Claiming the Cowboy's Heart by Linda Ford

Author:Linda Ford [Ford, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2014-01-09T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Seth tidied the little pen where he’d put the fawn. He hadn’t had a chance to ask Eddie if he minded. If he objected, Seth would find another place for him. Now that he’d started caring for the fawn, he meant to do his best to see the animal survived.

He put away the vet supplies Jayne had brought him. Why had he said that meeting her was a good thing? The words had come to his mouth without forethought. But now that they were spoken, he had to consider them.

Was meeting her a good thing?

He tried to think how it wasn’t and smiled when he couldn’t come up with one reason.

Except the one he’d started with. His responsibility was to care for his pa. No doubt most people would think he could do that and pursue a friendship—or more—with Jayne.

Not that he didn’t consider the possibility. If she would let him, he would offer her protection. But she didn’t want that.

Jayne was headstrong. Determined. Seeking independence.

Seth had had his share of dealing with headstrong people who left him to carry on in their wake.

He had nothing to offer her but some shooting lessons.

He left the barn and returned to the oat bin. He’d finished repairing the wall but now circled it, putting in a nail here and there, tightening the hinges on the door, looking for things to fix.

He was a fixer. A protector. He took his responsibilities more seriously than most. A long time ago he had promised himself he would not take on more unless they helped him with his current responsibilities.

He saw no reason to change that decision. Jayne was right. He was reluctant to take risks. Best he could do was make sure Jayne could handle a gun well enough to not be a threat to others and also be able to take care of herself should the need arise.

He would have avoided her the rest of the day but she assumed he would help her care for the fawn, so after supper he accompanied her back to the barn. Eddie had assured them he had no objection to the fawn in the barn.

“I asked around,” Jayne said. “The consensus is he needs a good bottle feeding twice a day.”

He’d pulled a carrot from the garden and broke it into pieces. “Let’s see if he can eat some of this.” He dropped a bite into the fawn’s mouth and it chewed it. “That’s good.”

They fed the fawn another bottle.

Jayne practically glowed. “I believe he’s going to make it. What are we going to call him?”

Seth’s insides tightened. Naming the fawn only made it more painful should anything happen to it. But he couldn’t quelch Jayne’s joy. “How about Deer?”

When she laughed, the skin around her eyes crinkling like rays of sunshine, his insides turned to warm honey.

“You’re too funny. No, we need something strong and bold.”

“You mean like Thor, the god of thunder.” He meant to be amusing but saw a flash in her eyes and guessed she liked the idea.

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