The Rancher's Bride by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online

salary.”
    Emily waded out of the shallow river and joined them in the dappled shade of the trees. Amos followed and before Rose could shoo him away, he shook, spraying water over the three of them.
    “I guess he thought we all needed a shower,” Harlan said with wry humor.
    Rose wiped at the drops sliding down her chin, thenpointed sternly at the dog. “Amos, get over there in the shade and behave or you won’t get the sandwich I brought for you.”
    Amos whined in protest, but did exactly what his mistress told him. Emily was more than impressed by the dog’s behavior.
    “Gosh, none of our dogs are that obedient. If you tell them to do something, they just ignore you.”
    Harlan chuckled. “Sorta like you do me.”
    Emily groaned. “Oh Daddy, you’re going to have Rose thinking I’m spoiled. And you know I’m not.”
    “Rose can probably figure that out for herself,” Harlan told his daughter. “She used to be a schoolteacher.”
    Emily dug into her father’s saddlebag for a sandwich. “Why aren’t you a teacher now? You don’t like kids or something?”
    Brushing the crumbs from her fingers, Rose reached for her thermos of lemonade. “I like kids and teaching. But I need to work at home now.”
    “A few months ago, Rose’s father died of a heart attack,” Harlan gently explained to Emily. “That’s why she and her sisters are…having a rough time of it right now.”
    An achy lump suddenly collected in Rose’s throat. He sounded as if he cared, and that touched her in a way she hadn’t expected it to. Yet she knew she couldn’t afford to get any soft notions about Harlan. Where men were concerned, she always had to be on guard, always be cautious.
    Emily looked at Rose with such a sorrowful expression that Rose wanted to take the girl in her arms and hug her tightly.
    “Gosh, that’s awful. I know, ‘cause my mother died when I was little. Do you have a mother?”
    Rose shook her head and tried to smile. The last thing she wanted to do was appear maudlin or bitter in front of this girl. Emily needed to know that her young life wasn’truined because she’d lost her mother. “No. My mother died last year after a long illness.”
    Emily’s eyes widened with sudden dawning. “Daddy, did you hear? Rose…she’s like me. She doesn’t have a mother.”
    Harlan nodded at his daughter. “She doesn’t have any parents. You still have me, so that makes you a little bit luckier, don’t you think?”
    A dejected expression settled over the girl’s thin features. “I guess,” she mumbled. “But all my friends have moms. It doesn’t seem fair that I don’t.”
    “I’m your friend and I don’t,” Rose said gently.
    Emily looked across at her and slowly the sadness disappeared from her face. “I guess that makes us kindred spirits. Is that the right word for it? When two people sorta know how the other one feels?”
    Rose smiled gently at the girl. “Yes, I think you could safely call us kindred spirits.”
    A half hour later, after all the food was eaten, the three of them mounted their horses and crossed through the downed fence onto Flying H land. Riding a few paces behind, Harlan watched his daughter continue to chatter with Rose.
    He’d never seen her open up to anyone like this before. Not even him. As far as he could remember, today was the first time she’d ever brought up the fact of not having a mother. Before now, she’d always acted as though she’d never had a mother, nor did she ever want one.
    His daughter had surprised him today. But then so had Rose. Just looking at her made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, think things that he’d long ago forgotten. She was going to be trouble for him, he realized. Not because she owed him money. But simply because he was going to want her. Maybe he already did.
    The deeper the three of them rode into the Flying H, the more open and arid the land became. The hills grew bald. What little grass that hadn’t yet burned was