Chet shook his head. “Forget it. She’ll think I’m just using her, and that’s the last thing I’m doing when it comes to Mack.”
“The heart can’t lead you on this one,” Bob said slowly. “Most times it can, but not this time. You’ve got to be logical. You can’t run your ranch without that pasture, and if you have to sell off your herd, you’re as good as out of the ranching business. Your only chance is to buy the Vaughn girl’s land.”
Chet sat in silence. He knew that his uncle was right. Bob was telling him only what every other member of this family would tell him—and they’d all be right, too. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The logical answer wasn’t always the one a man could live with.
“Bob is right,” Lydia said. “You’re a giving man, Chet. You’ve done a lot for your brother, and it’s time to start taking care of yourself.”
“If I took care of myself, I’d find a way to marry Mack,” he said. “But if I do that... She’s right, you know. Andy would walk away, and Dad isn’t here to mediate between us or beg us to come home for Thanksgiving at the same time.”
“I don’t think Andy would walk away forever,” Bob said. “He’s a sensitive kid, but he was set to marry Ida up until... When did they break up, exactly? Anyway, that’s not the point. He’ll forgive you when he finds himself another woman. Period.”
Was it as simple as that? He wanted to believe it, but he wasn’t so sure.
“And since when has Andy ever stayed single long?” Lydia chimed in. “Mark my words, he’ll have some young lady by Christmas, and it’ll all be in the past.”
He’d come for advice, and he’d gotten it. In fact, it was the very advice he’d expected to receive, but it still didn’t feel any different when he rolled it over in his mind. If the pasture was going, maybe he needed to look at more permanent change. He pushed the chair back and stood up.
“Thanks, Uncle Bob, Aunt Lydia. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, kid,” his uncle replied, squinting up at him. “So what have you decided?”
Chet shot his uncle a grim smile. “I’ve got to make a call, but would you come by for supper tonight?”
Bob nodded slowly. “Could do. What’s the plan?”
“I need someone on my side,” Chet said. “And I know I can always count on you two.”
Bob and Lydia exchanged another look, and Chet picked up his phone and started to dial as he headed out the back door for his truck.
“See you tonight!” he called over his shoulder.
Chet Granger wasn’t beat yet.
* * *
MACKENZIE STOOD AT the fence, watching her grandmother’s cattle graze. She’d done her chores on her own that afternoon, and when Chet had offered to help, she’d turned him down. She couldn’t work shoulder to shoulder with him and keep her feelings under control—especially not now that she’d finally admitted to them.
The cows chewed in grinding circles, their tails flicking from time to time in the morning warmth. She’d miss this—the pastoral sweetness as the sun sank lower in the late-afternoon sky. She’d miss the smell of grass and cows, the far-off lowing of cattle. She’d miss standing with her boot hooked on the bottom rail of the fence.
She’d called her father that morning and asked if he could give her the information for the stable that was for sale. She wanted to do her own research and then set up a time to go see the place alone. If this was going to be her financial investment, then she needed to be sure of it, but it already looked promising.
The thought of leaving Chet behind wounded her. What was it with these Granger men that they managed to tear out her heart so efficiently? At least she’d managed to find out the truth about what had happened with her breakup with Andy, and that helped. She could firmly close the door on that chapter of her life. Closing the door on Chet, however, wouldn’t be so easy. She couldn’t work beside him day after day, or even watch him move on with someone who could make him happy without having it tear her heart out all over again. She couldn’t be the reason he lost his brother, either, because she knew exactly how much those men needed each other. A woman could never take the place of a man’s brother, and she wasn’t foolish enough to try. Chet needed love, but he also needed family, and she’d never ask him to choose between them. So what choice did she have exactly? Did she love him? More than anything—enough to put herself through this heartbreak and leave town for good.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep this place, Granny,” she whispered. “I tried.”
But she was grateful she’d been able to do what Granny had always wanted her to do, and that was to take control of her own life and future. She was doing that—using the sale of this ranch to finance another business. There would be no sitting around and waiting for her life to happen to her.
