by Cora Seton
"You're back," he said, his gaze fixing on her.
Morgan stiffened, ready for another fight.
"Good," he said after a long pause. "California's no place to raise kids. Come here."
She advanced slowly until she was near enough to his bed for him to reach out and take her hand.
"I'm a stubborn old man who likes to get his way, but I know when I'm beat. My son wants to make a life with you, and in the end all I want is to see him happy. You think you can make him happy?"
"Dad," Rob said, moving closer. Holt waved him away.
"I'm sure going to try," Morgan said, taking Rob's hand with her free one.
"And you think you can grow grapes in Montana? Start this…winery business?"
"I think so. Others have done it."
"You'll put the Matheson name on it? None of this women's lib crap, keeping your own?"
"Holt!" Lisa warned. "She'll call it whatever she pleases."
"The Matheson name will go on the winery," Morgan promised with a smile. "It's a good name. Practically sells itself."
"You can have 300 acres near the river," Holt said, giving her hand a squeeze and letting it go. "In the northwest corner."
"You mean 200 acres, right, Dad?" Rob said, slipping an arm around Morgan's waist.
"I mean 300. I may be stuck in this hospital bed, but I haven't gone senile," Holt said. "Now get on with you. My program's on." He reached for the television remote as they turned to leave the room. "By the way," he added. He raised his voice and spoke distinctly. "Got you!"
Morgan stopped in her tracks. Rob spun around. "What do you mean?" he demanded.
"That wasn't no panic attack," Holt said. "That's what's known in the business as damn good acting."
"Dad," Rob said. "Come on, we both know that was real."
"What, you're the only one who can play a joke in this family?"
Morgan put her hand on his arm before Rob argued any further. Holt was trying to save face, anyone could see that. She gave his sleeve a little tug. "You got us good, Dad," she said.
Holt stiffened, then turned toward her. "What'd you call me?"
Morgan couldn't find her voice. Had she put her foot it in it again? "Dad," she said again, unsteadily.
Holt stared at the wall behind her head, his jaw working. "I like that," he said, and nodded once.
She figured they'd better leave while they were ahead. "Rest up," she said.
"See you later, Dad," Rob said.
Out in the corridor, he pulled her into a tight hug. "You're a genius."
"Thanks."
"But that panic attack wasn't no practical joke."
CHAPTER TWENTY
When they returned to the bunkhouse, she let Rob take her suitcase and followed him up the steps. Being back on the Cruz ranch felt like coming home and she hesitated on the porch, taking in the view. When she finally entered the living room, she came face to face with Autumn.
"You can't move to California. I cried my eyes out when you left," Autumn said, throwing her arms around Morgan's neck and refusing to let her go.
"We're not moving. We talked to Holt and he's giving us 300 acres and we can do whatever we want with it," Morgan rushed to say before Autumn strangled her. She felt awful about fooling her. Should she tell her it had all been a joke? Would Autumn hate her for it? "I'm so glad he gave in. I couldn't have left you guys and moved to California."
Autumn held her at arm's length. "I know that, dummy. You think you took me in with all that moving to Napa stuff? No way!"
Morgan stared at her. "You knew? You just said…"
"Hello! You're marrying the king of practical jokes! You fooled me for a few minutes," she conceded, "and I was really upset at first. Then I figured it out. Pretty smart, though; you had the rest of them fooled all the way."
"Does Ethan know?" Rob asked.
"I think he suspects, but he doesn't blame you. Your Dad was being pretty unreasonable. So was Claire. But speaking of Claire, I'm glad you're back because I finally got around to cleaning that attic, and I found something I think you'll both want to see."
"What is it?" Morgan asked when Autumn handed her a thick manila envelope.
"Take a look through it. I’m going to rustle you two up some dinner. I doubt either one of you has eaten yet."
