Miranda brushed her daughter’s hair with her hand and smoothed it back from her shoulders. “That’s very nice of you, Evie.” She looked around. “Where is Lonny?”
Evie blushed a little. “Oh, he decided to wait a while before asking me to dance again. I think he’s a little bit afraid of Father. I wish you’d tell Father to stop giving him those dark looks of his. He scares boys away from me.”
Miranda laughed lightly. “I’ve already mentioned it to him, but I’ll remind him again.”
“Well, I’m a big girl now, Mother, big enough to dance with a boy without Father acting like I’m going to run away with him.”
Miranda grinned more, but inside she felt a sudden urge to cry. She had so wanted to have more children. Now the only two she was blessed with were growing up and within two or three years would probably leave them. How lovely Evie was, with her dark beauty.
“You just enjoy yourself,” she told the girl. “I’ll take care of your father.” She left the girl then to find Jake, wondering where Beth and Lloyd had gone. She couldn’t see them anywhere as she moved through the crowd. She did spot Jess York, whom she had not seen for weeks.
“Well, you finally made it, Jess! Be sure to try some of my pumpkin pie.”
The man tipped his hat to her. “I wouldn’t think of leavin’ without a taste of it,” he answered. “Where’s Jake?”
“He’s over there,” she pointed, “talking with Zane Parker and those soldiers, probably feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. You know how he feels about soldiers.”
Jess squinted to see better in the bright sunlight. “Yeah. I kind of wish Mr. Parker hadn’t got that government deal, but maybe it will work out okay. After all these years and bein’ clear out here in Colorado, I don’t think Jake ought to get all worried about it.”
Miranda touched his arm. “Jake worries about everything. You know that.”
Jess smiled, a sadness to his eyes as his gaze moved over her. “Well, he just loves all of you so much, he’s scared of losin’ it all.” I love you too, Miranda. I’ve loved you for years now. Jake knows it. I’ll bet you do too, down deep inside, but it will always only be Jake, won’t it? “Listen, I, uh, I see the widow Adams over there servin’ up some of her famous honey biscuits. She’s still a right handsome woman, don’t you think? Maybe she’d like to dance.”
Miranda smiled. “I expect she would, especially with you. She had her eyes on you last year, and her husband had only been gone for eight months. Maybe it’s time you did something about the woman’s loneliness.” She squeezed his arm. “And your own.”
Their eyes held for a moment, their smiles fading. “I expect so,” Jess answered. He readjusted his hat and gave her a wink. “You’d better go rescue Jake from them soldiers.”
“I’ll do that,” Miranda said with a laugh.
Jess left her, and Miranda turned toward Jake, her heart a little heavier. She knew Jess loved her. It was just one of those silent matters that was understood and never talked about. It could never affect her love for Jake, or go beyond the friendship Jake and Jess shared.
The orchestra started up another foot-stomping, hand-clapping tune, and while everyone was involved in partying, no one noticed Beth and Lloyd darting into a barn several hundred yards away.
“Alone at last!” Lloyd said, pulling at Beth until they were well inside where no one could see them. In the next second she was fully in his arms, and their lips met in a hot kiss. Their youthful urges had exploded two weeks ago into a new awakening of desire for both of them. Now they could hardly wait to find ways to be alone so they could share this newfound ecstasy, this wondrous world of kissing and touching and holding and petting.
Beth finally pulled away, her face deeply flushed. She smiled and ran teasingly from him, going to pet one of her father’s prized palominos. “This is our last summer together for a while, Lloyd,” she told him, her smile fading as she softly stroked the horse. “After a winter of schooling, Father wants to send me to Europe next summer. Then I’m to go right back to school for another year.”
She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. She had loved Lloyd Hayes since she was just a little girl. As far as she was concerned he was the most handsome young man who ever walked the face of the earth; but that wasn’t why she loved him. They were the best of friends, had played together when they were very little, had talked often when she would go to visit Evie, had watched each other slowly grow and change. They knew each other so well, respected each other’s dreams. This summer, when she saw him again after coming home from Denver, he had told her that he loved her, that he would wait however long it took to be able to marry her, would fight anyone who tried to stop him from making her his wife.