Curing the Rancher’s Starving Heart (Preview)

Chapter One

“Mama, I don’t want to meet another suitor,” Alma said as her youngest sister Carrie helped smooth back the wild strands of her curly hair into a neat chignon at the base of her neck.

Though she had been begging for the last two weeks for her parents to stop trying to find her a husband, each and every complaint fell on deaf ears. No matter how much she told them she had her heart set on marrying Felix, they continued to ignore her.

They acted as if she had told them that she wanted to move out West with the cowboys and marry one of them. They didn’t care that Felix was set to inherit his father’s ranch, or that he was respected in town. All that mattered was finding a husband who could afford to keep the family afloat.

“This is for the good of the family.” Mama glanced at the mirror, meeting Alma’s gaze. “I know it’s not what you want, but we need this. The family is suffering, and Jonathan Whitby is a good man.”

Alma stood from her vanity with a smile and kissed the top of Carrie’s head. “I’ll meet him, but I doubt he’ll like me.”

She hoped Mr. Whitby wouldn’t like her in the least. The rich men her father arranged for her to meet were all the same. They wished for a wife who would be submissive to them in all aspects of their shared life while lording their money over her head.

But those rich men did have the power to save her family from destitution, and at nineteen, Alma was already a bigger burden than most families would continue to bear. Especially when there were five younger children still in the home.

More and more of her friends were moving out West to marry cowboys since they couldn’t find husbands in town. When she received letters from some of them, she thought about convincing Felix to elope.

They could pack their things together after marrying and move to Montana or Oregon. It would take some time for them to build a successful ranch out there, but they loved each other.  And each day, it looked more and more like it was the only way Alma would be allowed to be with the man she loved.

She put on her best smile as she stopped in front of her mother, but her stomach was tying itself in knots. “I’ll do my best, Mama. You don’t need to worry.”

Mama gave her a flat look, hands drifting up to Alma’s cheeks to pinch them until they were rosy. “You’d do well to keep your health problems hidden until the marriage is secure.”

“I won’t lie to the gentlemen who come calling.”

“I wish you would.” Mama stepped to the side and gestured down the hall as low voices drifted up the stairs.

Alma couldn’t make out the words, but she heard a nasally tone and her father’s rich timber. She took a deep breath and descended the stairs slowly, trying to keep from tripping over her skirts.

She forced one foot in front of the other as she went down the hall, stopping outside the parlor for a moment. When she pushed the door open, Papa stood with Mr. Whitby beside him. Alma struggled to keep the smile on her face.

Mr. Whitby was nearly fifteen years her senior and looking to remarry after his first wife passed without giving him children. Rumors about him flew around Chicago. Some said he was a hard man to get along with, others said he was a downright brute.

He could save her family, though. A rich man willing to provide for his wife’s family was all Papa could speak of, and Mr. Whitby was just one of several men who fit the bill.

“Miss Alma, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mr. Whitby said, drawing closer to her and taking her hand.

Bile rose in the back of her throat as he kissed her hand before taking a step back. The corners of her mouth fought to turn downward. She wiped her hand discreetly on her skirts before going to sit on one of the couches.

“I’ve been told that you’re looking for a husband.” Mr. Whitby sat across from her, crossing one leg over the other and draping his arm over the back of the couch.

He has the manners of a wild boar.

She had never seen anyone enter another home and make themselves as comfortable as Mr. Whitby had in such a short time. “I am. I’ve heard you’re looking for a second wife.”

Please, God, let me get through this without throwing myself into the hearth and lighting myself on fire just to get away from him.

He nodded, looking down at the ground before his beady eyes found hers once more. “I am. My beloved wife died only a year ago, but I’m growing older, and I want to have a large family.”

Alma’s smile fell. “Then I’d be the wrong woman for you to marry.”

His bushy eyebrows pulled together, the faint lines at the corners of his mouth deepening. “Why?”

“I can’t have children.”

Mr. Whitby tensed. Both feet hit the floor, and he stood, heading for the door. “I’m afraid this marriage won’t work. You seem like a lovely woman, but it’s my desire to have a family. If I cannot do that with you, I cannot see the point in a marriage.”

When he fled the room, it was as if hounds were nipping at his heels. The door had swung shut behind him for only a second before Papa came back through the door, his face thunderous. His huge hands curled into fists at his side. The house seemed to fall silent as the waves of his anger waited until the front door slammed.

