“He…he said he was free to ask me because he was finished dealing with his brother’s mistakes. Finished cleaning up after Richard.” She inhaled and didn’t exhale for several seconds. “I had to tell him. He has a right to know.”
“About Maggie?” Savannah asked gently.
As Caroline suspected, Savannah had guessed that Richard was Maggie’s father. She nodded.
“But why did you refuse his proposal?”
“I love Grady, but I don’t want him to consider Maggie and me a burden. Just one more responsibility he’s dealing with because of his brother. Another screwup in a long list.”
“Doesn’t Grady understand that Richard used you, too?”
“I’m not sure he does,” she breathed. “It was too much of a shock.”
Savannah sat back in her chair and tapped her finger against her lips. “Well, this certainly explains a great deal.”
“Grady would feel I’d broken a confidence by discussing this with you,” she felt obliged to remind her friend.
“You needn’t worry about that.”
“Why not?”
Savannah grinned. “My brother isn’t speaking to me at the moment.”
“Oh, Savannah.”
“Not to worry. He isn’t speaking to anyone.”
So Grady wasn’t taking this any better than she was. “He growls when one of us even dares to mention your name. Oh, and I heard him on the phone the other day. Apparently he was talking to Frank Hennessey because he said—or rather, shouted—that he wanted his bastard of a brother brought to justice.”
“I take it there’s no word about Richard?”
“None.” Savannah shook her head. “It’s as if he’s vanished off the face of the earth, and at this point I don’t really care. Richard deserves what he gets, as far as I’m concerned. Especially after this latest fiasco.”
Caroline frowned, not understanding. “What fiasco?”
Savannah sighed. “He didn’t tell you, did he?” She didn’t wait for a response. “Grady can be too noble for his own good sometimes. Richard charged eight thousand dollars’ worth of goods on the family accounts.”
“No.” Caroline felt sick to her stomach just knowing their brother was capable of something this underhand and cruel. Richard was well aware how long it had taken Grady to regroup after the family lost its money. Money stolen by Richard. Then, just when Grady was financially able to get back on his feet, up popped Richard again. Up pops the weasel.
“He paid off every bill with his own money. Laredo and I wanted to share the expenses with him, but Grady refused. Seeing that we’re newly married and building a home now, he wouldn’t hear of it. Laredo wouldn’t leave it at that—he said we’re all partners and the money should come out of the business. But Grady said no. I don’t have to tell you how stubborn he can be.”
“You see?” Caroline said. “For the last six years all Grady’s done is work to clean up Richard’s messes. I’d just be one more.”
“You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”
“Yes, Savannah, I do.”
“Then you don’t know my brother.” Savannah smiled slightly. “Give him time. Grady isn’t that easily discouraged. He may need a few days to work things out, but he’ll be back.”
Caroline wanted to believe it, but she was afraid to hope.
“He loves you and Maggie. Mark my words, he isn’t going to take no for an answer.”
Caroline shook her head helplessly. She’d seen the pain in Grady’s eyes, seen the shock and grief. She was just one more problem his brother had left behind, and he wanted out.
Caroline didn’t blame him.
11
GRADY WAS IN ONE BAD MOOD. HE’D BEEN angry and cantankerous all week, to the point that he could barely stand his own company. Wiley said he’d rather chase strays than put up with Grady’s foul temper and had left him to finish the repairs on the fence line by himself.
Grady had been doing the backbreaking work all afternoon, and although he’d managed to replace several rotting posts and make other fixes, his mind was a million miles away. Actually only about forty miles away. And while his hands were busy digging fence holes his thoughts were on Caroline.
“Damn it all to hell,” he muttered and threw down the shovel. He’d finally finished for the day. Sweat poured from his brow, and his chest heaved from the physical exertion. “Damn it,” he said again. He should be happy. The sale of the herd was scheduled and his financial problems would soon be over. Beef prices were up slightly. So why wasn’t he happy? All he could think about was one headstrong woman who was too damn proud for her own good. What in the hell did she mean when she said a marriage between them wouldn’t work? Why the hell not?
He could stand there stewing in the hot September sun or he could do something about it, Grady decided. Only he wasn’t sure what. He tossed his tools into the back of the pickup, then drove at breakneck speed toward the house.
Savannah was working in her garden when he pulled into the yard. Her head was covered with a wide-brimmed straw hat, and she wore a sleeveless summer dress and an apron. The minute she spotted him she stepped out of the flower garden, a basket of freshly cut roses dangling from her arm.
“Grady?”
“Woman’s a damn fool,” he said, heading into the house. He took the porch steps two at a time. It didn’t surprise him that his sister followed him inside; he would have been disappointed if she hadn’t.
“I assume you’re talking about Caroline,” she said as she set the roses on the kitchen table.
“Is there anyone more stubborn than Caroline Daniels?” He paced the floor of the large kitchen, unable to stand still.
“Only one person I can think of,” she said, smiling slightly. “And that’s you.”
“Me?” Grady considered himself a reasonable man. “Caroline rejected me. Not the other way around.”
