“But I could help,” Danny protested. “I’m really good at climbing, and I could show you the places that need to be fixed.”
No way was he allowing the boy on that precarious slope.
“You know what would help the most?” Will asked.
Danny shook his head.
Will pointed to the box of shakes and then the roof. “Figure how to get those up there.”
Danny came down the steps and turned to look up at the roof. Then he shot Will a grin that looked suspiciously like his mother’s. “That’s easy.”
An hour later, Will heard Kate’s voice below. “What are you doing!”
He shifted carefully and glanced down. She had her hands on the hips of her tailored blue dress and her head was bent as she looked down at her son. Sunlight sparkled in the black tresses.
“Helping Lieutenant Prescott,” Danny said. “Watch.” He picked up a shake from the box, heaved back his arm, and let it fly. The cedar clattered down within a foot of Will. He reached out to keep it from sliding farther.
“You could have hit him,” Kate scolded. “Or worse, broke a window.”
“No, ma’am,” Will called down. “He has a real talent for it. He hasn’t missed yet.”
Danny puffed himself up.
Kate shifted on her feet, setting her skirts to swinging. He could see the struggle in her. Pride in her son warred with concern for his safety.
“What if one slides off, hits you on the head?” she asked the boy.
Danny rolled his eyes. “I would see it coming, Ma. Besides, Lieutenant Prescott is good too. He only let one slide off.”
Kate aimed her glare his way.
Will held up his hands and nearly lost his balance. “What can I say?” he called down when he’d righted himself. “The eagles are still at the ball.”
“What ball?” Danny asked, brows lifting.
“He means a dance,” Kate explained.
“Eagles go dancing?”
Her face softened. “You might think so the way they ride the wind.”
“So can I keep helping?” Danny asked.
“Please?” Will sent down.
“Please?” Danny repeated with considerably more of a wheedle in his voice.
She laid a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Yes, Danny. It sounds like you and Lieutenant Prescott have worked things out so both of you are safe.”
She glanced up at him again, and he nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
She released her son. “You’re welcome, Lieutenant. It’s nice having two men about the house again.”
“Like Pa,” Danny said.
The mallet nearly slipped from his grip. It had been a long time since anyone, especially himself, had considered him a candidate for a husband or a father. He wasn’t sure how long Kate had been a widow, but surely she’d correct her son.
Instead, her smile was sweeter than her usual grin, as if she wasn’t opposed to the idea.
He stared at her, stunned.
She gazed back, assessing, challenging, but her cheeks were turning redder than O’Reilly’s hair. He couldn’t speak as she dropped her gaze at last and hurried for the inn.
Which was for the best. Very likely neither of them was ready to think about Will taking a more formal role in the life of the Geyser Gateway Inn, or the heart of its pretty owner.
7
Kate swept into the hotel, feeling as if her face were on fire. What was she doing staring so boldly at Will Prescott?
Danny had compared him to Toby. Toby had been friend, comforter, husband, yet he’d rarely made her feel as if she was the most precious being in the world. But sometimes, the look on Will’s face and the tone of his voice combined to make her feel positively beautiful. And his hard work was only to be praised. That must be why she admired him so much.
Still, she and Danny weren’t the only ones who admired Will’s presence at the inn. Having the cavalry around certainly affected Kate’s visitors. Lady travelers were more likely to venture out when they saw a man in blue riding by. Gentlemen stopped bringing back souvenirs of the pieces they’d broken off the geysers. She hadn’t had to pull out her rifle in days, and she hadn’t spotted any newly carved marks on the formations or the trees when she did her morning and afternoon sweeps of the area. And Ida reported no more forks missing.
“An excellent improvement,” Elijah agreed when he brought her the next group of guests on Wednesday. “I hear Captain Harris has Mammoth Hot Springs nearly licked into shape as well. A shame the season’s almost over.”
Kate felt it too. Temperatures were slowly dropping. The late wildflowers had appeared in the meadows beyond the circuit road, yellows and blues and whites poking up sleepy heads. She and her maids had been to pick the last of the huckleberries. The basin would see its first frost soon. She had a lot to do to be ready to ride out the winter.
Will finished the roof on Thursday afternoon. He climbed down the ladder and jumped the last three rungs to land on the chalky soil with a puff of dust that coated his boots.
“Mission accomplished, General,” he told her as she came in from her afternoon sweep.
She smiled. “Well done, Lieutenant. You can start on the shutters next. I want them straight and oiled before the next windstorm.”
He saluted. “Ma’am.”
Danny, who had been waiting on the ground, saluted as well. “Ma’am.”
“Ah, no, Private Tremaine,” Kate said. “I have another mission for you.”
Danny’s face fell. “Don’t we have enough wood?”
It might not be the most glamorous job, but neither were many of the routines around the inn.
“Stack one more row,” Kate compromised. “Then you can come help me.”
Danny’s eyes narrowed. “What will you be doing?”
Kate wiggled her brows. “Painting. Just down the wall from Lieutenant Prescott.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Danny ran for the back of the inn.
“Never knew painting was such a treat,” Will said, watching him round the corner.
“I have a feeling the treat isn’t the painting,” Kate said. “It’s you.”
“Best I get the hammer and the oil can.” He turned away and headed for the barn.
Kate shook her head. He was
