“I understand.” And she did. It shone clear and honest in her eyes. She didn’t blame him. She didn’t blame Katie.
The guilt and his burden doubled. A harridan or a manipulator he could send out of town on the next stage without a thought. But Anna... She posed a real problem.
Yep, she was as appealing as the lemony shafts of sunshine burnishing her gold curls. She breezed by him, and the hair stood up on his arms. She smiled at him and his heart stopped beating.
Maisie hid behind his legs, her grip on his knees keeping him from stepping forward. Bob’s mouth opened, those beady intelligent eyes focused on Anna’s dress.
“Come pet her,” Katie coaxed. “She don’t bite.”
“She bites,” Maisie whispered.
Anna offered her slender hand to the defiant pony. Big teeth closed around Anna’s ruffled hem and tugged.
“Watch out.” He dove forward, breaking away from Maisie to rescue Anna.
But already she’d waved away the concern with a flick of her slender hand. “No harm done.” Her smile shone as true as the North Star. “Bob looks like a great pony.”
Approval shone in Katie’s eyes. That mischievous, certain-to-be-punished Katie. “My Bob’s the fastest pony in town. Everyone says so. And she jumps really high, too.”
“Jumps?” he boomed. When did she start jumping that pony? She was under express orders not to—
“She?” Anna interrupted his thoughts and then laughed with such honest gentleness he forgot to be angry. “You named a girl pony, Bob?”
“She’s tough like me. I didn’t want her to have no frilly name.” Katie patted Bob’s brown side with pride before springing up onto the pony’s back.
“Being tough must be pretty important.”
The breeze lifted through Anna’s hair, shivering around her shoulders. So delicious, so inviting, he had to fist his hands. What would it feel like to wind his fingers through those gold locks, to feel that rich silk against his skin? The touch of a woman, her gentleness in his life—he hadn’t realized he’d missed such things.
Until now.
Maisie stepped out and tugged at Anna’s skirt. “Katie said you are gonna be my mama. That’s fine by me.”
Anna’s face crumpled, charmed and touched. Cooper rushed forward to grab his littlest girl, but Anna was already kneeling before her, laying a hand to that childsoft face. “Dear heart, what a sweet wish.”
“Ain’t no wish.” Maisie set her chin, a world of adoration lighting her berry-blue eyes.
Cooper scooped the child up into his arms as anger tore through his chest. He hadn’t realized how much his daughters might need a woman’s love in their lives. He hadn’t wanted to see it, but he’d only lied to himself.
Dreading the talk to come, Cooper set his Maisie up on Bob’s back, snug behind Katie. As Maisie wrapped her slim arms around her sister’s waist, he warned his eldest to ride slowly, no racing and no jumping with Maisie astride. Katie’s earnest promise reassured him.
“No need to worry, Cooper.” Her gaze didn’t move from the sight of the little girls astride Bob, trotting down the street, Maisie bouncing off-rhythm to the pony’s stride. “I won’t hold you to your daughter’s proposal.”
His throat went dry. He couldn’t look at her. “That’s mighty generous of you. Considering all you risked and almost lost in coming here.”
“Not generous. Practical.” Her voice lowered, soft as a setting sun. “I need to check on my daughter.”
“Wait.” He caught her hand and looked down into eyes so sad it hurt him. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for this confusion. Katie just wants a mother so badly. I’m not excusing her behavior, but I want to make things right. Let me help you.”
“No help is necessary.” Her eyes shone. “You’re a good man for offering.”
A good man? No, he was just trying to find his way, like anyone else.
She strode away, light and simple, without accusation or guilt.
But he felt guilty enough. He took off after her. “I fully intend to help you. Considering my daughter brought you here, I could do no less.”
“Put that billfold away.” Anna’s blue eyes rounded.
“I ought to compensate you for your passage here.” He thumbed through the bills.
“No.”
“But Anna, you lost all your money in the robbery.”
“That doesn’t mean—” Her eyes sparkled, as if she were holding back tears. Pride lifted her chin, kept her spine straight. “I’m not the kind of woman you can pay off.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I don’t need your money.” She spun, skirts swishing, marching quickly back into the doctor’s clinic.
He bolted through the door after her. “If you won’t take my money, then let me pay for a room in the hotel.”
She turned and lifted her gaze to his. “I can’t let you do that. I don’t belong here, not really. And I won’t accept your help.”
“Not even for your daughter?”
“I can take care of her.” Pride. It had been a long time since he’d seen much to admire in a woman. He had to admire Anna Bauer, had to admit she was a different sort of woman than Katherine, even if she now needed help. “I don’t need your pity, Cooper. Or charity.”
“Soon she’ll be able to leave the clinic. She’ll need a place to stay.”
Anna wrung her hands, slender fingers that were red and rough, callused-looking, hands that had known hard work. “Let me worry about providing for my daughter. She isn’t your responsibility, Cooper.”
“I pulled her from the wreckage. I held her in my arms throughout that ride back to town. I handed her over to the doctor. I feel a duty. I want to know she’s going to be well, that men like Corinthos can’t destroy every life they touch.”
She lifted her face. Tears glistened there, clear as morning dew. “We’re alive today because of your bravery, your strength. You’re a wonderful man.”
“Aw, you don’t know the real me.” He blushed, uncomfortable with the admiration clear like morning in her eyes. “Cantankerous. Bossy. No woman will have me.”
“So Katie said.” A single tear slid down her pale cheek. “Don’t you worry about me, Cooper. I can take care of myself.”
“Against a man like Corinthos?”
“Against any man.” That stubborn chin hiked higher.
He stepped forward and watched the pupils in her eyes darken, watched her take in a steady breath, lifting the curve of her small, firm bosom. Real fear shadowed her face, and he wondered why. Maybe she was remembering the stage robbery, he reasoned. She had a right to be afraid. Corinthos wasn’t known for leaving his witnesses alive.
Or maybe she was as wary of entanglements as he was.
A clatter and a horse’s squealing whinny erupted on the street outside. Cooper pulled back the drapes at the front window. He saw the tanner’s unruly horse shying at a dust devil, nothing more. Still, he had to be on guard with Corinthos alive and gunning for him.
“I gotta go.” He knuckled back his hat, avoiding Anna’s compelling gaze, wishing he could do more for her. Wishing he could lift her burdens from those slim shoulders.