When Love Comes Read Free

“You’ve got to stop being jealous of Gary. You’ll be a big boy like him one day.”
    Amanda laid her hand on her brother’s shoulder to keep him from making the sharp rejoinder Broc was certain hovered on his lips. “I don’t know where Gary is,” Amanda told her mother.
    “I’m sure he’s with the herd. Earl Carruthers wouldn’t miss a chance to run off some of our cows. He wants that bull almost as much as he wants our ranch.”
    Feeling he was being drawn too deeply into the private problems of people from whom he had to collect money, Broc thought it might be better to leave. “It was nice to meet you, but I need to be getting on my way. I need to find a room in town and hunt up some dinner.”
    “You must have dinner with us,” Mrs. Liscomb said. “You won’t find anything good in Cactus Bend.”
    “Thank you, but I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
    “It’s the least I can do. We would be ruined without that bull.”
    Broc had the feeling Amanda would have preferred that he turn down her mother’s offer, but he decided to accept for three reasons. For one, Eddie begged him to stay.
    “I’ll show you my horses,” he offered. “I’ve got three.”
    Hoping to see Mr. Liscomb and finish his business quickly was his second reason for staying. The third was purely selfish. Amanda was a lovely young woman, and he hadn’t had the pleasure of spending time with a woman that pretty sincehe’d left California. Putting up with Amanda’s mother couldn’t be worse than spending time in a saloon with a bunch of drunks he didn’t know. “Thank you very much for the invitation. I’ll accept if you’re sure it won’t be too much trouble.”
    “It’s no more trouble to cook for seven instead of six.”
    Believing he wouldn’t cause more than a mild inconvenience, Broc accepted.
    “Let Eddie show you his horses,” Mrs. Liscomb said. “Amanda will have dinner ready before you know it.”
    Too late, Broc realized it wouldn’t be any trouble to the older woman because she wouldn’t do any of the work. He turned to Amanda, intending to apologize, searching his mind for a reason to say he couldn’t stay.
    “It’s not a problem,” she said with a smile that made him feel better. “It’ll be fun to have someone new to talk to. Cactus Bend is so small, we’re all bored with each other.”
    “Cactus Bend isn’t a suitable place for a young woman,” Mrs. Liscomb told Broc. “There are too many rough men there.”
    “Cowhands,” Amanda translated.
    “You may insist that they’re just as nice as Leo and Andy—they’re the young men who work for us,” Mrs. Liscomb explained, “—but I wouldn’t want you to frequent their company if they didn’t work for us.”
    “Don’t let Eddie bore you about his horses,” Amanda told Broc. “If you give him half a chance, he’ll show you every horse on the place.”
    “You like horses, don’t you?” Eddie asked Broc.
    “I like them very much, and I’m looking forward to meeting yours.”
    Mrs. Liscomb offered a faint smile before turning back toward the house. “Come on, Amanda. We don’t want to keep the young man waiting for his dinner.”
    Broc watched mother and daughter walk toward the house, confused by the mother but intrigued with Amanda. She didn’t appear to mind his scarred face. That had never happened before.
    “So,” he said, turning to Eddie, “what makes these horses of yours so special?”
    “I was never so shocked in my life,” Mrs. Liscomb said to Amanda. “That man’s face is horrible. I don’t know how I managed not to faint.” Her mother had settled herself into a comfortable chair while Amanda prepared dinner.
    “He told Eddie he was shot in the face during the war,” Amanda said as she took a bowl of steaming potatoes to the table. “From the looks of the other side of his face, he must have been a very handsome man.”
    “I’m sure you’re right, but how can I think of that when one side of