Prudence, Matt’s sister and Franklin’s wife inserted herself into the conversation. “Because those Indians are getting too close for comfort, that’s why. We’ve seen them three times in the last month and that’s three times too many for me.”
Her husband put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “I’ll protect you, little dove.”
She snorted and pushed his hand away. “I can protect myself and you know it.”
“Well, in that case, you can protect me instead.”
They all laughed as she walked away. Matt waited until she’d cleared the room before speaking up again. “She’s right. The Indian’s are getting closer. I think they’ve been taking my cattle, too.”
Talk turned to the Indian raids and what the soldiers at Fort Benton were doing about them and the good mood Caleb had been in turned sour. Living in town, his world fit inside a nice little bubble that pushed the outside world away and even though he’d heard mention of Indians nearby he had no idea the situation was getting so dire. “You’re not thinking of fighting them, are you?”
Matt shook his head. “No. The fact they’re taking my cattle infuriates me but I’m not stupid enough to argue with them about it. End of the day, I have to protect my family and if that means letting them take some cattle, then that’s what I’m going to do. For now.”
“What do you mean?”
Adam glanced at Matt before saying, “I found a large tract of land several days' ride from here. A small town called Serenity Springs. It’s nothing more than a stagecoach stop-over at the moment but with the land going up for sale all around that valley, I’m betting it’ll grow over the next couple of years.”
“You’re thinking of leaving?”
Matt nodded. “Considering it. It’s why I asked about the horses.”
Adam leaned back against the table and shoved his hands into his pockets. “There’s enough land in Serenity that everyone in town could grab a piece and we’d still never see each other’s houses. Want me to save you a tract?”
Adam Larsen and his father ran the land office in town and they knew every piece of land in Montana that was available. They also knew which ones were the best investment and the ones to avoid. If they were considering a move away from Angel Creek, the land must be valuable.
“I hadn’t much thought of ever leaving Angel Creek,” he answered.
“Well, give it some thought,” Matt said. “Every town needs a good farrier and I’d rather work with someone I know. As small as Serenity Springs is, I doubt they have many, if any at all.”
Caleb smiled at Matt’s comment. “I can think about it all day long. Doesn’t mean I can afford to leave.” And he couldn’t. He was barely putting food on the table as it was. Where would he get money to pack up and leave? Or build a house? He could pitch a tent until one was built but he couldn’t expect his family to live there, especially his mother.
“Matthew, you better not be talking about those Indians again.” Julia Bailey was tall and had a subtle beauty that took Caleb by surprise every time he saw her. She looked so out of place here in Angel Creek but he’d never seen Matt happier than he was when his wife was in the room. The man had been permanently grumpy before his mail-order bride had shown up two years ago. That happiness he saw on Matt’s face whenever he saw him was the only thing that kept him from telling his mother no when she started pestering him about sending away for a wife of his own. If a complete stranger could make Matthew Bailey happy, surely one could do the same for him.
He turned to the door, looking out into the main room of the house. People lingered in small clusters but he didn’t see Diana. He felt a tinge of guilt for leading her into a new situation then abandoning her.
Excusing himself, he went in search of her. He found her in the parlor, surrounded by women and looking more uncomfortable than he’d ever seen her.
Her face lit up when she spotted him. He crossed the room, nodding to the women when they stopped talking. “Ladies, if I may, I’d like to steal Diana from you for a few moments.”
He led her out of the room and smiled when he heard her sigh. “Everything all right?”
“Yes.”
The look on her face said it wasn’t. A small group of people in the corner took instruments from cases and as the first strings of a song filtered through the room, a shout went through the house.
They had cleared this room of most of the furniture. What remained lined the walls, leaving the majority of the room bare. Couples started heading to the cleared space, Julia dragging Matt among them, and it wasn’t until they all turned to face each other that he realized they had cleared the space for dancing.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d danced. Well before Ruth had died, that much he knew. Did Diana dance? He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was watching those dancing couples with a smile on her face.
“Would you like to join them?”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh, I don’t know how to dance.”
“I barely know myself but I’m willing if you are.”
She was slow to take his hand. Caleb let go of the breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding and led her across the room, anticipation quickening his steps. When he found a clear spot for them, he turned to face her, lifted his free hand and placed it at her waist. “I’ll try not to step all over your feet.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure it will be the other way around.”
He walked her through the steps. She watched his feet as he did. “It’s as simple as that.”
She nodded. “All right. I think I can do that.”
When she lifted her head, their gazes meeting, the world around them vanished. It took him a moment to actually move, but when he did, the music was all he heard, her face the only thing he saw. She really was beautiful and her eyes were mesmerizing.
He’d spent years doing the same thing day in and day out and never once thought he wanted more. Now he did. In the short time she'd been there, he realized how little joy he’d felt before she came into their lives and the desire to ask her to marry him right then and there was overwhelming. He opened his mouth to do just that, but she looked back down at their feet again so he closed it with a snap.
Just wait. If you pressure her, she may leave earlier than you agreed on.
Caleb held his tongue, the marriage proposal forgotten for now. He’d give her the time she’d asked for, even if he no longer wanted to.
When she lifted her head again, he said, “How do you like Angel Creek? I don’t think I’ve asked.”
“Oh, I like it just fine. Everyone seems friendly.”
“Most everyone is.”
Silence hung in the air again so he started asking about Charleston. It was the only thing he could think of to keep the conversation going.
One dance turned into three and she was giving him one of those big smiles as he led her around the room. He only stepped on her foot once, which they both laughed about before taking a breather. Julia had prepared enough food to feed the entire army over at Fort Benton and they both ate until stuffed.
Caleb led her to the center of the room again, a thrill running through him when Diana stepped into his embrace. The smile lighting her face drew his gaze to her mouth and he’d never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as he did in that moment.