Wild At Heart (16 page)

“Well, I’m not letting you go, no matter what you say.” Anna looped her arm through Mariah’s and tugged it close to her side as if she could keep her from leaving. Her loneliness for female companionship was obvious.

Mariah’s mirth died as she realized all that she’d be leaving behind when she left North Dakota. The rocky hills and grasslands had grown on her. She loved the
swish
of the grass on the steady breeze and the kaleidoscope of wildflowers. But it was the people who’d truly stolen her heart. The McFarlands to be exact.

Mariah sighed. She’d accomplished her goal in coming west. She’d learned a lot about ranching and life in the Badlands, and her heart had mended from Silas’s betrayal.

She couldn’t stay here much longer, not when her grandmother needed her. Though not as steady as she had been, her grandma still had many years ahead of her, and Mariah planned to cherish each one.

As much as she would like to, it wouldn’t be fair to ask Adam to wait for her—even if he were so inclined. She touched her lips, her insides tingling at the reminder of Adam’s kiss. The sooner she left, the sooner she’d forget Adam and Anna, and even stoic Quinn.

She stifled a sarcastic snort.

Who was she kidding?

“Hold the barrel up. Now, look through the sight and aim toward those tin cans.”

Adam stood to the side, watching Mariah. She did as he asked and closed one eye as she pointed the rifle toward the target. She’d asked him half a dozen times to show her how to shoot. At first, he thought it was a silly notion, but then he reconsidered. Who knew how long she’d be here, and as feisty and independent as she was, he couldn’t guard her every minute. Her few days’ visit had turned into several weeks, not that he was complaining. Still, he couldn’t help wondering where she’d been going when she’d come to his aid on the train. Why had she been traveling alone?

The barrel slipped downward again, and he lifted it with two fingers. “Hold it up. You don’t want to shoot your toe off.”

Mariah scowled at him then pressed the rifle into her shoulder and hefted it up again. “It’s heavier than I expected.”

“Shoot it a few times, and then we’ll switch to my pistol. That will be easier for you.”

He longed to wrap his arms around her and help her hold up the rifle but shoved his hands into his pockets instead. How had he become so enamored with Mariah in such a short time? Was it because he was rarely around women?

No, it was because she’d stolen his heart when she bravely—or maybe foolishly—stabbed that train robber with her hatpin. A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered her gumption. The rifle blasted, and he jumped. Who was he kidding? He no longer cared where she’d come from or where she was going. He was just grateful she was here and hoped she’d stay long enough for him to win her heart as she had his.

“Phooey, I missed.” She swung around, the rifle pointing straight at his belly.

He gently pushed it away. “Watch it. Never point a weapon at a person unless you intend to shoot them.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Sorry. I doubt I need to be concerned with shooting people.”

“Nobody hits the target on their first attempt. Try again.” He spun her around by her shoulders. “Hold the rifle steady.”

She lifted it to her shoulder, and this time, against his better judgment, he wrapped his arm around her, helping her to hold the Winchester upright. She smelled like some kind of flowers, and he couldn’t help inhaling her sweet scent. He liked the feel of her in his arms and tightened his embrace.

“How’s that? Any easier?”

Mariah stiffened at first but then relaxed. “Yes, um… thank you.”

“All right, aim it where you think it needs to be then gently pull the trigger when you’re ready. Slow and easy.”

The rifle report made his ears ring, and the scent of gunpowder hung in the air. The tin can on the left pinged and jumped sideways.

“I hit it!”

He took the rifle from Mariah’s hands as she turned in his arms.

“I did it.”

Her face illuminated with joy, and all he could think about was kissing her again. But this wasn’t the time or place. Emotion clogged his throat, and he cleared it. “Good job.”

He stepped away, noticing Mariah’s confused look. He reloaded the rifle then scanned the valley below and the hillside to his right. The train robber was still in jail; he’d made certain of that while in town yesterday. But the man who’d threatened Mariah was still out there. Though there were plenty of ranch hands working the herds in the area, a man couldn’t be too cautious—not after the woman he loved had been assaulted.

And he did love her. He’d be lying if he didn’t face the facts.

The problem was she was leaving. She’d told them yesterday at dinner after they’d returned from Medora. Said her grandmother would need her after her aunt returned home in a few days. Adam clenched his jaw.

Didn’t she know that he needed her? She filled a void in his heart that had been there for a long time, and her questions about God had prompted him to make things right with his Savior.

But how could he ask her to stay with him when her grandmother needed her?

But how could he let her go?

At times, he wished it were easier for him to confront issues head-on like Quinn and Anna did. To talk—or even argue—until a difficult situation was resolved. But God hadn’t made him that way.

He yanked his pistol from the holster and spun the barrel, double-checking to make sure it was fully loaded. He’d prayed for hours and couldn’t find a solution.

As much as he wanted to keep Mariah here, he couldn’t ask her to stay and leave her elderly grandmother alone. Besides, he hadn’t even planned to stay himself. Mariah might consider traveling with him, but they couldn’t take an elderly woman.

There was no solution that he could rope and cling to. He sighed and handed her the gun. She watched him, obviously struggling with her own thoughts. He’d love to know what they were, but he wouldn’t ask.

“You should find this a lot easier. Cock the gun, point it at the target, holding it with both hands, and shoot.” He swung the revolver toward the can and fired, hitting it once, and then again before it touched the ground. Okay, so he was showing off. He grinned. “Think you can do that?”

“That’s amazing… and, uh… no. I’m sure I can’t.” She reverently took the pistol and fired at the target, missing it every time. “It’s harder than I thought.”

“Hopefully you’ll never have to shoot anyone, but a person is lots bigger than a tin can, so in some ways, it’s easier to shoot a man. Course, a tin can doesn’t move like a person does.”

