Caterina (Pendleton Petticoats Book 2) Page 4

  “Oh,” Aundy said. A few of the hotels weren’t hotels at all. Nora, her mother-in-law, had warned her about the seedier part of town on their first trip together into Pendleton.

  As she looked at the beautiful girl trying to stem the tide of her tears, Aundy gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Are you new in town? Needing a place to stay?”

  “Yes.” Caterina gazed at the blond woman beside her who appeared to be close to her own age. She noted the sky blue eyes and friendly smile, thinking she might have found a friend. “I was trying to secure a place to stay and then a man…”

  “It’s okay. Why don’t you come home with us for now? We have an empty bedroom and would be happy to have you as our guest.” Aundy rubbed Caterina’s back comfortingly while looking at Garrett for his silent agreement to her invitation.

  “Sure, we’ve got plenty of room,” Garrett said with a smile, although his voice lacked any hint of conviction. He rather liked having Aundy all to himself at the end of the day and didn’t relish the thought of having to share the house or his wife’s attention with an unexpected guest. “If she’d rather, she could stay with Ma and Pops.”

  “Let’s take one thing at a time.” Aundy turned her gaze from Garrett to Kade. “No one should make plans on an empty stomach.”

  “I agree.” Kade held out his arm to Caterina and offered her a smile that made her wonder if her legs would carry her down the boardwalk in their current wobbly state. “It’s past time for lunch.”

  “Thank you,” Caterina said, rising to her feet and taking Kade’s arm. She couldn’t believe her good fortune in running into such nice people.

  When Kade spoke, she detected the slightest hint of a southern drawl and pondered where he might have lived before moving to Pendleton.

  At a table for four in a pleasant restaurant, Caterina vaguely answered questions about where she came from and what brought her to town without giving away her real reasons for being in Pendleton.

  Although she liked these friendly people, she didn’t know anything about them and thought it best to keep as much of her life as private as possible. She didn’t lie, but carefully evaded any specific details.

  As she spoke with Aundy, she could feel Kade’s brilliant green gaze on her and turned to catch him studying her. She tried not to notice him although every nerve in her body reacted to his presence beside her. He smelled of leather, sunshine, horses, and some other scent she couldn’t identify, but found particularly appealing.

  “That’s what we’ll do then,” Aundy said, noticing the Italian girl failed to pay attention to the conversation going on around her. When Caterina looked quizzically at her, she leaned closer. Her whisper held a conspiratorial tone. “These handsome men are a little overwhelming, aren’t they?”

  Caterina smiled and ducked her head, hiding the blush coloring her cheeks. She and Aundy stood, walking to the door with Kade while Garrett paid the bill.

  “Let’s walk to the depot while Garrett brings the wagon,” Aundy said, pointing Caterina in the direction of the train station. “I assume you have luggage there?”

  “I do, but honestly, Aundy, I can’t impose on you like this,” Caterina said, uncertain what she would do. She didn’t want to overstep the bounds of her new friendship.

  “It’s no imposition. I’ll enjoy having another woman around. Other than Nora, Garrett’s mother, it’s all men all the time at the ranch.”

  “And you love every single one of them,” Kade said, giving Aundy a brotherly squeeze around her shoulders.

  “That’s beside the point,” Aundy argued as they neared the depot. Aundy and Kade slowed their steps to allow Caterina to keep up with their long legs. Caterina wasn’t sure she’d ever met a woman as tall as Aundy. Although she was shorter than both Garrett and Kade, she was as tall as many men Caterina knew. She was probably as tall as Tony, if not taller.

  “Where’d you leave your things?” Kade asked as they went up the depot steps.

  “Inside. The man said it would be fine for me to leave them here for a while,” Caterina said as Kade held the door for her and Aundy. She pointed to her trunks in the corner, as well as the bags sitting on top of one. “That’s all mine.”

  “You don’t travel light, do you?” Kade teased as he hefted the largest trunk and carried it out the door to where Garrett parked the wagon. Garrett moved things around in the back to make room for Caterina’s trunks and squeezed them in.

  Finished with the task, Garrett swung Aundy up to the wagon seat while Kade assisted Caterina.

