Had Sentence Examples
They had two adopted children already.
She had a choice.
Certainly she had been under a lot of stress.
All the papers had been signed and the money provided.
A nearby steeple had been broken off short and the fragments lay heaped beside it.
I wish we had never come here.
But they had no handkerchiefs, either.
Would she ever outgrow the things mama had taught her?
But it is a long time since I have had any sleep, and I'm tired.
He had climbed many a tree when he was a boy.
AdvertisementHe had crossed it.
What had they done?
She had to regain control.
Maybe Lathum had a point.
Carmen had already spoken to Mums about it.
AdvertisementShe had to act now.
Alex had provided the money to remodel the home, but insisted that it stay in her name only.
He had just entered, wearing an embroidered court uniform, knee breeches, and shoes, and had stars on his breast and a serene expression on his flat face.
He was not a very large man, but was well formed and had a beautiful face--calm and serene as the face of a fine portrait.
Carmen had given Josh no encouragement.
AdvertisementWhen he had finished, he bowed, and waited, hoping that he would be rewarded.
I had no idea.
Anna Pavlovna had had a cough for some days.
Mom always had a good relationship with her sister and brother.
In fact, he had given her strict orders not to lift anything.
AdvertisementEach stick was carefully mortised or tenoned by its stump, for I had borrowed other tools by this time.
She had enough for the entire family.
But in the excitement of carrying me to church my father lost the name on the way, very naturally, since it was one in which he had declined to have a part.
He had a lot of investments and...
She had the most expressive face he had ever seen.
They had walked a mile or two towards home, when they came to the edge of a narrow and deep ravine.
Some time later, the shepherd went to the city and told the king that the children had learned to speak one word, but how or from whom, he did not know.
He had simply avoided it.
Anyway, Mom had a brother and a sister.
In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.
He sent out among the poor people of the city and found two little babies who had never heard a word spoken.
People have always had the drive and the ability to build, create, discover, and explore.
The crowd drew up to the large table, at which sat gray-haired or bald seventy-year-old magnates, uniformed and besashed almost all of whom Pierre had seen in their own homes with their buffoons, or playing boston at the clubs.
Surely he had a simple checkbook file.
Had the carpenters stopped working on the room?
She had to get a car as soon as possible.
I too had woven a kind of basket of a delicate texture, but I had not made it worth any one's while to buy them.
I determined to go into business at once, and not wait to acquire the usual capital, using such slender means as I had already got.
So far her prayers had been unanswered.
Alex was supposed to be sterile, but they had been wrong about that.
Long dark lashes and black curly hair - he had it all.
He hadn't caused the miscarriage.
Right or wrong, the decision had been made.
I hadn't planned on it.
How long had Morino lived in America?
The hardwood floor had not been stained.
Still, he had the right to know.
She had accepted the idea that she would never know this moment.
She had forgotten about him.
The little girl stood still to watch until the train had disappeared around a curve; then she turned to see where she was.
Many wise men and poets and musicians had also been invited.
I knew my own mind well enough and always had my own way, even if I had to fight tooth and nail for it.
This general, hating Barclay, rode to visit a friend of his own, a corps commander, and, having spent the day with him, returned to Barclay and condemned, as unsuitable from every point of view, the battleground he had not seen.
Alex had destroyed it then with suspicion and accusations.
When Carmen's father died, she thought she was alone in the world, yet all these people had been there for her.
Carmen glanced quickly outside to see if the threatening snow had arrived.
There had to be more.
If Alex knew that, he gave no indication - and she had no intention of telling him.
Had he heard her conversation with Sarah?
Had they recognized her?
Carmen refrained from looking at Alex or displaying the shock she felt at the introduction of two more siblings he had never mentioned - an entire family.
They had never been anywhere else overnight together.
It was the romancing that had suffered.
I had hoped that you would resolve your problem, but it seems to have no end.
Len had regained his composure.
She had to come up with something better than that.
His father and grandfather and great-grandfather had all been shepherds.
The unknown can be worse than reality, and she had no idea what to expect on the flight.
Why hadn't it occurred to her that Jonathan might feel he was being replaced?
Maybe not, but it would have made a difference if I had known how you felt.
He had indicated enough times that he would like to see her in something a little more feminine and fashionable.
Had anyone actually told her that or had she merely assumed it?
