his task. A few more strands of her hair had come loose. He had the notion to brush it away from her cheek, but proceeded to section the hay instead. He supposed the pinned-up style was her teacher hairdo—proper and pretty.
They approached the box stalls, and Elaina made a beeline for Nick’s moodiest mount, a gray he called Kid. The gelding tossed his head and stepped back warily, even if his breakfast was within sniffing distance.
“What’s the matter?” she asked the horse in a soft voice. “Are you bashful?”
Kid was more than head-shy. The three-year-old had acquired every leave-me-alone habit Nick could think of. “That’s Kid. I haven’t had him for very long. He’s a bit of a project.”
“You’re going to work with him?“
“Yeah.” And this was Nick’s first attempt to make a gentleman out of an ill-mannered mount. “I’m a saddle maker, not a trainer, but I’ve got plenty of patience.”
Elaina stepped back to view the horse. “I like him.” “Really?” Surprised, Nick entered the stall and pushed against the gelding’s rump when Kid tried to crowd him. They went through the same routine every morning. Kid was determined to jam Nick against the wall, and Nick was determined to make the horse behave. “Besides the fact that his stall manners are deplorable, he bites, kicks and pulls away while he’s being led. Oh, and he charges in pasture, too.”
Kid pinned his ears, and Elaina managed an amused look. “You must like him, too. After all, you did buy him.”
“He was cheap.” And Kid’s previous owners had given up on the feisty gelding, the way Nick’s mom had given up on him and Grant. She’d walked away, leaving behind a shabby old house and two confused boys.
He exited Kid’s stall and received a good-riddance sneer on his way out.
Elaina stifled a laugh. “He’s trying so hard to be a tough guy.”
“Yeah, well, he’s a pain in the ass.” Nick reached into the wheelbarrow and filled Kid’s hay crib. “And if he doesn’t shape up, he’s going to end up as some spoiled little poodle’s dinner.” He sent the gelding a pointed look. “They make dog food out of rotten horses, you know.”
Kid sneered again, and Elaina gave in to the urge to laugh. Nick turned to watch her, to see the light dancing in those incredible blue eyes.
“His name certainly suits him,” she said. “Every kid I know makes that face at one time or another.”
“Even Lexie?”
Her laughter faded. “Especially Lexie.”
They stood in silence then, looking at each other. Her breath hitched, and he ignored complaints from a row of hungry horses. Nick didn’t know what it felt like to be a parent, but he knew how it felt to honor his dying brother’s last request, to promise to devote the rest of his life to Grant’s family.
“Lexie’s really sad, isn’t she?”
Elaina nodded. “Sad, angry, confused. Her father was murdered, her best friend moved and she’s battling puberty. That’s enough to send anyone over the edge.”
“I guess you’ve gone the doctor route,” he said, feeling useless.
In an absent gesture, she lifted a blade of hay. “Yes, but Lexie wasn’t very receptive to therapy. Antidepressants didn’t help, either.”
Nick frowned. “They gave her drugs? That sounds so severe.”
“Antidepressants work for some people, but Lexie experienced too many side effects.” She dropped the hay, watched it drift to the ground. “I guess it was too much to hope for. A pill that would make her happy.”
“Yeah. That doesn’t sound realistic.” And the idea that a twelve-year-old needed a happy pill made his heart ache.
Maybe it was time to talk to Lexie, to tell her that she had been in her father’s thoughts before he died.
“I’m going to help you with Lexie,” Nick said. “Whatever I can do.”
Her smile was soft, her voice a little broken. “Thank you.”
“Sure. No problem.” Feeling suddenly awkward, he reached for the wheelbarrow, sucked in a rough breath. “I guess we better get these animals fed.”
“I’ll fill the water buckets.”
She turned away, and he let out the breath he’d been holding.
So what about Elaina? When should he tell her about their pending marriage? Today? Tomorrow? Next week?
Take care of my family…the old way. Be the Comanche I should have been. Teach my daughter… protect my wife.
Your wife. Dear God, brother, you gave me your wife. The woman you held in your arms every night.
I can’t tell her today, Nick thought, catching sight of Elaina’s hair shimmering in the morning light. He could tackle only one obstacle at a time. And for now, he had a twelve-year-old girl to worry about.
Twenty minutes later, Nick and Elaina stood in the kitchen, discussing breakfast.
“We can have something here,” he said. “Unless you want to go out.”
“Here is fine.”
He opened the fridge. “I’ve got bacon and eggs.” Food he’d purchased with Elaina and Lexie in mind. Normally he started his day with a bowl of cereal and two cups of black coffee. “I’m not a great cook,” he admitted.
She turned to wash her hands. “I don’t mind fixing breakfast.”
“All right. Thanks.” He shifted his feet, feeling uncomfortable in his own kitchen. Nick wasn’t used to company, to having to consider someone else’s preference.
He pulled a hand through his shorn hair. This husband thing was going to take some adjustment.
“Are the pans in here?” she asked, pointing to the cabinet below the stove.
“Yeah.” He placed a carton of eggs and a pound of bacon on the counter, and found himself looking around, wondering if his house was too simple for Elaina. He’d designed the kitchen for practicality, but it wasn’t fancy. And neither was the rest of the place. The decor was sturdy, woodsy and Western. A far cry, he thought, from her city-slick condo with its creamy carpet and floor-to-ceiling windows.
Elaina set a pan on the stove. “Maybe I should wake Lexie first.”
“I can do that.” And it would give him an opportunity to talk to his niece in private. “I’d like to spend a few minutes alone with her.”
“That’s nice.” Elaina smiled. “She’d probably like that, too.”
“Okay. Good. Just call us when breakfast is ready.”
“No problem,” she responded,
