COURT-APPOINTED MARRIAGE

by Dianne Castell

  She glanced up at him unsmiling. "Of course I remember. But I'm not staying here, no matter how nostalgic you get."

  He was quiet for a moment, hardly able to ask the next question. "Do you want a … divorce?" He thought he'd choke on the words.

  Pru stopped packing but kept staring at the clothes. Then she looked at him. Their eyes locked, and he knew all this was tearing her apart as much as it was him.

  "No," she finally said, suddenly looking sadder than a withered daffodil. "I definitely don't want a divorce. Do you?"

  "Hell, no."

  A frantic honking of a car horn outside snagged their attention. "It's Dad. No doubt come to tell me I can't take his grandchild away from Serenity." She looked back to Brice. "This is one fight Dad's going to lose."

  * * *

  As Prudence ran downstairs to confront her father—and a confrontation was exactly what this was going to be—she decided that if ever she was going to go insane, today was the day. She loved Brice, and there was no way she could stay in Serenity, and there was no way she could ask him to leave with her. He belonged here. He was the Half-Circle. It was his life as much as the blood in his veins and the heart beating inside his chest.

  And the incessant pounding on the front door underlined just why she could not stay with him. Serenity had to be the most poorly named town in North America, she decided as she reached the bottom step. If a place was named Dry Gulch, you knew what to expect, the same with Locust Point and Chagrin Falls. Then there was Serenity. Ha!

  "Prudence?" Her father's voice echoed through the house as he flung open the door. "Where are you?"

  "I'm right here." She came to the doorway. "The question is, why are you here?"

  "How in tarnation can you ask that, when you're threatening to leave Serenity with your baby—my grandbaby—and not come back? You've done lost your mind, girl, that must be it. You're not thinking straight. I hear being pregnant does that to a woman. I came to take you home where you belong, away from all this here confusion." His hair looked as if it had been combed with a vacuum cleaner, his tie and suit coat were gone. His shirt was half untucked. Randolphs in general were having a mighty rough day.

  "You better come in and sit down," she said. Then she noticed Wes getting out of his truck, and considered the new wallboard and flooring. "Maybe I better come out."

  She stood on the porch with her dad, watching as Wes stomped his way toward them. She sucked in a deep breath and stood her ground. "Dad, I'm not coming home with you. I'm leaving Serenity because the McCormacks and Randolphs can't get along. Or maybe it's that they just won't get along. It doesn't really matter anymore because I won't let the two families ruin my child the way you've ruined things for Brice and me."

  Her dad looked at Wes. "What are you doing out here, you old geezer? This is none of your affair. Go get yourself lost."

  "This here baby Prudence is carrying is half McCormack, so I'm staying. Besides, I wasn't about to let you come after Brice. We McCormacks stick together."

  "I don't give a flying fig about Brice."

  Prudence spread her arms in a helpless gesture. "See? See what I mean? Each of you is worse than the other."

  Her dad turned back to her. "All I'm interested in is you and the baby, Prudence. I don't much care about anything else. The whole family just wants you to stay in Serenity. Can't have my only daughter and grandchild leaving me, now can I?"

  Prudence caught her father's eye. He was telling the truth, she could see that, and it touched the very core of her heart. "You're not losing me, Dad. I'll always be your daughter, no matter where I live."

  She heard the door open behind her, and she turned around and saw Brice, suitcases in hand, one hers … and one his?

  Her dad asked, "Well, McCormack, are you fixing to just let her go? Aren't you going to do anything to keep your wife and child here? Least ways, if they're with you, they'll still he around these parts."

  Brice put down the suitcases on the porch steps, settled his hat on his head and folded his arms lazily across his chest. "If Pru goes, I go."

  Prudence looked at the cases and Brice. Then it hit her like a charging Brahma bull. This was a great little bluff Brice had come up with. If Brice said he was leaving with her, both families would be losing out on their children and their grandchild. If there was ever a chance of ending the feud, it was now. She and Brice just had to figure out how to pull it off. Brice was positively brilliant!

