Karen jerked her shoulders back as if offended. “I had a good excuse.”
Lily always had a good excuse when her adventures led to injury, too. She hurried up the steps. “If you’re on bed rest, you should get back to bed. Let me help you.”
Parsnip whinnied and galloped around the corral.
A truck approached. Conner’s truck.
Lily judged the distance from the porch to the motor home and then stopped herself. “Do the right thing.”
“That’s always best.” Karen turned her walker around and sat in it, heaving a pained sigh. “I wonder why Conner’s home so early from work.” She gave Lily a sly grin. “I bet he knew you were here.”
* * *
“I THOUGHT YOU might come here.” Conner got out of the truck first, nearest Lily.
Big E and Rudy exited on the other side.
He took advantage of the fact that they had more steps to take to reach Lily than he did. “Lily, let me explain. Please.” He made it up the steps two at a time. “Mom, you shouldn’t be out of bed. You could have fallen again.”
“But somehow, I’m glad I came out for some sun...son.” His mother would be the death of him yet. “I’ve got front-row seats to what sounds like it’ll be a doozy of an apology.”
Lily crossed her arms and stared at the corral, where Parsnip jumped the fence and trotted their way. The big horse had finally lost his patience.
“That’s enough talk, cowboy.” Rudy caught up to Conner, having reached the bottom step. “I’m going with my daughter back to San Diego. If that’s what she wants.”
“Why?” Conner blocked the man from climbing his stairs, helped by the appearance of Parsnip at his side. The big horse nudged Rudy back to the walkway, inserting himself between Conner and the two older men like a guard dog. “Why would Lily go back with you? So you can undermine Lily’s confidence in herself and her job some more?” He swung Lily a look over his shoulder. “Don’t go.”
“I have no reason to stay. Everyone treats me like a child because of these.” She held her hands up, eyes filled with unshed tears. “I can’t trust anyone to stay out of my life.”
“Now, Lily...” Rudy began as Big E lumbered up, having taken a moment to peruse the exterior of his motor home.
“She’s right.” Conner cut the rigid older man off. “None of us have given Lily a reason to trust we’d respect her independence.”
“Independence is a double-edged sword.” His mother gave her hip a tender pat.
“But everyone deserves to make their own decisions.” Conner’s gaze found Lily’s. “Even when I was encouraging you to do just that, I was building a protective buffer around you, the same way I’ve done with my mother.”
“It’s too late for apologies,” Lily said, holding herself as rigid as her stepfather.
“You’re right.” Conner wasn’t going to argue with her. “You bailed on your wedding and came to Montana because you wanted to find out who you are and how the Blackwells figure into that. But really what you were doing was breaking free of everything that was keeping you from finding out who you are. I wasn’t part of the solution. I was part of the problem.”
“You’re a problem now,” Rudy griped. He extended his hand. “Come on down, honey. If you want to get away to think, we can give you a lift in the motor home. You can be back in your apartment in a few days. Then you can decide what you want to do without any pressure.”
“Super idea,” Big E said. “Stay or go. Your choice.”
Lily gaped at Rudy and Big E. “Why would I go anywhere with any of you?”
“Because I love you,” Conner said simply.
Parsnip blew a raspberry, a sound that came off like a lot of laughter.
Lily’s nose reddened and she looked like she might cry. “You can’t. It’s too soon.”
“She’s right,” Rudy said simply.
Big E made a noise that sounded like the one Parsnip had made.
“I can.” Conner extended a hand. “I’m like a good pair of jeans, honey.”
“What did you say?” His mother leaned forward, grimaced, then thought better of it and sat back. “This is not the way you ask a woman to marry you.”
“She’s right,” Rudy said, rolling his eyes.
“You’re asking me...” Lily braced herself on the porch railing. “What happened to not betting on Conner Hannah?”
Parsnip nudged Conner’s shoulder.
“Not now.” Conner pushed his nose away.
“Now would be the perfect time,” Big E said cryptically.
Conner glanced at the old man. Words ran through his head.
Return to what you’re passionate about.
Love is not a responsibility. It’s a gift.
You have to make a grand gesture.
A grand gesture. That was Pepper’s advice.
Parsnip had turned and started plodding toward the pasture.
“Parsnip.” Conner hurried down the steps and caught up to the big black horse. He grabbed a handful of mane and swung up onto his back, guiding him with his heels until they were back at the porch steps.
Big E drew Rudy back, giving them space.
“I thought you said you had to complete Parsnip’s training,” Lily said in a small voice.
“His cutting-horse training.” Conner didn’t waste time explaining. This was a time for grand, romantic gestures, just the way Pepper had said. “I was wrong about not betting on me, Lily, or on the Rocking H. I can’t carry the load here alone. I know that now.”
“About time,” his mother said.
“With someone like you by my side, and a bonus from Big E to give us some breathing room, I can return to what I’m passionate about—training cutting horses.”
“By your side?” Lily echoed.
