Fired Up

by Mary Connealy

  Dare sat up straighter. “What? I don’t get it. What about your promise to him not to get married without his blessing?”

  Glynna slid her hand around Dare’s back, down low so she wouldn’t bump his wound. “I think the way he worked with us last night is his blessing, don’t you?”

  Turning to face her, Dare leaned over and kissed her. The kiss lingered for a long time. He didn’t seem all that injured anymore.

  “If he’s ready to accept us,” Dare said, “then he’ll take the news well. I’m not going to ask for his blessing—at least I’m not going to change my mind if he withholds it. You’re right. It’s too big a decision, even for a mostly grown boy.”

  “The breakfast crowd has thinned out. I’ll go get Paul right now.” Glynna stood and then was dragged right back down beside Dare.

  He smiled at her, and she was amazed at how attractive a shaggy man could be. “There’s no rush, is there?”

  “I thought you wanted to get married right away. I thought you were in a hurry.” The man confused her, but that didn’t stop her from smiling right back at him. Of all the things they’d gone through together, deciding whether they were in a hurry to get married seemed like a very simple choice, mainly because neither answer changed anything. They would marry. And soon.

  Dare leaned in closer to her until he blocked out the whole world. She closed her eyes and saw him inside her head. His lips warmed her all the way to her soul.

  The door banged open in the way only one person in the world ever banged it.

  “Ma!”

  Glynna pulled back, shrugged one shoulder at Dare, and stood. He struggled to stand too, but she pressed a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. Then she faced her frustrated, confused son.

  “Come on over here, Paul.” Glynna turned her back and sat again, figuring Paul would come around to vent his anger.

  He did just that.

  “Dare and I are getting married,” she told him.

  “You promised!” When he spoke, he sounded like a child. Glynna’s heart ached for him. “You swore you’d ask for my blessing.”

  She looked at her son, a boy in a man’s body. “I’d love it if you were happy about it, but I should never have made that promise.”

  “You don’t need another man, Ma. You’ve got me.” He wasn’t a child, but he was still far from an adult. There was a chair close to the bed, and he stomped over to it and took a seat. “We’re doin’ fine in the diner. We don’t need anyone else to take care of us.”

  It struck Glynna that this was the most rational anger her son had shown in a long time. He was actually talking.

  “We’re not getting married because your ma needs a roof over her head, Paul.” Dare’s deep voice came out rocky, but it soothed, like a brook rumbling over stone. “We’re getting married because I love your ma and she loves me. I love you too, Paul.”

  Paul shot Dare a glance loaded with such suspicion that Glynna despaired of her son ever trusting anyone again.

  Dare went on, “You’ve had some mighty bad luck in your life, and I don’t blame you for having doubts, real serious doubts. But I’ll be a good pa to you. I’ll always be kind to your ma. I’ll treat Janny like she was my own child. I want to be in your family, and I’d love it if you welcomed me in, son.”

  Paul opened his mouth, his eyes flashing with anger. Glynna knew what he’d say. I’m not your son. He wanted to blast those words out like bullets. Then, to her surprise, he clamped his mouth shut. He was listening. She thought that maybe she even saw the smallest trace of longing in his eyes. What boy didn’t want a good man for a father?

  Paul looked down between his splayed knees. Glynna noticed his pants were too short. Again. The boy was growing faster than long-stemmed grama grass.

  “I reckon you’ll do as you want,” Paul finally said.

  Dare leaned forward and rested a hand on her boy’s sagging shoulders. “I’ll take on the job of caring for this family and lift the weight off your shoulders. I think the day will come soon when you’re glad to have me around.”

  Paul raised his head and studied Dare. “I heard what you said about forgiveness. I was behind Lana, listening. It’s a hard truth. God forgave all those people who killed Jesus. . . .”

  Frowning, Paul was silent for a long stretch, and neither Glynna nor Dare broke the silence.

  “Is it right that I’m supposed to forgive a man like my pa, who was a thief and a traitor? Are you saying I’m supposed to forgive Greer, who hit my ma? He never asked for forgiveness. If I’d have said ‘I forgive you’ to him, he’d have spit in my face. Does God really want us to forgive a man like that?”

  At that moment, Glynna realized she’d never forgiven either of her husbands, and she’d never wanted to, never even considered it. Didn’t a person have to ask? Didn’t they have to be sorry about what they’d done?

