He went about his chores thinking of Katherine. Was he providing enough reason for her to stay? What if she did meet someone?

Fergie had taken the afternoon and evening off, so Kate sliced ham and made sandwiches for their supper. They drank milk and ate canned peaches. Noah glanced at her from time to time. He didn't have to see her through another man's eyes, because his own told him well and good what an appealing sight she made.

That night as he lay in bed with her across the hall, his mind conjured up dozens of scenarios. He saw himself teaching Levi's young son to ride and rope. The boy would be accepting of Noah's looks, as Levi had been. Noah still hoped that by exposure from infancy, the child wouldn't fear him. He pictured them eating meals together as a family and the child learning to read and write of an evening.

Then, thanks to Estelle's vile suggestions, Noah saw a man entering the picture. He cataloged the young men he barely knew, the widowers, imagining one or more of them seeking out Katherine. Who would it be? Someone handsome and charming. Someone who could win her heart and who would ask her to marry him.

She would be a beautiful bride.

And then?he would take her away. Noah would be alone again. No young voice. No slates on the table. No marbles or toy horses scattered around.

It was a dramatic scenario and he was only torturing himself with the sensational images. But he knew he didn't want her to take away his nephew. And he didn't know what would make her stay.

The more he thought about Estelle's suggestion, the less wild it seemed. It was a plus that Katherine didn't cringe at his appearance, didn't show her revulsion. But marrying him? It was one thing to sit across the table from him or to look at his eyes when they spoke. It was an entirely different thing to expect her to share a room. A bed. And he wouldn't expect her to do either.

Tomorrow was a new week. He had much to do finishing both rooms, and here he was lying awake conjuring up impossible dreams. Noah scoffed at himself and diverted his thoughts to cows. Nice, safe cows.

Two aigs were delivered early in the week. The following week wallpaper arrived. That Thursday the furniture came and by Friday the rooms were finished.

Noah stayed away from the house while workers from town were there, but came to help Kate arrange the pieces to her liking and hang new curtains.

With a tiny floral-striped print on the walls, lace curtains and a solid mahogany headboard and chest of drawers, her new room suited her. It was cheerful and pretty, yet not frilly or overdone. She'd also selected a chest that stood at the foot of her bed. Annie had given her drawings of flowers and she'd framed and hung them. A cradle padded with white blankets stood nearby.

The baby's room was a pale yellow, with an iron crib, a chest of drawers and a rocking chair. Noah had taken it upon himself to order a rocking horse and to build shelves for toys along the wall under the window. The shelves also served as a bench.

As they studied the layout together, Kate was overwhelmed by the enormity of the changes in her life and by Noah's generosity.

"I feel I should be doing more." She blinked back tears. "You've done all this." She gestured with an inadequate sweep of her arm. "And I've given so little."

He raised his chin to look at her. He'd left his hat downstairs, something he did more and more often around her, and she could plainly see his eyes and the scar that puckered the outside corner of the left one. "There's something more you can do."

Kate's spirits soared. Noah was finally going to let her contribute something. She smiled with pleasure and faced him, her hands clasped together in expectation. "What? Say it. Anything you'd like. I do so want to be more important, to feel as though I belong."

"You belong," he assured her. "Don't doubt it."

She took a seat on the bench by the window and smoothed the fabric of the black dress she wore over her knees. "Don't keep me waiting. What is it you'd ask of me?"

Noah averted his face. Dimly she recognized the instinctive action resulted because she sat in front of the window, and the light would surely strike his face if he looked directly at her.

He raised his chin and stood with both feet solidly planted on the new rug. "Marry me."

Chapter Six.

JVate blinked a few times, mentally adjusting her hearing and her comprehension. She must have heard wrong. She flattened a palm to her chest. "Noah?"

He backed up a step but looked directly at her. "You're my brother's wife. We can make a new family. Raise his child together. I don't expect love. This isn't about that. This is about the baby. About family."