With everything going on, Carmen didn't have time to worry about flying, but when they were all sitting at the airport, she finally had time to stew over it.
As always, he had been there when she needed him.
But I have said they did not know you had a wound.
Would it have been better if I had fallen off and broken my neck?
Alex had asked one of the men go into town and rent a car for them.
The last time he made a business trip to Columbia, he had said they needed the money.
I was thinking about buying a new vehicle and wondered if we had the money, so I looked at his financial information on the computer.
He also had a sense of responsibility about it.
Carmen, how long has she had this fever?
Her first thought was that it was a puppy someone had dropped off.
It was possible that his father had given up on him.
No wonder he had been so solemn lately.
It shouldn't be any surprise, since that was what suffered when he had been troubled in the past.
Right now she wished she hadn't started this romancing thing.
The moment had made him acutely aware of the instinct to replicate.
It was a moment that lay in her stomach like a week-long hunger, regardless of the fact that they had been gone only minutes.
To an extent she had even been an accomplice.
What a fool she had been to come here.
How much had Sarah heard?
They had climbed about fifty feet.
No. I just had a bad dream.
Felipa looked to be in her early twenties and had a sunshine smile that made Carmen feel welcome.
Maybe Katie wasn't the only one who had been overlooked by Señor Medena when it came to inheritance.
How much had he told Señor Medena - or how little?
Five years ago that day she had met Alex.
I guess we both had a change of heart, didn't we?
She had admired his work as long as she could remember.
They had talked in front of her, so it couldn't be what she thought.
Dodging cobwebs by the dozens, she pushed on until deciding she had reached a point behind the building.
They had to get away from here - back to the house where there were other people.
Who else had he told?
If you had looked ahead fifty years to 1240, you wouldn't have anticipated much change.
In fact, at times she had been almost brutally clear that she was no longer interested in him.
Thanks to Alex, that chore had been turned into a simple twist of a knob.
Katie said that was because Carmen had been raised poor and had become frugal.
As busy as she was, time had to be set aside for play with Destiny.
Assured that it had not, she turned back to him.
For one terrifying moment the enormity of what they had done brought her close to panic.
Maybe she would have if she hadn't been shoving it from her mind.
But then, he had reason - in his head - to believe it wasn't his.
When they finally got on the plane, she and Jonathan had a window seat - Jonathan in front of her.
Felipa didn't seem to notice anything unusual in his attitude, so maybe he had always treated them that way.
She gazed out the window as if she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Alex had directed the little he said to her only.
Actually, she hadn't thought how it looked to others - and there had never been any doubt in her mind that she was fortunate to have Alex.
Jonathan and Destiny's room had two twin beds in it, as well as a television.
Once again he had caught her ogling him.
Jonathan leaned forward so that he had a full view of Señor Medena.
If I hadn't taken Destiny...
I heard they had the airport cleared for flights now that it's stopped snowing.
In a way, it was hard to believe it had been that long.
He had been unusually quiet and solemn lately.
She had rehearsed her script earlier, but now the words evaded her.
No one had said anything about Dulce being married, either.
If Alex had known he had a son, things would have been different.
She said he had kicked her out, but refused to say why.
He said he wouldn't offer her any money until he had more facts.
Matthew had thick black hair, but Natalie's was blonde.
In the weeks of natural stimulation, she had been the one who was embarrassed.
In those last moments when it was too late, she had decided to go with them.
His voice had an annoyed edge.
I've never had a maid.
She had fallen off a bluff.
In fact, they held a tenderness she had never seen.
Yet what had she seen?
How much had he heard?
Before the half hour was ended he had written a very neat composition on his slate.
Mr. Finney had a turnip, And it grew, and it grew; It grew behind the barn, And the turnip did no harm.
How had he managed to drive all the frightened little animals into this place of safety?
Then he ordered his treasurer to pay the poet five hundred pieces of gold; for, indeed, the poem which he had recited was wonderfully fine.
But during the first nineteen months of my life I had caught glimpses of broad, green fields, a luminous sky, trees and flowers which the darkness that followed could not wholly blot out.
Standing before the mirror, as I had seen others do, I anointed mine head with oil and covered my face thickly with powder.
Martha Washington understood my signs, and I seldom had any difficulty in making her do just as I wished.