The moment he was sure Mr. Whitby was gone, he rounded on Alma. “You were supposed to charm Mr. Whitby into a marriage offer, not send him running for the hills!”

“He wanted to have children. It wouldn’t have been fair to him to go through with a marriage if that’s what he wants.”

Papa’s face was the same color red as apples in the fall. “You’ve scared off every suitor who would have you!”

“Good!” Alma threw her hands up in the air, temper flaring. “I don’t wish to marry a man simply for his money. I want love.”

“Love is for fools who have families who will survive the winter.” Papa drew closer to Alma. “You can either get married, find a job, or move out, but you’ll no longer be a burden on this family!”

Alma scowled and spun, snatching the newspaper from the coffee table and sitting down once more. She flipped through the pages until she found the advertisements. Smirking, she skimmed through them while her father’s anger seemed to heat the room.

While she would do what she had to for her family, Papa had pushed her too far this time. He was asking her to trap a man, to lead him on and make him believe there was a chance for children when there never would be. He wanted her to be cruel, and she just couldn’t do that. She didn’t know how she would live with herself if she was.

“Look here, Papa,” Alma said, turning the paper to him and pointing at an ad. “Right here. There is a man—Gavin Young—who lives out West and is looking for a caretaker for his young niece. I could get a train ticket. Move and get a job. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Felix would be able to come with her if she did that. He could start his own ranch with the money she brought in from taking care of a child.

He snatched the paper from her and threw it into the fire burning in the hearth. “Don’t make a mockery of me!”

Alma stood and left the room, heading for the front door. She flung it open and ran out onto the busy street before turning down a road that led to the edges of town. Her shoes clicked against the stone sidewalks. The air was bright, and the breeze lifted some of the tension from her shoulders.

Papa would never understand. He and Mama had been fine marrying for money. The love came later for them, and they were happy. Most of the time. But there were moments when Alma saw the chinks in their armor, the places where their marriage wasn’t so happy and peaceful.

She didn’t want that for herself. There had to be another way to help her family. She would work if she had to. It would be easy enough to find a job as a seamstress, or perhaps she could work as a laundress out West for the men in the mines. It would pay enough for her to live out there while still sending money home to her family.

Or there was the job as a caretaker. She suspected it wouldn’t be enough to support her family, but there was money to be had. Even a few dollars sent back home every month would help.

I have to do something.

She hurried down the road with the ad shoved deep in her pocket. She would show it to Felix and tell him of her plan. He would finally see the sense in eloping. They would send part of her money to her family, and the rest would be for them.

Her chest tightened as she tried to take deep breaths. This was the way for her and Felix to be together. No more listening to her parents’ protests that a relationship with Felix would only bring her misery.

They would live free in the West.

Alma smiled as the ranch came into view, relief flooding through her body when Felix appeared at the front door.

The smile fell as she drew closer, and a woman stepped out of the house. Leanna Weasley. Her parents trailed behind her, speaking to Felix’s parents with bright smiles before getting in the waiting carriage.

Alma walked up the road to the house, trying to keep her head held high even as confusion swirled through her mind. Why would Leanna be at Felix’s door? They had barely been able to stand each other when they were all children and going to school together. Leanna’s parents had even less reason to be there.

And yet, there they all were, and Felix was beaming like this was the best day of his life.

He turned, and when he did, he caught sight of her. His smile vanished and there was an apology in his eyes. He stepped forward, his hand reaching out for her. Alma’s chest felt tight as his parents disappeared back in the house, leaving the three of them and the waiting carriage.

“What’s going on here?” Alma asked, proud of the way her voice didn’t crack even though it felt like she was falling apart on the inside.

Leanna smiled and looped her arm through Felix’s. “We’re going to get married.”

Alma’s eyes smarted with tears but she held them back. “Felix?”

He cleared his throat and slipped his arm from Leanna’s. “We need to talk.”

Her heart tore itself in half. Felix was the boy she had been in love with for the last three years. They used to spend the long summer days walking beneath the hot sun and talking about what their lives would look like one day when they could be together.

The only reason they hadn’t married yet was because he didn’t want to marry until he could give her a home. That, and her parents’ protests. At least, that was what he had been telling her.

I have the solution now, though. Am I too late?

