by Sara Orwig
He missed Vivian badly. He thought with extra work, hard work, he would drive away the loneliness and longing for her. Every time he reached for his phone to call her, he thought about the fortune she had, her net worth, her feelings about money and his views that she definitely found antiquated, and he decided against the call.
He couldn’t change and she couldn’t, either. He also didn’t think she was in love with him. And he wasn’t with her.
If you’re not in love, why do you miss her so badly? asked an inner voice.
Because they’d had something good between them and they’d had fun together. He’d been in the military and she had been widowed, and when they met, both of them were ready for friends, a social life, a real life and getting out again, so they just clicked.
That answer had to suffice. Because he wasn’t in love.
But when another week rolled past, Mike was still having a hard time forgetting her. He strolled through the mansion library, glancing at the books, but nothing grabbed his interest. And no one was around to talk to. Aside from Henry and Millie, the staff was still there, but he never saw them. They attended to the household chores when he was out on the ranch, except for Francie who didn’t need to come down to cook for him at all.
And everywhere he looked he thought of Vivian.
He left the library and wandered up to his suite, telling himself he had other things to think about and some decisions to make. He thought about turning in his resignation. But if he got a job far away from Dallas or the Tumbling T, the places where Vivian would be, it would be more difficult working out how to get their baby back-and-forth.
If Vivian put the ranch on the market and Clint bought it, Mike wasn’t staying and he didn’t think a lot of the guys would stay. But if she sold the ranch, she wouldn’t have much say about who bought it and she couldn’t refuse to sell to Clint.
Mike swore and walked out on to his balcony. There was a starry sky overhead and a bright moon lighting the night. He missed her and he wanted her. Did that mean he was in love with her? He no longer knew the answer to that question. All he knew was that he couldn’t deal with her fortune and he didn’t want to.
He looked at the date on his watch. Mid-June. He had hoped as time passed that he would miss Vivian less, but he missed her more now than ever.
How had she come to be so important to him?
A couple of days ago he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation and he’d called her to see how she was and to just hear her voice.
She’d said she felt fine, with no morning sickness. Her voice sounded guarded and they’d talked only briefly when she said she had to go. Since then he’d tried to call her a couple other times, but she never answered so he stopped trying.
How were they going to work out sharing a baby? He would have to see Vivian when he would pick up their baby, unless she hired someone to be there for that. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that that was exactly what she’d do. And, most likely, she would marry again. That thought brought him up short and he cut it off. Another man with Vivian. Another man raising his child. Mike swore quietly. The image was too upsetting to contemplate.
He thought about going to bed, but he had slept with Vivian often enough that he missed her being with him. He pulled out his phone to call her then stared at it as he thought about all the reasons that was a bad move. She lived in Dallas now in that ritzy penthouse apartment. She might even be dating.
As he held the phone it buzzed with a new text. He dared to hope it would be Vivian. To his surprise it was from his army buddy Noah Grant.
Will be out of Rangers next month. Need to get together. Jake still over there. See you when I get home. Hope you like your job. How’s Thane’s wife? Lunch or dinner? I’ll let you know when I’ll be in area.
Mike smiled as he typed in a reply. In July, Noah would be home. Then Jake would be back last. If only Thane had made it and he had come home to the Tumbling T. Instead, Thane’s wife was going to have Mike’s baby. Not what Thane had intended when he’d sent Mike to the ranch. And she was leaving the ranch. Again, not what Thane had intended. Mike shook his head. Things hadn’t gone well and he felt responsible for them being so far off course. There were some pluses, though: Slade got to retire. Clint Woodson had stopped bothering Vivian; Lewis Owens was getting a well-deserved promotion; and the ranch was doing well. He’d be sorry to see it go, but luckily Thane would never know if Vivian were to leave the ranch and put it up for sale.
It was too bad that Mike couldn’t afford to buy the ranch. When it went on the market, it would be out of his price range. The bad thing was if Clint Woodson were to buy it. If only there was a way to let certain people know and maybe do it when Clint was out of town. Mike shrugged. That would be up to Vivian. It wouldn’t be his responsibility.
He should never have come to work on the ranch. He almost didn’t, but he felt honor bound to keep his promise to Thane. Maybe that was why Thane had given him the money. He knew Mike could never have come home and gone to work at another ranch with the gift that Thane had given him.
If Thane only knew how everything had turned out, he wouldn’t be so happy that he’d sent Mike to the Tumbling T Ranch.
Mike was glad he was going home soon to see his family. He was not looking forward to telling his mom about his baby, however. She wasn’t going to be happy with him because she loved babies and this one would really not be with them a lot of the time. He dreaded telling her. He dreaded telling his brothers, too, but he knew they’d understand his feelings about Vivian and her future inheritance, her multi-millionaire status now. They’d all been raised to take charge, take responsibility.
He decided right then and there to move out of the big house and back into the guesthouse. At least Sandy would come see him there. He had one month to go to keep his promise to Thane and then he was going to turn in his resignation and look elsewhere for a ranch job. Now, he had more experience as a foreman so that would be good.