  “It was nice to meet you, Miss Campanelli.” Kade held onto her hand, unwilling to let go of her fingers.

  “Please, call me Caterina, Mr. Rawlings.” Caterina smiled at Kade as she reluctantly pulled her hand from his.

  “Then you call me Kade. And please, do call me if you need anything.” Kade tipped his hat to Caterina then at Aundy.

  “You have telephones?” Caterina asked, looking from Kade to Aundy in surprise.

  “Some do.” Kade grinned at Caterina. “And if you stay with the Nash family, you’ll also have the privilege of indoor plumbing.”

  That was more than Caterina dared to dream. Maybe Aundy would allow her to take a bath and wash off the dirt from her frantic travel across the country.

  “Come for supper?” Aundy asked over her shoulder as Garrett turned the team away from the depot.

  “You bet.” Kade never turned down the opportunity for a hot, home-cooked meal. Aundy was a great cook and so was the Chinese man she hired to feed her ranch hands.

  Caterina forced herself not to turn around and watch the friendly cowboy as the wagon carried them down the street.

  She and Aundy visited excitedly, talking about fashions and big cities with Garrett supplying occasional comments. Soon, they drove past rolling fields of wheat and pastures dotted with cattle. Caterina thought it was a beautiful scene set against the summer sky.

  After peeling off her sticky gloves and shoving them in her reticule, Caterina wanted to undo the top button or two of her dress to cool herself in the heat. Since that would never do, she instead enjoyed the landscape and breathed in the fresh, clean air.

  “My folks live there.” Garrett pointed to a lane that disappeared over a small rise. Not far down the road, he guided the team up a well-traveled lane. Caterina took in a pasture full of sheep on one side of the road and cattle grazing on the other.

  “Those are my wife’s sheep,” Garrett said, inclining his head toward the flock when he noticed Caterina’s interested gaze resting on the wooly animals.

  “Our sheep,” Aundy corrected with an indulgent smile. “Garrett thinks they’ve been more trouble than they’re worth, but he’ll come around. Eventually.”

  Purposely ignoring Aundy’s teasing, Garrett stopped the wagon in front of a one-story house with a wide porch along the front, and a charming fenced yard. Caterina could see a garden off to one side and was anxious to explore the plants growing there.

  Not waiting for Garrett’s assistance, she climbed down and stood at the end of the walk, looking around the well-kept farm.

  “I’ve never been in the country before.” Caterina took in the barn and outbuildings as well as the bunkhouse where a Chinese man stood waving from the doorway.

  “That’s Li Hong,” Aundy said, offering the man a friendly wave as she looped her arm around Caterina’s and walked her toward the front door. “He’s the bunkhouse cook.”

  “Oh,” Caterina said, wondering why the bunkhouse needed a cook, and why Li Hong had the job.

  Before they reached the porch steps, a lanky youth ran around the corner of the house with two black and white puppies and a lamb at his heels.

  “Hi! I thought I heard the wagon,” the boy said, coming to a stop when he spied Caterina.

  He swiped the cap from his head of shiny brown hair, held it to his chest, and executed a perfect bow her direction. “I am Nikola Zorian Gandiaga, but everyone calls me Nik. Welcome.”

&nb
sp; “I’m Caterina,” she said, holding her hand out to the boy, unable to hide her grin at his engaging smile. In a few years, it would probably make women swoon at his feet. “Who are your friends?” she asked as she bent down to pick up a wriggling puppy. When it licked her chin, she lifted her face beyond the reach of his slobbery tongue and laughed.

  “The lamb is Butter and the pups are Sam and Ralph.” Nik picked up the other pup and tenderly rubbed his little head. “I’m training them to work with the sheep.”

  “What does a sheep dog do?” Caterina liked Nik. The boy was full of fun and enthusiasm, reminding her of Tony.

  “He helps keep watch over the sheep, herds them, and chases off intruders,” Nik said, puffing out his skinny chest. “It’s a very important job.”

  “Another important job would be helping to unload this wagon,” Garrett said as he easily carried one of Caterina’s trunks up the porch steps and in the house. “Just be careful.”