Leanna laughed and stepped between them. “I don’t think there’s anything more to say, do you? We’ll be married by the end of the year.”

Alma stood straight, willing herself not to cry. Leanna had always been cruel, but this was another level. The last thing Alma would give her the satisfaction of was seeing her cry.

Felix sighed. “I’m going to speak with Alma. You should go home, Leanna, and we can go for an afternoon ride tomorrow.”

Appeased, Leanna smiled and went to the carriage, getting in and shutting the door. Her parents cast curious glances out the window before the horses stomped their feet and surged forward, carrying the destruction of Alma’s life.

As the carriage disappeared down the road, Felix turned to Alma, running his hand through the long strands of his light brown hair. His hazel eyes looked like they were brimming with tears, but she didn’t think they were for her and all that they were losing.

Felix scrubbed a hand over the stubble growing on his chin. “My family needs the money, Alma.”

“My family needs money too, but you don’t see me throwing away everything we’ve been planning.” Alma took a ragged breath, feeling like she was breathing fire into her lungs.

“Your family has always been fine. You get by. You don’t have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from or if you’ll still have a roof over your head come the winter!”

Alma’s nails dug into her palms. “You’re wrong. You know I’ve been meeting with one gentleman after another. I’ve been fighting with Mama and Papa to marry you, and I have a plan for us to elope. And now it looks like that was nothing but a miscalculation and I’ve hurt my family for nothing.”

His shoulders slumped like the last reserve of his energy left his body. “Our relationship was fun while it lasted, but I need more. An elopement is never going to be the answer. My family isn’t going to be poor and working on this blasted ranch to just try to have a better life. I deserve more.”

“And what about what I deserve?”

“My father went to yours,” Felix says, eyes cast to just beyond her left shoulder, “and your father said that he couldn’t afford to pay a dowry for you. How am I supposed to marry you when you come from nothing?”

Alma scoffed. “You told me that you loved me! You said you would marry me regardless of the money and you just wanted to be together!”

“And then I found out that you didn’t have anything to provide for us!”

Felix finally looked at her and, in that moment, the boy she loved was gone. In his place was a man who wanted nothing to do with her. One more person waiting in line to tell her that her life was she knew it was over.

And so, Alma held her head high and reached up to the necklace he had given her. She tore the locket from her neck and threw it at his feet.

She pulled the ad out of her pocket and shoved it at his chest. “I had a plan for us. It’s a shame that you’re too much of a coward to take a risk.”

He looked at the ad as she turned away, leaving the dream of their future in his hands and the memory of their past at his feet.

They were done. As heartbroken as she was, she wouldn’t sit around and cry. He didn’t deserve her tears.

Instead, she marched back to town and bought a newspaper, searching for the caretaker ad once more. Felix may not be willing to start a new life with her, but after her humiliation, a fresh start in a foreign land sounded like exactly what she needed.

If this is the only way I can help my family, then this is what I have to do.

Chapter Two

Dear Mister Young,

My name is Alma Lee. I read in the Chicago Times that you were searching for a caretaker for your niece. I’m in need of a job. I thought the two of us would be a good fit for each other.

I adore children and have spent the last several years helping care for my younger siblings. I am nineteen now, and while I do not have a child or a husband of my own, I would love to hear more about your niece. Perhaps you could write to me with more information about her and the job?

I look forward to hearing from you,

Alma Lee

***

Miss Lee,

Ivy is four. I believe I wrote that in the initial ad.

As for the job, there is not much to it. You will care for her. Feed her, entertain her, teach her, prepare her for schooling when she is old enough to join the other children. You will be paid for your time, totaling a sum of five hundred dollars per year.

I shall pay for your travel to Montana should you decide this arrangement is agreeable.

Gavin Young

***

Mister Young,

You did write her age in the ad, however I was hoping to learn more about what she liked. I think it would perhaps be easier to form a bond with her upon my arrival if we had something to talk about it.

I would very much like to take the job. Thank you for your kindness.

Sincerely,

Alma Lee

***

Miss Lee,

Please find enclosed your train ticket.

***

Gavin sighed and set the pen to the side, folding the piece of paper in half around the ticket. He slipped it into the envelope before pressing down the flap and sealing it with some candle wax.

Oscar finished his bowl of soup. “I told you that bringing someone out here to care for Ivy would be a good idea.”

