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Standing in the wagon, holding one end of the heavy table, Austin glanced over his shoulder to see something that looked like the beginnings of a dust storm hurling toward them.

“Drop it!” Dallas ordered, and Austin gladly obliged, hearing the wagon groan beneath the weight.

The banker’s wife staggered to a stop. “She broke my stick!”

“Who did?” Dallas asked.

She pointed her finger at Austin. “I believe she’s his wife.”

Austin settled his butt on the side of the wagon. “If Loree broke your stick”—he swallowed his laughter—“I’m sure she had good reason.”

“I will not tolerate interference from that hoyden when I’m teaching,” the woman said.

“I’ll talk to her,” Dallas said.

“The hell you will,” Austin said. He glared at the woman. “And she’s not a hoyden.”

“She’s married to a murderer—”

“My brother’s not a murderer.”

“I was at the trial—”

“That’ll be enough, Mrs. Henderson. Why don’t you head on home, and we’ll take this up tomorrow?” Dallas suggested.

She stuck her nose in the air. “I don’t think I can teach Rawley. That boy is as lazy as his father—”

“I’m his father.”

“Not by blood—”

“By all that matters.” Dallas shoved on the table and sent it crashing against the back of the wagon. “Jackson!”

A tall lanky man hurried out of the barn. “Yes, sir?”

“Escort Mrs. Henderson home.”

Leaving the woman to huff and puff, Dallas strode toward the house. Austin leapt off the wagon and caught up to him. “You gotta pity poor Lester being married to that.”

Dallas just snorted.

“What are you aiming to do?” Austin asked as Dallas stalked through the front door.

“Find out what really happened.”

Austin heard the music filtering out of the parlor. Dallas ground to a stop in the parlor doorway. Wanting to ensure that he could get between Dallas and Loree if the need arose, Austin slipped past his brother and froze.

Loree was playing the piano with Rawley sitting beside her, watching as her hands moved over the keys. She struck the final chord and folded her hands in her lap.

“I could never play like that,” Rawley said, his voice filled with awe.

“You could if you wanted,” Loree said. “But the secret is—do you want to?”

Rawley shook his head. “I’d rather be out tending cattle.”

“Then that’s what you should do.”

“But I don’t want to disappoint Mr. D. He ain’t gonna like what happened with Miz Henderson at all,” Rawley said quietly.

“Of course, he won’t like it,” Loree said. “She’s lucky I walked into this room and not your father. He would have snatched her baldheaded if he’d seen that she was going to strike you.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” She shifted on the bench. “Rawley, he loves you very much.”

“I know he does, but I ain’t really his son. His son is buried out by the windmill. He died on account of me.” Ducking his head, Rawley rubbed his finger along the edge of the piano. “I ain’t never said that out loud, but I know it to be true.”

“Rawley!”

Rawley came off the bench at his father’s booming voice, and Loree looked as though she’d jumped out of her skin.

“Yes, sir?”

“I need to talk to you, son,” Dallas said more quietly. “Outside.”

Dallas turned abruptly and headed down the hallway. Rawley hurried after him. Austin ambled into the room and sprawled in a chair near the piano.

“What do you think he’s going to say to Rawley?” Loree asked, worry etched deeply between her brows.

“Imagine he’d going to explain to the boy that he is indeed Dallas’s son.”

“How long were you there?”

“Long enough to know Rawley will be herding cattle instead of banging on a piano.”

Loree breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m beginning to think your brother is more bark than bite.”

“Only where family is concerned. Make no mistake about that.”

Austin heard Loree’s laughter as he prodded his horse into the corral.

Moving into their own place had seemed to put Loree more at ease with her new surroundings.

He sauntered to the house, rounded the corner, and leaned against the beam supporting the eve.

Contentment stole over him as his gaze fell on Loree, sitting on the ground, her bare toes peeking out from beneath her skirt.

Rawley was hunkered beside her while Two-bits yelped and wagged his tail like there was no tomorrow.

“Sit!” Rawley ordered, deepening his voice.

The dog got his shaking butt halfway to the ground before he lifted it back up and began wagging his tail again.

“Sit!” Rawley repeated. Austin thought he sounded a great deal like Dallas.

This time, the dog plopped his butt onto the ground. Loree smiled brightly and clapped while Rawley tossed the dog a scrap of food. Loree glanced Austin’s way, and her smile grew warm. “You’re home.”

He ambled to her, extended his hand, and helped her to her feet. “Yep. What are you two doing?”

“Teaching Two-bits how to sit,” Rawley explained as he tossed the dog another morsel. The dog devoured it like he hadn’t eaten in weeks when Austin knew that wasn’t the case.

“Rawley made him a collar,” Loree said as she reached down and petted the dog.

“Used an old belt. Mr. D taught me how to carve into the leather.” Rawley pointed. “See, I did the dog’s name.”

“You did a good job,” Austin said, glad to see how his words pleased Rawley. The boy had received too little praise before he’d come to live with Dallas.

“Mr. D said when Two-bits fathers some pups, I can have one.”

“That might be a while,” Austin said.

“Mr. D said the same thing. Said he’d git me a dog now if I wanted, but I decided to wait on account I want a dog like Two-bits.” Rawley backed up a step. “Well, I’d best git home.”

“Tell your pa that I’ll be checking on the north range tomorrow.”

Rawley gave him a quick nod. “Yes, sir. Bye, Aunt Loree.”

“Thank you for the collar,” she said warmly.

“You’re welcome.” He hurried to his horse, mounted up, and kicked his horse into a gallop.

