LITMIR.BIZ

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his head, he pushed between them and with hands outstretched and clumsy, shuffling steps made his way to the dining table. He grasped the top rung of a chair, leaning heavily into it. “You might as well stop this charade. I’m not going to hit any of you. Never have, never will.”

      Aaron came to stand beside him. “Maybe you need to haul out and hit us. We know you enough to see that you’re about ready to blow. I’ve never seen you so dog-gone angry.”

      “I’m not allowed to be angry?” His jaw muscles tensed.

      “No. It’s not that,” Aaron answered. “We can’t blame you at all for being angry. Can we, Ben?”

      “Absolutely not.” Ben’s long strides brought him to flank Joseph’s other side, followed by Zach. “You’ve been calm and collected since your accident—handling things better than most people would. Believe me, I’ve seen folks go through far less, only with a mountain of ill-tempered attitude. I’m just glad to see you finally showing some kind of emotion.”

      Pushing up to his full height, Joseph raked his fingers through his hair. “Well, then, what is it? Would you do me a favor and clue me in on what you’re getting at here, because so far you’re not making a lick of sense.”

      After a long moment of silence Aaron spoke up. “Flat out, Joseph…we’re worried.”

      “Worried? About what?” Shoving his hands on his hips, he shook his head. “If anyone should be worried here, it’s me. The three of you are acting like you just got kicked in the head by a horse.” Waving his hand in the air, he yelled, “Quick! Get a doctor!” Then he knocked the side of his head with his hand. “Oh wait! You are the doctor.”

      “Don’t try to dodge the attention like you always do,” Ben retorted, clearing his throat. “Now listen, we’re here, in part, because we’re worried about Miss Ellickson.”

      He jammed his hands on his hips and furrowed his brow. “Miss Ellickson?”

      Just thinking about the mess he’d made of dinner yesterday sent shame, thick as mud, coursing through his veins. But then like a flag of warning, concern for Miss Ellickson rose inside him. “What about Miss Ellickson? Has something happened?”

      “She’ll be here any minute now. And Ben, Zach and I—we’re here to make sure you plan on being civil to her.”

      He gave a short harrumph. “You don’t think I will?”

      “I don’t know. You tell me,” Ben answered in a no-nonsense tone. “Like I said yesterday, you’ve always been a gentleman in the past, but as angry as you are, we don’t want you scaring her off. She’s come a long way to work with you.”

      Another day with her definitely didn’t sit well with him. Not at all. Last night he’d barely gotten a wink of sleep thinking about her. He’d been bracing himself for her return and now here his brothers were, showing more concern for her than loyalty to him.

      He felt trapped. Trapped in his home. Trapped in his body. Trapped in a fear so unfamiliar.

      Taunting disorientation blanketed him and he struggled to steady himself against the unnerving effects. “What would make you think that I’m going to scare her off, anyway?”

      Ben slid a chair over the hardwood floor and sat down with a weighted thud, Zach and Aaron following his move. “Oh, you wouldn’t intentionally do that—I don’t think, anyway. But believe me, you can be intimidating even when you’re not angry.”

      “Yeah. It’s like the Red Sea parting every time you walk through a crowd,” Aaron quipped with a chuckle. “Wish I had that effect.”

      Joseph tightened his grip on the chair. “I’m not the one who invited her here. When you mentioned the idea in the first place, I made it clear how I felt. But then you showed up with her in tow, pushing me into this whole thing. I went through with it yesterday and I’ll do the same again today, but I’m telling you, I’m just going through the motions.”

      When Aaron reached over and grabbed Joseph’s arm, Joseph flinched at the unexpected touch. His brothers meant well—Ben had gone above and beyond in his care of Joseph. Aaron had been carrying twice his usual load in the shop, and Zach had risked losing his tenuous position as a ranch hand to help out. They were doing so much, but nothing they could do right now would make him feel better. True, he could batter them bloody, but somehow he knew it wouldn’t touch the strange bitterness and pain that had settled deep in his heart.

      Ben squeezed Joseph’s forearm. “You don’t have to like the training and you don’t even have to like Miss Ellickson. All we’re asking is that you be civil to her and give her a chance.”

      Oh, he’d give her a chance all right. He’d suffer through two more weeks of this. She might even show him something that could make the time bearable. But if he had his way, she’d be gone after he returned from Denver to see the doctor. It didn’t matter where she went—she could even stay in Boulder for all he cared—he just didn’t want to need her.

      Joseph lowered himself to a chair, set on hiding his raw emotions from his brothers. “All I can say is that I hope she’s not disappointed when I don’t need her after all. Seems like an awful long way to travel to work for only a couple of weeks.”

      When he heard Ben clear his throat, his pulse began a rapid beat in his ears. He could imagine what Ben would say next, so he quickly added, “And you can breathe easy. You have my word…I’ll be on my best behavior. I’ll be a veritable welcome wagon from here on out.”

      Mr. Drake stood in front of Katie, his tall, tightly muscled frame filling the doorway. “Come in.”

      Come in? Katie silently mouthed as she peered up at him to see one of his hands hooked over the top of the door, the other gesturing for her to enter. Since yesterday she’d prepared for a goodbye fare-thee-well, sure that he would refuse further training, but now he’d invited her to—to come in?

      She’d prayed all night long that he wouldn’t give up, and if he did, she’d try to persuade him otherwise. Terrified of going home, she needed a reason to stay here in Colorado. But also, after meeting Mr. Drake yesterday, she wanted desperately to help him find freedom again.

      “Thank you,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.

      With an armload of books, she squeezed by him, acutely aware of his solid form so near hers. When she removed her pale straw bonnet and hung it on a coat hook, her attention was drawn to the floor where a Bible lay sprawled open. Her breath caught as she remembered hearing something crash against the door yesterday. She tenderly scooped up the Bible, its cover worn with the passage of time and its pages yellowed and frayed from use. Carefully cradling it against her chest with the other books, Katie steadied her wavering emotions. “Your Bible. You must have dropped it.”

      Without a word, he quietly latched the door.

      “I’ll just put it over here on the mantel for you.” After she’d laid it on the beautifully crafted mantel, she turned and noticed Boone lying beside one of the wingback chairs. “Well, good morning, Boone. How are you this fine morning?” Kneeling beside his massive head, she held out her hand to him.

      Katie smiled as he pressed his big, wet nose into her palm and stared up at her with expressive brown eyes. After giving her a wet kiss, he flopped his head down on the wood floor with a dull thud. She smoothed the unruly hair on top of his head. “I certainly hope this means we’re on friendly terms.”

      Still smiling, she rose and returned to where she’d left Mr. Drake standing. She nervously fingered the row of silver buttons trailing down her high-necked white blouse. “And how are you today, Mr. Drake? Are we on friendly terms, too?”

      He pushed away from the door, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “I suppose you were wondering if I’d call it off?”

      “To be perfectly candid, the thought had crossed my mind.” Threading her fingers

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