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  His curiosity was stirred by the new arrivals. He hadn’t expected so many children to be accompanied by so few adults, and only women at that. He wondered again what manner of woman would have volunteered for such a task. The one he had noticed most appeared to be quite young despite the scowl that had painted her face. Her curly, yellow hair had reflected the sun’s rays in quite a fascinating manner. He couldn’t quite see the color of her eyes, as they were shaded by her bonnet, but he couldn’t help but note her slender build. Such a wispy little thing wouldn’t last longer than a couple days in an environment such as this, he thought with another shake of his head.

  It didn’t matter much to him, he insisted to himself. No woman was going to be his responsibility, especially not out here in the wilds of Missouri. He reminded himself once more that he loved the wilds of Missouri and ignored the motivations that kept his eyes fixed to the retreating form of the beautiful young woman from the train.

  ~~~

  “Why are so many people watching us, Miss Cassie?”

  Cassie glanced down at the boy by her side and strove for a neutral expression. “There aren’t very many people around, Wally, so there aren’t that many watching us.”

  “But all of them are watching us.”

  She couldn’t argue with the youngster’s words. Everyone was watching them. It looked to her as though the entire population of the small town had turned out to observe their arrival.

  “They probably don’t get very many visitors around here, so they’re curious about us. Besides, all these handsome young men to look at, they cannot help but stare.” She realized her explanation was probably the truth. The further west they had travelled, the more sparsely populated the countryside had become. And they had arrived at the most western stop of the train line. She had heard the train company was planning to lay more track, but for now, this was as far as you could go by train. If you wanted to go any further west, you would have to travel by wagon. The thought of any more travel turned her stomach sour. The thought of being this isolated also made her shiver. But she didn’t want Walter or his brothers to sense her discomfort, so she quickly continued talking.

  “This is also the first time Mr. Brace has sent any of the orphans this far away, so it’s very new for this town. It is to be expected that everyone would be curious.”

  “Are they going to like us, Miss Cassie?”

  “They are going to love you, my dear boy. They will not be able to help themselves.” She let go of his hand and pulled him closer to her side in a quick hug. Conscious of his manly pride despite being only six, she didn’t prolong the contact and quickly let him go. She could see he appreciated the gesture by his bashful smile and the glance she received from him from beneath his eyelashes.

  Both shaking themselves from the sentimental moment, they hurried to catch up with the others.

  Chapter Two

  C assie watched Mr. McDonald closely as he wandered around the room. She could tell the man was trying to appear as though he were taking an interest in everyone, but she hadn’t detected even an ounce of warmth in him as he spoke briefly to the boys who were huddling near her. Her heart constricted as she thought of the fear the youngsters were valiantly trying to hide. The round, balding man had gone to no effort to alleviate the fear that anyone with eyes could have seen written on their faces.

  “Will you be heading back to New York on the next train?” Katie asked, making Cassie jump since she had not noticed her approach, so caught up was she in worrying about the incompetence of the manager.

  Cassie turned to the other woman with a smile. “I don’t think so.”

  “Your parents are going to be furious,” Katie warned.

  “They are going to be furious no matter what. Staying here a little longer isn’t going to make any difference. In fact, it might help if it allows them time to get over their initial upset.” Cassie couldn’t help her negligent shrug. She really wasn’t overly concerned about her parents’ feelings on the matter. She had notified them of her intentions. If they didn’t like it, that was their problem, not hers.

  “I would have thought you would be anxious to get back to your life in the city,” Katie persisted, obviously perplexed by the younger woman’s decision to remain in the small town. “Is this not a rather backward place for you?”

  Cassie huffed an impatient breath. “Of course it is. It’s a backward place for all of us,” she reminded her companion. “Are you overwhelmed with a desire to remain here for the scenery?”

  It was obvious from her expression that Katie agreed, but she still argued, “I would imagine the scenery would be quite beautiful if it wasn’t so dry and hot. But I always planned on staying. You never even intended to come. So I’m curious as to what could persuade you to be so long gone from your comfortable life back home.”

  Cassie held her breath and counted to ten, trying to swallow down the surge of anger she felt over the other woman’s words. She couldn’t really blame Katie for her opinion. Miss Cassandra Morley was a New York debutante, the spoiled only daughter of a wealthy landowner. This was quite decidedly not her usual milieu. And the other woman probably couldn’t imagine why anyone would leave her life, even for a brief time. But volunteering at the orphanage, something she had originally done to prevent people from thinking her a complete egoist, had become the highlight of her days. She had become so attached to the children, and when she had found out some of her charges were being sent on the next orphan train, she had felt compelled to accompany them in order to ensure they found good homes.

  She had begged her parents to adopt a few of the children. They had refused. Of course, Cassie was well aware the problem was too large for her parents to be able to solve it on their own, but she had been appalled by their attitude toward the poor abandoned waifs. She knew this fresh start in the Midwest was the children’s best chance for a good life. Provided the incompetent manager undertook to get them placed, that is. There was no way Cassie could leave until she was sure her darlings were going to be well cared for. She would deal with the consequences of her parents’ anger later.