She looked over at the Granger barn, and her heart squeezed at the memories. She blinked back the involuntary tears and looked purposefully away again. Then she turned her steps back toward the smallest pasture, where the goats were grazing. Regardless of her own heartbreak or any of her future plans, there was a little chocolate-fleeced goat who needed a bottle of milk.
A few minutes later, Mackenzie sat on her haunches, holding the bottle still while Chocolate Truffle slurped back the last drops. She scratched the kid behind her ears and laughed softly at the tiny bleat.
“You’re a cutie,” she said quietly. “Go play with your brother.”
The other kid—almost twice as big as the little brown doeling—was standing on top of Butter Cream’s back where she lay on the grass, patiently chewing her cud while her baby used her as a jungle gym.
Mackenzie pushed herself to her feet, and as she rose, she saw Chet striding across the grass toward the pasture. Sadness welled up in her heart, and she went to the fence to meet him. She would miss seeing Chet like this most of all.
“Hi,” he said, his smile warm and slow. “What are you up to?”
“Giving Chocolate Truffle her bottle,” she said, waggling the empty bottle between two fingers. “How about you?”
“Come for supper.” It sounded more like a command than a request, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Please,” he amended, his tone softening. “I’d really like it if you came for supper.”
Mackenzie didn’t have anything waiting in the house, and she paused for a moment. Maybe it was better to do things this way—have a proper goodbye. Loving Chet wasn’t going to just go away, but perhaps she could still find a little closure.
Mackenzie bent and squeezed between the rungs of the fence, and then they walked together toward Chet’s house. He scooped up her hand in his. She didn’t pull away. They both knew where things stood, and his touch was firm and warm. She leaned into his strong arm, allowing herself this brief comfort.
“Will you change your mind and buy my land?” Mackenzie asked.
“Nope,” he said, and there was no room for argument in his voice.
“Chet, I don’t want to sell to the developer, but I have to sell.” She slowed to a stop, forcing him to face her. “You won’t keep me here by not buying it.”
“Mack,” he said seriously, “I’m not buying your land. You can sell it, or you can keep it, but I’m not buying it from you.” He gestured toward the house. “I have some people I want you to meet.”
“What?” She pulled back. If she’d known there would be other people here...
“Please, Mack.” There was pleading in Chet’s voice. “For me.”
Mackenzie looked through the window and could make out a man and woman in their late sixties, by their appearance. They were sitting at the kitchen table, a deck of cards between them. She nodded, and they continued up the back steps and Chet pushed open the door.
The couple straightened and looked around as Chet and Mackenzie came into the house, and Mackenzie found herself immediately shy. There were more people here than just the older couple, people who hadn’t been in view through the window. A younger couple with a baby sat on the othe
r side of the table. A teenage boy stood in the doorway to the living room, and his attention was on his phone. She could hear some voices from the living room, too. The house was packed!
“This is my uncle Bob and aunt Lydia,” Chet said. “That’s my cousin Earl and his wife, Doreen. In there—” He laughed and shook his head, then raised his voice. “These are the Grangers. Everyone, this is Mack.”
Chet had brought in some reinforcements, apparently, and she smiled nervously as they gave her polite nods and smiles. If only she knew what he was getting at. If he refused to buy her land, then what did he want? And why were all these people here?
“I wanted to ask you something,” Chet said, pulling Mackenzie’s attention back to him. His gray eyes fixed on hers. “I want to ask you this in front of everyone, because it involves them, too.”
Mackenzie’s gaze flickered to the older couple, who were now watching them with bated breath. The older woman nodded encouragingly, her hands clasped in front of her, and Chet touched Mack’s cheek, drawing her gaze back to his.
“You don’t want to be with me because you’re afraid of driving my brother and me apart,” Chet said. “But I wanted you to see everyone. This is my family, Mack. Some of them, at least. The ones closest to me.”
