A Cowboy's Promise By: Linda Ford

Chapter 10

Holt stayed until Emma went to bed then he went out into the winter. To sleep at the livery barn. Lizzie shivered. The house grew colder when he left, and she admitted it wasn't simply because of the draft coming in the door. His presence lit the room. Perhaps that's why Pa was improving. That and having a fire in the stove. Thank God Holt had shown up when he did.

Somehow they would manage when he left. 

Lizzie shook away another shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. "Pa, do you need anything more?" 

"I'm fine." He pulled the covers up to his chin and turned on his side. Like Holt said, it would take time for him to regain his strength. 

She thought of joining Emma in the loft but she wasn't tired, so she sat at the table and tackled the mending. It was a mindless enough job that her thoughts drifted...straight to Holt and the way he made her feel. If only she had room in her life for the kind of dreams that he kindled. For the first time, she imagined how it would be to ride side by side with a man who cared for her. To be held and sheltered. To create a home for him. 

But she had a little sister and sick father who needed her, not to mention a store to run. And he had never indicated he wanted to stay. Why just this morning she'd observed him staring out the window as if counting the minutes until he was on his way. No point in dwelling on things that could be different, or dreaming impossible dreams. With a heavy sigh, she put away the mending and headed for bed. 

During the night the wind increased, rattling the door and windows, screaming around the corner of the house. She normally let the fire die down while they slept, but the wind sucked the warmth from the house and twice she climbed down the ladder to put more coal on the embers, hovering over the stove until the heat increased and then scurrying back to bed. 

Sometime during the night, the sound of the wind changed, pulling Lizzie from her light sleep. She listened, trying to identify why it had wakened her. She realized the sound was coming from inside the house. She tensed, wishing she'd brought the shotgun to bed with her. Emma was curled up next to her safe and sound. Lizzie intended to keep her that way. 

She slipped from her covers, silently pulled on a robe and edged toward the ladder. The sound came again. She waited, not breathing. If it was an intruder she had no weapon to defend herself and her loved ones with. 

And Pa. Down there. Helpless. 

She tipped her head to catch the source and location of the sound. 

And then it hit her. She knew what it was. Fear leapt into her throat, and she slid down the ladder without touching any of the rungs.