Czytaj książkę: «A Texas-Made Match»

Chapter One

Peppin, Texas

September 1888

Ellie O’Brien was not the type of girl to chase after men.

That might have to change.

After all, today was her twenty-first birthday. While that hadn’t stopped her from revisiting her mischievous youth by climbing to her favorite place in the whole world—the top of the waterfall that pooled into her family’s creek—it was pushing marriageable age. This wouldn’t have been a problem in most Western towns, where the scarcity of women allowed them to take their time picking husbands. The town of Peppin didn’t have that problem, though. Women were plentiful, and the competition between them, while friendly, was still fierce. Ellie had never attempted to jump into the fray before. Now, though it might be too late, she wanted to at least try.

But first, one more moment of being a child.

Her fingers teased the hairpins from her hair with a familiarity born of desperation, then tossed them to the dry ground below like the nuisances they were. She shook out her curly golden tresses, reveling in her newfound freedom as the wind made her hair bounce in disarray. Warm mud oozed between her bare toes as she stepped closer to the precipice. The water rushed past her feet, urging her to join its free fall away from the side of the waterfall and into the creek seven feet below. If she took that final step forward, there would be no going back.

Literally and figuratively. She bit her bottom lip as she peered over through the treetops at the rolling green hills that stretched beyond their property. Perhaps it was too romantic to hope that courtship would be as exhilarating as a sheer fall or as refreshing as the cool shock of cold water that followed—but a gal could hope.

It wasn’t as if she were only interested in the romance part of getting a husband. Oh, no. Ellie also wanted the adventure that would come with it. After all, her sister Kate had quite the adventure when she fell in love with Nathan Rutledge. Their courtship commenced with a shoot-out, continued with Kate’s abduction and was clinched with an arson fire. And then there was Lorelei, Ellie’s sister-in-law of nearly one year. She found love through a run-in with a con artist, a secret engagement and a bank robbery.

Ellie blew out a frustrated sigh then whispered to a God she knew was listening. “It isn’t as if I want to be abducted or almost killed or anything. I just know what a girl needs to do to get a little excitement around here—find love.”

And it worked both ways. There was nothing like a little excitement and danger to make people look at each other in new ways, see things about each other that they hadn’t noticed before. In that respect, she could use all the help she could get, living in a town where every eligible man saw her as a little sister.

She couldn’t exactly blame them. She’d been a consummate tomboy growing up. She didn’t regret one moment she’d spent climbing trees, riding horses, swimming in the creek—they’d all held far more appeal than giggling and flirting with boys like the girls too afraid of mussing their dresses to have any fun. At some point those giggling, flirting girls had started getting beaus who turned into suitors and then into husbands. But not Ellie. Even though she’d abandoned her hoydenish ways years ago, she hadn’t been able to shake the label of “tomboy” the town had given her or change the way the young men saw her—yet.

She was ready for the most important adventures of her life, like love, marriage, motherhood. She just needed someone to share them with. And if it took a little danger or excitement to make that happen...well, she was up for it.

“I’m ready to do my part, Lord. Is a little help too much to ask?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She knew only God could join two hearts together—but that didn’t mean He couldn’t have help. When it came to her siblings, Ellie had helped Him along as much as possible. There was a reason she’d been dubbed the best matchmaker in Peppin. She was the best in town at spotting a match and pulling it off.

But who would help the matchmaker find a match?

No one. That’s who. She was going to have to do it on her own, and she was starting today. First things first: she had to figure out a way to climb down from the waterfall without messing up her day dress. Being adventurous was easier when I wore bloomers.

There was a simpler way to get down. She peered over the waterfall’s tabletop once more, knowing that if she didn’t have plans for the afternoon she would have taken that route. Suddenly, Kate’s voice shot through the air with startling volume. “Ellie, don’t!”

She jerked toward the sound, knocking herself off balance and sending her arms churning like a tilted windmill. She fell into the creek with a loud splash. The cool water enveloped her and swept her skirts up around her ears before Ellie pushed off the muddy bottom. She surfaced and searched for her cinnamon-haired sister. Kate’s sensible blue dress stood out against the riot of red, orange and yellow wildflowers that painted the banks of the creek.

Ellie swam toward the shore. “I wasn’t going to jump. You startled me!”

“Oh, no!” Kate placed one hand over her mouth and another on her hip as she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. What were you doing up there in the first place?”

