Only 05 - Autumn Lover

left behind and there’s no money for more sensible clothes.”
    Penny smiled, then laughed softly, not quite believing Elyssa’s denial. Penny’s smile was like the woman herself, generous and warm, bringing light to even the darkest corner of life.
    Elyssa peeked at the other woman over her shoulder and began smiling too.
    “Every time I see you smile,” Elyssa said, “I know all over again why my mother grabbed you off the street in Saint Louis and brought you west. ‘Nine years old and a smile like Christmas,’ she always said. You should smile more, Penny.”
    “Not much to smile about lately, I’m afraid. It’s not like the past.”
    “I miss my mother, too.” Elyssa sighed. “And I miss Father, though not as much. He was always off after gold somewhere. It’s Bill I remember teaching me how to ride and shoot and hunt and work cattle.”
    Penny’s expression became even more unhappy. She, too, had been taught many wonderful things by Bill. As a young girl she had worshipped the ground beneath his big feet. She still did.
    “Maybe we should get together, grab Bill, and bring him back here,” Elyssa said. “Hunter has forbidden any alcohol on the Ladder S. In a few days we would haveour old Bill back. He certainly never used to drink so hard.”
    A sad smile was Penny’s only answer. She looked at the headstrong girl who was like a sister to her. Elyssa reminded Penny so much of the equally headstrong woman who had rescued a nine-year-old from cruel city streets and headed west with her for a better life.
    And for a time, life indeed had been better.
    “You should have sold out to Bill when he offered,” Penny said.
    “Why?”
    “You could have gone back to England and lived quite well.”
    “I hated England,” Elyssa said.
    “What about New York or Boston or Los Angeles or San Francisco?”
    “I don’t care much for cities. The sky is the color of coal smoke and the streets smell of sewage.”
    Rather savagely, Penny forked cooked bacon out of the frying pan. She sliced more bacon, wielding the big knife as though killing snakes.
    Elyssa watched her with sideways glances, wondering why Penny was so upset.
    “What about Bill?” Penny asked abruptly. “You care for him, don’t you?”
    “You know I do.”
    “Then sell him the Ladder S! Maybe having a real ranch to run would make him drink less. And maybe if he didn’t see your pale hair and fine eyes, he would be able to forget the past.”
    “What are you talking about? What is in the past that so bothers Bill?”
    Bacon hissed wildly as it hit the frying pan. With a muttered word, Penny wrapped her apron around the heavy iron handle and moved the pan to a cooler part of the stove.
    “Besides,” Penny said, ignoring the questions. “You’re like your mother in more than looks. You don’t belong out here. You belong in a castle somewhere, with people waiting on you hand and foot.”
    Elyssa gave Penny a startled look, then laughed out loud.
    “Whatever gave you that idea?” Elyssa asked.
    “Something Bill said.”
    “Bill knows me better than that.”
    “Not when you’re wearing silk. You look so much like your mother it’s…heartbreaking.”
    “Rubbish,” Elyssa said emphatically. “I’ve seen pictures of Mother. I’ve seen myself in the mirror. You would have to be blind drunk to think we looked alike.”
    The instant the words were out of Elyssa’s mouth, she regretted them. Penny was even more upset by Bill’s turn to the bottle than Elyssa was.
    “Blazes,” Elyssa said. “Why are men so stupid?”
    The outer door to the kitchen closed softly.
    “Are you talking about any man in particular?” Hunter asked.
    Elyssa made a startled sound and spun toward him.
    “Don’t you believe in knocking?” she asked.
    “I did, but nobody noticed. Too busy talking about the sins of men, I guess.”
    In the cozy ranch kitchen with its golden lantern light and delicious smells, Hunter looked startlingly male. The width of his shoulders brushed against the door-frame. He was so tall that he had to duck beneath the lintel, even though he was carrying his hat in his hand. His hair was clean, thick, black as a starless night.
    Hunter’s gunmetal eyes took in Elyssa’s clothes with a glance that said he knew she had dressed for him. The look reminded Elyssa of the searing moment when she had been closer to Hunter than to any man in her life, ever.
    And how much she had liked it.
    Despite the pounding of Elyssa’s