  “Yes, sir.” Nik attempted to lift a trunk by himself but lacked the strength to heft it. Still recovering from a gunshot wound he received earlier in the spring, he sometimes forgot his limitations. Everyone said he had a miraculous recovery, but Nik was ready to be back at one hundred percent of his usual rambunctious energy.

  Quickly grabbing three of Caterina’s bags, he ran inside with them, grinning as he hurried past the two women.

  “He seems like a good boy,” Caterina said, setting down the puppy and following Aundy in the house. The large front room was homey and welcoming, and Caterina felt herself relax for the first time since the day she’d angered Luigi.

  “Nik’s the best. He’s had a hard life, but he’s such a sweetheart.” Aundy shared a private smile with Garrett as he carried in the last trunk and set it in the bedroom off the front room.

  Caterina stepped through the doorway, looking around the cozy and inviting room. A bright quilt covered the bed, curtains billowed in a gentle breeze at the window, and a chair near a table with a few books would be a great place to sit and read in the evening when she wasn’t quite ready for sleep.

  “This is lovely.” Caterina turned to smile at Aundy. “I can’t thank you and Mr. Nash enough for taking me in.”

  “Call him Garrett and you’re more than welcome.” Aundy gave Caterina an impulsive hug.

  Dwarfed next to her, Caterina wished she could tell Tony about her new friend. He wouldn’t believe she’d met a woman who looked like a Viking queen.

  Aundy glanced at the trunks Garrett placed around the edges of the room. “Before you do anything else, I’m sure you’d like to wash up. From my own experience, the first thing I wanted to do when I got off the train was to take a bath and wash my hair. I’ll go draw one for you.”

  “Grazie, Aundy. You are an angel.” Caterina’s eyes filled with tears at the kindness she’d received from her hosts and Kade Rawlings.

  Aundy laughed and walked to the door. “No one has called me an angel before, but thank you. The bathroom is down the hall by the kitchen. Bring your things when you’re ready.”

  Caterina unpacked her toiletries, clean underpinnings, and one of her favorite dresses then walked down the hall toward the sound of running water.

  Aundy handed her a stack of towels, took the dress from her hands, and closed the door behind her.

  Slowly sinking into the steaming water, Caterina relaxed in the tub and closed her eyes in bliss. With the fragrant French soap Tony gave her for her last birthday, Caterina scrubbed away layers of dirt and grime then washed her hair.

  She stepped from the tub and rubbed her skin dry with a thick towel that smelled of sunshine. As she squeezed water from her hair with a second towel, a quick tap drew her gaze to the door.

  “Here’s your dress.” Aundy opened the door and noticed Caterina covered in a towel. “It just took a minute to press out the wrinkles.”

  “Aundy, you didn’t need to do that, but thank you.” Caterina took her dress from the woman with an appreciative smile, noticing Aundy had changed from a lovely blue suit the same color as her eyes into a pink calico dress covered by a large white apron. “I’ll never be able to repay you for your kindness.”

  “Don’t give it another thought.” Aundy bustled back out the door. “Come to the kitchen when you’re ready and you can help me with supper.”

  Caterina hurried to tame her wild, curly hair into submission as she worked out most of the water. After donning her freshly pressed gown, she rubbed creamy lotion into her cheeks and hands, feeling more human now that she was clean and properly attired.

  She returned her dirty clothes and toiletries to her room, then walked down the hall. As she stepped into the room, Aundy glanced at her from where she stood next to a wall telephone and pointed to a glass of lemonade on the table.

  Caterina gratefully took a sip of the cool drink. She looked around the neat and organized space, listening to Aundy’s one-sided conversation.

  Surprised to see a shiny stove and new refrigerator, she realized Garrett and Aundy Nash had many modern conveniences she assumed wouldn’t be available this far west.

  “Sorry about that.” Aundy sat down at the table after hanging up the phone. She passed Caterina a plate of cookies before taking one herself. “That was Garrett’s mother. I thought it would be fun for you to meet his folks and with Kade coming, it will be a regular dinner party.”

  “That’s nice,” Caterina said, distracted by the sweet buttery treat melting on her tongue. She had to get Aundy’s recipe for the cookies because they were delicious.

