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  “Hi, my sweet Irish rose,” her father said, as his hand reached for Meg’s cheek.

  Her lungs seized, restraining the sob that filled her throat. It was the name he’d called their mother. He thought she was their mom.

  Deke glanced over at her. “What did he call you?”

  She shook her head, unable to respond. “Papa, it’s me, Meg. Where do you hurt?”

  He closed his eyes. “So much I need to tell you.”

  “Ruby has gone for the doctor.”

  “Just let me rest for a bit, and then we’ll talk,” her father said his voice barely legible.

  “I think he cracked his ribs. He’s had trouble breathing,” Deke said, stepping back to the door of the bedroom.

  Annabelle pulled Papa’s boots off and his dirty socks. With a warm washcloth, she gently bathed his face, wiping the dust from his fevered brow. “Would you mind taking his pants off for us?”

  Deke glanced over at Annabelle, who turned beseeching hazel eyes on him. He sighed. “Sure.”

  They turned their backs while the cowboy removed Papa’s pants and covered their father with a blanket on the bed.

  “Thank you,” Annabelle said with a smile as she began to unbutton his shirt.

  Deke helped her pull the arms of the shirt off her father by raising him up in the bed. Papa groaned, the sound low and deep as they moved him.

  Annabelle lifted the covers and looked at his chest. “Oh, my God, he’s so bruised. What happened?”

  Meg grabbed the coverlet and gazed at their father’s black and blue torso. Her heart pounded, her vision blurring with unshed tears, as she stared at the damage to his chest and ribs.

  The handsome, rugged man who’d brought him home shook his head and sighed. “We’d been working on a new case together. When James Rivera, our outlaw, suddenly left town, we chased him at full gallop. Your father’s horse jumped a ravine, and somehow your father lost his footing in the saddle. He fell off the horse and tumbled down into the ravine. I stopped when I saw him fall.” Deke looked at her father and then back at Meg. “Frankly, that first night I didn’t think he’d make it. But he kept saying he had to get home. When he managed to tell me where he lived, I brought him here.”

  “Thank you, for bringing him to us.” Meg stared at their father; his color was yellow, his breathing shallow. “When did this happen?”

  “Two days ago. I’m surprised he made it this long. It was the least I could do. Your father’s been good to me.”

  Meg stared at the shadow of the man her father was. He’d always been a big man, robust and healthy and strong. Sure, he’d been shot before. In his line of business, such were the injuries of the trade. Bounty hunting wasn’t a safe occupation, but she’d never worried about his dying, before now.

  “Do you think he’s going to make it?” Meg asked.

  Deke shook his head, his gaze on the man lying unconscious. “I’m not a doctor. I don’t know. But I know he’s hurt bad. He’s been coughing up blood.”

  Oh, God, no, he couldn’t die. Not her Papa.

  She couldn’t…she couldn’t lose her beloved father. He was the one who took care of her. He couldn’t leave her alone with Ruby and Annabelle. And Meg couldn’t shoulder the burden of paying for the farm and putting food on their table. She couldn’t take on one more thing. Placing her face in her hands, she felt Annabelle come up behind her and lay her hands on her shoulder. “We don’t know anything yet. Let’s wait for the doctor.”

  “I’m afraid. He’s never been hurt like this before.”

  “I know,” Annabelle said quietly.

  Meg pulled her hands away from her face. She never let herself be vulnerable in front of her sisters. Never. Yet, the idea of losing their father and her having full responsibility was daunting. She loved her sisters, but she dreamed of her own life. Still, she knew as sure as her next breath that if something were to happen to their father, she’d take over the complete running of the farm and make sure her sisters had a home. They were family, and she’d care for them.

  She gazed at her father lying still, his breathing shallow; she could almost believe he was a corpse. A scratch ran across his cheek, and a bruise marred his forehead. She’d never seen him look so frail.

  The front door opened. “Meg, Annabelle? I have the doctor.”

  Ruby led the man into the bedroom. “Is he better?”

  Meg shook her head. “Thanks for coming, Doc.”

