Margaret’s breath caught.
“And because,” he added, “I’m beginning to want you beside me when there’s no work to be done.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Eli…”
“I know. We said we wouldn’t rush.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not asking for an answer tonight.”
“Good.”
He almost smiled. “You make that sound like a warning.”
“It is.”
He laughed softly.
She reached out, hesitated, then placed her hand over his.
It was the first time she had touched him without a practical reason.
His fingers closed gently around hers.
Neither spoke.
Outside, the wind moved across the snow, but inside the cabin the silence no longer felt empty.
In March, a thaw came.
The snow softened on the southern slopes, and water began to run beneath the ice. The creek rose, then fell. Mud returned to the yard, and the horses began pawing eagerly at the ground where grass would soon appear.
With the thaw came visitors.
Eli’s brother, Thomas, arrived from Cheyenne with a wagonload of supplies and a great many questions. He was two years older than Eli, broad-faced, cheerful, and inclined to speak before thinking. He had not seen the cabin since Anne’s funeral and seemed startled to find a woman standing at the kitchen stove.
“Well,” he said, removing his hat. “You’ve been keeping secrets.”
Eli stiffened.
“Thomas, this is Margaret Bell.”
Thomas looked from Margaret to his brother, then back again.
“The bride?”
Margaret’s cheeks colored.
“The guest,” Eli said.
Thomas raised his eyebrows.
“Ah.”
Eli gave him a warning look.
Thomas ignored it. “Well, a guest is a fine thing. Especially when she knows how to cook.”
Margaret smiled politely. “I can make coffee.”
“Then you’re already more useful than Eli.”
“Thomas,” Eli warned.
His brother laughed and held out his hand.
“Forgive me. I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Bell. Anne wrote to me about you once.”
Margaret’s smile faded slightly. “She did?”
“Yes. Said you were coming west someday. I didn’t know she meant here.”
Eli turned sharply. “What did she say?”
Thomas shrugged. “That you were too stubborn to admit you needed help, and that a woman with a good head on her shoulders might do you some good.”