“Yes, darlin’.” Conner embraced his cowboy heritage and slang. “You can learn to help me and we can rely on each other, just like Horatio Hannah relied on his bride. But not only that, you can learn to train mustangs on your own.”
Rudy made a choking noise that had Parsnip shifting his back legs so he could see the former military man. “Now, that’s going too far.”
“Keep quiet, Rudy,” Big E said. “You and I aren’t a part of this.”
“Old habits, old man.” Rudy sighed.
“I know you told me you don’t accept challenges anymore.” Conner offered her his hand. “But I want to extend one more. Be my wife, my partner in business and in love. I love you, Lily Harrison Blackwell. I may not have done a good job of it in these early days. But I know that love is a gift you have to nurture for it to grow. From here on out, it’s truth and love.”
“Well done, son,” Big E said, a response Conner took as a blessing.
Lily didn’t move. She glanced toward her stepfather as if needing his approval.
Rudy smiled. Not a big smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Are you sure this isn’t something wild? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The woman Conner loved turned her attention to him and his very well-behaved but truly impatient horse. No telling how much longer Parsnip was going to help him out on this grand, romantic gesture.
“Dad, you know that place I told you I was searching for?” Lily came down the porch steps, eyeing Parsnip before turning her gaze to Conner with a jolt that was electric. “I found it. Right here. With the man I love. The man I love right down to the tips of my toes.” She took his hand in both of hers the way a person who intended to stay on the ground did. “I’m not letting go.”
“Good.” Because Conner preferred she get on board right away. He swung her up behind him.
Thankfully, she didn’t squeal. She wrapped her arms around him and held on as if she’d never let him go.
Thankfully, Parsnip showed some grace and patience, and didn’t do more than twitch
his tail.
“Gentlemen.” Conner tipped his hat and guided Parsnip toward the pasture.
“Where are you going?” Rudy marched after them.
“To show my future bride her property.”
“Let them go, Rudy,” Big E said, chuckling. “You know how young people are and we’ve got miles to go today.”
Parsnip picked up his pace, as eager to leave their audience behind as Conner was.
“Conner Hannah, you are a brave man.” Lily pressed a kiss to his shoulder, her breath wafting through the thin cotton of his shirt.
“Lily, take a look around. You’ll always be the bravest one in this family for taking me on. And if you weren’t that brave, I wouldn’t love you like my favorite pair of blue jeans.”
EPILOGUE
“CAN’T THIS RUST bucket go any faster?” Rudy demanded of Elias from the passenger seat of the old rancher’s motor home. “We just got passed by two old ladies in a station wagon.”
“This isn’t a rust bucket,” Elias retorted. “It’s a classic.” He patted the faded dash. “And if we go over fifty, we won’t make it to Elko on this tank of gas.”
Rudy washed a hand over his face.
His driving companion spared him a glance. “You still shell-shocked about Conner and Lily?”
“Yeah. Ten days ago she was supposed to marry someone else.”
“Ten days ago she was about to marry the wrong man. You saw her, same as I did. There was love in her eyes, more love than I saw anytime she talked about that man you wanted her to get hitched to.”
Rudy didn’t like the way Elias made sense when talking about his daughter. He didn’t like the fact that they were going to find the man who’d been married to Susan before he was. But he didn’t like loose ends. Loose ends made him twitchy. But so did worrying about his girls. His girls.
Will they still be mine if we find Thomas Blackwell?
Rudy gasped. “Brake-brake-brake-brake-brake!”
Elias brought the motor home to a halt just short of the station wagon with the elderly ladies who’d passed them earlier. They’d missed their exit—if their blinker and ill-advised stop just past the exit was any indication—and they were about to cause a multicar pileup on the Idaho interstate.
“I had it under control,” Elias grumbled.
Rudy knew the old man often thought he had things under control. Key word being thought. “Like you had the situation with Lily under control?”
“Yep.” Elias grinned. “I believe I’m starting to get the hang of granddaughters. They aren’t much different than grandsons.”
“Elias, with all due respect, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Name’s Big E, and I beg to differ. Beginnings are often rough, which is why you’ve got to have courage and learn to roll with the punches.”
The old man laughed so hard his foot slipped off the brake and they rear-ended the station wagon.
* * *
A romance is on the cards for Amanda Harrison Blackwell, coming next month from author Amy Vastine and Harlequin Heartwarming. Don’t miss it! Big E is up to his old tricks bringing people together yet again!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Dalmatian Dilemma by Cheryl Harper.
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The Dalmatian Dilemma
by Cheryl Harper
CHAPTER ONE
SEAN WAKEFIELD WAVED away a puff of charcoal smoke as he checked the hot dogs on the grill. Some things belonged together. The Fourth of July, veterans and grilled meat were a match made in heaven. Concord Court, the community built to help veterans adjust to life stateside, was celebrating its first official Independence Day.
So far, the only fireworks at Concord Court had exploded between him and his boss, Reyna Montero, and they were now both on their best, most polite behavior.
