“What was in the envelopes you gave to the ranch hands?” she asked Sterling as they walked back to the house.
“A little something extra for Christmas. I had a hunch they might not want to stay and work with Otto. This should help them out for a little while at least.”
She threaded her arm through his. “You’re a good man, you know that?”
“I’m only doing what anyone else would have done.”
While Heather packed the rest of her belongings, Sterling pulled the wagon around. She met him outside and tossed her overstuffed carpetbag into the back.
Sterling chuckled. “You realize we’re only staying one night.”
“Yes.” Heather glanced away. “You never know what a child might need. I packed for everything.”
In truth, she’d packed to leave indefinitely, just in case. She hadn’t given up on a last-ditch effort to save the ranch. Mr. Kelemen, the lawyer, had been hinting at something. There still might be a way to save the future for all of them.
The ride to the church was somber, with Otto choosing to stay behind. She sensed the ranch hands were suspicious of the sudden change in ownership. Sterling was far too honorable to say anything.
The townspeople had put extra polish on their appearance for the Christmas service, and the church smelled of evergreen boughs, aftershave, perfumes and soaps saved for the special occasion.
As they trekked to Irene’s house following the service, the mood was festive. Once there, Gracie opened her birthday presents. There was a doll from Dillon, hand-sewn clothing for the doll from Irene and a set of carved wooden animals from the ranch hands. Heather and Sterling had purchased a tiny buggy to finish the set.
Gracie dug into her cake with gusto. Heather and Irene quickly secured a towel around her neck to prevent her from getting her new dress dirty.
By the time they returned to the hotel, Heather was overly full and completely content.
“I have one last surprise for you,” Sterling said.
“But you’ve given me so much.”
He’d given her everything. He’d given Gracie love and acceptance. And Heather had given him nothing in return. Not even a Christmas present.
“I didn’t get you anything,” she choked out through a sob. “I’m sorry.”
“You gave me Gracie. You gave me a home filled with love.”
“But you’re losing that home.”
“Then we’ll take the love with us.”
“I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t believe that in all the confusion, she’d forgotten to get him a Christmas present. Yet he hadn’t forgotten her.
“This is for all of us,” he said.
He handed over a large envelope. She flipped open the cover and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “What are these?”
“Guardianship papers for Gracie.”
Her stomach tumbled. “How did you manage it?”
“Turns out, there’s a traveling judge who stays with his sister in Valentine each Christmas. Mr. Kelemen was able to expedite the process.”
“Then you don’t own the ranch any longer?”
“Not for long. That paperwork goes through the county land management. But everything is signed. That’s the only way Otto would agree. We’re free.” He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Merry Christmas.”
“Today was the best day of my whole life.”
“Mine too.”
Her breath hitched. “I used to hate my red hair, but I don’t anymore. I’ll thank God every day for giving me this hair. If I had had plain brown hair, Otto would never have chosen to pair us together.”
“I’m the happiest man in Valentine.”
“How can you say that after everything I’ve put you through?”
“You brought love back into our house. You made me the richest man in Montana.”
He turned, and she clutched the papers against her chest. She had one last chance to give him one last gift.
* * *
Sterling woke to someone pounding on his door. Bleary-eyed, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and discovered Dillon in the corridor.
“Heather and Gracie are gone,” Dillon said without prelude.
“What?”
“I heard her walking down the corridor not ten minutes ago. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but she didn’t come back, so I decided to check. Her door was open and her room was empty.”
“Are you certain?”
“The bed was made, and this was sitting on the nightstand.”
Sterling quickly read the note. “She has the guardianship papers for Gracie. She wants us to fight Otto and keep the ranch.”
“What?”
“She’s running.” Sterling reached for his shirt. “I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have given her those guardianship papers.”
He’d sensed her pulling away the previous day. He should have known she was planning something.
Pausing, he scrubbed his hands down his face.
“What are you going to do about it?” Dillon prodded. “What are you waiting for?”
“She never wanted to marry me in the first place. If I chase her down, what does that solve? This is what she’s wanted all along.”
“That’s not true. You love her, and she loves you.”
“I’m certain about my feelings, but I don’t know if she’s certain about hers.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Dillon said. “You’re going to have to swallow your pride and ask her.”
With that, Dillon shut the door in his face, and Sterling sucked in a breath. Heather had accused him of having an abundance of pride on more than one occasion. He’d brushed off her criticism. She’d been right, though. Pride had kept him from admitting his feelings.
He dressed quickly and discovered Dillon waiting in the corridor.
“I’m going with you,” his brother said. “I’m not missing out on this.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sterling arrived at the train depot. The porter blocked him, insisting he purchase a ticket.
As the bell rang, Sterling frantically handed over the money. “Dillon, hold the train.”
“I’m not going to be able to hold it for long. You’d best be quick.”