Ellie shivered in the slight breeze as she stepped onto dry grass. “Reliving my youth.”

“You’d better not—after all you put me through.” Kate grabbed the picnic blanket from the ground to wrap it around Ellie’s shoulders.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was perfect.” She lifted her nose, ignoring a laugh from her sister as she gathered the blanket closer. “What are you doing here so early, anyway? I thought you said I had two hours to myself.”

“It’s been longer than two hours. We are supposed to meet Ms. Lettie and Lorelei at the café for your birthday lunch in thirty minutes.”

“I’m sorry. I must have lost track of time.”

“That’s all right. So did I.” Kate grabbed the picnic basket from the ground and began to lead the way to the farmhouse. “It can’t be helped now. You’ll have to change clothes and redo your hair.”

Ellie paused. “I hadn’t thought of that. Do you think it would make a difference?”

Kate tossed a confused look over her shoulder. “Of course it would. You can’t go into town drenched.”

She laughed. “I forgot you can’t read my mind. I meant do you think it would make a difference with men if I changed my hair or clothes?”

“What men? Why should it make a difference? Why would you want to...?” Kate shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m twenty-one. Isn’t it time I tried to catch a husband?” It was a little difficult to force the words out through her chattering teeth. “Do you think I even could?”

Kate rubbed her back to try to warm her. “You’re more likely to catch a cold if you don’t get changed. As for a husband, there’s no need to rush. Why? Are you interested in someone?”

“No.”

They caught sight of the two-story farmhouse and Kate ushered her toward it. “Then don’t worry about it. Go change and try to be quick.”

Ellie nodded then hurried into the house and up the stairs to her room. She quickly changed into dry clothes. A distant peal of laughter drew her attention to the large window facing the barn. She grabbed a hand towel from the vanity and dried her hair as she watched her brother-in-law tease her sister about something. Her nieces and nephew danced around their legs in anticipation of the promised ride that would keep them occupied while Kate and Ellie went into town. The couple stole a quick kiss before the whole family walked toward the barn.

The smile that slipped across Ellie’s lips preempted a wistful sigh. She combed her fingers through her hair. It must make a girl feel awfully special to be loved. If a man loved me the way Nathan loves Kate and Sean loves Lorelei, well, it might make up for certain other things.

On the heels of that thought rode a familiar yet vague feeling of guilt. She pushed it away stubbornly. Today was for celebrating the future, not belaboring distant memories of the past that probably meant nothing. A glimpse of Kate walking toward the house served as a welcome reminder of the need to hurry and sent her rushing to make up for the time she’d spent lollygagging.

Thirty minutes later, Ellie glanced at the three women who’d taken time out of their busy day to help her celebrate her birthday. Kate sat across from her. Their dearly departed mother’s best friend, Mrs. Lettie Williams, sat to her right. Lorelei, her sister-in-law, sat on her left. They were all beautiful. They were all strong. They were all married. And Ellie? Well, she wasn’t sure she could lay a legitimate claim to any of those things.

Either I’m being obsessive or I’m detecting a theme. She narrowed her eyes as Maddie settled their drinks on the table. “Maddie, would you happen to have a pencil and piece of paper I could use?”

“Certainly.” Maddie pulled the pencil from behind her ear and tore a sheet of paper from the small tablet she carried in her pocket.

“Thanks.” Ellie tilted her head, then wrote down on one side of the paper a list of the local bachelors who attended church. Then she started going down the list and writing in initials of certain young women in town alongside a few of the men’s names.

Lettie’s curious voice broke through her thoughts. “Ellie, what are you doing?”

Her hand paused in its feverish pace. She glanced up to find all three women watching her. Her gaze dropped to the paper in her hands before she offered them an innocent smile. “I’m finding myself a husband.”

Kate nearly choked on the sip of water she’d taken. Lorelei stared at her, mouth agape. Lettie started chuckling and couldn’t seem to stop. “The world would be a dull place without you, Ellie.”

Ellie grinned. “Wouldn’t it?”

Lettie leaned forward. “How exactly is that piece of paper going to help you find a husband?”

Ellie shrugged. “By process of elimination. I’ll match the eligible young men with the women they are interested in and go from there.”

“Oh, Ellie.” Lorelei laughed then leaned across the table for a better view. “Let me help.”

