Bertie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 6) Read online

  Unable to muster the will to walk away, he reached out and traced his thumb across her creamy, perfect cheek. Her skin felt like silk to his callused fingers. Through that gentle caress, he hoped he conveyed the longing he carried for her, a longing that reached the very center of his being. Even if nothing would come of it, she had claimed a heart he had done his best to seal off from love.

  In need of human comfort, her comfort, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. For several uninterrupted minutes, he simply held her, breathing in her fragrance, memorizing the feel her. Unsatisfied but needing to leave, he ducked beneath her hat and kissed her cheek.

  “Goodbye, Roberta Elizabeth.” His voice sounded raspy and rough as he stepped off the porch. Tears shimmered in Bertie’s eyes, but he refused to allow himself to say another word, to return to the haven of her arms.

  Instead, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bertie held Laila on her lap as she listened to Garrett, Ilsa, and Lars sing a number of hymns and popular songs. Nik accompanied them on his harmonica along with one of the cowboys who’d brought out a fiddle.

  The simple music was a wonderful ending to both the day and a delicious meal.

  Although she’d heard the three singers at church before, there was something about sitting outside on a summer evening with crickets chirping in the background and a breeze dancing through the trees that made the harmony sound even more wonderful.

  When they began to sing Coax Me, Garrett looked at Aundy and winked, making Bertie smile. The lyrics to the song, in her opinion, were both fun and romantic.

  He softly sighs,

  She rolls her eyes,

  Soon just like a turtledove he’s sweetly cooing;

  On those ruby lips I’d like to press a kiss Lize,

  Just one or two, perhaps a few;

  Can’t I take you in my arms,

  A moment’s bliss, Lize...

  As the trio started on the second verse, Bertie closed her eyes and pictured Riley singing the song to her, offering her a moment’s bliss with his kisses.

  Barely restraining a most unladylike snort, she concluded that would never happen. Now she understood why. Riley remained horribly, terribly, and undeniably wounded over losing his wife and son.

  Who could blame him? To lose one or the other would have been challenging enough to overcome, but to lose them both at the same time had to have left him desolate and nearly destroyed.

  Laila giggled and squirmed, wanting down to play with Sophie. Bertie released her and watched as the two little girls held hands, skipping in a circle to the music.

  “You look as though you’re wishing someone would coax you into a kiss,” Aundy whispered in Bertie’s ear.

  Her head whipped around and she glared at her friend.

  Aundy laughed softly and patted her leg. “I could be wrong, but if that someone is Riley, I’m sure he’d be more than willing.”

  Annoyed she’d been that transparent with her feelings, Bertie sat straighter on her chair and primly folded her hands on her lap. Aundy nudged her with her elbow and tipped her head toward Riley. He sat with several of the hired help as his gaze fastened on the two little girls instead of the singers.

  Aundy bent close to her ear. “I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t have to work too hard to coax him.”

  “That just goes to show how wrong you are. He is not the least bit interested in kissing me because he’s had plenty of chances to try,” Bertie whispered hotly. The smug look on Aundy’s face made her wish she’d kept her mouth shut.

  “I was right. Riley’s the one you’ve set your heart on, isn’t he?” Aundy glanced around to make sure no one listened to the conversation. Everyone else appeared engrossed in the music.

  “It doesn’t matter. Riley has… well, he…” It wasn’t her place to say anything about Riley’s past. To keep from blurting out the truth, she pressed her lips together, much like she’d seen Aundy do when she was angry or concentrating on something. A sigh worked its way free and she glanced at Aundy. “Whatever feelings I have for him are not reciprocated.”

  “Oh, my dear girl, you are completely blind because he’s been watching you at every opportunity, even if he likes to pretend otherwise.” Aundy laughed and patted Bertie’s leg again. “I’m so glad to see you interested in someone, Bertie. I know what happened to you with Richard Kent was hard, and then that awful drunk accosted you. You’re such a strong, brave girl and you deserve to be loved by a kind, caring man.”

