by Janet Dailey
On that score, Chase couldn’t disagree.
Chapter Nine
The following morning, right after breakfast, Trey took Sloan on a shopping trip to the commissary and outfitted her in appropriate ranch attire, from the straw Resistol hat on her head to the tough Justin boots on her feet. In the days that followed, she had plenty of occasions to wear them as she accompanied Trey just about everywhere he went, lending a hand to whatever task he was about. What she lacked in skill, she made up for with effort.
On a ranch the size of the Triple C, Sloan soon learned that the work was never-ending. There were colts to be halter-broken, fences to be mended, stalls to be cleaned, daily chores to be done, cattle to be checked, parts to be delivered, sick or injured animals to be doctored, water supplies and range conditions to be monitored—all of which was just a small sampling.
Twice she rode along with Trey when he drove to one of the half-dozen outlying camps that formed a circle around the ranch headquarters, dividing its vastness into manageable districts. The trips gave Sloan a glimpse of the private road system that linked all the various parts of the ranch.
Always there was the land, stretching from horizon to horizon. The dominating expanse of sky overhead gave it a flat look, but it was riddled with benchlands and breaks, cut-banks and coulees, as Sloan discovered when she rode over it with Trey.
And Trey seemed to know every inch of it and the things that lived on or under it. When Sloan made some passing comment about the curly, matted grass beneath their horses’ hooves, Trey identified it as buffalo grass. Like the taller blue joint, it was native to the area and more nutritious for the animals than any other kind of grass. Renowned for its hardiness, it was resistant to heat and drought. There was no brag in his voice when he explained that the grass was the source of the ranch’s wealth; it was a simple statement of fact.
Except for the huge irrigated hayfields along its south boundary, most of the land within the Triple C fences had never been touched by a plow. It was much the way it had been when the first Calder rode over it.
Day’s end always brought them back to The Homestead, where the family gathered for the nightly meal. The dinner conversation invariably centered on ranch business, though Sloan was never made to feel left out. Afterward nearly everyone lent a hand clearing the table, but Cat always shooed Sloan out of the kitchen, refusing any further help and insisting she go off somewhere with Trey.
Sometimes they cuddled on the couch to watch a movie or went for a long walk. One night they made love on a blanket beneath a cottonwood tree with only the stars to witness their union. Another evening, Cat dragged out the family album with its pages of photographs and regaled Sloan with stories of the rowdy and rambunctious boy Trey had been.
For a while, time seemed to stand still. Then, suddenly, there was little of it left. As they made the long walk from the old barn to the front steps of The Homestead, the knowledge rested heavily on Trey that this time tomorrow Sloan would be on a plane flying to Hawaii. Tension coiled through him.
Beside him, Sloan swept off her hat and shook her hair free of its confining band. “What a day,” she said with a sigh. “I was beginning to think you were never going to get that calf out of the mud. It was lucky you heard that cow bellowing. The calf might have died if you hadn’t found him. But,” she added, “I guess that’s why you make regular checks of the pasture.” She flashed him a smile.
“Yup.” The one-word answer was all he could manage. Too many important things needed to be said for more time to be wasted on small talk. “Are you glad you came? You never have said.”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed it.” Sloan was emphatic about that.
Still not satisfied, Trey asked, “Then you weren’t bored?”
Laughter came from low in her throat. “When did I have time to be bored?”
“Not much, I guess,” he admitted. “Just the same, some people find all this open space a bit monotonous.”
“I suppose,” she agreed on a thoughtful note. Then her expression lifted and a soft marveling light entered her eyes. “But there’s something about the lonely grandeur of this land that grips your heart.”
A new ease flowed through him, unraveling the previous tension. There was a buoyancy to his stride as they reached the front steps. “I guess you’ll be heading straight upstairs to take a shower before supper.”
“A long, hot one,” Sloan confirmed. “At least I’m not as stiff and sore as I was after the first time you took me riding.”
