by Jeanne Rose
"Yes, there is," she argued. "Father, do not listen to this man."
Monte was ignoring her and scowling at her father. "I told you I didn't want your money."
Her father gave Monte one of those cold expressions that used to distress her so. "We are discussing Iphigenia's trust fund."
"Keep it." Monte drew close to Iphigenia and Hope. "I can take care of my own wife and kids."
Iphigenia's heart soared. Monte sounded as if he wanted her to stay, that he wanted to take care of her -- though he would have to tell her so much more directly. Still, necessity had forced Iphigenia to be practical over the past months, and she would not allow him to win this dispute.
"Monte, that money came through my mother's family." Glancing up, heart beating oddly at his very nearness, she connected with his angry gaze. "Passing it on in trust is tradition. Mother meant the money for my protection ...and for that of my children."
For a moment she thought Monte wouldn't relent. His rough-hewn features were set hard. She refused to look away until they softened and he nodded, if reluctantly.
But he told her father, "All right, then, but make sure you put the money in your daughter's name. I won't take a penny of it."
"Iphigenia Wentworth-Ryerson," she clarified, not absolutely certain which of the two last names she might be using by the time the bank received the money.
"You have my word," her father said.
Noting the smile he was unsuccessfully hiding, Iphigenia stiffened. What was her father about? Telling her a tale that he would send the money? Or was he smiling at her? At them? Odd as it seemed, she swore he now appeared to approve of the match despite his original opposition.
"Then everything's settled," Monte said, calling toward the kitchen, "You can all come back out now."
Iphigenia was thinking that things weren't settled at all, at least not between the two of them, when Cassie rushed back into the parlor, the others following.
"Pa told us you got married in Fort Davis!"
Because they hadn't discussed what they were going to do about their personal situation, Iphigenia flashed a surprised glance at Monte. "We did."
"Then you're our new Ma."
Cassie bent over to hug and kiss her, while Stephen and Carmen stood nearby, grinning happily and congratulating them. Only Ginnie stood alone, separate from the rest, her expression uncertain.
"Why don't we ease into things," Iphigenia suggested for the dark twin's sake. She was staring at Ginnie meaningfully when she said, "Start by calling me Iphigenia and let's see how things work out."
Ginnie smiled and moved closer to her family.
LATER, slipping into her night clothes, Iphigenia was still thinking over the emotion-filled day. Her father and his entourage were spending the night on the R&Y. Since Ginnie had moved back in with Cassie, the attic bed had been given to the young woman her father had hired to take care of Hope on the trip. Stephen had volunteered his bed to her father and had taken Graves with him over to the bunkhouse.
And little Hope was already waiting in Iphigenia's big, otherwise empty, bed. And Iphigenia couldn't help wondering what was going on in Monte's head.
Despite his announcement of their marriage to his family, Monte had not sought her out alone. The fact worried Iphigenia, though she would not let it throw her. Once her father was gone, she would have plenty time to deal with a recalcitrant husband. She couldn't help feeling disappointed, however, that Monte hadn't given her as much consideration as he had his own children.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she ran a finger along the baby's leg and said to a sleepy Hope, "If Monte Ryerson thinks he can just ignore us, he has another thought coming."
"Who said I was gonna ignore you?"
Startled, she whirled toward the open door. "That's the second time today that you've appeared unannounced."
"You'd better get used to it." He stepped inside. "I don't have the manners of New York society men."
Feigning shock, she asked, "You mean you'll just waltz into my bedroom any time you please without so much as a by-your-leave?"
"Our bedroom. The one down the hall. I don't believe in husbands and wives having civilized sleeping arrangements." His grin was wolfish. "I'm half-savage, you know."
Her heart thundered in her chest. She looked away and fussed with Hope's little cotton gown. "I wasn't certain you wanted to remain married to me at all."
He drew closer so she could see his denim-clad legs and boots from the corner of her eye. "I wouldn't have married you if I wasn't sure."
She faced him, searching for the truth. "I thought you married me so I could get the trust fund and ransom Hope."
"That was one of the reasons."
"But you said you believed marriage was for two people who loved one another."
He appeared taken aback. "You lied to your father about loving me?"
Even as the significance of what he was saying registered, she complained, "You were listening!"
Hooking her under one arm, he pulled her up off the bed. "Did you lie?"
Heat spread from where he held her to every inch of her flesh. "No," she said breathlessly. "But that makes only one of us loving the other."
His expression softened. "Like I said, I wouldn't have married you if I wasn't sure."
"Sure?" Heart thundering with hope, Iphigenia wanted to hit him. Why wouldn't he say the words she so desperately wanted to hear?
"That I love you, you stubborn woman."
Hearing them, she gaped and he took advantage of her open mouth. Before Iphigenia could say a word, Monte was kissing her. Sweetly. Feverishly. Lovingly.
And Iphigenia was returning the intimate embrace, her heart fuller than she ever thought possible. She branded each nuance of his lips and tongue and hands into her memory, though now she knew she'd have many more to anticipate.
When Monte broke the kiss suddenly, she breathlessly asked, "So, you are certain you want to stay married to a sharp-tongued, impossible woman?"
"I wouldn't want to be married to anyone else."
Feeling she needed to remind him of something they hadn't actually discussed -- that she'd merely mentioned the night he'd found her outside of Fort Davis -- Iphigenia pressed, "Not even a woman who could give you more children?"
His forehead furrowed. "Now what do we want with more than the four kids we got? Believe me, they're going to be a handful as it is." He looked at Hope, who was sleeping like an angel. "Especially her, if she takes after her Ma."
He was talking like they were already a real family. "Well, maybe if her Pa were very loving and very attentive, she wouldn't be like her Ma, at all."
"She'll be the apple of my eye," he promised, "but I hope she has some of your qualities. If you were weren't who you are, I wouldn't love you so much."
She snuggled into him. "So why don't you show me?"
"In our room."
Monte shifted to lift Hope. He cradled her to his chest, his experience giving him an ease that Iphigenia still didn't have. He smiled down at Hope, and tears sprang to Iphigenia's eyes. Monte was already treating her like one of his own. What more could she ask for?
But a short while later, Hope tucked into cradle Monte had brought down from the attic, Iphigenia realized there were myriad things she could ask of Monte in the privacy of their room, all of which he would gladly give her.
Their finding each other had driven away all the shadows from their hearts.
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