  While the singers launched into a rousing rendition of Goodbye, My Lady Love, Bertie mulled over Aundy’s words. Did Riley really care for her or was he still too distraught by the loss of his wife and son to consider having feelings for anyone.

  She couldn’t imaging marrying so young or having a child by the time she was seventeen. It must have been hard on Riley to lose his wife and child at such a young age, especially after he’d already lost so much. No wonder he seemed unbearably sad and carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

  However, in the weeks she’d known him, she thought his burden had lightened. Any number of times, they’d laughed and joked. Riley had started smiling more often than he frowned and he’d begun interacting more with those around him instead of staying drawn into his shell.

  With absolute certainty, she knew as he tenderly touched her cheek and said goodbye last night, something had changed. She half-expected to wake up this morning and find he’d left Pendleton entirely. His “goodbye” held more than a few words of parting. It held finality and pain, anguish and regret.

  He hadn’t spoken to her all day, even though opportunity abounded as they both helped set up tables and carry out chairs for the picnic supper planned beneath the big cottonwood tree.

  Now, he avoided meeting her gaze and shifted nervously on the bench where he sat with Li, Dent, and Fred.

  Another sigh worked its way past Bertie’s lips and she battled against the tears persistently stinging the backs of her eyes. Determined not to cry, she rose to her feet and carried a tray filled with dirty dishes into the house.

  Everything in her wanted to slam the tray down, maybe break a few plates. Instead, she carefully set it on the counter and filled the sink with hot water and soap. She lifted an apron off a nearby peg and slipped it over her head as the screen door creaked behind her.

  Without turning around, she fumbled to tie the apron strings at her waist in her agitated state.

  Suddenly, the strings tightened and she felt someone tying them behind her. At the final tug on the bow, she whirled around and glanced up at Nik.

  Unbidden, a tear rolled down her cheek and she held back a sob. She’d so hoped it would be Riley.

  “Hey, what’s this?” Nik bent his knees until he looked her square in the face. “What’s wrong, Bertie?”

  Unable to speak around the tears filling her throat, she buried her face against Nik’s chest and sobbed.

  “Hey, Bertie. It’s okay. Don’t cry.” Nik stroked her back as she released a flood of tears. “Shh. Everything is okay. All is well, Bertie.” Nik pressed a kiss to the top of her head then wrapped his arms around her, rocking her from side to side as she cried.

  Finally, she gathered the strength to pull away from him. He continued to keep an arm around her as he reached over to the counter and snagged a dishtowel. He handed it to her and she gratefully accepted it, wiping her face and nose.

  Ashamed by her outburst, she hid her face in the towel.

  “Bertie.”

  She sniffled and mopped at her tears, but didn’t lift her head.

  “Bertie?” Nik’s finger gently lifted her chin until she stared at him with tears clinging to her eyelashes. He brushed an errant drop from her cheek and smiled.

  “Tell me what left you so upset. I thought you were enjoying the music.” Nik pulled out a chair at the table and waited for her to take a seat.

  Reluctantly, Bertie sat down an
d released a shaky breath. She couldn’t tell Nik that Riley was the cause of her ragged emotions. The story of him losing his wife and son left her aching, but the knowledge that he’d never allow himself to love another broke her heart.

  Shattered it.

  How could it do otherwise when she loved Riley to the very depths of her soul?

  It took every bit of self-control she possessed to keep her tears in check as she glanced up at Nik and saw concern wrinkling his handsome brow and care in his deep brown eyes.

  “Thank you for being such a good friend, Nik, but I’ll be fine.”

  He plopped down in the chair beside her and took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “If you ever need a listening ear, let me know.”

  “Thank you.” Bertie drew her hand away from Nik and rose to her feet. She kissed his cheek then returned to the sink. “Honest, Nik, I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will, Bertie. I just…” Nik ran a hand through his hair. “I’m here anytime you need a shirt or a shoulder to cry on.” Again, he kissed her on top of the head before disappearing out the back door.