Inspired, perhaps, by Master Gobbler's success, we carried off to the woodpile a cake which the cook had just frosted, and ate every bit of it.
The Indians had advanced so far as to regulate the effect of the wind by a mat suspended over the hole in the roof and moved by a string.
There is actually no place in this village for a work of fine art, if any had come down to us, to stand, for our lives, our houses and streets, furnish no proper pedestal for it.
She added that Her Majesty had deigned to show Baron Funke beaucoup d'estime, and again her face clouded over with sadness.
Pierre went up to the circle that had formed round the speaker and listened.
But scarcely had Pierre uttered these words before he was attacked from three sides.
In the first place, I tell you we have no right to question the Emperor about that, and secondly, if the Russian nobility had that right, the Emperor could not answer such a question.
Many voices shouted and talked at the same time, so that Count Rostov had not time to signify his approval of them all, and the group increased, dispersed, re-formed, and then moved with a hum of talk into the largest hall and to the big table.
Glinka, the editor of the Russian Messenger, who was recognized (cries of "author! author!" were heard in the crowd), said that "hell must be repulsed by hell," and that he had seen a child smiling at lightning flashes and thunderclaps, but "we will not be that child."
Their chairs made a scraping noise as the gentlemen who had conferred rose with apparent relief, and began walking up and down, arm in arm, to stretch their legs and converse in couples.
He stood at the back, and, though he had heard hardly anything, understood everything in his own way.
The day after his son had left, Prince Nicholas sent for Princess Mary to come to his study.
Even so, she had accepted it in her mind to a degree.
To be fair, his father hadn't made things any better by offering money to Alex and not his sister.
In fact, she had made a different decision about it so many times that his head must be spinning.
It wouldn't have been so much fun for him if she had reacted the way he did when she told him she was pregnant.
He picked up the newspaper she had set out for him and started to read.
He had seemed amused by her modesty in the past, and yet it had obviously troubled him.
Alex had been hiding more than a father.
She was the country bumpkin that he had to drag everywhere or be accused of being insensitive.
Hadn't they talked enough?
She was the prettiest Appaloosa Carmen had ever seen.
He had an idea of how his father felt, fearing he would have to watch his little boy grow and not being able to be the provider.
Carmen had been his soul mate for a long time.
Well, for starters, I'd have had to compete with every other guy in school.
In spite of what Allen thought, no incriminating words had crossed her lips.
Even so, she had never suspected the truth – the drugs.
Only luck had kept her from joining her family today.
It had been in all the local papers, but she wasn't sure she could talk about it without getting emotional.
Feeling guilty, she used the card Len had given her and dialed his number.
I wish I had known.
And why had he chosen her?
If Giddon had any such plans, he would soon find they were futile.
He had offered her a perfect way out.
Did he know she had spied on them?
She had to get back there and see what was in the building.
Why hadn't she anticipated these questions?
Or maybe she had a suspicious mind.
Yancey had never mentioned the meeting with Allen.
Everyone had tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen.
If Howard hadn't come along when he did, Allen might have killed you.
After all she had been through, journalism looked less attractive.
She had a rough day yesterday.
Maybe she had misjudged his intent.
He had spoken earlier of last night.
His expression softened when he saw she had been crying.
The building she had spent more than a month trying to get into and now was the site of an open house.
Of course, Julia had a lot of room to talk.
The few freckles she had were magnified, but the dark circles under her eyes were a surprise.
Not that Rachel had any reason to complain.
There was another reason she had been turning down Michael's invitations.
I thought I had plenty of time.
If she had come up with Brandon when he asked, she would have been there when Mr. Marsh suffered the heart attack.
They could hardly say she hadn't tried.
It was plain that the Indian girl knew she had created a problem.
But then, she had started it by shoving the pillow under her blouse.
There was no point in telling him she had intended to sleep in the car.
By the time she had cleaned the house and finished the laundry, the day was getting hot and sticky.
That didn't explain what she had seen at the building.
Did he actually tell his mother to get the cake, or had she decided on her own?
As she picked up one of his shirts, she smelled the same odor she had smelled last night.
She bent over and picked it up, discovering that it had a little white powder in the bottom.
She had forgotten who she was confiding in.
Strange he would want to defend Howard after he had tried to dig up information on him.
Maybe he was glad Allen had been exposed and he had not.
It was something she hadn't thought of in that way.
