“Yes, but you’ve gotten frostbite.” She hauled a footstool close and tried to look at his hands.
“Nothing serious.” He refused to surrender his teacup. “No fussing, Ma. I’m not twelve anymore.”
“You are my only son.” She smiled, attempting to hide her weariness.
“How did the interviewing go?”
“So many women showed up for one opening. My heart goes out to them all. Every one of them was in sincere need of employment.” She swept a strand of black hair from her eyes, troubled and worried as she always was for other people. “I can only choose one. I feel bad for all the others. What will they do?”
He thought of Ruby, of her very humble home, her unreliable shoes and her situation. Her family clearly needed the income her employment would bring. He suspected many of the others who had come during a brisk, winter storm were in as much need. “I don’t have an answer. I’ve had the same worries ever since I took over the hiring for the ranch. Have you decided on anyone yet?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to a short list, but how to decide from there? I do not know.” She stole a corner off one of his scones and popped it into her mouth. “One of them was a young lady about your age. You went to school with her.”
“Ruby.” His mother didn’t miss much. He tried to hide his reaction by taking a quick swallow of tea. The scalding liquid rolled over his tongue, nearly blistering him. He coughed, sputtering.
“Oh, I see.” His mother paused thoughtfully. “She seemed like a nice girl.”
“Nice? I suppose.” As if he was going to tell his mother what he really thought. Fortunately, he had a burning tongue to distract him. “She would be a reliable worker.”
“Yes. I thought she was very earnest, but she has no experience.”
“She could learn.” He hoped he sounded casual, not like a man hoping. He wanted Mother to hire her and make a difference in her life. “She takes care of her family. She does the cooking and cleaning. That’s experience, right?”
“I suppose.” His mother rose. “I have some pondering to do. So, have you thought about who you want to invite to our pre-Christmas ball? It’s getting closer, and I have yet to get out the last of my invitations.”
“And you’re mentioning this to me why, exactly?” He sipped more tea, taking refuge behind the cup. Had he made a strong enough case for Ruby’s sake? He couldn’t tell by the look on his mother’s face.
“Because I’ll want to know so I can send the young lady an invitation. It’s time you started thinking about a wife. I’m looking forward to the next Davis generation.”
“You mean grandchildren?”
“Of course.” His mother laughed, delighted. “I see that blush. It’s as I thought. You have your eye on someone, and I know who.”
“You do?” Tea sloshed over the rim. His heart slammed to a stop. Fine, so he’d been a little obvious. “I admit, I do have someone in mind.”
“Excellent. You know the Bells are on my guest list anyway, but I wanted to send a special one to Narcissa.” Poor, misguided Ma. She’d leaped to the wrong conclusion.
“I’m not escorting Narcissa.” Not again. “Normally I let you do what you want, but not this time, Ma.”
“Why?” Confused, his mother slipped onto the chair across from him. “I thought all that time you two spend together meant something.”
“Mostly arranged by you or her mother. It’s very hard to say no to either one of you.”
“Yes, but she sits beside you in church every Sunday.”
“Coincidence on my part. I’m thinking intentionally on hers and her mother’s.”
“I’m terribly disappointed.”
“Of course you want me to marry your best friend’s daughter, Ma, but that’s not going to happen. We’re just friends.”
“I see. Well then, who? There’s plenty of suitable young women in town. Surely her family is on my list?”
“I’ll take care of inviting her myself.” Just as he’d suspected. This was going to be a disappointment to his mother. He was sorry for it. He hated letting her down. He thought of Ruby. How would his parents handle it if they knew the truth?
“I think I hear your father coming. Oh, Jerry, it’s you.”
“Selma, there you are.” Pa’s cane tapped on the hardwood, and although he winced in pain with every step, he transformed when he saw his wife. “I see you are keeping our boy company. You did great work today, Renzo.”
“I did my best.”
“Can’t ask for anything more than that. You’re doing a fine job. Better than your old man can do.” His father’s chest puffed out, full of pride, as he slowly limped across the room. “I’m obsolete.”
“Never you, Pa. I can’t wait to hand you back the reins.” Even as he said the words, they all knew they were only a wish. Gerard Davis had been injured far too badly to ever return to the rigors of ranching work. In deference to his father’s hopes, he shrugged lightly. “I miss being bossed around by you.”
“I miss doing the bossing. But I get my fill on a daily basis. What’s this I overheard about your escorting a young gal to our ball? Selma, I thought we agreed you wouldn’t push the boy.”
“I wasn’t pushing, merely suggesting.” His mother sounded confused as she held out her arms and wrapped them around her husband. The pair cuddled, glad to see each other after being separated for much of the day. “I want to see Lorenzo settled.”
“Yes, dear, but he has enough new responsibility to manage. This ranch is the largest in the county. Renzo ought to be concentrating on learning all there is to know about our land, crops and animals.”
“He’s doing a fine job. Goodness.” Ma’s gentle amusement rang in her chuckle as she gave her husband one final hug. She swept backward, love lighting her eyes. “Gerard, I don’t see why Lorenzo needs to hold off. You managed to run a ranch and court me at the same time.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t barely twenty years old. Renzo’s mature for his age, but I don’t want him distracted. I know how distracting a pretty lady can be.” Pa winked, always the charmer, and Ma blushed prettily.
Ruby was definitely distracting. She was all he could see—snowflakes sifting over her to catch in her hair, big, blueberry eyes shyly looking away, the blush on her heart-shaped face when he’d taken her hand in his to help her from the sleigh.
This wasn’t the right time in his life, and his parents wouldn’t like it, but his heart was set. Nothing could stop it.
“Renzo? Where did you take off to this morning?” Pa leaned heavily on his cane, tapping closer. “Was there a problem I didn’t know about?”
“My trip wasn’t ranch related.” His pulse skipped a beat. What else had his father seen?
“He drove past the window and picked up one of the applicants. He must have taken her home.” Pa’s tone gentled. “She looked like a dear. That Ballard girl, I think. I know her father from church. He’s a good man.”
“The poor girl.” Ma settled onto the sofa, compassionate as always. “My heart aches for her. Being both daughter and woman of the house. They must be as poor as church mice. I’ve seen her getting clothes out of the church’s donation barrel. It was all I could do not to rush up and give her a big hug when she was here.”
Please,