Mackenzie swallowed hard. These were the Grangers, who always came first—who always would come first.
“You said before that we Grangers stick together, and you’re right. We do. We’re a family and belong together, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t belong, too. The thing is, family is messy. There’s no getting around that, and they don’t belong to me exclusively. This is also Andy’s family, and they’ll be there for him, too. This is a family that’s big enough to share.”
It was a kind gesture, but Mackenzie knew that there was a very big difference between being a family friend and being part of the family. He was a kind man who wanted to share the people in his life, but there were some things that couldn’t be shared so easily.
“I’m not family,” she said.
“But I want you to be,” Chet said softly. “I want you to marry me. I want you to be my wife.”
Mackenzie gaped up at Chet, staring at him in confusion.
“You want to...” Her words melted away.
“Mack, I’ve been in love with you for ten years,” Chet said. “You know that. And being part of a family isn’t always easy or clean, but it doesn’t change who you are. My brother and I are at odds right now, but he’ll always be my brother. Don’t ask me to give up the one woman I’ve ever loved because of some family friction.”
Mackenzie couldn’t find the words, and she looked up at Chet, her throat thick with emotion.
“You love me, too, don’t you?” Chet pressed.
Tears rose in Mack’s eyes. “More than anything, Chet.”
“Then marry me,” he whispered.
She was silent for a moment, her thoughts on Andy, the brother Chet couldn’t live without. What would happen to the Granger boys?
“And if Andy won’t ever speak to you again?” she asked.
“He will.” Chet’s voice was firm, and then a small smile tickled his lips. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll return the favor and show up on his doorstep for a few weeks. We could do it together. We’ll bring a sleeping bag to share and camp out in his living room until we grow on him. It would be kind of fun, don’t you think?”
Mackenzie laughed softly. Chet’s gray eyes sparkled down into hers, and then the smile slowly slid from his face, replaced with earnestness.
“Marry me, Mack.”
She nodded, and her chin trembled. A whoop went up from the people who had now crowded into the kitchen, and Chet leaned closer, a smile shining in his eyes.
“I’m a stickler about these things. I wanted to hear the full request when you asked me to help you get started out here, and I want to hear the whole thing when you agree to marry me,” he said with a slow grin.
“Yes, Chet,” she said aloud. “I’ll marry you.”
Chet pulled her into his arms and his lips came down onto hers. The rest of the Grangers cheered and laughed, and there was the sound of some corks popping. Apparently, no one felt the need to wait for the happy couple.
When Chet finally pulled back, Mackenzie said, “And my land?”
“It’s yours,” he said softly. “Keep it or sell it. I’ll run the stable with you if that’s what you want. But whatever we do, I want to do it together—a joint venture—Chet and Mackenzie Granger against the world.”
As Mackenzie stared up into Chet’s gray eyes, she knew that in the arms of this stubborn cowboy, she’d finally come home. So she stood up on tiptoe and kissed him again, until someone thrust a glass of champagne into her hand and said, “Welcome to the family!”
And then she pulled back and looked around at the Granger clan’s welcoming smiles.
“He’ll be good to you,” Uncle Bob said as she took the glass of bubbling champagne from his work-roughened fingers. He winked. “And if he gives you any grief, you tell me.”
Mackenzie laughed and slipped her hand into Chet’s strong grasp. Chet Granger just might be the last principled man under sixty. She had a feeling that his arms were the safest place she’d ever know.
Epilogue
The Elks’ Hall was located outside town on a rural road. A verdant field spread out behind the old wooden building, and a stretch of trees rustled in the breeze beside it. After a winter that had felt endless to Chet as he and Mackenzie planned their wedding, this spring Sunday was warm, fragrant and perfect.
The wedding itself had taken place at the church in town, and they’d gone afterward for a picture-taking session with the photographer, and now they were at the hall, ready to celebrate with family and friends. Mackenzie was laughing with a group of young women who were fingering her long lace veil admiringly. A bridesmaid perched beside Mackenzie said something, and they both looked into the bridesmaid’s phone to take a selfie together.
