Last Chance by Cathy Marie Hake

Author:Cathy Marie Hake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

“Hey there, Dan’l Chance. You’re a hardworkin’ man to be out so early of a mornin’.”

Dan turned around and dipped his head in a curt greeting. “Mrs. Spencer.”

“You come to gather mustard? Are the lassies ailin’ again?”

“No.” He felt utterly ridiculous standing there with an armful of bright yellow flowers. Because he didn’t know diddly-squat about plants, he’d come to this spot because it was the only place he could be certain he’d harvest the right stuff. “Miriam wanted a supply to dry—just in case.”

“She’s a smart gal. I reckon you come to do the chore so’s she cain keep an eye on all the Chance women.” She didn’t head straight for him. Instead, she veered to one side and clipped some leaves, zagged another way and plucked a few little flowers, then approached him.

He wasn’t feeling overly talkative, but he managed another curt nod.

Lovejoy chatted as she wandered closer. “’Tis a fine thing to hear your daughters are on the mend. I’m on my way to see how Delilah and Alisa are farin’.”

“You’re walking?”

“That’s why God gave me feet.”

“God made horses with four feet so they could go farther faster.” As soon as he made that ridiculous comment, Dan fought the urge to make a strategic retreat. He’d already made an utter fool of himself.

She drew closer, and merriment sparkled in her eyes. “Tell you what, Dan’l Chance. If’n you don’t tell that to the woolly worms, spiders, and centipedes, I won’t. They all got plenty more feet than the both of us combined, but we got ’em beat in a race.”

He let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Now don’t you be a-laughin’ at me, Dan’l.” She continued to smile broadly and opened her gunnysack. “Woolly worms and me are right good friends. Their stripes always holp me decide what to gather on account they tell me how bad the winter’s gonna be.”

He accepted her implied invitation and dumped the mustard flowers into her sack. “You’re friendly with worms?”

“You’re friendly with horses,” she countered with a feisty grin.

“I’ve seen you ride a horse.” He tugged the bag from her and held it as she gathered more mustard. Her moves were spare and efficient. “You ought not be walking out here. It’s not safe.”

“I got my knife.”

He resisted the urge to finger the hole in his hat that Delilah had put there with her knife. Of all the women he’d ever met, Daniel felt certain Lovejoy was probably the only other woman who could wield a knife with such speed and accuracy. Even so, that didn’t count for much—not out here. “Snakes and bears wouldn’t much care about your knife—not to mention the two-legged variety of wolves around here.”

“You back to countin’ legs again, cowboy?” She slanted him a quick look.

“Polly’s learning her numbers.”

“And her critters, too, from the way you’re going about it.”

“You’re full of sass and vinegar, but this is a wild land. It takes more than a sharp tongue and a sharp knife to be safe.” Taking her arm, he led her beside his horse.

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