He grinned. “We’ll make a horsewoman out of you yet.”
A teasing smile deepened the corners of her mouth. “Your grandfather warned me that this land has a tendency to make people dream big. He was right.”
“Speaking of Gramps,” he said, his thoughts already turning to look ahead as they climbed the steps in unison, “I need to talk to him before I clean up.”
Just as he expected, he found Chase in the den, ensconced in the big leather chair behind the desk. Trey closed both double doors behind him, ensuring their privacy. The significance of his action wasn’t lost on Chase.
He lifted his head, his eyes narrowing with sharpened interest. “This must be important.”
“It is,” Trey replied and then said his piece in plain words.
When he finished, Chase cocked his head to one side. “Are you asking my opinion?”
“No sir.”
Chase studied the quiet resolve etched in his grandson’s expression and nodded. “That tells me you’re sure of your decision.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” It was a simple statement, made with no attempt to impress Chase with its certainty. But then Trey hesitated, regret showing. “I know I’m asking a lot, but—”
Chase cut him off in mid-sentence. “It’s yours.”
“Thanks.” Gratitude and affection mixed together in the look Trey gave his grandfather.
Knowing glances were exchanged when Trey suggested to Sloan that they go for a walk at supper’s conclusion. Everyone knew it was Sloan’s last night. It was understandable that the couple would want to spend it alone together.
Hands tucked in the pockets of his denim jacket, Trey stood at the top of the front steps, but he made no move to descend them. Sloan paused beside him, slipping a hand through the crook of his arm and drawing close. The gesture was a natural one that spoke of the ease she felt in his company. Like him, she faced the night scene before them.
A rising moon silvered the ranch yard with its light while overhead the black sky was alive with stars. Along the river, the trees made intricate dark shapes against the silvered grassland beyond them. A flurry of snorts and hoofbeats came from the corral by the barn. Then all was quiet again.
“It’s a bit chilly tonight. I’m surprised we can’t see our breath.” Sloan blew one out in a testing fashion to see if she could.
“The wind’s out of the north.” But Trey was more conscious of the warmth of her body pressed along his side than with the coolness of the air.
“So,” she said in a subtly prompting fashion, “are we going for that walk?”
“Not yet.” His gaze shifted to her, his head turning slightly. He sensed that he would never tire of looking at this incredible woman with her sun-streaked hair and midnight blue eyes. In many ways, she was a contradiction—strong and self-contained, yet vibrant and alive without artifice.
“That’s fine with me.” Supreme contentment was in her expression.
The moment of waiting was passed. Trey turned, angling his body toward her and touching the flawless skin on her cheek to draw the fullness of her attention. “There’s something I want to ask you, Sloan,” he said. “And ‘no’ isn’t going to be an acceptable answer.”
“Don’t.” There was a pained look in her eyes as she placed her fingers to his mouth. “As much as I don’t want to, I have to leave tomorrow. I can’t stay any longer. Try to understand that.”
In answer, he
caught hold of her hand and pressed a kiss in its palm, then lifted his head to claim her gaze. “I do understand, and that isn’t what I was going to ask you.”
“You weren’t?” she said in surprise. “Then what?”
“Marry me.” It was more of a statement than a question, yet Trey waited for her answer, watching the chase of emotions across her face—disbelief, delight, and, ultimately, doubt.
“It’s so soon, Trey,” she began.
“For you, maybe. But not for me. I want you to be my wife. A week from now, a month from now, a year from now isn’t going to change that.” With no hesitation, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. “This belonged to my grandmother, Maggie O’Rourke Calder. I think it’s right that my wife wear it.”
The ring was a snug fit; he had to work a little to slip it on her finger. Not a sound came from Sloan the whole time. But the moonlight showed him the tears that shimmered in her eyes. Love was like a tight ache in his chest.
“Those better be happy tears.” There was a huskiness in his voice that hadn’t been there before as he experienced the first flicker of uncertainty about her answer.
