There was a round of acknowledgment from her family, but Emma remained silent.
“This is my second eldest, Bowie.” GW indicated the man standing to his right. He was the tallest of all the men and he had a full beard. His hair was long, and when he tipped his head forward it covered a black patch over his left eye. Emma glimpsed a scar and black markings on his face before he turned away from her perusal. He had a commanding, if not brooding, countenance. He hadn’t been at church. If he had, she would have recalled seeing him.
“This is Travis,” GW said, nodding at the man standing next to Austin.
“Dr. Travis,” Hays said with a light punch to Travis’s arm.
“Travis will be fine.” He gave his brother a good-natured punch in return. “Welcome to Hartville.”
Where Bowie was rough and withdrawn, Travis Hart was gentlemanly and hospitable. His brown eyes and hair were much darker than most of the others, and he had an easy, caring smile. He caught Emma’s eye and she smiled in return.
“My next son, Houston, is out in California. But this is Crockett,” GW said, indicating the man beside Bowie.
Crockett nodded a warm greeting, and Emma instantly liked the handsome man with the bright clothing. He also had dark hair and brown eyes but wasn’t as polished as Travis. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Boy number six is Chisholm,” GW said with a tinge of pride in his voice. “He’s a Texas Ranger.”
“And this scoundrel,” Travis said, putting his arm around Hays’s shoulder and roughing his hair up a bit, “is Hays.”
“The baby of the family,” Austin chimed in with a wink.
GW smiled and shook his head. “You’ve already met my youngest. Seems he knows everyone.”
“We’ve had the pleasure,” Papa said.
Hays elbowed Travis in the side, and when his brother dropped his arm, he made a show of straightening his dark hair. “The pleasure was all mine.” Hays glanced past Papa and offered Emma another grin. “I had the good fortune of meeting Miss Emma Longley when I was tacking up one of my posters.”
“By the way.” Austin crossed his arms and frowned. “I had to explain to Meribeth Mortenson at the mercantile that those things were a joke.”
Hays hung his thumbs in the pockets of his denim pants. “No joke.”
“Did anyone actually answer the advertisement?” Travis asked, squinting at Hays as he studied his younger brother.
“Not yet.”
Austin looked at Emma with a pained expression. “My apologies, Miss Longley. Our brother has very little tact. Apparently he doesn’t mind that the entire town knows about Pa’s … interesting edict.”
GW Hart cleared his throat.
“Miss Longley is the new schoolteacher,” Hays said quickly.
The abrupt change in conversation caused all eyes to turn to Emma.
She offered a polite smile, but thankfully a middle-aged woman entered the room at that moment and saved her from all the attention.
“Se?or Hart.” The Mexican lady addressed GW.
“Yes, Perla?”
“La cena está servida.” She looked at Emma and dipped her head with a kind nod. “Dinner is served.”
“Shall we?” GW asked.
Everyone followed Perla out of the parlor and into the dining room.
A long walnut table was set with fine china and thick crystal. Dark walnut wainscoting graced the walls, and walnut beams crisscrossed the ceiling. Between the beams, gold plated tin added yet another texture, and dark green paper covered the walls.
The dining room was just as stunning as the rest of the house.
GW went to the head of the table, and his sons spread out on either side, with Bowie to his right, and Austin, Travis, Crockett, and Hays to his left. Each stood by a beautifully hand-carved chair bearing initials. Their monograms?
Three engraved chairs sat vacant, and the magnitude of their emptiness wasn’t lost on Emma. Two were positioned near Bowie, and one was at the foot of the table. She assumed they were for Victoria, Houston, and Chisholm. A stunning portrait above the fireplace could be of none other than the late Victoria Hart.
Hays quickly pulled a chair from along the wall and placed it between him and Crockett. “Miss Emma, I’d be honored if you’ll sit beside me.”
Crockett rolled his eyes in a playful manner and then turned his amused face toward Emma. “We’d both be honored.”
David and Hope were given chairs beside Bowie, and Mama and Papa sat on either side of GW.
Perla disappeared behind a silk screen, and when she returned she held a steaming tureen of soup. The delicious aroma met Emma’s nose before she glimpsed the contents.
“This is menudo.” Perla ladled the dark beef and bean soup into each person’s bowl, and then nodded for them to eat.
GW said a prayer and then they partook of the savory soup.