“You still planning on spending the night in Sutton’s Station, Pa?” Aaron had his arm around Del.
The sight of them brought a lump to Izzy’s throat. Until this moment she hadn’t understood just how beautiful their love was. But if she’d had a big brother, she would have wanted one just like Aaron. And if she could have had a little sister, she couldn’t have dreamed up one sweeter than Del. These children might not be born of her flesh, but, like Matthew, they owned her heart.
“If I have to.” He clamped his jaw and turned toward Izzy. “It all depends on Isabella.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She glanced from him to his children. “What depends on me?”
“My life. My future. My happiness. They all depend on you, Isabella. I…” He turned to include the children. “We came here to ask your forgiveness. And to beg you to come home with us.”
“But I…”
He touched a finger to her lips to still her protest. “Before you say a word, I have something important to say. You shared all your private pain with me. You bared your soul. And I refused to do the same. I know now that was wrong. It was just foolish pride that kept me from telling you about Grace. But I’ll never do this again. From now on, if you’ll give me another chance, I promise to share everything with you. There will never again be any secrets between us.”
“I…”
“Pa.” Aaron reached up to the wagon seat and thrust a bunch of wildflowers into his father’s hand. “You forgot about…you know.”
“Oh, yes.” Matt handed her the flowers. “We picked these along the way down the mountain. I thought…we thought it was time I started courting you.”
“Courting?” She couldn’t help chuckling. “Isn’t it a little late for courtship, Matthew? After all, we’re already husband and wife.”
“Are we?” He tipped up her chin, staring into her eyes. “Are you still willing to be my wife, Isabella?”
She glanced at the children, who were watching her with such intensity it made her heart ache. When she glanced back at him he was holding up the plain gold band he had retrieved from his pocket.
With a solemn look he got down on one knee. “Isabella, I didn’t do any of this right the first time, but I’d like to do it right now. This ring first belonged to my grandmother, then to my mother. And it once was worn by Grace, until she threw it back in my face. I’d be honored if you would wear it. That is, if you’re still willing to be my wife.”
“Oh, Matthew, I’ve never wanted anything more in my whole life than to be your wife.” She held out her hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. She stared at it for long moments, then caught his hands and helped him to his feet.
He framed her face with his hands and gave her a long, lingering kiss.
The children sent up a rousing cheer that had heads poking out of doorways in the mercantile and saloon. Del leapt into her arms and nuzzled her cheek. The boys formed a circle around her, hugging her fiercely. And all the while she stared over their heads at the man who couldn’t seem to stop grinning.
Gertrude Sutton stepped out on the porch. “Sounds like a mighty happy group. Will you folks be staying for supper?”
Matt glanced at Izzy, then at his children, before turning to her. “Thanks for the offer, Gertrude. But we’d like to get back to our cabin before dark.”
“And you, dear?” She smiled at Izzy and was relieved to see the smile returned. “I take it you won’t be spending the night here?”
“No, Mrs. Sutton. But I do thank you for your hospitality. You were very kind to me.”
“Think nothing of it, my dear. I hope one of these days we’ll get better acquainted.”
“Thank you. I’d like that.”
Izzy allowed herself to be helped up to the wagon seat, while Aaron accepted her valise from Mrs. Sutton’s hands.
As Matt turned the team toward home, the first big wet flakes of snow began drifting down.
“Look, Pa,” Del shouted. “It’s snowing.”
Matt grinned. “Looks like it’s going to be a norther.”
“Is that bad?” Izzy shot him an anxious look.
“Depends. It could mean we’ll be snowbound for a few weeks.”
“You mean we can’t leave the cabin at all?”
“Oh, we’ll make it to the barn and back. But that’s about as far as we’ll risk it until there’s a break in the weather.”
“Whatever will we do?”
He touched a tentative hand to her shoulder. When she didn’t flinch, he wrapped his arm around her and whispered against her temple, “I guess that depends, too.” He smiled. “You did say you always wanted to be part of a big family, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then how about…enlarging our family?”
“You mean—” she caught her breath at his meaning “—we might think about having a baby, too?”
His smile grew. “Well, let’s see now. We’ve already got an Aaron, a Benjamin, a Clement and a Del. I’ve been thinking that it’s time for either an Edward or an Esther.”
As his meaning dawned, she giggled. “You mean you named them for the letters in the alphabet?”
“Can you think of a better way to pick names?”
She thought a moment. “I guess not. But what will we do for money, Matthew? You gave all ours away.”
“I guess I’ll just have to hunt up another herd of mustangs. Aaron spotted some tracks this morning. The biggest herd so far.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m told, thanks to Cutler’s vengeance, the army is eager to buy all we can sell them.”
Suddenly her enthusiasm was boundless. “Does that mean next year, if you sell another herd, we might even try for a Frank or a Fanny?”
He threw back his head and roared. “Mrs. Prescott, are you going to go and get greedy on me?”
“I do think it might be fun to see how many letters of the alphabet we could get through.”
He drew her closer and touched his lips to the snowflakes that dusted her lashes. “Let’s just take one letter at a time.”
“I’m willing, Matthew.” She brushed her mouth over his. “As long as we can begin tonight.”
He glanced at the darkening sky. “Night comes a lot earlier in the winter up here in the Sierras.”
She touched a hand to his chest, loving the strong, steady feel of his heartbeat. “I knew there was a reason why I loved this place so much.” She smiled. “And the people in it.”
“I’m so glad, Isabella—” his tone was as gentle as his touch “—that you’ve come back to your family.”
Family. It was a word that had always made her ache with desire. And now it was hers. This wounded man and his wonderful children belonged to her. And she to them.
This once frightening wilderness had become her haven.
Home, her heart whispered as she thought about the cozy cabin waiting for them. Home, her heart whispered as she glanced at the children, snuggled beneath their blankets in the back of the wagon. Home, her heart whispered as she felt the warmth of her husband’s hand enveloping hers.
Izzy the Gimp had died in that lean-to in the mountains. But Isabella Prescott, wife, mother, teacher, lover, had just been born into the most wonderful family. And her love, her patience and most of all her courage had changed her life, and the lives of this new family of hers, for all time.
* * * * *
RUTH LANGAN
All my life I’ve been fascinated with people—the ordinary people behind the great events of history. As a student, it wasn’t the wars, famines or other disasters that fueled my imagination; it was the people affected by those events, who managed to rise above their troubles to live, to laugh, to love. Whether it’s a larger-than-life hero of the American West, a vengeful Highlander or an angry Irish warrior; whether the heroine is feisty or shy or scarred by life’s burdens, the challenge is always the same: to confront love in all its aspects—the love of a man and a woman, the enduring love of fa
mily, the heartfelt love of country. This is my wish for you, dear reader—that you come away from these stories with a heart brimming with love.
eISBN 978-14592-6128-0
THE COURTSHIP OF IZZY McCREE
Copyright © 1998 by Ruth Ryan Langan
All rights reserved Except for use In any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure Invention.
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Ruth Ryan Langan, The Courtship of Izzy McCree
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