Lenora asked, he volunteered, “Been a long day. I want to get an early start tomorrow.”
She blinked as though she’d not heard him correctly.
I need to leave.
Forget the ten days he’d promised himself to stay. He should pack up and move on. Regardless of his reasoning though, that would be wrong. Especially since Lenora needed help. But what about the investigation? The accusation pounded him. He should find another spot—less entangling—from which to investigate the Hackett gang.
How could staying and going both be the right thing to do?
“We usually finish the evening off with Bible reading and prayer.” Lenora’s lovely voice soothed his rising tension. “You’re welcome to stay. If you like.”
“Some other time perhaps.” He edged to the door.
“Oh. Cole?”
He was already halfway out when her words stopped him.
“Thank you again for saving Porky.” She smiled as she added, “And Coal.”
He gripped the door so hard his fingers stung. “You’re welcome.” He dragged his gaze away from the endearing scene.
“Good night, Cole,” Toby called. “See ya in the morning.”
With more force than he intended, he shut the door.
As he strode toward the barn, his mission kept pounding in his head. He was there to solve the mystery of the Cheyenne bank robbery, prove Jeb Hackett’s guilt and arrest not only him, but his gang. They had absconded with nearly twenty-one thousand dollars. Not one bill had been recovered.
What would Lenora’s reaction be when she found out who he was and why he was there? Cole slumped down on his bedroll and pulled off his boots. No doubt she would be pleased to see Hackett behind bars. But how would she feel about Cole not telling her he was a US marshal?
She’d think I was a liar. Just like her lying, thieving husband.
Cole pressed his forearm to his eyes as though to blot out his thoughts. Later, he could explain why he didn’t come right out and tell her. The hurt on her face materialized in his imagination.
But why should he care how Lenora felt?
As he flopped to his side, he yanked a blanket over his body. He shouldn’t be worried about her emotions.
Even so, he admitted that he did care. Perhaps a little too much.
* * *
He came back.
After Lenora had risen early, she saw from the open barn door that Cole had left. Yet a couple hours later, he rode back into the yard, a duck carcass in hand. He’d gone hunting? Or had that merely been an excuse for his return?
As she sat on the porch doing some mending, she watched him smack barbed wire with the side of the pliers. Cole moved to the next spot in the fence that needed repairing and repeated the procedure with quick ease.
Like he’d been doing it his whole life. Well, perhaps he had.
Many times she was tempted to ask him if he had been skulking around the barn several days back. He couldn’t have been the one who broke the chicken coop. But what did she really know about him? He could be an outlaw, hiding out on her ranch.
But better him than Jeb Hackett.
Since Cole had ensconced himself there, Jeb hadn’t returned. And she wanted to keep it that way. Every day, she expected the outlaw to show up and do some unspeakable evil. Or force her to marry him or one of his buddies.
She recalled the last time Amos had invited Jeb for dinner, her protests unheeded. The way he had addressed her with that despicable nickname in a sneering, condescending way made her stomach clench even now. When she had caught him openly staring, he had not bothered to avert his gaze. Like he owned her. She shivered as her imagination summoned a man-sized reptile, paralyzing her with a chilling stare.
Pushing unpleasant memories away, she concentrated on the man across the yard while she rocked and sewed. Cole had repaired several wobbly fence posts, fixed the chicken coop’s mesh, replaced several boards in the stalls, and who knew what else. Earlier he’d told her that he planned to repair the house’s roof before it sprung a leak during the next heavy rainfall. He pointed out several shingles that appeared loose.
But first, he wanted to finish the barbed-wire fencing around part of the yard to keep roaming cattle from trampling her garden. He asked her if she planned to fence off all her land. Last year, Amos had mentioned that as well, but had never gotten around to it. A lot of ranchers and farmers were doing that since the open ranges were becoming more and more overgrazed.
Perhaps she should buy more fencing materials.
Then she drew herself up short yet again. In a month or two, she hoped that fencing wouldn’t be her problem, but Frank Hopper’s, her neighbor. He said he would give her an answer by May about whether or not he would buy her ranch. Well, it was pert near May, and she had heard nothing. Had he decided against it, but neglected to tell her?
Her gaze strayed again to Cole. What if he stayed? The three of them could handle the ranch’s workload at least until the fall when she could sell off cattle. With the money, she could hire some reliable help. Did she dare ask?
I want him to stay. Lord help me, I don’t want him to go.
When he approached the porch, she bent over her darning, pretending that she hadn’t spent near an hour staring at his strong back and broad shoulders. When he cleared his throat to get her attention, heat climbed into her cheeks.
“How’re you doing?” She looked everywhere but into his deep blue eyes. Or at the dimple that creased one cheek when he smiled.
“Good.” He tossed his hat onto the straight-back chair on the other end of the porch. “I got a good start on repairing the fences.”
“Sweet of you to help out. Are you nearly finished?”
“Yep. Only about ten thousand miles or so to go.”
“That—that sounds great.” She stared past his head and rubbed her ear, nearly jabbing herself with her darning needle.
His grin deepened, as though aware of the reason for her consternation.
Ducking her head, she drew her mending more closely to her face. This repair would require a longer needle than the one she’d been using. She wove the shorter one through her shirt’s collar to keep it handy.
“I was wondering,” Cole began.
“Hmm?” She squinted at the hole in Toby’s sock. Land sakes, that boy could wear them out faster than she could fix them.
“My glove. Got a bit of a tear. Mind sewing it? Would make the fence fixing a little gentler on my hand.”
Tempted to chide him, the teasing died in her throat when she saw blood by the jagged hole. “Oh.” She bolted up, dropping the sock and dumping her sewing basket. Her spool of thread bounded away, unraveling at the speed of lightning. Scissors clattered and other items scattered. Cole bent about the same time, barely avoiding hitting her head with his.
When Lenora overcompensated, she staggered and ended up falling against him. “I beg your—”
“My fault. Sorry.” He grabbed her arms until she stood upright.
For a moment, their faces were mere inches apart.
Cole straightened and stepped back. After scratching his chin, he pointed. “You sit. I’ll get this.”
“But your hand...”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve known you don’t like the sight of blood.”
“It’s not so much that, it’s just that you’re bleeding.” As soon as she