He moved his things that evening out to the guesthouse, opening it up to let it air out after being closed up. There was no one living on the second floor in the main house now. At least some were still on the third floor. He was glad Thane couldn’t know what was happening to his beloved ranch.
Mike changed clothes and went for a run, trying to keep busy, to wear himself down so he’d get a few hours of sleep. He jogged six miles and finally went back to move a few more of his things to the guesthouse. He went through the house until he found a small framed picture of Vivian. He wanted her picture in the guesthouse. He knew that wasn’t the way to forget her or to get over her and maybe it was just because evening was setting in and he missed her more than ever. He carried the picture upstairs to get his own things.
As he gathered his boots and hats he had left behind, he glanced at his bed and remembered her there, smiling at him. Emotions racked him, pain and desire. He missed her so much and he wanted her. He wanted her laughter, her fun, her hot lovemaking, her gorgeous body. She was the mother of his baby. He was throwing all that away because of a bunch of money. Her money—no matter how much she had—was not more important than their love, being a family and raising and loving their baby. He needed to really think things through. Life changes. He had grown up with certain ideas about life, but maybe he needed to rethink and adapt before he lost what was the most important thing in his life—Vivian’s love. Was he giving too much importance to her wealth? It hurt like hell to lose her. For the first time in his life, he wondered if he had fallen in love.
* * *
With each passing day, Vivian missed Mike more. She longed to see him, to feel his arms around her. She was going to have to sell the ranch, move to Dallas permanently. She would ask Thane’s family if they wanted the ranch, but she didn’t think any of them would, certainly not his father. She’d have to sell it. She thought of her stu
dio there that she loved so much, the quiet days of painting. She had been happy there, but a baby would change everything and it wasn’t going to work out for her to stay at the ranch.
She couldn’t bear to think about selling the ranch because she knew Clint Woodson would immediately grab it up. She had to think about any way to avoid that happening. Even her neighbors had asked her not to let Clint buy it.
Thoughts of the ranch led to thoughts of her handsome foreman. She still mourned the loss of Thane and now she had added the pain of losing Mike. Would she have been better off if Thane hadn’t hired him? She placed her hand on her flat stomach and thought about the precious baby she was going to have and knew her answer. She didn’t have any regrets about Thane hiring Mike. His baby was growing inside her, and joy filled her every time she thought about it. A baby to love and cherish and watch grow up. Tears stung her eyes. If only Mike wanted this baby the way she did. If only he missed her the way she yearned for him.
He must miss her some, she realized, because he still called her even though she wasn’t taking his calls.
She thought about what his old-fashioned narrow-mindedness was causing them both to give up, what he had to gain from his actions, what he must really feel. Why would he keep calling her if he wasn’t interested in her? Maybe she ought to talk to Mike one more time. He had tried to call several times but she hadn’t answered because she was avoiding the pain she had felt after talking to him. She knew it wasn’t about business because if it was business, he would just call Henry and tell him to tell her.
Maybe she should go to the ranch and have a talk with Mike and see if he still felt the same about her money now that they had been apart awhile. She sat mulling over whether to go back to the ranch or not. Was she just fooling herself and trying to find an excuse to see Mike? She better decide because she suspected that soon he would be gone. Should she call him and tell him she wanted to come see him or just go?
While she thought about it, her phone rang.
She answered and heard Mike’s voice. “I’m about a block away. Is it convenient to come see you now?”
Startled, she glanced in the mirror. “Yes, you can come see me. I’ll call downstairs and give them your name so you can come up.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Curious and wondering about what he wanted, she raced into the bedroom to yank off her T-shirt and cutoffs. She pulled on a red cotton sleeveless blouse and matching red linen slacks and sandals. She ran a brush through her hair and was picking up the room when she heard the bell that indicated someone was coming up in the elevator. She went to the entryway and waited to see him.
It seemed to take forever before the elevator doors opened and he stood before her.
He looked so incredibly handsome in his black Stetson, black boots, his charcoal jacket, white shirt and crisp jeans. Her heart thudded and it was an effort to resist reaching out to hug and kiss him.
“This is a surprise,” she said instead.
“I’ve tried to call you.”
“I know. I should have taken your calls. Come in.”
He carried a small white box in his hands and she wondered why he was in Dallas.
“I’ve been thinking about us,” he said, stopping only a few feet into her condo and turning to face her. “You look gorgeous.”
“You look rather good yourself. I might have looked a little bit better if you’d told me you were coming.”
“You look wonderful. I brought you a present because I’ve missed you,” he said, holding out the white box. It was tied with a white satin bow.
Her heart pounded and she stared at him in surprise. She took the box from his hands. “I’ve missed you, too, Mike,” she said, gazing into his green eyes and wanting to toss aside the box and throw herself into his arms.
