Free Heart Of Texas (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon

thinking; he must have
thought she had been too forward when she insisted on cutting his hair, and then she had practically thrown herself in his arms.
    He probably thought she acted that way with
every man she met.
    She gave her head a small shake and glanced
at the barn, which still needed extensive repairs.
At least the broken boards on the corral had been
replaced, and the three horses that Gabe had
rounded up were now enclosed there.
    She watched the wind stir the leaves on the elm
tree near the porch. It was a mild October day
with clear skies and only an occasional breeze
blowing from the south. She had chosen today to
clean the bunkhouse, and she had gathered her
broom and mop as soon as she had seen Gabe
ride away. Luckily, the bunkhouse was in good repair-it was just dusty from not being used for
so long.

    Four cots were lined up against the north wall,
and there was a potbellied stove at each end of
the room to keep it warm in the winter. The structure seemed sound enough, and she glanced up
at the ceiling. Since there was no sign of a leak,
she knew that the roof was sound.
    She had just finished scrubbing the floor and
was standing to flex her sore muscles when pain
stabbed through her like a knife. By now her
shoulder should be getting better, but it wasn't.
She didn't know how much longer she could go
on this way, because sometimes the pain was unbearable.
    She had made up three of the beds, two for the
Indians Gabe had sent for. She had just spread a
clean blanket across Gabe's bed, and she paused
to stare at the pillow where he would lay his head
tonight. She could almost imagine his long, lean
body lying there, his dark hair contrasting with
the whiteness of the pillowcase. She ran her hand
across the wool blanket and closed her eyes, wondering what it would feel like to lie beside him
and have him take her in his arms. Her heart
throbbed, and her breath caught.
    When she thought of him, her body always betrayed her. Why these feelings for him, and why
now?
    Disgusted with herself for allowing such erotic
flights of fancy, she placed the jar of wildflowers she had brought with her on the window ledge,
then gathered her broom and mop and left. Tomorrow she intended to go to Mariposa Springs
to meet with the attorney, Bartholomew J.Murdock.

    Jenny was playing in the front yard, the new
pup bouncing around her, while she patted out
mud pies. Her little face was so muddy, all Casey
could see was the blue of her eyes. She was grateful to Gabe for giving Jenny the dog, because she
played with it all day, and it even slept at the foot
of her pallet at night.
    "You have to come in soon, jenny. You'll need
a bath before you can eat."
    Her sister's bottom lip slid into a familiar pout.
"I don't like baths. I like to live in the mud-all
the time."
    "Nonetheless, I am going to heat water for the
tub, and you will have a bath. Come on into the
kitchen after you have put your toys away."
    Moments later Jenny stomped into the kitchen,
displeasure sparkling in her eyes. "You don't love
me, Casey. If you did, you wouldn't always make
me take a bath."
    Casey took her hand and then stripped the
muddy clothes off her, dropping them beside the
door. LiftingJenny into the tub, she smiled at her.
"It's because I love you that I want to see that
sweet face of yours. Right now I can't see it for
the mud."
    Jenny glanced up at her. "You like my face?"

    "I love that face."
    She considered for a moment. "I'll take a bath."
    It was late afternoon by the time Casey had finished her household chores and was able to feed
and water the horses. She gave a carrot to the
chestnut gelding that always came to the fence to
nudge her hand. She had already decided she
would make him her horse.
    When they had lived in the big house in Charlottesville, she had ridden almost daily, and she
had been considered quite an accomplished
horsewoman. But when the Union soldiers had
ridden through