“Interesting threat, under the circumstances.”
“I thought so, but I didn’t say anything.”
“Smart.” They settled back for a while, greeting those who approached them and finally Will joined them and dinner was served. The kind of steaks you couldn’t get anywhere but Texas and even better from their own ranch. Baxter wouldn’t have served anything else. Finally, with the tables cleared, they cut the cake and, after escorting her to the next tent, where a five-piece band played, Will took her in his arms for their first dance. She rose on her toes to meet his lips when he bent to kiss her and cheers rang out from around them. People who’d never given up on them, even though they hadn’t been there for such a long time.
The present table in another tent groaned under the weight of hundreds of packages, and she marveled at her brother’s machinations. How long had he been planning this spectacle anyway? But she’d already brought up the subject and honestly, if they’d made him smile all evening, it was worth anything. Even being married to Will.
He swept her around the floor in a two-step, her train over her arm and feet flying. “I forgot how much I like this,” he said into her ear after at least half a dozen numbers. “I haven’t danced in years.”
“Me either. Not bad for being out of practice, huh?”
“Well we haven’t knocked anyone down yet. Seems to me that wasn’t the case once upon a time. Watch this.” He kissed her again, without missing a beat. She clung to his shoulders, feeling as if they were alone in the crowd and not minding at all. When he lifted his head, the heat in his eyes took her breath away.
“Will…don’t ogle me like that.”
His slow grin set her heart slamming into her ribs and her mind straight into the bedroom. “Why not, darlin’? How should a man look at his beautiful bride?”
The last notes of the song trailed away.
“Folks,” announced the lead singer, “we’ll be taking a break now, but the deejay has some music for you in case you can’t keep your feet still. I think it’s a little more country rock rap, but no accounting for taste.”
“Wow, he’s not lying.” The speakers blared as the men set their instruments down and filed off the stage. “Is that loud!”
Will chuckled. “Does that mean you don’t want to dance to it?” A gaggle of teenagers appeared from outside and filled the dance floor.
“I don’t even know how to begin. What did he call that? Country rock rap?”
“Well that describes it but it’s really pretty great if you get used to it. I don’t suppose that’s something they play at faculty parties?”
“Not at my school.” She paused to listen. “But it’s kind of catchy, isn’t it? Look at all the kids go!”
“Shall we join them?”
She wasn’t that brave. “I’m all out of breath. Can we sit down somewhere for a minute?”
“Sure,” he replied. “Let’s go sit by Mama. Don’t think you’ve had a chance to hang out with her.”
“I’d like that. Miss Naomi was always one of my favorite people, you know. She treated me like a daughter of her own whenever Baxter and I invaded your house.”
Will led his new bride over to where his mama sat in the corner, with a few other older ladies. He hated seeing the tired look in her eyes, but he’d take that over not seeing her any day. He’d been an idiot. What kind of son abandoned his mother just because he couldn’t stand to see her unhappy. He’d doubled that grief by avoiding her.
Whatever happened from this point forward, he would not allow his stepfather to drive him away. If his presence made the man act out worse…well, he’d deal with that when the time came. All he was sure of was he couldn’t stay away until one day when he got the bad news Maggie had. Family was too important and once this idyll ended, Mama would be all he had left, too. For a county full of huge families, his and the McAfee’s could compete for smallest.
His mother’s face lit up when they reached her. “Maggie Lynn McAfee, or should I say Kyle. You sit down right here. I want to hear all about how you and my son got back together. What made you realize what we all knew forever?”
“What was that, Miss Naomi?” Maggie’s low voice was barely audible with the loud, thumping music. He normally liked it but right now, he wanted to hear everything the two ladies he loved had to say to one another.
His mama took Maggie’s hands and drew her down to sit next to her. “That you two belong together, of course. Now that you’ve exchanged vows, I can rest easy. My boy will be well taken care of here on Honeysuckle Ranch. And close by, so I can see you both every Sunday for dinner.”
