Waiting for Morning (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series) (40 page)

“I always saw you clearly,” she said softly.

He tilted his head. “So where do we go from here?”

We.
He said
we.
She exhaled. She ran her hands up and down her arms. She no longer trembled out of fear but rather anticipation, hope, and, more than anything, love.

“I don’t know what the future holds. I leave that in God’s hands. What I do know is that I love you with all my heart, and if you still want this stubborn woman . . .”

“Molly,” he said, grabbing her by the arms. “Molly Hatfield . . . are . . . are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

She nodded.

With a cry of joy he pulled her close. Laughing, she buried her head against his chest.

“Is that a yes?” she asked. “Does this mean you still want me?”

“Oh, Molly, how can you even ask me that? I want you, I love you, I need you . . . I . . .” Tightening his hold, he murmured the sweetest, most beautiful words in her ears, his warm breath
showering down like gentle rain. “I know that Donny will always come first but . . .”

She lifted her head and touched a finger to his lips. “Not anymore. Thanks to you, Donny will do just fine. He doesn’t need a nursemaid and he certainly doesn’t need an overprotective sister.”

Caleb gazed at her with such tenderness she was afraid to breathe.
Please, God, if this is just a dream, don’t let me wake up. Ever!

“You’ve made me the happiest man alive.” He showered her with kisses, and the sweet tenderness of his lips made her tremble with pleasure. He kissed her again and again, each time his lips becoming more demanding, but then she had some demands of her own to make.

They might have stayed locked in each other’s arms forever had Magic not barked and Orbit whinnied as if to say
, Hey, you two. Let’s go home.

Chapter 37

E
leanor sat at her desk staring at the contract clause forbidding her “heiress” to marry. Robert criticized her for including such a stipulation, but it was there for good
reason. Marriage complicated matters. It diminished a woman’s abilities,
diverted her attention, and inevitably broke her heart. Married men could run a ranch; married women could not.

A knock sounded at the door. “Come in.”

The door opened and Molly stuck in her head. “We found Orbit.”

Eleanor barely bothered to look up. “It’s about time. Now maybe we can get some work done.”

“Do you have a moment?” Molly asked.

Eleanor sat back in her chair, pen in hand. “Come in.”

Molly walked into the room and closed the door. Dressed in divided skirt, checkered shirt, and wide-brimmmed hat, Molly looked nothing like the girl Eleanor had first set eyes on all those weeks ago. It wasn’t only the clothes that made the difference; she no longer seemed to carry the world on her shoulders, and the glow on her face had nothing to do with paint. Obviously ranch work agreed with her and this gave Eleanor a measure of satisfaction.

Molly moistened her lips. “I apologize for the disruption this morning and for taking the men away from their duties.”

“See that it doesn’t happen again.” Eleanor folded her hands on the desk. “I guess this is as good a time as any to discuss your brother. I decided to hire him a nursemaid.” Convinced that the girl would welcome the news, Eleanor was surprised to see Molly frown.

“Why . . . why would you do such a thing?”

Eleanor shrugged. “My banker friend told me that I have you to thank for chasing away that awful man Hampshire. It’s the least I can do to show my appreciation.”

“That’s very kind of you but Donny doesn’t need a nursemaid.”

Eleanor discounted Molly’s objection with a wave of a hand. “He might not, but you do. The ranch needs your full attention, and the only way that will happen is if someone else takes care of him.”

Molly stepped away from the door and stood directly in front of the desk. “Donny made it all the way to the barn by himself.”

Eleanor tossed her pen on the desk. “Am I supposed to applaud him for letting one of my horses free?”

“He only did it because he thought Orbit’s life was in danger. He shouldn’t have let him go, but it was still a great accomplishment.” Hands planted on the edge of the desk, Molly leaned forward, her face earnest. “During the Dobson Creek fire he didn’t even try to save himself and he could have died. I never thought to see the day when he could get in and out of his chair by himself.”

“He still needs help,” Eleanor said briskly. She glanced down at the contract in front of her. Molly’s name was typed neatly at the top of the page. Was it too soon to have the girl sign it? Perhaps then Molly would more readily accept Eleanor’s proposal.

Molly straightened. “I love your ranch. It gave Donny and me
our first real home. I don’t know how I can ever thank you. You are truly the kindest and most generous person I’ve ever met.”

“Oh dear.” Eleanor lifted her hand to her forehead. “I do believe those were the exact same words my husband said before he walked out.”

Molly’s face softened.
Good heavens, don’t let that be pity.
Eleanor despised pity, especially when it was directed at her.

“I . . . I’m leaving the ranch,” Molly said.

“Leav—” Eleanor quickly recovered. She glanced down at the contract on her desk. “I was about to suggest that. Since . . . you turned down my offer for a nursemaid, there are no other options.”

“I’m sorry,” Molly said, and she sounded like she really meant it. “I didn’t mean to put you to so much trouble.”

