Four hours later I sit in Pa's chair by the sofa an' watch Leo sleep. We've gotten her to eat two hearty meals since Doc Martin left, once at lunch an' then again at supper which was 'bout half an hour ago. Either Doc's words hit home or she just feels really bad cuz she hasn't put up a fight 'bout lyin' around an' restin'. I figured she'd at least try an' get up a few times or somethin' but she hasn't.
I've known she was a beauty since that first time I saw her, but she looks purtier somehow as she sleeps. Her hair's kinda messy an' all around her face but it looks more like a blonde halo or somethin' instead of just a mess. Then with her long lashes layin' on her pink cheeks an' her lips parted in sleep slightly, she's enough to tempt any man. Her husband sure was a lucky man to have had this little filly for as long as he did.
Walkin' outta the bedroom, Pa comes over to me. He lays his hand on my shoulder with a sigh. We both just quietly watch her sleep for a few minutes. Steppin' around me, Pa sits down on the fireplace. He looks at me then at Leo and back at me again.
"You love her, don't you?" He finally asks. The question doesn't surprise me, Pa can read all three of us boys like one of his books. Somehow it seems like he knows me better than I know myself sometimes.
Standin', I walk around the chair. Grabbin' the back of it in my big ole hands, I watch Leo shift in her sleep. I turn to look back at Pa an' find him watchin' me, waitin' for my answer.
"Can we go outside for a bit?" I ask cuz I don't want to wake up Leo. Anyhow it would be dadburn awkward talkin' 'bout someone when they're layin' right there on the sofa asleep beside you. Plus she might not really be asleep but just pretendin' or restin' with her eyes closed.
"Sure, son, we can go outside if you want." We walk out onto the front porch. I lean my back against the porch pole while Pa sits in a chair. He continues to watch me for a moment. "You love her, don't you?"
"Yea, Pa, I guess I do." I sigh an' it feels like it goes clear to my toes. "I know it sounds so dadburn foolish since I've only known her for a few days, but, Pa, I do. I really do love that little gal."
"I can't say I blame you son, she's a very beautiful young lady."
"You don't think I'm foolish then?"
"No, not at all." Standin' up, he puts his hand on my shoulder. Turin' towards him, I watch his eyes as he talks. "She's a strong, able girl with a sweet temper, and from what I've seen, a big heart. On top of that she's also got a stubborn streak, which, of course, isn't bad and can probably make her almost feisty sometimes. She's everything any man could want, Hoss. And even more important she compliments you."
"What'd you mean by that?"
"You know, the two of you go together. In a way you're like two peas in a pod."
"Like she's my better half?"
"Exactly."
"But the only problem now is whether or not she could love a big, ugly man like me." I sigh again.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have too hard of a time with that, and Hoss you aren't ugly." Scrunchin' my eyebrows together, I give him a look. "Hoss, it isn't about how a man looks on the outside but how he looks on the inside. It's about whether or not they have a good heart and that, son, is something you have, a great, big generous heart."
"Well, I guess Adam an' Little Joe are just downright plum lucky!"
"How's that?"
"They've both got such dadburn good looks plus some of the biggest hearts I know!" We both have a good laugh together for a moment. After I stop laughin', I wonder 'bout somethin' he just said. "Pa, what'd you mean when you said I wouldn't have a hard time winnin' Leo over?"
"Well, Hoss, I've seen the way she looks at you when you're not looking." He watches me. "And then that night Cherry had that seizure, the way Leo let you hold her. A woman wouldn't just let a man hold her like that or look at him like she looks at you when she doesn't at least care for him a little bit."
"But how can I make her love me if she only cares for me a little bit?"
"Just continue what you're doing right now and wait and see."
YOU ARE READING
Leo (Romancing the Ponderosa Book 3)
ФанфикWhen Hoss saves a little girl from getting trampled by two drunks' horses, he never knew what it would bring him or the rest of his family. After talking the little girl's widowed mother into coming to stay on the Ponderosa, the rest of the family t...