"Well. Let me catch my breath and think." Absently she fingered a tendril of hair that lay against her neck. "The idea's not outlandish. Fairly common probably, and people do marry for worse reasons."

She stood and moved to stand at the other side of the room, so the light would be behind him and he'd feel comfortable looking at her.

"This is what you want?"

He seemed to consider his reply for a moment.

"According to the Bible it's a man's duty to take his brother's widow."

She would just as soon have heard him say it was what he wanted, rather than his duty, but she couldn't

afford girlish fantasies or fanciful expectations. Her life was about survival, not dreams.

He had told her she was welcome here forever, but if they became man and wife, her place would be

wholly secure. Her baby would be provided for and have a stable home to grow and learn. Rock Ridge would truly be their home. Should she trust that he meant what he said?

"The ranch will be your son's," he told her, as though interpreting her silence, "whether we marry or not."

"What about you?" Another thought had occurred to her. "Was there anyone before I came? I wouldn't

want you to be sorry you married me because you felt it was your duty to your brother. All this time I've just assumed you had no plans and no special woman in your life, but I haven't asked."

"There's no one," he assured her.

"Perhaps in the future? You could meet a woman more suitable. It's plain I don't have many skills for living on a ranch."

"No one," he said again. "I don't want to hire you as a hand, I want to take you as a wife." Take you as a wife. Her heart fluttered at those words. She'd never felt like a man's wife before. Except for the intimate parts, she supposed. But Levihadn't thought enough of her to provide for her. He hadn't even stayed on or been faithful. Noah would take the commitment seriously. He'd already seen to her welfare in dozens of ways. She wanted to truly be a man's wife. To truly belong and have a home. "My answer is yes, then. It's what I want, too." He looked surprised, as though he hadn't expected her to agree at all, especially not so quickly, and his expression worried her. A sudden concern gave her pause and she took a step forward. "You did want me to say yes, didn't you? If you were just asking because you thought it was the right thing to do and you were hoping I'd say no, that wasn't how I took it. You were very convincing and?" He held up a hand. "I wanted you to say yes. It's only one word." "All right. Yes." But she couldn't stop at that. "This was unexpected, but I know it's the right thing. As long as we've made up our minds, we ought to just move right ahead, don't you agree? When shall we do it, then?"

"We only need the reverend and witnesses."

She nodded. Plenty of women married immediately after being widowed. Especially if they had children who needed provision. She wanted to tie up this agreement as soon as possible, but she didn't want to make more out of it than it was. "I'm in mourning, so it should be quiet and simple."

"I'll talk to Reverend Davidson right away."

"Estelle," she said, suddenly thinking of the woman. "She doesn't approve of me. Will she object?"

"No."

"How can you be certain? Well, I guess there's nothing she could do anyway. Is there?" Glancing down at the dress she'd worn because Estelle insisted it was proper, Kate had another question. "She won't expect me to wear black, will she? I have so many new dresses. Annie just finished an especially pretty one."

"Wear any color you like. It's your day."

A nervous flutter dipped in her chest and she smiled. Her day. Her wedding day. It wouldn't be that different from the day she'd married Levi in front of a justice of the peace, but at least this marriage would be spoken over by a preacher. She prayed what she'd seen of Noah's character was true and that her future would be more secure. How could she be certain? She'd learned the hard way that nothing was ever guaranteed. But this was her best opportunity and she would think positively.

"May I carry flowers?"

"If you wish, certainly."

"May I ask Annie to attend? She's the nearest thing I've ever had to a friend, and it would be such a delight to have someone there who wishes me well."

Noah didn't appear too pleased at that request. She remembered Marjorie's statement that he never went to town. Even at Levi's funeral he had stayed to the side and then disappeared for the duration of the day. Expecting him to appear in front of a gathering in church was out of the question.