  “Why don’t you all clear the room and let me take a good look at my patient.”

  Meg and her sisters and even Deke left the doctor with their father. Outside the bedroom, Meg watched as they paced the floor of the quaint farmhouse, their shoes making a rhythmic thump on the wooden floor. Her mother had decorated the farmhouse with love, some antiques and homemade quilts and a wooden dining table. It wasn’t fancy, but it was home.

  Deke sat at the table, drumming his fingers. “Maybe I should go. I can spend the night in town.”

  “No, you brought our Papa home. You’re welcome to sleep in the loft of the barn. There’s a bed in there, and I promise you Ruby’s going to fix us some supper just as soon the doctor leaves,” Meg told him, feeling such a debt of gratitude toward this man. “Papa would want us to make certain you were treated well for your effort.”

  She watched Ruby flounce towards Mr. Culver and sighed. The girl was all fanciful with notions of love and poetry and men. Not the reality of the situation, which was working until you dropped with exhaustion. Ruby’s head was cluttered with dreams that could only get her into trouble. Even now while their father lay hurt in the next room, she darted about the room like a butterfly seeking nectar.

  “It’s already cooked. We’re having cornbread and stew tonight,” Ruby told him. “I’m a very good cook, so you don’t want to miss out on my stew.”

  Meg wanted to hit her. Did she never stop flirting? Was it just part of her nature like taking her next breath? If a man walked into the room, she automatically became a coquette. Where had she learned this behavior?

  The bedroom door opened and the doctor walked out. “Why don’t we all sit down for a moment.”

  Meg looked at his face and felt her stomach sink to her knees; her body shook so much she could barely stand. He had that fatherly-I’ve got bad news-expression on his face. She didn’t want to see that expression; she didn’t want to hear his news. It wasn’t fair. She needed her father.

  They sank down on the settee, the three sisters with the doctor sitting across from them in her mother’s favorite rocker. Deke still sat at the table.

  “Your father has suffered some serious internal injuries. His abdomen is swelling and filling with blood. One of his lungs has collapsed.” The doctor paused and looked at each of them. “At this time, I don’t think there’s much hope.”

  Meg heard the words, but her brain refused to acknowledge what her eyes had already told her.

  Ruby started to cry. “No.”

  The doctor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I could be wrong. Sometimes these things fix themselves in a day or two, but more often the patient slowly slips away.”

  “No,” Annabelle suddenly said. “No, he’s going to get better. We’ll take care of him. We’ll take turns sitting with him and make sure he gets everything that he needs.”

  Meg’s insides twisted into a hopeless knot of anxiety. She would do whatever was necessary to make sure her father lived. Living without her Papa was just not a choice.

  The doctor smiled at her. “I hope so, Annabelle.” He looked around the farmhouse. “I know you girls need your father. I’m going to leave now, but if you need anything else, just send for me. I left some laudanum by his bed. If he has pain, give him several drops.”

  Meg stood and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. “Thanks for coming, Doc. We appreciate it.” She glanced at her sisters, worried about them.

  Ruby’s face was white, her blue eyes wide and dazed like she was afraid. Annabelle sat on the c
ouch in shock—her face pale, her hazel eyes almost ember, her lips pursed.

  Ruby stood. “I’ll see you out, Doc.”

  Meg watched her show him out, and once the door closed, Ruby started to cry. “We can’t lose Papa. We just can’t.”

  Annabelle rose and went to her along with Meg. “We’ll do everything we can to keep him here with us.”

  Meg’s heart rose in her throat, tears welling up inside her, threatening to spill. She refused to cry. But just like Ruby, she couldn’t lose her Papa. She needed him.

  *

  The next morning Ruby ambled along on her way to the hen house to collect the eggs. She hated going to the chicken coop and fighting that crazy hen that liked to peck her. That chicken would soon be roasting in a pot if she had her way, but Meg said to wait until after spring when the new chicks would arrive. That bird might not make it until spring if she continued to peck Ruby’s hands.

