The Rancher’s Bride Surprise

by Maya Stirling

  "Maybe it's been sent to us for reason, Micah," Zane suggested. He glanced up at the sky. "Perhaps He's trying to tell us something. That it's time for change on the Circle Cross. Time we all took on more responsibilities."

  "Haven't we got enough, running the ranch?" Micah asked. He already knew how Zane would react to that complaint.

  Zane lifted a skeptical brow. "Ranching is only a means to an end, Micah. Seems like it's time we all started making our own family. Ma and pa did a good job for us." He rested a hand on Micah's arm. "It's our time, now. It's what we're being asked to do."

  Ever since the situation with the ranch had developed, there had been an obvious increase in faith amongst all of the brothers. Although Gideon was by far the most devout of them all, the events of the last few months had made everyone in his family feel like they were being guided in a direction. The entire family attended church every Sunday. Along with some of the ranch hands, the whole family attending the service in town had become a regular occurrence.

  Zane squeezed Micah's arm. "I have faith in you, brother," Zane stated. His gaze was firm and steady.

  Micah felt a familiar warm good feeling toward his brother in that moment. There had been so many times over the years when Zane had been the rock upon which Micah could stand firm. "Thanks, Zane. I know you mean that."

  "I sure do," Zane replied. "I know you'll do the right thing."

  Micah narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly is that?" he asked still feeling bewildered.

  Zane's gaze was steady. When he spoke his voice was low and emphatic. "You heard what pa said in there. This is serious, Micah. We got a lot to lose. And we've all done what we could. So far. But, there's one final step we need you to take."

  Micah felt a tight knot in his middle as he listened to Zane's words. He knew his brother was right. Even if he didn't like what it would mean for him. Especially since he didn't know whether he was going to be able to do what was needed to take that final, decisive step.

  "Rachel sounds like a fine woman, Micah," Zane said. He glanced over toward the porch. "Remember when I first met Johanna?"

  Micah nodded. "You two didn't get along that well, did you?"

  Zane's brows shot up in a line. "That's an understatement." His gaze softened suddenly as he watched the women over at the porch. "But, look what happened. I love that woman more than you can ever imagine," Zane confessed. Micah could hear the emotion in his brother's voice. It wasn't something that happened too often. Zane was the kind who generally kept his feelings to himself. But, right now, there was genuine feeling in his voice. "Wondrous things can happen if you follow the right path," Zane added.

  "What's the right path for me, Zane?" Micah asked.

  Zane smiled. "You just go and do what you said you would do. Go fix that schoolhouse." Zane's mouth turned downwards. "See what happens."

  The knot in Micah's middle twisted even tighter as Zane rested his arm across his shoulder and started to lead him back toward the house.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Micah arrived early the next morning just as Rachel was opening up the school. It was another bright, sunny morning. Micah came riding up the length of the road which led from Main Street to the schoolhouse. Rachel paused at the top of the stairs, her hands firmly dug into her sides, and watched as Micah halted his horse and dismounted.

  He tied the horse up at the hitching rail and looked up at her. "Good morning," he called out. "Fine day, don't you think?" His voice was bright and breezy this morning. It was a real contrast to his hesitant manner of the day before.

  "I sure do," Rachel replied. She saw a large, brown leather bag hanging from the horse's back. Micah hoisted it up off the horse and onto his shoulder. She heard metal clinking. The bag looked heavy, but Micah seemed oblivious to its weight. His broad shoulders supported the heavy bag without apparent effort. Today he was dressed in dark colored jeans and green plaid shirt. There was a white kerchief tied around his neck. He wore different boots than the ones he'd worn the day before. These looked well-worn, like they'd been used a lot for outdoor work.

  Rachel walked down the stairs and went to him. He stood straight and watched her advance toward him. His dark brown eyes gazed at her with a steady, expectant look. Just like yesterday, she felt her pulse quickened by the simple fact of him looking at her.

  "The kids late, this morning?" he asked glancing back down the road.

  She shook her head. "Lily's already inside. The others will be along in a few minutes. I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

  He shrugged. "Figured I'd get an early start. Someone's bringing me a ladder so I can get up there and see what's really going on."

  "Is there going to be a lot of hammering?" she asked.

  He frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "I'm thinking of the lesson," she continued. "What with you working, I'm wondering if I'll be able to carry out my lessons."

  He smiled, and her heart jumped. She swallowed and drew in a deep breath. It wouldn't do her any good if he knew how his presence affected her. She had to be professional. She had teaching to do, even if the handsome rancher was going to be clambering around outside while she tried to ignore that fact. "I'll just be looking. Any work that needs doing, I can start later, once the children have gone," he said.

