Emma to the ground, letting his fingers linger about her waist. In the instant that her gaze slid past his, his heart beat as heavily as Billy’s hammer pounding on a post.
Would Woody Vance notice how her eyes took the blue right out of the sky? Cousin Billy might do a heap of thinking while he worked, but the ideas he came up with were purely muddled.
“Papa, take down my puppies.”
The first pup he lifted out would be a protector. Even though it didn’t seem to be anything more than a ball of black fluff at the moment, it nearly jumped out of the basket on its own. It wiggled and licked Matt’s fingers on the way to the ground. Maybe they’d just name the dog Woody and be done with Billy’s harebrained scheme.
The second pup slept through being picked out of the basket. It only stirred and yawned when he set it in Lucy’s arms.
“Those are fine little dogs, baby girl.” Lucy fairly sparkled with joy over having them. Leaving for California had just got a little bit more complicated.
“This one is called Princess.” Lucy kissed the pup’s furry head and tucked it up under her chin. “I love Princess so much, Pa.”
Princess probably suited that dog. Luckily the other dog would be something bolder, with the way he was going after Billy’s boots.
“Hey, you little varmint, quit gnawing on my footwear!”
“He’s not Varmint, Uncle Billy. He’s Fluffy.”
Fluffy and Princess…hopefully the dogs would grow into more heroic names.
“How about Buster and Chomps?” Matt asked.
“Silly papa, they’re girls.”
A female could be fierce at protecting her own. Maybe Fluffy and Princess would do just fine.
Emma set out a blanket, then laid a feast of fried chicken, biscuits and peach pie in the middle of it. It was always a wonder to him that his wife could conjure up such good things to eat out of a campfire. He wished he’d be around to taste what she might cook on a proper stove in a real kitchen.
What might it be like to be a proper husband in a real bedroom? He’d be damned if Woody would be the one to find out. Curse Cousin Billy for putting the thought in his head!
To settle his rising foul mood, he turned his attention to Lucy, who had fallen asleep after lunch with her head in Emma’s lap. One pup, he couldn’t tell which—they both looked like Fluffy to him—had nestled into Emma’s side and curled about Lucy’s head. The other pup snuggled into the folds of Emma’s skirt, tucked right into the crook of her knees.
If he had the uncomplicated life of a dog, he’d be tucked right in there with them.
“This is a fine-looking fence, Matt…Billy.” Emma smiled at them both but she looked worried. “It ought to keep those cattle off my land just fine.”
“Pendragon will cut the wire when he gets the chance, darlin’, but we’ll mend it,” Matt said.
“What if a fire gets going out here?” Emma ran her fingers through Lucy’s hair, but Matt didn’t think she gave the action a thought. Tender touches seemed to be her natural way.
“I suppose that the Harkinses set a firebreak around the house and the barn,” Billy said, with the last bite of his peach pie making his voice thick. “Soon as we finish with building the house we ought to find where it is and clear it.”
Emma didn’t look relieved. Worry shadowed her eyes when she gazed at him straight on.
“We won’t let your house burn down,” Matt said.
“What about my new trees? If Pendragon burns them, well, I can’t hold myself responsible for what I might do.”
“Pendragon won’t set a fire.” It might happen a hundred other ways. Fire was one of the demons that plagued settlers and ranchers each year. “It would harm him as much as anyone else.”
Emma seemed to consider that for a moment. “I suppose it’s true. A bully’s biggest body part is usually his mouth.”
“Pendragon is worse than most when he wants his way,” Billy said, and wiped his pie-smeared hands on his vest. “Did he say something we need to set straight?”
“Not exactly. I ran into him the day we went to town to order the supplies for the house. He wasn’t anything more than rude. He went on about tornadoes and such, but then he mentioned how cowboys weren’t always so careful about their cigarettes. With the grass all around getting higher and drier, it brought to mind what he said.”