Linda Ford (14 page)

W
hen Griff saw it was Ruby at the door, his spirits lifted. “Well, hello. Come to check on the invalid?” he asked as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The spurt of pleasure he felt at seeing her was due to his need to repay her for her help in getting him home, of course.

She returned his smile. “You’re looking less like an invalid by the minute.”

Pleased that she’d noticed, he nodded. “Thanks. Regardless of what Inez has to say on the matter, it’s not really necessary to keep me bed-bound like this.”

“She’s only looking out for your best interests.”

“I know. That’s why I’m humoring her today. But tomorrow I’m getting out of this bed and out of this room, no matter how much she tries to mollycoddle me.”

“Do you really think that’s wise? You’re not—”

“I didn’t say I was going to ride out to the back
forty. I just want to move around and get a change of scenery.”

Ruby held up her hands, palms outward. “No need to get all testy. It’s not me you’ll need to convince.”

“And you don’t think I can convince Inez?”

She dropped her hands. “I’ll let the two of you battle that out without me.” The she grinned. “And don’t ask me who I’d favor to come out on top.”

He pretended indignation. “I’ll grant that Inez can be a formidable opponent. But don’t rule me out just yet.”

“Oh, I would never
completely
rule you out.”

He glanced at the object in her hands. “What do you have there?”

“A book.” Then she quickly added, “Inez told me I could borrow it.”

“Of course. I was just curious as to which book it was.”

“
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
It’s by Mr. Mark Twain. Have you read it?”

“I have.” He noticed the way her expression fell.

“Oh. I thought I would read it to you for a while, but if you’ve already—”

“I’d rather just talk, if you don’t mind. Maybe you could read it yourself later and we could compare notes on what we each thought of it.”

“All right.” She set the book on the side table somewhat wistfully and took a seat. “What would you like to talk about?”

He grabbed the first topic that came to mind. “You enjoy reading?”

“Oh, yes. I own three books myself.” Her pride changed to chagrin in an instant. “Of course, compared to what you have here, that must sound meager.”

“Not at all. You have to understand, that library was collected by several family members over many, many years. I’m afraid I haven’t added much to the collection myself.”

“You’re blessed to have access to so many volumes.”

“I take it you didn’t?”

“Other than Bibles, not many of the families in Cleebit Springs have books. But I didn’t go entirely without. Mr. Barlowe, who owns the general store, used to get the newspaper from Shreveport and when I lived with his family he would let me read it occasionally. And Mrs. Samuels had a set of encyclopedias that I spent as much time with as I could when I lived with her family.”

Sounded as if she’d moved around a lot growing up.

“The books I have were my father’s,” she continued. “One of them is another of Mr. Twain’s books—
The Prince and the Pauper.
”

“That’s one I haven’t read yet. Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much.” She brightened. “I’d be glad to loan it to you if you like.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“All right.” She leaned forward and launched into an enthusiastic discussion of the high points of the story, complete with animated expressions and hand
gestures. She seemed to be quite a storyteller in her own right.

Griff interposed questions and comments of his own, as much to keep her talking as for clarification. He was surprised at both her recall and the intelligent way she added asides about her own thoughts on the story.

When Inez stepped into the room, Griff glanced at the clock on the mantel and was surprised to find that nearly two hours had passed.

“Sounds like you two are passing the time enjoyably,” Inez commented, “but I think maybe Griff should get some rest now. As should we all.”

Ruby popped out of her chair, a guilty flush staining her cheeks. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I lost all track of time. I—”

“No need to apologize,” Griff interrupted. Truth to tell he was annoyed at Inez’s interruption. He wasn’t some schoolboy to be given an early bedtime. “In fact, I was enjoying the story.”

“That’s all well and good,” Inez replied, “but you’re still my patient and I say it’s time for you to rest.”

“I’m not tired.” He mentally winced at the petulance of his tone. It didn’t help when he spied Ruby’s unsuccessful attempt to swallow her grin.