  For some reason which she couldn't figure out, that answer disappointed her. The idea of him being here alone while she was back at the Cameron house seemed somehow wasteful.

  "Did you say you were going to be getting some help?" she asked. Realizing the question could be interpreted as a way of asking if he was going to be alone, she felt her cheeks flush slightly.

  "For now, it'll just be me," he replied.

  She nodded, trying to appear disinterested. "How long do you think all of this is going to take?" she asked.

  Almost too quickly, as if he'd already thought about it, he answered: "No more than a couple of weeks." He cleared his throat after uttering those words.

  Micah tipped his Stetson back a little with a slow move of his arm and a gentle flick of his finger. It was a casual gesture, but it caught her attention. His eyes widened as he looked down at her. She felt suddenly small standing so close to him. Yesterday, she hadn't noticed just how tall he was. Now that she was so close to him, she could sense the power in his body. His muscles stretched the fabric of the shirt and his breathing was even and steady. Powerful muscled legs filled the jeans. His physique had been shaped by years of ranching.

  Few men back East would possess such a physique, she told herself. Life was so different back there. Men were so different, too. And not only physically. But also what they valued. What was important to them. Although she'd only just met Micah, she could already sense, in his calm demeanor, his easy good humor, that he had a different set of priorities to those of the men who'd tried to court her. Confidence seemed to ooze out of him. She wondered how much of that was an act for her benefit, or whether he was like that all the time, even when he was working on the ranch.

  "How are you getting along at the sheriff's place?" he asked. "If you don't mind my asking. They treating you well?"

  Rachel wrapped her arms around herself. "They've been so kind to Lily and I. We couldn't have come out here without their help. Lily loves the place." Rachel smiled. "She has her own room. And she gets to hear the sheriff's exciting stories."

  "Let me warn you. Some of those will be tall tales," he said with obvious good humor. Micah lifted a brow and grinned. "Nathan does like to exaggerate a bit. Especially when it comes to stories of how he catches criminals single-handed."

  Rachel laughed softly. "Of course, we'll probably be moving out soon," she said.

  Concern flashed across his features. "How do you mean?"

  Realizing she'd strayed into territory where the talk would be about marriage, Rachel shook her head. "I'm sure we'll find somewhere to settle for the longer term. We're just getting to know Inspiration," she replied evasively. "There's so much for us to get used
to. It's nothing like Philadelphia, I can tell you."

  Micah shifted on his heels. "I've never been there. Furthest East I've been is when we take the cattle to market. And that's only a couple of days away."

  "You've done cattle drives?" she asked.

  He nodded. "Sure have."

  "Lily might want to ask you about that," Rachel explained. "She's been real curious about what goes on at a ranch. She was asking me last night."

  "She was?" he asked. His eyes narrowed and he seemed on the verge of saying something, but he was prevented from doing so by the sound of children's voices from way back down the street. She looked over his shoulder and saw the children heading up to school. Sometimes they met on Main Street after coming from their various houses across town. Rachel figured they used their time together to agree on mischief they could get up to during classes.

  "If you need any water to drink while you're here this morning, let me know," she said.

  He seemed genuinely surprised and pleased by her offer. "I might just take you up on that." He lifted his gaze to the blue, cloudless sky. "Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day."

  As Rachel turned away from Micah, she silently agreed with him.

  The morning passed more slowly than usual as far as Rachel was concerned. The needs of the children kept her occupied, as usual. But, she was frequently distracted by the sounds of movement coming from outside the schoolhouse building. Just as he'd said, Micah kept the noises to a minimum. More than once, Rachel had to work extra hard to hold the attention of the children. The idea of having someone moving around outside seemed to have excited them so much they were having difficulty staying focused on their lesson.

  Eventually lunchtime arrived and Rachel let the children out of the schoolhouse. Lily remained behind, seated at her desk while Rachel went outside to offer Micah some water. She found him standing at the foot of a ladder which he'd propped against the wooden wall on the side of the schoolhouse which faced the sun. Micah's features were flushed with his exertions. His eyes brightened when he saw her advancing toward him. He smiled, and her breath caught in her chest. She clutched the pitcher of water in one hand and a glass in the other.

  Micah wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. The sheen of sweat on his skin glistened in the bright sunshine. He glanced at the pitcher and smiled. "You've been reading my mind. My canteen ran dry an hour ago," he told her.

