by Caroline Lee
She was openly weeping when she scrambled down from the horse, not even accepting Sebastian’s offered help. All she could think of was gaining the privacy of the stand of bushes, and having a few moments to herself. She was pleased to find a small stream, and once she’d cried her way through her ablutions, she took a few moments to rest by the bank, and washed her hands and face again.
She returned to the men dry-eyed, if not refreshed; her back straight, her hands clutched before her, determined to say what needed to be said. They’d both dismounted, and were speaking together beside one of the animals. Cheyenne was probably not more than a half-hour’s ride away—they’d already seen two homesteads, and would start spotting more soon—but Serena thought it better to say what needed saying here and now.
Sebastian hurried towards her, but stopped short of gathering her in his arms. She could tell that he wanted to, and she desperately needed his support… but she couldn’t let herself lean on him, not now. She had to find the strength to do this on her own.
Instead, he took one of her hands, and she clutched it like a lifeline. She was still wearing his jacket—she was embarrassed that she had used the sleeves to wipe her eyes so often, and made a mental note to have it cleaned before she returned it—and the wrist fell over their joined hands.
Despite the darkness of his eyes, she’d never thought that they hid his emotions. They were warm and rich, and she loved looking at them. Now, she could see his concern and confusion, and she loved him all the more for it. But he wasn’t the one she needed to speak to, not right now.
Unwilling to let Sebastian go, she dragged Sebastian behind her—as much as she could drag anyone half a head taller than her—when she crossed to stand before Cam. She had to tip her head back to see all of him, and inadvertently took a step back. So much had changed since he’d first proposed. She could appreciate his rugged good looks, and his attempts at civility, and knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, intentionally or not. But she also knew, now, that he wasn’t the man for her.
Serena took a deep breath. “I’ve known you for years, Cam, and I’ve respected you. You have worked hard to make the Open Skye everything it is today, and I know that you love the land as much as my father did. I know that if you were to gain control of the Double-S, you would work just as hard to keep it thriving.”
That large tanned face was impassive, his square jaw tensed. “But…?”
“But…” She braced her shoulders. “But I know that I can’t marry you.” Green eyes flicked to Sebastian, standing silently beside her, and she resisted the urge to pull him closer. “You and I could marry and combine our ranches, but I don’t think I’m the kind of wife you need, and I know that you’re not the husband I want.”
“Why not?” There wasn’t any hurt in his voice. There was nothing in it.
“I want… I don’t want to live on the ranch—any ranch—for the rest of my life. I’ve never liked it. It’s so… lonely. I love Cheyenne, and all of my friends there. As much as I know that you are the right person for the Double-S, marrying you would mean that I’d have to live out there. And I don’t want that.”
“So you’re going to marry him?” Now she could hear the hurt in his voice. Not just hurt, but disdain, like Sebastian was beneath his notice.
Her chin went up, ready to defend the man that she loved. “As much as I lo—,” she stopped herself before uttering the word that would change everything. “Admire Sebastian, I know that he’s not the man for the Double-S either.” She took another deep breath, and turned to her beloved. “I’m sorry.” Her voiced cracked, and she had to swallow before she went on. “I can’t marry you, Sebastian. I think that you would be equally miserable stuck out on the Double-S as I would be, even if you were able to keep it thriving.”
He just looked at her. Just stood there, staring at her, and she saw the calculation and faint humor in those dark eyes. Finally, he spoke, amused. “Let me get this straight. You want to marry me, but you don’t want to give me your father’s ranch?” He shrugged. “Why not sell it?”
She had to look away, and sighed. “None of the adjoining landowners could afford it,” she knew Cam couldn’t, and Ash didn’t want it, “so I’ll have to advertise and offer it to someone with no experience running a ranch. I suppose I shouldn’t really care if he runs it into the ground, because I’ve never liked the place, but…” she bit her lip in consternation, “But I guess I didn’t want to admit defeat.” She sighed again.
“Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.” She could hear the grin in his voice, and snuck a peak at him. Sebastian didn’t look bothered. In fact, he looked like he was enjoying himself. He was facing Cam when he spoke. “She wants to marry me, but doesn’t think I’m good for the ranch. She thinks you’d be good, but doesn’t think you can afford it, right?”
Cam was still stoic when he nodded. “She’s right.” For a while—once she’d realized how incompatible they’d be—she wondered if the ranch was the only reason Cam had courted her. But he didn’t say anything else.
“If she offered the Double-S to you, here and now, how much could you give her?”
“None of your business.” Cam’s jaw hardened again.
“I’m making it my business.” Sebastian dropped her hand and took a step closer to Cam. She’d never seen anyone try to intimidate the big man, and she wasn’t sure that’s exactly what Sebastian was trying to do, but Cam’s brow shot up in surprise and—dare she hope?—grudging respect.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, and she couldn’t even begin to guess what was passing between them. Then Cam broke eye contact, and started to pace towards the horses and back again. It wasn’t like he was anxious, the way she paced when she was worried, but more like he had something he had to think through. Sebastian glanced at her, and winked. He winked, like this was all great fun to him!
She didn’t know if she should be relieved or miffed.
Then Cam stopped, fists on his hips, staring at the western sky that was only now turning blue as the sun chased the darkness away. After a long moment, he said “Ten thousand dollars. That’s if I sold off a hunk of stock, and we cut back on feed for the winter, and relied on grass.”
“Isn’t that a dangerous gamble?”
“Well, less stock would mean less need for hay. Wyoming grass grows fine beef if the winter’s mild enough.”
“But you’d be gaining a lot more stock from the Double-S, wouldn’t you?”
“Look,” the bigger man glared at Sebastian, “you asked hypothetically, right? That’s the best I could do.” He glanced at Serena, “And I know the ranch is worth six times that.”
“Well…” Sebastian stuck his hands in his pockets, and rocked back on his heels, grinning. He looked just like she imagined a schoolteacher would look, if he were about to explain something simple to dense students. “I don’t know much about running a ranch,” He shook his dark hair out of his eyes, and smiled widely. “But I do know a heck of a lot about investing.”
Cam and Serena were both quiet for a moment, wondering if he was going to expand on that ‘solution’. Finally, barely trusting herself to hope, she whispered “What?”
That grin again! “I don’t know anything about cattle, but I know a lot about money. And I know a good investment when I see it. The Double-S is an established entity, and merging it with the Open Skye means it’d be a force to be reckoned with. You’ve told me about how you drive your cattle to the railroad to be shipped east, and Carderock Investments already holds stock in railroads and distribution centers. Seems to me it’s about time we held one of the ranches too.”
“I don’t understand,” said Cam, although Serena was beginning to, “You want to buy the Double-S from Serena?”
“No, I want to loan you the money to buy it from her.” Cam looked stunned. “Not all of the money, of course. The rest will come from you. And I want to go over the books before we write up anything. But I think we can agree on a yearly percentage to
return to me—or a mortgage, depending on the numbers we see—and the rest would go to you for your hard work.”
Cam was still staring at him, dazed. “Why…?”
Sebastian shrugged, and looked away. “Because it’s the only way Serena will stop worrying and marry me. I love her too much to let something this minor come between us, not when I can fix it so easily. I have the money, and know how to invest it. I can be your silent partner, if it’s easier to think of the arrangement that way.”
Serena had gone faint at his casual declaration. She had to grab his arm to keep her knees from buckling, and he turned to her, worried. “Serena?”
“You mean it?”
“Of course. It’s just money.”
She smiled, and loved the way the worry melted from his face. “Not that. You said…” She held her breath. “You said that you loved me?”
Slowly, a perfect smile crept across her prince’s face. “How could you doubt it? I thought I would go mad when you were missing, and that’s when I knew that I loved you. But you had worked your way into my heart long before then, sweetheart.”
