Not just any supper. “The ranch comes first.”
He walked to the counter and tore off a piece of bread from a half-eaten loaf. “The place looks great. You’ve been cleaning.” He smiled, chuckling. “I’ve never known a woman to clean like you do.”
“I just want everything to be perfect.”
He brushed her cheek with his hand. “It is.”
No it wasn’t! She longed to turn her face into his chest and beg him to hug her. She needed reassurance now. She needed him to remember that this was her birthday. She needed him to love her.
Instead, she asked, “How is the herd looking?”
“Fat and ready to travel. The other homesteaders and I should be leaving in a couple of days as planned. If we don’t run into any trouble we should be back by mid-September.”
“Such a long time.”
“I’ve always hated the time away from the ranch. But there’s no getting around it.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “But I’ll be back before you know it.” He pinched another piece of bread cooling on the kitchen table and popped it in his mouth.
“Wonderful.”
His eyes narrowing, he tapped his long finger against his thigh. “What’s wrong? You’re not yourself.”
She shrugged. “I suppose I’m just worried. I think about you on that trail.”
He laid his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve driven the cattle and horses enough times. There’s no cause for you to worry.”
She ducked her eyes. “I’m being silly.”
His eyes narrowed a fraction. “What’s eating at you, Abby?”
“Today’s my birthday,” she said brightly.
Matthias shoved long fingers through his hair. “And I forgot.”
“You did.”
“Look, I am sorry. There’s just so damn much work to be done.”
“I know! The ranch always comes first.”
Irritation flashed in his eyes. “For now, yes. That’s the way it has to be.”
Her stomach tightened into knots. “I never thought I could ever grow to hate this place, but I do now.”
His face paled. He looked as if she’d ripped the heart out of him and instantly she regretted what she’d said.
“Matthias,” she said, moving toward him. Lord, but she’d been churlish.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing more to say now.”
“Don’t shut me out.”
Before he could respond, Tommy and Quinn screamed. “Ma! Pa! The gate to the corral is open.”
Their discussion forgotten, they ran outside. They found the boys standing close to the corral gate, which was wide open. The horses pranced on the far side of the corral.
Matthias reached for his gun, ready to shoot any horse that bolted toward the boys.
Abby hugged the boys. “Your father said to stay away from the corral.”
“We found the gate open,” Quinn said.
Matthias went for the gate. “Don’t lie to me, boy. Which one of you opened the gate?”
Before the children could answer or Matthias could reach the gate, a shot rang out, spooking the horses inside the corral. Several of the horses reared and started to bolt toward the open gate as Abby reached the boys. She plastered their bodies against the gate, hers shielding the boys.
Matthias had only a split second to get out of the way of the charging horses. As he dove to the side he saw the flash of sunlight on a gun barrel. He hit the ground hard and rolled. That’s when he saw Collier, on horseback, a hundred feet away. The lowlife fired another shot in the air, panicking the horses more. He started to ride off.
Collier had opened the gate.
A large black gelding rose up by Matthias. He rolled out of the way before the horse’s hooves drove into the ground.
Energy snapped through his veins as he got to his feet and pulled his gun from his holster. In one fluid move, he raised his pistol and fired at Collier. He caught the rancher in the shoulder, but the man managed to stay mounted on his horse. He reined his horse around and took off.
Determined to hunt the bastard down and kill him, Matthias turned to grab the first horse he could. But thoughts of Collier vanished when he caught sight of Abby and the children. The scene he witnessed would haunt him for the rest of his days.
A black mare raced back toward Abby and the children. The horse reared, its hooves rising high above Abby’s head. She cringed and covered Tommy and Quinn’s bodies with her own. The children screamed as the horse’s hoof came down hard on Abby’s head.
When she woke up, she saw Matthias’s face. Pinched with worry, the lines on his face looked deeper, as if he’d aged twenty years.
“Matthias,” she said. “Where’s Tommy and Quinn?”