“No trouble. I’ve had to let a lot of people go in my time.” Foolish girl. She had no idea what she was throwing away. “So what do you plan to do? Pursue your . . .
singing
career?” Eleanor couldn’t imagine anyone choosing to work in a saloon over running a ranch but stranger things had happened. Kate Tenney marrying the blacksmith was a good example.

Molly hesitated. “No, it’s not that. I’m in love with someone.”

Eleanor hadn’t expected this. “With whom?” she snapped.
It better not be one of my ranch hands!

“Dr. Fairbanks. I plan to help him in his office. He needs a nurse assistant. It will make things a little easier for him. I’m not trained, but I’m a fast learner and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. We love each other.”

Eleanor felt like she’d been kicked by a mule. As if the doctor with his noisy rattletrap hadn’t caused enough trouble. “Love is like that horse you call Orbit,” she said brusquely. “It’s blind and won’t get you anywhere.”

“I believe love will take me wherever I want to go,” Molly said.

Eleanor rubbed her temples. What was wrong with today’s youth, believing such nonsense? In her day women married mostly for convenience—seldom for love. They married for security. The ranch offered all the security anyone could want, making such marriages unnecessary.

“I’m so very, very sorry, Miss Walker. I really wanted to do right by you. The money you loaned us . . . I’ll repay every penny.”

“The money wasn’t for you,” Eleanor said, her voice taut. “It was for Donald.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “Why would you give my brother money?”

Eleanor studied her a moment before answering. “Do you know that cows pee backwards?”

Molly frowned. “Pardon me?”

Eleanor gave a knowing nod. Molly’s leaving the ranch really was for the best. The girl had no feel for cattle. Horses maybe, but not cattle, the lifeline of the ranch.

“Your brother knows a great many things. I suspect he also knows enough
not
to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now get out of here. I’ve got a ranch to run.”

Molly looked about to say something but changed her mind. She quietly slipped out of the room, giving Eleanor one last questioning glance before closing the door.

Eleanor picked up the contract, glanced at it a moment, then ripped it up.

She stared at the empty space Molly left behind.
Drat!
She would miss the girl. As much as she hated to admit it, she’d even grown fond of Donald.

Love.
What a thief. It sneaked up where it wasn’t wanted and
grabbed the best and brightest. Only the old and wise knew how to avoid Cupid’s clever traps.

If Robert were here, he’d no doubt try to talk her into selling the ranch again.

Robert
. What a dear, sweet man. He’d proposed numerous times but never once had he uttered the word
love
. A good thing. A
very
good thing. Because even an old hand like her couldn’t protect her heart forever.

Donny hadn’t stopped grinning since Caleb broke the good news of Orbit’s rescue. His smile grew even wider when Caleb pushed him out to the corral to see for himself.

“Why is he wearing a bandage?” Donny asked.

“One of the wolves swiped at him, but don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.” Molly had groomed the horse while Caleb attended to the wound.

Donny stroked Orbit’s sleek neck. “I heard you had quite an adventure.”

Magic barked as if to concur, and Donny leaned over to scratch him behind a furry ear.

“What’s going to happen to Orbit, Doc?”

“I don’t know. I guess that’s up to Miss Walker.” Caleb straightened. “Right now I want to talk to you man to man.”

“Does this have anything to do with the Flagstaff observatory?”

Caleb frowned. “Why would you think that?”

Donny folded his arms. “You promised to take me if I could get into my wheelchair by myself.”

Caleb tapped his chin. “Hmm. I did, didn’t I?”

The sun in his face, Donny squinted up at him with one eye closed. The early stages of a moustache made him look older than his years. “Well?”

“We’ll discuss that later. Right now I want to talk to you about something else.” Caleb touched a finger to the brim and pushed back his hat.

Donny looked at him askew, curiosity written all over his face. “It sounds serious.”

“It
is
serious.” Caleb stepped aside so Donny wouldn’t have to look into the sun. “I want you to know that as long as I live, you will never have to go into a sanitarium. You’ll always have a home.”

Donny stared up at him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I want to marry your sister. And since you’re the man of the house, I’m asking your permission.”

Donny drew his brows together but said nothing.

Thinking Donny didn’t understand the full nature of the proposal, Caleb added, “Marriage will make the three of us a family—all living under the same roof.”

“You mean it will always be the three of us?” Donny asked.

“I can’t guarantee the number. It might one day be four, or five, or six of us.” Caleb waited for this to sink in. “Well?”

“I’m thinking,” Donny said.

“Think faster. Your sister’s coming.”

“Okay, I give you my permission on one condition. You promise to take me to Flagstaff.”

“I promise.”

Donny nodded. “And you let me drive Bertha.”

“That’s two conditions.”

“And you buy me a telescope and name the first boy after me.”

“What?”

Donny wasn’t finished. “And most importantly, you find a home for Orbit.”

Caleb lifted his hat and scratched his head. “You drive a hard bargain.”

Donny grinned. “What do you expect? She’s my sister.”

Caleb spotted Molly running toward them and he grinned. She lost her hat but kept running. Her shiny raven hair came unpinned but she kept running. Her face was flushed with heat but she kept running.

She didn’t stop until she was locked securely in his arms.

Epilogue