"I have an idea," she said. "Why don't we have the service here? The parlor is large enough for a few guests. We could hold the ceremony of an evening, rather than during the day when folks need to work."

By planning the event indoors and in the evening, she could control the situation so that the room was lit by only one or two lanterns and not overly bright. Noah would be much more at ease.

"Would that be acceptable?" she asked eagerly.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Will we invite Estelle?"

"Not on my behalf. Do you want her here?"

She shook her head in relief.

The next few moments were awkward. Kate suspected a good many engagements and weddings were planned without romantic trappings or feelings of any kind, but she felt as though the two of them should seal this important agreement some way.

Impulsively she stepped forward. Raising one arm to Noah's shoulder, she stretched up on tiptoe so she could kiss his cheek.

"Your beard tickles. I didn't know what it would feel like."

His body stiffened and he said nothing.

"I'm going to look through my new dresses and decide which one I'll wear." She turned and practically floated from the room.

Noah's face was warm and he could still feel the touch of her lips on his cheek. He raised his fingers to the place where she'd pressed a kiss. Katherine was unlike anyone he'd ever known. But then, he'd never known a woman before.

Sometimes he wondered if there was something wrong with her vision, but obviously there was not-she described everything she saw and did in vivid detail. And she had seen his hands and his chest and his eye. Only a small portion of his face was visible above his beard, but she had asked him about the scars.

So she could see well enough, but she had little reaction?something he wasn't used to.

He didn't need defending, but she took his side when speaking to Estelle, and that was amazing in itself.

She had accepted his proposal of marriage, a marriage without love or physical attraction, and she hadn't had to think long about it. She needed the security, just as Estelle had predicted. Noah had planned to entice her, and it had worked.

And then she'd intuitively understood his reluctance to appear in public and had, without direct mention, asked to be married here. In the evening. Conditions arranged to his unspoken preference.

A feeling like a yawning hunger pulled in his chest. She had the ability to humble him. Not shame him. Never to shame him. This was a new feeling. And it would take some getting used to. He hoped the feeling?and Katherine?stayed and that he had a chance to get used to both of them.

Without wasting any time, Noah saddled a horse and rode to Copper Creek. It had been a while since he'd set foot in town, and he avoided the main street, riding out of his way to approach the preacher's from the opposite direction.

A plump woman in a flowered dress and starched white apron stepped out onto the porch at his arrival. He dismounted, tied the bay to a hitching post and stood at the fence. He never got close to people. From that distance, he appreciated the display of climbing pink roses that arched over the porch entrance.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure," the woman called with a friendly dimpled smile.

"Noah Cutter, ma'am. I'm here to see the reverend."

"Come inside." She gestured to the brick path between them. "He's having his afternoon coffee."

Noah didn't want to get any closer and he definitely wouldn't enter the house. If he did, courtesy would dictate he remove his hat. He took a few steps, but his gait stalled. "Won't take but a minute, ma'am. If you'd ask him to step outside, I'd appreciate it."

"1 make a good cup of coffee and there are fig cookies," she told him. "But I can serve them up out here equally as well. You wait just a minute, Mr. Cutter." Turning, she opened the screen door and entered the house.

He glanced up and down the street, relieved to find it empty of travelers or neighbors. He pulled on his gloves and walked toward the house.

A few minutes later Preacher Davidson came out in his shirtsleeves. "How do, Noah?"

Noah climbed the stairs and shook his hand. "Well, sir."

The preacher had glanced at his gloved hand, but said, "Have a seat."

Noah wasn't good company, didn't have any practice at social activities, so he looked at the chairs before deciding he had no choice. He perched on one.

"You picked a beautiful spring day to come calling," the man said cordially.

"I want to get married."

The preacher's eyebrows rose. "You always were a man of few words. That's a sign of wisdom,

according to the book of Proverbs. Well, well. Married. Now that's news. Can I assume you have a wife picked out?"

Noah nodded. "Katherine."