“Are you crazy?” Ivan asked. “You can have ham and cheese any old time. They’ll have all kinds of good stuff at this place.”
“Little ears hear really well,” Retta said.
“Yep, they do,” Cade agreed.
The girls were well fed but still cranky from the long day when they got home that evening, so Retta made them all take a cool shower and then join her in the living room.
“I bought each of you a little present today.” She brought out a journal for each of them in their favorite color. “You can write anything you want in it but make an effort to write something once a week. When you get to be my age, you’ll be glad that you did.” Then she handed them a matching address book. “This has each of your addresses in it plus Mavis’s so you can write to each other when you get home. There’s twenty stamps in the little pocket in the back so you can send letters.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Faith gushed. “This is wonderful. Thank you so much, Retta. But I don’t have a thing to give you.”
“I’ll expect a hug from each of you when you leave and no tears. Because if you cry I will too, and we don’t want those boys to see us carryin’ on like babies. Remember we almost whipped them at football.” Retta then opened up her big plastic bag and gave them each a small box of pretty stationery with matching envelopes. “Don’t tear pages out of your journals. Use this.”
Alice ran across the room and threw her arms around Retta. “This is like Christmas. Thank you so much.”
“You are all very welcome. But there’s one more little thing I wanted you to have before you go in a couple of days.” She brought out a brand-new hairbrush, each in the color that matched their other items. “This is to remember all the fun we had braiding and fixing hair while you were here. I’m going to miss you girls.”
Tears ran down Gabby’s cheeks when she marched up to Retta and hugged her tightly. “I wish I never had to leave. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life.”
“Pay it forward,” Retta said.
“What does that mean?” Sasha asked.
“It means for you to be nice to others, like Cade and Mavis and everyone has been nice to you,” Retta explained.
“That won’t be easy,” Faith declared.
“No, but it’s not impossible.” Retta stood up and bent to hug her. “You’ve got goals. Don’t let anyone stand in the way, but don’t be hateful or mean on the way to doing great things.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Faith grinned.
“Now.” Retta took a deep breath. “Tomorrow we get all your things packed up. Your new things will be folded neatly and what you brought with you will be washed and put in suitcases, boxes, or sacks. And before you ask, you can pick out a new outfit to wear home on Thursday morning.”
Alice went back to her original spot on the sofa. “I bet you’re going to tell us that we need to clean this place and leave it as nice as when we found it, right?”
“Yes, I am. So take this stuff I’ve given you to the bedroom and yes, you can write in your journals tonight and tomorrow as well,” she said.
Sasha looked up from her address book. “And where do we send letters to you, Retta?”
“I’ll give Cade my address soon as I get settled and he’ll send my mail on to me. So just send them here to the ranch and I’ll answer every one of them,” she promised with a huge lump in her throat.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Somehow Tuesday slipped right through Retta’s fingers and then it was July Fourth and the last day and night she’d spend on the ranch with her girls. They arose full of energy and they couldn’t wait to get dressed and get up to the big house to help Mavis with breakfast and then there would be games all day and people. The whole county was invited to the Longhorn Canyon Ranch party on the Fourth of July.
Everyone would start arriving at midmorning, and they’d put more food on the tables under the shade trees than the kids had seen at the buffet on Monday. There would be local kids for them to see and to visit with and everyone would play games and eat until dark when there would be a fireworks display.
It was going to be one of those bittersweet days for Retta. Happy that she could see Cade and yet not so much that she’d be loading up all her stuff the next morning and driving toward Dallas. Her appointment for the interview was at ten-thirty, so she would leave at the same time the kids did—right after breakfast at eight-thirty.
“So what are you thinking about?” Cade slipped his arms around her waist that morning as the kids ran here and there helping Mavis and Skip get things set up and ready for the countywide picnic.
“That I can’t cry when they leave,” she answered honestly. “How about you?”
“That I won’t cry when you leave,” he whispered softly.
“Ah, come on now. Big old tough cowboys don’t cry.” She fought back her own tears at the very thought of a single drop rolling down his handsome face. Reaching up to touch the cleft in his chin, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “We’ll make it work.”
“I know but I don’t like to be away from you two hours to go plow a field much less a whole week at a time,” he admitted.
She rolled up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Let me get settled and then maybe I can commute a couple of days a week and have weekends here.”
“Hey, Retta, guess what?” Faith ran across the yard. “It’s almost time for fireworks.” She tugged on Retta’s hand.
“See you later. Maybe a porch visit after the fireworks?” he asked.
“I’ll be the one who is worn out with scraggly hair and probably grass-stained jeans,” she teased.
“The moon and stars will have a tough time outshining your beauty even if you do have on stained jeans.” He smiled and waved.