  Brice continued with "Pru and I are leaving Serenity together, today. I have a job offer with a law firm in Amarillo if I want it. A friend of mine from law school. He said if I ever decided to give up ranching, he'd take me on. I've decided to give up ranching."

  Wes paled. "This here's your home, boy. You've given it the best years of your life. All your kin's here. You can't just up and leave what you worked so hard to build. What's gotten into you?"

  "Common sense. Pru and I are both tired of the feuding. It's destroying our life together, so we're leaving. It's as simple as that. We have our own family to think about now, and family is the most important thing of all." He looked at Wes. "You're the one who taught me that, remember?"

  Wes looked a little bleary-eyed, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Brice was a wonderful actor; this was an Oscar-winning performance.

  Wes and Bob exchanged a long look, then her dad said, "Damnation! We're losing our children, McCormack."

  "Double damnation," echoed Wes. "We're losing our grandchildren and their children."

  Brice reached for the suitcases. "And that's the way it's going to be because you two are more interested in this feud than anything else. McCormacks and Randolphs have been fighting for so long they don't know any different." Brice started down the steps and Prudence followed. "We won't raise our child like that."

  Wes called after them, "Who in tarnation's going to teach my great-grandbaby to ride a horse, tell me that? He or she needs to know about the Half-Circle and all the kinfolk."

  Her father chimed in, "My grandchild needs to know about Serenity and the bank and investing and … and how to play ball."

  Wes faced Bob. "Didn't know you played ball, Randolph." He turned to Brice and Prudence. "Yeah, we need to teach the kid to play ball."

  "And fish," added Bob with feeling.

  "Yeah, fish," echoed Wes. "Who's going to teach the kid to catch catfish down at Willow Lake? Grandparents do those things. And all kids need to know how to swim, too."

  "Swimming's mighty important. And kids need to go to Disney World. Ever been to see the mouse, Wes? We could take the tot to…"

  Bob's words trailed off. For a moment Bob and Wes were quiet, the we word hanging in the air between them like a huge lasso, binding them closer than they'd ever been. Bob let out a weary sigh. "I can't lose my grandchild. I can't lose my daughter to a damn disagreement that happened seventy years ago. They're my whole life."

  Wes looked at Brice, then back to Bob. He swallowed hard. "I'm not losing my grandson or great-grandchild. They're the only things I have that really matter anymore. I lost one person I loved over this blasted feud, and I don't intend to lose two more. No, sir. That's not going to happen." Slowly, he extended his hand, as Bob Randolph extended his. "Bury the hatchet?"

  Bob nodded as he took Wes's hand. "Yeah, bury the hatchet, and for once, not in each other." The two men shared a quiet laugh, and Pru felt blissfully happy, almost giddy with relief.

  What grown men and women had tried to do for seventy long years had been accomplished by one unborn child, the love of two families to keep their own safe, and a judge determined as all get-out to take his wife to see the spring poppies in London.

  Brice set down the suitcases and slipped his arm around Prudence. "Think the two of you can persuade the rest of the families to go along with this monumental decision?"

  Bob said, "It'll take a little adjustment, but if Wes and I want it to happen, by gum, it will happen. This afternoon we'll get both families back to Pine T
ree Ridge to finish up some of the work that needs doing and have a dinner cookout. We'll get things out in the open and tell everyone how it's going to be from here on out, if that works for you, Wes."

  Wes managed a twisted smile. "Can't believe I'm having dinner with the Randolphs."

  Bob stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "I'm feeling likewise, McCormack, but I'll manage."

  Wes scuffed his boot against the drive. "Yeah, McCormacks and Randolphs will both manage."

  "We sure as heck will have our hands full convincing everyone the feud is over—except for the younger set, of course. They seem to be getting along."