“Well, Ruby and I have had a long day.” Inez’s tone was tart. “And neither of us got much sleep the past two nights.”

A not-so-subtle reminder of the worry he’d caused them.

“Now, before we leave you to your rest,” she said as she turned down the wick of the lamp, “would you like me to fix you one of my special teas to help you sleep?”

Griff shook his head and leaned back against the pillows. “No, thanks.”

“Good.” She made shooing motions for Ruby. “We’ll leave you, then.”

Griff frowned at her high-handedness, then shifted uncomfortably as his housekeeper shot him a look he couldn’t quite interpret. Surely that wasn’t amusement?

“Just a minute.” Ruby moved back toward the bed and slipped the pillows out from behind his back. “Slide down and I’ll straighten your covers.”

“Tucking me in like a babe,” Griff said gruffly. “You’re as bad as Inez.”

But even as he complained, Griff felt oddly warmed by the attention.

Ruby turned to Inez once they were in the hallway. “Honestly, I’m so sorry if I kept him up—”

Inez held up a hand. “No need to apologize. I’m sure your visit did him a world of good.” Then she smiled and there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. “Most of my little performance was for his benefit. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t in any position to argue with me.”

Performance? Ruby gave her head a mental shake. The relationship between these two was more com
plex than she’d imagined. But there was genuine love on both ends, so she supposed that was what counted.

They paused at the foot of the stairs. Inez had her own set of rooms off the kitchen, away from the family area. She had placed Ruby in one of the guest rooms on the second floor.

“Now, I’m going to head off to my own bed,” Inez said. “But if you want to stay up a bit longer, feel free.”

They exchanged good-nights and Ruby slowly climbed the stairs, clutching the Mark Twain book to her chest. She’d read for a while before she turned down her lamp tonight. Then she could discuss the story with Griff tomorrow.

She’d certainly enjoyed their discussion tonight. It wasn’t often someone sought out her opinion and then really listened to what she had to say. It had been a heady feeling.

Griff Lassiter was a man who was hard to put a label on—gruff and irritable one minute, considerate and gentle the next. But there was no doubting his compassion and integrity.

Strange that such a man had never married. Especially one who seemed so deeply rooted in his land and his family.

As she pushed open her bedroom door, Ruby told herself that that was really none of her business.

Still, the question lingered in her mind long after she’d turned down the lamp and pulled up the blanket.

Ruby looked up from turning the crank on the butter churn as Red entered the kitchen.

“Morning, ladies,” he said as he removed his hat and stomped his boots on the rag rug at the threshold. “Another nasty day out there.”

Inez wiped her hands on her apron as she moved to the cupboard. “Come on in and let me fix you a cup of coffee.”

“No, thanks. I just had a cup at the bunkhouse. Manny tells me Griff wants me to fill him in on what’s been going on around here since he left. I assume he’s in his office.”

Inez headed back to the stove. “Of course. You know Griff—he couldn’t wait to get back to work.”

Griff had prevailed this morning, getting up right after breakfast to bathe and shave. Afterward he’d headed straight for his office, where he’d been for the past twenty minutes. Ruby had only seen him briefly when she’d brought him a cup of coffee at Inez’s request.

Red nodded to Ruby as he passed. “I noticed one of the traces on your buggy harness looked worn. I asked Frank to have a look at it. He’ll make sure it’s good as new before you need to take it out again.”

Ruby was struck again by how thoughtful the folks here were. “Why, thank you. But y’all don’t have to go to all that trouble.”

“It’s not any trouble to speak of. On a day like this there’s not much else we can do anyway. And we can’t have you breaking down when you’re out and about on your own.”

And before she could say more he had exited the room.

An hour later Ruby was happily ensconced in the study, curled up in an overstuffed chair, one hand holding an open book and the other hand resting on the cat slumbering in her lap. It felt almost decadent to relax this way in the middle of the day, but the guilty pleasure was one she could happily get used to.

Besides, Inez had run her out of the kitchen, ordering her to take some time for herself.

