Emma's Blaze (Fires of Cricket Bend Book 2) by Marie Piper Read Free Book Online Page B

her bold manners, he was glad she’d come to the drive from wherever she’d come from. He’d never been one to think of roaming. Bill preferred home. The warmth of his small house back on the ranch, built from wood he’d cut himself, and sparsely decorated—a quilt from his mother, a famed photograph of the family, and not much more—felt like where he belonged. An old rocking chair from his grandfather sat outside, and he’d sit in it for hours and watch the peaceful world around him.
    Sparrow, whoever she was, would likely never look twice at a man like him. He was too simple. Despite her trail clothes, she was still an exotic bird with a wounded wing relying on them to get somewhere. Once she got to Cricket Bend, she’d likely fly away, fast and furious, never to be seen again.
    Something about her still pulled at Bill. He hadn’t experienced sensations of excitement for a woman as intensely in a long time. Maybe it was the way she moved, gently swaying as she sang. Maybe it was something more.
    Whatever it was, the song ended too quickly for his liking. After, the men took to drinking and chattering. Bill lost Sparrow in the night, until she appeared by his side and pulled needle and thread from her pocket. She settled beside him and focused on a tear in the arm of his shirt. “I can fix this in a heartbeat, if you hold still.”
    “Holding still for a while sounds real fine. Thought you weren’t planning to sing without pay.”
    She waved a hand. “Your boys, they grew on me. It makes them happy to hear music. And Saul is very talented, like you said. I could hardly resist.”
    “Saul’s never been real comfortable with strangers. He’s not one to talk much.”
    “He talked to me.”
    “Then you’re more special than I thought.”
    “I’m nothing special.” She seemed almost shy when she said it.
    “You’re wrong about that,” Bill answered.
    Her small fingers worked quickly to mend the rip in his shirt. Bill wished she’d work slower. He didn’t mind having her sit beside him, or seeing wisps of her hair blow in the breeze and her long eyelashes blinking. He didn’t mind feeling the gentle pressure of her fingers where she held his arm, or her knee barely against his thigh.
    “Think Appie could live without you for a day?”
    “Why?”
    “Thought you might want to ride Maggie tomorrow. Come on up front with me.”
    Her eyes got big. “That would be real nice. Will Josiah be mad?”
    “I don’t rightly care if he is. I could use the company, and it’ll keep you from battling that crutch broom all day long. We’ll go out right after breakfast. I’ve left Jess alone with the job for a few days. I’m sure he’d appreciate the company too.”
    “I’m glad you came back,” she said.
    “I’m glad you’re still here,” he replied. “Got worried you’d have run off without saying goodbye.”
    Sparrow met his eyes with her own. “I’m not going to run off, and I promise to at least say goodbye first if I change my mind. Even if I was thinking of running, where the hell would I go?” She flipped her hand a little, and Bill took in the vast expanse of open land around them. There was nothing for miles. Until he got her to Cricket Bend, she’d be stuck on the drive with him.
    “I’m glad to know that.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Bill and Sparrow rose before the sun. Thanks to Saul’s creativity, Maggie wore a blanket tied onto her by a rope. The drive didn’t carry a spare saddle, so it would have to do. Bill rode beside her to the front of the herd, where he spent his days leading the cows along the safest and easiest paths to Abilene. Jess joined them on their way out, headed to the front himself.
    “Good morning, ma’am.” Jess greeted Sparrow with a yawn.
    “Morning?” Sparrow looked at the still-dark sky. “I have yet to see proof of that.”
    As if on cue, Appie began banging pots and pans.
    “I stand corrected.” Sparrow said. “Now