She melted against him. “Oh, Sebastian…” It was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard, and she thought she was just going to turn into one big pile of goo when he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.
Cam’s throat clearing broke through their embrace, but Serena was too dazed to be embarrassed. Sebastian Carderock loved her! Her! She knew her grin went ear to ear.
Sebastian kept his arm around her when he turned to Cam. “So, what do you think? Want to go into business together?”
Cam’s jaw was working, and finally he forced out a sigh. “I want Serena to be happy, and she’s made it pretty clear I can’t do that for her. You think you can?”
Sebastian smiled and dropped a kiss to her forehead. “I know I can.”
“Then alright. If I can’t have her, then the Double-S is the next best thing.” She blushed now, but couldn’t make herself look away. She knew that Cam would have never been happy with her—a wife who didn’t want children yet, and couldn’t cook or clean much of anything, and had Brixley buy all of their goods in town—but she knew that he’d be happy with the Double-S.
Cam stuck out his hand, and Sebastian shook it. They were covered in dried mud and caked in trail dust, and she saw the ease in which Sebastian moved through a world not his own. He was making it his own, and she was going to be there, beside him, helping him.
He dropped Cam’s hand and gathered her in both his arms. “Well, darling? We have my new business partner’s blessing. I’ll go down on one knee again, if that’s what you want.” Her throat was too tight to answer. “Will you marry me, Serena Selkirk?”
“Oh!” She managed to choke out. “Oh, yes, Sebastian!” She threw her arms around his neck, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He lowered his lips to hers, and she didn’t think she could be any happier.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
August, 1881
It was muggy enough inside the church that the ladies—the ones who weren’t currently sniffling into handkerchiefs, at least—were all waving gaily-colored fans despite the doors being propped open to catch the breeze. Sebastian could feel a bead of sweat slowly inching its way down the small of his back, and he shifted impatiently. Reggie glanced at him sharply. Maybe he thought Sebastian was getting cold feet? The corners of his mouth turned up. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The last five weeks had seemed like forever. If he’d had his druthers, he would have carted Serena off to Reverend Davis on July fifth, and married her right after she agreed. But they’d all been dirty and sore from sleeping outside, and while he enjoyed having her bloomer-clad bottom perched on his lap for the whole ride home, she’d objected to being married in her unmentionables. So he and Cam brought her back to the Selkirk home, where the Barkers and Serena’s aunts were frantic with worry. Cam went off to track down Ash and Nate to let them know that they could stop looking, while the ladies fawned over Serena and Sebastian. Agnes and Agatha both cried, and Pete looked disgusted anytime Sebastian stole a kiss from his bride-to-be.
He’d gone back to the hotel for a nap, and when he’d returned to pick her up for dinner he found himself discussing wedding plans with her aunts. The Barkers had gone home, and Cam had disappeared, and Sebastian spent a lovely evening with the three newest ladies in his life. He’d been quite content, until Agatha suggested a Christmas wedding. He had to put his foot down then, and tell her that he was okay with a big to-do, but it had to happen sooner rather than later. Agnes had huffed, asking about his rush.
Sebastian had grinned wickedly then, and drawing Serena into his arms for another kiss, told her aunts exactly why he couldn’t wait too long to do all the things he’d been dreaming of to his wife. All three of them blushed fiercely, and he noticed Serena taking big gulps of air. He couldn’t have been more pleased.
She loved him, alright. She’d told him so, several times since that morning out in the wilderness. But he’d known then, just by looking at her smile and the violet shine of her eyes. He’d been lucky enough to catch a woman—a lady—whom he admired and cared for, and who loved him in return.