She disappeared into the kitchen, and Rob and Morgan sat down on the sofa to examine the contents of the envelope. A kitten appeared and Morgan did a double-take. It was Button, and she'd grown like crazy in the few days she'd been gone. She snuggled the cat in close and turned back to the documents inside the envelope. The first page seemed to be an itemized list of expenses. Not making heads or tails of it, Morgan handed it to Rob. Underneath she found a pile of receipts and old plane, bus and train tickets, many of them in an exotic script. She leafed through them with growing confusion.
The tickets were all issued to a woman named Anne Smith. By the looks of it, she was a world traveler, flying from Chance Creek to New York City, to England, France, and then – Morgan's eyebrows shot up – in every case to Dubai, followed by a connecting flight to Afghanistan.
How had these ticket stubs made their way into the Cruz's attic? She passed them to Rob, and looked further. The next set of pages contained a list of names, dates and locations. Badria Khan, b. June 8, 1986, Sangin to Kabul, May 15, 1997. Afshan Wazir, b. January 3, 1985, Khewa to Kabul, September 22, 1998. The list went on and on, sometimes with several listings per year, other times only one or two. Kabul always figured in the entries. Morgan knew it was one of the largest cities in Afghanistan. She assumed the first words were names of people, and the second, towns. People moving from villages to Kabul? What on earth did it have to do with her family?
The answer came at the bottom of a pile, where she found a smaller, worn envelope, that when opened disclosed a Canadian passport, birth certificate, driver's license and social insurance number card. Her mother's face stared out from the passport and driver's license, but in each case the name on the document was Anne Smith.
Morgan let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.
What had her mother done? Wordlessly, she showed the passport to Rob.
"Well, hell," he said.
Morgan took back all the documents again, sorting through the tickets and receipts for trains and buses.
Her mother had been moving people from villages to Kabul. Accompanying them in their travels.
Why?
Autumn popped back into the room. "What do you think?"
"She was helping people move. In Afghanistan. I don't understand why, though."
"I checked – all the names on that list are female," Autumn said. "She was helping women move – girls, actually. Look at the two sets of dates on each line. I think the first is a birthdate. The second is the day she delivered them to Kabul."
Morgan began to do the math as Autumn brought in plates laden with warmed-up pizza and set them on the coffee table before them. "They're teenagers," she exclaimed.
"Child brides, I bet. It's the only thing that makes sense to me," Autumn said.
"You think my mom was rescuing…" Morgan trailed off. This was too bizarre.
"She was saving young women who were probably married off against their will. I imagine she brought them to a safe house in Kabul."
"That…makes no sense at all," Morgan said helplessly. She glanced at Rob, who was puzzling over the list of names again.
"I'm beginning to really wish I knew your mother," Autumn said, heading back toward the kitchen. "She must have been a hell of a woman. She raised two amazing daughters, too."
"I wish I knew my mother," Morgan said softly to Rob. "The more I learn about her, the more I realize I hardly knew her at all." She wondered what she'd find when she compared the dates of her mother's visits to her with the dates of her trips to Afghanistan. Was she just the first stop on her mother's annual trips from Montana to Kabul? How had she gotten fake papers, and how on earth did she maneuver
in such a dangerous country? And to think a simple car accident in Montana ended her life.
Rob put the papers down and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tight against his side. "I think in your heart you know her pretty well," he said. "And I think your mom would be proud of you right now."
She smiled lopsidedly. "For playing an elaborate practical joke on my entire extended family?"
Rob pulled Aria's fake passport out of the pile and waved it at her. "Especially for that."
* * * * *
Rob watched Claire rein in and drop back along the line of riders until she was next to him. He'd wondered if she'd finally deign to speak to him on this three hour ride. Jamie led the way far in front of them, and a string of guests followed him with varying degrees of proficiency on their mounts. It was the first time he'd worked with both of them since Morgan had come back from her trip.
"I'm sorry," Claire said gruffly, and he had to hide a smile. Apologies came as rough to Claire as they did to his father. He was sure this one was costing her.
"That's all right."
