Daisies in the Canyon(71)

“Rusty? Is that you?” she called out.

She slung her legs off the bed and Cooper’s shadow filled the doorway to her bedroom. Her breath caught in her chest, still tight from crying so hard.

“I missed you today,” he said softly.

She put her hands over her face and sobbed so hard that there was a whooshing sound in her ears. Suddenly his strong arms slipped under her knees and around her back. He lifted her from the bed and carried her to the rocking chair. He sat down with her in his lap and she sobbed until only sniffles were left.

“What brought this on?” Cooper asked.

“Mama’s letter,” she whispered.

“Is that it on the bed?”

She nodded.

“And you’ve never read it before now?”

She shook her head. “One time before, but I was eighteen and still in shock and it didn’t make as much sense then as it does now. After last night, I was drawn to get it out again. Now I understand it better.”

“Abby, about last night,” he said.

She put a finger on his lips. “Don’t say it.”

“Why?”

“I can’t bear to hear that it was another mistake,” she whispered.

“I wasn’t going to tell you that, Abby. Last night was amazing. I was going to call you, but I wanted to hold you and kiss you tonight, not just hear your voice.” He traced her jawline with his forefinger and tilted her chin up.

His brown eyes fluttered shut and then his mouth was on hers, sweet at first and then deepening into something that chased all the sadness from her body and soul. She leaned into the kiss, wanting it to last forever, wanting him to simply hold her.

Martha cold nosed her bare foot and she jumped. Abby dropped her hand to pet the dog at the same time Cooper did. He wrapped his big hand around hers and brought her knuckles to his lips. Slowly, he kissed each one before he laced his fingers through hers and held her hand against his chest.

“I didn’t want last night to be a mistake,” she said.

“Neither did I, and I was so afraid you’d tell me that it was. Guess we both have to learn to trust a little more and worry a lot less. I’ll see you or call tomorrow. Good night, darlin’.” He carried her back to the bed and set her down where he’d found her. After a kiss on the forehead he was gone.

“Good night, Cooper.”




The next morning she awoke on her bed, the quilt from the living room thrown over her. Her mother’s letter rested on the pillow beside her. For the first time Martha had left the rocking chair and was sound asleep on the foot of the bed, her chin lying on Abby’s knees. She sat up, pulling her legs away from the dog, who gave her the old stink eye for waking her up.

“Good morning to you, too.” Abby laughed, her spirits as high as the clouds she’d dreamed about the night before. “Look at that gorgeous sunrise. It’s going to be a nice day.”

Martha wagged her tail and did a belly crawl up closer to the pillows.

“Lord, girl, you smell like a dog. I’ll have to give you a regular bath if you’re going to get on the bed,” Abby said.

“You let that mutt sleep with you?” Shiloh said from the open door.

“You don’t let Polly sleep in your bed?” Abby threw back at her.

“Not in a million years. She can have the rug beside the bed but she’s not getting up on my bedspread after she’s wallowed in the dirt and walked through pig shit.” Shiloh shivered. “You slept in your clothes?”

“I guess I did,” Abby said. “One fewer thing I have to do before chores this morning. Is Bonnie up yet?”

“In the bathroom. Shall we start breakfast?” Shiloh asked.

Abby bounded out of bed. “You make the biscuits and I’ll do sausage gravy.”

“You sure are happy this morning, and you haven’t even had coffee yet.”

“I figured out that I’m supposed to live in this canyon, maybe even longer than spring,” Abby said.

“Well, good for you. I figured that out the first time I drove down that windy road into it.”

Bonnie joined them in the hallway. Her face was scrubbed clean. She was dressed in work jeans for the day and her blonde hair hung in two ropy braids down her back.

“Good for her for what?” she asked.

“Deciding that she belongs in the canyon,” Shiloh answered.

“I never had a doubt that I belonged here. You must be slow,” Bonnie teased.

“Cooper have anything to do with that decision?” Shiloh grinned.

“Hell if I know anything where Cooper is concerned. Like you said, Bonnie, life is full of surprises. I just now figured out that I’m not leaving.”

“That’s a damn fine start,” Bonnie said.




Friday started out as a Murphy’s Law type of day. If it could go wrong it did; if there was no way for it to go wrong, it found one. Abby was reminded of Haley’s grandmother’s saying: What will be, will be; what won’t be, might be anyway.

The first thing that happened was the coyote in the henhouse.

Abby had just finished feeding the hogs when she saw Shiloh tearing off toward the house at a dead run. Abby went from a walk to a run to see what had happened, hoping the whole time that Shiloh hadn’t cut herself on a piece of the rusty sheet iron covering the chicken coop.