“I hope you like it,” he said, glancing at the present in her hands that she had forgotten about—mainly because she was envisioning kissing him. He obviously wanted her to open it, so she untied the bow and opened the box to stare at a gold ring with a dazzling huge diamond surrounded by sparkling smaller ones. She looked up at him in question. “This is beautiful,” she whispered. “But—”
He tossed his hat and jacket away and stepped close to take the ring and hold her hand. “Vivian Warner, I love you with all my heart and I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”
Tears filled her eyes. “You’ve never said you love me,” she whispered while her heart pounded.
“I didn’t know I did until you left and I hurt without you. I think about you, miss you and want you every minute. All the joy has gone out of my life and off the ranch.” He took her other hand in his. “Vivian, I love you. Will you marry me?”
She watched him put the ring on her finger, unable to believe that this was happening, that he was here saying these things she’d longed to hear. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful and I need you. I love you with all my heart and I just didn’t realize or recognize what I felt until you were gone.”
She looked at the ring on her finger, but she was still holding her breath.
“Mike, what about the money?”
“Oh, hell, it’s money. It’s pieces of paper. I figured there must be some way to work this out. I can live on mine and you can live on yours or whatever you want to do. As you said, it’s a pile of money, but it’s not as important as love and people. You’re the woman I love and you’re carrying our baby whom we’ll love, and we’ll have more babies. So maybe I have been a little too hardheaded and obtuse and—”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her heart thumping wildly with joy. She leaned back laughing. “Oh, yes, my love, my handsome cowboy, I love you and I will marry you.”
He gave a whoop and twirled her around. Then he kissed her, his lips never leaving hers until he’d carried her to her bedroom. He stood her on her feet and as if by magic their clothes disappeared. All she was aware of was Mike in her arms, his lips on hers and he loved her.
“Mike, I’m so happy. I love you with all my heart. You’re wonderful. You’re not an alpha male right now.”
“Ha, that’s what you think, darlin’. But I’m not when it comes to pleasing my woman. I want to make you happy. I love you so much. I can’t tell you how awful it’s been without you at the ranch.”
The reminder pulled her up. “The ranch. Mike, I was getting ready to sell it.”
“And I was getting ready to quit. Well, we’ll both have to change our plans and—” He stopped and shrugged. “Except I’ve already promised Lewis Owens the foreman job. Now what the hell am I going to do?”
She giggled. “Make love to the owner.”
“Vivian,” he said as she nuzzled his neck, trailing kisses to his ear. “Get serious.”
She looked up at him. “I know exactly what you’re going to do. Just a minute, Mike.” She slipped out of his arms and disappeared into the closet. She came back with the torn, wrinkled brown paper that had been in the packet Thane had given Mike to give to her.
Mike raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Look on the back of this paper that was wrapped around my diamond pendant. It’s Thane’s handwriting. Read it.”
She handed the paper to Mike and he read aloud: “Vivian, I love you. Love Mike. He will take care of you and the ranch. T.”
She placed her hand over his. “I know what we’ll do. We’ll marry. We’ll have a small wedding, just our families and closest friends and the ranch people.”
“Yeah, that’s a small wedding—about three hundred.”
She smiled. “That’s okay. And after we marry, we’ll put the ranch in both our names and you’ll be the owner like Thane was. Lewis will be our foreman, the way Slade was, and he’ll work for you just like he’s doing now. And I’ll be a mama for our bab
y and our babies. Plus I’ll be an artist and your wife.” She looked at him, knowing all her love shone in her eyes for him to see. “What do you think?”
He gazed at her solemnly and looked at the note in his hand. “I think Thane had a premonition he wouldn’t make it home. He covered his bases. The money he gave me was enough that I’d be obliged to stay the three months. He knew that. By then he knew I’d be hooked. I think he wanted us to fall in love if he didn’t make it home because I’d take care of you and take care of the ranch. And when you cry over Thane, I won’t be jealous because I’ll cry with you. I loved him, too. He was the best friend possible and I’m sure he was a good husband to you.”
“Like you will be.”
“For as long as I live.” He pulled her to him, wrapping her in his strong arms. “I didn’t do so well catching on that I was in love, but it’s the first time I’ve ever been in love. And the last.” He kissed her.
It wasn’t the most passionate kiss Mike had ever given her, nor the longest, but it was the best because it came with a declaration of his love.
When he broke the kiss, he asked a favor. “One of our fellow rangers, Noah Grant, is getting out of the service next month. I’d like to wait to have the wedding so we can include him. He was important to Thane, and to me.”
“Of course, we can include him.”
“I’ll have to meet your family and you’ll have to meet mine—soon, if we want to have the wedding next month and get on with life.”
“I think so,” she said dreamily, holding her hand up to twist it and admire her ring. She looked at him. “I want to hear the ‘I love you’ part again.”
He took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes. “My darlin’ Vivian, I love you with all my heart. I love you now and forever.”
“That is so wonderful,” she said, smiling at him. “And I love you, Mike Moretti, with all my heart. Mike, I’m so happy. I’ve loved you for a long time.”
“Well, you didn’t tell me.”
