Caterina: A Sweet Western Historical Romance Pendleton Petyticoats Book 2 Read online

  “Garrett go back to J.B.’s?” Kade looked over Nik’s shoulder at his homework.

  “No. He and a couple of the hands are getting things ready for tomorrow. He should be in the barn.” Aundy placed three warm oatmeal cookies in his hand. “Why don’t you go see if they need some help?”

  “I’ll do that.” Kade walked slowly to the door, hoping Caterina would appear. He supposed he at least owed her an apology.

  “You’re staying the night, aren’t you?” Aundy asked as he opened the screen door.

  “I’ll be at the bunkhouse.” He stepped outside and headed toward the barn. It would be an extraordinarily bad idea for him to stay in Garrett and Aundy’s other spare room. Rest would never come under the same roof as Caterina, just steps from where she’d lie in bed with all that glorious dark hair spilling over her pillow.

  In his current frame of mind, he’d have a terrible time sleeping anyway, when his thoughts kept lingering on her lips and how amazingly right she felt in his arms.

  Chapter Six

  “Are we feeding a small army?” Caterina asked as she and Aundy loaded a hand-pulled cart with fried doughnuts and fritters along with cold tea and water.

  It was already hot mid-morning and they knew the men would be thirsty and ready for a break.

  The shearing crew arrived in time to eat the breakfast Li prepared for everyone. While they set up, Garrett and Kade, along with a few of the ranch hands, brought the sheep in from the pasture and left the animals crowded in the corral by the barn.

  While they sheared the sheep in the barn, the men left the doors open on each end to try to catch a breeze. The air was stifling as Aundy and Caterina pulled the cart up near the door and stepped inside.

  The two women watched the men work and observed Kade shearing nearly two sheep to everyone else’s one.

  “He must have done this before.” Caterina tilted her head Kade’s direction.

  Sweat soaked through his cotton shirt and dripped off his forehead onto the ewe he relieved of her wool. Caterina made note of the muscles in his thighs as well as those that bunched and flexed in his back and arms as he worked.

  Mesmerized by the very manliness of him, she swallowed twice then turned to look around the barn, hoping to divert her attention away from the deputy.

  The crew Garrett hired included four men to shear and two to stuff the wool into big sacks. Garrett and Kade both sheared while Nik and Dent branded the sheep using the Nash’s Folly brand dipped into a bucket of red paint to mark each animal. Before turning the sheep back out to pasture, Dent also treated any nicks in their hide from the shearing.

  Garrett noticed the women near the barn door and called for a break. The men finished the sheep they worked on as they eyed the morning snack with interest. Quickly emptying the jar of tea along with the water bucket to slake their thirsts, Kade took both containers to the pump outside the barn to refill.

  He stuck his head beneath the pump faucet and let the water wash over him, trying to cool down. Overheated as he sheared the sheep, his temperature climbed even higher when Caterina waltzed in, looking lovely and captivating.

  Kade rinsed his hands and splashed water up his arms to where he’d rolled his shirtsleeves above his elbows. He filled the bucket and jar, and then returned to the barn.

  After setting them down in Aundy’s little cart, he took a fritter in one hand and a doughnut in the other. Both were excellent, but he knew without asking the fritters were Caterina’s contribution. He could almost taste the love and attention she put into everything she made. She didn’t just cook, she created, pouring a bit of her heart and soul into each dish.

  A whiff of her exotic scent drifted over the smells of sheep dip, sweaty men, and the normal barn aromas as she visited with some of the men on the shearing crew.

  He snagged another fritter, leaned against a stall, and watched her. In response to something one of the men said, she replied using not just her mouth but her hands and eyes to convey her answer. Everything about the fiery Italian exuded passion and a zest for life.

  Kade studied her mouth. It left him lingering on thoughts of the kisses they’d shared the previous evening before he made her mad. He reckoned he owed her an apology and planned to give her one at some point before the day was through. It would have to wait until they finished with the sheep and he’d cleaned up, though.

