No One But You by Leigh Greenwood Read Free Book Online

he was so tense. Sarah’s proposal had taken him by surprise. He’d thought he’d accepted that he wasn’t going to have the kind of land he wanted where he wanted it. He’d thought he was even looking forward to working for George. The brothers were a difficult and restless bunch, but he liked all of them, even Jeff. Sarah’s offer of half her ranch had knocked over his carefully pieced together acceptance of what the future held for him because he wanted a chance to earn that land.
    He knew the chance she was offering would mean years of backbreaking work. He was certain there would be times when he questioned his sanity in being married to a woman he found attractive but couldn’t touch. There were already nights when need racked his body so hard he couldn’t sleep, and being close to a woman like Sarah would intensify it several times over. Why should he set himself up for that kind of torture?
    Because of the land, the chance to own something of his own.
    He entered the bunkhouse and headed for the corner that had been his home since the last board was nailed in place a few months earlier. He’d thought he could be happy here, would be content to have his own bed, a place for all his belongings, and some wall to decorate if he wished. No more sleeping out in all kinds of weather. No more eating meals cooked over a campfire. He was working for a family he liked and a man he admired. What more could a penniless ex-soldier want?
    He plopped down on his bed. It would take very little to make him happy. First was a place of his own. Next would be friends. He really didn’t need anything after that. He knew what kind of responsibility a wife and family would be. If things had been different, he might have thought differently, but they weren’t so there was no point in thinking about it.
    His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bunkhouse door opening.
    Walter Swain came in shivering and rubbing his hands together. “I was hoping you’d have a fire going. That wind is as sharp as a knife.”
    â€œNo point in heating the bunkhouse when George will probably ask us to hang around after supper.”
    â€œI hope so.” Walter walked to his bunk to take off his heavy coat and hang it up. “I get a chuckle out of some of the things Zac says.”
    Walter Swain, a forty-seven-year-old widower with two grown children, was a big, burly man who was as strong as an ox and as easygoing as a summer breeze. He never complained. He could work from dawn to dusk and get up the next day and do it again. He would work as hard as he must to make Sarah’s ranch successful, would probably grow to be fond of her children, and was the kind of man who would be respected in any community. He didn’t drink, saved his money, and never seemed to feel the loss of female companionship. He would become so much a part of her family she’d probably never ask him for a divorce. He’d be a friend and companion, a partner and confidant, but he’d never be the kind of husband a woman like Sarah deserved.
    Of course, Sarah didn’t want a husband. She wanted a friend and companion. She wanted a partner and confidant. Salty could be all of those, but he wouldn’t get the chance because Sarah was attracted to him. It didn’t seem fair that something which should have brought him pride would make him unhappy.
    He had to figure out how to talk Sarah into changing her mind. She was too young to turn herself into a middle-aged woman, which was what marrying Walter would do. He didn’t want her need for security to cut her off from being open to finding a man she could love and want to marry.
    â€œWhose horse and wagon is that I saw in the barn?” Walter asked.
    â€œA war widow and her two kids,” Salty said. “I expect you’ll meet them at supper.”
    â€œAny particular reason why she stopped here?” Walter pulled off his boots to put