Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

and one for Jed. Lucy was beautiful, but it was much too soon for her to share a bed with him, even if he wished it. And he didn’t. Not yet.
    As if the thought had brought her, Lucy stepped into the barn with the feed bags over her arm. “Eileen is down for the night. Could I get some straw to stuff the mattresses?”
    Nate pointed to the stack of clean straw at the back of the barn. “Help yourself. You look tired. Let me help you get the mattresses stuffed so we can all get to bed.”
    She turned to face him. “There are many things we need to set up a home. Would your pa have extra he could share?”
    Nate stiffened. “I’m no pauper, Lucy. Give me a list of what you need, and I’ll get it in town.”
    She inclined her neck. “I would like to go with you, if I might.”
    Great. Now the whole town would gawk at her like she was his prize filly. He shrugged. “Suit yourself. In the morning we’ll go see Pa, then take a quick run to town.” He hefted an end of the bed and nodded for Jed to pick up the other end. Carrying the bed to the house, he reflected on how the day had turned out nothing like he expected.
    THE NEXT MORNING, discouragement slowed Lucy’s steps as she trudged after Nate to the barn. She’d gotten little sleep after reflecting on her failures the day before. Not only had she gone into hysterics over a spider, but she’d let a wolf corner her. Why hadn’t she faced the animal down and forced it to back off? Instead, she acted like a damsel in distress. What would Nate think?
    Climbing into the buckboard, she glanced at Nate from the corner of her eye. He didn’t seem to be upset by her failure. But he had to be wondering if she was entirely too frightened and sissified to be of much use on the ranch. The Stars Above Ranch would never take its place with the big cattle empires with her slowing him down.
    Nate was a fine man, and he deserved a strong wife, one who faced up to the challenges of this wild land instead of screaming for help over a spider a fraction of her size. She wished she could get over her fear of spiders, but it had dogged her ever since she could remember.
    She studied her new husband as he handed Eileen up to her and waited for Jed to climb into the back. Nate’s sandy hair blew in the wind, and his gray eyes looked luminous in the sun. He’d surprised her by agreeing to kill the spiders in the loft. He hadn’t made her feel inadequate by asking for help either. A warm feeling enveloped her when she remembered the way he’d rushed to help when the wolf-dog was threatening her.
    No other man had ever offered to protect her before. Nate’s gesture baffled Lucy. She’d always prided herself on taking care of everyone else, yet her deepest longing was for someone like Nate to nurture and protect her. How could she earn his love if she wasn’t all he wanted in a wife? She would have to work harder.
    Eileen cuddled against Lucy’s side. “Will Bridget be all right?” Her blue eyes were enormous in her pale face as she peered up at Lucy.
    Lucy hugged her close. “The dog will be fine, Eileen. I left her water and some food. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
    In a few hours it would be bedtime. Lucy’s mouth went dry at the thought of the coming night. She’d fixed Nate’s bed in the loft, but what would she do if he expected her to join him there? Things had been fine last night because they were all exhausted. But what if his expectations tonight were different?
    She would just have to tell him the children needed her close for a while. And it was the truth. But he seemed too aloof to expect her company in bed. And he had built a bed for her and Eileen.
    They rounded the bend in the road, and the ranch house came into view. It felt like home to Lucy already. The two-story house sprawled in several directions, and the front porch beckoned her like an old friend. Over the crest of the hill, she could see several riders rounding up cattle, and Lucy straightened in