Within the Heart Read online

  “Talk it over and let me know what you decide,” he said. “However, the ranch is left to my mother, so I have very little say. Since she is away right now, and I am not sure when she will return, I will have to run things until she comes home. One of my sisters will probably take over running the ranch here until our mother gets here and decides what should be done.”

  “I appreciate your offer to let us remain,” Hudson stated stiffly. “We will certainly discuss the possibilities. However, like you said, my father did not wish to be a cowboy, and I know nothing about working on a ranch.”

  “Which is a good reason why your uncle probably didn’t leave it to you. Had he done so, you wouldn’t know what to do, and your hired hands could end up taking advantage of you. My own mother knew nothing about ranching when she married my father. We had to teach her everything.”

  Connor gave Hudson a wide grin.

  “Guess you should be careful what you wish for,” he mumbled in parting and went to gather his sisters to usher them out to the carriage.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Joey raised his eyebrows when he saw Shanny coming to the table with her newfound friend. He was impressed with her looks. The red curls had a certain attraction to him, but his heart was set on getting Shanny to accept him on a more intimate level at some point in the future. The young woman gave him a pleasing smile, so he decided to respond in like manner. Maybe if Shanny saw him giving some other girl his attention, she would miss the attention he always paid to her, he decided.

  When Shanny saw Joey’s eyes light up, while looking at Eleanor, she was pleased to see his attention shifting from her to the lovely girl beside her. Eleanor was interested in Indians; just the kind of friend Joey needed, she thought. She happily introduced Eleanor to her parents and they made room for Eleanor at their table. Callie did not miss the look Joey was giving Shanny’s new friend and hoped the strain between Joey and herself would be resolved through a mutual friendship with the girl.

  The conversation turned to Indian culture, as Eleanor began asking excited questions and both Chayton and Joey obliged by answering them. Callie and Shanny merely looked at each other, rolling their eyes. They could tell the two men were proud of their heritage and wanted to share it with the young woman.

  Shanny watched as Eleanor’s eyes sparkled, when she talked, especially to Joey, who looked up every once in a while at Shanny and winked. Well, I got what I wanted, Shanny told herself, as she sat back and watched the two.

  Shanny was familiar with all the stories Chayton and Joey shared with Eleanor about the Comanche tribe and their beliefs. However, now she was hearing it as told to someone who knew nothing about the Indians. The look of awe on Eleanor’s face caught her by surprise because she had taken all those things about Joey and his father for granted. They had been a part of her life from infancy. Seeing Eleanor’s interest made her re-evaluate her own indifference to the familiar information Joey and Chayton took so seriously.

  When lunch was over, Joey accepted Eleanor’s request to walk through the train together to get a little exercise.

  “Are you coming, Shanny?” Joey asked.

  “I am sure you can do without my company. Eleanor wants to learn so much about you, and I already know it all,” she teased.

  Joey drew his brows together and then shrugged.

  “Suit yourself,” he mumbled as he took Eleanor’s hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow, acting the gentleman.

  Shanny chuckled under her breath. But there was a certain let-down she hadn’t expected. Now she not only didn’t have Joey to spar with but her new friend, Eleanor, was occupied by someone else, who caught her interest more than Shanny did. She decided maybe she hadn’t made such a great decision, after all, in trying to get Joey interested in someone else.

  “Why didn’t you go with them?” Callie asked, seeing the semi-hurt look in Shanny’s eyes.

  “Did you know that Joey thinks he is going to marry me when we grow up?” Shanny asked, out of the blue.

  “Actually, you are already grown up, Shanny. When young girls turn sixteen, it is time for their coming-out party, which I am sure my mother will insist on you having. Then you will be eligible to look for a husband. When I was young, if a young woman was not married by the time she turned eighteen, she was considered an old maid.”

  Callie thought about how her mother sent her to marry Chet because she had long passed the normal age of taking on a husband and her mother feared she would never get married. She gave Shanny a sympathetic smile.

