What had she been thinking, coming out here like this? She’d been afraid of Tolliver. But now she was lost in a ravine in the dark with no help coming and no way to escape.
Tears fell down her cheeks. She wasn't going to give up. Just like she wasn't going to let Seb give up on their relationship.
She stayed low to the ground, crawling up the hill on her hands and knees. She scratched her face when she ran into a thorny bush. She wept in her fright, but she didn't stop climbing.
And then she heard a far-off shout. She strained her ears again for the sound. And prayed she wasn't dreaming it.
"Emma!"
Someone was out there. Someone was shouting her name.
Was it Tolliver? He knew her name. He’d sat across from her only a few days ago, pretending to be a friend. She resolved not to answer. She didn't know what she was going to do if he was following her.
And then another shout filled her heart with hope.
That was Seb.
"Help!” The word tore from her throat.
The other voice stopped.
Her heart beat painfully in her chest.
“Emma!”
“I’m here! Help!”
Moments that seemed like hours later, she heard footsteps somewhere above her. “Emma?”
“Seb!” she called out. “I’m down here.”
She heard the scraping first and then felt tiny rocks cascading down the hill. They rattled against her clothing.
"Emma.” Seb’s voice, just a few feet above her now. “Thank God.”
A soft sob escaped. He was really here.
She felt the disturbance in the air as he neared before she felt his presence. She reached for him, and he met her. He clasped her upper arms, pulling her into him, holding her close.
"Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm all right."
And she was because he was here. He'd come for her.
He was shaking, or maybe she was. He leaned back slightly, his hands coming to cup her jar, slide into her hair. She winced when his fingers touched the tender spot where Tolliver had struck her.
“I’m sorry.” He must’ve seen her flinch. “What—?"
"It's a little tender. Nothing’s broken."
He brushed a tender kiss across her lips, then held her close again.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’m fine. We cornered Tolliver at Cora Beth’s place. The sheriff got hit, but nobody else got hurt. I've got a posse and half my brothers up at the top of the ravine waiting to get a look at you."
She clung to him, so thankful he’d found her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “Sorry it took so long to get to you.”
“Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she said.
“I saw your message in that shack. You were thinking ahead. You got out of there.”
“I knew you'd come. I just didn’t know when, or what he’d—”
He stopped her babbling words with a kiss.
This time they were interrupted by a shout from above. “Is she all right?”
He gave a little laugh as he broke the kiss.
She buried her face in his chest. "Your brothers."
He sighed, a gust of breath against her forehead. "We've got a mostly dry saddle blanket up there. Let's get you warmed up. And let's go home."
Nothing had ever sounded better to her. “What about the homestead? The fire?”
“The barn is gone. We left in a rush but I’d guess the rain kept the fire from claiming the house.”
Tears flowed in relief.
She let him guide her to the top of the ravine, only slipping once. He quickly caught her with his hand beneath her elbow and another at her waist.
It was only a few moments until they reached flat ground, and Edgar swept her into a hug. "Your sister is worried sick about you."
"I'm all right."
Seb was right there when Edgar let her go. “She's cold and wet. We need to get her warm."
He wrapped a blanket around her, and when Edgar would've protested, Seb silenced him with a no-nonsense growl.
In moments, she was sitting atop Seb’s horse with him, his arm snug around her waist. She let her head rest on his shoulder, the blanket providing warmth, but his arm and his steadiness behind her providing even more.
She nodded off, overwhelmed by her ordeal and the knowledge that she was finally going home.
20
It had been almost dawn by the time the procession rode up to the family homestead.
After the terrifying experience, Emma slept until noon the next day. The afternoon was spent helping everyone settle back into their own homes while the men took stock of the damage to the land and the burnt barn and trying to find temporary places to stable the horses that had been displaced by the fire.
Maxwell and Hattie had spent hours trying to save Tolliver’s life. Maxwell had been able to remove the bullet from his gut some hours into the surgery, but Tolliver had taken too much trauma and had passed away on the operating table. The US Marshal had been there as a witness. He’d already headed back to his home base in Colorado.
The next day was Sunday, and the family had decided to worship together on the homestead instead of going into town. After a time of singing and prayer together at the picnic tables, the children begin to get restless.
When the adults dismissed them to play for a while before lunch, they ran off with shrieks of joy and delight. The danger had passed, and as far as the children were concerned, everything was going to be all right.
It was the adults who realized the gravity of the situation.
"I've got something I'd like to say." Seb's voice rang out in the quiet moment.
Emma had been relieved when he’d come to sit by her this morning. She’d barely been around him the day before, only when he’d stopped by for a short walk as Fran was tucking her little ones into bed. He'd been subdued and quiet. And Emma hadn't pushed. Seb had to have been almost as terrified as she with all the events of the day before.
She thought they had time to get things settled between them. But this morning he’d been silent beside her, as still as the mighty maple that stood out in front of Jonas and Penny's house. She’d almost gotten up the courage to take his hand in hers. But a sudden sense of foreboding had held her still.
