“Thank God,” Pearl whispered.
“I do,” Abbey responded.
“I don’t imagine you’ll be needing me here anymore.” The older woman moved toward the door, then turned toward her. “I know it’s none of my affair and I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I’d hoped you’d stay on in Hard Luck. You don’t need me to tell you how stubborn men can be—and Sawyer’s more stubborn than most. But his heart’s in the right place.”
Uncomfortable with the conversation, Abbey averted her gaze.
“We’re gonna miss you and those young’uns,” Pearl said sadly, “but you’re the one making the decisions.”
Abbey walked her to the door, then stood and waited on the porch for Sawyer to deliver her family. He arrived in his truck, along with his brother. When he opened the door, Scott and Susan came charging out of the cab, running straight into Abbey’s outstretched arms.
Both children were talking at once, telling their version of what had happened and why. After she’d hugged and kissed them both, she glanced up to see Sawyer standing beside the truck, watching them. Charles was inside the cab.
“It seems to me you’ve caused a lot of trouble,” she told the children. “You’ll both be writing letters of apology to each and every person who searched for you.”
Scott hung his head and nodded. Susan did, too.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Scott said, “but we don’t want to move to Fairbanks. We like it here.”
“We’ll discuss this in the morning. We’ll also discuss your punishment, and it’s going to be more than just writing the letters. Understand?”
They nodded again.
“Now go and take a bath, both of you—you’re absolutely filthy. Then get back into bed. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
“But, Mom—”
“Good night, Scott. Good night, Susan,” she said pointedly.
Their heads hanging, the two youngsters went inside the house.
Abbey looked at Sawyer. Swallowing hard, she approached him. “Sawyer, I don’t have the words to thank you properly,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist. She smiled hesitantly at him. Even now, the temptation to walk into his arms tempted her almost beyond endurance. It struck her as deeply significant that when she’d discovered her children were missing, he was the person she’d turned to.
“I’m glad they’re safe,” Sawyer said. “That’s what matters.”
They stared at each other, neither of them saying a word or moving a step closer.
An eternity seemed to pass before Charles stuck his head out the cab window and cleared his throat. “We’ll be seeing you in the morning, right?”
Abbey glanced from Sawyer to Charles. “In the morning,” she said, then turned and walked away.
“You look like you could use a good, stiff drink,” Charles said when Sawyer climbed back into the truck.
Sawyer’s eyes were fixed on the front door of the house. It’d take a lot more than whiskey to cure what ailed him.
“I’ll drive you back to your place,” he said impassively. His hands tightened around the steering wheel until the knuckles showed white.
“You’re in love with her.” Charles’s voice was matter-of-fact.
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“You barely know the woman!”
Hot anger surged through Sawyer. “I know what I feel. I know that when Abbey and those two kids board the plane you’re piloting tomorrow, they’re taking a part of me with them.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious!” Sawyer snapped.
Charles didn’t say anything until his brother pulled up in front of his house, which was at the other end of town near the lodge. “I was wrong to get involved.”
It was of absolutely no comfort to hear Charles admit it now.
“I sure don’t think this scheme of yours and Christian’s was one of your brighter moves, but you obviously care for Abbey and those children.”
His brother wouldn’t understand how much he did care until he’d fallen in love himself. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“So, are you going to let her leave?”
“What choice do I have?” Sawyer asked, frustration ringing in his voice. How many people were going to ask him this? “I can’t hold her hostage. I’ve tried talking to her, and that doesn’t do any good. Mainly because every time I open my mouth to tell her how I feel, I end up insulting her. I get all tongue-tied and stupid.”
Charles seemed to find Sawyer’s confession amusing. He smiled.
“I’ve never…felt this way before,” Sawyer said in his own defense, “and I’m telling you right now, watch out, because it’s like getting hit with the worse case of flu you’ve ever had. Your turn’s coming, so get that smug smile off your face.”
“No way,” Charles insisted. “I don’t want any part of it. Look what it’s done to you.”
“You think I wanted this? It just happened. Abbey arrived—and there I was with my tongue hanging out.”
Charles laughed outright. “How is it, little brother, that we’ve lived to the ripe old ages of thirty-three and thirty-five without falling in love?”
“And we were proud of it, weren’t we, big brother?” Now it was Sawyer’s turn to be amused. “Not anymore. When I met Abbey, I felt like I’d been sucker-punched. So I did everything I could to get rid of her.”
“What made her finally decide to leave?”
“You mean other than my marriage proposal?”
Charles laughed. “So you scared her into it.”
“I was serious,” he said with a sigh. “All right, maybe I didn’t use fancy words and tell her the angels smiled on her the day she was born and drivel like that, but I meant what I said.” He paused as the regret sank in. “Maybe I could’ve been a bit more romantic, though.”
“What’d you say to her?”
“Well—” Sawyer thought back to their conversation “—I don’t exactly remember. We were at Ben’s and there were a lot of people around, so I sort of stood next to her and said I didn’t think it was a good idea for her to marry Pete or any of the other men who’d proposed.”