That and the fact that Howard had paid no attention to her while she was choking.
Yet Yancey had been frightened at the very thought of it.
Whether he had arranged things to work out this way or not, her resources had been cut seriously.
Howard had been alienated, and trusting anything with Connie was dubious.
She had to get into that building and find out if there was any chance of a relationship with Yancey.
She needed to get enrolled, but she had done nothing.
The line down the highway blurred for a second and she realized she had nearly fallen asleep.
Never in her life had she been so attracted to a man – so totally out of control in his presence.
No one was in the kitchen, but a note from Sarah explained that she and Tammy had gone to town shopping again.
The odor she had smelled earlier hung in the air.
She shivered, wondering what plan Yancey had for dealing with her.
In the meantime, she had to avoid Yancey while she thought up some excuse for leaving.
Difficult as it was to believe he was involved in something like this, it was even harder to believe he had no interest in her.
Maybe he had no idea she had been there.
He knew she was not in the chair, but he had no way of knowing she had been to the building.
And now she had put herself in a position where she would be alone with him in the car.
Howard hadn't told her.
Yancey didn't get out, but he did wait until she had her car started before he turned his car around and headed back to the house.
She could have left then, and might have if curiosity hadn't gotten the best of her.
She had been a fool to think there was anything between them.
She used the same suit cases when she came and she had the same clothes, but it didn't look like there was enough room to put it all in.
I had my suspicions the day she fell from the cliff.
If she had asked about the building when we passed it, I might have figured she had never seen it, but she pretended she didn't notice.
Apparently her instincts had been correct when she suspected that he was trying to warn her.
His voice had an edge to it.
Maybe I would have if you hadn't retracted it as soon as you said it.
She had a lot of crow to eat and she wasn't feeling the least bit hungry.
Worst of all, she had probably ruined any chance she had with him.
She had created this problem and now it was hers to face alone.
I had to bring you here so I could paint a portrait.
The way it worked out, I had a sitter, mom had help and Tammy had a companion.
What they had witnessed in the last hour required the silence of personal reflection.
Each of them had contributed in some way to that relationship.
Each had walked away with something.
Officer Quint had gained four new friends.
I've got to hand it to you Len; I had it figured completely different.
When he opened the glove box, I was sure he'd come out with a gun, but he had a little tablet instead.
I had already searched for the name Yancey Giddon, but found nothing.
I went to Lathum and told him what I had.
Lisa had time between when Howard left and Giddon arrived to call the police, but she didn't.
I knew he and Lisa had dated for a long time, and I knew they had a falling out, but I never thought he'd try to hurt her physically.
Once again he had caught her napping.
He hadn't been accepted as their roommate because he was pretty.
She'd always had problems putting on weight.
If Brandon hadn't shared his plans with the other girls, it wasn't her place to go blabbing them now.
There was no denying that Brandon was a private person - or that he had confided in her more than Rachel or Julia.
One thing she had plenty of was hair.
The petite brunette had certainly been blessed with her share of beauty.
I told her we had house rules; no hanky-panky, but she didn't believe me.
Hadn't she resigned herself to being the ugly duckling years ago?
If she hadn't grown out of it in twenty-one years, she wasn't likely to.
Someone had a fire going and a pot of coffee on.
A month ago she would have said she might never marry, and yet it had crossed her mind a number of times since she met Bordeaux.
He could promise to love her forever, but hadn't her father said the same thing to Mom?
For the first time she thought about the fact that he had no commitment to them at all, yet he had risked his life for them.
He didn't seem concerned that she had refused to go back.
Was it love that had prompted him to propose, or was there something else?
Even though she had made most of the payments on the land, he still had legal claim.
Why hadn't she thought of that?
Even if it hadn't been dark, visibility would have been less than a few feet.
Sure, there were other places to live, but nothing would be like the valley where she had spent her childhood.
If Bordeaux hadn't caught her, she would have fallen.
How long had it been?
But she had hesitated long enough to lend him encouragement.
Desire still a hot ember inside of her, she was tempted to set the record straight, but maybe it was best he didn't know how close she had come to giving in.
How could men possibly have a greater desire or need than she had just felt?
Was it so different from the way her father had felt?
What was it Pete had said?
If Pete had that much faith in Bordeaux, he had good reason.