"No, it isn't," she said. "I took my own problems out on you and Morgan and that wasn't fair. Are you really going to take that land of your father's? You two belong here with us. You, Ethan and Jamie have been friends forever, you know?"
He realized that was probably all the apology he was going to get, but he was okay with that. He knew how your history could drive you a little crazy. Claire had spent a lifetime trying to figure her mother out. Now that Autumn and Morgan had shown her the paperwork and passports, she had her answer to where the missing money went. Aria must have funded those trips to Afghanistan herself, and paid who knew how much cash as bribes and expenses to move those women. Claire had told Morgan she planned to do some research and try to discover if her mother was working on her own or with an organization. If there was a group in Kabul dedicated to helping young women caught in arranged marriages, she wanted to send a donation in her mother's honor.
"Ethan still has my down payment for those 150 acres."
"Don't you want that back? I thought you and Morgan were short on cash."
"So you don't want us around that badly, huh?" Rob laughed at her expression. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Ethan about it."
Claire reached out like she would touch his arm, but her horse sidestepped and she had to bring it back under control. "I do want you around that badly. Morgan's my sister. I meant what I said – you belong on the Cruz ranch with us."
"I need that money, though," Rob said. "With the time I lost over my Dad's panic attack, and his preparation for his surgery, I'm way behind on Carl's garden. I won't finish it by his deadline, and I'll have to offer him some kind of discount for blowing it."
"She doesn't care about the money; she loves you," Claire said.
"I made her a promise," Rob repeated. "I know all of you expect me to break my promises, but she doesn't. That's important to me." An edge had crept into his voice. The only way he would have nearly enough money was if he got his deposit back from Ethan and borrowed the rest. The very idea of that made him want to spur his horse and ride away.
Claire nodded. "If you put your mind to it, you'll figure it out."
He looked at her askance. "You just saying that?"
"No." She met his gaze. "I believe it. You've got a good head on your shoulders, Rob. I'm impressed with what you've been doing here and at Carl's. Yesterday I was working on his place and I checked out the garden. It's beautiful. Totally wasted on Lacey, but spectacular just the same. You know," she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe you and I should think about teaming up. At the very least I could pass your card around to some of my clients who might want your services."
"What services?" he asked, confused.
"Landscaping, silly."
* * * * *
Later that evening it was Claire who called a meeting in the Big House great room. She'd summoned Ethan, Autumn, Jamie, Morgan, Rob – even Cab Johnson. Tracey Richards and Rose Bellingham were escorting their guests to a street fair in town featuring local artists and musicians, so for an hour or two they were free to talk.
"I've been thinking over what you said the other day, Ethan," she began when they had all found seats on the easy chairs and couches. Morgan sat next to Rob, enjoying this moment of closeness with him. Between working for Ethan and his nights at Carl's, she still barely saw him. "And you're right; you and Jamie bought out my share of the ranch, but now I'm married to Jamie, which means I can claim part of it again. That's not really fair. I've decided I want to be a real partner in the ranch again. I'm making plenty of money with my interior design work, and I'm drawing a partial salary for helping with guests, as pitiful as that is," everyone chuckled, "so I'd like to buy back into the ranch, if you guys will let me."
Morgan noticed that Ethan was surveying his sister thoughtfully. "You've talked this over with Jamie, I assume?"
"Of course," Claire said, "and he's fine with it." Jamie nodded. "I thought that some of the money I invest could be used to pay down the mortgage to make everyone's life a little easier, and the rest could be put toward buying breeding stock." She waved a hand at Morgan and Rob. "I also want to say that I hope you two will become part of this ranch, as well. Rob already put a down payment on some of the land, and while I know Holt has given you 300 acres outright, I'd like you to consider moving forward with the purchase. Maybe the Tate Matheson Winery can be the first joint effort between the Matheson and Cruz ranches. I have a feeling it will benefit us all, and…well, I want us all to be a part of something together."
"Here, here," Jamie said.