Austin watched the dust settle back into place.

“You did that on purpose didn’t you?” Loree asked.

He shifted his gaze to her. “Did what?”

“Gave him a message to take to ‘his pa.’ My guess is Dallas already knows you’ll be checking the north range tomorrow.”

Austin rubbed the side of his nose. “Was it that obvious I want the boy to realize Dallas is his father?”

“Probably not to him, but I’m beginning to know you a little more. Dallas tells people what he wants. You have a tendency to try and guide them without letting them know that you’re guiding them.”

Reaching out, he took her hand and tugged her to him until her toes crept over his boots. “So if I wanted to guide you toward an ‘I’m glad that you’re home’ kiss, what would I do?”

“What you do every evening. Put my hands on your shoulders and your hands on my waist. Then lean down—”

He didn’t let her finish, just planted his lips over hers, allowing the seed for love to begin taking root. He wished like hell that she hadn’t been forced to marry him, but if she hadn’t—she’d be in Austin and he’d be here, wishing he were with her.

He kept the kiss sweet and short because his resolve was weakening. What he really wanted was to lift her into his arms, guide her into the bedroom, and make love to her until dawn—but that damn promise stopped him because he hadn’t figured out how to convince her that he was only thinking of her.

Loree bit back the whimper when his mouth left hers. She did so look forward to his coming home in the evening. She smiled warmly. “Are you ready for supper?”

“Starving.”

Loree strolled into the house. A main living area on the first floor opened into a kitchen area. The bedroom she and Austin shared was off to the side. Stairs within that bedroom led to the second floor where two other rooms waited for them to decide how best to use them.

She had brought a few things from her home near Austin: a rocking chair, her vanity, her music boxes. They had Austin’s bedroom furniture, Dee and Dallas’s table, and a sofa from Amelia and Houston.

Nothing to hint at permanence … and yet, she felt contentment.

She was learning a good deal about her husband.

He was a man of simple habits. He awoke each morning before dawn and sat on the front porch, waiting for the sunrise, his hands wrapped around a tin cup that held his black coffee.

He never started the day with a meal, always ate lunch with the cowhands, and returned in the evening with a voracious appetite.

Night had fallen by the time they finished their meal, and she joined Austin on the porch. She enjoyed these moments when he seemed most relaxed and content. She sat on the top step. “How was your day?” she asked quietly.

A corner of Austin’s mouth quirked up. “Tiring. I sure don’t remember feeling this tired in the evenings before. Must be age catching up with me.”

She laughed lightly. “You are so incredibly old.”

Turning, he pressed his back against the beam, straightened his legs, and brought her feet to his lap. He rubbed his thumbs over her sole. “How was your day?”

“Amelia visited.”

“Not being a pesky neighbor, is she?”

“No, I think she’s purposefully trying to leave us alone. She told me you had helped build the house.”

“Helped to add the bedroom and the rooms upstairs.”

“I like the thought of our children playing on a floor you may have hammered into place.” She gnawed on her lower lip, raised a hand, and squinted into the setting sun. “You see that tree over there?”

Austin glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

The tree was not what she would call beautiful. Bent, gnarled, and crooked, it looked as though it had spent much of its time fighting the lonesome winds and seldom winning.

“Can we hang a swing from it?”

“We can hang anything from it that you want, Sugar.”

Two-bits leapt on the porch, wagged his tail, and yipped before settling down beside her hip.

Austin chuckled. “He’s such a ferocious guardian.”

“He’s good company, and he gives Rawley an excuse to visit. He reminds me so much of my brother.”

Austin’s fingers stilled their soothing journey over the soles of her feet. “You really miss your brother, don’t you?”

“Some days are harder than others, but I guess it’s always like that when you lose someone you love.”

He started rubbing her feet again. “Speaking of someone you love, they’re putting the ones they love to bed.”

Night had swept over the land. Loree gazed at the house in the distance. Lights spilled out from the windows on the second floor. A window fell into darkness.

“That’ll be A. J.,” Austin said.

“What does the A. J. stand for?” Loree asked.

“Anita June. Amanda’s middle name is April. When it suits their fancy, they have a tendency to name their daughters after the month in which they were born. Hope you’re not planning to do that.”

“What if I was?” she challenged.

“Then that’s what we’d do.” Austin pointed toward the house. “They’re coming to my favorite window.”

Loree glanced back over her shoulder. Two other windows were now ensconced in darkness. She watched as the light from the last window disappeared.

“That was Maggie’s room. Give her a minute …” The light again burned within the window. Austin chuckled.

“What’s she doing?” Loree asked.

“No idea, but she turns that lamp back up every night.”

“You love her so much.”

“I love ‘em all, but I know Maggie … and Rawley. But I’m slowly getting to know the others.” He yawned and patted her feet. “Guess I’d best get to bed.”

He unfolded his body, took her hand, and brought her to her feet. “Don’t know if you noticed the theater Dee built in town. It’s gonna have its first performance next week. She’s invited the whole family to go.”

“That should be fun.”

“Yeah,” he replied, but she thought she heard doubt in his voice. “You go on in. I’ll be there directly.”

Following their nightly ritual, she went to their bedroom, slipped into her nightgown, crawled into bed, turned down the lamp, and waited.

She heard her husband walking the perimeter of the house as though he loathed giving up another day.

He joined her a little sooner than he had the night before.

Pressing a kiss to her temple, he drew her into the circle of his arms.

As she lay there, listening to his breathing, knowing he was giving as much as he could without dishonoring his vow, she cursed the night she’d extracted a promise from him.