An Uninvited Bride on his Doorstep by Ava Winters
Chapter Fourteen
Logan dismounted and waved to Darrell. The foreman returned the greeting and met Logan at the gate of the newly repaired corral. The money from the sale of the cattle allowed Logan to purchase the wood, rawhide, and tar necessary to finish the repairs to the corral. There was even enough left over to repair the roof of the barn, a project Darrell promised Logan would be completed within the next two days—just in time for the Ross’s visit.
“Mornin’, Darrell,” Logan said when the wrangler reached the gate. He patted the gleaming new post and smiled. “Looks good.”
“Yes, it came out real nice, didn’t it?” Darrell agreed. “Better than the old one.”
“You and your boys did a fine job,” Logan replied. “Thank you.”
“Just doing my job,” Darrell demurred with a smile. “To tell truth, I’m more excited to fix the barn up than I was for the corral. It’ll be nice to have a place to store feed without worrying about it spoiling every time a storm comes through.”
“That’s for sure.” Looking around at the solid new corral, Logan felt a swell of pride. The feeling was strange but welcome. It was a long time since Logan could say he felt pride in the ranch’s appearance. They had a long way to go yet but it was a far cry from what it was three months ago, before Winona’s arrival.
Winona. She was the difference. Once she arrived, Logan and his brothers suddenly had a reason to believe in the ranch and its future. Logan always wanted the ranch to succeed but before marrying his wife he’d almost resigned himself to believing they would never get ahead. Now they had a new corral. In a few days, they would have a solid barn.
The house, too, was night and day compared to the state it was when Winona arrived. For that, Logan definitely had Winona to thank. She had singlehandedly cleaned and repaired the entire house. All by herself. Alone.
He felt a rush of guilt and his smile faded. For the first time, he considered how hard it must have been for Winona to have shouldered all those chores by herself. Darrell must have seen the guilt in his expression because he said, “You know, the boys and I will be all right handling the barn ourselves. If you want to take the day and help Winona around the house, that’s fine with us.”
Logan nodded. “Reckon I’ll do that, Darrell. Thank you.”
Darrell smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, then turned and walked back to the other hands. Several of the hands waved goodbye to Logan as he mounted up and rode back to the house.
He entered to find Winona on her hands and knees, polishing the parlor furniture. “Mornin’, Winona,” he called.
She looked up briefly then returned to her polishing. “Morning, Logan” she said. “Sorry, I can’t join you for lunch today. I still have a lot to do before my parents visit. There’s bread in the pantry and cheese in the icebox if you want to make yourself a sandwich.”
“I’m not hungry but thank you,” he replied. “Actually, I was wondering if you could use some help. The boys have the repairs to the barn handled and …” he blushed and fumbled over his words. Why did he get so tongue-tied around her? He swallowed and continued. “Well, you’ve been workin’ real hard and I’m much obliged and I thought you could use some help.”
She smiled at him, slightly amused but mostly surprised and grateful for his offer. “That’s very kind of you, Logan. I would love some help.”
Logan brightened and knelt down next to Winona. She handed him a stiff brush. He caught a whiff of her perfume—a light, flowery scent—and felt heat rise up his neck. She turned to him and smiled coyly. “I’ll keep polishing the wood. Why don’t you brush the dust out of the cushions?”
Her face was only a few inches from his as she spoke. Logan’s heart began to beat faster as he regarded her bright blue eyes and soft features. Her lips parted slightly as she returned his gaze. Logan nearly leaned in for a kiss but caught himself at the last moment. He pulled back and cleared his throat. He took the brush and said, “All right. I’ll get started then.”
His voice was a little gruffer than he intended, and he worried a moment Winona might take offense. She only smiled knowingly and held her gaze while he blushed and cleared his throat once more. He stood and shuffled to the high-backed chair a few feet from the couch and began vigorously brushing the cushion on the back of the chair.
A moment later, he heard a soft sliding sound as Winona returned to polishing the wooden legs of the couch. He risked a glance back at her. She was absorbed in her work and didn’t notice him staring. His eyes traced a line from her neck down her back to the curve of her hips then traveled upward, taking in the supple roundness of her shoulders and the soft angle of her jawline. Her hair seemed to shimmer like burnished copper in the sunlight coming in through the window.
He stared at her in awe, too distracted to focus on brushing until Winona turned and met his eyes suddenly. She blushed crimson and said, “Are you going to help or are you just going to stare at me all day?”
He blushed an even deeper shade of red and turned back to the chair, brushing vigorously. She laughed, and his embarrassment grew as he moved to the cushion on the seat of the chair. He worked for a few minutes without succumbing to distraction but when he finished the chair and prepared to move to the couch, he couldn’t resist another look at her.
She was staring at his arms and chest, her eyes wide, a curiously intense expression on her face. He smiled and said, “Are you going to help or are you just going to stare at me all day?”
She jumped, startled and her blush deepened until it was redder than a ripe apple. He suppressed a chuckle and squatted next to her. “I’m finished brushing the chair. I was planning to start on the couch but if you need more time to polish—”
“No,” she interrupted quickly. “All finished. I’m going to start brushing the drapes now.”
“The drapes? We just bought those. They need brushing already?”
“Oh, right,” she said. She was flustered and knowing she was flustered because of him gave Logan a warm feeling. “Well,” Winona continued, “I’ll sweep out the fireplace then.”
She walked quickly to the fireplace and began sweeping out the ash in short quick strokes. Logan watched her for a moment, then continued with the cushion.
They continued working until the parlor was spotless. Once Logan finished brushing the couch, he dusted and polished the mantle and the side table. Winona swept the fireplace until not a speck of ash remained, then gave the same treatment to the floor while Logan took the rug outside and beat it until it no longer shed dust.
