Sullivan's Promise

by Joan Johnston

  She’d fought her feelings, but he’d been so thoughtful, so gentle, so understanding, so romantic, so considerate in every way that she’d finally stopped resisting and let all those powerful, first-love-type emotions roll over her.

  Jennie chuckled. No man was as perfect as Matt had been acting. They’d had arguments enough when they were teens for her to know that he had moods where he snapped at her with every word out of his mouth, or where he simply took off to be by himself. He could be bullheaded when he didn’t get his way and blind to her side of an argument. He’d come to her sweaty from a pickup ball game, a little drunk from beer, and stinky from punching cows. He’d let his black hair get shaggy enough to fall in his eyes and his dark beard get prickly enough to scrape her delicate skin.

  Not one of those flawed human behaviors had shown up over the past three weeks. Which made her love Matt all the more for working so hard to hide them from her.

  In days past, Jennie had turned herself inside out to be the political wife her late husband had needed by his side. She’d forgone having children because he didn’t want them. She’d repressed her natural enthusiasm, and every word out of her mouth had been carefully chosen.

  It wasn’t until she was widowed that Jennie realized everything she’d given up for love. It wasn’t until she was widowed that she realized a man who’d truly loved her would never have asked her to turn herself inside out and become someone other than her real self.

  Jennie conceded she was equally responsible for allowing what had happened, but with life so precious, and maybe not as protracted as she might have hoped, she intended to do exactly, and only, what would make her happy in the future.

  Spending her life as Matt’s wife and Nathan’s mother might be just the ticket.

  Jennie had considered how unfair it would be to Matt, letting him into her life when it might be cut short. But whenever she expressed her worry that the cancer might not stay in remission, he reminded her that no one was promised more than the moment they were living. It was up to her to make the most of every single day.

  “Can I help?” Nathan asked.

  Jennie was startled enough to drop her arms suddenly and cried out at the jarring pain.

  “Hey! Are you okay?” Nathan climbed up the railed stall door lickety-split and dropped onto the bedding of hay inside.

  “Are you?” Jennie asked, wondering how he’d managed to climb with such nimbleness.

  He saw her looking at his shortened leg and said, “It doesn’t hurt when I walk, and I can run okay, but it aches sometimes when it rains.” He took an awkward, limping step closer, put a hand on her arm, looked up at her with concerned blue eyes very like his father’s, and said, “You made a noise like you were hurt. Are you all right?”

  She was amazed at the empathy of a child so young, and realized that, as someone who’d had his share of operations, he must understand a great deal about pain. “I moved a little too fast,” she said. “I can’t lift my arms very well yet.”

  “Daddy told me about that. He said I shouldn’t ask you to lift anything heavy.” He grinned and said, “Like me.” The concerned look was back as he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I’m surprised to see you in this stall with me and Lady. Your dad told me you’re afraid of horses.”

  He lowered his gaze. “I can pet them and brush them.” He proved his point by running his hand across Lady’s velvety nose. Then he looked up and admitted, “I’m just scared to ride.”

  “That’s too bad. Lady’s been stuck in the barn for quite a while, and I was going to take her out for a long walk, but I don’t want to go too far from the house by myself.”

  “If you’re just going to lead her—”

  “I was going to ride bareback,” she interrupted. “Do you think you could come up behind me? You know, with your arms around my waist to keep me steady?”

  “How will I get up there without a saddle?” he asked.

  “I’ve got a mounting block. You know, a kind of stair-step we can use to get on. I’ll need help from you to put the bridle on, too, because I can’t lift my arms all the way to Lady’s head.”

  “She’ll probably lower it for you,” Nathan said. “But I can help with that if she won’t.”

  “Good. Shall we give it a try?”

  It hurt to lift her arms high enough to get the bridle down from its peg, but once Jennie had the idea to take a ride, she knew it was something she wanted to do. She could have called on one of the men working around the ranch to help, but she was afraid they might spook Nathan, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else, except maybe a hospital. Besides, no pain, no gain. Jennie had to exercise her arms to get better.

  Matt had explained the accident that caused Nathan’s injury, along with his hope that someday Nathan might be willing to ride again. Maybe riding with her, being skin to skin with the horse, wouldn’t be as intimidating as riding by himself, where he needed to control the animal.

  Lady did lower her head for the bridle, but it was Nathan who ended up sliding the bit into her mouth, while Jennie eased the crownpiece over her head and around her ears. Jennie buckled the chin strap and said, “Would you mind unlatching the stall door so we can get out?”

  Nathan held the door while Jennie led Lady along the central aisle and outside through the open barn door, where a freestanding three-step wooden stair sat near the corral. When Jennie got there, she slid the reins over Lady’s head, then used the mounting block to get high enough to slide a leg over and ease herself onto Lady’s bare back.

  She reached a hand down to Nathan and said, “Come on up.”