“Has anyone else told you that saying ‘I told you so’ to someone only irritates them more?” Gavin shoved the letter toward him. “Take this to town in the morning.”

“What do you know about this woman?” Oscar pushed the empty bowl to the side and grabbed the thin stack of letters. “You didn’t tell her that Ivy can be a menace.”

“Ivy is a child who needs someone to take her in hand. If this woman says that she can care for a child and has cared for her siblings, then why should I doubt that she can handle Ivy?”

Cora rushed into the room with a basket of Ivy’s dirty clothing. She set it on the dining table between the two men. “Have you found someone else to care for that demon?”

Oscar chuckled and stood, taking the basket of washing and leaving it by the door. He would take it with him when he left as his mother was the town laundress and was kind enough to undertake scrubbing the dirt stains from Ivy’s clothing.

Putting her hands on her hips, Cora spun to face Gavin. “You have to find someone else to watch that girl. She’s nothing but a handful. And you’re never home early enough to take over her care before she goes to bed!”

“I have to get the cattle settled for the night.” Gavin stood and took her coat from the hook by the door, holding it out and helping her into it.

“Don’t you lie to me. I’ve known you since you were a young man. You sit out there and sing to those cattle just so you don’t have to come in here and see Ivy.” Cora buttoned her coat, fingers moving quickly. “And then you leave the moment I get here in the morning.”

“I told him to put an ad out,” Oscar said, holding the door open for her. “There’ll be a new woman here to care for her soon.”

“One week.” Cora looked outside at the rain coming down before glancing at Gavin once more. “That’s all I’m giving you. One more week and then you’ll be on your own.”

“Please. Don’t go until Miss Lee gets here.”

Sympathy appeared in her gaze as she put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s time to stop running from the past.”

As she walked out the door with Oscar and the laundry, Gavin took a deep breath. Letting go of the past was always easier said than done.

***

The woman who stepped off the train fourteen days later was not the answer to his problems. He knew it the moment he saw the cream-colored dress with blue pinstripes and the pale brown hair that hung around her face in soft waves.

Nobody else could be the new nanny. The others who stepped off the train were much more prepared for life in Montana. They wore clothing that wouldn’t get so dirty, their skin already brown from a life spent in the sun.

They were nothing like the woman in front of him, standing there with pale skin that was as clear as glass. The bags they carried weren’t new and etched with little flowers.

She isn’t going to survive in Montana.

She clasped a bag close to her as she stepped onto the platform and looked around. Her full lips pressed together, green eyes shining bright. When she turned, her gaze landing on him, he wondered if she knew who he was.

Instead, she looked over when a man got off the train behind her. He ran a hand over his jaw, drawing attention to the long and jagged scar on his cheek. Miss Lee—well, the woman Gavin assumed was Miss Lee—watched the man with the scar, apprehension in her eyes. She stepped to the side, avoiding him, and when he drew closer her eyes widened.

Gavin took the stairs up to the platform two at a time. “Miss Lee, there you are. I’ve been looking all over this blasted place for you.”

If the cussing bothered her, she didn’t show it. Instead, she offered him a pretty smile that had his heart taking off like a herd of stallions.

Miss Lee turned to him and the man with the scar went the other way. “Thank you, but please call me Alma.”

“Sure.”

Her thin eyebrows pulled together, lips pursing. “I don’t know what I would’ve done. That man has run into me a couple times on the train ride out here. He’s been nothing but pleasant, though perhaps a bit too pleasant. Something doesn’t seem quite right about him.”

Gavin stared at her with one eyebrow arched. “I’m not sure what you want me to do about that.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I don’t think I’ve met a ruder person in my entire life.”

His gaze dragged over her. “You look young. Seems like a short life unless you’re a spinster in disguise.”

Alma scowled and crossed her arms over her chest as one of the porters brought over a new leather trunk. “You’ve got to be disagreeable. I can see it in your eyes. You enjoy this.”

“I would much rather enjoy being back on the ranch.” Gavin reached up and clamped his hat to his head as a strong gust of wind rose up, threatening to tug it off. “Get your things.”

“You expect me to carry the trunk on my own?”

He jerked his chin in the direction of the waiting wagon. “It isn’t far. If you’re going to manage living out here, you should be able to do things on your own.”

Without another word, he strode down the steps and over to the wagon. Though he would help her in time, he wanted to see what she was made of first. He wanted to know if she had what it took to put up with a child like Ivy.