Patience’s lifting of her head was Ruby’s first sign that they were no longer alone. Looking toward the doorway, she saw Griff leaning there, watching her.

“Sorry,” he said straightening. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your reading.”

How long had he been standing there? “Oh, that’s okay.” She uncurled her legs and put her feet on the floor.

“No need to get up on my account,” he protested.

She settled back down. Making a quick mental note of the page number, she closed the book. “I hope you don’t mind my being in here. Inez ran me out of the kitchen, and the weather’s too dreary for me to go outside, so I thought I’d take advantage of your library and do a bit of reading while I still had the chance.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Spend as much time in here as you like.” He moved to the chair across from her and she noticed the slight hitch in his gait. Apparently his foot still bothered him, but he was trying to hide it.

Patience sneezed, hopped off her lap and stalked from the room, head and tail equally high.

“I don’t think that animal cares for me,” Griff said.

She smiled at his dry tone. “Patience
is
a very discerning animal.”

He stared at her a moment as if not certain if she’d been serious. Then he smiled. “So why did you name that pampered rat catcher Patience?”

She raised a brow. “What? You don’t think it fits her?” Ruby laughed outright at his expression. “Actually, it’s because patience is what was required to win her over.”

“Ahh—now that I can believe. So, I take it she was a stray?”

“Uh-huh. I spotted her outside the boardinghouse shortly after I moved in there. Poor thing was skin and bones and had a hurt paw.” But Ruby had recognized a kindred spirit beneath the tattered exterior.

“So you took her in.”

“Not right away. She wasn’t trusting enough for that. But after weeks of leaving food scraps for her and talking softly and being as nonthreatening as possible, she finally quit running away when she saw me. It was a lot longer before I could actually hold her.” That had been such a sweet moment. Ruby could still remember that feeling of triumph and joy when she felt Patience begin to truly trust her.

“And now she’s your pet.”

Ruby grinned. “I don’t know if I’d go that far—
Patience is much too independent for that. I guess you could say we have an understanding of sorts.”

He shook his head. “Seems like a whole lot of trouble for a snooty, scruffy feline.”

“You know what they say—appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes it’s worth looking closer to see what’s inside.”

He gave her a strange look at that. But rather than comment, he changed the subject. “What’s that you’re reading?”

“It’s the Mark Twain book I brought to your room last night. I’m really enjoying it.”

“So are you going to focus only on Mr. Twain’s work, or do you plan to try some other writers while you’re here?”

She glanced at the shelves wistfully, wishing she had time to read each and every volume. “I’ll admit I was overwhelmed by the bumper crop of choices and just went for the familiar.”

He smiled. “Bumper crop, is it?” He moved toward the bookshelves. “Why don’t I make some recommendations, if you’ll allow me?”

“Oh, I’d appreciate that.”

She followed him to the bookshelves where he started pulling books and handing them to her.

“The Twain books are all on this shelf—help yourself to any of them you’re interested in. Now these over here are some of my personal favorites.”

She read the titles as he handed them to her:
Swiss Family Robinson, The Count of Monte Cristo, A Tale of Two Cities, Around the World in Eighty Days,
Castle Nowhere: Lake-Country Sketches, Twice-Told Tales.

He moved to another bookcase. “These are some of my sister’s favorites.” He handed her copies of
Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Sonnets from the Portuguese, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
and
Black Beauty.

Then he turned and focused back on her, and the towering stack of books in her arms. “Oh, sorry. Here let me take those.” He retrieved them from her and set them on a nearby table.

Ruby stared at the literary feast he’d selected for her. “My goodness, that’s quite a pile of books. There’s no way I can read all of them while I’m here.” Unless she stayed longer than a day or two. Not that she wanted to extend her stay. She was ready to get on with her new life.

He shrugged. “What you don’t finish you can take with you when you leave for Tyler. I can get them back from you when you’re done with them.”

So he expected to see her even after she moved? That thought lightened her mood considerably. It would be nice to have at least one friend in her life. “That’s mighty generous. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do. After all, you practically saved my life.”