Courting The Cowboy. Carolyne Aarsen

The vision that they fought over and the one that ultimately took her life.

      “I’ll see what I can do,” Cord said.

      “Thanks. Appreciate all your help.” Then George raised a finger to catch someone else’s attention. “Sorry, Cord, gotta go. See you tomorrow.”

      And before Cord could wrap his head around the thought of more meetings, his father tapped him on the arm.

      “You might want to talk to the kids. They’re bugging Miss Ella.” He glanced over to where his father pointed. He sighed when he saw the kids chatting with Ella. She stood by the glass doors leading out of the building, one hand on the metal bar. Like she was ready to leave.

      Could Paul and Suzy not take a hint? The woman obviously didn’t like them.

      Suzy, however, was oblivious as she fiddled with her hair, giving Ella shy glances. As he came nearer he heard Paul chattering like a magpie, telling Ella all about the garden seeds they were going to buy to grow their own food.

      “Can you get Oliver from the nursery?” Cord asked his father. “I’ll take care of this.”

      “Sure thing.” His father nodded, but just before he left, Cord caught a glint in his eye that he didn’t trust.

      He walked over to join his kids, tamping down his frustration and, even worse, his attraction to Ella. She wore black pants and shirt, with a bright red scarf draped over her shoulders. Her hair was loose, flowing in shining waves.

      “Suzy. Paul. Stop bothering Miss Ella. We have to go,” he said, his voice firm so that Ella would understand he hadn’t sanctioned their behavior. Again.

      Paul slouched and Suzy made her face but he stopped them midcomplaint.

      “Grammie and Grampie are waiting, and I think they have a surprise for you.”

      This got him a slightly more interested look. Louis and Hope had said that they wouldn’t be around on Paul and Suzy’s birthdays, which fell within a week of each other. So they said they had a present for them at their place.

      He used that to get them away from Ella, who clearly looked like she was ready to make her escape.

      “Can we stop and see Pablo again?” Paul asked.

      “I don’t think—”

      “No, you can’t—”

      Ella and Cord spoke at the same time, then both stopped at the same time.

      “Why don’t you kids go to the car and wait for me there?” Cord asked.

      Paul simply bobbed his head, then slumped through the glass doors. Suzy followed, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest signifying her displeasure.

      “Sorry about that,” Cord said, his tone clipped as the door fell shut behind them. “They’ve been pushing boundaries lately.”

      She waved off his apology with a vague smile. “They just wanted to say hello.”

      There it was again. That hint that there was more to her unease around the kids. She looked up at him and their eyes connected.

      Those deep brown eyes softened, and in their depths he saw a flash of sorrow. He couldn’t look away as his own breath became difficult to find. He suddenly wanted to find out more about her.

      Then she blinked, lowered her head and the moment was gone as quickly as it had come.

      “Have a good day,” she muttered, then left.

      Cord knew he shouldn’t watch her walk away, her head down, her hands clutching her purse like she was hanging on to a lifeline.

      Her car was parked by the graveyard adjoining the church parking lot, and as he looked past her to the headstones in their neat rows he felt himself pulled back to reality.

      His wife was buried there and in an hour and a half he would be sitting in her parents’ house. Once again hearing how wonderful their daughter was and how much they missed her.

      Which as always, created a sickening guilt over Lisa’s death. A death he always felt personally responsible for.