Now, he turned his body slightly and addressed his family from where he sat beside her.
"I'm sorry for bringing this calamity down on all of you. I thought I’d escaped from that part of my life. It was my bad choices that brought Tolliver here." She heard him swallow. "I nearly got Emma killed. The barn’s gone. And so is the hay we needed for this winter."
Penny spoke up from somewhere to Emma's right. "That wasn't your fault, honey.”
She felt the shudder go through him. "Tolliver only came here because of me."
It was a surprise when the normally soft-spoken Maxwell was next to speak. "We needed a little more adventure in our lives. Things were getting boring without you."
"Maybe not this much adventure," Matty added. He was up and out of bed for the first time.
It might've been Catherine who gave a teary laugh at that.
She could still feel the tension emanating from Seb beside her.
The Emma who had escaped from Tolliver’s clutches yesterday was still inside of her. She didn't have to wait for him to announce his intentions. She reached out and touched his knee. Her fingers bumped into the back of his hand, just like she'd hoped. She slid her fingers around and clasped it. Awareness prickled as if someone were watching her. Maybe lots of someones. She didn't care.
But Seb didn't hold her hand. He stayed perfectly still, his hand stiff and flat on his knee.
"The folks in town were right about me. I'm not the same man I was when I left. Because of that, I brought a heap of trouble down on us."
Oh, Seb. He was being crushed by the guilt he was trying to carry alone.
"Are you plann
ing on boxing anytime soon?" That from Oscar.
"Of course not, " Seb snapped.
"Starting your own criminal enterprise?" That was from Matty, a teasing tone in his voice.
Seb scoffed. "I just want to come home. Be a part of this family again."
"Seems like you've got some intentions of settling down to start your own family," Davy called out.
Someone whistled.
Seb’s hand twitched beneath hers.
Someone shushed Davy, but Edgar's growl made it to Emma’s ears. "He better have the right intentions in mind."
Emma's face went hot, but she didn't let go of Seb.
"I'll make my intentions known to Emma first if you don't mind, you ornery lot." He flipped his hand and threaded his fingers with hers, and the anxious butterflies bettering the inside of her stomach finally settled. "There's a lot that needs to be set right on the homestead before I can think about settling down. After all the trouble I’ve caused, maybe I should leave for a while. Find work and send money home—"
There was a chorus of “nos” from all around.
“You just got back,” Oscar said.
“You can’t leave now,” Matty echoed.
“What happened to the barn and the crops is a family matter," said Jonas. "It's not for you to fix alone."
Some tension left Seb. "After the drought last year, can we afford to rebuild?" he asked.
The silence was fraught with unspoken worries.
“Things were going to be tight this year anyway," Jonas said finally. "We may be able to get Sam to loan us the money to rebuild the barn."
"But the crops…” Oscar started.
The loss was bad.
But the hope in Emma’s heart gave her the courage to speak out. "I'd like to contribute."
The murmurs all around suddenly silenced.
Her heart soared in her chest. "Ever since your family took me in, I've felt this place was my home. I have plenty of money just sitting in the bank. I’d like to give it to you. To rebuild.”
"Where’d you get it from?" Matty asked, the teasing tone still in his voice.
"She's an author, silly." Susie, chiming in.
"How did you know?" Emma asked.
"Because she's a nosy busybody." Cecilia's criticism seemed to roll right off of the younger woman.
"I saw a book on your nightstand and borrowed it. E.J. Morris isn't that original of a name to use, you know. It wasn't hard to figure out, especially when I read about your character switching a dress for breeches when she was on the run."
Emma's blush blazed hot in her face. Beside her, Seb had gone silent. She could feel the weight of his gaze on her.
It was Fran who asked, “You wrote about that?"
Emma was proud of her work. "Just used that part. I didn't write about what happened to us."
"I figure some of us handsome and tough-as-nails-cowboys inspired your stories," Oscar called. There was a round of chuckles.
But none from Seb, who still sat silently beside her.
When the chuckles had died down, it was he who spoke. "Emma, that's your money. You earned it. And this is a family matter.”
"Then I guess you better hurry up and make me a part of the family," she said.
There is a soft hoot from one of the brothers, but Seb let go of her hand.
A buzzing in her ears followed the loss of the contact. She felt bereft without him by her side.
As the silence grew around them awkwardly, she couldn't help but wonder if she’d made a huge blunder.
* * *
Seb's breath was coming too fast. His heartbeat thrummed in his ears. He couldn't do this here, in front of his family, their eyes watching him so expectantly.
He stood. "Emma, take a walk with me?"
Fran looked as if she wanted to say something to him, or maybe take a piece out of his hide, but Edgar put a hand on her forearm, and she remained in her seat.
Emma stood slowly, as full of grace as always.