When the ache had left her legs numb, and her breath was no longer coming in gasps, they started out again - across sand dunes - up and down.
How far had Bordeaux carried her?
What if he had abandoned her?
How many miles had they traveled today?
Maybe Pete and the guys had reached Ashley by now and a rescue mission was already under way to get them.
Was he angry because he had come so far for nothing?
What a wicked thought to have about the man who had risked his life to protect her - not once, but a number of times in the last few days - and with so little to gain.
When the last horse had been gone for a few minutes, he stood.
He led the horse around and they left the ravine, traveling at right angles to the path the Indians had taken.
Apparently he wasn't going to tell her he had killed the Indian to get his horse back.
She had done nothing but cry, complain and faint since this ordeal had begun.
She avoided looking in the area where she had seen the color, and tried to look undisturbed.
How long would the Indians wait before they realized they had been fooled?
The soft sand in the ravine would make it simple for the Indians to detect where they had emerged.
Bordeaux had been leading the horse along the ravine to spare its hooves, but it had been a risk that hadn't paid off.
The landscape around them was bleak, almost as devoid of plant life as the white sands had been.
Had he lost his mind?
She was taking liberties he had been gentleman enough to resist.
Only that he had repeatedly saved her life - at risk of his own, no less.
They had to talk about everything.
And why had he dumped her the minute they got to town?
Neither of them had been in high spirits yesterday.
Once again she had let her desires drive them from her mind.
After all, they had their father.
And yet, now the twins could return to their beloved ranch – the one she had finished paying off.
Was that what Bordeaux had in mind?
He had been preoccupied yesterday with his business in Ashley.
Bordeaux had one arm wrapped fondly around the shoulders of a saloon girl.
I had to come and see if it was you.
We had no control over what happened.
If he had come out here to get the girl, why had he sent the dress and the flower?
How many women had he promised to marry?
Even if he was a Mormon, how could he make plans with this Darcie when he had proposed to her only an hour ago?
If she hadn't witnessed his exchange with the woman earlier, she would have been certain he was disappointed.
It wasn't the way she had envisioned facing him.
I wish someone had told me he was a Mormon.
If life had taught her anything it was that she could take care of herself.
She had changed into respectable clothes and looked painfully beautiful.
Excuse me for staring, but aren't you the young lady that had Ashley in a dither?
So, Bordeaux had coerced her to meet him at the church after all.
It was no surprise that Darcie had accepted his proposal.
Of course, a little make-up and the right clothes could do wonders - which was a good way to wind up straying off the path she had mapped before she left home.
There were only three bedrooms, and because she had to get up the earliest, she was the lucky one to have a room of her own - with the exception of Brandon, of course.
What had come over him, anyway?
Lately he had seemed discontented.
Maybe his mood had more to do with feeling unappreciated.
Had they been taking him for granted?
Right now she only had time for school.
The house rules had been set up to protect the girls from him.
Roxanne had a set her cap for him and Adrienne had no intention of being the one to spoil her friends' plans.
Roxanne had everything; beauty, a good figure, and a sweet personality.
I thought you girls had some kind of a house rule.
He hadn't been his usual jocular self for the last three weeks, and now this spontaneous trip to see his parents - and inviting her along?
He deserved more than the sympathetic ear she had been lending him lately.
All the same, Brandon introduced them as his parents - and Adrienne as a friend he had met in Tulsa.
At the moment, she was fervently wishing she had stayed home.
Like her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Marsh had the kind of marriage she would like to have some day – happy.
It seemed that she had barely dropped off to sleep, before someone was pounding on her door.
Maybe they had time to get over the shock.
Don't you ever wish you had someone to share your troubles with?
Obviously he had forgotten it was there and he thought she had misread his intent.
If she only had a clue what was bothering him.
Come to think of it, he hadn't been out at all since they returned from his parent's house.
Her date with Michael had been uneventful and he hadn't asked her out since.
Julia and Rachel were looking forward to the event, and each had a boyfriend to drag along.
He scowled at the other girls, and his voice had an unfamiliar edge.
Did you know that the female gender had a guardian?
Was she merely a female to hold for the evening - or was this what he had been trying to tell her for so long?
That could be attributed greatly to the fact that she had avoided any relationships.
Then they were locked in a passionate embrace, seeking and finding the love they had been pushing aside for so long.
