Chapter 6

Dirk

Dirk poured sweet feed in April's trough and gave her nose a gentle pat. "What am I going to do? Huh, April?" he asked, thinking aloud as he finished his chores. Buster followed, sitting by Dirk's feet, waiting patiently for him to move on to his next task.

April whinnied in response.

"Yeah, but I know nothing about her." He spoke to the horse as if she understood everything that he said. And, in a way, he believed she did. She had wise eyes, and always seemed to nod at the right times, which was more evidence of her understanding. Animals, especially horses, were much smarter than people gave them credit for.

Dirk guessed that was why he usually got along better with animals than humans. They loved unconditionally and didn't leave because they were bored.

Dirk reached up and stroked April's nose again. "Yeah. I'm attracted to Gabriella, but I shouldn't pursue her. I mean, she was obviously scared of those men, and wouldn't even talk to me about it." He let out a deep breath. "And if we get close and she leaves… well… it'll be like Sarah leaving all over again."

April shook her head.

"What is there to do in Whiskey River?" Dirk continued as he stroked her nose. "There's nothing I could offer a refined woman like her."

April snorted, her breath turning to steam.

"Well, it's fine for me, but the moment she becomes bored, she'll go back to France or wherever it is that she's from." Dirk shook his head. "I can't believe that I'm even entertaining the thought. I mean, I don't know anything about her… where she's from. I know for a fact that she's not with those men, but for the life of me, I can't figure out why they tracked her down. The next time I go into town, I'm going to mention it to Daxton. He's the only person who might know who they are, or if there's a Wanted poster on them."

He thought for a moment, and then asked, "What if there's a Wanted poster on her, too?"

April shook her head violently.

Dirk smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure there isn't."

Since the weather was so bad, he hadn't let the horses out that day, but they didn't seem to mind.

"Well, thanks for the chat, love." He gave her cheek one last pat and continued with his chores. If the weather was good, Dirk had thought of taking Gabriella to the restaurant in Whiskey River, and maybe having a chat with Daxton. But when he looked out of the barn to check the weather, it showed no signs of letting up. In fact, it looked as if it was getting worse.

Dirk put away the feed bucket, pulled his collar up over his neck, and headed toward the house. When he'd first left the house, he'd looked around to see if the men were still hanging around, stalking the ranch, but he saw nothing… not even footprints. So, he knew that Gabriella was safe enough for him to be in the barn with her inside.

While he was outside, he found that he missed Gabriella. She was spoiled, to be sure, but she seemed willing to learn. It was as if he was seeing everything anew through her eyes. As simple a thing as washing dishes became enjoyable, doing it beside her.

But Dirk quickly pushed the thought aside, knowing he couldn't have feelings for a woman he'd just met. But he found that the longer he was outside, the more he hurried to finish his chores so he could go inside to be with her.

"Gabriella?" he asked as he walked in. For a moment, panic filled his heart. Maybe the men had returned and gotten to her while he was out, or maybe she had left of her own accord. But when he walked into the living room, she was asleep in the rocking chair, bathed in the warm glow of the fire, a book on her chest. He pulled the afghan from across the back of the sofa and gently draped it over her so as not to wake her. Dirk looked down at the book in her hand and realized she was reading The Three Musketeers. He smiled as he finished tucking her in.

He looked in the kitchen, and she hadn't cooked anything. But in her defense, she probably fell asleep before she could. And then again, the cabin was new to her. He just hoped that she would come to think of it as her home while she was there, but he doubted that would happen. She seemed hell-bent on going to Laramie.

Dirk knew that she hadn't had a bath, probably since she had boarded the train. So, he took off his coat and boots and began the arduous task of heating buckets of water for her. He pumped water into two metal buckets and set them on the potbelly stove to heat. In the utility room was a clawfoot tub. He rinsed out the tub to prepare it for her. Years ago, he had rigged it up so that it drained under the house and outside when it was unplugged.

Making sure the plug was securely in place, Dirk filled bucket after bucket for her until the tub was half-full. When he walked out to the living room to check on her, Gabriella was stretching, and the book fell to the floor. She looked up at Dirk, startled, obviously having just woken up.

"It's me, Gabriella," Dirk stage whispered. When she focused and nodded, he walked back into the kitchen, filled the buckets again, and placed them back on the stove. When he walked back into the living room, she was placing the book back on the shelf, and Buster was curled up by the fireplace.

Dirk glanced to where the afghan his grandmother had made lay in a rumpled heap, where it had slipped to the floor.

"Could you pick that up and fold it, please? It's important to me." He could easily have done it himself, but obviously she knew as little about housekeeping as she did about cooking, and this would be something new for her to learn.

Her gaze followed his, and she seemed almost surprised to see the afghan on the floor. She bent and picked it up, then fumbled for a moment, finally folding it in half. She glanced around, then laid it across the back of the sofa where it had been before.

"Thank you. My grandmother made it for me years ago." He smiled, his eyes glowing with pride.

"It's beautiful." Gabriella's lips curled into a smile, and then glanced over at the buckets on the stove. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you might want to take a bath." Dirk crossed the room to her and handed her some soap, a washrag, and two towels. "You can bathe first. The water will be ready in a minute."

"You can bathe first if you like." She sat back down on the rocking chair. "Then we can rinse out the tub and fill it again. I'll wait."

He chuckled. "No, I meant that you can use the water first and then I'll use the same water next. That is, unless you'd like to bathe after me."

Gabriella looked at him appalled, and quickly shook her head. "No, thank you. That's fine." Then she walked into the utility room and closed the door behind her.

Dirk chuckled as he shook his head, and then headed over to the stove to check the last two buckets of water. In a short while, the water was ready, so he picked them up and went to the utility room.

Dirk walked in without thinking, keeping his head down. As he carried in the water, he didn't notice that she was already in the tub.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella shrieked, quickly grabbing one of the towels to cover herself. "Get out!"

Dirk looked up, startled. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking only at her eyes. "I told you the water was almost ready. Not that it was!"

She looked around, flustered. "I only heard that the water was ready. Now, get out."

He held up the two buckets with ease. "I was just bringing in the last two buckets of warm water—"

"I said get out. Now!" she screamed, trying desperately to cover herself the best she could with the towel. "Never mind the buckets. Get out!"

A devilish smile spread across his lips as he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You want me to leave the buckets?"

"Yes, and get out!"

"As you wish, your highness." A smirk appeared on his face as he walked over to the tub and poured one of the buckets over her head.

She gasped, flailing her arms as the warm water rushed over her, looking like a drowned rat. "What did you do to me? Get out!"

"You asked for it." Dirk laughed as he poured the second bucket of water over her head as she flailed her arms, gasping. Then he carried both buckets to the door and turned around. "You know, it didn't have to be this way." As he walked out, he shut the door behind him, chuckling to himself.

"Vous êtes une brute sauvage!"Gabriella shouted, and then something hit the other side of the door and crashed loudly to the floor.