“Now, Mama, you know we can’t make plans for every Sunday just now.”
“And why not?” she demanded. “I’ve put up with your absence for too long, Son.”
He glanced at Maggie, expecting to see distress, but instead she tucked his mama’s hand between both of hers and smiled, a soft, loving expression that made him ache inside. These two women held every bit of him that was good between them. “Mama, I was in Oklahoma…”
“And now you’re practically next door. Soon you’ll be raising a whole passel of my grandchildren and I want them at my house to eat on Sundays.”
Snowballing. It was all snowballing and when they filed for annulment, they’d break everyone’s hearts all over again. Would his mama be satisfied to have him over on his own every week? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to face his stepfather with Maggie at his side?
He couldn’t breathe. Darkness closed in around him.
“Will? Will!”
He blinked his eyes open to see a circle of faces staring down at him. “Will, buddy, are you okay?”
Fantastic. His dying buddy was worried about him. He moved to sit up but Maggie pushed him back down to the grassy floor of the tent. “Stay there. The emergency medics are coming.”
“No. You didn’t call the fire department.” He could never face anyone in town again. “I’m fine.”
“We didn’t call anyone. They were in the next tent. Eating cake.” Sure, of course. Everyone in town was there to witness his humiliation. He had not just fainted like a little girl.
“Seriously.” This time he managed to push aside the helping hands and rise to stand. “I am fine. I don’t know what happened to me.”
Baxter laughed, his pale cheeks actually gaining a little color in the process before he lapsed into a coughing fit. When he recovered, he shook his head. “Wedding nerves.”
“I think it was the lack of air circulating in this tent.” It would help his case if the streamers overhead weren’t fluttering in the breeze.
Baxter rolled his eyes. “Sure, that was it. Maybe Maggie should take you outside for a breath of fresh air.”
After reassuring his mama that he was perfectly fine, he took Maggie’s hand and led her outside.
“Want to head for the porch?” she asked. “We can see the whole circus show from there.”
“Sure.” They settled into the swing, her poofy dress taking up nearly half of it. He gave a little shove to get it moving and laid his arm over her shoulder. She tipped her face up and he kissed her, long and slow, savoring her warmth. When he sat back up, he smiled at her. “You taste like cake and champagne, wife.”
“Oddly enough, so do you, husband.” She leaned against his arm and they sat side by side on the swing and watched their guests move from tent to tent. The band had returned from their break and through the dance tent opening, the two-steppers swung by again. Outside, teenagers stood in groups, waiting for the next break when they could have their own brand of music again.
Most of the oldsters still sat in the dining tent, nibbling on cake and other dainties and sipping coffee. Cowboys and pretty girls wandered across the lawn, some disappearing around the back of the house to get into mischief.
The fairy lights strung through the trees lit the yard with a soft glow.
“What are we going to do?” She voiced the question that lurked in his mind as
well. “Everyone assumes we’re back to stay, to pick up like we’d never left.”
“Yep.” He snuggled her closer. “Would that be a terrible thing, Maggie? Fact is, holding you like this, surrounded by all these folks who are here just to wish us well when we’ve done nothing to deserve their kindness…seems like we should be able to find some way to make this work.”
“But how? I have my job in California and I’m at least good at teaching. I’m a terrible rancher.”
He set her away from him and rose to pace back and forth in front of her. “I’m tired of hearing that. You were always a great help to your folks while you lived here. You did your share and more. I never heard one complaint against you from the hands and you know how they feel about prissy daughters who sit around looking party-ready and watching others work hard.”
She lifted her face to him, eyes haunted. “I can’t even—”
“Don’t you dare say it. Not this time.” Without giving her a chance to protest, he swept his Maggie up in his arms and carried her around the corner of the house on the wraparound porch not slowing until he got to the barn. When he set her down and slid the big door open, Jose appeared from the office just inside.