“Did she now?” Savannah removed a vase from the cupboard above the refrigerator. Grady recognized it as one that had belonged to their mother—crystal, sort of a bowl shape. He’d always liked it. Savannah began deftly arranging the roses.
“I asked Caroline to marry me,” Grady said impatiently. He’d never intended to tell anyone what had happened, but the events of that evening burned inside him. It was either tell Savannah or scream it from the rooftop.
“So I understand,” she murmured.
Grady had had it with women and their subtle messages. While he might normally have appreciated Savannah’s reserved manner, it infuriated him just now.
“What exactly do you understand?” he demanded.
“Two hurting people, if you must know. Two people deeply in love with each other, neither one fully appreciating or—”
“She said no,” he cut in. “She wasn’t interested in being my wife—said it wouldn’t work. Said it twice, as a matter of fact.”
“Did she now?”
Grady slapped his hat against the edge of the counter. “If you have something to say, Savannah, just spit it out.”
“Well, since you asked…” She gave him a demure smile. “It seems to me—and of course I could be wrong—that Caroline might have said no, but that wasn’t exactly what she meant.”
“I’m a simple rancher. If she said no and meant something else, then she should’ve come right out and said what she meant. I’m not a mind reader.”
“Neither am I,” Savannah stated. “But really, how else did you expect her to respond?”
“A yes would have sufficed.”
“And what was she supposed to do then? Wait until your wedding day to casually mention that her child is also your niece?”
“No. It doesn’t matter who fathered Maggie. I’m offering to be her daddy, to make her my own.”
“Exactly!” Savannah rewarded him with a wide grin. “Bingo, big brother! Now collect your prize.”
>
The woman was speaking in ridiculous riddles. “Damn it, Savannah, what do you mean by that?”
“You should be able to figure it out.”
He frowned.
Savannah sighed loudly. “I believe what you said was, It doesn’t matter who fathered Maggie. Now tell me, why is that?”
“Why?”
“Yes, why?” she repeated.
“Because I’m asking to be her father.”
The smile was back in full force. “Very good, Grady.”
His frown deepened.
“You’re almost there, big brother.” She added a long-stemmed yellow rose to the vase.
“Almost? I’ve been there and back a thousand times in my mind. Why do I have to fall in love with the most stubborn woman in the entire state of Texas? What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“I don’t know, but if I were you, I’d thank God every day of your life for a woman as wonderful as Caroline.”
He stared at her.
“If you’re lucky enough to convince her to be your wife, that is,” Savannah said.
“As far as I’m concerned she has to come to me now.” A man’s pride could only take so much, and Caroline had run roughshod over it one time too many.
Savannah shook her head. “Wrong.”
“Wrong?” Grady didn’t see it like that, but he was desperate enough to listen to his sister’s crazy reasoning.
“You were doing so well there, too,” she said with another sigh. “Grady, I’ve never known you to be a man who took no for an answer. It’s just not like you to roll over and play dead.”
“I’m not playing dead!”
“You’re just acting that way?” She made the statement a question, which irritated him even more.
“Either you don’t love Caroline as much as I believe, or—”
“I love her and I love Maggie, too. When Maggie was missing, it felt as if a part of me was gone. When I saw she was safe and sound, I damn near broke into tears myself.”
Savannah, ever patient, ever kind, beamed him a dazzling smile. “I’m not the one who needs to hear this, you know.”
“So you’re telling me I should ask Caroline again.” Even as he spoke, he was shaking his head. “Not in this lifetime.” In his view, it was Caroline’s turn to risk her pride. If she wanted to change her mind, she could let him know. He grabbed his hat and walked out the back door.
“Where are you going?” his sister asked.
Until that moment he hadn’t been sure, then in a flash he knew. “I’m going to give Caroline a chance to change her mind.”
* * *
EDWINA AND LILY MOORHOUSE had just stepped up to the counter when the door to the post office flew open and Grady Weston stepped inside.
The two elderly women turned to look at him; so did Caroline. He was staring straight at her, and she could tell he was breathing fire.
“Caroline—”
She instantly returned her attention to the Moorhouse sisters. “Can I help you?” she asked ever so sweetly, ignoring Grady. Her heart was pounding like a frightened kitten’s, but she refused, refused, to allow Grady to intimidate her.
“You can talk to the Moorhouse sisters until Kingdom come, and it isn’t going to help. Eventually you’re going to have to speak to me, too.”
Edwina’s eyes rounded as she glanced at her sister. “It’s Grady Weston again.”
“I have eyes in my head, sister. I can see it’s Grady.”
“Fit to be tied, from the looks of him.”
“Indeed.”
Despite the way her heart raced, Caroline found herself smiling.
“I do think he’s constipated again, sister.”
Lily studied him, tapping her foot. “Prunes, young man, eat prunes. They’ll do wonders for your disposition.”
Grady scowled at her, but Caroline knew it would take a lot more than that to intimidate the retired schoolteacher.
“Listen here, Grady Weston, I wiped your nose in third grade, so don’t you be giving me dirty looks. My, oh my, but you always were a headstrong boy.”