Cade waited on the porch that evening with two bottles of icy cold beer. Justin had gone into town to see some woman that he’d met a few weeks ago in a bar. Levi had met a cousin of a friend at the picnic and the two of them had left together. He didn’t expect either of them home until sometime between midnight and daylight. For them it had been a long five weeks and they deserved to get away for a few hours. Truth be told, he’d love to take Retta by the hand and go find a room at the nearest motel.
He hated looking at Retta’s truck, already packed with her things, so he turned the rocking chair around to face the ranch house and ignored it. When she finally came outside, he popped the tabs off two cans of beer and handed one to her. She took it from his hands and sat down in his lap.
“Thank you, and not just for the beer,” she said.
“For what then?”
“Everything. Helping me get over my father’s death as well as my mother’s. Letting me see that there are good men like you left in the world. All of it. The girls, the boys, the fun…every single hour of it.” She held up the beer. “And for this too. I’ve wanted one all day.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“For?”
“For helping me move on from Julie and for loving me,” he said simply.
“I guess we’ve been good for each other, haven’t we?”
“Looks that way.” He nodded.
Putting one hand on his face, she turned it just right to kiss him. “I really do love you, Cade. Today was amazing with all the people and seeing them interact with the kids. I can’t wait to see what kind of group we get next year.”
“Me, either, but I wish you were the bunk mama.”
“You willin’ to give me up for five whole weeks?” she teased.
“Didn’t think of that. Maybe not, then.” He set the beer can on the porch railing and wrapped her up in his arms. Holding her for a long time without a single word between them seemed so natural and comfortable that he felt as if they were in a world of their own.
She finally pushed up out of his arms, kissed him one more time, and said, “Good night, darlin’. Those girls will have me up at the crack of dawn. They’ve already got most of their things ready to go. I want to kee
p them all but most of all, Faith.”
“I know, sweetheart, but it’s not possible. Finding a home for Benjy is a miracle, and that they let Skip and Mavis have him with plans for adoption is even a bigger one. We can’t keep them all but we’ll hope that these few weeks have given them purpose and determination. I’ll see you at breakfast, then?”
“Of course.” She planted one more fiery kiss on his lips.
Retta was determined not to get emotional as she pushed her last suitcase out into the living room and went to each of the girls’ rooms to check on them one final time. Precious little Alice was going home now to a new baby in the house. Gabby smiled in her sleep, deepening the dimples on both sides of her cheeks. The moon lit up the purple streaks in Faith’s hair. And Sasha, with her red hair splayed out over her pillow, had come a long way in a few short weeks.
“I love every one of you,” she whispered as she crossed the living area floor and went to her own room.
She fell right to sleep but had nightmares about drowning in a dirty lake. If Cade hadn’t pulled her to shore, she would have died in that murky water. At midnight she awoke in a cold sweat and went to the kitchen for a glass of milk. But the refrigerator had been cleaned completely out. There wasn’t even a bottle of water left.
“When did that happen?” she wondered aloud as she drew up a glass of lukewarm water from the tap.
She went back to bed and dreamed that she was in a deep ravine yelling for help and the only person who heard her was Cade. He brought a rope and hauled her up from that miry pit with his strong arms and then held her until she could stop shaking. When she awoke that time it was to see four little girls gathered round her bed.
“You were screaming in your sleep,” Faith said.
Retta yawned. “I’m so sorry that I woke you girls. Go on back to bed. It was just a bad dream.”
“It’s only fifteen minutes until the alarm goes off so we’re going to stay up and get dressed,” Alice said.
“Okay, then let’s all get dressed and go help Mavis with breakfast. Y’all ready for this day?”
“I want to go home but I don’t want to leave,” Alice admitted honestly. “That’s kinda crazy, ain’t it?”
Retta threw off the sheet. “I understand so well, darlin’ girl. But we’ll be writing and calling each other all the time. So it’s kind of like having the best of both worlds.”
“Okay.” Sasha sighed. “But I still don’t like it. Sayin’ good-bye is hard.”
Retta took the time to hug her. “Yes, it is.”
Breakfast went too fast. The last time they’d sit around the big table together as a group. Then suddenly the clock said that it was eight-thirty, which meant the vans would be arriving to pick up the children any minute.
Retta’s heart stopped when she heard the engines of two vehicles coming down the lane. The kids all ran outside, started hugging each other and telling each other that they’d write every Sunday, just like always.
“Will you email me too?” Kirk blushed as he nudged Faith on the arm.
She slapped him on the arm. “Sure I will and when we graduate from high school, maybe we’ll go to the same college together.”
He kicked at the grass. “I’d like that. I’d know someone there even if it is a mean old girl.”
“And I’ll know a boy who can’t throw a spiral as good as me,” she shot back at him. “You better answer my emails or I’ll hunt you down.” She put both hands on his chest and gave him a gentle shove.
“You better email me back or I’ll beat you again at football,” he said.
Cade draped an arm around Retta’s shoulders. “You better answer my phone calls or I’ll hunt you down.”