  “I was locked up in prison for a long time,” Dare said. “The camp commander took pleasure in our suffering. The guards too seemed to take pleasure in causing us pain. I think there’s a difference between forgiving and trusting. If an unrepentant man is around, I don’t think God expects us to trust him. For someone like Greer, the forgiveness is more for you. It does a lot of damage to carry hate around inside.”

  Paul sat up a bit straighter. “It does?”

  Dare nodded. “Giving up the hurt and anger would leave space in your head for something better. You work hard at the diner. You take care of Janny and protect your ma. Hating those men poisons your thinking, Paul, and takes up too much of your time and energy. I think if you can forgive those men, you can have room in your heart to be happy.”

  Dare gave the boy a choice between the angry life he’d been living for so long and simple happiness.

  After a while a hesitant smile bloomed on Paul’s face. There were still shadows, still doubts, but the smile was genuine.

  Awkwardly the boy reached out his hand and offered it to Dare to shake. “Welcome to the family, Doc.”

  Chapter 24

  Dare’s eyes blinked, startled by the extended hand and the shy smile. He grabbed hold of Paul’s hand, feeling like he’d passed muster. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m gonna stop being a doctor.”

  Paul shrugged. “Stop if you can, but I think you’re probably stuck with healing. You can’t seem to resist it.”

  Dare turned to Glynna. “Now that we’ll be married, I won’t have to buy Greer’s land. You can quit worrying about selling it. We can just move out there. I think the cabin is a shack we’ll have to—”

  “No, I’m not moving to Flint’s place,” she said, cutting him off. “I can’t believe a man who wants to marry me doesn’t know me better than to believe I’d ever live on land that man owned.”

  Dare, aggravated, exchanged a look with Paul. The boy seemed to commiserate with him, and Dare realized the boy knew this woman better than he did.

  “Ma, I thought we were supposed to forgive Greer.”

  “I’m not going to profit from a marriage to that rat snake of a man.”

  “Now, Glynna, honey, calm—”

  The door behind them swung open, and Vince strode in carrying a stack of papers and books. “Your latest medical publications arrived, Dare. Guess what it says here?”

  “Stop reading my mail.”

  “I was bored waiting for you to talk things out with Paul.” Vince wasn’t an easy man to shame. “Don’t you want to hear what it says?”

  “I’m not in the mood to read right now.”

  “Not even an article that says you’re an honest-to-goodness doctor right like you are now?” Vince rounded the bed and slapped the paper in Dare’s hand. “You don’t have to go to school at all. Turns out the experience you had in the war is enough.”

  Dare’s eyes landed on an article with the title Irregular Doctors. He read the first few paragraphs and immediately felt his spirits soar. He shoved the article at Glynna. “They say there are all sorts of doctors. I qualify. My service coun
ts as an apprenticeship if a doctor who’s a commanding officer—which the doc at Andersonville was—recruits me and watches over my work for long enough a time. I’m well over the requirements.”

  “Does this mean we don’t have to move to that awful shack and starve until you learn how to rope a longhorn?” No doubt about it, his soon-to-be wife had a sarcastic streak in her.

  “Let’s split the land between Luke and the Fosters. It borders both of them. We’ll give it to them, and it’ll be at least a little repayment for the damage Greer did.”

  The smile that spread on Glynna’s pretty face made Dare forget about doctors and ranches and knife wounds and even sullen young men. He would’ve dragged her into his arms right then and reminded her of just how happy he was to be marrying her if he hadn’t had so blasted much company.

  “Vince!” Dare hadn’t meant his voice to crack quite like such a whip. “Go get Jonas and let’s get this wedding over with.”

  “What about Luke? He’ll want to come, too.”

  “Don’t you think we should tell Janny first?” Paul arched a white-blond brow.

  “Dare, lie down before you fall over. We can let you heal up for a few days before—”

  Dare shot a look at Vince. “Find Luke. You’ve got two hours to get back here. Now go.”

  “Yes, sir.” Vince gave a casual salute, flashed a grin and headed out, the door slamming shut behind him.

  “Paul, go get Janny.”

  “I think she’s busy pouring coffee.”

  “Get her over here.”

  Paul rolled his eyes and then left the room.

  “Now, Dare, you can’t just order me to . . .”

  Silence reigned in the room while Dare did his very best to demonstrate that he was fully up to the task of getting married—so long as he got to sit down during the ceremony.

  Glynna was clinging to him by the time he left off kissing her.

