CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Belle liked this Blake. Easygoing, with a smile now and then and a joke thrown in for good measure. The other Blake was too intense. She didn’t know how to handle him at all. “I won’t turn my nose up. I’ll be nice and welcoming to Nicole.”
The men in the group split off and headed for the corrals in front of the bunkhouse while a woman, dressed in pants and a shirt just like Belle, headed in the direction of the house and then rode right up to where she and Blake walked.
“Hey there, Blake Harding. Haven’t seen you around for a while. What’ve you been doing? Hiding out in the hills from all these Brinkman women?” She laughed and dismounted with ease as if she’d been doing it all her life.
Blake gave a hearty laugh that went right up Belle’s spine.
“Belle,” he said, loud enough for the newcomer to hear him, “meet Nicole Day, Sheriff Clint Dawson’s sister. She’s as good a protector as any man. Six bears and a wolf couldn’t intimidate her.”
Belle bristled at his amused brow. He ran an affectionate hand down Nicole’s horse’s blaze. “How was the ride out? See anything peculiar?”
“You’re the only peculiar thing out here, Harding,” she joked, then looked straight at Belle.
Are they flirting? Nicole is pretty enough. For that matter, so was Amorette at Mademoiselle de Sells. Blake’s wife has been gone for four years, after all—that’s a long time. A sharp twinge of jealousy pricked her. Where did that come from? Blake is practically my stepbrother. Surely seeing him settled with a wife again would have made Father happy. I need to remember that. Besides, Lesley will be waiting at home for me. He’s going to propose. He said so just this morning.
She’d gotten everything she wanted.
And—she smiled—now she had the chance to make her first proper girlfriend in Eden.
“Let’s not get carried away, Nic. This is Belle Brinkman. It’s good of you to come out for a few days, show her the ropes. We’ll be able to use a hand during the roundup too, if you’re staying that long.”
“I can’t stay but a couple of days. Still, I was happy Henry thought of me to babysit your new partner. I can use the money.”
Belle’s smile vanished.
Oh boy. Blake jerked straight and cut a warning look at Nicole. “Stop teasing, Nic. You’re just trying to get a rise out of Miss Brinkman. She may look all soft and citified, but she’s smart and tough too. Just like you.” That wasn’t the exact truth, but he didn’t want to inflame Belle any more.
Nicole laughed and stuck out her hand. “I’m just teasing, Belle. Hope there aren’t any hard feelings on your end. I can promise we’re going to be good friends before long.” She shrugged. “And by all that’s reasonable, I am sort of babysitting. Aren’t I? Why so prickly?”
Nicole stood quietly with an outstretched hand. Blake knew that wouldn’t last long if Belle didn’t respond. Turning, he took Belle by the arm and extended it until the girls were forced to grasp hands. With his large hand covering theirs, he pushed them up and down, smiling as wide as he could. Nicole seemed to have already forgotten the whole scene, but Belle’s nostrils flared, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen eyes so narrow.
“Nicole didn’t mean any harm. She just doesn’t seem to have a filter. You’ll get used to her kidding.”
“I doubt that.” Belle dropped her hand as if she’d been touching cow dung.
This wasn’t going well. The men came from the bunkhouse, mounted, and rode up to join them.
“I appreciate you escorting Nicole out.” Blake pointed with his hat. “This is Mick, a good fellow. And this is Donald Dodge—he’s mayor of Eden. You met his brother, Ray, earlier.”
“Oh, the doctor?” Belle asked.
“That’s correct, Miss Brinkman,” Donald said, a much thinner man than his sibling, who was large and fit for a man of her father’s age. Smile lines cradled the mayor’s lips, and his eyes were kind. “I’d like to officially welcome you to Eden. I would have done it the day you arrived, but I just returned myself. We’ve wondered for years if you’d return. Your father would be a proud man today.” He glanced around in the waning light. “It’ll be good to have more Brinkmans in town now that John’s gone.”
He touched the brim of his hat. Blake watched as the men turned their horses and began the trip back to town. He needed to check on Moses. Now that Nicole was here, she could take over where Belle was concerned. At least until tomorrow. But there wouldn’t be much sleep. He and the men would watch the house and ranch in case Praig came prowling in the night.
The distant cry of an early coyote made Belle’s head whip around. Nicole gave a soft snicker. “Blake, where do you want me to put my horse?”
“I’ll stable him for you.”
Nicole reached up, untied the overstuffed carpetbag secured to the back of her saddle, and held it out to Belle. “Your sisters sent you your things.”
Instead, Blake took the heavy satchel from Nicole’s hands. “Come on, let’s get you two settled. Can either of you cook?”
“I can . . . in Philadelphia,” Belle said softly. The immensity of her situation seemed to be finally sinking in. “I don’t know about that old stove I saw in the house, though.”
“What are the men cooking in the bunkhouse?” Nicole asked.
“That isn’t a half-bad idea. You two want to join us since there isn’t much food in the house? Might be easier than doing everything yourself.”
Nicole nodded. “That’d be my vote. Everything tastes better if someone else does the cooking. What about you, Belle? Want to wait a day before tackling the stove?”
In the darkness, Blake couldn’t see her reaction. Cooking on an outdated stove probably sounded as appealing to her as ringworm. He came to the realization that she and her sisters were going to need a whole lot of coddling. Not that he held a grudge against them. He’d had a lifetime with John, who’d taught him everything he needed to be a rancher and a man. Passing on the information to his own daughters seemed like the least Blake could do. And he would. With a good attitude, to boot.
“That’s exactly what you’ll do. If you don’t mind the men.”
At the house, Blake went in first and began lighting the lanterns. “Why don’t you take a half hour and get refreshed? Then I’ll send someone to escort you down.”
“Surely we don’t need a bodyguard on the ranch,” Belle said, surprised.
As golden light filled the room, Blake was astonished once again that he was actually looking at Belle Brinkman. He had a vision of himself at ten, looking at her through the crack of the pantry door. Now that she was here, he’d not let Praig or anything else hurt her.
“Until Clint finds Praig and locks him up, you do.” Clint’s baby sister squished up her face in protest but didn’t buck his orders. “You just be ready in half an hour to experience the meal of a lifetime.”
“Supper in the bunkhouse.” Belle actually smiled, and a glow came back into her dark-blue eyes, transforming them to jewels. “That sounds like an adventure.”
Blake stepped out into the quiet night thinking the exact same thing.