  Wes snorted. "That's the way the young folk always are. Heck, Eulah and I did the same darn thing way back when. That's what the letter was all about that I wrote to her. Great-Granddad Cilus McCormack really did know about the oil before he bought out Jacob Randolph. He told me all about it, and I told it to Eulah in hopes it might help end the feud with some sort of compromise, and she and I could get hitched. Then she wrote me back, saying that Great-Granddad Jacob Randolph knew about the oil too, but he didn't much care at the time because he needed ready cash to buy the Feed and Grain store in town. Jacob wasn't much of a rancher but he was one heck of a businessman. Cilus and Jacob became great competitors and did more to foster the feud than end it. I'm guessing Eulah never showed my letter to anyone, because it was only half of the truth. She's like that, you know. Fighting's okay as long as it's fair fighting. The reason we've tormented each other all these years is because it was the only way we could be together. Kind of strange, isn't it." He gripped Brice's shoulder. "Glad you followed your heart, boy, and married Prudence—you didn't get cheated like Eulah and I did."

  Brice said, "You know, Granddad. I'm thinking Eulah didn't turn over that letter a long time ago or get involved in Bob's court case now because she still has feelings for you that she's not ready to let go of."

  A twinkle suddenly lit Wes's eyes, and he seemed to stand a bit taller. "You really think so?"

  Prudence said, "She never remarried after Thomas passed, did she? There's one way to find out what's on her mind—ask her."

  Bob grinned as he said, "As I recall, Eulah usually takes a walk in the town square about this time of day."

  Wes shuffled his feet, then said, "Is she still partial to yellow roses?"

  Prudence smiled. "Now that you mention it, I believe she is."

  Bob and Wes got into their vehicles and drove off. Pru and Brice watched as the Lincoln and the red pickup headed down the lane. Then they turned and faced each other. Brice's eyes were as brown as the earth he loved and as warm as the sun. His slow smile made her smile, too.

  She said, "What do you think about all this?"

  "Incredible as it sounds, I think our baby just saved the day."

  Prudence patted her stomach. "The real stroke of genius was when you made everyone believe you were going to leave Serenity, too. Bringing down your suitcase along with mine was inspired. It made Wes and my dad really believe we were both leaving and that they would both lose their children. That equaled things out on both sides. What a great bluff."

  Brice tipped his hat back on his head, then tipped her hat back on her head. He rested his hands on her shoulders and he looked deep into her eyes. She felt a part of him, as if they were one in every way.

  He said, "For a lawyer, you haven't sized up the evidence too well. Pick up my bag."

  "Huh?"

  He nodded at the suitcase. "Pick it up."

  She did. "It's … heavy."

  "I packed my things, too, Pru. This was no trick, no bluff. There really is a job offer for me, and I really intended to take it. You're my family now—and being true to the woman I love, pregnant or not, is what marriage is all about. I know that now, and I don't want you ever to leave me. I couldn't bear it. The Half-Circle is part of my heart, Pru." He kissed her. "You are my soul."

  She was speechless for a moment, then said, "You were really going to leave your ranch for me?"

  "Like you were going to leave your family for our baby. If it's a choice between you or the Half-Circle, Pru, the ranch doesn't have a chance."

  She threw herself into his arms, nearly knocking them both over. "I love you so much. I didn't want to leave you, but I didn't know how to stay."

  He kissed her, a long slow kiss that made her forget everything but Brice. When he took his lips from hers, she said, "That was nice."

  "I'm glad you like it, because there's lots more where that came from. This means we stay together, Pru. Our wedding vows count. Where you go, I go and vice versa."

  "How about we go to that tree over there." She tugged him over to a grassy patch, and they sat down. A light breeze pushed puffy clouds across the blue Texas sky, and wild spring honeysuckle scented the air. She took off her hat, then his, placing them side by side.

  "Okay, what's so special about under this tree?"

  She nudged him back onto the soft grass, then snuggled up next to him, her cheek next to his. Her hand rested on his chest, and she felt the steady beat of his warm, wonderful heart. "We haven't christened this particular spot yet, and I think it's time we christened every spot on the Half-Circle."

  He laughed. "Pru, that takes in a whole ton of trees and hundreds of acres."

  "I know." Now she laughed, then kissed him and looked into his loving eyes. "So we better get started, cowboy. Time's a wasting."

  "At long, long last, Pru, a Randolph and a McCormack are in complete agreement."

  * * * * *