that didn’t happen.”

Dianne nodded, still not understanding why Cole was suddenly telling her all of this. She’d wanted to know the truth for a very long time, but now without warning here he was telling her everything without being prompted to do so. She couldn’t help but wonder why.

“I learned when they planned to hang Carrie’s father and arranged for her to be in town with a friend. I didn’t want her to witness the ugliness. So with that taken care of, we went out to her place. The men accused Carrie’s father and prepared to hang him. Then there was a noise in the brush. It appeared to be an ambush. The men drew their weapons, and as Carrie came screaming into the clearing, my father shot her. She died in my arms.” He said it all so matter-of-factly that Dianne wasn’t at all sure how to respond.

Cole reached out and took hold of Dianne’s forearms. Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. In spite of the thick coat, his touch sent tingling charges up her arms. She met his eyes, watching, waiting for what would come next.

“I promised Carrie I’d never love another woman. I determined in my heart to spend my days alone.”

It wasn’t at all what she’d expected him to say. But then again, she really didn’t know what she’d expected him to say.

“Dianne, I’ve had a lot of time to think out here this winter. I can’t keep my promise to Carrie.”

“Oh?” Dianne barely uttered the word. Her mind was running in a hundred different directions as she tried to understand exactly what Cole was trying to get across.

Cole closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. He let it out slowly, mesmerizing Dianne with his action. He opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on her face.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Dianne. In case you haven’t figured it out before now, I’ve fallen in love with you.”

CHAPTER 36

“Y
OU WHAT?” DIANNE ASKED IN DISBELIEF
. SHE HAD OFTEN dreamed of hearing Cole’s declaration of love, but now that it’d come, she was stunned.

Cole took hold of her chin. “I love you, Dianne. You’re all I could think about out here. I didn’t plan to fall in love with you, but it’s happened, and I need to know how you feel.”

Dianne swallowed hard. Cole’s touch was doing strange things to her stomach and knees. She felt her breath quicken. “I … uh … I …” Dizziness gripped her like the time when they’d found Betsy’s lifeless body. Dianne fought against it this time, however. She didn’t want to faint and miss out on the very moment she’d longed for.

“I feel the same,” she whispered.

Cole grinned. “The way you lost all your coloring just now, I wasn’t sure what you were going to say.” He hugged her close, then quickly released her, totally catching Dianne off guard. “Sorry,” he murmured as if embarrassed, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?” Dianne said, not in the least bit sorry for the embrace.

“Well, we aren’t engaged and even if we were, it would be a bit forward of me. I wasn’t raised to be a cad about these things.”

Dianne grinned. “Good thing. I’ve no interest in cads.”

“How about simple cowboys?” he asked, his gaze boring into her soul.

Dianne reached up and tenderly touched her fingers to his face. “I have a fascination for them. Especially one in particular.”

Cole closed his hand over hers. “So should we talk to your uncle?”

Dianne felt her entire body tremble. She nodded slowly, then remembered the conversation she’d had with Uncle Bram about the ranch. “But there’s something you should know first. Something that might change your mind about everything.”

“What?”

Dianne pulled away. “My uncle just informed me this morning that he’s putting my name on the deed to the ranch. Koko and Jamie can’t inherit it because in the eyes of the law, they’re Indian. I told him I’d stay here and make a good home for them if anything happened to him. I gave him my word, Cole, and I can’t go back on that.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Cole replied. “It’s a surprise to be sure, but I’d already decided after spending the winter thinking things over that I would get me a piece of homestead land and build my own ranch. I’d be just as happy to help your uncle—if he agrees to it.”

Dianne sighed in relief. “I’m sure he’ll be delighted, Cole. Probably happier than you or me about this whole thing.”

“That isn’t possible,” Cole said, his expression growing quite serious. “No one could be happier than I am.”

“Nor I,” Dianne whispered. And in her heart, she knew the truth of it as joy washed over her in waves.