With a sound that fell somewhere between a laugh and sob, she flung her slim arms around his neck. In the next breath, her lips were all over his, breathing their sweetness into his mouth while she murmured over and over again, “Yes, yes, yes.”
He crushed her to him, driven by the need to bind her close and claim what she had given him. Blood hammered hot and fast through him. When he finally lifted his head, he was trembling with the powerful force of his feelings.
“I love you so damned much.” There was a disturbed heaviness to his breathing and a thick-lidded passion in his dark eyes.
Sloan thrilled to both of them. “And I love you. I never thought I could feel this happy, but I do,” she murmured, then mused idly, “Sloan Calder. I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.” He stole another kiss. “I hope you aren’t planning on a long engagement.”
“Until two minutes ago, an engagement wasn’t anywhere in my plans.” Her eyes sparkled as brightly as the diamond in her ring.
Trey studied her upturned face. “And now that it is?”
“No longer than necessary, I suppose,” Sloan said with a vague shrug, then fired a sharp glance at him, a touch of worry showing. “The wedding. We don’t have to have a big one, do we?”
“Not as far as I’m concerned.” He bent his head and nibbled her neck, breathing in the fresh scent of her skin. “In fact,” Trey murmured near her ear, “it’s become something of a tradition that the ceremony takes place here at The Homestead in the den. It’s where all the Calders have been married since the Triple C came into existence.”
The single exception was his father’s first marriage to Tara that eventually ended in divorce, but Trey didn’t bother to mention that.
Sloan agreed readily. “It sounds simple, and that suits me just fine.”
“Are you sure?” At the moment he would have roped the moon and hauled it out of the sky if that was what she wanted.
“Positive.” She nodded once in emphasis. “After all, what would be the point of having a big, lavish affair? I don’t have any family, and there is only a handful of friends that I would even invite.” She paused, her gaze straying toward the house. “What will your family think when we tell them? We’ve barely known each other a week.”
“Why don’t we find out?” Trey suggested.
“Now?” Sloan questioned in surprise.
“Can you think of a better time?” Trey smiled in challenge and steered her toward the front door.
Nerves. Her stomach fluttered with them the instant she set foot inside the house. Until that moment Sloan hadn’t realized how very much she wanted the approval and acceptance of Trey’s family. Yet, even if they were withheld, she didn’t regret the decision she had made.
The minute they walked into the living room where everyone had gathered, they were the center of attention. Laredo was the first to acknowledge their presence.
“That has to be the shortest walk on record,” he remarked dryly.
Chase looked straight at Sloan’s left hand, then lifted his gaze to Trey, a warm smile creasing his leathery face. “I see you talked her into it. Congratulations.”
“What are you talking about, Dad?” Cat frowned. But Jessy didn’t have to ask. She saw the proud, possessive way her son looked at the girl. An emotion as old as time made a brilliant light in his dark eyes. And she remembered when his father had once gazed at her in that same way.
“Sloan has agreed to marry me,” Trey announced without taking his eyes off her.
Laredo rolled to his feet and thrust out his hand. “I can’t say I’m surprised, considering you told me last Sunday you were going to marry her. Congratulations.” He gripped Trey’s hand in a firm shake and slapped him on the shoulder with the other, then shifted his attention to Sloan and winked. “I have the feeling he’s the lucky one in this match.”
His warm and ready approval had a steadying effect on Sloan. Although Laredo Smith claimed to be nothing more than an ordinary ranch hand, it was obvious to Sloan that the Calder family considered him to be much more than that. On various occasions, she’d sensed that there was no one the family trusted and respected more than this man.
“Thank you, but I’m the one who feels lucky,” she told him, then noticed Trey’s mother waiting to take his place.
As always, Jessy Calder conveyed a quiet strength and calm composure. The effect was softened now by the warm light in her eyes and the faint curve to her wide lips. Sloan searched, but she could detect no sign of falseness. Still the tension remained.