When everything was swept and brushed, Winona looked around and smiled. “Well, the parlor’s nearly there, at least. Now we just need to mop, and everything will be pristine.” She turned to Logan. “I’m going to the well for water. Would you like to keep me company?”
Logan couldn’t stop the grin that spread from ear to ear. “I would love to, Winona.”
She returned his grin and led him out the door. The sun, dimmed by the drapes in the house, assaulted them with blinding sunlight when they stepped outside. They both put a hand up to shield their eyes. They heard laughter and turned to see Jay crossing the courtyard, leading a yearling colt he was breaking for saddle. The horse wore blinders and a training saddle and looked decidedly uncomfortable but allowed Jay to lead him without protest.
Jay grinned at them. “I can let you two borrow Raven’s blinders if you want,” he teased. “The Texas sun can be a little intense for more sensitive eyes.”
“You been reading Gregory’s poetry book or something?” Logan quipped. “Get that horse on out of here and leave us to our work.”
“Oh, my apologies,” Jay replied. He put a hand to his chest in mock consternation. “I would hate to think I’ve interfered in such important goings-on. Please, continue to stumble around in the blinding daylight. Don’t mind me.”
“Mind your brother!” Winona called, laughing. “Or I’ll give Raven a nice pat on the rump, and you can spend the rest of the afternoon running her down!”
Jay lifted his hands in surrender. “I give up!” he called. “You win!” He turned to Logan, “Control your woman, would you?”
Winona took a menacing step forward and Jay quickly moved on, leading Raven behind him. The horse turned its head furtively and whinnied at them before trotting along after Jay. When Jay reached the end of the courtyard, he turned and bowed theatrically. He forgot to tell Raven to stop first and the horsed bumped into him, knocking him sprawling.
Logan and Winona burst into laughter as Jay scrambled to his feet, red-faced. He smiled at them and bowed again, more successfully this time, then continued on his way.
When they reached the well, Logan lowered the bucket and drew water for Winona. She thanked him and leaned against the well, watching him with a soft smile on her face. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t stop his face from flaming red. He spent so much time blushing around her he wondered if she’d even recognize him without a flush in his cheeks. Finally, he said, “Why are you staring now, Winona?”
“I’m just glad to see you and Jay get along,” she said. “This is the first time since I’ve met you that you two aren’t fighting.”
Logan took the full bucket off the hook and lowered it to the ground. Winona was right. To tell the truth, even he couldn’t remember the last time he and Jay weren’t fighting. Before his parents died, at least. He looked at Winona. “I owe that to you, Winona,” he said. “You’ve helped me see how important it is that we get along as a family. I never would have been able to do that without your help. Thank you.”
Winona reached forward and squeezed his hand. The contact was brief, and she released his hand an instant later, but it felt like a lifetime to Logan. He stood taller, his shoulders straightened, and he felt renewed strength flow through him. He picked up the bucket and gestured for them to return to the house.
“Is there anything you want me to do while you mop, Winona?” he asked as they walked back.
She chuckled. “Why do you keep saying my name like that? I’m the only one here. I know you’re talking to me.”
“Oh,” he said. “Well … I like your name. I like saying it. It’s pretty.”
“Oh,” Winona replied. She looked away and couldn’t quite stifle the grin that spread across her cheeks. “Well, I suppose that’s all right.”
“You’re sure that’s all right?” Logan teased. “You don’t mind if I use my wife’s name every now and then?”
She giggled, a pretty, girlish sound unlike any laughter he’d heard before. It warmed him and all at once he regretted his initial reasons for marrying her. He hated Heath Ross and he loved watching the impotent wrath in his and Audrey’s faces when he paraded Winona around in town and forced them to acknowledge him as her husband. He still enjoyed this moral victory, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to rubbing their faces in it some more on Sunday.
That wasn’t the only reason for marrying her anymore, though. He liked her. He enjoyed her company. She was beautiful, and funny, and very kind—even when he didn’t deserve it. She was everything he would have asked for in a wife if given a choice and he wished desperately he could make her his wife in more than just name.
“Dollar for your thoughts?” she asked, smiling up at him.
He realized he was still staring at her and looked away, blushing once more, of course. He supposed he’d just have to get used to having that reaction around her. “You and Darrell sure put a high price on my thoughts.”
Her brow furrowed. “Darrell?”
“Darrell offered me a dollar for my thoughts once, too.”
“Well, that’s the saying, isn’t it?”
“It’s a penny for your thoughts. Not a dollar.”
“Oh, well, maybe your thoughts are worth a little more to me.”
He looked back down at her. She looked away, grinning and blushing. After a moment, she said. “You should watch where you’re going.”
He looked up, just in time to see the stairs and avoid tripping. She giggled again as he hopped up the stairs, narrowly avoiding the water that sloshed over the bucket with his abrupt movement. “Wait here,” she said. “I’ll go get the lye.”
They mopped the parlor until the floor gleamed, then they moved to the kitchen. Winona polished the table and chairs in the dining room while Logan cleaned the stove out, sweeping the ash into a pile and dumping it into a bucket to be taken outside and disposed of later. They swept and mopped the kitchen after until both rooms shone like new.
Winona smiled, regarding the work they’d done. “Thank you, Logan. Now if only I could figure out what to make.”
“I can help,” Logan offered. “I might not be a great cook like you but if you help me, I can be useful in the kitchen.”
“Thank you,” she said again. “That’s kind of you. I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Not today, though. I’m exhausted. Let’s just have dinner and we can worry about it in the morning. How does that sound?”
Logan gazed into her eyes, smiled and said, softly, “That sounds wonderful.”