  He thanked the women for the snack then headed back to the platform. Skillfully lifting another ewe, he tried to focus on the sheep in front of him instead of the alluring woman behind him.

  Caterina almost dropped the platter of fritters when Kade walked inside the barn after washing at the pump.

  His soaked shirt clung to his brawny, muscled form like a second skin while water droplets lingered on the ends of his short sun-streaked hair. His white-toothed smile, when he grinned at her, stood out in contrast to the tan of his face.

  “Like what you see?” Aundy teased as the men returned to their work. The two women walked to the house, pulling the cart with the empty platters.

  “Huh?” Caterina asked, lost in her thoughts.

  “Are you still mad at Kade? Because the way you’ve been gawking at him this morning would indicate otherwise.”

  “He’s a bell'uomo, handsome man, even if he is a scoundrel.” Caterina turned to Aundy wearing a guilty look as they carried the platters in the kitchen. She couldn’t hide her infatuation with Kade no matter how hard she tried. And honestly, she wasn’t trying very hard. “You’re lucky to be loved by someone like Garrett.”

  “Yes, I am, but he and Kade aren’t all that different.” Aundy liked the idea of Kade and Caterina falling in love. Not only would they be good for each other, balance each other’s strong personalities, it would keep Caterina in Pendleton. Aundy hoped the girl would stay and become part of the growing community. “I’ve been thinking about your idea to open a restaurant.”

  “Yes?” Caterina asked as she punched down bread dough and formed it into balls for rolls.

  “I think you should do it.” Aundy drained the water from a pot of potatoes then set them aside to cool so she could mix them into potato salad.

  “There are few things I’d like more than to open my own restaurant, but I don’t have the money to make that happen.”

  “Then borrow some.”

  Caterina let out a sigh. “If only it was that simple. No one is going to lend me money. I don’t have any… um… what is the word?”

  “Collateral,” Aundy supplied. She began peeling boiled eggs to add to the potato salad.

  “Yes, collateral. They wouldn’t loan money to a man without collateral and they sure won’t give any to me. I can’t just waltz in the bank and say, ‘I can cook, please give me money.’ Even I know that isn’t how things work.”

  Aundy laughed. “True, although depending who was working at the bank when you went in, you might charm them into a loan. Regardless, Garrett and I want to lend you the money.”

  “What?” Surprised by the offer, Caterina stared at Aundy a moment then shook her head. “No. I can’t borrow from friends. Absolutely not. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “Why not? We can make it official, have papers drawn at the attorney’s office if you like. Or you can let us invest and be partial owners.” Aundy removed the yolks of the eggs before chopping the whites into a large bowl. “Garrett and I discussed it last night and he thinks it would be a sound investment. Once people taste your cooking, Caterina, they’ll come back again and again.”

  “Really? You really think this could work?” Caterina asked, excited at the idea of her dream becoming a reality. Still uncomfortable with the thought of borrowing from friends, she would speak with the bank and see if they might at least consider a loan. If not, then she could always accept Aundy’s generous offer.

  “I do. The question is do you think it will work? If you know in your heart you can make it a success, then nothing can stop you.”

  Hastily wiping her hands on her apr
on, Caterina impulsively hurried over to Aundy and hugged her friend. “What did I do to be so blessed with friends like you?”

  “The feeling is mutual. You can’t know how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and having a friend here.” Tears filled Aundy’s eyes as her arm wrapped around Caterina’s shoulders. “Now, before we start crying all over each other, we better get back to preparing lunch for all those hungry men.”

  After feeding the crew a hearty lunch, with Li’s help, the women cleaned up the dishes then started dinner preparations.

  Mid-afternoon, they took lemonade with a few pieces of treasured ice floating in the jar along with cookies out to the men. As they neared the barn, the men laughed and joked outside, returning from herding the sheep out to pasture.

  “That was fast. You’re done already?” Aundy asked as the men took turns washing their hands at the pump and accepting lemonade and cookies.

