less than in front of anyone. Feeling that way in front of Leah was even worse. “Only if I pay for them.”
Leah planted her hands on her slender hips. “No. You will not pay me for them.”
“Won’t take them then.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground.
Her eyes trailed the length of him. For some odd reason, he hoped she liked what she saw. “You think that stance is going to stop me? Well, it won’t. Besides, you have a birthday coming up and you can’t refuse a birthday gift from a friend. It would be rude.”
She got him there. He picked up the shovel again and changed the subject. “How are Selina and the twins doing?”
“Great. They’re so cute. You should see them.”
“I’ll give Selina a few more days to recuperate before I do. Besides, don’t think Michael’s gonna let anyone near her for a few days.”
They laughed.
“He sure is protective of them, isn’t he?” Leah said through a giggle.
“I would be, too.”
“I bet you would. You’ll make a fine father someday.” As she realized what she’d said, her face turned a deep shade of red. She spun and headed toward the tack room.
Jake followed her. “What you doing?”
“I’m going to get Lambie ready so I can head into town to mail my letter.” She kept her back to him and reached for a halter.
His heart felt as if it had been thrown from a bucking bronc, but he reached for the tack just the same. “Here. Let me do that.”
She turned to him and her smile was filled with gratitude. “I can get her. But thanks anyway.”
Jake gently tugged the halter from her grasp. “How about you let me help—or no handkerchiefs?” He grinned down at her.
She tilted her head and gazed up at him with those big blue eyes. “Okay. You win. But—” she held out her hand “—only if you promise me you will accept my gift.”
Jake glanced down at her hand. “Deal.” He accepted her handshake. Her hand felt small in his larger one. Soft, too, except for the few calluses he felt.
“Um, Jake.” Leah glanced down at her hand. “You can let go now.”
His attention drifted to her face and then to where their hands were still joined. “Oh, right.” He dropped her hand as if it were on fire and felt heat rush up his neck and into his face. He couldn’t believe it. He was blushing. Blushing. Like a woman.
Embarrassed, he spun on the heel of his boot and strode to her horse’s stall. “How you doing, girl?” he asked, slipping the lead rope around Lambie’s neck and then the halter on her head. Jake led the mare from her stall over to where Leah stood by the phaeton.
While they worked together to hitch up her horse Jake asked, “Lambie’s a weird name for a horse, ain’t it?”
“Yes. Abby named her.”
“Did she name Kitty, too?” He referred to the pet pig with the huge personality.
“Yes. When she was younger she wanted to name all the animals. My brothers didn’t have the heart to refuse her. They’re sorry for it now.” She laughed.
“Why’s that?”
“Well, we have a horse named Lambie and one named Raven. Kitty the pig.” She ticked each one off her fingers as she mentioned them. “Miss Piggy, the cat.” She paused. “Oh and there was Taxt, one of our bulls.”
“She named a bull Taxt?”
Leah laughed again. “Everyone asks that. And the answer is yes, she did.”
“Poor bull.”
Leah’s giggle at his comment pulled a chuckle out of him. Ever since they’d become friends, he’d found himself laughing more and more. It felt good. Real good in fact.
“There. All finished.”
“Thank you, Jake, for helping me.”
“Welcome. Anytime.”
She grabbed the lines under the horse’s chin and tugged on them. Jake hurried ahead and opened the double doors.
Outside the sun had knocked the midmorning chill out of the air.
Leah looked up at the sky and all around. “It’s sure a lovely day today.”
Jake shifted his focus from her sleek, graceful neck and placed it upward, glad his hat shielded the bright sun from reaching his eyes. “Sure is.”
“Well...” Her eyes collided with his. “I’d better go now. Mother wants me to pick up a few things for her, and I need to mail my letter.” Her face brightened at that, and his outlook dimmed.
Pushing his own stupid feelings aside, he offered her a hand into the buggy, even though he really didn’t want to aid her reason for going. “Mind picking up my mail while you’re there?”
“No. I’d be happy to.” She sat down and faced him.
“Leah.” He gathered the lines but didn’t hand them to her. “You sure you wanna do this?”
“Do what? Go to town? I have to. Mother needs—”
“No,” he interrupted her, unable to keep the frustration from his voice. “Answer that man’s ad.”
“Of course I’m sure. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.”
“How can you be so certain?”
Her eyes brushed over his face as if she were contemplating her answer. She looked away and then her attention settled on him. “For years I prayed for a man like my father and Mr. Darcy.”
“Mr. Darcy? Who’s that?”
Her eyelids lowered to her lap.
Jake watched as she nervously tugged on her fingertips. In a bold move, he reached for her hands and held on to them. “Leah, look at me.”
Slowly, she raised her head toward him. “We’re friends. You can tell me who Mr. Darcy is.” Jake wondered if Mr. Darcy was the man who had just bought the livery stable. He couldn’t remember the man’s name, only that it started with a D.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Promise.” He hiked his foot up, set it on the phaeton step and rested his forearm on his leg, waiting for her answer.
“Mr. Darcy is the hero in Pride and Prejudice.”
“What’s that?”
“A novel.”
Jake forced his eyes not to bounce wide open. A novel? She wanted a man like some imaginable character out of a book? Whoa! He hadn’t seen that one coming. Right now, laughing was the furthest thing from his mind.
“I know it sounds silly. But the man reminds me so much of my father.”
“So this Mr. Darcy is a rancher?”
She shook her head and her bouncy curls wiggled with the motion. He longed to wrap his finger around one of them, just to see if they were as soft as they looked. “No. He’s not a rancher. He reminds me of my father—before we moved here, that is.” She clamped her lips together tightly.
Jake thought he saw a shimmer in her eyes but wasn’t sure because she looked away. He placed his foot back onto the ground, not sure what to say or do.
Seconds ticked by. With a slow turn of her head, she dropped her attention onto him. “I’d better go, Jake. I have lots of errands to run.”
That was it. No explanation. He scanned her face. Though