  She held the pitcher out and poured water into the glass. Handing it to him, his hands touched hers briefly. The coolness of the glass contrasted sharply with the heat radiating from his skin. He lifted the glass to his mouth and drank. As he did so, Rachel's gaze flickered to Micah's plaid shirt which was damp in parts across his chest. The collar was open and she could see the movements of his throat as he swallowed the water. There was something primal and also disconcerting about that, she told herself. She felt suddenly self-conscious and briefly considered leaving the pitcher and glass and heading back into the schoolhouse. But, her feet remained rooted to the dry, dusty ground.

  He sighed contentedly as he finished drinking and handed the glass back to her. "Thanks. I needed that."

  Eager to distract herself, she gazed up the side of the schoolhouse. "Find anything to cause concern?"

  He followed her gaze. "One or two things that'll take a day or two. Planks needing hammering into place. Some gaps that'll need filling. I've only just started, though. I'll take a look at the other sides of the building this afternoon."

  "Don't you have work to do at the ranch?" she asked.

  "I've got three brothers," he explained, shaking his head. "They're picking up the slack. We've got a cattle drive coming up soon. That's keeping them occupied."

  "That sounds like a whole lot," she observed. "Surely they must be needing an extra pair of hands."

  He shook his head. "Pa took on some extra men. I guess he thinks it's more important that I'm in town for the next couple of weeks, rather than being up at the ranch." As he said that, she couldn't help noticing that his cheeks had flushed with color. His lips tightened and he glanced quickly away from her. "It isn't the first time I've helped out in town," he added looking back at her. "I guess it won't be the last."

  She saw his eyes become suddenly blank, his gaze even and steady. Not for the first time since she'd met him, she had the sudden impression Micah was holding something back. She dismissed that thought quickly. They were still strangers to one another. And that was how it was going to stay, she reassured herself.

  She lifted a brow. "Sounds like you're in big demand."

  Micah laughed quietly. She felt a quiver of delight as she watched his features brighten. "I guess I should be grateful people trust me enough to mess around with things that are important to the town." He glanced up at the building. "Like this place."

  "Did you go to school here?" she asked, surprised at her sudden curiosity. The question had leaped from her, impulsive and unchecked. Did she really want to know more about this rancher?

  "Sure did."

  Rachel quirked a brow at him good-naturedly. "Were you a well-behaved student?"

  He grinned. "I did occasionally drive my teacher up the wall, I suppose," he admitted with a quiet laugh.

  Rachel tilted her head. "I find that hard to believe," she replied. "But, tell me about it, anyway."

  He dragged a boot across the dusty ground and lowered his head. "You don't want to know," he murmured, glancing up at her. His gaze, soft and languid, made something shift inside her. Something over which she seemed to have little or no control. It was just like yesterday when they'd met. He only had to look at her and it had an immediate effect. The corner of his lips creased into a warm smile. "Maybe some other time," he suggested quietly. "If we get a chance to talk some more."

  "Okay," she replied, realizing that she had probably just agreed to spending more time with him. And perhaps not just here at the schoolhouse. Was he courting her? Was this casual, easy manner the way the men of Inspiration went about making an impression on women? If so, then it was definitely having an effect on her, Rachel concluded. Once again, she felt keenly the differences between how things were done here, and what she'd grown accustomed to back East .

  "Don't you have lessons this afternoon?" he asked, changing the subject.

  "Not today. Lily and I are going to spend some time in town. Shopping and getting to know things."

  His brows rose with sudden interest. Once again, his lips clamped shut, holding back whatever thought had occurred to him. "Sounds nice." He glanced back up at the schoolhouse wall. "I best be getting back to work."

  "Of course," she replied. "I can leave this water here for you, if you like," she said laying the pitcher and glass down on the ground behind the ladder.

  "Thanks," he said.

  Feeling suddenly awkward she wrapped her arms around her middle. "See you tomorrow, then?" she said, trying to sound casual, despite the fact that her heart was thumping at a furious rate.

  "I'll be right here," he stated.

  "Afternoon, Micah," she said, nodding her head.

  "And to you, Rachel," Micah replied.

  As she turned away from him and started toward the front of the schoolhouse, she told herself that, if this was courting, Montana style, then it would take a whole lot of getting used to.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The shopping trip that afternoon went better than Rachel could ever have expected. Lily hadn't been able to contain her enthusiasm as Rachel had led the little girl from one store to another along Main Street. They'd spent plenty of time in the General Store where Lily had used friendly, and irresistible persuasion on Rachel to buy some very special candies.