Having seen a sample of Maddie’s retribution, he understood why Pap wanted to make sure she never found out about his little plan. But at some point, she’d have to. Starting a marriage with a lie between them was not ideal. In addition, lies had a way of coming to light, making a problem into a crisis. He wouldn’t do that to Maddie—Harrison had deceived her, as far as Gideon knew; she had yet to forgive the man. No, if he had a prayer of gaining her trust, much less her love, he’d have to approach this another way.
“Jesus, Pap. Have you spoken with Maddie?”
“Are you out of your mind, son? Hell, signing over the land is my part—the easy part. No way I’ll get between a man and his woman, even if she is my granddaughter. That goes for Eli or Zackary, as well. She had a bad deal with that Harrison fella, gave him every ounce of her heart, and with Maddie, that’s saying something. But she’s coming out of it now. No. You boys are young and strong and not too bad-looking. It’s up to you to persuade the girl this is for the best.”
“And if she won’t listen?”
“Then you aren’t half the men I thought you were.”
“Let me buy the land—I give you my word Maddie will be taken care of.”
Pap shook his head, and Gideon’s gut clenched. “No. Not that I don’t trust you, boy. But the deal is you get the land and Maddie gets a husband. If I die before she accepts one of you, my attorney has power to sign the deed on behalf of my estate. My word is good—you do right by my girl, and you’ll have what you want.”
It was Gideon’s turn to stare silently at the floor. This could be the answer to his prayers—hell, he wanted it all. And he wanted Maddie. Turning the offer over in his mind, trying to find a down side, other than the deception, and he could find none.
“My only stipulation,” Pap went on, “is whoever marries Maddie, you or Eli or Zackary, cares for her, protects her, treats her right—and never lets her know the land was part of the deal. My girl deserves to be safe and happy. She’s all woman and easy to love. But I won’t have her hurt again. This is strictly between you, the boys, and me.”
And the downside?
The deed for the girl. A practical solution to their concerns, and a win-win for the Branch and Lowry families. Gideon and his brothers would have the entire homestead, along with the water, and Maddie would be taken care of for the rest of her life. Pap was a wily old bastard, but a shrewd one.
Win-win, huh?
And if Maddie found out? She’d crucify him, that’s what.
“Pap, if Maddie finds out…”
“You gonna tell her? I’m not. Eli? Zackery? Not if they know what’s good for them. She’ll skin us all alive. You and I both know that. Might never get over it. That’s why you can’t let her find out.” He pointed his index finger at Gideon. “Take care with my girl.”
“I don’t think…”
“You want to take a chance? Consider carefully, boy. This is a case of lose all, win all. I’m not saying you wouldn’t end up with the property; I’m saying you might not. It’s a gamble, with your future and that of your family’s on the table.”
“I still don’t like it.” Gideon shook his head.
“I don’t like dying and leaving Maddie alone with no family and no man to take care of her. I want her looked after…” His voice rose, and a red stain colored his cheeks.
Pap was right—he, Zack, and Eli stood to lose a great deal if he didn’t agree to this bargain. If Maddie refused to marry one of them, he could lose everything.
“When you put it in those terms, I see the wisdom of the arrangement.”
“She can never know, Gideon,” he repeated. “One thing our Maddie can’t abide is a liar. When that business happened back in Boston, it didn’t matter to her that Harrison was gay. She could understand that part of it, accept it. What got her was that he lied and let her go on thinking things were okay between them all along. That’s what hurt the most. A man is what a man is—not my place to judge. But to let her go on planning the wedding, loving him like she did… Just plain cruel, that’s what it was.”
Gideon inhaled. “Can’t argue with your logic—or hers.” Conscience warned him to tread carefully. The thing she hated most about her breakup with Harrison was the lie, yet that was exactly what he and Pap intended. When the truth came out—and it always did—where would that leave him?
