LITMIR.BIZ

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was more a feeling of tight uneasiness in his chest like the tautness in the air before a heavy storm.

      “I see,” Bertram said in a clipped tone, his brow furrowed. “No chance you’ll be changing your mind, then?”

      Vienna gave a firm shake of her head. “No.”

      “Still worth a try, I suppose.” The rancher shrugged. “I’ll keep the horses until you come to collect them.”

      It looked as if she tried to smile but failed. “Wonderful. I’ll return in the next few weeks. Thank you.”

      West followed her to the wagon and assisted her onto the seat. She wordlessly settled her skirt around her feet.

      “That was kind of Chance to give him three horses,” he said as he drove away from Bertram’s ranch. “The others look well.”

      She gave a wordless nod, silent anxiety emanating off her in waves.

      “I don’t blame you for being angry.” He threw her a compassionate look. “His...uh...offer was rather unexpected.”

      Her laugh came out soft but brittle. “You think I’m angry at him for proposing? Shocked, yes, but I don’t feel anger.”

      “Then what are you feeling?” he asked in confusion.

      When she regarded him, he couldn’t help noticing the depth of her jade green eyes. Why any man would treat her or any other woman so abominably West didn’t know. Were he to ever marry, though like Vienna that wasn’t in his foreseeable future, either, he would cherish his wife and treat her with the utmost respect and devotion—just as he’d hope she would do with him.

      “I’m terrified, West.”

      He pulled his thoughts to the present. “Terrified?”

      “Yes.” She stared down at her hands, which rested decorously on her lap. “Now that Chance is gone and everyone knows his widow and the HC Bar are apparently up for grabs, how many other offers of marriage am I going to have to fend off?”

      Her words pummeled him with all the force of a horse hoof to the gut. He hadn’t liked Bertram proposing to her, which meant he certainly didn’t like the idea of every other single rancher or wrangler in the vicinity doing the same.

      “So they wouldn’t be welcome offers, then?”

      She threw him an arch look, her eyes sparking with green fire. “No, they would not, West McCall.”

      “Just want to be clear,” he said with a chuckle, feeling more than a little relieved to hear that her thoughts on the matter matched his own.

      Pushing out a sigh, she fiddled with the cuff of her sleeve. “Most of them would probably mean well and they’d be right to think there is a lot of work to be done on the ranch, but I want to make a go of it on my own.”

      “Because of last time, with your folks?” He kept his tone gentle.

      She glanced at him, her lips tipping upward in a soft smile. “You’re probably the only one who understands why I want this so badly.” That knowledge pleased him, though he wasn’t entirely sure why. “But, yes, I couldn’t keep our home back then and I don’t want to lose another. This time I have some savings, and I have my daughter’s future to consider, too.”

      “What about takin’ out a mortgage on the place?”

      Vienna appeared to consider the idea. “I don’t think the bank would invest in the property as it stands right now, especially if I just turn around and sell it after making what few repairs I can afford.”

      “Then I guess the question is...” He paused and pushed up his hat brim. He didn’t envy her position, though he wished there was more he could do to help her besides driving her around today and possibly patching up the barn roof. “What sort of home do you want for you and Hattie? A working ranch or a place in town above a café?”

      * * *

      Vienna didn’t have an immediate answer. Instead, she shifted uneasily on the wagon seat, West’s question repeating through her mind. What sort of home do I want?

      “I love living out here,” she said after a minute. Her gaze moved to the landscape they passed by. “I’ve always loved the openness of the countryside and being right in the middle of nature’s beauty.” She unclasped her hands and studied them. “And while I love cooking, I miss working with my hands in my garden.”

      West regarded her with kindness in his brown eyes. “You could probably still have a small garden plot in town if you wanted.”

      She could, but would it be the same? Chance had protested against using their money for anything other than necessary seedlings, so Vienna had set aside her desire to try her hand at growing flowers or medicinal herbs or more colorful vegetables than just carrots, corn and potatoes. Now that he was gone, she could experiment—at least once she had other things on the ranch under control.

      “I think I want to keep the ranch.”

      The look of surprise from West matched the one that was surely on her own face. “You don’t want to run a café anymore?”

      “I do,” she admitted with a laugh, “but even more than that, I want Hattie to keep experiencing life out here.” She lowered her chin and directed her next words to her lap. “Is that completely foolish?”

      He didn’t respond, except to turn the wagon to the left and keep driving. After a few moments, she realized they were nearing the HC Bar again. But West kept silent until he parked the wagon beneath the archway.

      “What do you see, Vienna?”

      She smirked. “A ranch in need of a great deal of work and attention. Some of which I can pay for and some I can’t. I don’t even have enough money to buy new livestock, let alone employ the cowboys to care for them.”

      “Wrong answer.” His teasing coaxed a smile from her—not unlike other times, both at the beginning of their friendship and since she’d come to live at the Running W. “You know what I see? I see the promise of a thriving ranch that any man or woman would be proud to call their own. I see it as a home. A place for Hattie to live and grow up where she can someday raise her own children.” He let that sink in before asking her again. “So what do you see? Do you see it as a home?”

      The picture he created in her mind so closely mirrored the one in her heart that she had to swallow past the lump in her throat to reply. “Yes,” she half whispered. She could more easily picture this as her home than a place in Big Horn or Sheridan above a café or restaurant. “But how do I make it that way?”

      It was as much a question for West as it was for God. She didn’t want to fear the future, and yet, her options were limited. Once Maggy’s baby came, the Kents’ ranch house was likely to feel crowded—something Vienna had already been concerned about the last few months. She didn’t want to be in the way of Edward and Maggy’s growing family. But now, even if her savings weren’t as large as she might have hoped they’d be before leaving the Running W, she had a place for her and Hattie to live, and the Kents could finally have their home to themselves.

      “I have an idea.”

      Vienna shook her head. “I already told you, West, that I can’t accept any more charity.”

      “I’m not offering charity.”

      Something in his voice and handsome face hinted at concealed enthusiasm but also wariness as if he feared she’d dismiss his idea. The thought that he distrusted her reaction saddened her. He’d been as good a friend to her as the Kents, and like them, West only wished to help her.

      “What is it?” she asked gently.

      He swiveled on the seat to face her. “What if we turn the HC Bar into a dude ranch?”

      “A dude ranch?” Vienna couldn’t help laughing, but the sound died away when she realized he was serious.

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