“I don’t know.”
Rose lifted an eyebrow in question. “Who hit whom?”
“She hit me first.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. She was talking too fast for me to understand her, but I did catch the word, Clay. I’m going to guess and say she’s mad he left and blames me for it.”
Rose looked towards the curtain. Graham stuck his head through the doorway to look in at them. He said something to Rose that she acknowledged with a nod of her head before he disappeared again, and Rose turned back, her gaze falling to Daisy’s exposed legs.
“You need to go get that cleaned up.” She leaned down to look at the cuts. “Hopefully, you don’t need stitches. The new doctor won’t be here for another month.”
Rose straightened and tucked a thick strand of Daisy’s hair back behind her ear where it had been pulled from the bun she’d had it in. Rose took her hand, patting it before tilting her head to see her face.
When Daisy looked at her, Rose said, “Go home and get cleaned up. When I get there, we’ll talk.”
“About what?”
“Your future and what you plan to do with it.”
Chapter 17
The horses were all staring at him. Not surprising, as he stood in front of them sucking on his thumb to stop the bleeding. He’d smashed it good with the hammer, then cussed a blue streak he was sure they heard down at the train station. Liam was watching him too. The old man was getting around better now, but limped with every step. The bone in his leg had healed, but he knew it still bothered him most days.
“I warned you what all that daydreaming was going to get you.”
He glared over at him and ignored what he’d said. He hadn't been daydreaming, just distracted. Had been since he got back into town over two months ago. As much as he enjoyed the fast-paced life living in Butte provided, it felt oddly—disappointing.
He filled his days with tending to the horses, repairing the many wagons and buggies Liam rented out, and even helped Everette over at the stagecoach station when he needed a hand, just to have something to do.
The cabin Liam had offered him gave him plenty to do after work. All the minor repairs were fixed, and life was exactly how he had pictured it when he thought of what his future would look like. Only he was miserable. He woke, dressed, worked, and went home. Every day was the same, and he couldn’t even remember the last time he had even had something to smile about.
“I’m going to head on home,” Liam said, breaking into his thoughts. “Do you need any help before I leave?”
“Nah,” he said, picking the hammer back up. “I just need to get this last board on, and I’ll be heading out too.”
“All right, then. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Clay waved him off, watching the door shut before he got back to the wagon repairs. They’d replaced one whole side with new boards and worked on the wheel most of the day. This late in the year was slow, so it gave them plenty of time to fix everything that broke over the spring and summer.
It was near dark when he finally bedded the horses down for the night and left the stable. The wind was getting colder, the air chilling his exposed neck. He pulled the collar of his coat up to his ears and shoved his hands into his pockets, nodding his head at Everette when he passed the stagecoach station.
Halfway down the road, he saw Callie on the other side of the street, her steps slow on the snow-covered sidewalk. A quick look around him to see if he could duck into an alleyway to prevent her from seeing him was useless, as she looked directly at him a moment later.
He blew out a tired breath. Since getting back into Butte, he'd not exactly been kind to her. She’d asked him about Daisy not twenty minutes after he’d returned from Silver Falls, and he’d been more than rude to her, lashing out and telling her he wasn’t Daisy’s keeper. He'd regretted it instantly. Daisy’s rejection had still been raw, and he’d taken it out on Callie. Luckily, she hadn’t taken offense.
Callie threw her hand up and waved at him. He nodded his head at her and slowed his steps when she hurried across the street to where he was. Her smile was wide when she stepped up onto the sidewalk, a dimple in her cheek catching his attention. “Hey, handsome,” she said, huffing out a breath. “Where are you headed?”
“Home.”
“Me too.” She looked down the street before saying, “Old Lady Whisnant is probably screaming down the house as we speak.” Her sudden laugh was followed by a grin as she lifted a box in her hand. “She sent me for one of those fried pies Glinda Jenkins makes over an hour ago, and if you’ve ever met Glinda, you know the woman loves to talk.”
So did Callie, Clay thought, but didn’t say as much.
The smile on Callie’s face slowly fell away as she looked at him. “You look like shit, by the way.”
He huffed out a short laugh. “Thanks.”