“You mean to say she had more than one offer?”
“Yes.” Sawyer’s fingers threatened to dent the steering wheel. “Besides Pete, I think Ralph might’ve asked her, too.”
“So you stood next to her at Ben’s…”
“Right. We were welcoming Allison Reynolds, and basically I told Abbey that if she was so keen to get married she should’ve spoken up earlier because I was willing to marry her.”
Charles was quiet for a long time. “That’s it?” he eventually said.
Sawyer nodded.
“You didn’t ask for my advice, but I’ll give it to you, anyway. If I were you I’d propose again, and this time I’d use a few of those fancy words you frown on.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Sawyer said sadly.
“Can you live with the alternative?” Charles asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just don’t know.”
After dropping his brother off, Sawyer returned to his own place. He checked on Eagle Catcher, talking to the dog for a few minutes, then walked into the house. It felt empty and silent. He fixed a drink and took it into his bedroom, where he spent some time studying the photographs of his parents that stood on the dresser.
Tugging his shirttail free, he undressed and readied for bed. It was going to be a long night. Lying on his back, hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling and tried to work out his options.
What he’d told his brother was true. When Abbey left Hard Luck she’d be taking part of him with her. He had to prove that to her. He just didn’t know how.
He wasn’t a man of words. He’d demonstrated that repeatedly; he’d made a mess of things whenever he opened his mouth. But there had to be a way to show Abbey he loved her.
He hardly slept at all.
By six he was
up and dressed again. He sat at the kitchen table, nursing his coffee, devising a plan.
He waited until eight, then gathered together what he needed. He walked purposefully across the street to Abbey’s.
He hadn’t even reached the front door when she opened it. She wore a pretty pink sweater and jeans, and she’d never looked more beautiful.
“Good morning,” she said. He noticed how pale she was. Pale and miserable. As miserable as he felt.
“Morning.”
“I know you’re busy getting ready to leave, so I won’t take any more of your time than necessary. I brought something over for Scott and Susan,” he said. “And you.”
“The children are still sleeping.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll give everything to you, and you can see that they get it later.”
“Sawyer, I’ve been thinking and really there isn’t any need—”
“Would it be all right if we sat down?” He motioned toward the swing.
Abbey sighed and perched on the swing’s edge. Sawyer had the impression she’d rather avoid this last encounter. He didn’t blame her.
They sat on opposite sides, as if they were uncomfortable strangers. He handed her an envelope. “These are Eagle Catcher’s registration papers. I’m giving him to Scott—it’ll make the transition easier. Once you’re settled, let me know and I’ll have him delivered.”
“But he’s your dog.”
Sawyer’s smile was sad. He wouldn’t tell her that relinquishing the husky was more difficult than she’d ever know. “Those two belong together.”
“But Sawyer—”
“Please, Abbey, let me do this one thing.”
She looked as though she wanted to argue, then bit her lower lip and nodded.
“Susan is a wonderful little girl,” Sawyer said. “I thought long and hard about what I could give her.” He reached inside his shirt pocket and withdrew a gold, heart-shaped pendant. “This is a locket that belonged to my grandmother.” He opened the tiny clasp with difficulty. “The picture inside is of Emily, the daughter she lost. She gave it to me shortly before she died. I’d like you to keep it until Susan’s old enough to wear it.”
Tears welled in Abbey’s eyes as he placed the locket and its delicate chain in the palm of her hand. “Sawyer, I…I don’t know what to say.”
Sawyer’s heart was heavy. “I have no other way of showing you how much I love you and Scott and Susan.” He stood and took out an envelope from his pants pocket. It contained two marbles, a bobby pin and several folded sheets of paper. He sat down, then retrieved a second envelope from his shirt pocket.
“The last things I have are for you.” He gave her the bobby pin first. “This saved my life when I was sixteen. It’s a long, complicated story that I won’t go into, but I was flying alone in the dead of winter and I had engine trouble. Had to make an emergency landing. This bobby pin was on the floor of the plane, and it helped me fix the problem so I could get back in the air and home. Otherwise I would’ve frozen to death. I saved the pin.” He set it carefully aside.
Abbey smiled.
“The marbles were my two favorites as a kid. I was better than anyone, and these were the prize of my collection. Mom ordered them for me from a Sears catalog.”
Abbey held the two marbles in her free hand.
He passed her the folded sheets of paper. “These are old and a bit yellowed, but you should still be able to read them. The first is an essay I wrote when I was in junior high. I won a writing contest with it and got a letter of commendation from the governor. His letter’s with the story.”
Abbey used the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her face.
Sawyer withdrew a plain gold band from the second envelope. “This is my father’s wedding ring.” Sawyer held it up between two fingers. His heart seized with pride and pain at the sight of it. “Since I was the one with Dad when he died, Charles and Christian thought I should have it. It’s probably not worth much, but I treasure it.” He leaned forward to place the ring in Abbey’s hand and closed her fingers over it. Afraid he might have said more than he should, he stood up and awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets. “Goodbye, Abbey.”