"I feel the same way," Ethan said quietly. "I'm willing to structure that loan however you two need it to be to make this work."
Rob looked uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat beside her. "The only thing is…I'm not on track to finish Carl's garden by October first, which means I'm not on track to give Morgan the money I promised her for her wedding gift. Now hold on," he raised a hand to stop Morgan when she began to speak. "I don't want anyone here to misinterpret that. Morgan isn't marrying me just for my deep pockets," he paused to let everyone chuckle, "but we made promises to each other when we got engaged that were important to both of us. She's kept her promises and I mean to keep mine."
"You have kept yours," Morgan said in a low voice. It was hard to speak of things so intimate in front of a crowd, but the people gathered here in this room were the most important people in her life. "I told you I wanted to feel cherished, and I've never felt so cherished in my life. You've been working day and night to help me reach my dream, no matter what the cost to you in terms of your health, your sanity, or even your family. You don't need to prove anything else to me. I love you. If it takes a few more months – or even a year – to save up for the rootstock, so what? It will happen someday."
"There've been too many times in my life when I haven't kept my word, though," Rob said. "I'm sorry, I need that deposit back, Ethan. It's the only way I have a hope in hell of keeping my word to my bride."
"It's not the only way," Claire said. "I've cleared my schedule. I'm available to help you out on Carl's garden for the next week."
"I'll help every evening after chores are done," Jamie said.
"Me, too," Ethan chimed in.
"Rose told me she's available Thursday and Saturday," Autumn said. "And Tracey can help out on Friday and Sunday."
"Count me in for the weekend," Cab said, "Tuesday and Thursday nights, too."
Rob sat back, looking stunned. "You all would do that for me?"
"You bet," Claire said, "And I've made some calls. I've got all kinds of people lined up to help next week. You better get used to managing a crew, because you'll have eight to ten people working with you every day. Don't worry about the ranch chores; we'll pick up the slack on those. You get that garden done."
Rob turned to Morgan and grinned. "What do you think? Want to own part of both ranches?"
"Yes. Absolu
tely," she said and kissed him. "I wouldn't miss this for the world." She kissed him again, savoring the feel of him.
"Get a room," Cab drawled and everyone laughed. Morgan turned to him, her cheeks pink.
"You're next, you know." She said, pointing from Ethan to Jamie to Rob. "All the rest of your friends are getting hitched. Now it's your turn to find the woman of your dreams."
The big man blanched in the sudden attention of everyone in the room.
"Aw, heck."
* * * * *
"Where are you going?" Rob asked the next day when Jamie turned left instead of right. They were supposed to be driving to Carl's ranch to get to work on the garden, but Jamie had just gone in the wrong direction.
"We have a stop to make," Jamie said. A few minutes later, he turned onto the lane that led to Rob's family's ranch.
"Here?"
"Yep. Let's find your brothers." Jamie pulled up in front of the house, parked the truck and hopped out before Rob could ask any more questions, and by the time he maneuvered his way out the door his friend had taken off in long strides toward the nearest barn.
When Rob caught up with him, Jamie had already corralled Jake and Luke. "Where's Ned?" he was asking.
"I'll get him," Luke said. As he disappeared into another outbuilding, Jake asked, "What's all this about?"
"Once Rob's married, he'll divide his time between the ranches. He's got to help Morgan start her vineyard, Ethan with his trail rides, and me with my horse-breeding and riding school," Jamie said, "so he needs to nail down what part of this operation he'll be running, so he can schedule his time."
Rob nearly choked and Jake looked like he was having trouble swallowing this piece of news, as well. "The part he'll be running?"
"With your dad laid up and all, don't you think it's time he did his share?"
"Well, sure…but…" Jake seemed relieved when Luke returned with Ned. When Jamie repeated his piece, all three of them exchanged uncomfortable looks.
"It's not that we don’t want you," Ned began, finally. "I've been trying to get you over here for weeks. It's just…"
