“Exactly so.” Luke gave each of them a quick hug. “It’s a great honor to have such lovely young ladies be my nieces. And what good examples you can be to your cousins.”
Both of the little girls grinned happily.
“Whoa,” Luke said softly, leaning closer to Judith. “That was a close call. Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
There was something endearing about a man who cared about the feelings of little girls. Her father never had.
“You’re doing remarkably well, considering how changed your life is,” Judith said. “Do you ever compare the beginning of this year to now?”
“Every day.” Luke’s throat worked. It took a minute before he could speak again. “The Good Lord’s blessed me this year beyond anything I could have dreamed. I’m sorry it’s at the expense of my sisters losing their father, but I’m still grateful they came to me.”
Judith nodded, wishing she could tell him how much he impressed her. Unlike Luke with his sisters, Marshall hadn’t been pleased when she’d arrived at the Circle B. He was a gentleman, however, and just like when their cousin Edgar had arrived last fall, her brother had made her welcome anyway. Their first few weeks had been rocky, and she had no one to blame but herself. After having associated with the kindhearted Doris for so long now, Judith found herself looking back on her immature behavior with dismay.
Shewastrying to do better, but it was more difficult than she would have expected. What was she to do when her deepest desire was to be in New York, once again secure in her status as a lady of substance? She’d grown weary of praying for God’s mercy, and He had surely tired of her pleas for her old life.
Not that she’d take Teddy back, the snake.
“Does something not taste right?” Luke asked softly, watching her with concern.
Judith blinked, caught in unhappy daydreams again. “The food is delicious. Why do you ask?”
“Because you made a face like you’d bit into something bitter.”
“I was merely thinking.” She picked up her glass and took a sip.
Luke waited until she put it down before saying, “A penny for your thoughts then.”
Judith’s heart gave a little lurch. She rarely spoke of personal things and certainly not with a man. Not even Teddy. The weight of all she’d lost that year struck her forcefully, causing her eyes to burn. She dropped her gaze, lest the handsome rancher see her distress.
“I’m sorry, Judith.” Luke covered her hand with his, causing her to meet his gaze. “It’s only been recently I’ve realized how much you’ve been hurt.”
Her shoulders hunched. It made her father’s behavior real whenever it was spoken of aloud. The tingle of his lingering touch provided a mild distraction, but she didn’t want pity from Luke. She wanted his regard. Andnotas a sister.
“Haven’t we all been hurt at one time or another?” Judith asked, stiffening as she had learned to do to protect herself. “It cannot have been an easy thing for you to be cast out of your mother’s home.”
A flash of hurt crossed his face, and his hand on hers twitched. When he moved it, she especially regretted her attempt to shift the topic of conversation. Why must everything she said or did go wrong? She hadn’t used to be so socially inept.
Luke didn’t speak to her for the rest of the meal.
4
“In order for us to pull our fair together in time,” Mary Teague said at the beginning of the next Ladies’ Improvement Society meeting, “we’re going to need to bring in a man to help us with their events.”
While the other ladies offered differing opinions on the statement, Judith sat silently in her seat. She might have known bringing in the men last week would result in something like this. So much for theLadies’Improvement Society. What was it going to be now, the Lilac City Improvement Society? It might have a nice ring to it, but she would hate to see the ladies surrender their autonomy to be railroaded by pushy men. In her experience, members of the male sex always assumed they knew best about everything.
“Who did you have in mind?” Judith asked during a lull in the conversation.
“It can’t be Charles,” Maude said.
“Or the sheriff,” Edith added. “With winter coming early this year, there’s been some problems with animals going missing.”
“Have others suffered losses too?” Maude asked. “I hadn’t heard about any but at the Lucky L.”
“Those are the only ones I’ve heard of,” Edith said.
“Marshall said they can’t tell if it’s wild dogs or wolves,” Doris said, looking queasy. “Or rustlers. He said everyone will have to be on special alert when they’re traveling.”
Judith frowned. She remembered her brother’s comment, but she hadn’t been listening closely. Just when she’d begun to feel less like she was living in the wilderness, something like this had to happen. She would never have survived as one of those pioneer women.
