A Cowboy for Christmas Page 8

  “I’m fine,” Penny managed.

  “I’m fine, too,” Dwylah put in.

  The new passengers, a married couple, got on and sat down. After exchanging greetings, everyone fell silent as the stage pulled out of town. They all knew they had a long, hard ride ahead of them.

  And a hard ride it was.

  Dan was finding it difficult to ignore Penny, and it only got worse when the stage took a hard turn and hit a deep rut. The sudden violent lurch of the stagecoach caught Penny unaware and she was thrown forward. Only Dan’s quick action in snaring her around the waist and hauling her back against him kept her from falling to the floor.

  “Penny! Are you all right?” Dwylah had been shaken by what had happened, but had managed to keep her own seat. She looked over to where Dan was still holding Penny on his lap.

  Penny found herself clinging to Dan and trembling from the shock of her unexpected fall. “I think so. Thanks to Dan.” She was very aware of his powerful arms around her and she wanted nothing more than to stay right there. She was perfectly safe as long as he was holding her.

  Dan’s eyes were dark as he looked down at her. “Are you sure?” The last thing he wanted to do was loosen his hold, but for propriety’s sake he needed to let her go.

  “Yes,” she said a little nervously, slipping off his lap and moving to sit beside him again.

  “You weren’t fooling when you told us riding in the stage was going to be a lot rougher than riding on the train,” Dwylah declared.

  “It’s not easy,” he said, giving her a half smile. He was again glad that Dwylah’s presence distracted him from the feel of having Penny in his arms. The memory of her soft curves crushed against him was going to be hard to put from his mind.

  “You’re right about that,” Penny agreed. Now she was even more aware of him as a man, of the protective strength of his arms around her and being held against his hard-muscled chest. “I guess I’d better hold on to something from now on.”

  “Grab Dan,” Dwylah said, smiling at her. “We know he’s not going to let you fall.”

  With her chaperone’s approval, Penny did just that, holding on to Dan’s arm for the next few miles until the road finally evened out.

  Dan had been all too aware of Penny’s touch, but he’d forced himself to concentrate on the real reason he was there with her. He had to get her back to the ranch, to Jack. At the thought of his friend, his mood grew more serious. Getting her home was all that mattered. He just wished the stage could move faster.

  It was almost dark when they finally pulled up at the way station.

  “We’re here!” the driver shouted as he brought the team to a stop. He jumped down to open the door for the passengers while the man riding shotgun went to see about unloading their bags.

  The married couple got out first. Dan climbed down and turned to help Penny and Dwylah descend, while the driver went to take care of the horses. Dan could tell the women were tired already, and he could just imagine how they would be feeling the following night after spending close to twelve hours of travel crammed in the crowded stagecoach.

  “Everybody, go on inside,” the driver directed. “Vic, the station manager, will have a meal ready for you real soon.”

  And Vic did.

  The dinner wasn’t fancy. The food was served on tin plates, but the biscuits were good and the stew was filling. When everyone had finished eating, the women went into the back bedroom to bed down while the men slept in the main room.

  “This is certainly not the most luxurious of accommodations,” Dwylah said wryly, eyeing the rope cots, pillows, and worn blankets that had been provided and wondering how she would ever manage to fall asleep.

  Margaret, the married woman who was traveling with them, laughed. “Compared to some of the way stations I’ve slept at over the years, this one isn’t too bad.”

  Penny agreed, “I know. I still remember some of the places we stayed at when my mother took me to St. Louis six years ago.”

  “This is an adventure,” Dwylah declared, picking one of the cots for her own and sitting down to test its comfort. When she found there was no comfort, she wasn’t surprised. “The important thing is that we get there all safe and sound, and I’m sure we will with Dan taking care of us.”

  “Is Dan your son?” Margaret asked, for she hadn’t seen a wedding ring on the younger woman’s hand.

  “Oh no, but I would be proud to claim him as my own. I’m Penny’s chaperone, and Dan works for her father. We’re on our way back to their ranch in Texas,” she replied.

  “You have a long trip ahead of you.”

  “Yes, we do. How far are you traveling?” Penny asked.

  “Just two more days and we’ll be home. I hope you make good time and get there before the weather turns.”

  “So do we,” Penny agreed. “I still remember how strong the blue northers can be.”

  “They’re hard to forget,” Margaret agreed.

  “What’s a ‘blue norther’?” Dwylah asked.

  “They’re cold fronts that come through so fast the temperature can drop fifty degrees or more in an hour. Sometimes there are blizzards with them, too,” Penny explained as memories of life on the ranch during the winter returned and she fought down a shiver. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be traveling in one.”

  “Neither would I. I’m cold enough already.” Dwylah always liked to sit in front of her fireplace at home when the weather turned bad.

  “So you’re going to be home in time for Christmas,” Margaret said, thinking it would be a happy time for her, and she was surprised by the sudden sadness that showed in the girl’s expression.

  “Yes,” she answered slowly, “I will.”

  The woman said no more, and they let the conversation lag as they went on to bed. They had to be on the road first thing in the morning, so they needed to get all the rest they could.