“Mrs. Calder,” she murmured awkwardly, unconsciously reverting to a more formal address, mostly as a kind of self-defense, “I know this probably seems very sudden to you.”
Jessy shook her head in silent denial. “Trey has always known exactly what he wanted ever since he was a little boy. I learned very quickly that he knew his own mind—and his own heart. Others have sometimes thought he acts rashly, but I’ve always known better. Welcome to the family, Sloan.” She brushed a kiss on her cheek.
Sloan never had a chance to hear what Jessy said to Trey as Cat came up and gave her a hug. “I’m so happy for you both,” she declared with her usual exuberance. “Let me see your ring. What kind did he get you?” Obligingly, Sloan raised her hand to show Cat. “A solitaire. How perfect. It looks almost exactly like the one my mother wore.”
“It is your mother’s,” Sloan admitted.
Surprise rounded her green eyes. “How—? When—?” Cat abandoned both questions and turned to look at Chase. “When did you give mother’s ring to Trey?”
“Sometime before supper,” he replied.
“You mean you knew Trey was going to propose to her tonight, and you never said a word to any of us about it?” Cat accused.
“That’s right.” He waved a finger in Sloan’s direction. “I thought the young lady had the right to give him her answer before I said anything. It would please your mother to know another Calder bride is wearing it.”
“You’re right, of course.” Cat sighed and smiled wryly at Sloan. “You’ll discover for yourself that he usually is.”
“You don’t mind, then?” Sloan uneasily fingered the ring.
“Of course not,” Cat assured her. “It was just the surprise of seeing it.”
“This calls for a drink, doesn’t it?” Chase challenged and waved to Laredo. “Roll that liquor cart in here so we can have a toast to this couple.”
Drinks were poured, glasses were raised, and toasts were offered with the usual mix of teasing and laughter. But it wasn’t long before Trey stole Sloan away again to go for that walk they’d never gotten around to taking.
After their departure, Chase called it a night and headed to his ground-floor bedroom in The Homestead’s west wing. Laredo trailed after Jessy and Cat when they carried the drink g
lasses to the kitchen.
“Another wedding.” Cat shook her head in amazement. “Do you realize that this will make three at The Homestead in less than a year? It has to be a record.”
“At least you’ve had plenty of experience planning them.” Laredo leaned sideways against the counter, watching the two women at the sink.
“That’s true.” Cat slipped the stopper in the drain and turned on the faucets while Jessy emptied the glasses of their ice and liquid in the companion sink. “I do hope some of Sloan’s friends can come. She doesn’t have any relatives. It would be awful for her if we were the only ones at the ceremony.”
“I imagine that’s why she wants to keep it small and simple,” Jessy inserted.
“I suppose so.” Cat then added thoughtfully, “She’s a very private person, isn’t she? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who talked less about herself. Oh, she talks about her work and the places she’s traveled, but little about her personal life.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Laredo suggested.
“What is?” Cat frowned, not following his meaning.
“Work takes up the bulk of her life,” he replied and slid a pointed look at Jessy. “Like someone else I know.”
Grinning, Cat eyed her sister-in-law with amusement, but Jessy took no notice of either of them. “Do you get the feeling she’s not listening to us?”
“I do.” Laredo nodded, then reached out and gave Jessy a light poke in the arm. “Hey, where’d you go?”
“What?” She looked up with a slight start, before slipping the last dirty glass into the dishwater. “Sorry. I was thinking.”
“We noticed,” Laredo said in dry amusement. “Care to share it with us? You looked like you were miles away.”
“I suppose I was, in a sense,” Jessy admitted. “I was remembering Trey telling us about that calf that was stuck in the mud at the Broken Butte range. I thought I’d better head over there tomorrow and check it out for myself. If the water in the creek has gotten low enough to create mud bogs, we probably need to move those cattle to another range.”