  “I think Chayton was hoping you two would become husband and wife because we love you both and want you to be happy. You two have been inseparable your whole life. I thought that would bond you together?”

  “He is like my brother!” Shanny exclaimed. “Eleanor is interested in him, he can choose her if he pleases,” she frowned, and got up, walking in the opposite direction than Joey and Eleanor took.

  Shanny was wondering why she felt so upset, even as she said the words? Did she really want Joey to have Eleanor for his future bride? She tried to laugh it off, thinking that just because Eleanor was interested in him, didn’t mean anything serious would come of it.

  “Hello,” she heard a voice say at her elbow, and she turned to look.

  A young man was gazing up at her from his seat. He removed his gray bowler hat and nodded at her, his light brown hair falling over his forehead, as he did so.

  “You are the young lady, who was talking with the redhead in the parlor car, aren’t you? I was going to come up and introduce myself to the two of you, but then that Indian came along, so I didn’t get a chance. I don’t know why they let those heathens on first-class carriages?”

  “You don’t know that he is a heathen,” Shanny sniffed at him. “He is my adopted brother and has every right to be here,” she said stiffly and started to walk on.

  “So sorry, I didn’t know,” the man said, getting up to follow her, as he pushed his hat back on his head. “Let me walk with you. My name is Arnel Palmer. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was merely disappointed that he stepped in and ruined my chances of meeting you.”

  Shanny glanced up into his stunning green eyes and shrugged.

  “You may find me too much of a heathen too,” she said but gave him her hand to tuck into his elbow.

  “If so, you are a lovely looking heathen,” he smiled.

  “I usually don’t even wear dresses. I was raised on a ranch, and spent most of my time on the back of a horse.”

  “You are starting to intrigue me already,” he laughed. “Please tell me more about yourself and your heathen ways!”

  Shanny smiled sweetly as she walked beside the stranger, taking sideways glances at him. He was rather dashing, she decided.

  “I was raised in Texas, but am now on my way to Philadelphia, to visit my grandmother,” Shanny informed him. “I have never been outside of Texas except when we take the cattle to Kansas to the stockyards.”

  “Are you telling me you ride on cattle drives?” Arnel asked in surprise, raising his eyebrows.

  “My mother was the first woman to lead a cattle drive, and as my sisters and I grew up, we all started going on the drives along with our older brother. Where are you from and where are you going?” Shanny asked.

  “My father is breaking me in as a distributor of goods for mercantile establishments from coast to coast. We sell our goods all along the way at major stops. I merely take orders and introduce our customers to our new products. Now that the train lines are spreading out from coast to coast, it makes it easier to distribute our goods. They used to go by ship around the cape, as far as to San Francisco.”

  “So what part of the States do you come from?”

  “My family comes from Philadelphia. However, I live in New York. In the near future, I will probably take over the family business. We have an outlet in New York that I oversee. I will stop and visit my parents in Philadelphia before heading on to New York, though. Perhaps we
will see each other while I am there.”

  “Perhaps… I have never been there, so I know nothing about it.”

  “Let me give you my card.”

  Arnel reached into his vest pocket and produced his calling card, handing it to Shanny.

  “Show it to your grandmother. I am sure she will approve if I ask to call.”

  Shanny blinked.

  “Only you know nothing about me,” she insisted.

  “Enough to know I would like to get to know more about you. I will be in Philadelphia for at least a month. I am sure that will give us enough time to get acquainted.”

  Shanny shrugged and put the card in the pocket of her skirt. She had never had a man say he was going to call on her, and this was a whole new experience for her.

  “Come out on the outside deck with me,” Arnel offered, as he opened the door on the last car of the train, where a small platform enclosed by a guardrail gave room enough to accommodate several people.

  As the two stepped out, the wind caught at Shanny’s bonnet, and she started to grab it at the same time Arnel reached out to secure it on her head. His large hand rested on hers for a moment, and then he smoothed his hands down the sides of her bonnet, and re-tied the ribbon, to make it tighter. As he did, Arnel captured Shanny’s astonished eyes with his own, as she felt his fingers under her chin, adjusting the bow on her bonnet strings.

