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  “Shut up, Jacks.” A cow wailed unusually loud in the distance. “I’d better go check on that.” I pressed my spurs into River’s sides and headed in the direction of the sound. I glanced back. “And keep a better eye on her.”

  I reached the ridge that overlooked the entire lower pasture. Most of the herd had stretched out beneath the warmth of the sun, but one heifer had found her way into a massive pool of mud. Not wanting to startle her, I dropped out of my saddle, grabbed my rope, and left River standing on the ridge. I plodded down toward the animal, trying to decide exactly how I was going to drag a fifteen hundred pound cow out of two feet of mud, when I heard the low whinny of a horse behind me. Jackson and Poppy had followed. They stood on the ridge staring down at the scene below.

  “There’s hardly a drop of water anywhere on the whole damn ranch and that stupid cow manages to find mud,” I called up to Jackson. “I think the horses are liable to make her break a leg. I’m going to try and coax her out on my own.”

  “Should be entertaining,” Jackson added helpfully.

  The heifer’s wails grew louder as I approached. She blinked at me and looked less confident than I felt. I sat at the edge of the mud hole and yanked off my boots. There was no sense in losing my best pair of work boots and spurs. One step and I sank to my shin. The cow shifted her enormous weight as I neared, but the mud had a quicksand-like grip on its spindly legs.

  “Easy,” I said in a low voice. I tossed the rope around the animal’s neck, and it struggled for a moment, then, either exhausted or smarter than I’d give it credit for, it relaxed and allowed me to tie the knot. Puffs of heated breath shot from its giant nostrils as I hurried to secure the rope. I only hoped the animal still had enough strength to pull her legs from the mud.

  I clucked my tongue as I trudged through the mire hoping the cow would just follow. The poor thing made a herculean effort but then sank back into the sticky mud trap. I put my feet on solid ground. Bits of sharp rock dug into my heels as I leaned back and pulled with all my strength. The cow’s neck stretched out long, and it moaned as I pulled. Its legs made no progress. Its massive body tilted to one side now. I hoped the animal was tired enough to ignore an approaching horse. At this point, there was no other way.

  “Jacks,” I yelled, “walk River down here. Slowly.”

  Jackson jumped off his horse and wisely told Poppy to do the same. Red wasn’t the type of horse to run off with a rider, but anything could happen and she was too inexperienced to risk it. She walked halfway down the hill in those snug blue jeans and then sat to watch. I tried to get my mind back on my task.

  Jackson led River to the mud and the cow stirred some. But as I’d hoped, the animal was too exhausted to worry about it.

  I handed Jackson the end of the rope. “She’s leaning to the side some,” I said. “I’m going to stand over there and push while you and River drag her up.”

  Jackson nodded and climbed up into my saddle. Through the dense mud, my feet found hard surface. I braced my feet and pressed my hands against the cow’s side. “All right, Jacks. Start pulling.”

  River’s hooves took small, unsteady steps. The cow let out a tremendous cry as her head stretched forward. The heifer’s legs struggled beneath her massive weight. One back leg kicked free for a moment and then sank back into the mud. “Spur him, Jacks. You’ve got to pull harder.”

  River’s front feet lifted off the ground a second and then the horse snorted as its head dropped low and it took several steps. The cow shifted suddenly and slipped onto its side, taking me down with it. The massive weight of the animal pushed me into the mud, and I was wedged beneath it. My legs couldn’t move an inch and keeping my head above the surface was close to impossible. I pushed with all my might but knew it was futile. I gasped for breath as bitter mud trickled into my mouth.

  Jackson yelled my name. I heard him shouting at River to pull, but I knew my horse didn’t have the strength to drag the prostrate cow from its sticky grave. And now it seemed it might be my sticky grave as well. Through it all, I could hear Poppy’s screams.

  My feet tingled and my legs felt as if they were being bent in the wrong direction. My body sank farther below the surface, and I craned my neck as far as possible to breathe. Then, without explanation, the animal lifted its ungainly torso from the mud and trotted out of the hole. It took me a moment to realize that it had actually happened.