Kate had always tried to put a damper on Ellie’s escapades. Nathan was content to sit on the sidelines and enjoy whatever scene she’d caused. As a child, her brother, Sean, had always been in the thick of things with her, but eventually he became too sensible to be involved in any excitement she might cause. Then he’d married Lorelei. Ellie’s world had not been the same since. She finally had a partner in crime.

Lorelei scooted her chair closer. Ellie glanced up at Kate’s exasperated sigh. She didn’t buy that for a moment. Kate’s eyes were filled with just as much laughter as Lettie’s. Ellie picked up the pencil and got back to work. Kate covered her grin by taking another sip of water. “Ellie does seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to detecting romance.”

Ellie glanced at Lettie. The woman was responsible for Ellie’s “sixth sense” and didn’t even know it. Lettie told her at a young age that it didn’t always matter so much what a person said as what a person didn’t say. For that reason, Ellie had spent her life picking up on the little clues no one else noticed. Like the way Maddie’s tone of voice changed when she asked for Jeff Bridger’s order, and the way his nervous fingers straightened his collar while he gave it.

She added Maddie’s initials to Jeff’s name before handing it to Lorelei. “Now, tell me who is left without initials by his name. I’m going to ask you to mark off the men I could not possibly see myself with. Hopefully, we’ll find a winner.”

“Christian Johansen.”

Ellie shook her head. The young man had been her good friend for years, but she couldn’t imagine him as anything more.

“Rhett Granger.” Lorelei glanced up. “He’s handsome.”

“I thought I marked him off. He’s taken.”

Lorelei leaned toward her. “Taken by whom?”

“Never mind that.” She leaned back to give the women a knowing glance. “Just mark my words.”

“Donovan Turner.”

Ellie froze. Her gaze shot to Lorelei’s mirth-filled eyes and she frowned. “Lorelei O’Brien, that man was not allowed on my list. He gives me the willies. Who’s left?”

Lorelei exchanged a glance with Kate. “No one.”

“What? How is that possible?”

Kate leaned over to look at the list. “Everyone else has initials. Some have question marks by them, though. What do those mean?”

Ellie frowned. “It means I’m sure of what the man thinks, or the woman, but not both. I suppose those are still possibilities—until I find out for sure if they’re really taken. But there’s really no one else without initials?”

Kate shook her head. “You paired off every decent man on the list.”

Ellie sat in stunned silence. “I’m going to be a spinster.”

“Don’t say that.” Lorelei sounded horrified.

She buried her face in her hands. “Why not? It’s true.”

“What’s true, Ellie?” Maddie sidled up to the table with their plates.

Ellie spread her fingers to peer up at Maddie. “I’m going to die a decrepit old maid.”

Maddie laughed. “Don’t be silly.”

Ellie straightened abruptly and nearly managed to bump her head on the plate Maddie was setting in front of her. She met the woman’s dark brown eyes adamantly. “It isn’t silly. It isn’t silly at all. I went through every bachelor in town and I’m pretty sure that none of them work.”

“You did what?” The woman backed away as if afraid to find out the answer.

“I think you should try again,” Lettie said as Kate handed her the list. “Something as serious as this should not be taken lightly or composed hastily. Give yourself time to think about it.”

“Ms. Lettie is right,” Kate said, though Ellie had a feeling her sister was just trying to make her feel better about not finding a match. “Maybe you made a mistake.”

“You left someone off.”

Ellie frowned at Lettie. “I did? I thought I listed every decent, God-fearing man in town.”

“That’s why.” The woman nodded as if the mysteries of the world had been explained to her, while eyeing her thoughtfully. “I don’t know why I never thought of it before.”

“Thought of what?” Lorelei asked as everyone seemed to lean forward in anticipation.

Lettie exchanged a meaningful look with Kate. At first, Kate’s brow furrowed, then slowly the illuminating light of intuition seemed to fill her eyes. “You mean...?”

Lettie nodded.

Kate’s eyes widened, then she stared at Ellie before sitting back in her chair. “Hmm.”

Ellie exchanged a confused glance with Lorelei. “Who is it?”

A slow smile lifted Kate’s lips. “This could be good. This could be very good.”

* * *

It was always good to get letters from home. Lawson glanced at Nathan Rutledge’s letter then turned to the one from the woman he called Mother. Reaching his room in the boarding house, he tugged off his dirty boots, threw his Stetson on his desk and fell back onto his bed, allowing himself to give in to exhaustion for just a moment before opening his mail.