  Bertie sighed. If only she’d set her affections on Nik instead of a man who refused to open his heart to love.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “It’s hotter than a hat maker’s box on the Fourth of July in here and you want me to add more wood to the stove? I think the heat has cooked your brain.” Bertie grinned as she tossed Aundy a saucy smile.

  “You know we have to get lunch ready for the harvest crew, just like we have every other day.” Aundy stirred a pot of baking beans and added crumbled pieces of bacon left from breakfast into the mixture. She tapped her spoon on the edge of the pot then carried it to the sink and rinsed it off.

  “I know, but I don’t have to like it.” Bertie added the wood and stepped back with reddened cheeks from the heat. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot in all my life and that includes the summer we had that horrid heat wave and no breeze for days on end.”

  “Come here.” Aundy pushed Bertie in front of the refrigerator and opened the door. Cool air enveloped her and she leaned closer to the wondrous appliance. Her eyes slid closed and she imagined herself standing in a stream of mountain water with a fresh breeze blowing around her.

  When Aundy unexpectedly rubbed a piece of ice over her cheeks, she shrieked. Popping open her eyes, she glowered at the woman, but accepted the ice she held out to her. Aundy took out another small chip and handed it to Bertie.

  “Suck on that and rub the other piece on your neck. It’ll help.” Aundy grabbed a piece of ice for herself and stuck it in her mouth. “Garrett and I keep talking about building a summer kitchen. We are definitely going to need to do that one of these years. Cooking isn’t generally such an issue in the heat, except during harvest.”

  “At least tomorrow is the last day of feeding the harvest crew.” Bertie returned to peeling a mountain of potatoes. After they were boiled and mashed, the men would smother the potatoes in gravy and eat them faster than she could blink.

  For the past two weeks, except for Sundays, she and Aundy had cooked and washed dishes until Bertie thought she couldn’t stand it a moment longer. Even with the help of Li, Nora, and a few of the older girls from the orphanage, the work was grueling. They’d spent the first week cooking in Nora’s kitchen then moved to Aundy’s as the crew worked their way between the two houses.

  Up long before dawn that morning, she and Aundy had already baked six peach pies and dozens of cookies. Bread rose in a bowl on the counter, ready to form into rolls to go along with the fixings for lunch. Closer to the lunch hour, they’d fry the chickens they’d plucked and cut into pieces that morning.

  Bertie sighed as Aundy mixed a batch of lemonade. Dead on her feet, she’d never worked so hard in her whole life and held a new respect for farm wives everywhere, but expressly Aundy. She had no idea how the woman accomplished so much without ever appearing to feel rushed or weary.

  Doc Reed had declared Aundy’s arm fully healed and told her she could return to all her normal activities. Bertie held a moment of concern that Garrett and Aundy might send her packing, but they both assured her they needed her help for as long as she cared to offer it.

  Although she missed her friends at the telephone office and her brother, Bertie wasn’t in a hurry to return to her life in Pendleton.

  With the exception of cooking and cleaning during wheat harvest, she enjoyed living on the ranch and being able to spend so much time outside in the fresh country air. Much more so than she had ever enjoyed living in town.

  The skirt of her apron absorbed the perspiration from her face as she wiped it along her brow and down her neck. When she finished, she moved toward the back door.

  “I’ll go fill the water barrels then we can take the cookies and drinks out to the men.” Bertie started to open the screen door but stepped back in surprise as Marnie entered along with her girls.

  Due to deliver her baby in about six weeks, she waddled more than walked. The heat made her fingers and feet swell until she was miserable.

  Aundy rushed over and guided Marnie to a kitchen chair. “What on earth are you doing here?” She looked at her sister-in-law as if the heat had addled her senses.

  “I figured it wouldn’t be any hotter or miserable here than at home. At least here, I can be useful. Shea and Gertie won’t let me do anything. Ilsa thinks I shouldn’t jostle into town to work in her shop, and don’t even get me started on that lunkheaded brother of yours. He acts like I might break in two if I so much as sneeze.”