  “Yep. We’re done, thank goodness. It’s hotter than a…” Garrett cut himself off before he said something that would displease his wife. “It’s hot in the barn and working with that wool didn’t help matters, but we had a really good yield.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Aundy smiled at her husband, then Nik, their young shepherd who beamed as proudly as a new papa over the sheep.

  “Since you’re the one who purchased these sheep and insisted on raising them, how come we didn’t see you shearing any woolies?” Dent teased as he took a swig of the lemonade.

  “You men thought you needed to eat, and I couldn’t leave all the work to Caterina and Li, now could I?”

  “No, ma’am.” Dent took another cookie and winked at Garrett. He knew Aundy would have been in the thick of things if she thought she had enough skill to do the job well. Garrett nodded his head in agreement with Dent’s unspoken assessment.

  Garrett paid the shearing crew and invited them to dinner, but they decided to head out to their next job. Swiftly loading wagons with the wool, Garrett, Dent, and Kade prepared to haul it into town to the wool scouring plant.

  Caterina and Aundy returned inside the house to wash the dirty glasses, make more lemonade, and finish preparing dinner.

  “Oh, I forgot to ask Garrett to drop a letter in the mail when he’s in town with the wool. I’ll just…” The ringing of the phone interrupted Aundy. She grabbed the letter to her sister off the table and handed it to Caterina. “Would you mind running this out to him?”

  Caterina hurried out the door and ran across the yard, catching Garrett as he swung onto the wagon seat and handing him the envelope.

  “Aundy wanted you to drop that in the mail to Ilsa,” Caterina said, shading her eyes to look up at Garrett. She could see dust on the road from the wagon Dent drove to town.

  “Will do. We’ll be back in time for supper.” Garrett gave the reins a light snap to urge the horses forward.

  “See you then.” She stepped back and looked behind her, noticing the third wagon still sat by the barn, loaded and ready to go.

  Caterina walked around it then came to a standstill. Shirtless, Kade stood at the pump with water running down his bronzed chest.

  Many times growing up, she’d witnessed her brothers without their shirts on, but seeing Kade was something altogether different. Burly shoulders sprinkled with freckles led her gaze to muscular arms. Water droplets shimmered in the sunlight across the golden hair covering his well-built chest.

  A small towel covered his face, or he would have seen her surprised expression mingle with innocent interest.

  Slowly lowering the towel, Kade sucked in a gulp of air. Caterina stared at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed. She spun around but not before he noticed the splotches of red staining her cheeks.

  “I didn’t hear you.” He snatched a clean shirt from the pack he’d brought along the night before and hastily slipped his arms in the sleeves. Although he didn’t mind flustering the sharp-tongued woman, he didn’t want to stretch the bounds of propriety too far. He could be a bit of a rogue when he wanted, but even he knew what was socially acceptable.

  “My apologies, I didn’t realize you were washing.” Caterina quickly strode toward the house. The hot sting of embarrassment pierced her cheeks and pride with each step.

  “Cat, wait,” Kade called to her as he hurried to catch up, buttoning his shirt as he jogged her direction. “Please.”

  She stopped, but didn’t turn around, keeping her face pointed in the direction of the house.

  “Cat?” Kade placed a hand on her shoulder, spreading warmth down her arm and into her belly. “May I please speak with you a moment?”

  “Speak,” she said, turning to face Kade. He slid his hand down her arm and grasped her fingers in his.

  “I’m sorry, Caterina.” Genuine remorse flooded through him for trying to charm her into telling secrets. He knew better, but he got so caught up in the moment he hadn’t been able to stop himself from trying. “I apologize for my behavior last night. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

  Instead of saying anything, yelling at him like he anticipated, she looked up at him with tears glistening in her big brown eyes.

  “Grazie. Thank you, Kade.” She still wasn’t certain if she could trust him. Maybe he apologized in hopes of gaining her confidence, not because he was truly sorry. However, she’d make sure they had no more opportunity to be alone because she couldn’t count on being able to keep him at arm’s length. “You better hurry to catch up to Garrett and Dent, though.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Kade was certain she’d just rejected him. It was impossible to predict what the woman would do next, much less what she might be thinking.

