Brix growled again, not feeling like laughter at all, but Minda went on, “But more important than any of that was Priscilla climbing halfway up the loft ladder this morning while my back was turned, milking Mabel. You should see her, Brixton, how much she learns every single day.”
“Well, Minda, what do you say to these possibilities?” Brix took a deep breath. She hadn't said. Likely it wasn't something she could decide all at once. “Take your time. It'll be all right.”
“Let's go inside, Brixton. Priscilla must be awake from her nap by now. She knows more words each and every day.”
* * * *
A ranch of their own? He was giving up the trail? She placed her hand on her belly. Doc Viessman had confirmed it yesterday. Dreams were coming true faster than she could count.
Her news was so special she couldn't blurt it out on a rough hewn porch with Esperanza's dust still blowing.
Inside the house, Priscilla slept soundly in her little trundle. No doubt her sojourn partway up the ladder had tuckered her out.
“Now, Brixton, don't wake her up,” Minda said, wanting a proper quiet moment to share her joy.
Guiltily, Katie looked up from Minda's worktable, where she sat with the Bonnet Race hat on her head and the purple cloth in her lap.
“Firefly, what you got there?” Brixton said almost sternly.
“Don't be upset with her, Brixton. She gave it to me just now. She figured if I saw it, I couldn't stay mad at you.”
His hand on Katie's shoulder was as gentle as a father's. “Was a pretty hard secret to keep. Looks like your mama's fixing up her hat. Think she forgives me for wrecking it?”
Katie threw herself into his arms, starting a flood of tears. “Oh, Uncle Brix, it's all my fault. All mine.”
“What's gone wrong, Firefly?” He knelt in front of her, eye level, and gave her braids a kiss. “Looks like you're braiding up your hair just fine.”
“But nobody does it like you,” Katie said.
“Nobody else has got to. I'm home, Firefly. To stay. Wherever it might be.” He got to his feet, eyes on Minda. She still hadn't agreed to his wonderful plans, and she saw hope deep in his glance. “Now what's this fault of yours?”
“I didn't know ‘til now. Mama slept late that day. She was so tired.”
Minda caught Brixton's hot glance then, but it was more than likely the little load she carried that had exhausted her. Katie was clearly distraught.
“Silly woke up and I went to get some clean britches. She was toddling all over, chewing on a scrap of paper. I pulled it from her mouth. It was all crumpled up. I thought it must be trash, so I used it to kindle the stove. But Uncle Brix, I think now it was your note!”
He held tight to the sobbing child, but managed a wink at Minda. She smiled back in defeat and victory both. He had left a note like he'd said. In her heart, she had wanted to believe.
“Now listen, Firefly. You couldn't know, not ‘til just now, what that was. You dry up those tears. Looks like your new mama has something to say to me. So how about you find Ned outside and do some playing before suppertime?”
Katie kissed him on the cheek and ran out like any happy healthy child, and Minda's heart surged at Brixton's acknowledgement of her as the children's new mama. She'd never replace Ida Lou, nor would Brixton ever become more important than Norman Dale, but between the two of them, they would be all the parents the children would ever need, and more.
“Brixton, the dress fabric. It's beyond beautiful. I'm sorry Firefly ruined your surprise, but she was something like desperate.”
He grinned boyishly, but his eyes let her know he was all man. The tiny cracks in her heart had already healed, and she knew she'd go anywhere with him, and back again.
“Well,” he said, “I got it to match your lovely hat. And I am pleased it isn't beyond repair. That hat, well, Miz Haynes, I may have said it before. Other than that wedding veil of yours, nothing has ever made you look more beautiful.”
Her healing heart melted at his words, and her skin tingled from his touch.
“Thing is, Minda. I got gifts for the kids on my travels. Oglalla dolls for the girls and a drum for Ned. But that...” He pointed ruefully at the fabric. “That dress bolt was your surprise.”
“And indeed it was, Brixton. But I have a little something for you, too.”
His eyes lightened like a child's but he shook his head. “Now, Fara was more than enough.”
“I don't think so. Not when you hear. Remember you mentioned someday selling the farm and dividing the profits into thirds?”
He nodded.
“I think you'll want to try fourths.” She took his hand and laid it on her belly. As his eyes widened with wonder, she watched the realization bloom.
“Sweet Lord. Minda,” His voice and hands trembled in the same rhythm. “You sure?”
“Yes. Doc Viessman is, too.”
Tight against his chest, she heard his heart beat, arms holding him as close as they could be without the ultimate loving that she knew would keep them both awake all night long.
“Can hardly believe it,” he murmured.
She looked away with sudden anxiety. “Brixton, after Esperanza, I have no wish to have you think you're trapped.”
“Minda, this is a natural result of our love. I can't even bring my joy to words.” He gazed into her eyes. “Each time Neddie-boy yapped about needing a brother, I kept thinking about how it would be, our babe nurturing deep inside you.”
Our love? Our babe? Minda's heart soared. “Brixton, that ranch sounds like a grand place for a cattleman to raise his family. I'll be there every step of the way. And I can bring in a load of hats to sell every time we come visit Jake and Gracey.”
He squeezed her harder. “I have made my intentions known, Miz Haynes. I intend to be there every step of the way myself.”
Minda believed him, and knew he meant it as well as he could. He'd long stated he wasn't a hearth and home man, and she knew that didn't preclude his love for any of them. But she remembered her discussions with Gracey, and with Jake who knew Brixton best of all.
“Brixton, I love you. I truly do, and I've known practically forever. I've accepted you as who you are. It wouldn't be fair to do differently. You need open space, and no roof or walls. Since that's who you are, well, I won't mind if you need to take off sometimes. Just don't leave a note. Let me know for real.”
“Oh, Minda. That won't happen.”
“Tut, tut, don't make promises,” she said. “I'm just laying down some basic rules.”
“I mean it, Minda. When you're not at my side, it feels like, well, I can only describe what my old pal Timmy Jacobson said. Truth is, I doctored his leg one time on the trail but he lost it to the gangrene anyway. He said ever after that it felt like he still had his leg attached at the hip, even though it was all the way gone.”
“So, Mr. Haynes, you are comparing me to a gangrenous leg?”
His glorious face flushed just for a moment. Then he took her in his arms. “Not at all. What I mean is, wherever you might be, wherever you might go, Minda, my home is you. And I love you. Time was I never thought I'd say the words again, much less feel them. But I do love you, Miz Haynes. With all my heart.”
With one hand, Minda brushed tears from her lashes, love and hope covering each inch of her body with a warmth she knew would comfort her all the days of her life.
“Then, Mr. Haynes, I think it's time for this,” she said, nearly breathless. She reached into her pocket for the wedding band she'd bought at the mercantile and gently took Brixton's left hand.
It fit perfectly.
About the author...
A native Californian, Tanya Hanson loves life near the Pacific coast with a real-life hero—her firefighter husband—and two very spoiled black Labs. Her son and daughter survived the college-prep classes she taught as a high school English teacher and went on to obtain their own degrees. These days she just can't get enough of her toddler grandson, but she does take time to snorkel in Hawaii and work on her rose bushes when she's not writing or reading. New England in the fall is just about her favorite place to visit, although New York City and Nebraska run close behind.
Visit her at www.tanyahanson.com
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