Free One Heart to Win by Johanna Lindsey

turned around and saw a couple of crates that looked like the ones she’d seen unloaded from the train. “They let us know to expect it today. We hoped you might be on that train, too, but we didn’t think we’d get this lucky.”
    Her father should have been there, though, for her! Tiffany thought. But obviously he didn’t care enough to check on the train’s schedule to find out she’d be arriving early.
    She shook off the hurt that caused her and asked, “What sort of household will I be running? How many servants?”
    “Two maids. Probably could use more, but they’re hard to come by.”
    She was incredulous. Why did they hire a housekeeperwhen they didn’t have a staff large enough to warrant one? But since they had given her this opportunity to fulfill her promise to her mother to at least meet Hunter Callahan and yet avoid her father, she wasn’t going to point that out.
    Instead she said, “Can you tell me a little about your family and where you’re taking me?”
    “We’re cattlemen, same as the Warrens. We own the Triple C Ranch, which comprises five hundred acres, and over a thousand head of cattle.”
    She was impressed, but wondered aloud, “Is that enough land for that many cows?”
    He chuckled. “Course it ain’t, we don’t keep the herds on the ranch. This is open-range country in all directions.”
    “What does that mean exactly?”
    “Free grazing for the herds.”
    So the two families obviously weren’t fighting over land, just water, but she hadn’t seen any bodies of water yet. They had taken the north road out of town. Tiffany gazed at the green, grassy fields that flowed on either side of the road and the huge snowcapped mountains in the distance. She’d never seen mountains that impressive except in paintings and picture books. They passed a forest with a logging camp nestled in the center of it. They passed a New England–style house sitting all by itself, an odd reminder of home. It was built of stone, so there must be a stone quarry nearby. She’d heard that industry was moving into the territory, but with so much open land it didn’t intrude on the beauty of the wilderness.
    She had to admit it was pretty country, though she would never admit that to Anna. But Cole still hadn’t said anything about his family or Hunter, in particular, whom she was most interested in.
    Hoping to get him to mention her fiancé, she asked next, “How big is your family?”
    “I have three brothers. I’m the youngest, Hunter’s the oldest. Morgan, that fool, got gold fever and took off on us last year when yet another gold strike was found over near Butte, one of the bigger mining towns in the territory. Pa had a fit, but Morgan’s stubborn, and he did find some gold, not enough to get rich over, but enough to keep him from coming home.”
    “And why does that make him a fool?”
    Cole snorted. “We’re cattlemen, and there’s already more miners in Montana than you can count. Hell, copper was discovered on our land this year. Pa figured that might get Morgan back. Told him if he’s going to disgrace us by being a miner, he can do it at home. That hasn’t worked either—yet.”
    There was no opening in what he’d just said to question him specifically about Hunter. She’d have to wait until she actually met him to find out what he was like.
    Up ahead she saw a large pond—or was it a small lake?—surrounded by meadows of blue and gold flowers. Even a few shade trees were near the lake. This lovely, peaceful setting was the sort of place one might search for to have a picnic.
    The road led straight to the little lake and forked to either side of it. The stream that fed it was quite wide and looked too deep to cross right now, probably still swollen from the winter melt. Farther north along the left side of the meandering stream was a long, dark-brownish mass that stirred her curiosity.
    “What is that?”
    Cole followed her gaze. “The Warrens’ herd. It’s their time of