  He settled his hat on his head, swung up on the wagon seat, and slapped the reins across the rumps of the horses. The team moved down the lane and he touched the brim of his hat at Caterina as the wagon rolled past. “See you later, Cat.”

  Smiling, she walked up the steps to the kitchen door, wondering how Kade had worked his way into not only her head, but also her heart.

  Chapter Seven

  Vittorio Martello took a breath and yanked on the sleeves of his jacket then straightened his tie before raising a hand and rapping on the door.

  “Enter,” a voice beckoned and Vito opened the door, stepping inside the immaculate office of Luigi Saverino, his boss.

  He took a moment to study the man who was one of the Italian mafia’s key leaders in New York City. Vito noticed Luigi looked haggard and tired. Maybe he really did care about the Campanelli girl.

  In his forties, with thick, wavy dark hair, strong features, and impeccable taste in clothes, Vito supposed the man had probably turned a few heads in his day. Years of sitting behind a desk and overeating rich foods left him rotund and out of shape. A deep scar highlighted his cheek and one eye drooped thanks to a knife attack by someone trying to get out of paying his debt. It had greatly altered Luigi’s looks, but not the intensity of his personality or his ability to focus so intently on a goal, it seemed to fall into his hands.

  Like Caterina Campanelli.

  For years, Vito listened to his boss rave about the brown-eyed beauty who could cook “like the angels sat in her kitchen.” Luigi had an unhealthy and completely unholy fascination with the girl. Vito would have almost felt sorry for her if she hadn’t led him on such a merry chase the past several weeks.

  He still hadn’t figured out how she coerced the little pickpocket in Wyoming to keep him from boarding the train, but she’d gotten away and he had yet to find her.

  His boss was not going to be pleased by this turn of events, fully expecting Vito to come back with his unwilling fiancée in hand.

  “Vittorio, I heard you got back late last night.” Luigi smiled at one of his favorite hired men. He could trust Vito to carry out any duty without question. “How is Caterina?”

  “I’m hoping well, sir.” Vito fought down the urge to squirm under Luigi’s cold gaze.

  “What do you mean hoping?” Luigi stood behind his desk and gave Vito his full atten
tion. “Where is the girl?”

  “I don’t know, sir.” Vito forced himself to look Luigi in the eye. What he saw was bleak and deadly. “She tricked me in Wyoming and I lost her after that. I’ve been searching for her for the last two weeks, going to every piddly little town between there and the end of the line in Portland. No one has seen her, and believe me, with all the calico-clad farm wives I came across, they’d notice her.”

  “Isn’t that interesting?” Luigi sat down and leaned back in his leather chair. He hadn’t anticipated Caterina being so clever. When he made the girl his own, it would be even better than he imagined.

  Contemplative, he steepled his fingers and tapped the ends together. He considered his options, including putting a bullet into Vito for failing in his duties. Working out a plan in his head, he sat quietly until he was satisfied with the details.

  “This time, this one time, I will excuse your failure to do as you were asked, Vito,” Luigi finally said.

  Vito nodded his head, glad today was evidently not his day to die at Luigi’s hand.

  “I’ll give you the opportunity to redeem yourself. You get back on that train tomorrow and revisit every single town where she could have disembarked. If you still don’t find her, see where connecting trains might have gone. She could have gone to Portland and then on to California. Someone somewhere will remember seeing her.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll leave first thing in the morning.” Already dreading the long trip ahead, Vito repressed a sigh. He hated the open country, dust, and mile after mile of farmland. He much preferred the noise, smells, and sounds of the city. New York was his home and where he belonged.

  “See that you do.” Luigi stood, holding a revolver in his hand. “If you fail this time, Vito, I can’t promise what I’ll do to you if you return without Caterina.”

  “Yes, sir.” Submissively, Vito bowed his head to Luigi and backed out the door.

  Before he left, he would set his affairs in order because finding the Campanelli girl was going to be next to impossible.