  I peeled myself from the black mud and looked up at Jackson. He stared down from River’s back. The freed cow shook itself off and walked lazily back to the herd as if nothing had happened.

  My legs ached as I stood. I scraped mud off my face with the heel of my equally muddy hand. “How the hell did you do that, Jacks?” I climbed out of the sludge.

  Jackson’s face was a few shades whiter. “I didn’t do a thing, Cade. I was repositioning River, and that cow just lifted up and walked out like some invisible being pushed her up and off of you.” Jackson glanced up at the hillside. “Maybe she’s your guardian angel after all.”

  Poppy was standing on the hillside with a look of profound relief. Her silky hair danced around her slim shoulders and her small white hands were tucked in the pockets of the denims. And she looked every bit angel.

  She nearly skipped down the slope to meet us. “Aside from being frosted with mud, are you all right?” There was a slight tremor in her voice.

  I made another attempt to wipe some mud from my face with my mud covered hands.

  She smiled. “I think you’re only making matters worse. Let me help.” Without warning, she stepped directly in front of me and my heart bounced off my ribs. She lifted her hand from her pocket and wiped the mud clean from around my eyes with her soft fingertips.

  I was frozen to the core by the cold wet mud that clung to every inch of me, but the heat of her touch flowed through me like lava.

  She knelt down and used the clean grass to wipe the dirt from her fingers and then popped up in front of me. “You should probably get home and wash up.”

  I glanced down at my clothes. There was not an inch of visible fabric. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s not all that bad. Libby might not even notice.”

  She laughed.

  Jackson walked over to hand me the reins to my horse. I didn’t take them. “I’m not going to pull myself up into that saddle, Jacks. Too much mud. I’ll walk home.”

  “Suit yourself,” Jackson said. “Come on, Poppy. We should get the horses in.”

  She gazed up at me with deep brown eyes. “May I walk with you?” She patted her bottom innocently, not having any idea the effect it had on me— even covered in muck. “I think I have had enough saddle bouncing for one afternoon, and I love to walk.” She looked shyly at the ground and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Although I’ll understand if you don’t want me tagging—”

  “Walk with me.” Hell if Jackson didn’t know me better than I knew myself. He was right. I’ve always preferred to head toward trouble rather than away from it.

  Chapter 12

  Poppy

  The crisp air was occasionally interrupted by a ray of warmth from the blue Montana sky. The ranch house looked like a tall yellow box as we tromped over the amber-colored hillsides. My nerves had finally calmed after the harrowing incident. Nonni had issued a harsh warning that I was not to use my magic, but surely even she would have used it if put in the same situation.

  I peered over at the mud-covered man walking next to me, his mud-free boots swinging from his fingers. Even coated in dirt, he was extraordinary. He had saved me from certain death and now I had returned the favor. And while he had no idea that it had been my magic that pushed the cow back onto her feet, in my heart, I was certain I had done the right thing. I hoped it had been just enough magic to alert Nonni to my whereabouts. On the other hand, I hoped it had been just little enough magic to keep Angus in the dark.

  “I still don’t understand how that cow managed to right herself,” Cade said almost as if he’d sensed my thoughts. �
�I thought I was a goner.” He chuckled. “Drowning in mud, stuck beneath a cow, would not have been an honorable death. That’s for sure.”

  “I don’t know about that,” I said. “You were, after all, trying to save the life of the cow.”

  “Well, I guess it would be honorable to the cows, but my brother would have laughed all the way to the grave site.”

  “You and your brother are very different.”

  “You could say that. But aside from Libby and Jackson, he’s the only family I’ve got.” He attempted to smooth back his long hair from his face but it, too, was heavy with mud. “What about you, Poppy? Do you have family aside from your grandmother?” He looked at me rather expectantly. “A husband?”

  The night before, his disarming gaze and firm touch had rendered me vulnerable, and some of my secret had been revealed. And now it seemed he wanted to know more.