“Mr. Will, Miss Maggie, is something the matter?”
“Saddle up the gentlest horse you’ve got, Jose,” he announced, grabbing Maggie’s arm when she turned to flee. “I am going to prove a point to my wife.”
Chapter Ten
This could not be happening. Will held Maggie’s arm tight while Jose disappeared into the barn and reappeared with a familiar palomino mare, saddled and ready to ride. “Will, I cannot ride a horse. I’ll fall off and ruin my mother’s dress.”
“Thanks, Jose. I’ve got it from here.” He took the reins from the cowboy and turned to lead both the animal and her out into the moonlight. This far from the house, it bathed the ground in its glow, gilding the beautiful blond horse in the process.
“Buttercup,” she whispered. “She’s mine, you know. Daddy bought her hoping I’d learn to ride.” She blinked back tears, remembering the day he’d unloaded her from the trailer. By then she’d been thrown so many times, she’d never even tried to ride her. Just slipped out into the barn and petted her and fed her too many apples and carrots. “He said he’d sold her when I left home.”
Will watched her with compassion. “I guess he didn’t after all.”
She’d been there all along, during her few visits. “I could have seen her when I came home, but I thought she was gone.” Shrugging her arm free, she approached the horse and planted kisses on her nose. “I’m so sorry, girl. Did you miss me?” The horse bobbed her head. “I think she did.”
“So what do you think? Want to give it a try now? You danced without missing a step. And, darlin’, while I always liked having you in my arms, you were a danger to the people in your klutzy days.”
A surge of optimism fueled her courage, and she tucked her dress up into the narrow belt at her waist. “Mom was a great horsewoman. I think she’d understand if I got her dress a little horsey in these circumstances. But I’m gonna need a leg up.”
She settled in the saddle as her dad had taught her, and Will adjusted the stirrups. Gathering the reins, Maggie leaned forward and whispered in Buttercup’s ear. Unlike in the past, she didn’t feel like she was about to topple to the ground. She straightened her back and lifted her chin. Sure, it was crazy, riding a horse in a vintage wedding gown on her wedding day. But what about the past couple of days hadn’t been? “If I can stay in the saddle for one loop of the barn, I will regard it as a sign.” She kicked the horse in the ribs and Buttercup went from walk to trot to canter then back to trotting again. Everything she’d learned came back to her. Hours and hours of trying to ride and tumbling painfully to the ground.
She could hear her father’s careful, patient instructions. “Heels down, Maggie Lynn. Sit straight and hold the reins loose, Maggie Lynn.” Every bit of it was there to use now that her eyes worked together, she had 3-D vision, and was no longer the queen of all klutzes.
Will was still standing in front of the barn when she came around, but she didn’t stop. “Wahoo!” she hollered, tossing him her veil as she passed. “I can ride!”
By the fourth circuit, a small crowd had found them and cheered her on. Seemed everyone in town knew the minority owner of Honeysuckle Ranch couldn’t ride. Since they didn’t know about her eye surgery, they probably regarded what they saw as a wedding day miracle.
And maybe it was, too…at least partially. Finally, when enough people cluttered the stable yard she was having to slow down to pass them, she pulled Buttercup up and held out her arms. “I did it!” Sliding into Will’s embrace, she experienced perfect happiness. Nothing could stop her. She’d find a way to stay. How she’d teach she had no idea, but if she could stick a horse and marry Will Kyle, she could do anything. Resting her cheek on his chest, she inhaled his scent mixed with the horsey one coming from her. Could there be anything better?
“How much longer do we have to stay?” she murmured. “Do you think they can party without us? We have to make love in a bed sometime.”
He scooped her up again and carried her toward the house to the raucous cheers and catcalls from the hundreds of wedding guests. Heck, it had to be more than just Fort Mavis. Baxter must have invited people from surrounding counties. Wait, Baxter.
“Will, where is Baxter?”
