Page 31 of The Rancher's Wedding

“I’m trying,” Michael said, closing the gate, then leading Estelle out. “He just doesn’t want to be my brother, I guess.”

“If I had a brother, and an only brother as you do, I would move mountains or whatever it took to make things right.”

“So would I,” Michael said. “But I don’t think it would help.”

“What did you do to him?”

Michael sighed and looked at Estelle. He really didn’t have the energy. “I saved his life.”

Estelle tilted her head, confused. “There must be more to it.”

He wanted to tell her, but he knew he was speaking in vague riddles that couldn’t make sense to her. And the truth was that the whole thing didn’t make a lot of sense to Michael, either.

“Of course,” Michael said, “but I’m gonna need to save the full story for another time. That could take an entire evening in itself.”

That wasn’t good enough for her. If anything, he’d made her more interested. He didn’t want to keep a secret from her, but for the time being, it was the way things had to be.

They reached the house and Michael walked her to her room. “Goodnight, Estelle. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Michael.”

He walked away. Hearing her say his name was exactly the note he wanted to end the evening on.

***

The next morning, Estelle was already down in the kitchen when Michael arrived. He was still waking up, while she was energized and ready to start the day—hoping for another chance to ride a horse and, possibly, to hear the story that Michael had only alluded to about how he had saved Jacob’s life. The breakfast beans were ready to be served and, did his nose deceive him? It smelled like there were biscuits in the oven and they weren’t even burnt.

He guessed he was wrong about her feeling sore.

“Good morning,” Michael said, walking over to the oven to check.

“No, no, no,” Estelle said. “Not until they’re ready.”

Michael backed off. He didn’t want to get in her way.

A few minutes passed and breakfast was served. A simple breakfast, to be sure—just the beans and biscuits—but when Michael took a bite of each, they tasted just right.

“Delicious!” he said.

“I think I’m starting to become accustomed to my duties around here,” Estelle said.

Michael laughed. “You still need to work on your Western tongue, but other than that I’d say you’re making some real good progress.”

“Thank you, kind sir.”

In as dainty a fashion as possible, Estelle ate her breakfast quickly, clearing her plate before Michael had made it even halfway done.

“What are you so excited about?”

Estelle blushed. “I want to ride Orion again.”

“Well, tell you what,” Michael said. “Let me finish my breakfast and I’ll try and show you how to mount him yourself. That way, you can take him for a ride anytime you want.”

He took another bite of the biscuit and chewed for a moment, considering his next thought carefully.

“The other thing,” he said, “is you need to understand that a horse is not just for fun. And we’re going to need to work on teaching you how to control him.”

“Whatever do you mean?”