Sterling tossed all the money he had in his pockets onto the counter and snatched the ticket without waiting for his change.
He dashed onto the platform and discovered Dillon prone, the porter leaning over him.
“Are you all right, son?” the porter demanded. “I don’t know how I tripped you, I didn’t even see you.”
When his brother caught sight of him, Dillon hopped to his feet. “No harm done, sir. Watch where you’re going next time.”
The porter frowned.
Dillion frantically gestured toward Sterling. “Don’t just stand there!”
The stairs had been retracted already and Sterling leaped the distance.
The train was sparsely populated, and Sterling quickly spotted Heather and Gracie. He scooted into the seat beside her.
She turned her head and gasped. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and the tip of her nose was pink.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“If you’re leaving,” he said, “then I’m leaving.”
She shook her head. “I’m doing this for you. This way you can keep the ranch. The paperwork to exchange the land hasn’t been filed yet. I’ve got Gracie, which means Otto doesn’t have anything to hold over you. I’m not leaving forever. Only for a few months. Just to give you time.”
“But I’ve already made my choice. I chose you and Gracie.”
“Because you’re a good man and you were trying to do the right thing by us.”
“I
did it because I’m selfish. Because I’d rather spend the rest of my life with the woman I love than spend one minute in a cold house without you.”
“You don’t love me. You feel responsible for me.”
A commotion sounded behind them, and they turned. Dillon limped down the aisle using the backs of the chairs for support.
“I’ll entertain Gracie,” he said, reaching for the child. “You have ten minutes to convince her. Otherwise, the conversation ends in Butte along with the train.”
Sterling clasped her hand once Dillon had taken the child and sat in the row behind them. “If I’m not allowed to tell you how you feel, then you can’t do the same. I adore you. Nope. Don’t interrupt. I started falling in love with you the first time I met you. Do you remember when we first met?”
She sniffled and swiped at her nose. “Dillon took me on a picnic, and you were fishing along the banks of the stream.”
“You remember.”
“How can I forget? You lost your balance and nearly drowned.”
“Only because I was already head over heels for you.”
“Stop,” she said on a sob. “You’re only saying this because you feel guilty. It’s me who should be apologizing. I schemed to get you to marry me. Not just because I adored Gracie, but because I thought you were the handsomest man in Valentine.”
“That’s a place to start. My good looks. We can build on that.”
“Every time you looked at me, I completely lost the ability to speak.”
“Struck dumb. Another point in my favor.”
“I was fond of Dillon, but he didn’t make my breath catch and my heart pound.”
“Hey,” Dillon called from the row of seats behind them. “Don’t forget, I’m sitting right here. I can still hear you.”
“Shut up,” Sterling ordered. “I’m wringing a confession of love out of my wife.”
“Gra!” Gracie declared. “More.”
“But I’ve ruined your life,” she said. “You and Dillon have lost everything because of me.”
“You have a funny way of looking at life, Mrs. Blackwell. The way I see it, I’ve gained everything. We’re going to have to work on this pessimistic streak of yours.”
“You could have any girl you want. You could have married someone beautiful and rich.”
“I did marry someone beautiful. And you and I obviously don’t count riches the same way. You’ve given me the best two months of my life.” He glanced over his shoulder. “If you won’t stay for me, at least stay for Dillon. He gave an entire foot for our relationship.”
“It’s true,” Dillon said. “Otto convinced me to join the cavalry to keep us apart.”
“I thought I convinced you,” Sterling said.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Dillon scoffed. “What older brother ever listens to his younger brother? All your chatter did was nearly convince me to stay.”
“You might have said something earlier.”
“I thought you knew.” Dillon shook his head. “I’m a grown man, Sterling. I joined the cavalry because I wanted to see the world beyond Valentine. If I had known I was only going to see the Oklahoma Territory, I might have changed my mind.”
“You two are incorrigible,” Heather said. “I don’t know if I can spend the rest of my life listening to the two of you bicker.”
“Then you’re considering spending the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes.” She pressed a hard kiss against his lips. “I love you, Sterling. Are you quite certain?”
“I’m certain. But you have to be certain too. Life won’t be easy.”
“I promised to love you in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.”
“I didn’t expect to face all those things in the first two months.”
She flashed a watery smile. “We’re going to have an amazing marriage.”
“If we survive the first year.”
Heather reached for him, her fingers tender against his face, her eyes glowing with a love she could not conceal.
“Um,” Dillon started. “I’m just going to turn away for a moment.”
Sterling pressed a kiss against her lips, desperate to release the feelings he’d kept bottled up inside for too long.
A moment later, the conductor tapped Sterling on the shoulder. “You aren’t going to kiss all the way to Bozeman, are you? This is a family train.”
“And we’re a family.”