Yeah, it had been a slow five weeks, but worth it. Serena and her aunts planned the grandest wedding he thought Cheyenne had ever seen… and his family had the time to be there with him. His younger brother Reggie had agreed to be his Best Man, since Bertie had stayed in New York to manage the business. Sebastian could tell that Reggie was intrigued enough with Cheyenne to consider staying a bit longer. There was no need to tell their mother that Reggie’s interest was mainly in the gambling parlors and ladies of negotiable affection. She was having a hard enough time getting used to the idea of Sebastian settling all the way out here. To make her feel better, he told her that it wasn’t necessarily permanent, and that if he or Serena ever got tired of “the frontier”, they’d consider moving back to New York City.
His parents and his sister were seated in the front row, both the ladies wiping at tears. His father caught his gaze, and rolled his eyes enough to make Sebastian smile. Sebastian Carderock II was a shrewd businessman, but loved his family enough to put them first. He’d seen the same potential his son had seen in Cheyenne, and approved of his namesake’s appraisal of the investments available to a wise man out here. He’d sat down with Sebastian and explained that while he’d miss having him in New York, helping to run the businesses, he approved of what he was trying to do here in Cheyenne. It had been an emotional and gratifying conversation.
Serena had been flustered at meeting his family, but had handled it well when she realized how personable they were. His mother, especially, tried to make her feel welcomed, and Sebastian appreciated that. Agnes and Agatha didn’t seem to care what his family thought of them, but of course flirted outrageously with his father and Reggie. It had led to some raucously fun dinners.
The Barkers hadn’t been left out of the planning, either. Sebastian had escorted Serena out to their ‘spread’—as she called it—to discuss the wedding menu with Molly, and to ask Annie to be a part of their big day. The girl had practically swooned with joy, and the three females had cried all over each other. Serena assured him it was because they were so happy. But he’d seen the sadness there, too, and asked about it. She’d explained about her best friend Wendy, and how much they all missed her and wished she could be there. Sebastian offered her the comfort of his arms, and his kiss seemed to chase away any lingering melancholy. He’d left her there, happily discussing dresses and desserts, and rode over to the Open Skye.
Cam’s ranch seemed small compared to the Double-S, but Sebastian soon realized that it was just the buildings he was seeing. Sure, the MacLeod properties were smaller and cruder than Serena’s barns and outbuildings, but the land itself was expansive and well-taken-care of. Cam assured him that he had almost three-quarters the cattle that the larger ranch had.
He’d
been leery of Sebastian when the younger man had first ridden up, as if he wasn’t sure if their agreement still stood. But after introducing his father—a gruff old man with a permanent suspicious scowl—the three men sat down to discuss business. Sebastian spent some time looking over the Open Skye’s books, and they all came to a satisfactory agreement. They’d all shaken on it, and Sebastian had some documents drawn up and sent out to the ranch for signatures. Now the Double-S was Cam’s, and judging from the man’s haggard appearance there in the front row beside Nate Barker, he was hard at work merging his properties and building them into a success. Sebastian wished him the best, and not just because he had money riding on the venture. Cam MacLeod had become his friend, and he respected the older man.
Cam caught him looking, and gave him a weary nod. Sebastian nodded back. He knew Cam had wanted to marry Serena, but he’d soon realize that things ended the way they were supposed to. Cam had really only wanted Serena’s ranch… whereas Sebastian would move Heaven and Earth for the woman herself.
And then Mr. Kaminsky changed his tune, and a not-so-subtle wave of anticipation went through the audience. The main doors to the church opened, and Sebastian discovered that he couldn’t think of anything else but he was getting married!
Annie came through the doors first, looking like she wanted to skip down the aisle in her fine pink dress and clutching a bunch of flowers from Agnes and Agatha’s gardens. He gave her a special smile when she reached the altar to stand beside Reggie, but movement from the rear of the church drew his attention, and he forgot to breathe.
She was stunning. They’d found some kind of ivory fabric with silver sparkles, and worked up the most gorgeous wedding gown imaginable. It was low in the front, and gathered in the rear, and Sebastian could see that it trailed behind Serena elegantly. Her silver hair was free and soft down her back, with a few violet flowers worked through it. They matched her eyes, which sparkled with love.