  In the room where the men were sleeping, Dan lay awake long into the night just staring up at the ceiling. He was satisfied that things had worked out so far. Now he just had to make sure Penny got back safely. He worried that Jack’s health might have gotten worse, but he refused to dwell on that. Jack was a tough man, and he was determined to be reunited with his daughter again. Dan knew Jack would be waiting for them when they reached the ranch.

  For a moment, Dan found himself thinking of Nick again. He still worried about him and hoped that he’d been happy and had had a better life with the family that had adopted him. He’d missed Nick all these years, and he knew he would never forget him.

  Dan closed his eyes and sought sleep.

  Tomorrow was going to be a real long day on the trail.

  It was after midnight, and Nick lay in bed in his room at the orphanage, unable to sleep. With Miss Lawson’s help, all the arrangements had been made, so he could leave on the trip and not have to worry about the home. His thoughts were racing as he imagined seeing his big brother again, and as he thought of Danny, memories of the past overwhelmed him and he knew there was something he had to do—something he hadn’t done in years.

  Nick got up to light the lamp on his chest of drawers and went to the closet to take out the small trunk he kept stored in the back. He hadn’t opened the trunk in a long time, but he knew he had to tonight. With great care, he unlocked it and took out the small, worn Bible. The Bible was the only connection he still had to his family. It had been his mother’s, and after she’d died, their father had been so angry he’d thrown it away. Nick had saved it and had kept it hidden from his father. Not that he’d had to hide it for long, for it hadn’t been too much later when their father had deserted them at the orphanage and disappeared from their lives forever.

  Nick opened the Holy Book now and stared down at the names and birth dates his mother had written on the inside of the back cover. He saw Danny’s name there and he prayed that he would find his brother.

  Nick closed the Bible and put it carefully back in the trunk. Turning out the lamp, he
lay back down, and this time, feeling more at peace, he was able to fall asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Nick walked into the lunchroom to join the children for their noon meal. He and Steve were leaving later that afternoon, and he wanted to take this time to tell the children how much he was going to miss them and how they should behave for Miss Lawson while he was gone.

  “We’re going to miss you, Reverend Miller!” they shouted as he entered the room.

  Nick was surprised to find Miss Lawson had arranged for a party for him. She was standing off to the side of the room with Steve watching him in delight. The children all left their seats and came running up to hug him. He was deeply touched by their show of affection. When the children had finally returned to sit at their tables, he went up to the front of the dining room to speak with them.

  “As you all know, Steve and I are leaving today for a trip to Texas. Please keep us in your prayers every day. We will be praying for you, too,” Nick said.

  “When are you coming back?” one of the boys called out. He knew he wasn’t supposed to yell that way, but he loved the reverend and was going to miss him real bad while he was gone.

  “Right now, I’m not sure,” he answered, “but know this—Steve and I are going to miss you, too.”

  “Christmas won’t be the same without you,” Miss Lawson told him.

  “We’ll get back as soon as we can,” Nick promised.

  They enjoyed the meal together and then after the children were dismissed. He went to speak with Miss Lawson.

  “Thank you for everything,” he told her.

  “You’re welcome. Now go find that brother of yours!” she ordered, her eyes lighting up with delight at the thought of their reunion. “You’re going to be the best Christmas present your brother Danny ever got, you just wait and see.”

  Nick smiled tenderly at her. “I feel the same way about him.” He looked to Steve, who was standing quietly by his side. “Are you ready to start our trip?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Let’s go!”

  Miss Lawson watched from the doorway as they loaded their luggage into the waiting carriage and climbed in. She was waving to them as they drove away, and she offered up a silent prayer for their safety on their journey—and that they would find his brother.

  At first, Penny had found the trip exciting, but as day after day passed and the miles seemed endless, she was beginning to realize what a long, grueling trip it really was. Their conversations had been limited after that first day on the stage because conditions had been crowded ever since.

  Dwylah spoke up, jarred to the bone when the stage hit a particular rough spot in the road. “We’ve only got eight more days to go until we reach Sagebrush, don’t we, Dan?”

  “If the weather holds,” Dan answered. He’d been keeping an eye on the horizon out the stagecoach window, watching for clouds, and it seemed as if the weather was going to stay clear.

  “It better hold. I don’t want to spend Christmas snowbound in a stagecoach,” Dwylah joked, chuckling. “How would Santa ever find us?”

  Penny laughed at her friend. “We’ll be there long before Christmas. Don’t worry.”

  “I wish we were there already,” she said.

  “Don’t we all?” Lee, one of the three men crammed into the seat across from them in the crowded stagecoach, muttered gruffly.

  Lee and his two friends, Carl and Pete, had boarded the stage the day before, and since then he’d been trapped in the crowded coach with the lady who never seemed to stop talking. Of course, he didn’t mind being stuck there with the younger woman who was sitting with her. The young woman was one pretty filly. She was easy on the eyes, and though he knew the man sitting with the two women was no doubt traveling with them, it didn’t lessen his interest in the sweet-looking one. He kept hoping he could find a way to get a minute or two alone with her at one of the stops during the trip.