  “There,” he said with a smile as he patted the bow, and then stood close to her to shelter her from the wind. “It is quite invigorating out here, don’t you agree?”

  “Yes,” Shanny said in a shaking voice. “It is how the wind feels in my face when I am riding at top speed on my horse, Surefire,” she told him.

  “Then you like living dangerously?” he asked.

  “I hadn’t thought about my life as being dangerous,” she mumbled.

  “No more wild Indians out in Texas?” he chuckled.

  “They have all been regulated to reservations unless they have a job outside the reservation. My stepfather’s Comanche friends will come and work on our ranch while we are away. My older brother and sisters are running the ranch right now.”

  “I have never met a woman who actually held down a rough and tumble occupation such as yours,” he smiled.

  “Then you should come and visit our ranch sometime,” she offered. “I have three older sisters who do the same thing.”

  “Maybe I will do that if we become friends,” he assured her.

  As he said the words, the train jerked, and Shanny lost her footing. Arnel reached out to steady her, placing his arms around her to keep her from stumbling more. However, even though the train continued to move smoothly, Arnel didn’t remove his arms.

  “I wouldn’t want you falling off the back of the train,” he whispered in her ear, as his arms tightened a little more. “Relax and lean your head back against my chest,” he encouraged.

  Shanny wasn’t sure if allowing him to keep his arms around her was proper, but she did like the feel of his two strong arms holding her steady. She knew the young man was much older than her… perhaps in his twenties. He was a man of the world, she thought, traveling from coast to coast. She was flattered that he wished to be in her company. Maybe being in Philadelphia wasn’t going to be so scary after all, she told herself.

  They stood there in silence, watching the landscape rushing past them, and then the door of the car opened and Shanny turned to see Joey and Eleanor emerging from the train.

  Joey stopped short and stared at Shanny with a stranger’s arms around her.

  “What in the Devil do you think you are doing?” he challenged Arnel, as he stepped boldly forward. “Take your hands off of my sister!”

  Joey grabbed Shanny’s arm and jerked her out from Arnel’s grasp.

  “What are you thinking, letting a stranger handle you so?” he bellowed, as he put his face into Shanny’s face, and angrily glared at her.

  “Stop being rude, Joey,” Shanny hissed. “He was keeping me from stumbling off the back of the train!”

  “What are you doing out here with a stranger anyway?” Joey demanded.

  “Enjoying the view, it appears that you were bringing Eleanor out here to do that very thing,” she accused. “And you and here are mere strangers.”

  “Actually, we were looking for you. Mother saw you walking away with a man she had not met, and asked me to check on you”

  “Well, you have checked and found me perfectly safe,” she stated, jerking her arm from his grasp. “And I will thank you to leave me be. Go tell mother I am with Arnel Palmer. Here is his card,” she grumbled as she dug in her pocket for the card, and handed it to Joey. “His parents live in Philadelphia, and he will be calling on me while he is there visiting them.”

  “You come with me!” Joey demanded, grabbing her hand. “I will not leave you out here with a stranger!”

  “Unhand me, Joey!” Shanny spat. “You are not my guardian or keeper. Tell mother I am perfectly safe!”

  Shanny jerked her hand out of Joey’s hand.

  “Take Eleanor someplace else to get acquainted. I am still visiting with Arnel.”

  Joey narrowed his eyes at Shanny and then turned his stare to give a disgruntled stab at Arnel with them.

  “If you lay one finger on my sister, you will pay for it,” he warned.

  Joey replaced Eleanor’s hand on his arm again, as she looked perplexingly upon the situation, opened the door and ushered her back into the train car.

  “I apologize for my adopted brother’s rude manners,” Shanny smiled, wanting to recapture the closeness she had been feeling up until Joey had interrupted them. Only now Arnel seemed a little distant, and Shanny knew Joey had ruined the moment, and no telling when Arnel would be brave enough to rekindle the mood.

