Second Chance Suitor by Lucy Evanson

Author:Lucy Evanson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romantic comedy, victorian, clean romance, sweet romance, historical western romance, cowboy romance, 19th century romance

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Bill set the brake just as Maddie and Tess emerged from the house. Tess eyed the second wagon, with its constant dripping, suspiciously. She stuck close to her mother’s skirts.

“Mustache,” Tess whispered to her mother.

“It’s okay, honey,” Bill said. “This is Gus. He’s going to help me do some work today.”

Gus was wearing a wide-brimmed hat set low over his eyes; he nodded at Maddie and raised a finger to his hat.

“You’re back sooner than I expected,” Maddie said.

“We had to hurry. Got a lot to do,” Bill said. “Gus, we’re going to work in the south pens today.”

Gus raised his eyebrows, as if that were entirely unexpected.

“Just to keep things out of sight,” Bill said, glancing at Tess. “Why don’t you go on down there and put some straw over the ice so it doesn’t melt so fast?”

Gus nodded and steered his wagon away from the house, heading down the slope until reaching the pen. There was just enough of a dropoff that once he got down from the wagon, he disappeared from sight.

“Did you get the peppercorns?”

“I think I got everything you wrote down.” He climbed over the driver’s seat and knelt in the wagon bed. “Tess, you want to help me unload the wagon? I need you to open the door for me. It’s very important.”

Now that Gus and his mustache were out of sight, Tess was visibly more relaxed, and she ran to open the door. Bill took up sacks under each arm and brought them inside while Tess pushed against the door with all her might, determined to keep it from suddenly jumping closed.

“I picked this up for you too,” Bill said as he returned to the wagon and reached into the bed. He handed Maddie a small tin box. “They said they just got this in, all the way from New York City. Must be pretty fancy.”

She turned the box over to read the label. “Horniman’s Pure Assam Tea,” she said. “Never heard of it.” She peered closer at the small print, then her eyes widened. “This tea is from India! How much did this cost?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Bill said. “I just wanted you to have a little something nice.”

“Well, this is too nice,” she said. “I never had tea from India before. I don’t know what to say. Thank you, I guess.”

“You’re welcome.” He brought in the rest of the sacks and boxes, then climbed back aboard the wagon and released the brake. “All right, then. Time to go to work.” He turned the wagon toward the south pens and started ahead, though when he turned and looked back, Maddie hadn’t moved an inch. When she met his eyes, it was with an expression he’d never seen on her before. She looks almost happy. How weird.

Bill turned his attention back to where he was going, but for the rest of the morning that look on her face lingered in his memory. Something strange is going on today, he thought. While

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