  “No husband,” I said truthfully. “I have a sister though. And we are very different too.” My throat tightened just mentioning her. “I miss her terribly.”

  “Libby had a notion that we might send a telegraph to Salem to let them know you’re here.” He stopped and looked at me. The dirt coating his face highlighted the paleness of his eyes. “Or would that be a problem?”

  “It would.” I found it hard to look at him as I answered. I could never, in a million years, explain to him how or why I’d arrived in Montana, and I felt the guilt of lying to him deep in my chest. There were moments that he looked at me with so much intensity, I worried that I would confide all my secrets to him.

  We climbed a small slope.

  “So, did you enjoy riding the horse?” he asked.

  “Very much. Jackson was a patient teacher.”

  “Yeah, Jacks is a good guy. He lost both his parents when he was young, and Libby took him in. He never left.”

  “Libby has a big heart,” I said. “I hope I won’t be intruding on her hospitality much longer.”

  “You’re far from an intrusion, Poppy,” he said quietly.

  We walked in silence, and I took in the scenery. There was so much open space around us, it seemed impossible to take it all in. Much like the ocean, the landscape swept up and rolled down, and the colors of the grasses seemed to change with each rise and dip of the land. Out past the fence, running along the pastures, the ground was barren and flat. Long rails of wood traversed it with no visible end.

  “Cade, what is that lying on the ground out past the fence?” I pointed toward the rails of wood.

  He seemed puzzled by my question, and I now felt silly for asking it.

  “Do you mean the tracks?”

  “Oh yes, of course, never mind.” I was completely baffled by his response and even more curious about what kind of animal would leave tracks like that. Moments later, it seemed, I would find my answer.

  We trudged down a small slope when the ground beneath our feet began to tremble as if some massive underground beast was about to surface. Then a loud howl, followed by a long roar, ripped through the air. The rumble grew louder and the ground shook more. Cade continued to walk calmly toward the house. I glanced back and a scream caught in my throat as a one-eyed, steam-spewing monster flew over the wooden rails. My courage faded, and mud or not, I flew into Cade’s arms.

  The move surprised him, but his strong arms tightened around me. He glanced back at the monster as it drew closer. “You don’t have trains in your village, do you?” he asked.

  “Trains?” I felt my cheeks heat. The beast raced past leaving behind a smoky trail, but this was no dragon. This was something made by man. “I’m so ashamed.” His arms did not release me. “I can’t imagine what you must think.”

  After a long pause, he dropped his hold on me. He looked at me as if he were memorizing every detail of my face. “I was thinking— she feels all too right in my arms.” His voice was deep and low almost as if he was merely thinking aloud, but I heard every word.

  The heat in my cheeks intensified and I dropped my face to hide the blush. Large splotches of mud had transferred from his shirt to mine and smudges of dirt covered my arms. And yet, I would have gladly thrown myself into the comfort of his protective arms again.

  We continued toward home. The yard came into view. Libby was busy in her small garden tying a rather formidable looking scarecrow made of burlap and straw to the fence. She looked our direction, dropped what she was doing, and placed her hands on her hips. “What on earth happened to you?”

  “Cow got stuck in the mud,” Cade answered.

  “Really? Because from here it looks like you got stuck in the mud.”

  “Yep.”

  For the first time, Libby noticed the mosaic of stains on my clothes. Her mouth hung open slightly as it seemed she tried to puzzle out exactly how the mud got there. Fortunately, she decided not ask questions.

  “Well, you can’t go inside with all that mud. I just mopped the floors. Undress on the back porch.” She looked at me. “Poppy, there’s a basin with some water in the kitchen. Be a dear and carry it out to him so he can throw it over his head. You are caked from head to toe, Cade.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Libby. I didn’t realize.”

  “Enough of that, smart guy, just get those clothes off. Leave them in a pile on the porch until I can wash them.”

  I hurried inside and lifted the heavy basin from the kitchen table. It was difficult not to slosh the water from side to side as I carried it to the back porch. At least the water inside was warm.

