was no place to go but up.
Good luck had to be around the corner. Right?
Gage climbed the Buffalo Inn’s carpeted staircase to the third floor where he knew his daughter would be waiting. Gentle spring sunshine streamed through windows and cast a golden glow onto the bed where his little girl sat, her nose in a book.
“Pa!” Lucy leaped off the mattress, her book tumbling to the quilt. “Did you buy this one? Do we got a new home?”
He laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Hold on now, that’s no way for a little lady to behave.”
“I ain’t no lady, Pa. Did you buy it?” Her eyes searched his and she clapped her hands together. “You did! I know you did.”
“Yep. We got ourselves a home. Now don’t go getting your hopes up too high. The place needs a lot of work. Did you behave for Mrs. McCullough?”
“Sorta.” The seven-year-old shrugged her narrow shoulders. “I tried. Honest.”
“She didn’t try hard enough,” Mrs. McCullough reported from the chair in the corner, where she gathered her embroidery things. “I must say I’m disappointed in you, Mr. Gatlin. You charmed me into agreeing to watch this child and I have come to regret it.”
What did Lucy do now? he wondered, but did his best to look apologetic. He might need Mrs. McCullough’s help again. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll pay you extra for your trouble.”
“Indeed.” Mrs. McCullough’s gaze narrowed as he placed dollar bills on her outstretched palm. A small pile accumulated, and she nodded. “I suppose it’s not her fault, the poor motherless thing. You find a mother for that girl. Just my piece of advice.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t think much of her advice, but he held his tongue and closed the door behind her.
“Pa, I’m dyin’!” In agony, Lucy hopped up and down, her twin braids bouncing. “Tell me. I gotta know.”
She had a knack for changing the subject but luckily he wasn’t easily distracted from the problem. “I expect you to do better next time I leave you with Mrs. McCullough.”
“I’ll do my best, Pa, you know that. But sometimes it’s just hard.” Lucy sighed, full of burdens. “I’m only a little girl.”
“You aren’t foolin’ me one bit, darlin’.” He tugged on one end of her twin braids. “Find your hat and I’ll take you out to our new place. It’s tumbling down, but I can fix that.”
“I know, ’cuz you can fix anything.” She dashed to the bureau. “I got my sunbonnet, but I can’t do the ribbons.”
“Then it’s a darn good thing you have me around.” He caught the blue straps of her sunbonnet and made a bow beneath her chin. “You’re the prettiest girl this side of the Rockies. I’m proud to be seen with you.”
“You have to say that. You’re my pa.” Lucy beamed at him anyway and slipped her small hand in his.
In the livery, he saddled Lucy’s little mare while she pulled sugar cubes from her pocket for the horse. When he had the cinch nice and tight, he gave her a hand up.
“Do you know what, Pa? I’m sure glad I got this new saddle.” Lucy settled into the leather like a natural-born horseman. “It’s got a good horn. Know what I need now? A rope.”
“We’ll see.”
“That’s what you say when you mean no.”
“I mean, let me think about it.” He mounted and led the way toward the main street. “Come on. We’ll take the long way through town so you can see the sights.”
Lucy reined the mare into step beside his. Her ruffled skirt hem caught the breeze and the matching blue sunbonnet shaded her face.
Would she be happy here? He watched her study the storefronts and shoppers scurrying along the boardwalk. A frown dug into her forehead. Her mouth twisted.
Finally she nodded, her inspection complete. “This don’t look like a bad place to live.”
“That’s what I figured.” Gage tipped his hat to keep the high sun out of his eyes.
“Know what, Pa? I don’t see a school. There’s gotta be a school.”
“And so there is, that way.” He gestured down the street that cut between the hardware store and the shoemaker’s. “We’ll get you enrolled Monday morning.”
“I can see it.” Lucy stood in her stirrups, straining to see the whitewashed building down the street. “Oh, Pa, a real school. It’s got a bell and everything.”
“It sure looks fine.” Gage nodded toward a neat little storefront. “There’s a seamstress shop. I figure we can get you fit for new school dresses with the way you’re growing.”
“I keep gettin’ bigger.” Lucy hitched up the brim of her sunbonnet as she gazed on the woman-filled boardwalk just outside the mercantile. “Do you know what, Pa? There sure are a lot of pretty ladies in this town.”
Gage kept riding.
“Awful pretty ladies, Pa.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“I just had to be sure.”
He chuckled, not one bit fooled by her sly innocence. “You know I’m not the marrying kind.”
“You married my ma.”
“And I could marry some other woman, is that what you think?”
“Sure. A girl needs a ma. Mrs. McCullough just said so. What if she’s right? I reckon she could be.”
There was too much hope in those sparkling eyes, and it troubled him. “Lucky for you I’m an exceptional father.”
She shook her head. “Yeah, but you can’t sew.”
“What if I learn?”
That earned a giggle and effectively ended the conversation. He breathed a sigh of relief. Settling down was the right step to take for Lucy’s sake, but that didn’t mean he had to find her a mother. The thought of taking a wife again—
He shuddered all the way to his soul. Once he’d been carried away by what he thought was love. But in time it had crumbled to dust.
The ride was a pleasant one across a prairie awakening to spring. Birds fluttered about, gathering makings for nests. And a few fat jackrabbits darted across the road, daring to escape their warm warrens. Lucy remained quiet during the ride to their land that spread out for miles.
He showed her all the horses, hungry and half wild, that dotted the fallow fields, unable to hold back his excitement. His dreams were so close he could taste them.
“These are all ours?” Lucy hopped down to poke her hand through the fence and rub a filly’s