  Ruby came around the corner of the barn, and her feet stopped, her mouth opened, and her breath seized in her throat. She stared in heated fascination as Deke swung an ax, chopping wood, naked from the waist up. The muscles in his back and chest rippled with strength with each swing of the ax. His skin was tanned, his muscles taut, and she wanted to run her fingers down his smooth skin. She wanted to know how a man felt without his shirt on. How he smelled after working hard.

  “Good morning,” Deke said, his emerald eyes staring at her, his breathing labored.

  She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dryer than a hot Texas summer day even though it was only March.

  “Good morning,” she said cheerfully, her heart racing, her mind slowing, and her eyes unable to move from the sight of his half naked body.

  “Why are you doing that?” she asked, not really caring, but enjoying the view. Not wanting him to stop.

  “I thought I would fill up your wood box for you before I left today, since your papa won’t be able to chop for a while. How is he this morning?” He swung the ax.

  At the crack of the wood splitting, Ruby felt her insides flutter. Good grief, this man was supple and strong as an ox. Yet, the mention of her Papa filled her with sadness. He looked so bad. “About the same. He keeps asking for my ma.”

  “When a man’s hurting, sometimes his mind plays tricks on him. I know your mother’s been dead for a while,” he said.

  “Yes, since I was eight,” Ruby replied, wanting to keep him talking, yet wishing he would swing the ax again. She loved watching his muscles ripple across his back.

  She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes, like she did the boys at school. “You said you’re leaving today? Why?”

  He leaned on the ax and studied her. “I need to get back to chasing down the criminal your pa and I were following. There’s money on his head.”

  It wasn’t working. Most boys were eating out of her hand when she smiled and batted her eyelashes at them, but Deke just looked at her. He was a man, not an addle-brained schoolboy.

  “Do you have something in your eye?” he asked.

  Good grief. The man was oblivious. “Why can’t you wait until Papa can go with you? You should stay here with us until he gets well.”

  Deke sighed and shook his head. “Can’t. Someone else could catch him by then.”

  The wind blew his hair across his forehead. He shivered. “I best get back to this. It’s not exactly warm out here.”

  “Okay,” she said just standing there ready to watch him.

  “Don’t you have some chores you need to do?” he asked.

  The crunch of footsteps alerted Ruby that someone approached.

  Annabelle walked up behind her. “Yes, the eggs need to be gathered. Go,” she said, giving Ruby a little push.

  Ruby knew exactly what her sister was doing. She was trying to get her away from this handsome cowboy. She’d laid eyes on Deke Culver first. He was her man. Maybe even her husband. “I’m going.”

  She hurried into the chicken coop and shoved the old hen out of the nest. She was going to get the eggs, and hopefully by the time she’d finished, Annabelle would have moved on, and then Ruby could talk to Deke some more. He was a man, not a boy, and she wanted to know what a man’s kisses were like. Were they better than a boy’s?

  So far she was not too thrilled with the kisses she’d experienced from the schoolboys. They’d done nothing for her. She wondered what was the big deal about kissing? It was two sets of lips moving around. She’d felt nothing. No love. No lust. Mainly she’d felt disgust.

  But a man… A grown man could definitely show her how kisses should feel and what all the poetry and excitement was about.

  Finishing her chore, she walked out of the hen house and came to a stop. The wood was neatly stacked, and Deke was nowhere to be seen. She ran to the house, careful not to drop the eggs. He couldn’t have left yet. He just couldn’t have.

  When she walked in the door, he was at the table eating breakfast. Annabelle stood beside him filling his coffee cup. “Anything else, Mr. Culver?”

  “Thanks, you ladies have fed me very well.”

  “It’s the least we could do for you after bringing our father home,” Annabelle said.

  “Ruby, go relieve Meg with Papa and let her come eat some breakfast.”

  She glared at Annabelle. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was keeping Ruby from Deke. She was trying not to let her get close to him, but Annabelle couldn’t stop her. Deke was hers.

  “All right, but I’ll be back,” she said and flounced away to the bedroom.

  Softly, she opened the door and peered inside at Meg sitting beside her papa.

