A Man for Glory. Carolyn Davidson

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СКАЧАТЬ to the barn. Their usual bedtime came at dusk and tonight was no different, for the children were weary from a long day, and even Glory sought her bed as soon as darkness enveloped the farmhouse. She settled into the feather tick and closed her eyes, but found that sleep eluded her. The man in her barn appeared before her as if he were there in her bedroom, a vision she beheld as she thought of what might be in her future. It would surely be a blessing to have a man to do the chores and work the fields. After turning from one side of the bed to the other, the bedclothes tangling about her body, she rose to find her dressing gown. Tying it firmly at her waist, she slid into her house shoes, then descended the stairs and went out the back door, seeking the silence of the night and the familiar sight of the fruit trees in the orchard.

      As she had in the past, she walked among the trees, admiring the blossoms that filled the air with a faint scent. She lifted her eyes to the sky, seeking some bit of wisdom perhaps in the stars that pierced the darkness. Change hovered in the air that surrounded her, and she stood as still as a statue, her gaze upward, thoughts of Cade McAllister filling her mind again. There was about him a sheen of honesty, and she was drawn to him, her body almost seeking out the warmth of his whenever she was near him.

      The future loomed before her and she was fearful of what it held, for she was mighty tempted to accept the offer of the man who lay in her hayloft. It was a given that keeping the farm intact for Buddy to inherit one day involved seeking help. Perhaps Cade could be persuaded to work as a partner. She turned from her stargazing and headed back toward the house, hoping she would find Cade agreeable in the morning.

      The barn was warm with the body heat given off by the animals, and in the hayloft Cade rolled up in a quilt and found a lush bed beneath the eaves. From below, the cow lowed contentedly, the horses nickering to each other from neighboring stalls. From the house, he heard the closing of the back door, and he quickly rolled to his feet and went to where the door swung easily open over the front of the barn.

      Below him, in the moonlight, Glory walked toward the garden, and then beyond that to where a half dozen fruit trees bloomed. Her hair hung long against her back, freed now from the dark braid she’d confined it in during the day. It rippled in the moonlight, a cloud that reached her hips and swung with each step she took.

      He watched her for perhaps a half hour, until she turned finally from her stargazing and pondering and made her way back past the fruit trees and through the garden to the back porch. As she turned toward the house, she looked at the barn, her gaze moving across its door, up to the roof and finally to the window in the loft where he stood, watching her.

      “Mrs. Clark, wait up a minute. We need to talk.” His voice was pitched low, but it apparently carried to where she stood, for she nodded, sliding her hands into the pockets of her dressing gown as she turned to sit on the edge of the porch, waiting silently.

      He climbed down from the loft and approached across the yard to stand before her. Glory touched the porch beside her, a silent invitation for Cade to settle there. He sighed as he took a seat next to her, then cleared his throat.

      “Glory, I hesitate to bring this up, but I’m gonna be blunt. I’ve heard the whole story from the sheriff, about Mr. Clark being in jail and sentenced to death. I know about the hanging in Green River and him leaving you with two children to raise on your own. The sheriff said you were married to the man a couple of years back when you were looking for a place to live and he needed someone to tend his house and family.”

      “That’s all true, Cade. I was looking for a place to stay and he took me in.”

      “And now the positions are reversed, Glory, for I’m the one looking and you’ve given me a place in your hayloft to sleep for the night. Sound kinda familiar to you?”

      She looked up at him for a long moment and then with a curt nod, agreed. “I can see what you mean, but I don’t understand why you’ve chosen to settle in this area. What reason do you have for wanting to work a farm here in the middle of nowhere?”

      He looked down at her, admiring the vision of loveliness before him. “I’ve been looking for a long spell for a place to settle. My family’s in Oklahoma and I could go back there and find some land and live close to home, but there’s something about Green River that appeals to me. I spoke to the sheriff about the available places hereabouts and he said yours was the best of the lot, but that you weren’t interested in selling. But he did say that your place was needful of a man to work it, and you and the children were having a tough time keeping things going. I asked him to bring me out here to meet you, and maybe come to an agreement with you. This farm sounded like the sort of place I was looking for. Two hundred acres, a sturdy barn, a house that’s been tended over the years and only needs a coat of paint to bring it up to snuff. A woman and two children who’d benefit from a man around the place to keep an eye on things and keep them safe.”

      “Sounds like you’ve got everything all sorted out, mister,” Glory said sharply. “You sound like you’re ready to settle in and be a part of the picture.”

      “I’d like to at least talk about it with you, Glory. You’re a woman alone, and I’m a man looking to invest in a farm. I surely do admire you and respect you for the job you’ve done here. I don’t expect you’ve looked at me and seen enough to warrant inviting me to stay for a spell but I think we might be able to make a go of it, and hold this place together. Make it into a prosperous holding for Buddy to inherit. I like a challenge, Glory, and this farm seems to be offering just such a challenge to me. I’m not trying to push you into making a decision right this minute, but I’m willing to give it a chance to work out. Should you take me up on my offer to invest here and help you make a success of the place, we’d have to present a united front. Between us, we’d be supplying a good home in which to raise these two young’uns you’ve been caring for. They deserve a family surrounding them, and you and I could give them that very thing.”

      Glory looked shocked by his words. “If you’re talking about marriage, I’ll tell you right now, I’m not ready for that, Cade. I know these children need a father figure in their lives, but for now, we’re doing all right on our own. The question is, would a marriage be the best thing for them? Or for me? Might not a partnership work better?”

      “Look. Glory, since you’re not willing to sell your place outright, might you agree to me investing my money here and become half owner of the farm? I’ll work hard in the fields and teach Buddy how to handle horses and give him a chance to become a horse trainer himself if he’d like to learn the trade.”

      “The children and I are used to working hard, Mr. McAllister. I’ve carried my share of the load over the years and done whatever I had to in order to provide for Buddy and Essie.”

      “You earned your way here, if I see things straight, ma’am. You’re an intelligent woman, for you’ve had schooling beyond the ordinary, I’d say, from your speech and the ability you have to express yourself.”

      She nodded. “I went to college back home for two years. In fact, I have enough schooling to teach, should I ever want to. For now, just doing lessons with Buddy and Essie is satisfying enough for me.”

      Cade thought again of the man whose death had brought him here. “I can’t help but think that Mr. Clark would be pleased to have me here, ma’am. He thought enough of you to marry you and leave you with this place. I’d say you both gained from your bargain. What I don’t understand is why no one from town stepped up to offer for you after your husband died.”

      Glory pressed her lips together as if thinking of her reply. And then she sighed. “When the sheriff took Harvey in to jail, the story made its way around that he was a bank robber, and I had a couple of the hired hands from ranches west of here stop by and offer to look for the money Harvey СКАЧАТЬ