  Nathan had a lot more trouble climbing the three stairs than he’d had getting over the stall door. Jennie wondered if fear was holding him up. When he shot a glance at her, and she got a good look at his eyes, she saw his uncertainty and his fear. She kept her hand out, and he finally took it, using it gently as a lever to help him pull himself up onto the horse and slide his shortened leg over Lady’s rump. Jennie didn’t let go until he had one hand around her waist, at which point he quickly slid his other hand around her and threaded his fingers together in front of her.

  His cheek was pressed hard against the back of her Western shirt, and she could hear his erratic breathing. It might be her imagination, but she thought she could actually feel his heart thumping against her back. “Where shall we go?”

  “To the windmill,” he said.

  A windmill stood at the top of a hill about a quarter mile away, with a huge live oak near it. “Perfect. There’s a low limb on that live oak we can use as a mounting block, if we decide to get off and take a nap.”

  “I’m too big to take a nap.”

  Jennie laughed. “I’m not. Ready?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Then let’s do this.” Jennie gently nudged Lady’s flanks and laid the reins against her neck, and the mare began walking in the direction of the windmill.

  “I’m a little scared,” Nathan said in a small voice.

  “Lady’s gentle as a lamb.”

  “But a lot bigger than one.”

  Jennie laughed. “Yes, a lot bigger. But she’ll go as slow as we want. Is this okay?”

  Nathan gripped her more tightly. “I guess so.”

  “Then this is as fast as we’ll go.”

  “I’ve been wanting to see that windmill up close, but Daddy didn’t want to leave you alone to take me there.”

  “I’m glad I can show it to you. I’ve had a lot of picnics under that tree with your sister.”

  “I miss Pippa.”

  “Me, too. Maybe we can all go visit her together.”

  “I thought you wanted us to live here with you.”

  “Wherever you and your daddy are is where I want to be.”

 
Jennie realized as soon as she spoke the words that they were true. There was no reason to put off telling Matt how she felt. She’d given up her seat in the U.S. Senate when she’d gotten ill. Nothing was holding her here in Texas. She would be happy to go with Matt to Wyoming, if that was where he wanted to live, especially since Pippa lived there. To add icing to the cake, if they ended up anywhere near Jackson, she would have grandchildren close enough to spoil.

  She hoped Matt would finish up whatever business it was he had to do and come home soon. She didn’t want to wait one more minute to start the rest of her life.

  “WHY ALL THE need for secrecy?” Matt demanded as he sat down at a table in one of the luxury lounges at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston where Leah perched on the edge of her chair waiting for him.

  “I needed to speak with you, and I didn’t want to do it over the phone, or with anyone hanging over either of our shoulders making comments or offering suggestions,” she replied tartly.

  “You’ve got me here. Talk.”

  “I want you to come back to Kingdom Come.”

  Matt was stunned. “You just spent the past year doing everything in your power to throw me out on my ass. What’s going on, Leah?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “Who’s the father?” Matt said through tight jaws. “That sonofabitch—”

  “Aiden Flynn,” she interrupted. “I’ve been married to him for the past year.”

  Matt was glad he was sitting down, because otherwise he would have fallen down. He put a fist against his heart, which had been working overtime ever since he’d gotten Leah’s call. He’d been afraid she was going to tell him that their father was dying, that the leukemia had won. Her pregnancy was a surprise, but a good one. He grinned at her and said, “I presume both good wishes and congratulations are in order.”

  “You can save that for my wedding day.”

  “I’m confused again.”

  “Aiden and I got married in Vegas, but I intend to have a second wedding with everyone in the family present, including you and Jennie.”

  Matt scowled. “Jennie hasn’t forgiven me yet. She may never forgive me. I’ve been the nicest human on the planet for weeks on end, and if I have to smile one more time when I feel like yelling bloody murder, I’m going to go off the deep end.”

  “Jennie doesn’t need you to be perfect, Matt. She just needs you to love her.”

  “I do love her. It isn’t working.”

  “Give it time.”

  “That’s the one thing I don’t have. You know Jennie has cancer.”

  “I thought it was in remission.”

  “It is. That doesn’t mean it can’t come back. I want us to be a family now. I don’t want to wait another day longer.”

  “Then you’re going to have to buck up your courage and propose.”

  It struck Matt suddenly that he’d told Jennie he loved her, but he hadn’t offered her a ring. He slapped his forehead. “How stupid can I be?”

  “Pretty stupid.”

  “Watch it.”

  Leah smirked.

  “I get that you’re married and pregnant,” Matt said. “What does that have to do with me coming back to Kingdom Come?”

  “You may have wanted all of us Brats gone from the moment you arrived, but I only wanted you off the ranch so I could get King to give it to me. Unfortunately, King’s sitting on the fence, waiting for you to change your mind and come home.”

  “I’m not going back.”

  “I know. But his illness and your absence leaves me with more work than I can handle. I want you back at the ranch. Bring Jennie. You can occupy the same wing of the house you were living in when you arrived last March.”

  Matt lifted a dark brow in disbelief. “What am I missing? What, exactly, will I be doing if I show up?”

  “Running the quarter horse operation you started.”

  “What about the cattle?”