Sean wished the celebration had come at the end of a better week at the complex. He handled the operations of Concord Court; most days, that covered the remaining construction, upkeep on the leased townhomes and grounds, and security. Reyna’s last-minute celebration had caused some shuffling of priorities, but all of that he could take in stride. As the manager of the Court—and the daughter of the man bankrolling the entire experiment—Reyna set the priorities around here. She was the boss. His boss.
Their only problem so far was the result of a disagreement over those priorities.
The sun was setting. Some of the intense Miami heat had lightened. Almost everyone who had gathered was prepared to party.
He happened to be cornered with the one woman who never partied.
If he could come up with some required task far, far away, they both might enjoy themselves more.
“These are almost done. You can go ahead and start the show when you’re ready.” He turned to his boss, who was evaluating the small crowd gathered on the green grass in the center of the buildings that made up the townhome complex. A small wrinkle creased her forehead right between her eyebrows. Her posture was parade rest, her feet perfectly planted twelve inches apart. There was a muffled pop of fireworks in the distance, but here everyone was talking, ready for a movie to begin under the stars.
Everyone except her.
She was prepared for her next orders, whether she was giving them or taking them from a higher command.
“Everybody has a plate.” Reyna nodded. Was that satisfaction on her face? Sean wasn’t sure, but it would be nice to be able to read between the frowns, since she used as few words as she could during the day. Reyna held her cards close and treated every item on the to-do list as critical.
A good policy for an Air Force officer.
Exhausting at a cookout.
“But is everyone here?” Reyna bit her lip. That was easy enough to decipher. He knew the answer. She did, too. They weren’t at full capacity yet. Some of the faces of the men and women who lived at the Court were missing.
“You can throw a party to celebrate the holiday, but you can’t force people to show up,” Sean drawled.
Not anymore. In her first career, she would have been able to demand participation. Here participation was usually voluntary. He studied the coolers lined up. Only lemonade and bottled water. She might benefit from something stronger.
He waved his oven-mitted hand again to chase the smoke away from her. The bacon-patterned mitt wasn’t strictly Americana, but bacon was welcome at every party. She hadn’t raised an eyebrow at the mitt. Or at the apron he’d chosen for the occasion—it said No Recipes or Opinions Needed. His grandmother had given it to him.
Sean said, “Independence and mandatory attendance. Mutually exclusive.” Why was he still watching her? He couldn’t look away. He might miss something.
Reyna didn’t smile or agree, but her shoulders relaxed. “Logic. I can’t argue with it.”
They agreed on most things, and he’d been happier here at Concord Court since she’d taken over than he’d ever been on any job. As manager for the complex, Reyna set the budget and the goals, and she let him make plans for the physical facilities and operations. A good relationship, for the most part.
Until they’d butted heads over the first veteran who hadn’t met the Court’s main residency requirement. Fighting wasn’t Sean’s way, but when something mattered, he wouldn’t back down. Sean had tried all the logic he could find to save the guy’s spot in the complex. That conversation had turned tense, the explosive fireworks between them unavoidable. He was nearly certain his attempt had failed.
“Did you talk to Charlie? He’s over by the pool gate.” Sean turned the hot dogs. If he didn’t face her, she wouldn’t se
e his irritation at her insistence on following the rules this time.
Charlie loved it here, and Sean enjoyed his time with the old guy. His stories were wild.
“No. I’ve called around to five or six rehab facilities to find him a place. I’d like him to have a choice.” She didn’t look at Sean, either. Their first tense, loud discussion had only ended when someone came into the office to ask about local doctors. Now they were both on their best behavior.
Concord Court residents were required to go back to school or find a job, but Charlie couldn’t meet those requirements. Right now his focus was on chemotherapy and recovery from surgery.
He might never go back to work, but Sean didn’t see any need to kick him out of Concord Court until they absolutely had to have the space.
That had been his argument. Apparently he’d lost.
“When I know what his options are, I’ll help him find the right spot.” Reyna glanced at Sean quickly. “Charlie will understand. He spent a lot of time fulfilling the mission set before him. That’s what I’m doing. Concord Court can’t serve Charlie, but I won’t leave him behind, either. And tonight, he’s going to celebrate with the rest of us.” Her posture was perfect again but stretched tight. She wouldn’t bend but she might break.
Reyna had her orders. She’d execute them perfectly.
One of the first things he’d noticed about Luis Montero’s oldest daughter was that while she might be petite and beautiful in the girl-next-door way, she would give Napoleon himself a run for his money as far as taking the lead. She was prepared to make hard decisions and stand by them in the face of opposition. Just like her father, the first Montero he’d encountered.
If he had to guess, Luis Montero was enforcing this “mission,” which required evicting one of Sean’s favorite tenants. Whatever Reyna might have wanted to do, she was in a tough spot.
She’d gone to bat for Sean against her father not long after she’d arrived home. That had earned his loyalty, even if evicting Charlie tested it.
Montana Welcome (The Blackwell Sisters) Page 23