As he turned to leave, she called to him. “Sawyer.”
He faced her.
“Why are you giving me these things?”
“The bobby pin and marbles and the essay and Dad’s ring—they represent what I am. I can’t go with you and I can’t make you stay, so I’m giving you part of me to take when you leave.”
He was halfway down the steps when he heard her whisper. “You might have said you loved me earlier.”
He kept his back to her and answered. “I want to marry you. A man doesn’t propose to a woman unless he loves her.”
“He does if he’s afraid some other man might beat him to the punch. He does if he’s confused about what he really wants.”
“I know what I want,” Sawyer said, turning, and his eyes met hers.
“Do you, Sawyer?”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, right here in Hard Luck. I want to raise Scott and Susan as my own children, and if you and God are willing, I’d like another child or two.”
They stood staring at each other, the depth of their emotion visible. Abbey’s beautiful brown eyes glistened with tears. It demanded every bit of self-control Sawyer possessed not to bridge the distance between them and take her in his arms.
“But I can’t have that,” he said, “so I’m giving you the most valuable things I own to do with as you please.” Having said that, he hurried down the remaining steps.
“If you walk away from me now, Sawyer O’Halloran, I swear I’ll never forgive you.”
He turned around again to find her standing on the top step, her arms open. The sweetest smile he’d ever seen lit her eyes, curved her mouth.
His heart came to a sudden standstill. Then he rushed back, throwing his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him. He trembled with the shock of it. He kissed her gently at first, for fear of frightening her with the power of his need.
Abbey slipped her arms around his neck and moaned. A stronger, more disciplined man might have been able to resist her, but not Sawyer. Not when he feared he’d never hold her and kiss her again. Not when he’d laid his heart and his life at her feet.
They kissed once more, too hungry for each other to attempt restraint. It was as if all the barriers had disappeared.
When he could, Sawyer pulled his mouth from hers, inhaled deeply and buried his face in her neck. He prayed for the strength to stop; otherwise, he was afraid he’d end up making love to her right then and there. But Abbey drew his face to hers, and the kissing began all over again.
“I think you should marry me,” he breathed between kisses.
“A woman prefers to be asked, Sawyer O’Halloran.”
“Please, Abbey, if you have any feelings for me whatsoever, put me out of this misery and marry me.”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Begging.”
He felt the rush of air from Abbey’s laugh before she kissed him. A kiss that was deep, passionate, thorough.
“Is that your answer?” he panted when she’d finished.
“Yes. But first you need to understand something. I’m not very good at this wife thing. I’ve got one failure behind me, and…Oh, Sawyer, I’m scared.”
“Of what? Making another mistake?”
“No, not that. Not with you. I’m afraid…of so many things. Dick had several affairs, and when we divorced, he said…he said I’d never make a man happy.”
“You make me happy. Did I ever tell you how much I love it when you smile?”
Abbey blushed. “I don’t mean it like that. I don’t know if I’ll…satisfy you.”
Sawyer threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, Abbey, just holding you gives me so much pleasure I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s going to be like in bed.”
Sawyer coul
d see that she was about to argue with him, so he guided her mouth to his and kissed her with all the love in his heart. He tasted her hesitation and her anxiety, then felt her yield to his kiss.
For the first time Sawyer understood the root of Abbey’s fears. “You satisfy me,” he whispered. “And tantalize me and torment me.”
“Mom?”
Sawyer looked past Abbey to see Scott and Susan in the doorway. They were both still in their pajamas, their faces eager and wide-awake.
“Good morning,” Sawyer said. “I’ve got some great news for you.”
“You do?” Susan asked.
“Your mother’s agreed to marry me.”
Scott seemed mildly puzzled. “Already? Mom, I thought you said it would take a while to work everything out. The problems between you and Sawyer, I mean.”
“Work out our problems?” Sawyer was the one wearing the perplexed frown this time.
“The children and I talked after you found them last night,” Abbey explained. “We decided it would be a mistake to leave Hard Luck. Furthermore, we decided we’re in love with you.”
“You mean you weren’t going to leave this morning?”
Abbey’s arms tightened around him. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“I’m not. It’s just that…” He stiffened. “You might have told me.”
“I tried, but you wouldn’t let me. Are you sorry about…what you said? The things you gave me?”
“No,” he said fervently. “Not in the least.”
“Are you really going to marry us?” Susan wanted to know.
“Yup.”
“When?” This was from Scott, who continued to look unsure.
Sawyer and Abbey exchanged a glance. “Two weeks,” Sawyer said, making the decision for them.
“Two weeks!” Abbey cried.
“I’ve been waiting thirty-three years for you, Abbey Sutherland, and I refuse to wait a minute longer than I have to. We’ll do this as plain or as fancy as you want. Ben can cater the wedding, and we’ll open up the school gym for the reception.”
A truck pulled up in front of the house and the driver honked. “Looks like you two have everything settled,” Charles called, leaning his elbow out the window.