Josh smiled down at her, a loving but regretful smile. "Maybe," he said, unconvinced but startled by the realization that he should have been the one insisting on finding some other solution. Maybe he really was a saint.
"There are doctors in San Antonio. We can go there, as soon as the weather breaks," she said, feeling better already. "We'll find a way. I know we will!"
Josh did not have the heart to disillusion her. "Sure we will," he said. "Now kiss me good night, Mrs. Logan. Gently," he added when she threw her arms around his neck.
The kiss was long and sweet, bittersweet, and it left them both trembling. When Josh closed the bedroom door behind him, he made straight for the liquor cabinet, hoping something inside it would have the power to quench the fire raging in his blood.
Felicity paced her room far into the night, wrestling with a problem that seemed to have no solution.
Asa Gordon reined up outside the ranch house and reached up to pull the scarf away from his mouth. Damn this weather, he thought with irritation. Last night he'd had to make camp on the frozen ground. At least the snow had only amounted to flurries. So much for sleeping under the bright Texas stars, he thought with a self-mocking grin.
"Hello, the house!" he called, giving the traditional western greeting. While he waited, he noted with regret the flowerpots on the porch holding the withered remnants of once lush foliage. If it were spring, he could have complimented the lady on her flowers. The way he was feeling right now-cold and tired and hungry-he would be hard-pressed to think of any compliments at all. Maybe he would settle for a comfortable night's sleep and forego any questions on this stop. In his present mood, he did not think he could cope with any more disappointments.
The front door opened slowly and a brightly clad figure stepped out onto the porch. The woman squinted in the bright winter sunlight, trying to recognize him.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," he said, doffing his hat. "My name is Asa Gordon, and I'm ashamed to admit I'm lost."
The woman smiled, a broad, brazen smile that lit up her whole face. "And I'm mighty glad to meet a man willing to admit it," she replied. "You must be half-froze, too. Put your horse in the corral and then come back here. I'll see if I can't scare you up some hot coffee and cold beans."
"I would be eternally grateful to you, ma'am," he replied gallantly, hoping his delight did not show on his face. The woman was spectacular, buxom and beautiful and bold. And a widow, too, or he'd missed his guess. "That is, if you're sure your husband won't mind."
"I'm a widow, Mr, Gordon. I make my own rules," she said, her smile still bright.
"Well then, I'd be glad to accept your hospitality, Mrs____________________"
"Delano. Blanche Delano," she supplied.
Mrs. Blanche Delano did better than cold beans. Asa sat down to a full meal of beef and beans and biscuits. When he had eaten his fill and drunk several cups of strong, hot coffee, he had already begun to plan how to extend his visit here. Widow Delano was simply too good to pass up. Perhaps he'd tell her his sad story and make her ranch his base of operations for a while.
"You mentioned you were lost, Mr. Gordon," she said when he had finished his meal. She was sitting across from him at the dining room table sipping her own cup of coffee. "Where was it you were heading? Maybe we can set you straight again."
"I guess I'm not really lost, not strictly speaking. I don't think you can be lost if you don't really know where you're going," he began with an apologetic grin. Certain he had her full attention, he continued. "You see, I'm looking for someone, my brother-in-law and his daughter, my niece. I've been in Texas for almost a year now trying to locate them, but so far I haven't had any luck."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Blanche said, taking another sip of her coffee. "Don't you have any idea where they settled?"
"That's just it, Mrs. Delano, they never settled anywhere. They kept on the move. My brother-in-law is a photographer, and he has a wagon that he takes from town to town and… Are you all right?" he asked in concern.
Blanche continued to choke on the coffee that had slid down the wrong way and waved away his concern with one hand. "I'm fine," she said when she could speak again. "Tell me more about your brother-in-law. Why are you trying to find him?"
"Well, it's not him I'm trying to find so much as my niece. You see, when my sister Claire married, our father did not approve, so she and Caleb ran away. We haven't heard from them in years, not since the girl was a baby."
"Then, last year, our father had a bad spell with his heart. The doctor warned him that unless he started taking it easy, he might not live much longer. I suppose he started thinking about dying without ever having seen his granddaughter, and he sent me off to find her."
"And you've been looking for a whole year," she marveled. "Don't you ever get discouraged?"
Asa grinned. "Every day for the past few months, especially when the weather's bad. But if you knew my father, you'd understand why I don't want to go back without her."
Blanche nodded, wondering just how formidable old Mr. Gordon would have to be to intimidate this man. Something told her Asa Gordon's tenacity was inspired by something far more noble than fear of his father's wrath. "And what did you say your niece's name is, Mr. Gordon?"
Every one of Asa's instincts piqued at her question. "Felicity. Felicity Storm."
Blanche could not believe her luck. After all these years she had finally found a man whose strength, both mental and physical, made her feel delightfully fragile and feminine. From what he had told her about his family, she gathered that his father was well-to-do, meaning any attraction he felt for her would be due to her considerable charms and not to her prosperous ranch. Finally, he had turned out to be her best friend's uncle. What could be better?
Asa Gordon could not believe his luck. After all these years he had finally met a woman who excited more than just his sexual interest. Blanche Delano was a woman he wanted to spend some time getting to know, both before and after he bedded her. Now any chance of that was shot to hell. But how could he have known she would turn out to be bosom buddies with Felicity Storm? And why hadn't he followed his first impulse and not told her his "story"?
Asa stole a glance at Blanche where she sat next to him in the buggy. She did not look like the kind of woman who approved of lies. Or liars.
"We'd better get a move on or we won't get there before dark," Blanche said, her smile bright with anticipation. She could hardly wait to see Felicity's face when she met Asa. The girl would be so happy to discover that she wasn't really alone in the world, that she had a family, a real family. Since the baby's death, Felicity had been so depressed. This was just the lift she needed.
Asa reluctantly slapped the horses into a faster gait. Getting to the Logan ranch quickly was something he was loath to do. How had he ever let Blanche talk him into going over there this very night? Or let her convince him that she needed to accompany him? The last thing he wanted was to have Blanche present him as the girl's long-lost uncle and then have to contradict the story right in front of the girl and her husband. If Logan was any kind of man at all, he'd run Asa off with a shotgun, and who could blame him? Asa would be lucky if they even let him explain the truth.
Oh well, he thought philosophically, Richard Winthrop had not hired him to bring the girl back, only to find her. Asa had already accomplished that. If Winthrop wanted her so badly, he could come and get her himself. The prospect of Felicity's husband running Richard Winthrop off his property at gunpoint cheered Asa considerably as the Logan ranch buildings appeared in the distance.