  Unsuccessful in her efforts to stifle a giggle, Bertie grinned.

  The pregnant woman scowled at her and shook a finger her direction. “Just you wait, Bertie. One of these days you’ll be expecting a baby and have a doting husband who drives you completely daft with his hovering.”

  Aundy smiled at her sister-in-law. “Better to have one who cares too much than one who pays you no mind and works you like a mule.”

  “True. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the care and concern, it’s just a bit…” Marnie searched for the right word. “Stifling.”

  “Well, instead of being stifled at home, you can be suffocated by the heat here.” Bertie motioned to two of the girls to follow her. “Let’s fill the water barrels then we can go out to the field.”

  “Can I hitch up the horse, Bertie?” Sadie strode beside her as they walked out to the barn where the buggy sat next to the pump with two barrels in the back. One barrel they filled with water to drink, the other for the men to splash on their hands and faces.

  “Go ahead. Molly and I can fill the barrels while you do that.” Bertie smiled as she watched Sadie hurry into the barn to get the horse. The first time the child had asked, Bertie was sure Aundy would tell her no. Instead, she encouraged the girl to take over the task. Sadie had hitched the horse quickly and efficiently, with more expertise than Bertie possessed.

  Now, Bertie was glad the girl wanted to take over the chore. Although Aundy had taught Bertie how to do it, she’d much rather turn over the responsibility to someone else.

  By the time the water barrels were filled and they loaded a stack of rags along with the water dipper, Sadie had the horse hitched and ready to go.

  The girls ran back to the house while Bertie drove the buggy over to the side gate of the yard closest to the kitchen. Sadie and Aundy carried out baskets of cookies while Bertie and Molly lugged the big crock full of lemonade.

  “I better telephone Tony and see if he’ll deliver more ice this afternoon. We’re almost out.” Aundy wiped her hands on her apron then waved as the two girls climbed into the buggy with Bertie.

  Molly was fourteen and a pretty girl, although far too somber. She’d been left with nowhere to go when her parents died two winters ago of influenza. Bertie wondered if she’d always been so solemn or if it was a result of the tragedy
in her young life.

  Tragedies took her thoughts to Riley. He’d barely spoken to her since the night they’d gone to the show at the Opera House.

  Hurt by the distance he put between them, she wondered if it was the fact she knew his secret pain or the feelings he held for her that caused him to stay away.

  He could deny it all he wanted, but she’d seen the look in his eye when she caught him watching her. He cared about her more than he’d ever admit.

  Although she understood his reluctance to love again, it didn’t help her heart ache any less.

  Lost in her thoughts, she missed the turn into the field until Sadie demanded her attention.

  “Golly, Bertie, where in tarnation are you headed? The field’s that way!” Sadie waggled her finger over her shoulder.

  Bertie tugged on the reins and turned the horse around.

  Sadie grinned as they approached the edge of the field. “Bet you’re thinking about a boy.”

  “Why would you say that?” Bertie frowned as she stared at the cheeky girl.

  “Cause ya got that lovesick look on your face my mama gets when Dad’s gone for a few days with work. It’s kind of wistful and hopeful with a dash of pure misery mixed in.”

  Bertie laughed. “Sadie Thorsen, what a description!”

  “Well, it’s true.” Sadie crossed her arms over her thin chest and lifted her stubborn little chin. “I’d be pouty-faced too with all of them handsome fellers out here while I was stuck in that hot ol’ kitchen slaving away.”

  “Sadie!”

  The child giggled. “If I was interested in handsome fellers,” Sadie pointed to Riley, “like that one.”

  Bertie rolled her eyes and sighed as she pulled the horse to a stop. She set the brake and waved to Garrett. He motioned for everyone to take a break. Animals switched their tails as several teams of more than two and three dozen mules slowed to a stop. The roar of the machinery dulled and grew silent.

  Men jumped down off the harvesters and wagons, slapping their hats and wiping their faces with dusty handkerchiefs.