  Dare smiled. “I’m a decent cook, too.” Decent compared to her, at least. “I can work in the diner. Heaven knows you make more money than I do.”

  Smiling back at him, she gave him a nice thank-you kiss. “I’d appreciate the help.”

  Of course the customers were going to have to stop staring at his wife. Dare intended to make that as clear as glass. He hoped that didn’t hurt business any.

  Dare decided he should probably rest until Luke got back. He needed a nap and some food and a lot of water to replace his blood supply and to get his head to stop spinning—though he blamed some of the spinning on Glynna’s warm kisses.

  Before he could ask Glynna to get him some water, the door swung open again, this time with a lot more force.

  Vince came back far too soon. He’d left smiling, but now his face looked like a storm cloud getting ready to shoot lightning all over everyone.

  “I thought you were going for Luke.”

  “I sent Jonas.”

  “What’s the problem?” Dare knew his friend too well to think it was anything small. Vince didn’t let little things bother him.

  Vince held up a sign that Dare hadn’t noticed him holding. It said Don’t Put a Thief in Your Mouth to Steal Your Brains. He turned the sign, and on the other side it said Demon Rum.

  “Where on earth did you get that?” Dare asked. He changed his mind. This was mighty small indeed.

  “Tina Cahill has decided we need to close the saloon,” Vince answered.

  “Isn’t she busy cooking?” Glynna asked, casting a worried glance in the direction of her diner.

  As if Glynna would be of any help if she went over there.

  “It seems she’s capable of cooking and making trouble all at the same time.”

  “Talented woman,” Dare said quietly. “I don’t see why you care. You don’t ever go in the saloon.”

  “It’s the principle of the thing!”

  Dare shook his head. Maybe Vince just made no sense, or maybe Dare was honestly dizzy. “And what principle is that?”

  Vince scowled. “Don’t be stupid.”

  Tina came rushing in. “Give me back that sign!”

  Vince dodged around the bed so he was in front of Dare. Tina chased after him as Vince raced out the back door, Tina hard on his heels.

  “Well, I’d better get myself back over to the diner.” Glynna was halfway to her feet when Dare pulled her right back down beside him.

  “Go close up for the day. You can take your wedding day off, I’d think.”

  Glynna grinned. “Good idea. I’ll get the children and we can talk about our new life together.”

  “I like the sound of that. Have I mentioned yet that I love you?”

  Glynna’s smile faltered, and for a moment Dare was afraid he’d said the wrong thing.

  Women could be very confusing.

  Then her smile turned into a glow so bright, the sun looked dim by comparison.

  “No man has ever said that to me before.” She threw her arms around his neck and almost knocked him over. He almost let her. Then she kissed him hard, and with her eyes brimming with tears, she said, “I’ll go close the diner and we can get on with being husband and wife just as soon as Jonas gets back.”

  He kissed her again. “If Luke’s not riding right along with him, he’s gonna miss the ceremony.”

  Speaking against Dare’s lips, Glynna said, “He is indeed.”

  She was slow in going after Janny and Paul. So slow, in fact, that Luke and Ruthy were back in plenty of time for the ceremony.

  Janny and Paul had time enough to cook the noon meal without Tina’s help, as she was too busy painting a new sign when Vince got away with her other one.

  And Dare found kissing Glynna got his strength all fired up. In fact, he gained enough strength to participate fully in the wedding, and had plenty left over for the wedding night.

  Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys. She is the author of the acclaimed KINCAID BRIDES, LASSOED IN TEXAS, MONTANA MARRIAGES, and SOPHIE’S DAUGHTERS series. Mary has been nominated for a Christy Award, was a finalist for a RITA Award, and is a two-time winner of the Carol Award. She lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero. They have four grown daughters—Joslyn, married to Matt; Wendy; Shelly, married to Aaron; and Katy—and two spectacular grandchildren, Elle and Isaac. Readers can learn more about Mary and her upcoming books at:

  maryconnealy.com

  mconnealy.blogspot.com

  seekerville.blogspot.com

  petticoatsandpistols.com

  Books by Mary Connealy

  * * *

  From Bethany House Publishers

  THE KINCAID BRIDES

  Out of Control

  In Too Deep

  Over the Edge

  TROUBLE IN TEXAS

  Swept Away

  Fired Up

  Resources: bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook

  Website: www.bethanyhouse.com

  Facebook: Bethany House