  “I am sure he was only concerned for you. Perhaps you should take me and introduce me to your mother, so she will feel more comfortable about you talking to me.”

  “Yes. I suppose that is the best thing to do,” Shanny mumbled, wanting to remain out on the platform longer, but knowing better than suggesting it.

  Arnel politely placed her hand on his arm and escorted her back into the train and down the aisle to where Callie and Chayton were seated. Joey was there as well, but Eleanor was no longer with him.

  As Shanny introduced her new friend to her parents, Joey sat glaring at them, and Shanny’s angry exasperation with her Comanche brother started to kindle again.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Arnel smiled. Perhaps you will allow me to visit with your daughter in the future.”

  “You seem to be a reputable young man,” Callie observed. As long as you act the proper gentleman, I will allow it.”

  She gave a quick glance at both Joey and Shanny. Joey had a stony expression on his face, and Shanny looked pleased beyond measure. She hoped there would not be trouble over Shanny making friends with young gentlemen. Only the way Joey was looking, it did not give her peace of mind.

  “Then I hope to see you again,” Arnel said to Shanny in parting, as he gave her a quick bow, before turning away.

  “Yes, that would be nice,” she smiled, but when she looked at Joey he merely glared starkly at her, like she had done something unforgivable.

  “You can just stop acting like I have done something wrong,” Shanny said. “I didn’t get all upset at you for walking with Eleanor.”

  “Eleanor had already been introduced and ate lunch with us. She wasn’t someone who was going to be improper, such as your friend, having his hands on you, the way he was when I found you.

  Callie raised her eyebrows.

  “Did he have his hands on you?” she demanded of Shanny.

  “No more than Joey did in the barn when he forced me to kiss him,” Shanny spat, wanting to get back at Joey for spoiling her enjoyment.

  Joey narrowed his eyes.

  “You were being mean-spirited then and are mean-spirited now!” he exclaimed, as he jumped up, and headed down the aisle a
way from them.

  “What?” Callie questioned. “Has Joey been improper with you?”

  “He doesn’t think so, since he has practically demanded I marry him,” Shanny complained.

  “He is turning into a man,” Chayton interceded. “I am sure he loves you, Shanny. I know he wishes to have you as his wife. Even so, if the two of you have done anything we should know about, you had better tell us now.”

  “You think I would allow Joey to go beyond a kiss? You should be reprimanding him for trying to kiss me!” Shanny grumbled. “He wants to kiss me while being angry if someone is merely holding me steady so I don’t fall off the train. You need to talk to him, Chayton and tell him to forget about making me his wife. Just because we were raised together, doesn’t mean we must spend our whole life together! If he tries kissing me again, you shall be the first to hear of it! And I will expect you to punish him for it!”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Connor sat at the desk in the study, laying pen and ink to the face of the envelope with Callie’s name on it, adding his grandmother’s address so he could send it to Callie.

  The situation was changing, and while he looked forward to running the ranch, having to take care of two ranches had not been in his plans. Since the envelope had not been sealed, he added a letter from himself with the one from Mr. Pritchard, explaining about Mr. Pritchard’s niece and nephew, and what arrangements he had already made concerning them. Now he sealed the envelope and placed it in his breast pocket.

  “You look serious,” Ina stated, as she entered the room.

  Connor frowned.

  “This is a heck of a mess! Mother and Chayton are gone and now I am expected to run two ranches! What worries me is Cooper is foreman to that ranch, and you know how Mother feels about him! However, because of the will, he will have to remain. Then there are those uppity relatives of Mr. Pritchard, who know nothing about ranching, and no telling if they will try to cause trouble? Now I am going to have to ride out to the reservation since we will need more hands on the ranch if I send you to oversee Pritchard’s ranch. You will probably need more help there as well, and you know how Cooper feels about Indians. I see rough water ahead!”