Smirking, he leaned against the side of the wagon, crossing one leg over the other at the ankles. There was no way she would be able to move the trunk on her own. He was certain it was stuffed with frilly dresses and shoes that would be ruined her first day on the ranch. She was likely to see a cow and run the other way.

But to his surprise, she hiked the small bag over her shoulder before crouching down and grabbing the handle on one side of the trunk. Without so much as a look over her shoulder at him, she started walking backward toward the stairs, pulling the trunk along with her.

There’s no way she’ll risk damaging a new trunk by dragging it down the stairs and through the dirt.

He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it, but she did exactly that. She took the stairs slowly, dragging the trunk and shooing away anyone who dared offer her a hand. When she finally got to him, she dropped the trunk at his feet and looked up at him with a triumphant smile.

A sheen of sweat coated her forehead as she put her hands on her hips. “Is that good enough for you, or do you expect me to lift it into the wagon on my own as well?”

Gavin grabbed the trunk and slung it into the wagon with ease, stunned when it was only about half as heavy as he expected it to be. He nodded to the wagon. “Get in.”

Alma looked determined as she stepped onto the wheel and got into the wagon, perching on the bench. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at her. She wasn’t quite what he expected, but he was still doubtful of her being able to handle the West. Even the town—while it was growing every day and there were good people within it—would be nothing compared to the city she was used to.

She swept her hair up, taking pins from her pocket. “Mr. Young, if you want dinner, then I suggest we get to your house soon so I can make it.”

“Gavin.” He sat down on the bench beside her and picked up the reins. “And you don’t need to make dinner. I don’t come up to the house for food.”

“You don’t eat with Ivy?” Accusation was clear in her gaze even as she held onto the bench when the wagon lurched forward.

“No.”

Alma pursed her lips and looked around as they rode through town. “And you have nobody else to care for her? Your brother or sister isn’t around?”

“She died.”

A bright red flush crossed Alma’s cheeks. “I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t know what I would do if I lost one of my siblings. There’s five of them, all younger than me. Carrie is the youngest.”

“Okay.”

He tensed, the weight of her gaze settling heavy on him. Though he had no interest in getting to know her, it was clear she wished to know him. It was unlikely to happen, though. Gavin didn’t have time for a woman poking about in his life and trying to commiserate on the past with him. It was much easier to continue living as if that part of his life had never happened.

Alma stretched her legs out in front of her. “I’d like to be friends. I know that seems rather unusual, but since I don’t know anyone else out here, you’re the only person I have.”

“You’ll make friends.”

There is no way on this earth that I’m going to become friends with her.

“Where will I be staying?” she asked, continuing as if she hadn’t heard him. Or maybe she was willfully choosing to ignore him because she didn’t like what he’d said.

City girls.

He had known many when he was younger, and they were determined to live life according to the plan they made up in their minds. To them, people were only pawns. He wouldn’t allow himself to exist in whatever scenario she was coming up with in her head. It would be better for her to know now that he had no interest in her.

Gavin sighed, flicking the reins and urging the double team of horses to walk a bit faster. “You’ll be staying in the house with Ivy.”

“And where will you be? In the house as well? I doubt people would consider that proper. Though, you aren’t the kind of man I would be interested in. No offense, but you look like you don’t know how to smile.”

“You talk too much.”

“Probably.” She shrugged and looked out the fields as they passed by. “Do you live far from town? Will I be able to walk there with Ivy if there are things we need?”

“No. Yes.”

“And we’re back to one-word answers.” Alma tapped her toes against the footboard to whatever rhythm was playing in her head. “You know, you might be a more agreeable man if you helped a woman carry her trunk and smiled. Or even thought to answer her with more than a single word.”

“‘You talk too much’ was four words.”

“Insulting ones, though I’ve heard them my entire life. Though, you have to talk a lot if you want to be heard in a family of six children. I swear there was never a quiet day. Sweet little Carrie was the only quiet one, and I worry for her now that I’m gone. Mama and Papa are kind people, but they’ve fallen on hard times.”

Gavin gave her a blank look, trying to figure out if she was fishing for sympathy. He had none to give her. Whatever brought her out West was none of his business. However, if she was like everyone else who found themselves out here, then there were two options.

She was either running toward something or away from something.