Wild West Christmas: A Family for the Rancher / Dance with a Cowboy / Christmas in Smoke River. Kathryn Albright

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СКАЧАТЬ until her fingers brushed Dillen’s muscular thigh. This time it was Dillen who straightened. Then he turned to her and smiled, but his eyes blazed with heat. A moment later his hand covered hers.

      The boys remembered their manners and thanked their hostess before their departure. Dillen helped Alice on with her fur coat and walked them to the hotel. There he hesitated outside the entrance. Was he thinking of kissing her good-night?

      Oh, she hoped so.

      Alice glanced nervously about and then saw the boys shifting from side to side, anxious no doubt to be out of the cold.

      “I hope we hear one way or the other real soon,” he said. Then he touched the brim of his hat and turned to go. Alice had to resist the urge to call after him.

      Instead she took the boys inside and retreated to their hotel room. That night, when she lay in bed, her head filled with possible ways to get Dillen to recognize her as capable and also approachable. Mrs. Pellet said to show Dillen that beneath her petticoats she was a flesh-and-blood woman. Did Mrs. Pellet mean what Alice thought she meant? She flushed at the possibility and felt a nervous, gnawing worry that if she made some advance, Dillen might rebuff her soundly. But then she recalled his hand covering hers. It gave her hope.

      If she could show him that she could see to the boys and live a simpler life, would that make him want her again?

      On Monday, Lizzy found Alice and the boys at breakfast and told her that her Tommy had set off for the ranch to deliver Mr. Harvey’s answer to Dillen’s wire.

      “He said yes.” She beamed and clapped her hands.

      Alice now had the experience of getting what she wanted and being frightened half to death. Could she do it? Could she care for them all on her own out there in the wilderness?

      What if they got hurt or sick?

      She glanced at the boys, who looked to her with anxious expressions. She plastered a confident smile on her lips and nodded.

      “Well, that is very good news, Lizzy. Thank you for the information.”

      After breakfast, Alice went to Mrs. Pellet to seek advice on supplies and spent the following two days obtaining what she lacked in the way of foodstuffs and made several adjustments in her wardrobe, leaving much behind at Mrs. Pellet’s and supplementing her existing attire with several necessities that were lacking.

      She planned to set out on Wednesday, but the sleigh was too small, so Alice had to hire a wagon, which then had to be set on runners to carry her, the boys and her supplies out to the ranch house. She suffered the delay by making some arrangements with the bank to hold her valuables. Just after lunch on Thursday, they were finally on their way.

      They set out under crystal-blue skies. Several inches of new white powder had fallen overnight and the world looked brilliant and the air snapped with freshness as they left town. The boys began the journey tucked beneath a blanket in the back, but were too excited to stay put, and to keep them from mischief she entertained them with Christmas carols, singing the ones they knew and teaching them some they did not. Even Mr. Gulliver, their driver, joined along, his voice a wobbly baritone that occasionally strayed from the tune.

      The horses trotted along, adding the jingle of sleigh bells to the music, and it was no wonder that both Dillen and Mr. Roberts were waiting for them as they drew into the yard.

      The boys tumbled out first, and Dillen came forward to offer her a hand.

      “No furs?” he asked.

      She bounced down before him. Alice had exchanged her furs for a woolen shawl and wore a simple woolen bodice and skirts with no hoops or bustle whatsoever. Her jewelry remained behind in a bank safe. She felt lighter, freer, and she beamed her happiness at seeing Dillen again.

      “We heard that you received a wire,” she said.

      Dillen glanced in the wagon and then back to her. “That Tommy is going to get himself fired, yakking like a woman.”

      “Perhaps so.”

      Roberts limped forward, putting a hand on each of the children’s heads. “Boys, let’s get your gear unloaded.”

      By midafternoon all her supplies and necessary possessions were stacked in the living room and Mr. Gulliver had left them. Dillen seemed glad to see her but somewhat reserved, rubbing his neck as he looked at the pile of gear. She feared she’d overwhelmed him again and shifted uncomfortably as she considered this latest misstep.

      “I’ve got chores in the barn, getting those two horses trained, but I’ll be back in a bit to make you dinner.”

      Make her dinner?

      Mrs. Pellet was correct, Alice realized. He did not even think her capable of fixing a meal.

      “What time will you be in?” she asked.

      He glanced at the mantel clock, which read three in the afternoon.

      “Around six, I think.”

      “Would you like the boys’ help or would they be underfoot?”

      Both Colin and Cody went totally still, and she could see them fairly vibrating with excitement and anticipation at the possibility of seeing the horses. They all knew Dillen’s reputation in town for being a fine horseman and were mad with desire to learn to ride.

      Dillen hesitated and then glanced to Roberts, who nodded.

      “They can come with me,” said Dillen. “Give you time to rest after the ride out here.”

      Did he really think she would be going to her room for a nap? If he did, then he’d be wildly disappointed. Alice had used her time with Mrs. Pellet to good effect, recording some simpler recipes. But she still wasn’t sure how to prove she had desires like any other woman.

      Alice threw back the shawl that had covered her head.

      Dillen frowned as he studied her. “You look different.”

      She smiled, wondering if it was the simpler chignon that he noticed, or her lack of jewelry. “Do I? I feel different. Perhaps it is the mountain air. It seems to agree with me.”

      Dillen’s brow remained wrinkled as he nodded, and then shepherded the boys toward the front door.

      “You rest now,” Dillen said.

      She smiled as they headed out in the direction of the barn. The moment the latch clicked shut, she broke into a frenzy of motion, unpacking the boxes and setting up her kitchen before launching into meal preparation. Something quick, delicious and memorable. Something that would make Dillen Roach reconsider his opinion of Miss Alice Pinter Truett.

Chapter Seven

      Dillen took the boys to the barn, wondering with each step if he’d just made the worst mistake of his life. He’d asked Mr. Harvey if his nephews could stay until after he got these horses trained and delivered. Even mentioned Alice and her willingness to help out until the holiday. He’d never expected his boss to say, Sure! Move the woman and kids into my personal residence. But Harvey had said yes СКАЧАТЬ