him feel like a dandy, and so did the brown leather vest. The gun belt still hugged his hip, but he’d slicked back his hair and his jaw had a shine. Beau scowled. “Adie shamed me into it.”
“Adie’s wise.”
She was also a good cook. Beau smelled supper on the stove. His mouth watered, but he refused to be hungry.
Josh eyed him thoughtfully. “Thanks to your bad manners, Miss Baxter wants to stay here with the girls.”
Beau toyed with the idea but rejected it. “The woman can do whatever she wants, but I want the girls on the farm.”
“Is it safe?” Josh asked.
“As safe as I can make it.” His nieces shared his name. Beau wanted them where he could see them. He didn’t expect Johnson to ride into town, but the outlaw had a sick mind.
“Can I give you some advice?” Josh asked.
“Can I stop you?”
“No, so here it is. The girls think of Miss Baxter as their new mother. They think of you as an intruder. They trust her. No matter what you decide, things will be easier if she’s on your side.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Why not?”
“She made a promise to Patrick. She wants to adopt the girls.”
“I know.” Josh lowered his voice. “I know something else.”
“What?”
“I can’t share it with you.”
Beau thought of Emma standing at the farmhouse window. He went to see Pastor Josh. He was in a hurry. Had Patrick gotten cold feet? Beau remembered the day before he’d married Lucy. He’d been crazy about her, but his knees had turned to jelly before the wedding. If Patrick had changed his mind, Miss Baxter’s promise to adopt the girls meant nothing. She’d be free to go home to Wisconsin.
Beau hated secrets, but he trusted Josh. “You know best.”
“I hope so.”
No matter what troubled the minister, Beau knew he’d wield the sword of truth with discretion. Before coming to Colorado, Joshua Blue had been a high-and-mighty preacher in Boston. He’d suffered for his misplaced words and knew the power of a loose tongue.
So did Beau. He’d spoken too quickly when he’d asked Daniela Baxter to stay at the farm. His belly had been growling and he hadn’t given the situation enough thought. The girls were already too attached to her. With each day, that tie would grow stronger and they’d all end up heartbroken. With Harriet Lange in the picture, Beau hoped the situation would be resolved in a matter of days, a few weeks at the most. He could live on pancakes until then.
As for Daniela Baxter, she’d be better off with the Blues. Once the shock of Patrick’s death wore off, Beau felt sure she’d head home to Wisconsin.
“Where is she?” he asked. “I need to speak with her.”
“Look in the church.”
His stomach lurched. No way would he go inside that building. He turned to ask Josh to fetch her, but the minister had already slipped into the house. Beau turned back to the building and scowled at it. He’d gone to church twice after Lucy’s death. With a groaning deeper than words, he’d hit his knees. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…”
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