Mariah shivered and handed the gun back to him. “I don’t ever want to have to shoot a person. I was just curious about how a gun worked since I’d never fired one.”

He reloaded, using the last of the bullets he’d brought with him. He deftly spun the pistol around on his finger and dropped it into the holster.

“Show-off.” Mariah’s lips curved upward, revealing her nearly straight teeth.

He shrugged, enjoying her amusement. He wasn’t ready for their time to end and searched for a way to prolong it. “How’d you like to try herding some cattle?”

“Truly?” Her brown eyes widened.

He nodded.

“I’d love to.”

Adam headed toward Chief. “It might be easier for me to show you how if we rode double.”

“What about Sugar?”

He untied the mare, fastened her reins loosely around the horn, and smacked her on the rear. Sugar galloped off in the direction of the barn, sending dust flying. “She’ll head home where she knows she’ll get a rubdown and some oats.”

Mariah lifted her brows but followed him. He boosted her into the saddle; then, using the stirrup, he climbed on behind her. With his left arm, he guided Chief to the top of a butte, allowing his right arm to rest on his thigh. The wound didn’t pain him much anymore, unless he overdid things, but it didn’t hurt to rest it now and then.

Atop the butte, he scanned a plateau to the south and east, looking for the herd of Angus. He remembered how Mariah mentioned liking the black cattle. His arm lightly grazed her waist, and wisps of soft brown hair tickled his cheeks and clung to his whiskers. He brushed them away, enjoying Mariah’s nearness.

The herd wasn’t in sight, so he nudged Chief in the other direction. He’d check the valley to the west where a branch of the Little Missouri pooled into a wide pond.

After asking him probably a hundred questions about ranch life when she’d first arrived at the Rocking M, Mariah now seemed content to ride quietly. In fact, she’d been quiet for the past couple of days. He wondered if leaving would be as hard for her as it was for him.

He was certain she’d developed feelings for him. On several occasions, he’d caught her staring. She was quick to look away, but not before he caught a shy smile on her pretty lips.

In town yesterday, he’d noticed how the men watched Mariah. He assumed they were intrigued with the city gal and her fancy dresses instead of his tomboy sister.

The parcel with his four latest drawings was on its way to Chicago, along with a request for an extension of his deadline. He was a man who kept his word, and it went against everything within him to ask for an extension, but he had no choice because of the shooting. He could only hope Mr. Howard wouldn’t consider it a breach of his contract.

“There’s the Angus herd.” Mariah pointed down in the valley where a hundred or so head of cattle were spread out, enjoying the warmth of the summer sun. Some lazily munched grass while others slept on the ground. A calf frolicked in the grass and received a
moo
from its mother when it drifted too far away.

He wished he could be at home here, content to tend cattle and raise Percheron all his life. It wasn’t that he hated it here, because he didn’t. He just felt that God had something else for him, at least for now. Who knew where he’d be a few years down the road? All he knew was that he hoped Mariah would be by his side. It was time he had a long talk with his brother and sister—and Mariah.

“The babies are adorable.”

“Calves.”

She peered over her shoulder. “I know what they’re called. But they’re still babies, and they’re cute.” She turned back to watch the cattle. “I wish I could pet one.”

“They’re dinner and coats and rugs, not pets.”

Mariah gasped. “Adam, that’s atrocious.” She jabbed him in the belly with her elbow.

A puff of air slid out on a chuckle. “It’s the truth. No sense getting attached to them.” He rested his cheek against her head. The wind whipped a strand of her hair across his cheek, and he couldn’t help feeling its softness between his fingers as he brushed it off.

“I know, but when you say it that way it sounds dreadful.” She leaned back against his chest, and he enveloped her with his good arm. “So how does one go about herding cattle?”

“Hmm? Who said anything about chasing cattle? I’m pretty content to stay here like this all day.” His belly growled.

Mariah giggled. “I don’t think your stomach would be too happy if you did.”

The warm breeze brought with it the scent of cattle and sage and the swishing of buffalo grass. A hawk screeched high above him, and the sun glistened off the pond. He’d never felt this content. He’d made things right with God and was drawing again. The two things he’d thought most important were back in his life, only now there was something else he wanted. He just couldn’t see how to work it all out.

At first, Mariah had been a nuisance, and he’d just wanted her gone. But then she started helping Anna and puttering about the house like she belonged there—belonged in his heart. He admired her bravery and spunk, even when it got her in trouble. If only she’d turn her heart to God and stay here.

Clicking out the side of his mouth, he urged Chief forward. Best get this herding lesson over with and put some distance between him and Mariah before he turned into a pile of mush.

“We’re heading for that lone steer over there by the pine, and then we’ll persuade him to rejoin the herd.”

“Persuade?” Mariah threw a saucy smile over her shoulder.

“Yes, ma’am. In a minute, he’ll want nothing more than to join his cousins.”

He felt Mariah’s side vibrate as she giggled, and his chest swelled that he could make her so happy. Tightening his grip on her waist, he guided Chief down an incline.

Yep, at this moment, life was just about perfect.

Mariah turned sober and fidgeted with the lace on her cuff. She cleared her throat. “Adam, there’s something I need to tell y—”

A shot rang out, and Mariah jumped. His heart jolted. Had she been shot?

He tightened his hold on her and rolled them off his gelding as Mariah let out a squeal. Adam landed on his injured arm, gritting his teeth as blinding pain shot across his shoulder, but he cradled Mariah to soften her landing.

Another shot blasted the dirt two feet from his face. He jerked away and grabbed Mariah around the waist, rolling her behind a big boulder jutting up from the ground.

She didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound.

He grabbed his pistol and peered through a bush growing in a crevice on the warm boulder. His heart thundered. Had his carelessness and daydreaming caused him to lose the woman he dearly loved?