  With plans of opening her own restaurant someday, she constantly searched for good recipes. She grinned at Aundy and helped herself to another cookie. “These are wonderful.”

  “Thanks.” Aundy rose to her feet and picked up a spoon to stir something in a pot on the stove.

  Quickly pulling a pan from the oven, she set a cake on the counter to cool and busied herself with dinner preparations.

  “What can I do to help?” Caterina finished her lemonade and glanced around the kitchen. Spying an extra apron on a peg by the sink, she slipped it on and looked at Aundy with a raised eyebrow. “I refuse to be treated like a guest, so put me to work. I know a thing or two about cooking.”

  “In that case…” Aundy grinned, handing Caterina a big bowl of greens to wash.

  The women laughed and visited while they made dinner. Caterina helped Aundy set the table in the dining room with gleaming china. Aundy hurried outside to cut a few flowers for a centerpiece and Caterina volunteered to arrange them. Although her uncle didn’t care or seem to notice, she always created arrangements for the tables in his restaurant when fresh flowers were in season.

  “How pretty,” Aundy said, glancing around the table with a pleased look on her face. “I think we need…”

  The door in the kitchen banged open and voices filled the room. “Come on and meet the rest of the Nash family.” Aundy tugged her guest along with her.

  Caterina watched as Aundy hugged a tiny woman with dark hair and silvery eyes as well as a tall man who had the same teasing smile as Garrett.

  “Nora, J.B., this is Caterina Campanelli,” Aundy said, making introductions. “Caterina, this is Garrett’s mom and dad.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Caterina drew on her finest manners.

  “Goodness, honey! Aren’t you just the most beautiful thing?” Nora wrapped Caterina in a warm hug. “Welcome to Pendleton.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Caterina returned the warmth she felt from this friendly couple. “Where do you live?”

  “On the ranch next door, all part of Nash’s Folly, as we call it,” Nora answered. “Garrett divides his time between here and there.”

  Caterina evasively answered their questions then laughed at something J.B. said. He started to head outside to find Garrett when his son walked inside the kitchen followed by Kade.

  “Look who I found tripping around in the posies,” Garrett teased, slapping Kade on the back, gi
ving his friend a devilish smile.

  Kade knew Garrett would tease him mercilessly when he showed up with a bouquet of wildflowers for Caterina, but he’d seen them growing on the side of the road and felt compelled to stop and pick a few.

  “Hush,” Aundy said to Garrett, trying to hide her grin as she pushed him toward the sink. She turned to Kade, studied the flowers in his hand, and tipped her head toward Caterina.

  “Miss Campanelli, these made me think of you.” Kade found it hard to speak with the utterly captivating black-haired beauty standing before him. She must have taken time to bathe because her hair was so shiny, he thought he could see midnight blue highlights in the dark, curly tresses loosely piled on her head. From her perfect button nose and almond shaped eyes to the long eyelashes skimming the tops of her cheeks like delicate black feathers, he couldn’t recall ever seeing a more beautiful woman.

  The cherry-colored dress she wore accented both her womanly figure and her warm coloring. Her skin looked like sun-kissed peaches. Absently wondering if she’d taste just as sweet, he stared at her lips until J.B. slapped him on the back, jarring him from his wayward thoughts.

  “You gonna let her have those?” J.B. asked as Caterina waited for Kade to relinquish the flowers he held out toward her.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah… um… here.” Kade thrust the bouquet into Caterina’s hand, embarrassed and feeling like a big, gangly oaf. Always self-assured and confident, he didn’t like the feelings of uncertainty assaulting him in the presence of the lovely woman.

  “Thank you.” Caterina accepted the flowers, burying her nose in the blooms, as much to savor the fragrance as to hide her blushing cheeks.

  One look at Kade and her heart began to race. Her stomach fluttered nervously while her palms grew damp. It proved impossible for her to focus on anything except his wonderful smile and bright green eyes.

  Caterina accepted the jar of water Aundy handed her for the flowers. She turned her back to Kade and spent a moment arranging the bouquet while gathering her composure.

  She’d been around men her entire life, growing up with five brothers and all their boisterous friends, as well as the men who came into her parents’ store and Uncle Laz’s restaurant. Not one had ever left her as unsettled as Kade.