“Yeah,” Pap continued as questions spun in Gideon’s brain, “got to give the boy credit, though. He tried to do the right thing—paid all the expenses. Sent her stuff from Boston, still calls and writes to her. Killed him almost as much as Maddie. Don’t doubt he loves her in his own way and never meant to hurt her. There’ll come a reckoning between them someday. They meant too much to each other, bound to happen.”
“What does she do when he calls?” Gideon asked, curious, yet dreading the answer.
“Ignores him. Never talks to him. Never answers his letters. Loretta says she’s over the worst, but after a lifetime with Harrison as her friend, and no clue about his preferences, she’s got trust issues with men and herself. She hasn’t given any fella the time of day since it happened, not that there hasn’t been interest. They burned up the highway when she first came home. Bergeron’s son, Luke. Strawbridge, that new attorney in town, even Cahill, our young mayor. She shut them all down like a cold bucket of water on a hot coal fire. ‘Never again,’ she said, and so far she’s held to it.”
“Natural reaction. But from what I overheard at Loretta’s, her feelings might be changing,” Gideon observed.
“Might be. She’s grown up a lot. Can put things in perspective. But I’m not sure Maddie could take another hit in the romance department.”
Gideon recognized the warning: Don’t hurt my granddaughter.
“You in, boy? You’ll speak to your brothers?”
Gideon heaved a long, heavy sigh. If he knew his brothers, Eli or Zack would jump at the chance to get the land, and once they saw Maddie Mae all grown up, they’d jump at the chance for her, too. That wasn’t going to happen.
“No need.”
“What do you mean?” Pap asked.
Gideon scooted back in Maddie’s chair, crossed his ankle over his knee, and gazed steadily at Pap. “I served my country, did my duty, killed my share of the enemy, paid a hell of a price.” He patted his thigh above the empty place where his leg had once been. “Now I’m ready to take my place, settle down, and, God willing, make a few little Branchs to bring laughter to the spread. Time’s right.”
“So you’ve made a decision?”
“I have,” he said, his gaze telling the old man everything he needed to know.
“Warms my heart, boy, to hear you talking like that. I hoped it’d be you. All three of you are good men, but you’re most like Arthur. You understand I’m trusting you with the only thing in my life that really matters?”
Gideon sighed, and Pap raised a brow. “What else?”
Gideon gazed around the room, full of Maddie’s feminine touches, the fragrance of wildflowers rising from the slipcovers on her chair. What if he repulsed her? What if she thought he was too old? What if, no matter what he said and did, she wouldn’t have him?
“Will it make a difference to Maddie? Me missing part of my leg?” he asked.
“With Maddie? She’s not that kind.” Pap pierced him with a gaze. “I want to hear you say it, son. You want Maddie for your own?”
“I saw her first.” Gideon grinned. “Think I’d give Zack or Eli a chance? I’ll be honest with you, Pap. I’m no romantic, but I’ll tell you this. When I saw your granddaughter at Loretta’s today, something hit me. Hell, some sort of out-of-body experience or something. All I know is I felt alive for the first time since this.” He touched his leg. “To have a chance with a woman like Maddie—I don’t see how a man could ask more.”
“Then get to it, boy. I don’t have much time left.”
Gideon made himself a promise right then and there—Maddie would be his. The boys would benefit from
the return of the property, definitely from the addition of plentiful water as they rebuilt the ranch, but he was the only brother that would benefit from the delights of claiming Maddie Lowry as his own.
All he had to do was make sure she never found out he’d traded her for the life’s blood of Snowy Branch.
Pap held up the document. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“Is there some reason you need me to sign that document?”
“It’s your insurance policy, son.”
“God help us all if she finds it.”
“I’ll hide it away—the lawyer’ll get a copy, too.”
He signed, and Pap put the document away in his desk, locked the drawer, and hid the key in a tiny cubby off to the side. Committed to the plan, Gideon had to persuade Maddie she couldn’t live without him.
Married. Him. A confirmed bachelor. Mr. One-Night-Stand. No strings, no problems. The man who had a reputation of loving and leaving, and made a habit of saying thank you and goodnight in the same breath, had agreed to a modern-day arranged marriage.