  Returning her attention to Katie’s question, Cassie hoped her polite smile had not slipped. “Just as you are curious, so am I, Katie. I find I cannot bear to head back until I know for certain that the children will prosper.”

  There was enough truth in her answer to give it the twang of sincerity, and Cassie blew a small sigh of relief when Katie merely threw her a slightly puzzled glance before her attention was turned by a question one of the youngsters had posed. Cassie allowed her gaze to return to Mr. McDonald. She tried to keep a frown from forming on her face as she watched him talking with some of the townspeople. With another sigh, she realized she would have to write a letter to Mr. Brace warning him of the manager’s unsavory demeanor. Cassie was worried his manner would turn off sincere folks who wanted to help the children while attracting those who might exploit the defenceless orphans.

  “You aren’t developing a tender for Mr. McDonald, are you, my dear girl? Surely with all the gentlemen present this evening, you could find a more worthy object for your affections.”

  Cassie gasped over the audacious words and the impudence of the one uttering them. She tried to ignore the shiver that threatened to slither up her spine over the delicious, deep timbre of the low, male voice near her ear. She turned to confront the speaker, shocked and dismayed to find it was the handsome man she had seen across the street from the train station when they arrived.

  She was repulsed by his implication, despite the veracity of his words. In her opinion, nearly any man would be more worthy than Mr. McDonald. But the stranger’s impudence could not be tolerated. The man deserved a set down.

  Pulling herself to her tallest height, which she couldn’t help noticing was still only around his chin level, Cassie gazed down her nose in her best imitation of her mother’s proud stance. “My affections are none of your concern.”

  To her chagrin, it did not have
the desired effect. The bounder laughed, which made her feel as though her blood was about to boil. She could feel hot color flooding her cheeks, but she decided to ignore it and him. She turned on her heel and marched over to Miss Melanie Jones.

  Trying to hide her discomfort over the stranger’s words, Cassie asked Miss Jones for a progress report. “Do you know what the delay is, Miss Mel? I understood this meeting was set to commence at 3:30. It is now 3:40.”

  Cassie was instantly soothed by the other woman’s calm smile. “As I understand it, things are not always as organized as we are accustomed to out here in the wilds, my dear Cassie. It would seem Mr. McDonald is expecting more people to turn up, and he doesn’t want to start without them.”

  Cassie glanced around once more, noting the people milling around, speaking to the children. “I guess it would be best if there are more people. I’m not sure if there are enough here right now to look after our lot.”

  “Unless some of them are planning to take more than one.”

  “Do you think anyone would be willing to take more than one boy? It would be wonderful if Wally and his brothers could be placed together.” Cassie hadn’t wanted to give voice to her deepest concern before then.

  “I pray you don’t get your hopes up, my dear. Three young boys would be a lot to take on for most people.”

  “I know, Melly, but the thought of those boys being separated from one another nearly breaks my heart.”

  The other woman apparently didn’t have any wisdom to offer because she merely grasped Cassie's hand in a warm clasp for a moment before they drifted away from one another to check once more on the children. The boys were getting restless and needed to be distracted in order to keep them on their best behavior while still on display in front of their potential new families.

  As much as Cassie thought this was a great opportunity for the children to find new homes and a better future than the stews of New York had offered them, the experience of watching strangers examining her charges put her in mind of a retail experience, and she was beginning to find it repugnant. She was quite certain she would not be returning to repeat the experience ever again. Perhaps she would have to find a new project when she returned home, as this one was threatening to be a heart breaking one.

  “Are my new parents here, Miss Cassie?” Walter asked her anxiously.

  “I surely hope so, Wally,” she answered with as much positivity as she could infuse into her voice.

  “Which ones are they?” he asked, his eager eyes darting around the room.

  “Heavens, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see what Mr. McDonald says. Oh, hush now, it looks as though he’s finally going to get things under way.”

  Cassie watched and tried to keep the skepticism from her face as the placement agent stepped to the front of the room and cleared his throat loudly.

  “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for coming. We have a roomful of youngsters here that could use your help and are looking forward to being a part of your lives.”

  Cassie stifled her sigh. The words he was saying were great — if only he could inject a note of sincerity into his voice, she might actually believe that he meant it. She bit her lip to prevent any tears from forming as she glanced at the boys by her side. As she was returning her gaze to the speaker, it was snagged by the handsome cowboy who had been so rude to her. He was watching her intently, so she shot a scowl at him before dragging her attention back to what Mr. McDonald was saying.

  ~~~

  The young woman was so beautiful it made him uncomfortable. Charles fought his grin. She was obviously one of those females who was always changing her mind about how she felt. There weren’t nearly enough women this far from the East Coast — why did such a complicated one have to turn up in his town? He had the impression she was a spoiled little rich girl, but then he saw her tenderness with the youngsters in her charge and was amazed at how the boys huddled around her. They were too young to be responding to her beauty. They must actually like the young woman, he marvelled, as he struggled to maintain his neutral expression after she sent that glare in his direction. She was obviously determined to keep him in his place.