And yet, his lips had already told her in another way.
Why hadn't they noticed it was getting so much colder?
How could they have missed feeling the light flakes that had been kissing their cheeks?
If she hadn't been there in his arms only minutes ago, she never would have guessed he had been so aroused.
No wonder he had kept his feelings hidden from her for so long.
He had betrayed her.
All her plans were about to blow up – all this because she had allowed herself to be drawn into a relationship.
They had broken the rules.
What had she been thinking of all this time?
Obviously, she hadn't been doing much thinking at all.
Did you really think you had us fooled?
She had no intention of hopping into bed with Brandon before they were married - house rules or not.
Julia had her own ideas about morality, obviously.
She was going to have her lifelong dream as well as the dream she had recently developed - a life with Brandon.
In the last few weeks she had allowed herself to be distracted.
She had come this far, and nothing was going to stop her now.
Even your parents had to come up to see you.
Was he regretting that he had asked her to marry him?
Hadn't she made it clear that she didn't want any distractions?
Dad had a heart attack this afternoon.
Something had to be done before he got them both killed.
Adrienne screamed, cramming her foot into the floor as if she, too, had a break pedal.
Without a word, he backed the car until they were close to the one that had pulled out in front of them.
You would have, if I hadn't been traveling so fast.
I just got word that my father had a heart attack.
In a way, she had killed her own future father-in-law.
She had to retain her composure.
The only thing he had to say to me was that I should get you or Julia to pick me up.
If you had left when Brandon wanted you to, you still couldn't have done anything.
They all attended the funeral on Wednesday, and Brandon had little to say to any of them.
Mrs. Marsh had found one last reserve of uncontrollable sobs.
I feel awful that Dad had to die because I put my education before his health.
Nothing she had ever experienced in her life was more painful than that moment, knowing his pain and not being able to say a thing to help.
All this time he had to remain strong for his mother.
Now, here with her, he had finally felt comfortable enough to release his emotions.
Sure, they had spent more time wandering on the ranch, but that was only because Brandon wanted to get her alone.
Julia rarely had much to say about anything lately.
They had stored Brandon's things, and Rachel had moved into his room.
Between finals and her job at the hospital, Adrienne rarely had time to think about it much, though.
He went back to the ranch that night, saying that he had cattle to take care of.
So far, she hadn't found a way to broach the subject with Brandon.
Have you had any luck finding a ranch hand?
Apparently Mrs. Marsh had no idea of Brandon's plans for his future.
It wasn't her fault they hadn't seen much of each other lately.
I thought I was marrying a man who had chosen a lifestyle compatible with mine.
His plans hadn't worked out, so now he was bitter because hers did?
He was the one who had been deceptive.
She had made her intentions clear from the beginning.
All she had to do was set her mind to it.
The way she had it figured, the hospital in Bartlesville would tell her there were no openings.
They all didn't understand that she couldn't simply run out and get a job like she had in Tulsa.
The issue was that Brandon hadn't included her in his plans.
Instead, she had heard nothing from him.
Of course, once she had convinced everyone else what a foolish move it would be, how was she going to convince herself that she didn't need Brandon in her life?
To make matters worse, lately she had been dreaming of the ranch as well.
By the smug look on her face, we surmised the letter had to include the answers that were needed.
This thing had gone way too far.
Hadn't she been supportive of Brandon when he made his foolish move of dropping out of college?
Hadn't she been patient while he stayed with his mother?
The envelope had a mind of its own, and it drew her back to the coffee table - demanded that she tear it open and read the answer.
There was a position open at a private home, but the salary had to be wrong.
There had to be a hitch.
When she was young and naive, she had dreamed of such a job.
She had the job she had planned for the last three years.
Why go through all that pain again, when she had almost succeeded in putting him in the past - almost, but not quite.
And yet, she had worked so hard to get where she was.
Wouldn't it be foolish to abandon the carefully laid plans that had helped her achieve her goals in the first place?
It had to be a hoax.
The voice on the telephone had belonged to a middle-aged woman dressed modestly in a dark suit.
Her hair was drawn back severely into a bun and she had black eyes that could render a lie detector machine obsolete.
Brandon folded into the chair Miss Clara had vacated and smiled nervously.
I'm saying what we had together was more important than what I have now.
Probably another greenhorn Pete had to pull out of a scrape.