Who’d have thought it was something he’d look forward to? Then the image of Maddie Mae cropped up in his mind, and it all made sense.
Chapter Four
“Pap, I’m home,” Maddie called as she dumped four bags of groceries on the table.
Pap came out of his bedroom, not looking well at all. His face ashen, leaning against the door frame as if needing its support, he stared and nodded. “I’m okay.”
Her heart fell as she took in his appearance. Her Pap was getting old—too old to have the responsibility for this place on his shoulders. Maybe they should sell. She could find something else to do—eventually.
“What’s wrong, Pap? Something hurt?”
“Nah,” he gruffly denied. “Just an old man who got up from a nap too fast. Let me get my bearings, and I’ll help you put the food away.”
Maddie immediately came to him and put her wrist on his head. “No fever. I don’t like your color. Why don’t you go back to bed? Putting up a few groceries is no big deal.”
He shook her hand off his forehead. “Go on, girl. I’m fine. Don’t fuss.” But when he straightened from the doorway, his body swayed, and he grabbed hold again.
“Not a chance. You sit down. I’m going to call the doctor,” she ordered as she helped him to his recliner.
“You’ll do no such thing. And quit bossing me around. I just need to sit here and get my wits about me. Been a while since you went to town. Have a chance to see Loretta?” He changed the subject as he often did and leaned his head back against the headrest of his old worn chair.
“Yeah, we had lunch together. Said to tell you hello. Stan, too.”
“Good people, the Masons.”
“The best.”
“See anybody else?”
“No, just them. Had a lot of errands to run.”
Maddie put the groceries away while keeping a worried eye on her grandfather. When had he gotten so old? In her mind, he was as tall and strong as ever, but as she took off the blinders, and really let herself see him, she knew something was wrong. She felt it deep inside, and it scared her.
“What’s wrong?” she gently asked, sitting across from him, placing her hand on his knee. “Don’t bother denying it. I can tell you don’t feel well. Please tell me. I want to know. Maybe I can help.”
“Help? Girl, that’s all you’ve done since you came home.” He shook his head, exasperated. “You do the books, take care of the horses and the other animals, the house, and me. You never go out with your friends—hell, I don’t even know if you have any friends besides Loretta and Stan, and they’re an old married couple. Aren’t enough hours in the day for you to help any more than you do. The worst of it is, you’ve given up on your dreams. No teaching those precious kids like you did back in Boston. You’re so darn busy, you don’t have a chance to take a breath—to live. It’s not right.”
“Come on, Pap. I love this place. I love you. If an opening for a special needs teacher comes up, I promise I’ll take it. Things are a little different this year. I’ve taken on a little more here at home, but not more than I can handle. You were always there for me when I needed you. When Mom and Dad died, and through high school and college. When I got a job and moved to Boston. Even when Harrison dumped me, and I came running home. It’s my turn to give a little of that love back.”
“It’s too much for you,” Pap groused and quirked his brow. “Hear tell those good-looking Branch boys are coming back to Snowy Range. Living right next door. Me and their grandpa always did hope you’d wind up with one of those three.”
Her mind flew to that day at Loretta’s and the image of Gideon Branch in all his masculine glory.
“Now, Pap…”
“Don’t ‘now Pap’ me. It’s time you got over that whatever-you-want-to-call-it with Harrison. He wasn’t for you. You’re lucky you found out when you did and you have a chance at happiness. I’m getting older—I want to see you settled before I die, maybe bounce my great-grandchild on my knee a time or two.”
“No talk about dying,” she ordered as a shiver passed up her spine.
Pap sighed. “Everybody dies, girl. Dying’s just as much a part of God’s plan as living.”
Maddie started to protest again, until the sight of his pale color stopped her. There was something wrong, and their arguing wasn’t helping. She kneeled on the floor beside him and leaned her head against his bony knee. Pap’s gnarled hands stroked her hair just the way he had when she was a little girl.