She wiggled free of him. “I might not, just so I can see you. Let’s do this like adults. Give me a hug and I’m going to walk to my truck, get inside, and drive away. I’ll call you after my interview.”
“I’ll do my best not to throw myself on the ground and have a fit like a two-year-old,” he said.
Tears flowed down Benjy’s cheeks and he waved until the boys’ van was completely out of sight. Then after the girls had hugged every one at least three times, he stood in the yard and waved at them.
“Now can I go home with Mavis and Skip?” he asked.
“Yup. Take your things and throw them in the back of my pickup truck, son,” Skip said.
“Do I get Levi’s old room?”
“You sure do,” Levi said from the porch. “You’re gettin’ some fine folks to live with just like I did.”
“I know it. And I get sheep to show at the fair. I’ll read books about them,” he said.
“We’ll definitely see you in church on Sundays,” Justin said.
They drove off with him, and Cade walked Retta down to her pickup. “Don’t forget to call when you get there.”
“I won’t.” She hugged him one more time and got into the truck. No tears. No big emotional moment. This wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought it would be. She was going to be fine. Until he walked away without looking back. She couldn’t make herself start the engine. She didn’t want to leave the ranch. The job in the city didn’t seem nearly as important as it did even the day before, and her pride was gone. With her hands frozen on the steering wheel, the future flashed before her eyes and she liked what she saw. Going to sleep in Cade’s arms every night and waking up with him every morning. And growing old with him right there on the Longhorn Canyon ranch.
“What in the hell am I doing?” she asked. She rolled down the window. “Hey, cowboy,” she yelled.
He turned around and wiped something from his eyes. “Something wrong with your truck?”
She got out and ran toward him. “Not with the truck but with my heart.”
He opened his arms and she barreled right into them. “Seems that it doesn’t want to leave the ranch. And neither do I. Is that job for a bookkeeper and general helper around here still open?”
“What about your interview?” he asked.
“A home is way more important than a job. And remember what you told me about home? My heart is here, Cade Maguire. Or wherever you are. If you’ll have me…”
“God, yes.” His lips settled on hers in a long, hot kiss that made her knees buckle. “In fact…” He dropped down on his knees in the grass. “Retta Palmer, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes.”
He stood up, picked her up, and twirled her around until they were both dizzy.
“What’s goin’ on out there?” Levi asked from the porch.
“I think she’s here to stay,” Justin said from the other end of the porch.
“Well, hallelujah! What’s for dinner?” Levi threw his hat in the air.
Justin swaggered off the porch and hugged them both. “What changed your mind, Retta?”
“I finally figured life is worthless if I can’t share it with someone I love,” she answered, but she was gazing into Cade’s pretty blue eyes when she said it.
“Welcome to the Maguire family,” Justin said.
“Y’all hold down the place. I’m going to spend the rest of the day with my fiancée.” He took her by the hand and led her back to the bunkhouse.
When they were inside, he sat down on the sofa and pulled her down into his lap and smothered her with passionate kisses until they were both panting.
“I’m the happiest man on the earth right now.”
“Even though I’m a Sooner?” She grinned.
“Well, there is that, but no one is perfect and I love you in spite of that little thing.” He held her tightly.
“Then I’ll do my best to overlook you being a Longhorn because I love you that much too,” she said softly.
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About the Author
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wal
l Street Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly best-selling romance author and RITA® Finalist who has sold more than four million books. She presently writes both women’s fiction and cowboy romance. She has also written historical single title, historical series, contemporary single title, and contemporary series. She lives in southern Oklahoma with her husband, a former English teacher, who writes mystery novels. They have three children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. For a complete listing of her books (series in order) check out her website at CarolynBrownBooks.com.
Also by Carolyn Brown
The Happy, Texas series
Luckiest Cowboy of All
Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas
Toughest Cowboy in Texas
The Lucky Penny Ranch series
Wild Cowboy Ways
Hot Cowboy Nights
Merry Cowboy Christmas
Wicked Cowboy Charm
High Praise for Carolyn Brown
“Carolyn Brown makes the sun shine brighter and the tea taste sweeter. Southern comfort in a book.”
—Sheila Roberts, USA Today best-selling author
“If you like cowboy romances, you can never go wrong with a Carolyn Brown book.”
—Romancing the Book
“Like a good piece of chocolate there’s nothing more delicious, memorable and addictive than a Carolyn Brown story.”
—Fresh Fiction
THE HAPPY, TEXAS SERIES
“Wonderfully charming characters…This sweet, heartwarming romance is sure to increase Brown’s fan base.”
—Publishers Weekly on Luckiest Cowboy of All
“Carolyn Brown’s cowboys are as real as they come…Luckiest Cowboy of All shows that there is always a second chance for true love, forgiveness, and a happily ever after. This series is fascinating, well developed, and satisfyingly sexy.”
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