  Dan was keeping an eye on the rough-looking men who’d boarded the stage the previous day. He’d caught them eyeing Penny with undisguised interest on more than one occasion, and he wasn’t about to let them try anything with her. He’d stayed close beside Penny and Dwylah until they retired to the women’s quarters the night before, and he planned to do the same tonight. He didn’t want any trouble with the other men, but he also wasn’t about to let any harm come to the women in his care. Good-looking as she was, he knew Penny would be a temptation to any man, himself included, but he put that thought from him as quickly as it came. He was there to protect her.

  “So, where are you ladies heading?” Lee asked.

  “Miss Anderson and I are going to her family’s ranch in Sagebrush,” Dwylah answered in a friendly tone.

  “So you’re going home,” Lee said, giving them a partially toothless grin as he shifted his gaze to the younger woman.

  “Yes, it will be good to be with my father again,” Penny answered.

  “Which ranch is yours?” He could tell she came from money, and he wondered just how rich she really was.

  “The Lazy Ace,” Dan answered, putting himself in the conversation.

  “I’ve heard it’s one of the best around.” Lee eyed the Anderson girl with even more interest.

  “It is,” Dan said.

  The knowledge that this little gal was wealthy made her look even better to Lee, and he concentrated harder on figuring out a way to get her alone when they stopped for the night.

  When they arrived at the way station, Lee and his rowdy friends were hungry and ate up their dinners real fast, then left to take a look around the stables.

  Dwylah finished her meal and was getting ready to settle in for the night. She reached in her pocket to get the small prayer book she always carried with her only to find it was gone. “Oh—”

  “What’s wrong?” Penny asked, seeing her friend’s troubled expression.

  “It’s my prayer book . . . It must have fallen out of my pocket on the stage. I have to go find it.”

  “No, you wait here,” Dan said, getting up from the table. “I’ll go get it for you.”

  “Why, thank you, Dan,” she told him.

  Dwylah went on back to the ladies’ sleeping room for a moment, leaving Penny alone at the table.

  Since it was still light out, Penny went out on the small porch. She knew Dan would be right back and it felt good to be up moving around. She’d been thinking of her father during dinner, and she’d made up her mind that once she got to the ranch, she was going to make his final days as full of happiness as she could. She wanted him to know that she had loved him all this time and had missed him, too.

  Dwylah came out to join her there on the porch. “You’ve been a little quiet tonight.”

  Penny looked at her traveling companion. “I’ve been thinking of how much I’ve missed, being away from my father this long.”

  “He’s going to be so thrilled to see you. I’m sure he’s counting the days until you show up, just like we’re counting the miles until we get there.”

  Penny smiled. “It does seem as if we’ve been traveling for an eternity, but it will all have been worth it once I get to see him again.”

  “Yes, it will,” she agreed. “I’m going to go settle in. Just bring the prayer book on back with you when you come.” She was glad that tonight there would only be the two of them sleeping in the women’s quarters. The privacy would be wonderful.

  “I will.” Penny watched her friend go inside, and then, since it wasn’t dark yet, she decided to walk back and see if she could find Dan and help him look for the prayer book.

  Lee had just started back up to the station from the stable when he saw the pretty little gal who was traveling with them out walking around all by herself. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was certain that she’d come out there just looking for him, and he was certainly going to oblige her by going after her.

  “Well, howdy, little lady,” he said, going straight up to her.

  Penny had seen him when s
he’d first left the porch, but she hadn’t paid much attention until he called out to her.

  “Hello,” she responded, stopping right where she was and wondering what he wanted.

  “How you doing tonight?” he asked, his gaze going over her hungrily as he came to stand with her.

  Penny saw the look in his eyes and was immediately uncomfortable being alone in his presence. She knew she had to get away from him. She glanced around in hopes of seeing someone else nearby, but right then there was no one around. “I’m fine,” she answered. “And I was just going back in.”

  She turned and started to move away and was shocked when he grabbed her by the arm.

  “There’s no reason for you to leave just yet, little darling. Why, I’d been hoping I could find a way to get you alone here tonight, and you must have been thinking the same thing.”

  “Let me go!” Penny tried to pull herself free.

  “You don’t really want me to let you go, now, do you?” he said, pulling her closer in spite of her resistance.

  Penny struggled harder against his hold.

  Lee was ready to drag her off behind the stable so he could kiss her when suddenly he heard someone shout.

  “Get your hands off her now!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Dan had just found Dwylah’s prayer book and had started back to the house when he’d seen Lee go after Penny. He was furious with himself for leaving her alone, but he’d thought she had sense enough to stay with Dwylah inside the station.

  “What—” Lee could handle wild women, but this cowboy looked real tough and real mean. “We’re just having a little fun here. She came outside looking for me. She was wanting to be with me, ain’t that right, honey?” He tightened his grip on her arm threateningly.

  “I said, Let her go.” Dan’s tone was cold and commanding.

  Lee was many things, but he wasn’t a fool. He finally loosened his grip on the girl.

  Penny had never been so glad to see anyone in her whole life as she was to see Dan right then. She ran straight to him and was thrilled when he took her in his arms and held her close. For a moment, she buried her face against his chest as she trembled in relief.