“I’m over Harrison. You don’t have to worry about me,” she began in a quiet voice. “Maybe someday there’ll be someone in my life. But please—please don’t matchmake. The only Branch I remember is the youngest brother, Eli, and for all we know, he and Gideon and Zack already have women in their lives.”
That wasn’t entirely true. She’d met the eldest Branch earlier. Stan would have mentioned a woman if Gideon was involved, wouldn’t he? If he knew? And why did the thought disturb her?
Gideon. Even his name conjured up visions of a warrior of old. Protector of his people, leader in battle, a man of integrity and courage.
Gideon of the deep, rumbly voice and broad shoulders.
Gideon with the square jaw, piercing blue-gray eyes, and body of a warrior. What he’d done in the war earned her respect, and another piece of her protective armor fell to the wayside.
She had no idea what the other Branch boys looked like, but they drew from the same gene pool, so they had to be exceptionally attractive men. Gideon certainly was.
And, Lord, he sure can fill out a pair of jeans. The thought had her grinning, in spite of Pap’s machinations.
Her grandfather’s voice brought her back to earth. “They’re all single. I made it my business to find out. It would be good to consider one of them, girl.”
“Pap,” she protested again.
“No, now hear me out. There’s nobody else in this town that strikes your fancy. Last three years proved it. Prospects out here are limited, so I’m going to ask you to make me a promise.”
“You’re serious about this?” She sat back on her heels and stared up into his rheumy eyes.
“Damn straight I’m serious, Maddie Mae. You could do a hell of a lot worse. If one of those Branch boys comes calling, I want you to give him a chance. No more of this nonsense about not wanting to ‘be open to a relationship,’ or ‘take a chance on love,’ or whatever you young women have up your skirts these days. I want you taken care of.” His hand waved away her objections.
“And don’t give me all that women’s lib stuff about taking care of yourself. It’s hogwash. There’s more to being in a relationship than needing a man to change a tire or take out the garbage. I know you can do whatever you have a mind to. That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?” Maddie asked, getting hot under the collar, grandfather or not.
Pap sat forward. “The point is, my dear sweet
girl, God made a man and a woman to want to be together. It’s natural—the way of things. To need each other, bring new life to replace the ones who pass on. To make each other happy, and love—like me and your grandma loved each other. I want that for you, girl. And you want that for you. I know you do. You’re only running away from it ’cause you got burned.”
“I’m not running away,” she stubbornly objected.
Pap was determined. “Everybody gets burned one time or the other in this life. I want your word on this, more than your promise. The next man who knocks on that door”—he pointed to the front door with his big knobby finger—“and asks you out, you’ll say yes. I don’t want to hear ‘never again’ come out of that pretty mouth one more time. Understand?”
A flush rose under the pallor of his skin and alarmed her. She’d upset him. What could she do? Ignore her grandfather? Not possible. She took the coward’s way out. What was one date, anyway? If she didn’t like whoever it was, she’d put her foot down. Perhaps that was the best way to get him to ease off. Simply prove him wrong.
“All right, you old reprobate,” she affectionately surrendered. “You have my word. The next time I get asked on a date, I’ll say yes. If—and I do mean if—the man is halfway decent. I won’t go out with any of the yahoos that go to town looking for a Friday-night girl. He has to be a genuine prospect. That means a good man, steady, with something to offer. And he has to be willing—none of those ‘I’m not ready to commit’ guys. I won’t waste my time.”
Pap chuckled as he patted her head. “Suppose that’s fair. Not asking for much, eh? You want handsome and rich among the qualifications?”
Maddie grinned up at her grandfather. “Wouldn’t hurt.”
Pap indulgently leaned back in his chair with a smile. “Good, steady, willing, handsome, rich. Tall order.”
“And romantic. Don’t forget romantic.”
“Life isn’t a fairytale, girl.”
“Don’t I know it,” she muttered.
He petted her head and nodded. “Yeah. I suppose you do. The romance is in the wanting… When a man wants a woman and she wants him back, nothing matters but the two of them. Being together, loving each other, knowing they’d each do anything to make the other person happy. That’s real romance.”
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