  “I can manage the cow/calf operation. The point is Aiden and I are going to have a lot on our plates with two ranches to manage and a baby on the way. If you could handle the quarter horse operation at Kingdom Come that would be a big help.”

  “What do I get out of this?”

  “I thought I made that clear. A home at Kingdom Come for the rest of your life. And, of course, the quarter horse operation.”

  “You’re giving it to me?”

  She grinned again. “The first thing I did when you left was have King transfer the quarter horse operation to me. It’s mine, so I can offer it to you free and clear. I’m happy to have family making use of the ranch house, so it can remain available for holidays and special occasions.”

  “Where are you going to be?”

  “As soon as we can get a house built, Aiden and I are going to be living on the boundary between the two properties. Kingdom Come will be a place the whole family can gather.” She looked down at her hands and said, “And it’ll be a place where any of us girls can go if things don’t work out with our husbands.”

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she thought she might end up back there herself. In a quiet voice he asked, “It sounds like you don’t trust Aiden to stick by you.”

  She shot him a quick, guilty look from beneath lowered lashes. “I don’t have much experience with trust. I’ve already been blindsided once.”

  “You mean when Aiden took that stupid bet with Brian to make you fall in love with him?”

  “You know about that?”

  He nodded.

  “Is there anybody who doesn’t know?” she said, shaking her head in disgust.

  “Probably not. I should point out to you, if you haven’t already figured it out for yourself, that it would have been a simple matter for Aiden to have your marriage annulled anytime over the past year. The fact that he hasn’t—and that you haven’t—suggests to me that you two just might love each other.”

  “How can I know if Aiden’s love will last?” she cried plaintively. “I’m scared it won’t. Not forever. The more time I spend with him, the more I love him, and the worse it’ll be when he leaves me.”

  “Who says Aiden’s going to leave you? Does anything he’s done suggest that he isn’t committed to you?”

  “My mother acted like she loved me, too, until she took off and never came back,” she said bitterly.

  Matt took her shaking hands in his and held them tight. “That was a long time ago, Leah. Have you talked to Aiden about your fears?”

  “He knows how I feel. I asked him for more time before we move in together, but he won’t give it to me.”

  “The man’s a saint as far as I’m concerned. If I were married to Jennie, I don’t think I could handle living apart for an entire year. And all because you don’t trust him not to leave you…someday?”

  “It makes me sound pretty selfish the way you say it.”

  “What other way is there to put it? Despite Aiden’s having hung around, when it might have been a whole lot easier to walk away, you still distrust him enough to keep Kingdom Come as a bolt-hole in case you have to run?”

  “That makes me sound awful.”

  “If the shoe fits…”

  “What am I supposed to do?” she demanded.

  “Love him. Cherish him. And believe he’ll love and cherish you in return. There are no guarantees, Leah,” he said earnestly. “If there’s one thing Jennie’s cancer has taught me, it’s how short life can be. You have to reach out and grab for happiness. Forget about a second wedding. We can have a big party when the baby’s born. Maybe King will be well by then, and he can join us.”

  “Maybe he won’t,” she said in a small voice.

  “Maybe he won’t,” Matt agreed. “But we keep on living. We keep on loving.”

  After a long silence, while his words of advice hung
in the air, she asked, “Are you going to take me up on my offer?”

  “I’m not sure Jennie will want to leave Texas.”

  “You might be surprised.”

  “Why is that?”

  “I’ve learned a few things over the years, too. A house isn’t a home, Matt. If Jennie loves you, she’ll go wherever she has to go for you to be happy. I think that’s Kingdom Come.”

  “Did you bring something for me to sign?” he asked with a cheeky grin.

  She held out her hand. “A handshake should do it for now.”

  Matt shook her hand.

  “I’ll have the paperwork ready when you show up at the ranch.”

  He stayed where he was for a few minutes after Leah took off to arrange her flight home, mulling his change in fortune. He’d been willing to give up Kingdom Come and all the wealth it promised to be with Jennie. Now it seemed he could live and work at the ranch where he’d grown up and have Jennie, too. There was just one little hitch.

  He had to convince the woman he loved to marry him…and move to Wyoming.

  Matt realized he needed to take some of the very good advice his stepsister had given him. And there was no time like the present. He stopped in Houston long enough to buy a ring, then flew back to Austin, finally arriving at Jennie’s ranch late in the afternoon.

  As he approached the house, Matt was both nervous and excited. He wanted to believe Jennie would accept his proposal, but a man never knew for sure until the woman said yes. He stepped inside the kitchen door and immediately felt the emptiness of the house. A quick search revealed Jennie wasn’t there. Neither was Nathan.

  He hurried back outside and saw Jennie’s SUV, which meant she hadn’t left the ranch. His heart hammered in his chest as he searched the horizon, where the sun was heading down. It would be dark in another half hour. Where were they?

  He saw a single horse walking slowly down the hill from the direction of the windmill. The rider was wearing a ball cap.

  “Jennie?” he whispered. “What on earth?”

  Then he saw two small hands wrapped around her midriff.

  Tears sprang to his eyes. “Oh, my God. Nate’s riding with Jennie.”