  With all the care I’d taken not to spill the contents, I nearly dropped the entire basin when I pushed through the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. Cade was naked from the waist up. The muscles of his bare chest and arms tightened as he balled his muddy shirt up and tossed it to the floor of the porch. He seemed to sense my shock at seeing him bare chested. A sly grin told me he enjoyed my astonishment.

  I lowered the heavy basin to the ground. Suddenly, his bare feet were directly in front of me. I straightened slowly. I’d only seen a man’s bare chest once in my life, and it had been the result of a rambunctious fight between two farmers where Farmer Prescott’s shirt had been ripped clean off. But Farmer Prescott’s physique had not been one of beauty.

  I realized I was holding my breath. Every inch of Cade’s intriguing, solid build was within the distance of my touch, and I was slightly ashamed to realize that I truly wanted to run my fingertips over his bare skin and the hard, muscular ridges of his arms and chest.

  His green eyes had darkened and his expression seemed to be teasing me, coaxing me to touch him. His smooth chest rose and fell with every breath he took. A smile cracked the side of his mouth and then he took several steps back. His broad shoulders tightened as he reached for the button on his denim pants.

  He smiled up at me. “I’m rolling these off next, Sweetie. Maybe you should go inside and change.”

  The screen door slammed shut behind me as I swept inside and nearly flew to my room. There was still soapy water in my basin, and I peeled off the mud-stained clothes and plunged my hands into the water. I gave my face a few splashes as well, more to cool the heat of my blush than to remove the grime.

  My fingers trembled as I buttoned up the front of my dress. My reaction to Cade had astonished me. I’d grown up in a village that was nearly obsessed with being pious, chaste, and cold, but I’d grown up in a house where love, affection, and passion were discussed freely. Our cottage had been a tiny oasis of thought and curiosity. Nonni had told me all about men and their desires. What I truly hadn’t understood was that women could experience these same desires. Until now, my only interactions with men had been unwanted advances from Angus and clumsy, awkward gestures from Alexander. Until now, my only interactions had left me feeling either repelled or humored. Until now. . .

  ***

  Cade did not return to the house for the remainder of the afternoon, which had allowed me to regain my composure but at the same time disappointed me. I knew it was completely absurd to allo
w myself strong feelings for him. It would not be long before Nonni showed up and then I’d be leaving Montana for good. But I could not stop thinking about Cade Tanner.

  The chickens scurried around the hem of my dress and bobbed their heads up and down as I showered the scratch around the yard. The rooster patrolled the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye on his hens. Samuel was unloading the wagon. Charlotte and her friend, Virginia, had arrived and were inside sharing a cup of tea with Libby. Cade and Jackson were nowhere in sight.

  I finished feeding the chickens and had gotten the idea in my head to bring Red a treat. I walked into the kitchen. Charlotte and Libby sat at the table with their visitor. Virginia was a tall, statuesque woman with an elegant manner, but surprisingly, her voice did not match the rest of her. It was rather sharp and almost harsh.

  “Virginia,” Libby said brightly, “this is Poppy. I’m sure Charlotte mentioned her to you.”

  Virginia’s dark brow raised, and she shot a rather purposeful glance at Charlotte, who returned the same expression to her friend. “Nice to meet you, Poppy. Welcome to Montana. Will you be staying long?”

  Her question caught me off guard. “Not long.”

  That response produced a tight, yet relieved, smile from Virginia. “Shame.” Virginia sipped some tea and then glanced out the window to the yard. “I declare, Cade must be hiding out there somewhere.”

  Libby stood and went to the kettle. “He’ll be back for supper. I can assure you of that. He might even be here earlier if he hears that you’ve baked him his favorite checkerboard cake.” Libby leaned over a basket that stood on the counter. “It smells delicious.” She looked at me and pointed to the tea kettle.

  I shook my head. “No thank you, Libby. I was wondering if it would be all right if I picked a carrot from your garden. I wanted to give Red a treat for putting up with my awkward riding skills today.”

  “You don’t know how to ride?” Virginia asked.

  “I told you she’s from back east,” Charlotte said.