  It had not been well of him to be vulgar towards her earlier, but she brought out such strange reactions in him. He did not doubt it was the air of monied privilege that hung about her, despite her association with the orphans. He hadn’t even had a conversation with her, but he had heard her speak. Her accent and vocabulary, besides the obvious quality of her now travel-worn clothes, all screamed privileged background. He wondered how the poor dear was managing so far from the gilded halls she had obviously grown up in. He searched his memory, trying to determine why she looked so familiar. She was far too young to have been an acquaintance of his. Perhaps he knew her parents.

  Charles dragged his attention away from its infatuation with the beautiful blonde and endeavored to focus on what the manager was saying. Despite how irritating he found the other man, Charles was determined to collect a few of the children for himself. It was a worthy cause and the only way he could envision himself achieving the status of father figure. And to be sure, his spread could use some extra hands to help, even if they were little ones.

  Thankfully the dull-witted agent kept his message short, merely reminding everyone of what they had agreed to in relation to the boys – namely to educate them and provide for them as though they were members of the family until they reached the age of seventeen years. Charles glanced around and observed varying degrees of agreement amongst the assembled crowd. He'd had no trouble getting members of the committee to vouch for him, but he wondered how some of those present had managed to get anyone to agree to entrust them with young lives. He made a mental note to keep an eye out for some of the others. He wished he could take the entire lot of youngsters, but he reminded himself once more that was not a liveable solution.

  Now the agent was reading out the names of the new parents that had already been matched up with some of the boys. Charles looked around, anxious to know who would be joining his life. He was surprised when there was a stir around the beautiful blonde after his name was read followed by the names of three boys.

  “Did you hear that, Miss Cassie? We get to stay together.”

  She quickly hushed him, but Charles could see that she was not unaffected by the news. Her smile had begun to wobble, and he could see the tears welling in her eyes that she quickly blinked away. Charles did not want to find her any more appealing than he already did. Seeing her as a warm, compassionate woman did not help him. He gritted his teeth and determined to ignore her.

  That was far easier said than done. When Mr. McDonald stopped talking, Charles had to go meet the boys who would be coming home with him. Unfortunately, they were still clinging to the beautiful blonde. He forced himself to approach her once more as he fought the urge to apologize for his previous behavior.

  “Hello,” he began, after clearing his throat to alleviate his unexpected nervousness.

  He could see that she was trying to ignore him, but the boys by her side did not do so.

  “Are you going to be our father?”

  Charles looked down into the earnest young faces and felt his hardened heart crack just a little bit. “I sure hope so — if you’ll have me,” he answered. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Anton, but you can call me Tony,” came the reply. “These two are Walter and Ross. They’re twins. They’re six. I just turned ten.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet the three of you, Tony. Are you ready to go?”

  This question brought a quiet sound of distress from the one member of the group he had not yet acknowledged, forcing his eyes to search her face. He could see that she was trying to hide her reaction, but she obviously had not expected them to be leaving her side so soon. It was also apparent that she was embarrassed to have revealed her feelings. Charles was amused to see her efforts to place a glare back onto her face despite her wet eyes.

&nbs
p; “Where is your wife?” she asked, her tone accusing.

  “I don’t have one.”

  His reply made her blink. “How do you intend to care for these boys on your own?”

  “Well, they strike me as fine young men that shan’t require a mother, since they’re clearly big enough to be house broken.”

  He had to bite his tongue to control his laughter as hot color rose in her neck and cheeks. He could tell she wanted to smack him but was too polite to do so. It was fascinating to watch her try to draw her composure around herself.

  “Are you quite sure you are prepared to take three youngsters into your home all at once? Perhaps there was some sort of mistake with Mr. McDonald.” Her feelings were clearly torn on the subject. Charles guessed that she wouldn’t want the boys to be taken away from each other, but she doubted his ability to care for them.

  “No mistake, ma’am,” he replied politely, keeping a straight face before he took pity on her and explained. “I had originally signed up for two boys, but when I heard about these three brothers, I figured there wouldn’t be very many who’d be in a position to add three to their household, and it would be terrible for them to be broken up. So I said I’d be happy to have them.”

  Her face now grew even more suspicious. “What does a single man want with three boys?”

  Charles was becoming tired of her issues. “Not that it’s any of your business, ma’am, but I have a large spread that I could use some sons to help me with. Seeing as I don’t have a wife, this is the best way for me to gain some.”

  Seeing her expression soften once more only served to irritate Charles, so he turned his shoulder to her and crouched down in front of the younger two boys. “Do you have all of your stuff with you, or do we need to go somewhere to pick it up? I would just as rather get going so we can get you nicely settled before it gets dark.”