Montana Groom Of Convenience. Linda Ford

Chapter Five

      Carly refused to let Father’s amusement trouble her. She knew what she was doing. She wasn’t being naive. There would be adjustments to make, things she might be surprised to learn. But she’d faced tough challenges before and always overcome them. She felt duty-bound to point out the fact to her father.

      “Remember the time I brought home that wild horse?” She turned to Sawyer. “The gelding wasn’t really a wild horse, just a horse that had been mishandled and turned bad and then the owners turned him loose rather than bother with him or feed him. But he was a beauty. He’s a golden palomino. His coat glistens like sunshine. Or at least it did once he regained his health.” She shifted her gaze back to Father, reminding him of how that had turned out. “I made up my mind to gentle him and turn him into the best horse one could ask for. And now he is.”

      She’d named him Sunny and rode him everywhere. Did Father see that marrying Sawyer was much the same? Not that she thought she had to tame the man but she had worked out the problem of dealing with Sunny. She would do the same with Sawyer.

      Father continued to stroke his beard, his gaze shifting from Carly to Sawyer to Jill and then back to Carly. “Aye? Is that what ye have in mind for Sawyer? Taming him to be a pet?”

      Jill snorted behind her hand, a sound of amusement and derision combined.

      “Of course that’s not what I mean.” She didn’t dare look at Sawyer to gauge his reaction. “Father, you’re impossible.” She ground around so her back was to the men, which had her facing the door of the storeroom and a reminder of the need to get Sawyer and Jill settled. “I have to get beds ready.” She hurried to the small room, more than half tempted to pull the door shut behind her and slip the hook in place to secure the door. Except the hook was on the other side of the door. So she settled for squaring her shoulders and looking about the room.

      Sawyer’s boots thudded on the floor as he followed her.

      She pushed back her annoyance. Of course, she wouldn’t have the same degree of privacy and the ability to be alone as she’d had prior to their arrangement. She could live with that. And if she couldn’t, Sunny and a ride in the open were but a few steps away.

      Sawyer stopped at the doorway.

      Jill ducked past him and looked about the room. Her eyes lit as she saw the trunk in the corner. “What’s in there?”

      “My mother’s things.” And baby things Mother had saved, always hoping for a baby boy who survived. But Carly was the only baby to live past a few weeks and grow to adulthood. She was aware of four baby boys who did not live that long. Their little graves were on the hillside and her mother lay next to them.

      “Where’s your ma?”

      “She died when I was fourteen.”

      “Oh.” Jill pushed her way through the boxes and other items until she reached the trunk. She examined the latches and tried to release them.

      “Jill,” Sawyer spoke with a hefty degree of warning. “You don’t have permission to touch that.”

      “Can’t I look?” Jill asked.

      Carly had crossed the room and pressed on the latches to stop the curious child. “I prefer you didn’t.”

      “Fine.” Jill stomped away, crushing an old hat of Father’s beneath her feet.

      Sawyer grabbed it and punched it back to shape as best he could. “I apologize.”

      Carly nodded. She wasn’t about to excuse the child but neither could she blame Sawyer. “Help me move the trunk to my room.” Not only would it clear out room for Sawyer, it would be safer where she could keep an eye on it.

      She grabbed the handle on one side, he grabbed the other and they carried the trunk across the kitchen to her bedroom. She put it down outside the door. “Wait here a minute.” Jill would have followed her but Carly closed the door and leaned against it. She’d carelessly tossed a few items of clothing on the chair and floor and bent to pick them up and shove them into the wardrobe. She pushed the bed against the wall to make room for a cot for Jill. A little sister! She grinned. How many times had she hoped for a little brother or sister only to have her hopes dashed when the newborns didn’t live? Seems she was about to have her dreams fulfilled this way. It ought to be fun.

      Someone kicked at the door. Sawyer spoke Jill’s name in a warning tone.

      Carly faced the door. It might not be as much fun as she’d imagined. Oh, what was she thinking? The child was only eight. Soon enough she’d be chasing butterflies and playing with imaginary friends.

      She opened the door. Sawyer had a firm grip on Jill’s shoulder and the little girl wore a mutinous expression. Carly wasn’t sure what to do...or even if she could do anything. Seems the child was Sawyer’s responsibility. Though Carly meant to do everything she could to help Jill feel secure. Everything, she added with a bit of foresight, that Jill would allow her to do.

      “Are you ready?” Sawyer asked.

      Carly nodded and grabbed her end of the trunk. They carried it into the room and parked it at the end of her bed. She dusted her hands off. “Now let’s get the other room ready.”

      They tromped back across the room, Father watching them with a great deal of interest.

      Sawyer stopped inside the storeroom. “Where do you plan to put all this stuff?”

      Carly raised her voice. “I figure a bonfire out back will take care of most of it.”

      “Dinnae burn me treasures,” Father roared, making Carly chuckle.

      “I knew he’d do that,” she whispered, then spoke louder so she would be heard in the other room. “Father, it’s just junk.”

      He thumped his crutch on the floor.

      She rushed to the door. “Sit down. I’ll not burn it.” She released a heavy sigh. “Can we put some of it in your room?”

      “Aye, that’s a fine idea.” He sank back, his mouth set in a hard line at the pain of moving.

      With Sawyer’s help and Jill’s watchful supervision, several crates were stacked in the corner of Father’s bedroom.

      Carly didn’t give Father’s crowded quarters much thought. He insisted on keeping all this stuff so she reasoned he must enjoy having it crowding every corner.

      They returned to the storeroom. It still held far too much.

      She and Sawyer stood side by side in the little cleared area. “There’s a cot under that pile of—” she lowered her voice to a whisper “—rags. I’ll have to move them, though I itch to get rid of them.”

      Sawyer glanced over his shoulder. “Your father likes to keep stuff?” It was as much statement as question.

      “Aye,” Carly said, imitating her father. “Lassie, you never know when ye might have a need for this very item.”

      Jill covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggle.

      Liking the child’s sense of humor, Carly grinned at Sawyer.

      His blue-green eyes shifted to more blue than green as he met her gaze. He seemed a bit startled at her grin and blinked. His mouth twitched and for a moment, she thought he would smile. But he looked away without doing so. Like he said, he didn’t allow himself to have feelings.

      What a sad way to live. She could understand why he wouldn’t want Jill to end up the same.

      “I suppose we need to find that cot,” he said.

      She returned to studying the room. “It’ll be more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.” They stood in silent contemplation for two seconds. She couldn’t think of him as her husband but at least if he slept here, she could accept him as a hired man. “Besides, I’ve