It had been a long, hard year filled with dangerous work and too many secrets. As a Texas Ranger, he’d rounded up more than his fair share of outlaws, and he tried to find some satisfaction in that. But this near-vagabond existence was too much like the life he’d left behind when he’d stumbled into Peppin, Texas, abandoned and alone with nowhere to go until the O’Brien family took him in. A few months later, when he was fourteen, Doc and Lettie Williams adopted him. They’d been the parents he’d always dreamed of. His life in Peppin had been so good that he’d nearly forgotten about the past. Here...he seemed to run across it every day in the smell of liquor, the haunted eyes of the saloon girls, the solitude and the need to be on constant alert.

His commanding officer in the Rangers constantly told him not to lose the chip on his shoulder. “That’s what makes you stand out from the other Rangers. That’s what makes you tough. That’s what enables you to get your man. Never lose that chip.”

Lawson wasn’t stupid enough to believe him. God was the one enabling him to catch those criminals. As for the chip on his shoulder—well, he reckoned he’d picked it up sometime between being abandoned and wandering into Peppin. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep the harshness of this life from wearing away at him, day by day.

Time for a distraction. He tore open the letter from his parents first. It was a thick one so it ought to be good. He lifted the letter above his head just high enough for it to catch the sunlight shining through the window behind him. The room was so silent that he decided to read it out loud: “‘Dear Lawson, You really should come home.’”

He sat up in concern and pulled the letter closer. “‘Now, don’t get all excited. Everyone here is fine. Your pa and I just miss you like crazy. We haven’t seen you in more than a year. You haven’t come home for any of the holidays. I know you work hard and what you do is important. This isn’t to make you feel guilty. This is just to tell you that we love you and we want to see you. Surely you can apply for a leave of absence. Just a few weeks of your company—that’s all I ask. Now, I’ve said my piece so I won’t mention it again.’”

She kept her promise and went on to talk about some of the things Lawson had mentioned in his last letter, but he kept going back to that first paragraph. She was right. He hadn’t been home since he’d left a few weeks after his almost wedding to Lorelei.

Pretty Lorelei Wilkins had been his sweetheart for years. Asking her to marry him had seemed like the next logical step. He had cared for her, had been determined to be a good husband to her—but before that could happen, she’d run out on their wedding, leaving him literally at the altar. When he’d chased after her, she’d told him the truth: that she didn’t think she loved him in the right way to be his wife...and that she didn’t think he loved her the right way, either.

She was right. He’d been so hungry to have a family of his own, to make a life for himself that was completely different from the childhood he left behind, that he’d rushed into a wedding that came more from his head than his heart. He’d realized that she deserved more and maybe he did, too, so he did the honorable thing. He let her go. Then he did what his pride demanded, and left. He wasn’t there to see her marry Sean O’Brien, Lawson’s best friend and the man Lorelei had always secretly loved, though he was happy for her—happy for both of them—that they’d found the love they deserved.

He knew that calling off the wedding had been the right decision, but it had still hurt. The wedding was supposed to prove that he’d overcome his past, that he was starting a new life and a new family. Instead, it seemed to prove the opposite and reminded him of all the rejection he’d experienced before. In truth, it was no wonder she’d walked away so easily. The people who mattered most often did.

He read the letter from Sean’s brother-in-law, Nathan Rutledge, then let it fall to his chest as he stared at the ceiling. There must be some conspiracy to make him come home. Nathan wrote that his horse ranch had been doing so well that he’d decided to expand. He was offering Lawson the job of foreman just in case he’d grown tired of being a Ranger.

“Lord, is this from You?”

It was possible that God was bringing his time as a Ranger to a close. If so, Lawson planned to listen. God had been getting Lawson out of danger since he’d been a scraggly ten-year-old fending for himself on the streets, even if he hadn’t known Whom to thank for it right away. God had helped him find a fresh start once. Maybe it was time for another new beginning.

Lawson Williams still had something to prove—that he was nothing like the parents who’d given him life then done their best to ruin it. He’d keep proving it to himself over and over again until he could finally believe it. He’d thought being a lawman would provide the opportunity to do that but perhaps the best way to prove it was by going home.

