Free Buchanan's Pride by Pamela Toth Page A

widened.
    â€œBad joke. Sorry.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shove. “Get going. I’ll cope.” What he needed was time alone and some mindless chores, a chance to think and maybe sort things out.
    â€œGive me a few minutes to get breakfast on the table and then come on up,” she said, walking backward toward the door as she talked. Today she was wearing a red shirt beneath her jacket, and its brightness gave color to her cheeks. Her hair swung straight and silky around her face. “I’ll fix you a couple sandwiches while I’m throwing together my lunch.” Duke followed after her, tail wagging. He’d hardly glanced at John this morning. The dog must have decided he wasn’t much of a threat.
    â€œGreat. I’ll get to work,” he said as she hesitated in the doorway.
    â€œCandy’s waiting for you. The tools are still outside.”
    Just as Leah had said, the gray horse was waiting patiently by the fence, cross-tied between it and a post. When he saw John, he pricked up his ears. After John had cleaned the animal’s hooves, he ran back into the barn and retrieved his coffee mug. Then he went up to the house, ignoring the little spurt of eagerness he felt.
    After they’d eaten a much simpler breakfast than the day before, he went back to the barn, carrying the sack lunch and the soda she’d handed him before she headed upstairs to get ready for work. When he heard the truck start up, he thought about stepping outside to wave, but he didn’t. For the next several hours, he kept his hands busy while his mind replayed his mother’s message.
    Promise her what? He had no idea.
    Â 
    Leah spent the morning shelving books, a job she especially detested and one that took up at least an hour every day she worked. Today it took longer because two classes from the grade school came in. Miss MacPherson was in her office looking through new book catalogs, so Leah hurried over to the main desk when the line of children began forming in front of it to check out their selections. The librarian never looked up from her reading.
    Right before Leah’s lunch hour, Amy Stout, the janitor, came in. She and Leah got along well, in part because of their mutual dislike of Miss MacPherson. Amy and her husband lived in a small house at the other end of town. He had opened an insurance agency the year before and her job at the library was part-time. Her stomach was beginning to round out beneath her flowered uniform smock and Leah envied her with a pang that was bittersweet.
    â€œHow you feeling today?” Leah asked.
    Amy had been suffering from morning sickness for several months, but she refused to quit her job despite her husband’s urging. She had confided to Leah that her paycheck went right into a college fund for baby Stout.
    At Leah’s question, she made a face and waved at Miss MacPherson, who had glanced up from her reading and was watching them through the glass wall of her office. Technically, Leah was on lunch and Amy didn’t start for another fifteen minutes. She usually came in a little early so they could visit before she went to work.
    â€œMy stomach wasn’t actually as queasy this morning,” Amy said. “Maybe the doctor was telling the truth after all when he said it wouldn’t last forever.” She followed Leah into the tiny employee lounge and shut the door behind them. If any patrons came in, Miss MacPherson would just have to deal with them.
    â€œWhat’s new?” Amy asked as Leah retrieved her lunch from the ancient refrigerator and they sat down at the scarred wooden table. No doubt she expected Leah to reply as she always did. Not much.
    â€œI hired a temporary ranch hand,” she said with a small grin at Amy’s double take. She hadn’t intended to say anything; the words just popped out on their own accord.
    â€œReally? Is he cute?” Despite her pregnancy, or