Heather stood and reached for his hand. “Come along, Mr. Blackwell. If we’re going to homestead near the Great Falls, we’d best finish packing. We have a brand-new life ahead of us.”
They filed off the train and stood in the early-morning sun.
“I want to go back to the house,” Heather said.
“Are you certain?” Sterling asked. “Otto will be there.”
“He doesn’t take possession until the paperwork is filed, remember? He can’t keep us away. We’ll put boughs on your parents’ graves. We’ll leave with our heads held tall. I want him to know that he hasn’t beaten us.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“Otto brought us together. You shouldn’t be so pessimistic all the time.”
Sterling cupped her cheeks and kissed her gently. “He wanted to hurt me, instead, he gave me a gift. He gave me a family.”
“He gave me you and Gracie,” she said.
“And me,” Dillon offered cheerily. “Don’t forget me.”
“You too!” Heather laughed. “Otto might have gained the ranch and the land, but he lost everything that was important.”
“Gra!” Gracie declared.
The four of them gathered close, their heads bent. A gentle, sparkling snow drifted on the breeze. Dillon and Sterling exchanged a glance. They didn’t need words.
The future wouldn’t be easy, but they’d face the challenges together.
Heather shivered and he rubbed warmth in her arms. “Let’s go home.”
“Home?”
“Home is wherever we’re together.”
They fetched the wagon from the livery, and Sterling caught sight of Beauregard Thompson’s pack mule in one of the stalls.
“Everything all right?” Dillon asked.
“Everything is perfect.”
The guardianship paperwork was filed and they’d handed over the ranch. There was no new story that could hurt them.
They were well and truly free. He had Heather’s love, and he was Gracie’s father. In that moment, he felt as though he could conquer the world.
Chapter Seventeen
Seamus tugged on Heather’s sleeve. “The sheriff is coming.”
She unfastened her apron and stepped onto the front porch. The sheriff, flanked by Mitchell and Mr. Kelemen, approached.
“Fetch Sterling,” she said. “He’s in the barn. And Joe. Tell him I need someone to look out for Gracie for a short time.”
The sheriff reined his horse. “I’ve got an arrest warrant for Otto Berg.”
“Otto Berg?” Heather asked, unable to hide her shock. “What’s happened?”
Mr. Kelemen raised his hand. “Perhaps we should wait for explanations until Mr. Blackwell appears.”
“Explain away,” Sterling said from behind her, startling them all. “What’s this about arresting Otto?”
The sheriff swung off his horse and propped one foot on the bottom stair. “Apparently Mr. Kelemen was concerned when Otto Berg petitioned to buy the Blackwell Ranch. Your employees supplied us with the accounting ledgers for the ranch from the past few years. Mitchell here went through the paperwork and discovered several discrepancies.”
Heather touched her cheek. “But there’s no way to prove that Otto stole the money.”
“As a
matter of fact there is, Mrs. Blackwell. Mr. Kelemen and Mitchell, along with myself, were able to match the amount of money Mr. Berg deposited in his checking account with the amount of money he was stealing from the late Mr. Blackwell,” the sheriff said, before he headed toward the bunkhouse in search of Otto.
Mr. Kelemen balanced precariously on his horse, his short legs splayed over the horse’s round belly. “Apparently the late Mr. Blackwell had started an investigation into the matter months ago. The confusion surrounding his sudden death put the investigation on hiatus. When Mitchell and I discovered the discrepancies in the books, we contacted the bank. Our inquiries revived the investigation and led us to Mr. Berg.”
“What’s going to happen to him?” Sterling asked.
“He’ll be arrested on charges of fraud. He’ll also be arraigned on charges of child endangerment and child abandonment.”
“I don’t understand,” Heather said, exchanging a glance with Sterling.
“I can explain,” Mitchell said. “After Mr. Berg gave his testimony, the judge in town recalled an article he’d read in the newspaper about a certain mail-order baby. He contacted the reporter, who put him in touch with the authorities in Ohio. We’ve got a witness from a girls’ school who will testify that she was paid by Otto Berg to deliver the child to Butte. The porter from the train can identify him. Given all the evidence, we can tie him to the abandonment. That’s a lot of evidence against Mr. Berg.”
“The ranch is yours, Mrs. Blackwell,” Mr. Kelemen declared. “Free and clear. Otto made the purchase with embezzled money, which makes any deal he made null and void. He’ll be spending the next few years in jail.”
Heather clasped her hands together. “That’s what you were trying to tell me before.”
“I couldn’t reveal all the details. I didn’t want Otto to know we had discovered his crime. He might have tried to run. Don’t be too angry with that reporter. He found most of the information for us.”
Sterling nudged Heather in the side. “See? You didn’t have to solve everything all by yourself.”
“You’re a fine one to talk.”
As if on cue, the sheriff dragged Otto from the bunkhouse. The foreman shouted and hollered before the stunned ranch hands.
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