* * *

Ellie was trying her best to ignore the young man who’d been trailing after her for the past ten minutes. It wasn’t working. She turned and planted her hands on her hips as she eyed the dashing young blacksmith. “Rhett, if you insist on following me then you might as well make yourself useful.”

She pointed to the signs for the booths resting on the church stairs. The Founder’s Day activities had already started but the signs needed extra time to dry. Rhett really must have been desperate because he picked them up and began helping her hand them out to the booth workers. “Ellie, I’m sure I’m on your list. You’ve got to tell me. Jeff Bridger says you told him about Maddie and they are already engaged.”

She smiled as she handed Mrs. Redding the sign for her lemonade stand then moved on. “I know they’re engaged. I invited you to the party I’m having for them at the ranch. Don’t tell me you forgot about it already.”

“I didn’t forget and you aren’t going to distract me.” His muscles bulged as he shifted the remaining signs to his shoulder, which somehow made his pleading look seem all the more pitiful. “I’ve just got to know who you think my match is.”

She rolled her eyes. It had been two weeks since the fateful day she’d created the “Bachelor List.” The whole thing had turned into a disaster. Everyone in town knew about it. She’d had plenty of available men seeking her out after word got around. Unfortunately, they weren’t looking for her. They’d just wanted to know whose initials were next to their names on the list.

She could understand them wanting an answer. She’d wanted one, too, but Lettie and Kate never told her who the mystery suitor for her was. Try as she might to extricate the information from them, she’d gained little more for her efforts than a headache.

She sighed. “Well, Rhett, who do you want it to be?”

She followed his gaze as it trailed to where Amy Bradley stood with her sisters. He watched Amy for a full minute before Ellie shook her head and smiled. “Yep, that’s what I thought.”

His gaze jumped back to hers, and then he grinned. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

He nodded then set off toward Amy. She grabbed his massive arm and dug her heels into the ground to stop him. “Oh, no you don’t. You’re going to help me deliver all these signs because you’re so grateful. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.” He patted her hand in brotherly affection and began trailing her again but remained decidedly distracted. He seemed to grow less confident as they continued and when she finally set him free, he went in the opposite direction from where his thoughts had been taking him.

Now, what’s wrong with him? She pulled the new list from her pocket and crossed out the question mark beside Amy’s initials by his name. He was the only one besides Deputy Jeff Bridger who she’d officially paired a girl with so far. There were plenty of others still with question marks—for now.

She felt someone’s eyes on her and turned to find Donovan Turner watching her from near the gazebo. She tucked the list out of sight before barely managing to hide her grimace behind a polite smile and a nod. The man pulled the piece of hay from his mouth and tossed it to the ground before pacing toward her. Now, there was one man who made no effort to hide his opinion of her, which was definitely not brotherly. He always seemed to pop up at the most inopportune times—like when she was alone. If he caught her, he’d spend the next thirty minutes bending her ear about that pig farm of his. If he caught her; but she wasn’t going to let him.

She slipped into a group of people, dashed behind a booth and surfaced behind a tree. She thought she’d lost him, but to make sure, she scanned the crowd as she continued walking backward. She spotted the man scratching his head, glancing about. She was about to turn around when she backed right into someone. She gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

She tried to step away from the man but strong arms slipped around her waist and pulled her against a solid chest. She froze, then caught her breath as a warm, masculine voice filled her ear. “Hey there, beautiful.”

Her eyes narrowed. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder to look at him. The way his lips curved made her cheeks warm but she forgot all about that when her gaze tangled with those unforgettable hazel eyes. Her breath caught in her throat then her lips blossomed into a smile. “Lawson Williams, as I live and breathe!”

He loosened his arms enough for her to turn around and throw herself back into them. He hugged her back just as tightly as she hugged him. She pushed away to look at his face. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

He grinned that slow, steady grin of his that set every female heart in a fifty-mile radius beating wildly. He stepped back to survey her. “Look who’s talking. You sure have changed in the last few months.”

She laughed. “Last few months? Are you crazy? It’s been a year and no less! Of course I’ve changed. Did you get my letters?”

“I did.”

“You only wrote back twice.”

“I’m sorry.” He shrugged. “I was on assignment most of the time so it wasn’t easy to keep up with mail.”

She lifted her chin. “Well, how is a person to know whether you fell off your saddle and broke your head or got laid up sick for a week if you don’t write?”

He dipped his head to send her a suspicious look. “Were you worrying about me, Ellie?”