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The stage coach pulled up in front of the general store in Wolfe Point, which also served as a stage depot. As she alighted from the coach, Tessa stretched, glad to be on solid ground at least for a little while. The driver unloaded her belongings and sat them on the porch of the store. Tessa thanked him and gave him a tip, something she was used to doing in Pittsburgh. The rough-looking driver looked at the money she was handing him and then back at her as if to say, “Are you sure?”
Tessa smiled and said, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of your help in bringing me here.”
He smiled and took the money. “Thanks, Miss. You ever need to go anywhere again, let me know.”
“Of course,” Tessa said.
He mounted the coach, tipped his hat to her, and then rode away. Tessa gathered her belongings into a more orderly lineup and then entered the store. The elderly gent behind the counter came out from behind it and looked at her. “Well, you are a sight for sore eyes,” he said. “We don’t get many young ladies around here who look like you.”
Tessa smiled. “Thank you. You’re much too kind.”
“Nope. Just tellin’ the truth. So you’re that blue blood gal from the East, huh?” he said.
“I suppose I am. I see you’ve heard about me,” she said. She had expected that the people of the area would be curious about her since it was supposed to be a very small, close community.
“Hell, everyone around here’s heard about ya. It’s big doings, ya know. Besides which, Dean asked me to keep an eye on you when you got here. Said he’d be here today, so I expect him any time now. He keeps his word.”
Tessa was comforted by that fact. “I’m Theresa O’Connor,” she said, holding out a hand.
The store owner took it and shook it the same way a man’s hand would be shook. “Lance Long. Pleased to meet you.”
Tessa shook his hand firmly, knowing to do so from watching her father do the same thing over the years.
“Good shake. Can always tell a good person from the way they shake hands,” Lance said. “Good lookin’ and ya got good manners. If Dean doesn’t marry you, I will.”
Tessa laughed. “You’re such a flirt!” she accused. She was no stranger to flirting and could hold her own when it came to the oral dance between men and women.
“Flirt? Hell, I mean it!” Lance said. “Oh, pardon my language, Miss.”
“Please think nothing of it. I’ve heard much worse,” Tessa said.
The sound of horses’ hooves and wagon wheels prevented any further conversation.
The buckboard wagon rattled around the last turn on the way to Long’s Mercantile. Dean and Marcus were running late because the front axle on his buggy had broken. He didn’t always use the buggy and didn’t realize that part of the axle had weakened. They’d hit a bad rut and it had snapped it the rest of the way.
They first had to get the broken buggy off the road and take the horses back to the ranch to get them hitched to the wagon. Dean had wanted to use the buggy because it would be more comfortable for Theresa. He and the kids were used to riding the buckboard, but to someone who was used to riding along smooth streets, the dirt roads could be awfully hard on the rear end.
He was hoping that maybe the stage coach had been late and that they’d still get there ahead of Theresa. Dean’s hope for that died as they neared the store and saw a womanly figure out on the porch of the store.
“Wow, Dean, she’s a looker,” Marcus said as the wagon drew closer.
Dean didn’t need Marcus to tell him that. He drove the wagon automatically, but his senses were honed in on the beautiful woman watching them. Her dark hair was stylishly done. She looks like something out of a magazine, Dean thought. She looked fresh, despite the lengthy journey. She was smiling and as they pulled up, Dean could see her teeth were white and nicely shaped.
Dean’s eyes roamed over her full bosom, slender waist, and slightly flaring hips. Her blue eyes smiled right along with her mouth and Dean saw her keen intelligence reflected in them. Her deep blue traveling suit was a little wrinkled and a trifle dusty, but on the whole, she looked as if she’d walked out of a dream.
Dean pulled the team to a stop and stepped down from the wagon. “You must be Theresa.”
She smiled broadly and came down from the wooden porch. “And you must be Dean,” she answered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Dean said. “How was your trip?”
“Exhilarating!” she announced. “There’s so much to see and learn about.”
Dean smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m glad to hear it. You may change your mind once you’re here for a while.”
Tessa tilted her head a little and asked, “Are you trying to get rid of me already?”
“What? No, of course not,” Dean said. Then he caught the devilish twinkle in her eyes. “You’re pullin’ my leg,” he said and grinned.
“I must be talented indeed to be able to do that from here,” Tessa joked. “I’m sorry. I must be more tired than I thought.”
Dean laughed. “Don’t be sorry. It’s good to see you have a sense of humor and that you’re not stuck up or anything.”
“Far from it or I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Tessa said.
Dean frowned. “What’s wrong with it here?”
Tessa rushed to apologize. “Nothing, of course! It’s beautiful here.”
It was Dean’s turn to laugh now. “I’m just joshin’ you.”
Tessa pretended to be offended. “You, Mr. Samuels, are a bad man, I think.”
“You have no idea,” Marcus said, speaking for the first time. “I’m Marcus, Dean’s younger brother.”
“Well, Marcus, I’m pleased to meet you. And please, call me Tessa. It’s my nickname and frankly, I prefer it,” she replied.
“Very well, then, Tessa it is,” Marcus said with a deep bow over her hand.
Tessa played along and gave him a deep curtsy, and Dean watched her graceful movements closely as she dipped and rose again. “What a gentleman you are,” she commented to Marcus.
Dean said, “More like full of bull crap.”
Marcus scowled at Dean and Tessa laughed. She could see that this was going to be a lot of fun. She sobered and looked at Dean, admiring his fine physique. His shoulders were broad and his chest well-muscled. As his letters had said, he had strong arms, too.
“So, who are these beautiful animals?” she asked, referring to the pair of chestnut draft horses hitched to the wagon. She needed a distraction to keep from staring at Dean.
“This one is Buster and the other one is Nugget,” Dean answered.
Tessa moved to Buster’s side before Dean could warn her. Buster tended to be a little cantankerous around strangers, but he saw that he didn’t have to worry. Tessa whispered to Buster and he watched the big gelding’s ears flick back and forth. She didn’t touch him, but held a flat palm out and let him sniff it. Slowly then, she raised her hand and lightly stroked his neck.
The whole time, she kept whispering to him. Once he’d gotten her scent, Tessa stroked the pretty white blaze, enjoying the soft hair and velvety skin of Buster’s muzzle. The horse seemed hypnotized by the treatment and lowered his head to her. Tessa slipped up close to him and embraced his neck briefly.
She then repeated the process with Nugget, who was much friendlier and more mischievous. Tessa laughed softly when he wanted to nibble at a bow on her jacket. She quietly disciplined him and Nugget behaved.
“They’re splendid,” she said as she turned back to the men.
Dean had been watching raptly and found he was jealous of the horses. Her pretty hands stroking their coats made his male flesh remember what it was like to feel a woman’s touch. He shifted his feet a little and cleared his throat.
“Oh,
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