Rose(47)

He wondered if it had anything to do with her ability to make the ranch seem like a home. Recently he had noticed a subtle difference in how his brothers talked about the ranch. Their discussions were more relaxed; they seemed more anxious to be together for meals. Sometimes they even spoke as though the ranch would be part of their future.

She had helped bring them closer together as a family.

She constantly went out of her way to do things for each of them. She fixed the game Monty brought home and carefully avoided touching anything in Hen’s part of the room. She never called Tyler a boy or drew attention to his gangly, uncoordinated body. She had become even fonder of Zac. She saw to it he did his chores properly, but she spent hours talking to him as she did her work, answering the hundreds of questions all six-year-olds ask and giving him individual attention when he felt rather overwhelmed by five brothers who towered over him.

She also understood that Jeff felt less of a man because of his missing arm. It was beyond her power to do anything about that, but neither did she coddle him.

And she spoiled George. He knew he only had to state a wish, even a preference, and it was his. She looked to him for approval. It seemed the more he praised her, the harder she worked. It made him feel guilty to have her value his opinion so much.

And it made him feel wonderful.

He was finally able to admit he hungered for this kind of attention. His father had never given him any affection, and his mother hadn’t made up the difference. She never had any thought for anyone except her husband. If George dared to criticize his father, she would reproach him with tearful reminders of his own broken promises.

Rose was so different. She was strong and vital, ready to stand up for herself and perfectly willing to scold his brothers when they got out of line. Equally willing to tell him when she thought he was wrong.

He found it hard to think of the two women as being at all similar. He had found Rose’s attitude uncomfortable in the beginning, but it wasn’t nearly as hard to get used to as he first imagined. Probably because she was an extremely sensible woman. He wondered what his life would have been like if his mother had been more like Rose.

George cast all thought of his parents out of his mind. They had lived their lives, made their choices, paid their penalties.

Nothing could be changed now.

“Thank God you’re back,” Monty said, erupting from the house the moment the first cow reached the lane. “Do you know what that woman has had me doing? Laundry! I’ve fetched and carried and stirred until I can’t see straight. If I have to stay another hour, I might join Cortina’s bandits.”

Monty stayed long enough to help George herd the cows into the corral, then he rode out as fast as his horse would carry him.

Rose came out of the house as George walked up. She wore a wide-brimmed sunbonnet tied under her ear with a large bow. Totally impractical for the south Texas plains, but definitely eye-catching.

She also wore a dress of yellow calico which hugged her shoulders, breasts, and waist as no dress she had worn since she arrived at the ranch. The sight of her breasts, full and high, mesmerized George. He forgot about piquant, innocent, or charming. Lust had him wriggling frantically in its toils.

“What did you do to Monty?” George asked, trying to keep his mind off Rose’s body.

“I told him he had to work as much as he talked. The effort wore him out.” She laughed. “I’ll never let him forget he wasn’t strong enough to do woman’s work. Have you seen Zac? He’s supposed to help me pick berries.” She carried two woven reed baskets.

“He probably took my arrival as an excuse to disappear. Want me to go with you?”

“Aren’t the boys expecting you back?”

“Monty took my place.”

“Then I’d be happy to have you go with me.” George thought she looked a little flustered.

“Where are the berries?”

“I was just going down to the creek. But now that you’re here, we can go to the place Monty told me about, the one a mile below the ford.”

“That’s a long walk.”

He looked forward to that. He’d make sure he had to help her across as many creeks and fallen logs as possible.

“We’ll have to ride, or I won’t be back in time to start dinner.”

George was able to keep his mind off Rose’s breasts for the time it took to saddle two horses, but the moment he put his hands around her waist and lifted her into the saddle, it came crashing down on him again. He felt his body tense and his groin begin to swell. Climbing into the saddle was uncomfortable. Remaining there was a minor misery.

“It’s nice to get away for a few hours,” Rose commented as they rode. “I feel as if I’ve been tied to the house ever since I got here.”