to build her such a fine place.”
“I wouldn’t mind if he was smitten with me.” Several feminine voices twittered in agreement.
“And it wouldn’t be because of a house,” another unrecognized voice said with a sultry chuckle.
“Gracious, ladies!” At last a voice that Emma recognized. Mrs. Sizeloff gave a gentle scolding. “You ought to be looking at the single men. It wouldn’t hurt if one of you entertained Mr. Vance and gave our hostess a respite.”
“Lordy, Mrs. Sizeloff, he doesn’t even know we’re here.”
“I expect to see him be the first to come courting once…well, you know,” a voice said.
Emma let go of her battered shoes. The balls of her feet touched the floor with a pinch. She wouldn’t be courting anyone once Matt moved on. As much as she needed to keep the distance between them, she hadn’t met a man who could take his place.
“A widow with a spread like this one won’t be alone for long.”
A widow! The ladies didn’t know that Matt would be long gone before there was any danger to him.
“I heard that Hawker is no more than a week away.”
“Where’d you hear that, Gracie? Leo Ford told me two weeks and you know how he hears everything, working at the telegraph like he does.”
A week? Two weeks? How had the summer passed by so fast?
From the barn, Emma heard Willie plucking at his fiddle and Matt singing along. The full, soul-twisting sound of his voice whispered through the walls.
Would ever a day come that her heart wouldn’t hear it?
* * *
Singing songs while watching Emma and Woody prance about the barn made Matt feel raw and mean inside.
With night coming on, he half expected to see the farmer leading his wife off for a stroll in the moonlight. Woody Vance was wearing thin on his nerves.
The man followed Emma around the way Princess followed little Lucy. It was a wonder that his tongue didn’t hang out of his mouth, panting.
To her credit, Emma tried to direct his attention toward the unmarried ladies. But Woodrow Vance had his cap set and he didn’t appear to care who knew it.
Matt took a break from singing and sat down on a barrel behind Wille and his band. Deep in shadow, he watched Emma’s attempts to outwit Woody’s advances.
She was a lady who knew how to take care of herself in most situations. There were times, though, when a woman needed a man’s protection. For that reason, Matt clenched his fists on his thighs instead of wrapping them around Woody’s throat.
Hell, Emma would need a man to stand up for her soon, and discounting a bitter resentment toward him, Woody was a decent choice.
With the sun gone down and the barn lamps turned up, Matt’s corner had grown dark. From the shadow he watched the world going on without him. He studied things that he wouldn’t be around to see.
Jesse and his girl tapped their toes, a whirl of bright calico and new leather boots. They had the look of fresh colts, in love with their world and the joy of being alive. That would be one wedding he’d be sorry to miss.
Near the punch bowl, Billy carried on a flirtation with Sarah Michaels. He’d likely get kissed before the party ended.
As usual, Red bore watching. A gathering of young ladies ringed him. Lenore Pendragon appeared to hang on his every word. Even though Matt couldn’t hear what the boy said, it was clear enough by his body motion that he was describing the glories of a gunfight. A more refined town, like San Francisco, might be just the place to keep his charge healthy to adulthood.
Beside the barn door Woody had Emma backed up against the wall. Matt leaped to his feet. It seemed that his hands might end up around Vance’s throat after all.
Or maybe not. He sat down again, reassured by the dainty fist that Emma had curled and set in position to swing.
With the way her color rose to match the screech of Willie’s fiddle, Woody might be the one in need of rescue.
As it turned out, no one needed to be rescued or wounded. Lucy dashed up to yank on Emma’s skirt just in time to keep her from acting on her obvious intention. From the best Matt could tell, a little boy had lassoed too much of Fluffy’s attention and his daughter meant to have it back.
Emma scooped Lucy up and spun out among the dancers.
Lantern light shone gold in Emma’s hair