He led the way past the house toward the maple tree, where his brothers wouldn't be able to hear every single thing he said.
Every time he looked at her, he remembered how close he’d come to losing her.
Her steps faltered. “Are you angry? Or… did I embarrass you?"
A few more steps, they reached the sheltering branches, and he stopped and turned to face her, though he limited himself to taking her hands in his. He needed all his wits about him for this conversation.
"Why would I be embarrassed that the most beautiful, most courageous, most intelligent woman I know claims she wants to marry me?"
Some of the tension she carried in her shoulders released. The fine lines at the corner of her mouth relaxed.
"When we… first declared ourselves,” she said, “I would never have been so forward."
Surely she’d been around his brothers enough to know that what she’d said wasn’t out of line.
He squeezed her hands gently. "I like knowing where I stand with you." He let go of one of her hands and raised his to rub over his mouth.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
He huffed a little half-laugh, though it didn’t ring with mirth. "I came home with these grand plans. I was going to make things right with my family. And look at what trouble I caused for them. I was going to come and find you, to promise that I’d changed. Tell you how much I loved you and convince you to give me a chance. And here you are, waiting for me. Ready to save my family with your generosity."
He didn't know how he could accept it. The money she was willing to part with for the sake of his family was a big deal. Maybe his Pa would want to find a way to pay her back someday. But it was the gift of Emma herself that Seb didn't see how he could ever deserve.
Her eyes were luminous. “You love me?” she asked in a small voice.
Her uncertainty, even after she’d declared herself in front of his whole family, was too much. He crushed her to his chest, bending his head close to press his cheek against hers. "How could I not? You are… everything. And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve. If you'll have me."
It wasn't much of a proposal. He cleared his throat and made himself inch back from her, taking both of her hands in his again. "Emma, will you marry me?"
"I think you already have your answer. Yes." Her lips trembled, and as he bent toward her, thinking to claim a kiss. But she tucked her chin to her chest. "I love you, too. And you don't have to do anything to earn it. It's a gift."
Emotion swamped his chest, expanding like a loaf of bread dough he’d once watched his ma bake. Spreading to fill all the cracks in his heart that had been damaged when he’d walked away from his family.
He cupped her cheek, swept his thumb across her soft skin. She was a gift. And he aimed to show her how much he cherished her every day that the Lord gave them together. He tipped her chin up and lowered to meet her. She responded to his kiss sweetly.
From far away, he heard one of his brothers holler, "I think she said yes."
A series of hoots and hollers rose, and Emma broke from his kiss with a smile.
"You knew what you were getting into," he reminded her.
"I did."
And it was a miracle she didn't seem to mind his rowdy brothers. He said, "We’re both home now, and your family will be giving us a hard time for a while.”
Home.
He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to her sister and his family—their family. It hadn’t been that long ago that he’d thought this would never happen. A homecoming with Ma and Pa, his past behind him.
A new life his for the taking.
All the bad was behind him.
He was ready.
Epilogue
"Why are you reading the end first?”
“I want to see if the cowboy wins her heart."
"Is there any kissing?"
"Hey, why is the bad guy named Edgar?”
“Wonder if my name made it in
there."
Emma sat in the corner of the family room in Jonas and Penny’s home and listened to the rustle of turning pages as Seb’s brothers read her brand new dime novel.
Autumn had arrived and with it bitter morning temperatures. The fire had been laid this morning, but now it was only coals, giving off only hints of the warmth it had provided earlier.
She clutched a cup of coffee between her hands and found herself smiling as the brothers teased about her latest book. A trunk full of her author’s copies had arrived on the train yesterday, and Oscar had brought them back when he’d gone to town.
Ever since Seb's brothers had discovered she was a published author, they’d been taking turns reading the only copy of her first book that she'd brought with her to the homestead.
She could’ve asked Daniel to send along the trunk of copies that had remained at his Denver home when she had returned to Wyoming, but Seb had hinted that it would be more fun to let his brothers fight over a single copy. And she had to admit that he had been right.
Now, their teasing filled the room. And this moment was exactly what she’d been dreaming about ever since Fran had married Edgar all those years ago.
She and Seb had been married for three months, and she was happier than she’d ever been. She’d been accepted into the family and given the same teasing treatment that all of the other sisters-in-law received.
She loved every second.
She and Seb were already talking about a plan to prank Ricky when he and his family arrived for Christmas. Which reminded her that she needed to put a book in the mail for him.
“Did they get to the part where I rescue the cowgirl yet?” Seb’s voice came from close behind her. He must've leaned against the back of the sofa for his murmur to be so close to her ear. His breath tickled her neck, and he snuck a kiss against her jaw.
Of course someone saw.
“Seb kissed Emma!” That was Walt's voice.
Thankfully, his older brothers were too absorbed in the book to pay the younger any mind.
“I told you I don't write about real people," she reminded her husband in a fierce whisper.
The Cowboy's Honor Page 15