She made a stunning bride—her cheeks pink from laughter and her vintage lace dress clinging to her curves. She glanced over her shoulder in Chet’s direction, and he thought his heart would burst from sheer love.
Chet and Andy stood a few yards off, dressed in their wedding tuxes, flowers in their buttonholes. The rest of the guests were milling about, getting ready to go inside and start the festivities, and the brothers had taken a few minutes to talk—something that they hadn’t managed until now. Wedding photos and all that posing were surprisingly demanding.
“There’s something that’s been eating at me,” Andy said after a few seconds of silence. “The pasture. I’m not sorry I sold it, but I wasn’t going to do it that way. I was going to give you time to figure out something else first—size up some land, make some decisions—”
“It’s okay.” Chet had been angry. He couldn’t pretend that he hadn’t been, but it had all worked out. Mack had chosen to keep her land after all, and they were ranching together—shared land, shared herd, shared life.
“All the same, I’m sorry,” Andy said. “I was mad and I acted rashly. I don’t want to be that guy.”
“You had dreams, too, and that land was your inheritance. I get it.”
“Thanks.” Andy was silent for a moment, and the brothers’ eyes moved toward Mackenzie, who was leaning on a bridesmaid while another fixed something on her delicate white shoe. She balanced there for a moment, then put her foot down. She was exquisite—and she’d gone from cowgirl to heels. He’d never stop being amazed by her.
“You’re a lucky man,” Andy said with a nod.
“Thanks.” Chet had to agree—he was infinitely more than lucky.
“I know you think I was nuts not to marry Ida.” Andy ran a hand through his auburn hair.
“Yeah, I did.” Chet cast his brother a wry smile.
“She just got married two weeks ago.” Andy glanced toward the road, where some more cars were turning in. “Did you know that?”
�
�I’d heard.” It hadn’t seemed kind to mention it. “So who’s the guy?”
“His name is Calvin,” Andy said. “Owns a restaurant in Billings. They met when she went for dinner with some friends, she said. They both just seemed to know—right away. She and I were never like that. There was always a lot of uncertainty and doubt.”
“All the same, I’m sorry.” It couldn’t be easy for Andy to watch Ida move on, after all the time they’d been together.
“I’m happy for her,” Andy replied. “I can’t begrudge her happiness. We were broken up, after all. She’s kind and sweet. She deserves this—even if I wasn’t the guy to give it to her. Besides, it gives me the kick in the pants I need.”
“Yeah?” Chet shot his brother a curious look. “How so?”
“I want what Ida found,” he said. “I want what you and Mack have. I want the real thing.”
Chet nodded slowly. “It’s worth the wait, man.”
“I believe it.” Andy grinned at his brother and slapped him on the back. “Now I have to get ready for my best-man speech. Go find your beautiful bride.”
Mackenzie turned away from the women again, and her sparkling blue eyes caught his. He’d leave his brother to his last-minute speech writing, and hopefully, Andy wouldn’t come up with any memories that were too embarrassing. Chet headed across the grass toward Mackenzie and slipped his arm around her slim waist. She leaned into his embrace and tipped her head onto his shoulder. The delicate scent of her perfume wafted around him.
“Mrs. Mackenzie Granger,” he murmured in her ear. “I’m never going to get tired of that.”
“You’d better not,” she said with a soft laugh. “Because you’re stuck with me from now on.”
“Come on,” Chet said, tugging her toward the door. “I can’t wait to get in there and dance with my wife.”
Mackenzie slid her hand into his, and he could feel the sharp press of her rings against his callused hand. He’d remember this—these details, like the feel of her rings against his fingers, the smell of her perfume, the way her veil fell down her back, billowing out like the clouds that sailed over the rolling Montana plains. He’d remember this, and one day he’d tell his son what it felt like to have all his dreams come true on the day he married the girl the next ranch over.
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