  “You’ve got to pay…” A coughing spell took control of her father. Ruby watched as his face grimaced in pain. He gasped for air, his lungs wheezing. Blood gurgled from his lips, and Meg quickly wiped it away. “The bank. The mortgage is due in a month.”

  Ruby felt a pang of sadness overwhelm her. He looked so aged, his body badly bruised, his lips swollen.

  Meg wiped a tear away from her eye, and Ruby felt her chest tighten. She’d never seen Meg cry.

  “Do we have enough money in the bank?” she asked, and suddenly Ruby realized the perilous position they were in. Without Papa’s income, their life could become very difficult.

  “No. Somehow you’re going to have to earn more. That’s why I was chasing Rivera. We needed the money for the mortgage.”

  Meg sighed. “Oh, Papa.”

  “I…know…I’m sorry,” he said. “Ask Mr. Clark at the bank for an extension. Tell him to give you thirty more days.” His lids kept drifting down over his eyes, like he wanted to sleep.

  “Papa, you can’t die on me. We need you.”

  He smiled, his lids almost closed. “I know, baby. I know. I’m trying.”

  “Stay with me, Papa.” She patted him on the arm.

  His eyes closed completely. She reached over and checked his pulse.

  Ruby stepped into the room, fear holding her in its grip, her heart no longer beating. “Is he…?”

  Meg turned and looked at her. “No. Talking wears him out.”

  “Oh, thank goodness. You scared me for a moment.” Ruby went and stood right beside the bed. “Annabelle said for me to relieve you and let you eat some breakfast.”

  “Thanks,” Meg said slowly rising and stretching.

  “Don’t let Deke leave without me telling him goodbye,” she said to her sister.

  Meg frowned at her. “Why?”

  “Just because I want to tell him goodbye and thank him for bringing Papa home.”

  Her sister studied her and then laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not fooling anyone, Ruby. You’re still playing with fire.”

  “I am not.”

  “I’m not arguing with you while our papa is lying in that bed. But you are not to be alone with Mr. Culver. Do you understand me?”

  Why did they all treat her like she was a child? She was a woman. A fully-grown woman and she’d found herself a man. Mr. Culver would do very
nicely compared to all those riff-raff boys from school. But he just had to wait until her Papa was doing better. “Oh, good grief. Go eat your breakfast.”

  Then Mr. Culver could court her and ask her papa’s permission to marry her. She wasn’t going to be stuck here on this farm for the rest of her life. But before anything could happen, her papa had to get well.

  “Thank you, I will. But if I find you alone with Mr. Culver, you will be cleaning the chicken coop for the rest of your life.”

  Ruby felt her anger rise up in her like a volcano ready to spew, but she knew now was not the time to be fighting with her older sister. Meg thought she was the boss of everything. And if Papa died, she would be. A chill trickled down Ruby’s spine at the idea of her oldest sister being in charge of everything and her Papa being gone. No, it couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.

  “All right. I promise not to be alone with him. Now, go eat,” Ruby said, staring at her father’s closed eyes, willing strength to him.

  Ruby turned her back on her sister, sat in the chair next to her father, and said a quick prayer. She needed her papa. She needed him now more than ever.

  “Come on, Papa. Don’t die on me,” she whispered.

  Chapter Two

  Annabelle watched as Deke rose from their breakfast table, the muscles in his arms flexing as he stood to leave. Dang, he was a handsome man and would make some woman a great husband. Could he be the man she dreamed of every night? Could he be the man who would sweep her off her feet and out of this place?

  “Ladies, I hate to leave, but I should get on the road. This guy’s already got a head start on me, and I want to find him.”

  Annabelle handed him a cloth sack. “I made you some hard tack for your journey and to say thank you for bringing Papa home.”

  Why didn’t she feel something for this man? Ruby obviously felt some kind of attraction, and she was younger than Annabelle. Was there something wrong with Annabelle not to desire this handsome cowboy? She was lonely. She wanted a husband and a family of her own, not to live out her spinster years in this farmhouse.