Page 8 of Love on Target
“Rena Burke. Theo Marshall is my cousin.” Rena waved her hand around them. “This is his place, isn’t it?”
Before the man could answer, Gabi leaned forward. “You know Uncle Theo?”
Rena grinned. “I do know him. How is it he’s your uncle?”
“Cause he’s nice and plays games with me, and gives me candy when Papa isn’t looking.” Gabi clapped a hand over her mouth, then shrugged and giggled. “I wasn’t supposed to tell that part.”
The child’s father rolled his eyes and jiggled her good-naturedly. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.” His focus shifted to Rena again, and she battled the urge to shove her wayward hair behind her ears or tuck her wrinkled shirt into the waistband of her pants.
She hadn’t planned on falling asleep on the rock at the creek; however, the sun had felt so warm and pleasant on her face, she’d gone to sleep before she could do more than rest her head on her arm.
A few more wrinkles had joined the abundance already in her shirt and trousers. The right side of her face felt flushed, probably from a sunburn. The breeze carried her hair, which she’d left down, into her face. At least she was clean and no longer smelled like she’d spent weeks on the trail sleeping curled up to a mule.
Regardless, she was acutely aware that she more closely resembled a gangly, awkward boy than a woman. For reasons she didn’t care to examine, it bothered her that the good-looking man eyeing her was seeing her for the first time in such a disheveled state.
“You’re the cousin Theo said was traveling from Texas. I don’t think he expected to see you until late next month.”
Rena couldn’t stop her fingers from reaching up and nervously twisting her hair into a loose braid that draped over her shoulder. “I ended up taking the train part of the way. It cut off several weeks from the trip.”
“I see,” he said, then shifted his daughter to his other arm and smiled at Rena. “In that case, welcome to Holiday. We were planning to eat supper with Theo this evening. He ought to be home soon from the mine. I’m Josh Gatlin, and this is my daughter, Gabrielle Joy, although we call her Gabi.”
“It’s nice to meet you both.” Rena politely tipped her head, then gathered her things. “Shall we head back to the house?”
“Yes. I’m hungry, and Uncle Theo will be too,” Gabi said, squirming to be set down. Her father placed her on her feet, and she skipped a few paces ahead as Josh fell into step with Rena. By sheer determination, she did her best to hide any hint of her limp.
Although she was tall for a woman, Rena liked that Josh was a handful of inches taller. She looked up at him and found him studying her.
He held her gaze rather than looking away. “Now that I’m not scared Gabi’s life is in immediate danger, I can see you share a resemblance with Theo. Your mothers are sisters, is that right?”
Rena nodded. “They were. My mother passed two years ago.”
“I’m sorry about your mother. It’s hard to lose the ones we love.”
From the sadness in his voice, Rena figured he’d experienced at least one heartbreaking loss in his lifetime.
“Do you have other children or just Gabi?” Rena asked, wanting to change the subject. She was still exhausted and figured she hadn’t been asleep long before Gabi had awakened her. When she was weary, it made her prone to dwell in sadness. Today should be a joyful day since she intended it to be a new beginning for herself. One that would start here in Holiday.
Mr. Gatlin chuckled. “Only Gabi. She is more than I can handle most days.”
Rena watched the little girl stop to observe plants along the pathway. “How about her mother? Is she as lively as Gabi?”
A shadow of grief passed over Josh’s face, and he shook his head. “No. Not now. She was, before ...” He released a long sigh. “She, um … she passed when Gabi was still a baby. Had a bad case of blood poisoning that killed her before we realized there was even a problem. The doctor did all he could once we realized something was wrong, but it was too late.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Gatlin. It had to be doubly hard to lose your wife with Gabi so young. Despite your tragic loss, she seems to be quite a happy child.” Rena looked ahead to where Gabi twirled in a circle, holding the skirt of her dress in one hand and a white tri-petaled flower she’d plucked along the way in the other.
“Call me Josh.” He glanced at Rena, then back to his daughter. “As for Gabi, she is my ray of sunshine. She gave me a reason to go on when I didn’t want to.”
Rena understood grief all too well. She longed to offer a word, not of sympathy but one of commiseration, only she had no idea what to say. Instead, she fell silent as they walked back to the barn.
“I saw a mule I didn’t recognize. He belong to you?” Josh asked.
“He does. I should check on him,” Rena said, rounding the corner of the barn and smacking into her cousin.
“Well, look what ol’ Scout dragged in,” Theo said in a jesting tone before he wrapped Rena in a warm hug. “I was just coming to find you. When I realized the mule was Scout, I about plumb forgot to take care of Thomas.”
Rena walked over to the stall where her cousin’s horse slurped water from a bucket. “He looks grand, Theo.” She let the horse sniff her hand, then scratched him in all the spots he used to enjoy when they were younger.
Scout made a noise from his stall, declaring his need for attention. Rena stepped over and patted his neck. “You’re a good boy, Scout. We made it all the way here in one piece.”