There was something familiar about that face, yet she was certain she had never met him before.
His bay gelding had the sleek lines of a racehorse and the look of endurance as well.
If Pete had another name, nobody knew it.
She had to decline the last trip because it coincided with her monthly cycle - and this trip was cutting the time close.
She had come prepared for such an emergency, but any delay might prove embarrassing.
Since each wagon had three teams of horses, that could become time consuming - and time was their enemy.
The wheels of the Conestoga wagons had been modified with wide rims to even the load on the sand.
Two times she had been back to visit her siblings, both times at Christmas.
It had been two years since their mother had died - three since their father had run off with that harlot.
Unable to locate him, Cassie had finally agreed to leave the twins with Mr. & Mrs. Hertz, their neighbors.
The Hertz's had not been blessed with children and were adamant that they would love taking care of the twins.
As far as she was concerned, he had relinquished his right to the ranch.
If there had been discord between her parents, she had never seen any indication.
The Frenchman had materialized from the desert on his bay.
Pete laughed and even Davis had to smile.
He had guided wagon trains across Indian Territory and battled the Cheyenne.
That much she knew from a conversation she had overheard between two men in Ashley.
Had he hired Bordeaux?
There had been an instant bond between them from the day they met.
Her face felt hot when she thought of how she had spoken of him.
You said you had a job.
How many miles had he ridden this morning?
Talking with Fritz was better than nothing, but this young man had an unusual way of thinking.
Throwing back the covers that had protected her from the cold night air, she grabbed one of her boots.
Pete usually had a fire going by the time she was ready to fix breakfast.
Maybe Bordeaux had already talked to him.
She handed Bordeaux a plate full of flapjacks she had been keeping warm by the fire and poured some honey over the top.
By the time Bordeaux returned with the cut up snakes, she had lard sizzling in a large skillet.
Grabbing an armful of the hay they had packed around the supplies in each wagon, she dropped it on the sand and the mules eagerly began devouring it.
If I had a horse like you I wouldn't drag him out in this awful desert.
I had a beautiful black once, but I had to sell it.
Of course, we still had Old Charlie, but he wasn't much account.
Bordeaux stepped forward, and before she had time to protest, he swept her up and deposited her on the back of the bay.
She was going to say that the bitter note in her tone was for someone who had betrayed her, but the whole world didn't need to know about their shame.
She continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.
I just had a sudden chill.
Several times she thought movement around the camp had wakened her.
Had he seen them as well?
Bordeaux was the closest thing she'd had to a friend in a long time... other than Pete, of course.
But Bordeaux had a sense of humor that sought and found her own.
If they all hadn't been so close, she would have thought he didn't hear the question.
The confusion was partly due to the fact that everything was happening so fast and partly because she had never responded to a man that way before.
She scraped bones from a plate into a hole she had dug in the sand.
That was where she had seen Bordeaux!
She shot a glance at Bordeaux, who had stopped scraping on a plate.
So, why hadn't he said something?
It wasn't merely chance that Bordeaux had found her.
He had used her and she had played right into his hands.
He had used her and she had been fool enough to think he was actually interested in her.
Her only satisfaction was that he had failed.
Had he already sold the ranch?
She had to go back to get them.
She was angry last night and her voice had been too loud.
Circumstances had merely presented the perfect opportunity.
She poured sand over the fire and waited long enough to make it appear she had given his invitation consideration.
His voice was so calm that she wasn't sure she had heard him right.
After all he had done, he dared talk to her as if she were a child.
The water was cool and had a metallic taste.
If he had buttered up to her, it was merely to make his job easier.
Hadn't he tried to remain aloof?
She was the one who had become serious - and with little encouragement on his part.
Her feelings for Bordeaux had become more than mere friendship.
And yet, Pete had told her to seek out Bordeaux if something happened.
That had to count for something.
She had killed a human being.
Yet his presence reminded her that he was alive because she had taken another life.
Two mules had to be shot.
Cassie had to smile when Bordeaux positioned himself in a spot less than ten feet from her and pretended to settle down for the night.
By the time the wagons were fully engulfed in flames, they had traveled far enough to be out of the firelight.
No, Bordeaux had only one reason for wanting to marry Cassie - the ranch.
He did tell the girl he had a ranch in Texas.
Was she the business he had to take care of?