It was clear Grady wasn’t going to be drawn into a verbal exchange with the two women.
“In some ways,” Lily mused, “your stubbornness was a characteristic I admired.”
Edwina slapped a ten-dollar bill onto the counter. “We’d like a book of stamps, Caroline.”
“Of course.” Caroline handed her the stamps with her change.
“Good day.”
“Good day,” Caroline replied, watching them leave.
“Good day, young man,” Edwina said as she passed Grady and winked.
Caroline wasn’t sure what to make of the wink. If Grady noticed it, he didn’t let on.
He touched the brim of his hat and stepped around the two women in his rush to reach the counter.
“Can I help you?” Caroline asked, lowering her gaze for fear of what he might read in her eyes.
“As a matter of fact you can.” Grady’s voice echoed in the room.
She waited, figuring he wasn’t going to ask for stamps.
“I’m here to talk some sense into you.”
“Grady, listen—”
“Hear me out first. The last time we spoke I asked you to marry me and you turned me down.”
Caroline doubted he’d ever fully comprehend how difficult it had been to reject him. She’d wanted to say yes more than anything she’d ever wanted in her life. But no self-respecting woman willingly entered a marriage if she believed she’d be a burden to her husband. Even loving him the way she did, she couldn’t do that to him. Couldn’t do it to herself.
“Be warned,” he said, lowering his voice.
“Warned?”
“This time I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Grady, please…” He made this so damned hard.
“Sorry, it’s too late for that. I don’t want anyone but you.”
She looked away rather than meet his gaze.
“For the past six years I’ve worked day and night and done without—just so I could make up for what we lost because of Richard. He’s stolen six years of my life, Caroline. He’s robbed me and Savannah of too much already, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let him rob me of anything else.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“If you allow Richard to stand between us now, it’ll be one more thing my brother’s taken from me. But this time I’m not the only person he’s hurting. He’s hurting you and Maggie, as well. Is that what you want?”
“No.” Her voice sounded weak, unconvincing.
“You appear to have doubts.”
“I… There’s more than just me to consider,” she said.
“Okay, let’s talk about Maggie.”
Slowly Caroline raised her eyes to his. Her daughter had to come first. Always. “What about Maggie?”
“I love her, too.” It was the first time Grady had mentioned his feelings for her child, the first time he’d said this. “I’m looking to be more than your husband, Caroline. I’m looking to be Maggie’s daddy.”
She bit her lower lip.
“My brother might have fathered this child, but I’ll be the one to raise her, to love her, to kiss her skinned knee. I’ll put her to bed at night, sit with her when she learns to read, teach her how to ride Moonbeam. Me, not Richard.”
It was a long speech for Grady, and every word was heartfelt. Caroline knew that in her bones, sensed it deep inside. They were the words of a man who understood that fatherhood was more than biological. Much more.
“Oh, Grady…”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“I—”
The door opened and Nell Bishop walked in with Jeremy and Emma. “Hello,” she said with a cheerful wave as she headed for her post-office box.
“Hello, Mr. Weston.”
“Howdy, Jeremy.”
“We’re going swimming in the pool,” Emma announced.
Nell sorted through her ma
il. “Come on, you two,” she said and steered her children toward the door. She paused to look back at Grady and Caroline. “Everything all right?” she asked cautiously.
“Yes,” Grady barked.
Caroline nodded.
Nell, who’d been married to a man as stubborn and lovable as the one standing there in front of her, smiled. “Yes, I can see that everything is coming along nicely.” Then she and her children left.
“What’d she mean by that?” Grady demanded.
Caroline shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her.”
“Well?”
The gruff question caught her by surprise. “Well, what?”
“Are you going to change your mind about marrying me or not?”
“I—”
“You’re a fool if you turn me down.”
“Honestly, Grady—”
“You aren’t likely to get a better offer.”
This last comment irked her no end. “What makes you so sure?” she snapped. “Look, Grady,” she began before he could answer, “let me ask you a question. Do you love me?”
“You know I do.”
“You might have said so.”
“I did,” he insisted.
“When?”
“The first time I proposed.”
“Oh.” Well, that was true. But everything hinged on how much he loved her. “I’m afraid we’d be a burden to you.”
“How?”
Caroline swallowed. “Every time you look at Maggie—and me—you’ll be reminded of Richard. That’s what I’m afraid of. We’d be just another problem Richard left for you to fix.”
“That’s not the way I see it, Caroline. I told you, remember? I won’t let Richard take another thing away from me. And you know what? For the first time in his life, my brother has given me something wonderful. He’s hurt me, true, but he’s also blessed me—in you. In Maggie.”
“But—”
“Obviously the question is, do you love me?” he said. “You seem to be the one having trouble making up your mind.”
“I love you so damn much,” she confessed.
No sooner had the words left her lips than Grady reached across the counter for her. Their positions, the obstacle between them, made the kiss awkward. It hardly mattered. They’d kissed countless times by now, but no kiss had ever meant this much.