“He went inside to rest, Maggie. It was a long day for him.” They mounted the steps to the kitchen door.
“Should we go say good night? And thank you?” Reaching down, Maggie turned the handle and Will shouldered it open. “It was an amazing party.”
“He told Juliana he just wanted to go to sleep, and to tell us good night, so no. Let’s go to our room so I can make love to my wife.”
That was probably going to make an annulment impossible. But she’d already decided she didn’t want one. And he’d been pretty clear when they sat on the porch earlier that he didn’t either. Somehow her strong husband managed to carry her and her heavy wedding gown up the stairs to her—their—room and didn’t set her down until he reached the bed. Then he joined her and made short work of removing the yards and yards of satin and lace. Finally, he sat up and wiped a hand across his brow. “Whew. I think I’m beat now. I’d better go to sleep.”
“No chance, Mr. Kyle. Not when I’ve got you just where I want you!” She pounced on him and together they shed his clothing and then there was no rest for anyone until morning light.
Maggie had just closed her eyes and started to drift when someone rapped on the door. “Miss Maggie? Mr. Will?”
Juliana. Will headed for the door and when he opened it, Juliana’s expression said it all. Maggie flew from the bed, grabbed a robe from the chair, and belted it as she ran toward the room at the end of the hall.
“Baxter?” Jerking the door open she stepped inside and stopped. Expecting to find him gone, she gasped with relief until she saw his blue lips. She gathered her scattered wits and approached him. “Hi, big brother. That was some party you threw for us last night. Overdo, did you?”
His breath rattled in his chest. “Maybe a little. It was a great party, wasn’t it? Maybe the best ever on Honey…Honeysuckle Ranch.”
Maggie sat down next to him, blinking back tears but unable to stop them from spilling over. “Best ever.”
“Maggie,” he murmured, pausing to suck in a breath, “I know I pushed you two into this. I had no right.”
“You had every right, big brother.” God he was so blue. “You love us both and you want us to be happy.”
“I know you probably will file for an annulment right away. I wish you wanted to stay here.” His thin chest rose and fell under his flannel pajama top. Her big strong handsome brother who’d taken the blame for half her escapades and picked her up when she fell, who’d never lost faith in her no matter how she turned her back on him was leaving her.
“I am staying, Baxter. I love W
ill. And I love you. Don’t you go away now.” She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robe and put her head on the pillow next to his. “Don’t leave me. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Mags,” he wheezed, lifting a thin hand to her cheek. “I am so glad you’re moving home, and you know I’d stay if I could. But I’m very tired. And I hurt so much. I’m sorry to leave you. Bye, Mags.”
He closed his eyes and his breathing paused. She held hers, too, unwilling to inhale until he did…but he didn’t, and finally she sucked in air to her starving lungs and sobbed. “Baxter, no!”
She lifted his lifeless hand and kissed it over and over again. How could he just be gone. He was Honeysuckle Ranch. He loved it here. And he’d loved her and Will so much, he’d used the last of his energy to bring them happiness.
“Maggie.” Will sat next to her and gathered her close. “Maggie, he’s gone.”
“I know,” she wept. “Why him? He was so good. It should have been me. If he hadn’t done all that yesterday for us, he might have had days left, weeks, maybe. He wore himself out for us.”
He stroked her hair and shushed her. “Darlin’, did you see him at the wedding? He was happy for us. He used his last time on this Earth to bring joy to everyone around him. That’s what Baxter was all about. Best thing we can do is try to live as he did.”
She straightened and sniffed. He passed her a fresh hankie. “We’ll go to your mama’s every Sunday for dinner and appreciate her while we still have her with us. We’ll ride the range and go to dances in town and raise the best cattle and have dozens of kids.”
“Dozens?” He smiled at her. “Okay. I think Baxter would like all those things. And we’ll name our first son after him.” He kissed her deep and slow and warm. “If you don’t mind, would you leave me alone with him for a minute?”
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